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