The Arabian Nights is the most important influence on the works of Mark Twain. The Thousand and One Nights or The Thousand and One Nights is a collection of 264 stories and tales that have become classics of world literature. At the beginning of the 18th century, the collection was translated into French, which made it accessible to the West (Bloom). The main story of The Arabian Nights is the story of Scheherazade. She was the wife of King Shahriyar of India who, after his first wife betrayed him, began marrying a new wife every day and having them beheaded the next morning. Scheherazade was able to prolong their marriage by telling the king a collection of stories for the Arabian Nights. On the thousandth and one night, he finally loses his desire to kill her. Many of Scheherazade's tales are known around the world, including Aladdin and his magic lamp, Ali Baba and the 40 thieves, Abu Hassan the sleeper, Sinbad the sailor and many others. These tales are filled with witches, genies, flying carpets and winged horses, as well as beautiful princesses, dashing desert riders, camel caravans and heartless kings. Their magic, romance, exotic settings, and strange characters have long contributed to Western perceptions of the Orient as “mysterious.” These stories also had a great influence on the works of Mark Twain who referenced The Arabian Nights on numerous occasions. . This influence can be difficult to assess, but the most important thing is that the tales influenced his own imagination. Tom Sawyer may lack clear allusions to The Arabian Nights, but their spirit is found in the novel's many flights of fancy. By the mid-1860s, Twain was regularly referring to The Thousand Points of the Middle Paper to a much more mature audience who could understand his allusions. This is why The Arabian Nights triumphs over all other Twain influences. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. " Facts On File Online Databases. Np, nd Web. November 3, 2011. " Literary Reference Center - powered by EBSCOhost: The Entertainments of the Arabian Nights. » EBSCO Publishing Service selection page. Np, nd Web. November 5, 2011. Rasmussen, Kent. “The Arabian Nights in the works of Twain. » Bloom's Literary Online Reference. Np, nd Web. November 20, 2011. Sexton, Adam and Hyeondo Park. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 1885. Reprint: Wiley Publishing Inc., 2009. Print.Twain, Mark. by Huckleberry Finn Hartford: American Pub. Co, 1885. Print.Twain, Mark The Innocents Abroad: American Pub..