The Groom Who Discovered that Eating Too Much at His Wedding Feast Was a Mistake
In the medieval era, a wealthy Yemeni merchant named Abu Hassan married one of the region’s most beautiful women, and threw a lavish wedding feast to which he invited notables from near and far. The bridegroom ate and drank heartily at the feast – too heartily. When he rose from his seat to go to his bride’s chamber, he let out a thunderous fart. Mortified, Abu Hassan turned away from the bridal chamber, headed to the courtyard, saddled his horse, and rode off into the night, weeping bitterly.
It was the start of a weird and long journey and exile, that would put that of the Earl of Oxford to shame. After he fled his wedding, mortified at the humiliation of his huge fart, Abu Hassan ended up on the coast, where he caught a ship headed for India. He landed on the Malabar Coast, eventually joined the service of a local king, and rose in his service. After a decade abroad, however, Abu Hassan pined for his homeland. Finally, he snuck away and returned to Yemen. Unsure of his reception, however, he donned the disguise of an impoverished dervish, and headed back to his hometown.
