Arabian night: - Season 1 - Episode 3

6 years ago

Arabian night: - Season 1 - Episode 3

” The first Old Man and Of The Hind”

I am now going to begin my story (said
the old man), so please attend.

This hind that you see with me is my
wife. We have no children of our own,
therefore I adopted the son of a favorite
slave, and determined to make him my
heir.

My wife, however, took a great dislike to
both mother and child, which she
concealed from me till too late. When my
adopted son was about ten years old I
was obliged to go on a journey. Before I
went I entrusted to my wife’s keeping
both the mother and child, and begged
her to take care of them during my
absence, which lasted a whole year.

During this time she studied magic in
order to carry out her wicked scheme.

When she had learnt enough she took my
son into a distant place and changed him
into a calf. Then she gave him to my
steward, and told him to look after a calf
she had bought. She also changed the
slave into a cow, which she sent to my
steward.

When I returned I inquired after my slave
and the child. “Your slave is dead,” she
said, “and as for your son, I have not seen
him for two months, and I do not know
where he is.”

I was grieved to hear of my slave’s death,
but as my son had only disappeared, I
thought I should soon find him. Eight
months, however, passed, and still no
tidings of him; then the feast of Bairam
came.

To celebrate it I ordered my steward to
bring me a very fat cow to sacrifice.

He did so. The cow that he brought was my
unfortunate slave. I bound her, but just
as I was about to kill her she began to
low most piteously, and I saw that her
eyes were streaming with tears. It seemed
to me most extraordinary, and, feeling a
movement of pity, I ordered the steward
to lead her away and bring another. My
wife, who was present, scoffed at my
compassion, which made her malice of
no avail. “What are you doing?” she
cried. “Kill this cow. It is the best we
have to sacrifice.”

To please her, I tried again, but again the
animal’s lows and tears disarmed me.
“Take her away,” I said to the steward,
“and kill her; I cannot.”

The steward killed her, but on skinning
her found that she was nothing but
bones, although she appeared so fat.

I was vexed.

“Keep her for yourself,” I said to the
steward, “and if you have a fat calf, bring
that in her stead.”

In a short time he brought a very fat calf,
which, although I did not know it, was
my son. It tried hard to break its cord
and come to me. It threw itself at my feet,
with its head on the ground, as if it
wished to excite my pity, and to beg me
not to take away its life.

I was even more surprised and touched at
this action than I had been at the tears of
the cow.

“Go,” I said to the steward, “take back
this calf, take great care of it, and bring
me another in its place instantly.”

As soon as my wife heard me speak this
she at once cried out, “What are you
doing, husband? Do not sacrifice any calf
but this.”

“Wife,” I answered, “I will not sacrifice
this calf,” and in spite of all her
remonstrances, I remained firm.

I had another calf killed; this one was led
away. The next day the steward asked to
speak to me in private.

“I have come,” he said, “to tell you some news which I think you will like to hear.

I have a daughter who knows magic.

Yesterday, when I was leading back the
calf which you refused to sacrifice, I
noticed that she smiled, and then directly
afterwards began to cry. I asked her why
she did so.”

“Father,” she answered, “this calf is the
son of our master. I smile with joy at
seeing him still alive, and I weep to think
of his mother, who was sacrificed
yesterday as a cow. These changes have
been wrought by our master’s wife, who
hated the mother and son.”

“At these words, of Genie,” continued the
old man, “I leave you to imagine my
astonishment. I went immediately with
the steward to speak with his daughter
myself. First of all I went to the stable to
see my son, and he replied in his dumb
way to all my caresses. When the
steward’s daughter came I asked her if
she could change my son back to his
proper shape.”

“Yes, I can,” she replied, “on two
conditions. One is that you will give him
to me for a husband, and the other is that
you will let me punish the woman who
changed him into a calf.”

“To the first condition,” I answered, “I
agree with all my heart, and I will give
you an ample dowry. To the second I also
agree, I only beg you to spare her life.”

“That I will do,” she replied; “I will treat
her as she treated your son.”

Then she took a vessel of water and
pronounced over it some words I did not
understand; then, on throwing the water
over him, he became immediately a
young man once more.

“My son, my dear son,” I exclaimed,
kissing him in a transport of joy. “This
kind maiden has rescued you from a
terrible enchantment, and I am sure that
out of gratitude you will marry her.”

He consented joyfully, but before they
were married, the young girl changed my
wife into a hind, and it is she whom you
see before you. I wished her to have this
form rather than a stranger one, so that
we could see her in the family without
repugnance.

Since then my son has become a widower
and has gone travelling. I am now going
in search of him, and not wishing to
confide my wife to the care of other
people, I am taking her with me. Is this
not a most marvellous tale?

“It is indeed,” said the Genie, “and
because of it I grant to you the third part
of the punishment of this merchant.”

When the first old man had finished his
story, the second, who was leading the
two black dogs, said to the Genie, “I am
going to tell you what happened to me,
and I am sure that you will find my story
even more astonishing than the one to
which you have just been listening. But
when I have related it, will you grant me
also the third part of the merchant’s
punishment?”

“Yes,” replied the Genie, “provided that
your story surpasses that of the hind.”

With this agreement the second old man
began in this way.