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
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