Favorite Folktales From Around the World

by Jane Yolen

  She looked around, and there were whole nations of people petrified, nations upon nations of people. She came to the lark and found that he was standing outside his cage with her brother, a stone, right next to him. The lark kept on saying, “You, Sitt el-Husn, whose father is the king and whose mother is such and such and such and such—”

  She did not say a word. Finally the lark did to her exactly what he had done to her brother. The lark started saying, “Oh, I am tired. Isn’t there somebody who will say to me, ‘Rest!’ Isn’t there somebody—isn’t there somebody—”

  She was more clever than her brother. She did not say a word. Finally the lark entered his cage. Immediately, she closed the door after him and picked him up. At this very moment, as soon as she closed the cage, all the people who were stone came back to life. They went to their homes. Her brother did not recognize her. She was dressed in men’s clothing then. He said to her, “Thank you, brother,” thinking she was a man like himself.

  She answered, “I am your sister. What made you this way? Why did you speak to the lark?”

  He answered, “God’s command.”

  Together they went outside the palace from whence they came. They found the horse, the jinni, in the same place where her brother had left it before. Her brother mounted it, and she mounted behind him, and in the blink of an eye they were back home.

  The lark said, “I want you to give a party for the king. Ask the king to invite all of his ministers, all of his army, all of his people, and ask him not to forget his dog and cat children and also the midwife and his two previous wives.”

  They all came. The king had the dog and the cat all dressed in silk and seated on golden chairs. When everybody was there, the king asked Clever Muhammad, “What is the party for?”

  Clever Muhammad answered, “For this lark.”

  The king wondered. “A party for a bird? It is only a bird.”

  The lark spoke to the king, “Peace be upon you, king.”

  The king was amazed. “And upon you be peace, lark.”

  The lark said, pointing to the cat and the dog, “What is this, king?”

  The king replied, “It is God’s grant, lark. Whatever God grants must be good.”

  The lark said, “Is there a king who would beget dogs and cats, king?”

  The king replied, “It is God’s will, lark.”

  The lark said, “Bring the midwife.”

  They brought her. She came trembling, with her face as blue as indigo. As soon as she saw the children, she immediately shouted, “I didn’t do it! It was their maternal aunts! Their maternal aunts said to me, ‘Give us the children, and we will give you the dog and the cat to put in their place.’ ”

  Now, everyone in the kingdom was there, and everyone heard. The king said to his people, “He who loves the Chosen Prophet should set fire to the midwife and the aunts.” And they burned them. The king restored his wife.

  And they lived in stability and prosperity and begat boys and girls.

  THE MAGIC MIRROR OF RABBI ADAM

  Jewish

  Now Rabbi Adam possessed a magic mirror that had once belonged to King David, which permitted him to see things that took place all over the world, and he made it his task to watch over his fellow Jews in that mirror. One day Rabbi Adam looked into this magic mirror and saw that a Jew in a certain city was in mortal danger, although he had done nothing to deserve the fate that awaited him. When he saw this, Rabbi Adam resolved to do something to help this Jew, and he mounted his horse and pronounced a spell, so that the hooves of the horse flew along the ground without touching it, and before an hour had passed Rabbi Adam had arrived in the city of the Jew who was in danger.

  As soon as he arrived, Rabbi Adam walked through the city, and saw its streets and markets, and they were crowded with man and beast like sand on the seashore. Rabbi Adam spoke to a man in the marketplace and asked, “Why are so many people all crowded together here?” And the man replied, “Throughout the year the city is quiet and subdued. Only for two weeks of the year does it seethe like a boiling pot, and merchants come here from all corners of the land to sell their wares. These days are the market days, and all the townspeople live for an entire year from the earnings of these two weeks.”

  Rabbi Adam came to a tavern, and found there many merchants who were eating and drinking, and among them a Jewish merchant from a nearby city. Rabbi Adam sat down beside him and turned to him and said, “Pay heed, for when four hours have passed you will be killed.” Now the merchant thought that the old man was mad, so he did not even reply to him. He continued to eat delicacies and drink wine, and then he got up and went over to the men with whom he had traveled to the market, and told them what the old man had said. They laughed and told him not to pay attention to the words of a madman, and not to worry, for what he said was surely nonsense.

  An hour later Rabbi Adam returned to the merchant and said, “Know that the hours of life you have left are only three.” The merchant laughed at these words, and again told his friends, and they also laughed.

  When he left the tavern, the merchant returned to the market and arranged his merchandise, and before long the old man appeared before him again and said, “One hour ago I spoke to you and your mouth was filled with laughter. Now there are only two hours left of your life.” And when the merchant heard this, he grew afraid for the first time, and he went to his friends and told them of his fear. They said to him, “Why didn’t you stop him before he left you, for perhaps he is plotting to kill you.” Then the merchant said to them, “When he comes back to me again I will not let him go until he tells me everything, but I am convinced he intends me no harm.”

  One hour passed, and Rabbi Adam came to the merchant and said, “Know that in one hour you will leave this world.” Then the merchant grabbed his arms and shouted, “I will not release you until you tell me who you are, and who it is that is plotting to kill me.” The rabbi replied, “You have spoken truly, for there are those who are plotting to kill you. I have discovered this plot, and I have come here to save you from descending into the grave.” And this time the merchant recognized that what Rabbi Adam said must be the truth, and he grew afraid for his life. Then he said, “If this is the case, tell me what I should do.” And the rabbi said, “Come with me and do everything that I command.” The merchant stood there as rigid as a statue, and then he said, “I am ready to follow you.”

  Rabbi Adam and the merchant walked together until they came to an inn. There Rabbi Adam said to the innkeeper, “How much do you earn a day at the inn?” “Twenty silver shekels a day” was the reply. “If that is so,” said Rabbi Adam, “behold I am giving you twenty silver shekels on the condition that you do not allow anyone else to enter your inn for the rest of the day, neither to eat nor to drink. Nor must you allow any wagon drivers to rest in your courtyard.”

  The innkeeper heeded his words and closed the inn. After this Rabbi Adam turned to the servant of the inn, and requested that a bathtub be brought to the merchant’s room, and that it be filled with water. The servant did as Rabbi Adam asked, and then Rabbi Adam commanded the merchant to climb into the tub. The merchant took off his clothes, and climbed in as he was commanded to do. Then Rabbi Adam took out his magic mirror and told the merchant to look within it and to tell him all that he saw. The merchant stretched out his hand and took the mirror and gazed into it, and a great terror descended upon him, and he was silent. Then Rabbi Adam said, “Did I not tell you to reveal to me all that you have seen? Speak!” After this the merchant said, “I see my wife in the company of a man of my town who is known as a sorcerer. They are sitting together, eating and drinking and hugging and kissing, and on the table is a bow and arrow.”

  Then Rabbi Adam said, “Know that your wife has betrayed you with the evil sorcerer, and even now they are plotting your death. The danger is very great, for the sorcerer has the powers of evil at his command. He is about to shoot an arrow from that bow, and the powers of evil will guide it to you so
that it pierces your heart. And after your death the sorcerer and your wife will marry, and will live together without fear of any man. But with the help of God this evil plan will not succeed. Now look again and tell me what you see in the mirror.”

  The merchant gazed into the mirror again, and said, “Your words are true and correct. Now the sorcerer is making ready to shoot it with his own wicked hands.”

  Rabbi Adam then said to him, “Do not be afraid or let your heart be faint, for now there is no turning back. Watch carefully what he does, and when you see that he is about to shoot the arrow, then put your head under the water at once. For you must hold your breath and remain submerged until the arrow has passed by you and gone astray. Afterward I will signal for you to lift your head out of the water and sit up.” And this is what the merchant did, and a few seconds after he was submerged in the water, a sound was heard in the room like the hissing of an arrow, and when Rabbi Adam signaled him, the merchant lifted his head out of the water. Then Rabbi Adam had him look into the mirror once more, and asked him what he saw, and the merchant replied, “I see my wife and she is in a black mood, and the spirit of the sorcerer is raging within him.”

  Then Rabbi Adam said, “Good! Now continue to watch closely, and if he sends forth another arrow, do as you did the first time.” And when the merchant saw the sorcerer readying the arrow to be shot, he immersed himself fully in the water, and again saved his life.

  After this Rabbi Adam said to him, “Look once more into the looking glass, and tell me what you see.” And the merchant gazed into the mirror, and saw that his wife was unhappy and that the sorcerer’s anger had become like a sea that could not be calmed. He reported this to Rabbi Adam, who said to him, “Look directly at him in the mirror, and if you see that he is going to attempt this evil deed a third time, do as I commanded you at first, but this time while you are submerged extend the little finger of your right hand out of the water.”

  Once more the merchant looked into the mirror of Rabbi Adam, and once more he saw the sorcerer take up the bow and arrow. Then he immersed himself in the water, but left the tip of his little finger exposed, just as Rabbi Adam had commanded. And as he was holding his breath under water he felt a sharp pain in his finger, and his hand fell back into the water. After this he lifted up his head, and the rabbi gave him the mirror to look into again. Gazing into the mirror, the merchant said, “Now I see that the sorcerer and my wife are rejoicing.” And Rabbi Adam said, “That is because they have been deceived into thinking that they have succeeded in killing you, for your little finger stopped the enchanted arrow, and did not permit it to pass through the inn as it did the first two times. Now you can come out of the tub and put on your clothes. So far you have been saved, but danger still hovers over your head. Still, do not be afraid, just do as I tell you to do and your life will be saved.” And the merchant left the tub and got dressed, as the rabbi had directed.

  The next day the merchant intended to return to his own city, for the market days had ended. But Rabbi Adam said to him, “You may return to your city, but when you get there do not go to your own house. Go instead to that of relatives, and dwell there in secret. After three weeks have passed go forth from that house and go the market. Remain there until the sorcerer sees you. Go up to him and greet him and reply truthfully to any questions that he may ask. Do not hesitate to tell him about me, and if he wants to know where I can be found, tell him that I am willing to stand in his presence to test whose powers are stronger. He will surely not decline this challenge, for he is confident of his powers. Then fix a place and time, and I will meet him there.”

  The merchant did as Rabbi Adam had commanded. He traveled to his home town, but when he arrived there he dwelt in secret in the house of a relative. When three weeks had passed he left the house and walked to the market in the center of town. Before he had been there very long he saw the sorcerer, who turned pale when he saw him, and approached the merchant and said, “It was said in town that you had gone to the grave.” The merchant replied, “I was saved from an early grave.” “Who saved you?” asked the sorcerer. “A fellow Jew saved me from the hands of those who sought to slay me.” Then the sorcerer said, “Who is this man?” “A holy man, whose name is Rabbi Adam,” said the merchant. Then the eyes of the sorcerer grew narrow, and he hissed, “If you do not bring this man before me, you are a dead man.” And even though the evil sorcerer had revealed himself, the merchant remained calm and said, “Fix a time and a place, and I will send for him. You can be certain that he will meet you there.” So it was that a meeting of the sorcerer and Rabbi Adam was set to take place in the sorcerer’s home.

  Now the evil sorcerer was so confident that he could defeat Rabbi Adam with his powers that he invited all the nobles of that province to witness the contest. And when the appointed hour had arrived, Rabbi Adam came there accompanied by the merchant, and they found many nobles in the house, who were eating and drinking at the sorcerer’s table. One drunken noble said to Rabbi Adam, “Perform wonders for us, show us your powers!” And Rabbi Adam said, “I do not perform wonders, but I put my faith and trust in the Lord, whose powers have never failed me.”

  The nobles, who were not fond of Jews in the first place, did not like this reply. And they urged the sorcerer to begin the contest at once. The sorcerer complied by bringing out an empty bowl, into which he poured water. Then he passed his staff over it, and the water in the bowl vanished. The nobles gasped when they saw this, and the sorcerer passed the bowl around among them, so that they could confirm it was empty. Then, when they gave it back to him, the sorcerer passed his staff over it in the other direction, and the water reappeared, much to the amazement of the nobles.

  Then the sorcerer, looking very smug, asked Rabbi Adam to perform the same feat. “Gladly,” said Rabbi Adam. He stepped forward and passed his hand over the bowl of water, and again all the water disappeared. Then he passed the bowl around among the nobles, as the sorcerer had done, and when they saw that it was empty and returned it to him, he passed his hand over it in the other direction and it was filled again. But this time it was filled not with water, but with wine! The nobles were even more amazed at this, and the face of the sorcerer was pale with anger.

  Then the sorcerer took down a cage in which he kept a dove. He opened the cage and took out the bird. Then he placed it on the table and passed his staff over it. All at once the dove collapsed, and lay there stiff and dead. Then the sorcerer passed his staff over it in the other direction, and the dove came back to life, flapping its wings. The nobles applauded when they saw this, and all were certain that Rabbi Adam could not duplicate this feat.

  Then Rabbi Adam took his place before the dove, and passed his hand over it. Immediately the dove dropped to the table with a thump, its feet in the air. The nobles examined it and all agreed that it was surely dead. Then Rabbi Adam passed his hand over it in the other direction, and the wings of the dove began to flap, and it flew around the room. After this it landed on the table and, to the amazement of all, laid an egg. And only a moment later the egg broke open and a small fledgling inside it stretched its wings. And when the evil sorcerer saw this, a look of terrible hatred crossed his face. Then he said, “I am ready to perform one more wonder, which I am quite certain the Jewish magician cannot duplicate. But I must ask that he leave the room as I perform it, so that he does not overhear the spell that I pronounce.”

  Rabbi Adam departed from the room, and the sorcerer faced the nobles, his staff in his hand. He held his staff upright on the floor and pronounced a spell over it, and lo, the staff began to blossom and branch, and before long it produced green leaves and apples on the ends of the branches, which quickly grew ripe. The nobles were astonished at this wonder, and they applauded the sorcerer’s accomplishment. Then the sorcerer bowed to the nobles and called Rabbi Adam into the room. And when he came in there, the sorcerer said, “Observe this tree and its delightful fruit. Now let us see how great is your power, and if you can caus
e the tree to wither, and become a staff once more.” Then Rabbi Adam turned to the nobles and said, “Since the master of the house commanded me to leave the room when he performed this wonder, I request that he also depart the room at this time.” The nobles agreed that this was only proper, and they asked the sorcerer to leave the room until they called on him to return.

  After the sorcerer left, Rabbi Adam walked around and around the tree, all the time remarking, “How good are these apples and how pleasant this tree!” As he was circling the tree, seven times in all, his eyes were fixed on an apple at the top of the tree which was exceptionally red, a delight to the eyes. He turned to the chief noble among them and said, “Honored sir, would you be so kind as to cut off this very red apple at the top of the tree?” The nobleman agreed to do this, took a knife, and cut off the desired apple and gave it to Rabbi Adam. And no sooner did he do this than the apples left on the tree began to wither, the leaves fell off, the branches withdrew, and the trunk withered until it was the staff that the sorcerer had begun with. All that remained was the apple in Rabbi Adam’s hand, which had remained as ripe as ever.

  After this Rabbi Adam commanded that the sorcerer be brought back into the room. One of the nobles went out to get him, and behold, he found the body of the sorcerer in one corner of the room, and his head in another. The nobles were greatly shocked at this turn of events, and they asked Rabbi Adam to explain. He said, “Whoever undertakes to perform magic puts his life at risk, for every wonder created contains one weakness, which can be the undoing of the person who has cast the spell. And in this case it was the apple at the top of the tree that was the one weakness.”