Speak Bird, Speak Again Part 5

The horse had meanwhile gotten hold of the boy and said to him, "Take off your clothes and rub yourself with the water from the pail until your body is all wet. Then go up to the top of the pile, stand in the middle of the fire, and tell them to throw more wood into it. Don't be afraid!"

The lad did as the horse had advised him, mounting to the top of the woodpile. They started the fire, and the flames engulfed him till he was no longer visible. Turning the logs over, the lad called out to the king, "Bring, O King, bring more wood and add to the fire! This is the reward for good deeds! Bring more wood!"

The king then asked the boy to come down from the fire. He did, and behold! he was completely unharmed.

"Where are you from, my lad?" asked the king.

"I'm from such and such a city," answered the young man. "I'm the son of King So and So."

The king rushed up to the boy, hugged him, and started kissing him. "You're the son of my brother," he exclaimed, "and I'm doing this to you!" Taking hold of the vizier, he pushed him into the fire. Then, dear brothers, he gave the lad the girl for a bride. He also gave him the horse, the bird, the boat, the pail, and everything else, and they rode out together. They were on their way to the king who was the father of the boy.

This king was sitting at home, and what did he see but a troop of hors.e.m.e.n approaching from afar. Thinking he was being attacked, he alerted his army, and they got themselves ready and mounted their horses. The king sent a scout to discover what was going on. The scout rode out, and found it was the king's own brother, come to pay him a visit. When the king heard this news, how happy he was! He went out to meet his brother in person, and found his own son with him.

When they had gone inside, the king's brother related to him the story of his son and what had happened to him. At that moment, in the presence of his brother, the king stepped down and handed his kingdom over to his son, who accepted it from his father and was content.

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

Afterword.

The five tales brought together here are concerned with the different aspects of the relations.h.i.+p between parents and children, touching on the theme of individual freedom, which will recur in many of the tales that follow. The first tale focuses on the relations.h.i.+p between mother and daughter, the second and fourth on that between mother and son, and the third and fifth on that between father and son.

The opening episode of the first tale, itself a recurring motif in the corpus, demonstrates the importance of having children (a major theme in the culture), and subsequent events in the tale demonstrate the economic value children have for the family. It is significant that the woman in "Tunjur, Tunjur," as in nearly all the other tales in which a similar wish is made, should ask for a daughter rather than a son. But in addition to the emotional bonds that hold mother and daughter together, an economic motive is operating in the tale as well. The mother's initial wish is not only for a daughter but also for a source of income, and her willingness to let her daughter out of the house is conditioned by her poverty. The daughter, for her part, does not want to remain "on the shelf," which is considered the proper place for a woman - well scrubbed and beautiful, but out of sight. She wants to go out and see the world.

Yet this urge for freedom is fraught with danger to the family honor. A kind of inevitable logic is evident in all the tales: whenever a girl is allowed out of the house or left on her own, trouble follows. This point emerges clearly from the fifth tale in the group (and from following tales as well), where the father's indulgence of the princess's whims leads to her abduction by the hero. In "Tunjur, Tunjur," in contrast, the theme of individual freedom is intertwined with that of economic necessity. Tunjur's adventures, which by the standards of the community are morally ambiguous, are forgiven by her mother; the daughter would not have been able to get away so easily if there had been any males in the family. Perhaps because of these constraints on the freedom of women, the daughters in both tales must rely on a ruse to achieve their aim of getting out of the house.

The second and fourth tales present a different aspect of the child/parent conflict; the focus here is on s.e.xual jealousy, a taboo subject in the family circle. In the second tale, "The Woman Who Married Her Son," the conflict arises from the son's need to switch roles - he must cease to be his mother's son and establish himself as his wife's husband and the head of his family. In the situation of the patrilocal extended family, when a son marries, both mother and daughter-in-law have difficulties. The mother's possessiveness in the tale, her need to keep her son under her control, drives her to throw the wife out of the house so that she can be both mother and wife to her own son. In the fourth tale, in contrast, the mother wishes to break free of her role, which confines her to being a pa.s.sive recipient of her sons attention. In addition to being a mother, she also wants to marry again and become a wife.

The third and fifth tales are concerned with the relations.h.i.+p of fathers and sons. Both ill.u.s.trate the sons struggle to achieve independence by challenging the authority of the father. In the third tale, "Precious One and Worn-out One," the father is shown as being a deceitful tyrant who resents the sons courage and independence and attempts to compete with him s.e.xually. By overcoming the father, the son succeeds in demonstrating his maturity and achieving independence. Similarly, in the fifth tale, "The Golden Pail," the son proves himself worthy of inheriting his father's kingdom by meeting his uncle's challenge. Here the co-wives also compete, wis.h.i.+ng their respective children to inherit the throne. In particular, it is the rejected co-wife who urges her son to challenge the father and who provides him with the means to achieve success, thereby vindicating her position in the family. In a polygynous situation, the struggle over inheritance starts very early in the marriage; indeed, often the main worry of a first wife and her children is to prevent the father from marrying again because of concern over inheritance. Although the stake in the last tale is the entire kingdom, the struggle over a family's small piece of land could be just as intense.

SIBLINGS.

Half-a-Halfling

TELLER: Allah has spoken and His word is a blessing!

AUDIENCE: Blessings abound, Allah willing!

Once upon a time there was a man who was married to two women. One of them was his first cousin and the other was a stranger, and neither of them could get pregnant.

"I'm going to visit the sheikh," he said to himself one day, "and maybe for the sake of Allah he'll give me some medicine to make these women conceive." He went to the sheikh and said, "I want you to give me a medicine that'll make my wives get pregnant."

"Go to such and such a mountain," the sheikh advised, "and there you'll find a ghoul. Say to him, 'I want two pomegranates to feed my wives so they can get pregnant,' and see what he says to you."

The man went forth, and came upon the ghoul, He approached him immediately, shaved his beard, trimmed his eyebrows, and said, "Peace to you!"

"And to you, peace!" replied the ghoul. "Had not your salaam come before your request, I would've munched your bones so loud my brother who lives on the next mountain would've heard it. What do you want?"

The man told him what he wanted, and the ghoul said, "Go to the next mountain over there, and you'll find my elder brother. Ask him, and he'll tell you what to do."

The man went to the next mountain over and found the ghoul. He did with him as he had done with his brother. Then he said, "Peace to you!"

"And to you, peace? replied the ghoul. "Had not your salaam come before your request, I would've munched your bones so loud my sister who lives on the next mountain would've heard it. What can I do for you?" The man told him what he wanted, and the ghoul said, "Go to my sister on the next mountain over there, and she'll tell you what to do."

The man did as he was told, and found the ghouleh grinding wheat, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s thrown over her shoulders. He came forward and sucked on her fight breast, then on her left. After he did this, he put a handful of her flour in his mouth.

"You've sucked at my fight breast," declared the ghouleh, "and now you're dearer to me than my son Ismain. You've sucked at my left breast, and now you're dearer than my son Na.s.sar. And now that you've eaten my flour, you're dearer than my own children. What can I do for you?"

"I want two pomegranates to feed my wives so they can have children," he answered.

"Go to that orchard over there," she said. "You'll find a ghoul sleeping, using one ear for a mattress and the other for a blanket. Pick two pomegranates and run away as fast as you can."

Having done as he was told, the man took the two pomegranates and started on his way home.

As he was traveling, he became hungry. "I'm going to eat part of my cousin's pomegranate," he thought to himself. "She's my cousin and won't get angry if I offer her only half a pomegranate."

When he reached home, he gave his other wife the whole pomegranate and his cousin the hale They became pregnant at the same time. The stranger gave birth to twin boys, and he called one Hasan and the other Husen. His cousin gave birth to half a human being, and they called him Half-a-Halfling.

The boys grew up. One day they told their father they wanted to go hunting. Hasan and Husen said they each wanted a mare and a gun, and the father consented and granted them their wish. Half-a-Halfling said he wanted a lame and mangy she-goat and a wooden poker. He got what he had asked for, and the boys all set out together to hunt. Hasan and Husen fired their shotguns, but they did not hit anything. Half-a-Halfling, meanwhile, would lie in wait on the ground until the deer came near, then he would hit and break their legs.

"Give us the deer you've hunted," said Hasan and Husen, "so we can take them home and say we killed them."

"All fight," he replied, "but on one condition only. I'll heat my brand, and brand each of you on the backside."

They agreed, and he branded both of them. They took the deer and gave them to their mother, who cooked them and threw away the bones at the doorstep of Half-a-Halfling's mother. She started to cry. When Half-a-Halting saw her crying, he asked, "Why are you crying?"

"Look!" she answered. "Your brothers Hasan and Husen were able to hunt deer, but not you."

"What!" he cried. "Do you think they killed the deer? You'd better go and see my brand on their behinds." His mother went, and she could see the brand.

The following day they went hunting again. The sun set while they were still away from town. They came to another town and found no one there except a ghouleh chasing a rooster.

"Welcome to my nephews!" she said when she saw them. Tying their horses and the she-goat in front of the house, she invited them in, and made dinner and fed them.

"What do your horses eat?" she asked.

"They eat hulled barley and pure milk," they answered. She brought feed for the horses. Then she asked Half-a-Halfling, "What does your she-goat eat?"

"Bran left over from sifting," he answered, "and water left over from kneading."

She put food in front of the she-goat and laid out bedding for the brothers to sleep on. Hasan and Husen went to sleep on the floor, but Half-a-Halfling said, "I can't sleep on the floor." Seeing a reed basket hanging from the ceiling, he said, "I'll sleep in this basket. But first you must give me a waterskin and a handful of lava beans for munching." He pierced the waterskin and hung it above his head and let it drip on him, as he sat in the basket munching the fava beans.

In a while the ghouleh, thinking they were asleep, started jumping around and singing, "O my teeth get sharper and sharper, for Hasan and Husen his brother!" Now, Half-a-Halfling was awake, and he heard her.

"How am I going to sleep?" he said. "And how am I going to sleep, when my belly has no food in it to keep?"

"What do you want to eat?" asked the ghouleh, and he answered, "I want a stuffed rooster so I can eat it and go to sleep."

She prepared the rooster for him, and he ate it and climbed back into the basket. Again the ghouleh started prancing around, singing, "O my teeth get sharper and sharper, for Hasan and Husen his brother!"

Half-a-Halfling jumped up and said, "How am I going to sleep? And how am I going to sleep, when my belly has no food in it to keep?"

"What do you want to eat?" she asked, and he answered, "I want a lamb, stuffed and roasted to a turn."

By the time she finished preparing the lamb, the sun had risen.

"We want water so we can wash," the boys said. When she had gone out to fetch the water, Half-a-Halfling said to his brothers, "You'd better get up! This woman is a ghouleh." They got up, mounted their animals, and ran away. When she came back and found them gone, she called out, "O milk, thicken! thicken! and tie up their joints so they can't move." The horses came immediately to a stop and would not budge. They got down and mounted behind their brother on the lame she-goat, and he prodded the animal with the poker, calling out, "O flint, spark and spark! O bran, fly and fly!" The she-goat flew with them and brought them home, while the ghouleh caught up with the horses and gobbled them up.

The father was very pleased with Half-a-Halfling, who was able to save his brothers. from the clutches of the ghouleh.

"And what would you say," the boy asked, "if I were to bring the ghouleh herself right here?"

"We'd confess you're cleverer than both your brothers if you could do that," replied the parents.

Half-a-Halfling went and bought a donkey, and loaded it with a huge box filled with halvah. "Here's the halvah! Here's the halvah? he cried out when he reached the ghouleh's house. She came out and asked how much it was. He answered, you might say, "A piaster for a quarter of a kilo."

She ate one quarter, then two and three, but she was still hungry.

"What do you say to getting into the box," he suggested, "and eating as much as you want. We'll figure out what you owe me later." She agreed and got into the box. He closed the lid on her, securing it with a rope, and started moving. She was too busy eating to notice. When he approached their town, he called out, "Light the fire and let the flames rise! I've brought the ghouleh herself. And let him who loves the Prophet bring a load of wood and a burning coal!"

"What're you saying?" asked the ghouleh.

"I was saying," he answered, "spread the silk and put the silk away! I've brought you the princess, daughter of the prince."

When the fire was big enough, they threw the box in it and rid themselves of the ghouleh and her evil.

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

The Orphans' Cow

TELLER: Testify that G.o.d is One!

AUDIENCE: There is no G.o.d but He!

There was once a man who was married to a certain woman. The wife died, leaving behind a son and a daughter. The man said, "This cow is for the boy and the girl."

One day the man married again. His wife became pregnant, gave birth, and had a boy. She became pregnant again, gave birth, and had a girl. She fed her children only the best food, and the others nothing but bran.

The orphans used to roam with their cow in the countryside every day. When they were well out of town, they would say to her, "Open, O our cow!" The cow would open the s.p.a.ce between her horns, meat and rice would come out of it, and the children would eat their fill. When they were fed bran at home, they would boil with anger.

When the children played together in the evening, the woman noticed that her children were sallow, while the orphans were like red apples. She said to her son, "Tomorrow you'll go out to the countryside with them and find out what they eat!" He said, "All right."

The next day he went roving with them. Early in the morning the children fed their pieces of bread to the cow. And what? Were they going to suffer from hunger all day? "Listen!" they said to their brother. "Do you promise not to tell our mother and father?"

"No. I won't say anything," he answered.

"Good," they said. "Open, O our cow! We want to eat."

The cow opened between her horns, the three of them ate till they were full, and then the cow dosed her horns again.

"Hanh!" snapped the mother when they came home. "What did you eat out there?"

"What did we eat?" he answered. "We ate the dry bread you gave us." He refused to tell. Not believing him, the woman then said to her daughter, "You go out with them in the morning, and whatever you see them eat, you must tell me."

The following morning, the girl went roaming the countryside with the orphans. "Do you promise not to tell?" they asked her, and she replied, "No, I won't tell." They said, "Open, I our cow! We want to eat." The cow opened between her horns, and what rice and meat there was! They ate until they had their fill; but the girl was putting one bite in her mouth and hiding the next in the front of her dress. When she came home, she said, "Mother, see! Here's what they eat! Their cow does such and such."

The woman brought some straw and boiled it until the water turned yellow, yellow. Then she bathed in this water, laid out her bed, and put her head down and went to sleep.

"What's the matter with your mother, children?" asked the father when he came home. The children said she was ill.

"Don't talk to me!" she said. "I'm not well."

"Woman, what's the problem? I'll take you to the doctor, just tell me what you need!"

"I was told no prescription would cure me, except that you slaughter for me the orphans' cow."

"O no, woman!" he said. "The children are having such a good time with her," and so on and so forth.

"Nothing else is possible," she answered. "I won't get well until you slaughter the orphans' cow for me."

So he caught the cow and slaughtered her, and they ate her, while the orphans wept and lamented.

Angry, they ran away, the sister with her brother. They walked and walked until a shepherd met them. The girl was the older, and the boy the younger.

"Sister, I'm thirsty," said the boy. "I want to drink."

"Uncle," she asked the shepherd, "do you happen to know where there's water for us to drink?"

"Listen, daughter," he replied. "You'll come upon two springs. Drink from the lower one, but the other one - don't drink from it! A gazelle has p.i.s.sed in it, and whoever drinks from it now will turn into a gazelle."