Speak Bird Speak Again (15 page)

"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 and 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.'"

The
lad returned to the king and asked for the boat. Sending after the
vizier, the king said, "You will have a boat seven decks high
made of silver and gold from your own treasury, with no two figures
in its decoration the same. Quite a sight this boat will be, eh, my
vizier?"

Where
was the vizier to go, and what was he to do? He gathered a bit of
this and sold a bit of that, putting money in one account and taking
it out of another, until the boat was made. When it was finished, the
king sent for the boy.

The
horse spoke with the boy, teaching him what to do. "Now board
this boat," he said, "and sail until you reach the port,
where there will be a city. Anchor the boat there and call out, 'Hey
people! Free showing!'

You'll
wait the whole day, but the king's daughter won't show up. The second
day she'll hear about your boat and will come. But when she does
come, how will you recognize her? When she approaches from the
distance, you'll see two servantgirls guarding her, one on each side.
As she gets closer, she will have the people of the city cleared out
of her path. That's how you'll recognize that she's the daughter of
the king. At that moment, stop people from coming on the boat. Say to
them, 'O uncles, I'm not charging you admission and yet you're
damaging the boat. You can't come on to this boat except one at a
time!' Wait until she comes aboard and becomes absorbed in looking at
the decorations on this deck or that, then weigh anchor, start
moving, and bring her with you." The horse taught him what to
do.

The
youth boarded his ship and sailed until he reached the port. He
dropped anchor on the edge of town and started calling out, "Free
showing!" And what do you think happened, my dears? Here was
this boat, decorated in silver and gold with no two designs alike.
People came running to see it.

The
first day no one fitting the horse's description showed up. The
second day, however, one of the servantgirls happened to be on her
way to the oven to bake bread. She had just placed her loaves in the
oven and sat down when she saw people rushing over to take a look at
the boat. Leaving her loaves, she went along and became absorbed.
When she returned, she found the bread burned. She took it to her
mistress, who commenced beating her.

"Please,
mistress, have patience! Wait and let me tell you what happened."

"Yes.
Tell me."

"There
is a boat in the harbor," related the slavegirl, "and each
of its decorations is different from the others. People have been
looking at it free for the past two days."

The
king's daughter put on the robe of anger and sat around the house,
scowling. When her father came in, he asked, "What's the matter,
dear daughter? Who has angered you? Did someone say something to
you?"

"Of
course I'm angry," she retorted. "There's a gold-and-silver
boat in town, people have been seeing it free, and you don't even
tell me to go have a look!"

"Well,
daughter," returned the father, "is it that serious? Why
don't you go ahead and have a look."

She
went, my dears, and dressed for going out, taking a lot of care with
her appearance. You should have seen the king's daughter then! With
her two servants by her side, she came, and when people saw her
coming they scattered out of her path.

The
youth recognized her. "O uncles!" he announced. "You
can't be on this boat except one at a time. You're tearing it apart,
and I'm not even charging you admission."

When
the king's daughter arrived, she wanted to go on board with her
servantgirls, but he said to them, "One at a time." Of
course, no one can go before the king's daughter, so into the boat
she went and started looking around. The lad waited until she was
engrossed, then weighed anchor and started for home. By the time she
was aware of herself again, they were halfway across the sea.

"Please!
Young man!" she pleaded.

"Don't
waste your breath!"

"O
so and so! O son of the people!"

"It's
no use," he answered.

Removing
a ring from her finger, she dropped it into the water. Meanwhile, he
sailed and sailed until he reached the city, where he moored his boat
and took the girl straight to the king.

"O
Ruler of the Age," he said, "this is the owner of the
bird."

Eh!
The king, when he saw her, went out of his mind over her. Taking her
with him, he led her into a palace. It was her own palace, which he
had given to her, but no sooner did she enter than she bolted the
door behind her. He wanted to go in and visit with her, but she would
not open for him.

"Not
for you," she declared, "or even someone above you, will I
open this door. I swear by my father's head, and by Him who gave my
father

the
power over other people's heads, I won't open unless my ring were to
come back from the bottom of the sea!"

"What!"
exclaimed the king. "Who could bring your ring back from the
bottom of the sea?"

"O
Ruler of the, Age," the vizier jumped in, "he who brought
the bird and brought her can also bring the ring."

Sending
after the youth, the king said to him, "You must bring the ring
back from the bottom of the sea."

"O
Ruler of the Age," the boy asked, "how can I possibly
recover a ring that has fallen into the sea?"

"You
have two days and a third," the king insisted. "Otherwise,
I'll cut off your head."

The
boy went home to the horse, in tears.

"What's
the matter?"

"I
must bring back the ring she has thrown into the sea."

"Didn't
I tell you you'd be sorry if you took that feather, and sorry if you
didn't?" the horse asked. "In any case, this one is easy.
Go speak to the king. Say to him, 'I must have a boat full of flour
from the treasury of the vizier. Otherwise, what you want will never
come to pass.'"

The
lad returned to the king, who sent after the minister and said, "You
will have a boat made, and will fill it with flour."

The
minister had the boat made, and filled it with flour. They sent for
the boy, and the horse gave him instructions. He said, "Sail
this boat until you reach the place where she tossed her ring
overboard. There, halt and drop anchor, and throw all the flour
you're carrying into the water. All the fish in the area will come to
eat until they're full. The head fish will then come up and ask, 'Who
has done us this favor? We'd like to reward him.' Ask for the ring,
and they will fetch it for you."

The
lad boarded the boat, and headed for the place where the king's
daughter had dropped her ring and stopped. He threw the flour
overboard, and when the fish had eaten their fill, their chief
appeared. "Who was it that did us this favor?" he asked.
"We'd like to reward him."

"By
Allah, it was I," answered the lad.

"What
would you like?"

"A
ring fell from my hand."

Going
back down and searching for it, the head fish found the ring in the
mouth of another fish. He brought it up and gave it to the lad, who
turned around and set sail for home. When he arrived he went to see
the king.

"Open
up!" said the king to the girl. "Here's your ring! Take it
back!"

Reaching
out her hand, she took the ring and bolted the door again.

"O
so and so!" the king called out. "O daughter of the
people!"

"By
Allah," she answered, "I'm not opening this door unless I
get my horse."

"And
who will bring your horse?"

"O
Ruler of the Age," the vizier said, "he who brought her and
brought the ring from the depths of the sea can also bring the
horse."

The
king sent for the young man, and when he came, said to him, "You
must bring her horse, wherever he is, or else I'll cut off your
head."

"Please,
O Ruler of the Age!" he begged. "How can I go back to her
country? Her father will kill me. And where am I to find her horse?"

"I
don't know," the king answered.

The
boy went home to the horse. Tears had filled his eyes.