Arabian night: - Season 1 - Episode 7

6 years ago

Arabian night: - Season 1 - Episode 7

( The Story of the Husband and the Parrot)

A good man had a beautiful wife, whom
he loved passionately, and never left if
possible. One day, when he was obliged
by important business to go away from
her, he went to a place where all kinds of
birds are sold and bought a parrot.

This parrot not only spoke well, but it had the
gift of telling all that had been done
before it. He brought it home in a cage,
and asked his wife to put it in her room,
and take great care of it while he was
away. Then he departed. On his return he
asked the parrot what had happened
during his absence, and the parrot told
him some things which made him scold
his wife.

She thought that one of her slaves must
have been telling tales of her, but they
told her it was the parrot, and she
resolved to revenge herself on him.

When her husband next went away for
one day, she told on slave to turn under
the bird’s cage a hand-mill; another to
throw water down from above the cage,
and a third to take a mirror and turn it in
front of its eyes, from left to right by the
light of a candle. The slaves did this for
part of the night, and did it very well.

The next day when the husband came
back he asked the parrot what he had
seen. The bird replied, “My good master,
the lightning, thunder and rain disturbed
me so much all night long, that I cannot
tell you what I have suffered.”

The husband, who knew that it had
neither rained nor thundered in the
night, was convinced that the parrot was
not speaking the truth, so he took him
out of the cage and threw him so roughly
on the ground that he killed him.

Nevertheless he was sorry afterwards, for
he found that the parrot had spoken the
truth.

“When the Greek king,” said the
fisherman to the Genie, “had finished the
story of the parrot, he added to the vizir,
“And so, vizir, I shall not listen to you,
and I shall take care of the physician, in
case I repent as the husband did when he
had killed the parrot.” But the vizir was
determined. “Sire,” he replied, “the death of the parrot was nothing. But when it is
a question of the life of a king it is better
to sacrifice the innocent than save the
guilty. It is no uncertain thing, however.

The physician, Douban, wishes to
assassinate you. My zeal prompts me to
disclose this to your Majesty. If I am
wrong, I deserve to be punished as a vizir
was once punished.” “What had the vizir
done,” said the Greek king, “to merit the
punishment?” “I will tell your Majesty, if
you will do me the honour to listen,”
answered the vizir.”