The Tale of the Three Apples

Inside this edition

Every LitLab edition is illustrated from the text itself — the world of the book mapped, its people drawn, its scenes staged. 24 plates are open to everyone in this book; here are 8 of them.

• The Story-World — Baghdad, the Tigris and BassorahA literary atlas of the tale's night walk, river and journey; not a measured historical survey.
• The Tigris BankThe fishing place and the route back to the palace, without depicting the discovery.
• Connections — The Night WalkThe opening inquiry and the people drawn together before any explanation is known.
• The Characters — A Night of QuestionsTen local identities; appearances are editorial interpretations.
• Harun al-Rashid — ProfileThe Caliph walking Baghdad in disguise
• Ja'afar — ProfileThe Wazir charged with finding an answer
• The Night InquiryHarun, Ja'afar and Masrur walking through a narrow lantern-lit Baghdad market lane, matching cast identities, no labels.
• Casting on Another's LuckThe fisherman casting his net into the moonlit Tigris while Harun, Ja'afar and Masrur wait on the bank; no catch visible.

This edition

Title

The Tale of the Three Apples

Author

Anonymous

First published

1885

Illustrated plates

47 original artworks · 24 open to everyone

Chapters

2 · about 3,845 words

Reading time

15 min

Language

EN

Formats

Read online · EPUB and PDF download with a subscription

Publisher

LitLab — The Illustrated Classics

On LitLab since

September 2026

Rights

Text in the public domain. Illustrations and edition © LitLab.

Source text

Project Gutenberg #51252