Speak Bird Speak Again

by Folktales

  "I want three kilograms of roasted watermelon seeds," the son of Worn-out One said to them. They brought him the seeds, and he stayed awake until the ghoul came. The son of Worn-out One saw the ghoul as he entered the sheep pen, and kept himself well-hidden in a comer until the ghoul took a ewe and left. The boy followed, staying behind him until the ghoul reached the mouth of a well with a huge rock blocking it. When he wanted to go in, the ghoul would move the rock aside and drop into the well. The youth heaped stones into a cairn, and put a stake in the middle of it to identify the well. Then, returning to the sheep pen, he fell asleep.

  The father came to check on him in the morning. "What did you see, son?" he asked.

  "I've discovered who's been stealing our sheep," answered the boy. "Call my brothers together, and let's go to his place. I'll show you where it is." The brothers were called, and they all set out with their father until they reached the mouth of the ghoul's well.

  "Let's each give a hand," said the son of Worn-out One, "and with a little effort we can move this rock."

  "What!" exclaimed the father, "Are you crazy?"

  "Just help me turn this rock over, you and your sons," said the boy, "and see what happens!"

  When they moved the rock, they found it covering a dark and deep well whose bottom could not be seen. He who looked down into it became afraid.

  "Which one of you is going to go down into this well?" the father asked the sons of Precious One. Neither of them was willing.

  "I'll go down!" volunteered the son of Worn-out One. [When he got down to the bottom of the well] he discovered three gifts, each of them like the full moon. But the youngest was the most beautiful.

  "Are you human or jinn?" the girls asked.

  "Human."

  "And what made you come down here?" they asked, and he told them his story. Then he asked, "Are you human or jinn?"

  "We're human, by Allah," they replied, "and we were kidnapped from our homes by the ghoul."

  "When does this ghoul come back?" he asked, and they said, "In a little while."

  "I want to hide," he said, and the eldest answered, "You've got no place but the recess in the wall."

  Going to hide into the recess, the youth found a sword above his head.

  "I want to kill the ghoul with this sword," said the boy.

  "Don't strike until you see that his eyes are red," she cautioned. "That's the only way you can be sure he's asleep. If you see him acting any other way, be careful not to strike. He'll be awake, and alert to the slightest movement. Every night he sleeps in one of our laps, and tonight it's the turn of the youngest. Take care not to strike the girl!"

  "I smell a human!" announced the ghoul when he came home.

  "It's you who brought the smell in your wake!" the girls answered. "How could a human being possibly get in here?"

  The ghoul went to sleep in the lap of the youngest one. Looking at him carefully, the boy saw that his eyes were red and realized he was asleep. Immediately, he drew the sword and struck him a blow in the neck.

  "Strike again!" urged the ghoul.

  "My mother didn't teach me how," replied the lad.

  He then called up to his father, "I've killed the ghoul! Let a rope down so we can all get out!" When the rope was lowered, the young man said to the girls, "You go up first." He first let the eldest up, then the middle one. Before he let her up, the youngest, who had two identical bracelets, took off one of them and gave it to him.

  The moment he laid eyes on her, the father was bewitched by her beauty. He lowered the rope to bring his son up, but when the boy was near the mouth of the well the father cut the rope.

  [Landing at the bottom of the well, the son of Worn-out One] searched about and found a cave. He wandered around inside until he came to the end of it, where he found a door. Opening it, he stepped outside, and behold! he was back on the surface of the earth. He walked till he reached the city, where he heard that his father was preparing to marry the youngest of the three girls, but that she was refusing to marry him until he could match her bracelet. Now, the father had been going from one goldsmith to another, but none of them could match the bracelet. Chancing to meet his father at one of the jewelers in town, the boy said, "I'll make another bracelet just like the one you have. Bring me three kilograms of roasted watermelon seeds to crack so I can stay up a couple of nights and make it. Come back and take it in two days."

  "Fine," said the father.

  In two days the father came back. "Here it is," said the boy, "I've finished it," and he gave his father the bracelet the girl had given him in the well. Taking the bracelet, the father went to see the girl.

  "You must show me the one who made it for you," the girl said.

  The father brought the boy, and as soon as she saw him, the girl recognized him.

  "Bring me a sword from our house!" the young man commanded.

  She brought him a sword, and he killed his father and married the girl.

  The bird has flown, and a good evening to all.

  4.

  Swes, Swes!

  Once upon a time there was a man. His mother was always calling down curses upon his head. He strung a hammock for her and put her in it, saying to his wives, "Rock my mother in this hammock, and take very good care of her."

  His wives organized themselves so that one of them was always rocking her while another was doing the work. His mother spent all her time in the hammock, and his wives were always rocking her.

  One day a traveling salesman came by. "What's going on here?" he asked. "Why is this woman always being rocked in the hammock?"

  "Brother," answered the man, "she's always calling down curses upon my head."

  "Is she your mother?"

  "Yes, my mother."

  "What do you want, old woman?" asked the salesman. "Do you want a husband?"

  "Heh! Heh! Heh!" she chuckled.

  "Your mother wants a husband," said the salesman to the son. "I asked her, and she started to chuckle."

  "Fine," said the son to the salesman.

  "Mother," he said to her, "I'm going to find you a husband."

  "May Allah bless you!" she said. For the first time in his life she called down blessings upon his head.

  He gave her nice clothes to wear, put earrings in her ears (she was blind), and said, "Yalla ! Come with me! I'm going to find you a husband."

  He carried her over to the lair of the hyena. Setting her down, he said, "Sit here a while! Your husband will be arriving soon."

  The hyena came and approached her, but she drew away from him, saying, "Swes, swes ! Not so fast! Not so fast! Water has been spilled on the new clothes, and the cat has eaten the candy. Not so fast, lest you break the seed!"

  "Hmmm!" thought the hyena. "This woman's blind and can't see me."

  (She's in even worse shape than I am!)

  Every time the hyena approached her, the woman said, "Water has been spilled on the new clothes, and the cat has eaten the candy. Not so fast! Not so fast! Lest you break the seed."

  Her son sat opposite, watching, until the hyena devoured his mother. Then he left.

  5.

  The Golden Pail

  TELLER: Testify that God is One!

  AUDIENCE: There is no god but God.

  There was in remote times a king who had two wives, a new one who was precious to him and whom he loved, and an old one whom he did not care for. The old one had one son, while the new one had two.

  "Wait till your father has assembled the Council of State," said the new wife to her eldest son one day. "Then go up to him, kiss his hand, and ask him to give you the kingdom."

  Waiting till morning, when all the ministers and dignitaries of state were meeting with his father, the son went up, wished the assembly a good morning, came up to his father, and kissed his hand.

  "What do you want, son?" asked the king.

  "Father," said the boy, "I want the kingdom in your lifeti
me, not after your death."

  "Go work as hard as I did and suffer the same hardships," answered the father. "Then come back, and I'll give you the kingdom."

  The boy went back to his mother, who asked, "What did he say to you?"

  "He said such and such," the boy answered.

  She then sent her other son, who went up the next day, wished all a good morning, came up to his father, kissed his hand, and waited.

  "What do you want, son?" asked the father.

  "I want the kingdom in your lifetime, not after your death," answered the boy.

  "Go work as hard as I did," the father said. "Suffer the same hardships. Then come back and I'll give you the kingdom."

  The boy turned around and went straight back. He and his brother had not achieved anything.

  Meanwhile, the old wife found out what was going on. Calling her son over, she said to him, "Clever Hasan, go up to your father, kiss his hand, and ask him for the kingdom." The boy went up and, finding the divan already full of people, wished everyone a good day and came up to his father. He kissed his father's hand and waited.

  "What do you want, boy?" snapped the father.

  "Father," answered the boy, "I want the kingdom in your lifetime, not after your death."

  Taking hold of him, the father gave him a beating and dismissed him. When he came back to his mother, she said, "What's the matter with you?" He answered, "Such and such happened."

  "Go back up and ask him again," she said.

  The boy went up again, and again his father beat him and threw him out. When he came back down, his mother asked, "What happened to you?" He answered, "Such and such he did to me. He beat me."

  "Go back another time," she said, and he went up for the third time.

  This time the king shot up out of his seat, wanting to kill the boy. He wanted to take hold of him and throw him down the stairs. The ministers and lords of state also jumped up. "What! O Ruler of the Age!" they said. "Just say to him the same words you said to his brothers, and he'll go away. Do you think that this one is going to come and take the kingdom?" They calmed the king down, until finally he said to his son, "Go work as hard as I did and suffer as I suffered. Then come back and I'll give you the kingdom."

  Turning around, the boy went straight to his mother'.

  "What happened, son?" she asked.

  "Such and such he said to me," answered the son. "And if it weren't for the ministers, he would have thrown me down the stairs."

  The following day his mother prepared provisions for a journey and took her son to the outskirts of town, you might say down around the house of Faraj, beyond all the other houses, where there was a slab of stone. Standing on it, she called out, "O Ballan!" and, behold! a horse appeared. It was a jinn horse. She put the food provisions and a waterskin in the saddlebags and said to her son, "Mount!" "Ballan," she said to the horse, "take care of your rider. Farewell!" Then she went home.

  Turning to the west, the horse started moving. They traveled for a day, two, three, four, ten, a month (Allah knows how long!), until they arrived at the seashore. They had been traveling along the shore awhile, when lo! there was a feather. And how it sparkled all by itself! Finding it beautiful, the lad wanted to dismount and pick it up. "By Allah," he said to the horse, "I want to get down and take it up."

  What was the horse's response? "By Allah," he said, "you're going to be sorry if you take it, and sorry if you don't."

  "If I'm going to be sorry either way," replied the boy, "by Allah, I'm going to get down and bring it with me." Dismounting, he picked up the feather and put it in his pocket. He then got back on the horse, and they traveled and traveled until they arrived in a city.

  Where does a stranger go? To the khan. Straight to the caravansary they went, where the boy rented a room for himself and his horse, and stayed.

  That night, as it happened, the king of that place let it be known that it was forbidden for people to light their homes. He wanted to find out who was obedient and who was not. Now, the youth knew of this order, and did not dare light his room. Toward the end of the night, you might say, he pulled the feather out of his pocket and stuck it into the wall. If the teller is not lying, that feather lit up the whole room.

  Just about then the king, in disguise, was conducting a tour of inspection in the city with his minister, to see who was obeying his order and who was not. They went around the entire city, and found it all dark. When they passed by the inn, however, they found one of the rooms lit.

  "Councillor," ordered the king, "manage this for me!"

  "The owner, O Ruler of the Age," replied the vizier, "manages his own property."

  "Put a mark on this place!" ordered the king, and the vizier marked it.

  In the morning the king sent after the young man, and he came.

  "Didn't you know the king had ordered a blackout last night?"

  "Yes, Your Majesty, I did."

  "Well then, why did you put a light on in your room?"

  "My lord, I didn't light my room."

  "But I saw it with my own eyes. So did the vizier."

  "Your Majesty, I didn't light any lamps."

  "What! Are you calling me a liar? Executioner!"

  "Your Majesty, please, wait a moment. I tell you I didn't burn a light in my room, but on the path I found a feather that glows by itself. I hung it up, and it lit the room."

  "What kind of feather is this, that can light up a whole room?"

  "A bird feather, your Majesty."

  "Bring it over, and let me see if you're telling the truth!"

  The lad went and brought the feather. When the king saw it, he fell completely in love with it.

  "How strange, O Ruler of the Age!" exclaimed the vizier. "Could it be that you're so completely taken with a feather? What if you were to see the bird from which this feather came? What would you do?"

  "And who's going to bring this bird?" asked the king.

  "He who brought the feather," answered the vizier, "can also bring the bird."

  "Young man!"

  "Yes."

  "You must bring me the bird from which this feather came. You have two days and a third, and if you don't bring it, I'll have your head."

  "Please, O Ruler of the Age!" the lad begged. "Where can I bring it from? And how am I ever going to find it? This is a feather I found by the seashore while riding my horse. How should I know the bird to whom it belongs?"

  Now the boy went home crying. To whom? To the horse, who, since he was from the jinn, knew what was going on.

  "This one is easy," he said.

  "What do you mean, it's easy?"

  "I tell you," returned the horse, "this is not a difficult task. Go back to the king, and say, 'O King! I want a cage made of silver and gold from the vizier's treasury, and it must be decorated such that no two figures are the same. Otherwise, the task will never be done.'" The horse had understood that the whole idea had come from the vizier.

  Returning to the king, the young man said, "O Ruler of the Age! I must have a cage made of silver and gold from the vizier's own treasury; otherwise, what you requested will never be accomplished." By Allah, having said that, the youth turned around and left.

  The king sent for the vizier, and he came. The king said to him, "You will have a cage made of silver and gold from your own treasury, and no two decorations on it can be the same. Otherwise, I'll have your head!"

  What was the vizier to do? He went and gathered what he had about the house in money and gold, and had the goldsmith make the cage ordered by the king. The lad then came and picked it up.

  "Mount!" said Ballan, and he mounted. The horse flew with him, and kept flying until he landed at the place where he knew the bird would come.

  "Do you see that tree?" the horse asked.

  "Yes."

  "Go climb it, and hang the cage in it. Open its door, and wait. When the bird comes to roost for the night, she'll see the cage an
d will be delighted by it. 'By Allah,' she'll say to herself, 'this cage is suitable to none but me for spending the night.' Meanwhile, wait till she's right in the center of the cage, then come from behind, close the door on her, and bring her down."

  The lad took the cage and hung it in the tree, leaving the door open. Toward sunset, the bird came to roost in the tree. "By Allah," she said when she saw the cage, "this cage is suitable to none but me for spending the night." She went in it to see if there was enough room for her, and our friend (he was not asleep!) quickly shut the door on her and brought the cage down. Returning to the horse, he mounted, and they flew until the horse had brought him back.

  Taking the cage and the bird with him in the morning, the youth went to see the king. "Here, O Ruler of the Age," he said, "is the bird that's the owner of the feather you admired!"

  Well, brothers, the moment the king laid eyes on the bird, he went out of his mind over her. The vizier was there, and wanted to take revenge on the boy. He wished to send him on a task that would be his end.

  "Truly, O Ruler of the Age," he broke in, "you've gone crazy over this bird. What would you do if you were to see its owner?"

  "And who will bring her?" asked the king.

  "He who brought the feather and the bird will bring the owner," responded the vizier.

  The king summoned the youth, and he came.

  "Young man!" said the king.

  "Yes, O Ruler of the Age!"

  "You must bring me the owner of this bird. You have two days and a third, and if you don't bring her, I'll have your head."

  "Please have mercy, O Ruler of the Age!" begged the boy. "This was a bird flying in the wilderness. She isn't owned by anyone, and even if she does have an owner, how am I to find her?"

  The boy went home to the horse, crying. "What's the matter?" asked the horse, and he answered, "Such and such is the problem."

  "Didn't I tell you you'd be sorry if you took that feather and sorry if you didn't?" the horse reminded him. "In any case this is an easy one. Go back to the king and say to him, 'O Ruler of the Age, I must have a boat seven decks high, made of silver and gold from the treasury of the vizier. Otherwise, your request will never be fulfilled.'"