File:Budar and Hayat al-Nufus by Glee-chan.png

English: Princess Budar (left) was the daughter of a King in "China" who was extremely beautiful, but she refused to marry anyone. (In A Thousand and One Nights, China is often featured as far off mythical country, but every character has Arabic names and follows the Arabic customs. The story of Aladdin takes place in China, for instance. So that's why say China with quotes.) Across the sands was an equally handsome prince named Kamar, who also was causing his parents trouble by not marrying.

Two Djinns (genies), one the daughter of the king of Djinns, decide to hold a contest on which royal offspring is more beautiful. So in their sleep, Prince Kamar and Princess Budar were brought to a place to be judged. Upon seeing each other, the two fall in love at first sight. However their romance is short as the Djinn finish their game and send them back to their distant kingdoms without giving them a chance to figure out where the other is from.

The result of this trick caused both royal children freak out. They swear that they were snatched away by Djinns where they met the loves of their lives. As this sounds like crazy talk, the families both locked away the lovers away so the public does think they are mad. Budur doesn't help her case by being so frustrated at being called a liar that she killed one of her duenna.

Budur's foster brother, however, believes his sister after seeing the extremes she's going through to be believed. At once he sets out on a quest to find this Prince Kamar. After some adventures, he finds Kamar, still locked away way in his palace prison. After faking the Prince's death, he steals him away, and takes him back to "China". Once there is proof that Kamar is a real person, Budur is declared cured and soon a married is arranged.

Now that that's settled, the couple want to prove that Budur exists to Kamar's family as well, so they set out to his kingdom. While traveling, the two get separated in the desert when a huge bird swoops in and steals Kamar's ring. Like a dumbshit, Kamar runs off into the desert, chasing some big bird, leaving Budur alone. Unsure what to do, she disguises herself as Kamar so that she won't get taken advantage of by some rapist, and enters the City of Ebony in hopes to find safety.

On seeing a great "prince" enter the city, the Sultan of the remote city sees an opportunity. He too had been having difficulties marrying off his daughter, Hayat al-Nufus, due to the isolated location, and "Prince Kamar" is the answer to his problems. With intensity, the Sultan all but forces Budur to marry Hayat, and since Budur is committed to the disguise she has little choice but to agree. Now married to a woman, Budur reveals her true identity to Hayat so that the Princess understands what's going on. Already in love, Hayat agrees to keep Budur's secret and for a time the two live happily together as husband and wife.

After many adventures of ring chasing and treasure finding, Kamar finally makes his way to the City of Ebony. With her husband in front of her, the ruse is up. Spilling the beans, Budur tells the Sultan the truth. The Sultan, not wanting to lose out on getting his daughter a husband, decides that he doesn't care and orders another marriage, this time with Kamar and the two women. The three live as a true couple and are happy.

---

It's a strange story to be sure, but I told this story for a few reasons. One: most of the pivotal cast members of this are women. The Infurtah Maymunah is one of the Djinn who arranged the lover's meeting, Princess Budur is more of the protagonist than Kamar (even if he had more adventures, she's more proactive), and Princess Hayat loves Budur and won't betray her. Two: this story once again shows that the authors were not afraid to place woman in positions of power, even if it's under false pretenses. And Three: this story has tones of true lesbianism. Hayat loves Budur and in return Budur doesn't deny her once Kamar finally strolls into town. For a story written during the Golden Age of Islam, this is pretty amazing.