Speak Bird Speak Again

by Folktales

"Get back!" he said. "You don't know what her sin is. Better stay out of the way? He kept beating his wife until he had broken the whole bundle.

  "You poor woman!" exclaimed the old lady when the man had stopped. "What's your sin, you sad one?"

  "By Allah," replied the wife, "I've done nothing, and it hadn't even occurred to me. He says it's because I can't get pregnant and have children."

  "Is that all?" asked the old woman. "This one's easy. Listen, and let me tell you. Tomorrow, when he comes to beat you, tell him you're pregnant."

  The next day, as usual, the husband came home, bringing with him the needed household goods and a bundle of sticks. After dinner, he came to beat his wife, but he had not hit her with the first stick when she cried out, "Hold your hand! I'm pregnant!"

  "Is it true?"

  "Yes, by Allah!"

  From that day on, he stopped beating her. She was pampered, her husband not letting her get up to do any of the housework. Whatever she desired was brought to her side.

  Every day after that the wife came to the old woman and said, "What am I going to do, grandmother? What if he should find out?"

  "No matter," the old woman would answer. "Sleep easy. The burning coals of evening turn to ashes in the morning." Daily the old woman stuffed the wife's belly with rags to make it look bigger and said, "Just keep on telling him you're pregnant, and leave it to me. The evening's embers are the morning's ashes."

  Now, this man happened to be the sultan, and people heard what was said: "The sultan's wife is pregnant! The sultans wife is pregnant!" When her time to deliver had come, the wife went to the baker and said, "I want you to bake me a doll in the shape of a baby boy."

  "All fight," he agreed, and baked her a doll which she wrapped and brought home without her husband seeing her. Then people said, "The sultan's wife is in labor, she's ready to deliver." The old woman came forth. "Back in my country, I'm a midwife," she said. "She got pregnant as a result of my efforts, and I should be the one to deliver her. I don't want anyone but me to be around."

  "Fine," people agreed. In a while, word went out: "She gave birth! She gave birth!"

  "And what did she give birth to?"

  "She gave birth to a boy."

  Wrapping the doll up, the wife placed it in the crib. People were saying, "She gave birth to a boy!" They went up to the sultan and said she

  had given birth to a boy. The crier made his rounds, announcing to the townspeople that it was forbidden to eat or drink except at the sultan's house for the next week.

  Now, the old woman made it known that no one was permitted to see the baby until seven days had passed. On the seventh day it was announced that the sultans wife and the baby were going to the public baths. Meanwhile, every day the wife asked the old woman, "What am I going to do, grandmother? What if my husband should find out?" And the old woman would reply, "Rest easy, my dear! The evening's coals are the morning's ashes."

  On the seventh day the baths were reserved for the sultan's wife. Taking fresh clothes with them, the women went, accompanied by a servant. The sultan's wife went into the bath, and the women set the servant in front of the doll, saying to her, "Take care of the boy! Watch out that some dog doesn't stray in and snatch him away!"

  In a while the servant's attention wandered, and a dog came, grabbed the doll, and ran away with it. After him ran the servant, shouting, "Shame on you! Leave the son of my master alone!" But the dog just kept running, munching on the doll.

  It is said that there was a man in that city who was suffering from extreme depression. He had been that way for seven years, and no one could cure him. Now, the moment he saw a dog running with a servant fast behind him shouting, "Leave the son of my master alone!" he started to laugh. And he laughed and laughed till his heartsickness melted away and he was well again. Rushing out, he asked her, "What's your story? I see you running behind a dog who has snatched away a doll, and you're shouting at him to leave the son of your master alone. What's going on?"

  "Such and such is the story," she answered.

  This man had a sister who had just given birth to twin boys seven days before. Sending for her, he said, "Sister, won't you put one of your boys at my disposal?"

  "Yes," she said, giving him one of her babies.

  The sultans wife took him and went home. People came to congratulate her. How happy she was!

  After some time the old woman said, "You know, grandchildren, I think my dough must have risen, and I want to go home and bake the bread."

  "Why don't you stay?" they begged her. "You brought blessings with you." I don't know what else they said, but she answered, "No. The land is longing for its people. I want to go home."

  They put her on a boat, filling it with gifts, and said, "Go in Allah's safekeeping!"

  When she came home, she put her gifts away and rested for a day or two. Then she checked her dough. "Yee, by Allah!" she exclaimed. "My dough hasn't risen yet. I'm going to the seashore for a good time." At the shore she sat for a while, and lo! there was a boat.

  "Where are you going, uncle?"

  "By Allah, we're going to Aleppo," they answered.

  "Take me with you."

  "Leave me alone, old woman. The boat's full and there's no room."

  "If you don't take me with you, may your boat get stuck and sink in the sea!"

  They set out, but in a while the boat was about to sink. They returned and called the old lady over, taking her with them. Being a stranger, where was she to go? She sat down by a wall, with people coming and going until late in the evening. After everybody had gone home for the night, a man passed by.

  "What are you doing here?"

  "By Allah, I'm a stranger in town. I don't know anyone, and here I am, sitting by this wall."

  "Is it right you should be sitting here in the street? Come, get up and go home with me."

  Getting up, she went with him. Again, there was only he and his wife. They had no children or anybody else. They ate and enjoyed themselves, and everything was fine, but when time came for sleep he fetched a bundle of sticks and beat his wife until he had broken the sticks on her sides. The second day the same thing happened. On the third day the old woman said, "By Allah, I want to find out why this man beats his wife like this." She asked her, and the wife replied, "By Allah, there's nothing the matter with me, except that once my husband brought home a bunch of black grapes. I put them on a bone-white platter and brought them in. 'Yee!' I said, 'How beautiful is the black on the white!' Then he sprang up and said, 'So! May so-and-so of yours be damned! You've been keeping a black slave for a lover behind my back!' I protested that I had only meant the grapes, but he wouldn't believe me. Every day he brings a bundle of sticks and beats me."

  "I'll save you," said the old woman. "Go buy some black grapes and put them on a bone-white platter."

  In the evening, after he had had his dinner, the wife brought the grapes and served them. The old woman then jumped in and said, "Yee! You see, son. By Allah, there's nothing more beautiful than the black on the white!"

  "So!" he exclaimed, shaking his head. "It's not only my wife who says this! You're an old lady and say the same thing. It turns out my wife hasn't done anything, and I've been treating her like this!"

  "Don't tell me you've been beating her just for that!" exclaimed the old woman. "What! Have you lost your mind? Look here! Don't you see how beautiful are these black grapes on this white plate?"

  It is said they became good friends, and the husband stopped beating his wife. Having stayed with them a few more months, the old woman said, "The land has been longing for its people. Maybe my dough has risen by now. I want to go home."

  "Stay, old lady!" they said. "You brought us blessings."

  "No," she answered. "I want to go home."

  They prepared a boat for her and filled it with food and other provisions. She gathered herself together and went home. There, in her own house, after she had sat down, rested, and
put her things away, she checked the dough. "By Allah," she said, "it has just begun to rise, and I might as well take it to the baker," She took it to the baker, who baked her bread.

  This is my. tale, I've told it, and in your hands I leave it.

  25.

  The Golden Rod in the Valley of Vermilion

  Once, long ago, there was a merchant. An important merchant. Every Friday the wives of the other merchants came to visit his wife, and they would go out to take the air, enjoying themselves at the public baths and then returning home. Days went and nights came. One day the wives of the merchants came calling on her, and she went out with them. One of them happened to be wearing a beautiful black velvet dress, and the wife of the big merchant liked it very much. Home she went, and how angry she was! Who was that wearing such a dress but the wife of a merchant lesser than her husband, while she herself didn't have one? When her husband came home, he found her scowling.

  "What's the matter, dear wife?"

  "How could it be that the wife of Merchant So-and-So should wear a dress like that while I go without?"

  "Well," he answered, "is it such a big matter?"

  He went and cut for her a piece of cloth from the same material, and she had it made into a dress and wore it. She stood in front of the mirror. Now, she was a good-looking woman with fair skin, and the dress was black. She thought she was very beautiful. What did she say?

  "Oh! How beautiful is the black on the white? she exclaimed.

  "What? said her husband. "You so and so! You've taken the black slave for a lover behind my back!"

  "No, husband, no!" she answered. "I only meant my black dress." "

  I don't believe you. You're in love with the black man."

  O black, O white! she tried to reason with him, but it was no use. Taking hold of her, he started beating her. Then he tied her up by her hair to a hook hanging from the ceiling, and every day after that he would bring a bundle of sticks, beat her until he had broken them all on her sides, and then hang her back up.

  On Friday, at the appointed hour, the wives of the merchants came to visit her. Entering, they called to her, and her servant came out to receive them. "She's bathing," said the servant. "Wait awhile." Later she said, "She's getting dressed, she's putting on makeup, she's decorating her eyelids with kohl" - and so on.

  "But the day's nearly gone!" they murmured. "Let's go in and see what's going on." Her servant started to cry, but she let them in, and behold! their friend was hanging from the ceiling. Untying her, they sat her down. "What happened?" they asked. "What's the story?"

  "Such and such is what happened," she said, relating her story.

  Now, every day, while her husband was beating her, he would ask, "Is there anyone richer than me?"

  "No."

  "Is there anyone handsomer than me?"

  "No."

  "Is there anyone more manly than me?"

  "No."

  Whatever he asked, she always answered, "No." When she told her friends that her husband asked her these questions every day, one of them - a sly one - said, "Why don't you say to him, Yes, there is,' and if he asks who, tell him, 'The Golden Rod in the Valley of Vermilion.' He'll go looking and will be away a month or two. Meanwhile, you'll take a rest from all this beating until he comes back. And when he does come back, Allah will take care of it." Tying her up again, they left.

  When he came home in the evening, he set about beating her.

  "Is there anyone richer than me? More handsome than me?"

  "Yes, there is."

  "Who?"

  "The Golden Rod in the Valley of Vermilion."

  "By Allah," he swore, leaving her untied, "I'm going to have to go look for him. If I really do find him, then Allah will have forgiven you; but if I don't find him richer, handsomer, and more manly than me, may the Lord help you!"

  Leaving her, he turned around and headed straight out. He traveled the first day, the second, and the third. Then on his way he was surprised to see a creature on the road. She was half bitch and half human. He asked her about the Golden Rod and she said, "Straight ahead!" Moving on, he met another creature, half fish and half human. He asked her, and she too said, "Straight ahead!" He went on until he reached a city, where he asked and people gave him directions. When he had got the directions, he went to the Golden Rod's house.

  "Welcome! Welcome!" the Golden Rod received the merchant. "So, you've finally come!"

  "Yes, I've come."

  "You've accused your wife falsely," he said. "Your wife didn't do anything wrong. She did in fact have her dress in mind, but you accused her of [loving] the black slave and have come here to see if there's anyone richer, handsomer, or more manly than you. Isn't it so? Well, listen and let me tell you my story."

  "Tell it to me," said the merchant.

  "Allah knows," began the Golden Rod, "I too was once a married man. The first wife I had was my cousin. She used to bring me a cup every evening, and after I drank it I would roll over, not feeling a thing. 'By Allah,' I said to myself one day, 'this cup she gives me - I'm going to dump it down my collar and turn over as if drunk, then I'll see what she's up to.'

  "She brought me the cup, and I did like this, spilling it down my neck, then I rolled over. No sooner did she see me in that condition than she went straight to the kitchen, ladled food onto a platter, and carried it, along with a pitcher full of water and a lantern, out of the house.

  "I followed her, keeping well behind. By Allah, I followed her, and she kept moving till she reached a cave. She went into the cave, and lo! there was a black slave. No sooner did she go in than he set to abusing her. 'Damn your father and your mother!' he cursed. 'You've taken so long, I'm nearly dying from hunger.'

  "'Well, I had to wait until I'd put him to sleep, until I'd finished my house work ...'

  "So, she served him the food and he ate. When he had finished eating and drinking, she asked, 'What do you have for me to eat and drink?' He said there was a scrap of moldy bread and a bit of wormy smoked fish. She took them and ate, and then she embraced him and slept by his side. I stayed outside till they had gone to sleep. When they were fast asleep, I came in to them, cut off his nose, wrapped it in a handkerchief, and left. Waking up, she nudged him like this and found him dead. She rent her dress, beat her breast, and then headed home. Waiting until she had gone ahead, I followed her, keeping well behind, but when we were close to home I struck out on a different path and got here ahead of her. I went back to bed and pretended to be fast asleep, just as I was before she went out. She came in, made her bed, wrapped a bandage around her head and fell asleep. When I woke up in the morning, I saw that she had bandaged her head.

  "'What's the matter, dear wife?' I asked.

  "'I just got news my cousin's dead,' she answered.

  "'And how long are you going to mourn for him?'

  "'A whole year,' she said.

  "'No!' I objected. 'Four months will be enough.'

  "She mourned four months," continued the Golden Rod, "and when she came out of mourning she said she wanted to go to the baths. I brought her a bouquet of flowers, perfumes, and toilet articles. You should have seen the basket! It was full to the brim, except that I had put her cousin's nose among the articles. Taking the basket with her, she went to the baths, bathed, and came back home. She stood in front of the mirror to put on makeup and adorn herself, and, as she was searching among the things in the basket, her lover's nose came into her hand. She sprang up in anger, wanting to tear me to pieces.

  "'Stop where you are!' I commanded. 'Let half of you stay human, and the other half turn bitch!'

  "Tell me, merchant, did she or didn't she meet you on the way? And your poor wife who had meant only her new dress - what wrong did she do?

  "Now," continued the Golden Rod, "having put a spell on her, I left her to guard such and such a place. Then I asked for the hand of my other cousin and married her. Before long she, too, started to do the s
ame thing as the other one. One day I spilled the cup and pretended to be drunk, while she went straight to the kitchen, ladled the food, and headed out. I followed her from a distance, and she too came to a cave, where a black slave shouted at her the same things. Then they ate, embraced, and slept. Waiting until they were fast asleep, I went in to them and cut out his tongue. He died. When she came to bid him good-bye, she found him dead. She beat her breast until she had had enough; then, pulling herself together, she left. No sooner did she leave than I followed, taking a different path when we were close to home. Having gotten there before her, I went to sleep. In the morning she had a bandage around her head.

  "'What's the matter, dear wife?'

  "'By Allah, I just got news my cousin's dead.'

  "'How long are you going to mourn for him?'

  "'I want to mourn six months,' she said.

  "'No,' I said. 'Four's enough.'

  "Four months she mourned, and when her mourning was over I brought her a bouquet like the other one and all the other things, putting them in a basket, her cousin's tongue among them. She went to the baths, and when she came home she stood in front of the mirror to beautify herself, and her cousin's tongue came into her hand. She rushed at me, screaming and wanting to tear me up.

  "'Stop where you are!' I commanded. 'Half of you is human, let the other half turn fish!'

  "I left her under a spell in such and such a place. Tell me, did she or didn't she meet you on the way?"

  "Yes," the merchant answered. "She did."

  "And your wife," asked the Golden Rod, "whose mind was only on her dress, what did she do?

  "Anyway," he continued, "I asked for the hand of my third cousin and married her. Before long she, too, started to behave like the others. I did the same thing, spilling the cup down my collar and rolling over. When she saw me in that condition, she opened the wardrobe and took out a copy of the Qur'an. Putting it under her arm, she took a candle with her and set out. I followed, walking behind her. She walked till she was out of the city and had come to the seashore.