The Siblings and the White Parrot - Part One

Once in the city of Spain there lived a brother and a sister. 

The sister's name was Mariquita and she looked after the house because their mother was dead. 

Theirs was a very happy home and Mariquita took good care of her father and her brother and the home. There was an inner courtyard in that home which had the rarest of the rare plants and it was something Mariquita was very proud of.

Once when the father and the brother were away an old woman came to Mariquita's house. 

The old woman looked around the house, and Mariquita invited the woman to the inner courtyard. The old woman admired everything and she had good things to say about the place. 

However, finally she frowned. “The only thing your courtyard is missing is a fountain of silver water.” The old woman told Mariquita. 

“I have never seen a fountain of silver water.” Little Mariquita was surprised. “How can I get one?”

“A little further away from here,” The old woman told Mariquita, “you will find a fountain of silver water. If you bring a jar of that water and place it in your courtyard it shall become a fountain here.”

All of a sudden Mariquita wanted nothing other than the fountain of silver water in her own courtyard. She suddenly turned gloomy and did not even notice that the old woman had gone her way. 

That night when her father and her brother came back home they were surprised because the happy Mariquita was very sad and she cried a lot. 

“What has happened?” The brother asked, looking alarmed.  

Mariquita told the two men all about the visit of the old woman and Mariquita told her brother that only the presence of the silver fountain in the Courtyard would make her happy. 

The brother was very sad to see his sister crying and at last he decided to go in search of the water for her, and he took a jar with him.

Adapted from Spanish Folk Tales

The Tailor and the Prince- Part Seven

 

Everyone in the kingdom was rejoicing in the arrival of their Prince. 

That was when Labakan  took the little box and left the castle. He was careful not to be seen by anyone. Other than the ivory box there was nothing else to show that he belonged to this place.

Labakan rode on to his old master's shop. 

However, when the master and the others saw him, they all were angry with him and fell on him with blows. 

Labakan fell unconscious as all of the workmen beat him up. After Labakan gained consciousness, the master then scolded Labakan for stealing the king’s brother’s robes. The master said that the king had been furious with his brother's lost robe and the master would never forgive Labakan for it. 

Labakan had no choice but he mounted on Murva again and drove to an inn in the neighbouring Kingdom. 

Here he found a quiet place where he rested his tired and bruised limbs.

The next morning he sold his little ivory box to a jeweler for a good price and bought a house and opened a workshop with the money. He hung up the sign of ‘Labakan Tailor’ over the door.

He started mending his own torn clothes with the very needle that had been in the ivory box.  

What stunned Labakan was that the needle finished the stitching by itself and the needle even made neat little stitches that Labakan had never been able to do in his entire life. 

Soon Labakan got plenty of customers and the new kingdom. He used to cut out the cloth, make the first stitch with the magic needle and then leave the needle to do the rest.

Before long, the whole town went to him because his work was both cheap and good.  

The only puzzle to everyone else was how Labakan could do all this by himself because Labakan employed no one else in his shop.

Finally, Labakan became the best tailor of the kingdom and he became very wealthy.

So the promise of the ivory box of wealth and happiness came true from him too.

Adapted from Egyptian Folk Tales

The Tailor and the Prince - Part Six

The king took his swiftest horse and he rode off alone into the forest a little distance away from his Kingdom. 

There was a fairy who lived in this forest. The fairy often helped the kings of his race, and the king, and all his ancestors had always followed the good advice given by the fairy. 

“Help me.” The king said as soon as he reached the middle of the forest.  

He had hardly finished speaking when one of the cedar trees opened and a veiled figure in white stepped from it.

The fairy smiled at the king. “I know of your troubles, king. Take these two ivory boxes and let the two men who claim to be your son choose between them.” The fairy nodded to herself. “The real Prince will not make any mistake.”

The two little ivory boxes were set with gold and pearls and on the lid of each box was an inscription in diamonds.  One of the boxes read as “Honour and glory” and the other as “Wealth and happiness.” 

“That would be a hard choice,” the king thought and he rode back into his castle from the forest.

He lost no time and sent for the Queen and all of his court to assemble, and then he called for Labakan and the other man. 

The king asked Labakan  to choose one of the boxes. 

Labakan looked at the two boxes and thought aloud. “There was nothing better than the happiness of being the king's son and nothing more noble than the king's love.” 

Therefore Labakan chose the box of “Wealth and Happiness”. 

The other man was brought into the court and he looked at the two boxes. “The last few days have shown me that happiness is uncertain and riches vanish easily. So I will choose “Honour and Glory”. 

The two men opened the boxes, and the one which the real Prince had opened had a little gold crown and a scepter on the velvet cushion.  

In Labakan's box was a large needle with some thread.

The king took the small crown and even as he took it the crown became big enough so that the king could place it on the head of his real son. 

Everyone in the court now realized who the real Prince was. 

However, the tailor unhappily fell at the feet of the Prince. “Please forgive me Prince. I wanted to live life like a Prince.”  

The prince was forgiving in nature, and he did not harm the tailor and asked him to go back to his own kingdom.

Adapted from Egyptian Folk Tales

The Tailor and the Prince - Part Five

After the initial shock, the queen called the oldest and wisest lady in her group for advice. 

One very clever woman came forward. “Didn't you say that the imposter said that the other man was a crazy tailor from Alexandria?” The old woman shrugged. “It is entirely possible that the impostor called your son by his own name.”

The queen guardedly studied the old woman. “How is that helpful to me?”

The old woman smiled and gave the Queen an idea to prove that the impostor was not real. 

The Queen was very happy and she went and met the king. 

“I may have been mistaken.” The Queen told the king. “But I wish to conduct a test between the two men to set my mind at rest and know for sure that I had made a mistake.”

The King was intrigued. “What sort of test would you like to conduct for this two men?” The king looked around his court. “Would you like to make them ride, shoot or anything else?”

The Queen smiled. “These are all simple things. I wish to set them a task which requires sharp wits and clever hands. I want them to make the best pair of trousers ever.”

The king was first shocked, then he laughed. “Do you suppose a prince would compete with that crazy tailor to make the best clothes? That won't do.” 

But the Queen was adamant and she said that that would be the best test to show her that her son was indeed the right one. 

Finally the test was set for the prince and Labakan.

Labakan laughed when he heard the Queen's request. “If that is what the queen wants then that is what she will get.”

The two men were given two separate rooms with all the materials necessary for or stitching, and both the men were shut inside both of the rooms. 

On the third day when the two men came out. 

Labakan came first and he spread out the dress before the astonished king. “Show mother this masterpiece of work. I'm sure that even the court tailor himself cannot do any better.”

The Queen hid her smile and turned to the other man.  “What have you done?” 

The real prince unhappily threw aside the materials that he had been given. “I have been taught how to manage a horse, draw a sword and even throw a lance far away. But I cannot sew. I have not learned it at all.” 

The queen was thrilled when she heard this.

She turned to the king now. “Does it make clear who is the Prince and who is the tailor?” The Queen pointed at the fine clothes that Labakan had stitched. “This cannot be done by a man who has been trained to become a prince.”

The king was deep in thought as he studied his wife and Labakan who finally realized his own stupidity.

The king decided that there had to be one thing that he had to do if he had to know whether he had been deceived or not.

Adapted from Egyptian Folk Tales

The Tailor and the Prince - Part Four

Labakan was afraid, but he did not know what to do. The other horsemen reached the foot of the hill, and he tied his tired horse to the tree there and ran up to the pillar. 

“He is an impostor. I am the Prince!  Please do not rob me of that.” 

The prince tried charging at Labakan, but the people around Labakan caught the prince. 

The king seemed confused as he looked at the faces of the Labakan and the other man.

At last Labakan  decided to say something in his favour.  “Father, as far as I know this is a half-crazy tailor’s apprentice from Alexandria. He is called Labakan. He deserves your pity, not your anger.” 

Hearing this, the Prince became very angry. He tried to charge towards Labakan, but the attendants around the king held him and bound him behind his back. 

The king nodded to himself. “This man is quite mad. Let us Bind them and take him to our kingdom on one of our camels. In our kingdom we may be able to find someone to help him.”

The king took Labakan’s arms and with his support walked down the hillock. There both the men got on rich horses and rode across the plane towards their own kingdom. 

The unlucky prince was tied and fastened on a camel and he was also taken back to the Kingdom.  

The king’s name was Sached and he was the king of Wachabites. 

There was joy all around Wachabites, for the news of the princess safe return had reached all the citizens of the Kingdom.

Slowly while they arrived at the capital after the public rejoiced, the King and his ground entered the castle. 

The queen eagerly awaited the arrival of the prince and she was pacing the castle. 

Then the Queen suddenly stepped down the throne and looked at her husband and the man beside him, she unhappily shook her head. “This is not my son.  I am sure that he is not my son.” 

The king was shocked at first, but he was about to reason with her when the door was thrown violently open and the real prince barged in. “Father, I am your son.” The Prince cried. “Kill me at once because I cannot bear this shame any more.” 

The Queen looked at the real Prince and nodded. “He is my son.  He is the one whom we are all waiting for.”

The king patiently shook his head and pointed at Labakan. “He is the one who bought the dagger which I gave to the Pacha of Cairo. He has to be the Prince.” 

“He stole it from me.” The real Prince screamed from behind. 

The king was unsure, but he felt that the real Prince was lying and he had the real Prince dragged from the hall to the dungeons, and he did not listen to his wife either.  

The queen wondered how she could make her husband see the truth.

Adapted from Egyptian Folk Tales

The Tailor and the Prince - Part Three

For two days Labakan rode steadily on the horse of the prince.

Finally, at a distance he saw a huge pillar on top of a small block. Though there were plains around, the hillock had a single pillar and that was visible for a short distance around.

Labakan once again thought whether he was right in taking over the life of another man full shot. 

However, Labakan confirmed to himself that he should have been born a prince and he rode on towards the pillar.

Labakan covered the distance to the pillar. Much earlier than was required and he waited there. 

The real prince had brought food with him for the two days and luckily that was not a problem for Labakan, because the neighbourhood around the hillock was plain and bare. Labakan studied the hillock and towards the next day he saw many groups of people with lavish tents and strong animals come towards the hillock.

Labakan was sure that all this was for the prince which in this case meant him. 

But he did not come forward immediately because he was sure that he had to wait until the Prince had actually crossed twenty two years, which would be the next day.

The next morning, despite his initial fear, Labakan overcame all of that and rode towards the hillock. There he tied the horse at the base of the hill and took the dagger of the prince and walked up.

There were seven men all around the pillar on top of the hillock, and one of them was tall and very strong, and the other six men stood around him.

Labakan knelt before the man in the middle and brought out his dagger and produced it before the man. “I am the one whom you seek.” Labakan told the man in the middle.

The man in the middle looked thrilled and hugged Labakan. “My son, I am finally glad to see you.”

This man was the king of the Kingdom and he had mistaken Labakan as his own son. 

The king was about to lead Labakan to his own kingdom when in a distance in the plains Labakan saw the old Murva with another harassed looking person on its back.

Adapted from Egyptian Folk Tales

The Tailor and the Prince- Part Two

The next day the other man told Labakan his story. The Pacha of Cairo had brought up the other man. And the other young man was well-versed in sword fighting, horseback riding and all the other things necessary for a prince to know. But however, the other young man had never known his parents. On his deathbed, the Pacha of Cairo called the young man and told him that the young man was not his nephew but the son of a great king. 

The Pacha of Cairo had also told the other man why the king had acted the way he had. As soon as the king had a son, the astrologers had warned the king about the dangers to his son until the son's twenty-second year. 

It was for this reason that the king decided not to see the boy till his twenty-second birthday and sent the young prince away from him. 

Even on his deathbed the Pacha of Cairo did not tell the prince his father's name but  asked the young man to be at a great pillar, which was a four day journey to the east of Alexandria. There the young man was to meet some men to whom the young man was to give a dagger that the Pacha of Cairo had been given in safe possession by the king. The young man was supposed to give the dagger to the men near the pillar and tell them that he was whom they were seeking. Then the people would take the young man to see the king. 

Labakan was very surprised on hearing this story and he could not help feeling envious of the Prince. 

Slowly over the journey Labakan began to make comparisons between himself and the Prince and finally Labakan reached the conclusion that he was as fine and as pleasant as the prince and Labakan could be a prince himself.  

That was the time that Labakan decided to take over the life of the prince.

A night later when the prince was fast asleep Labakan gently drew the dagger out from the prince’s clothes. Labakan was able to do that without waking up the prince. 

Then leaving behind his own old horse, Labakan took the swift horse of the prince and Labakan set off to find the great pillar.

Adapted from Egyptian Folk Tales

The Tailor and the Prince - Part One

Once there was a tailor working in a big shop. The name of the tailor was Labakan.

The tailor was very eccentric because some days he would work furiously fast and the other days he would just while away his time lost in thought. However, he was still the best worker that the owner of the shop had.

On Fridays the tailor would put on his finest robe and meet his friends. That was when many people remarked that the tailor looked as royal as a prince. Even the owner of the shop often remarked that Labakan looked like a prince. Hearing this always made Labakan very happy. 

Once the king's brother who was passing through the kingdom wanted to have one of his robes altered. 

So the king approached the owner of the shop to stitch his brother’s robe. 

The owner of the shop immediately handed over the robe to Labakan who was his best worker.  

In the evening after everyone had left the shop Labakan looked at the royal robe, admiring it. 

He felt that he had to try it and he did so. 

Looking at his own reflection in the mirror with the robe on, Labakon realized that he looked as good as a prince. 

Suddenly Labakan wanted to give up all his work as a tailor and he was determined to set out in search of his proper rank. He collected all his savings and he passed through the gates of the city with his money in his hands. 

After that in all the cities that the tailor traveled to, many people saw the tailor and they were impressed with Labakan’s majestic clothes and often mistook him as a prince. 

However, when they asked him about why he was traveling on foot instead of a horse, he developed an air of mystery and said that he did so for his own reasons. 

The tailor finally realized that the people in the new cities would be suspicious of a prince without a horse. 

Finally Labakan found an old horse which he was able to buy cheap. The name of the horse was Murva.

As Labakan was traveling on Murva, another horseman joined him on his travels. 

The newcomer was bright, cheerful and very good looking and they soon got talking about each other.

Adapted from Egyptian Folk Tales

The Faithful Dog and the Neighbour - Part Three

The old couple were very much annoyed when they learned the fate of the mortar. They were not comforted by the explanations and silly excuses made by the neighbour. 

That night, the old man had another dream where the dog asked him to go and collect the ashes of the burnt mortar and bring it home. The dog also told its master that when the great Lord to whom this part of the country belonged came, the old man was to carry the ashes to the high road through which the procession would pass. The dog told its master to see the procession and climb up to the cherry trees and sprinkle the ashes on all the people and the great Lord who was going in the procession. 

As soon as the old man had a dream he did not hesitate, nor did he consult his wife. He went directly to his neighbour's house collected the ashes of the burnt mortar. 

He put the ashes in a china vase and carried it to the high road. 

He waited patiently for the great Lord of the land to pass. 

At that time the cherry trees were bare for it was the season when small pots were sold to rich people who kept them in hot places so that the cherries would blossom early and the rich people used to decorate their rooms with the pots. 

The old man had not been waiting for long when he saw a cloud of dust in the distance. 

The old man knew that this was the procession of the great Lord. 

At that time the old man did not bow to the great Lord like the others in the road. 

The great Lord saw this and wondered why this was so. He asked one of his courtiers to go and talk to the old man about why he had disobeyed ancient customs. 

But before the messenger could reach the old man, the old man climbed the nearest cherry tree and scattered his ashes far and wide. 

In an instant white flowers flashed into life and the great Lord saw this and felt very happy. 

He gave rich presents to the old man after searching and finding for the old man. 

Naturally, when the neighbour heard of this, he also took some of the Ashes and tried to repeat what had happened to the old man. 

This time when the great lord's procession passed through and the neighbour threw the handful of ashes. 

No flowers flashed. Instead all the ashes were blown into the eyes of the great Lord and his warriors and they cried in pain. 

Then the great Lord ordered the man to be seized and thrown into prison where he was kept for many months.  

After that, the people around realized that the neighbour was not a good man and they wanted him out of the village. 

So the man left his village and did not bother the old couple after that.

Adapted from Japanese Folk Tales