Tale Of The Magical Bird, Page 2

  Part two: In Search Of Destiny

  For three days Malek rode across a wasteland; rested neither in the bright days, nor the dark nights. In the evening of the forth day he spotted a castle far off in the distance. He pushed his horse toward the castle until he reached its enormous gate which was fastened tight with many iron chains and padlocks.

  Malek was very tired and in need of shelter for the night, so he climbed the castle wall and in through a small window over the gate. To his great surprise he found himself in a chamber which was joined to a series of other rooms. He counted seven in total all joined together, but no living soul was to be seen in any of the rooms. Strangely all were empty except for a large pot of rice in each. Malek was so hungry he could not resist the tempting smell of the rice and ate a little from each pot as he went from room to room.

  As he bent to taste the last pot of rice in the seventh chamber he heard a click, looking up he saw a beautiful girl who had appeared out of nowhere.

  "We have been waiting for you to come." said the girl in a soft voice.

  "Who are you?" asked Malek in astonishment.

  "I am the youngest of seven Peri sisters from the land of enchantment and we all know that you have come to take the singing bird in the golden cage. The bird belongs to our queen and we are her handmaidens and we have order to stop you on your way. My sisters are now gone hunting but should be back any minute .If they see you here they will kill you on the spot, but because you have acted so bravely on your journey so far I am going to help you." replied the Peri sister.

  Suddenly they heard a sound and looking outside the window saw, far in the clouds, six large birds flying toward the castle. Without further delay the girl muttered a magic incantation and turned Malek into a mop, with which she started mopping the floor.

  The birds swooped down toward the castle and as they touched the ground they turned one by one into beautiful maidens and headed towards their own chambers. But It wasn’t long before they all came storming to their younger sister. “Who has dared to touch our food? Speak the truth."

  "I will tell you," she said. "But on condition that you don’t harm him. He is our guest and besides he can help us with the housekeeping."

  The sisters all gave their word not to harm the prince, so the girl uttered another spell and turned the mop back into Malek. The sisters were not happy when they saw him but could do nothing, as a promise is a promise.

  The days passed until one day when Malek was alone with the youngest fairy sister he told her, “I have to go on my journey and find the singing bird for my father, please show me the way if you can."

  The girl replied: "The queen lives in a castle on the high peak of a mountain called Ghaf to which there is a very dangerous path guarded by wild magical creatures that no one dares to trespass. There is no way you could go by yourself, but I will accompany you if you wish."

  Malek accepted her offer gratefully, so the girl spun round and round, and in a blink of an eye turned into a huge white bird. Malek climbed on the bird’s back and seated himself among her soft fluffy feather. The bird flapped her wings and off they went through the air like the wind.

  They flew for hours, up over a dangerous path full of ferocious dragons and giants who roared with anger at the sight of them and passed mountain peaks that no human had ever risked to intrude upon until finally the high towers of the fairy queen’s castle came into view up on the highest peak of all. The bird slowed down and gently landed on the ground a short distance from the castle gate.

  "I can go no further, all the castle guards know me and seeing me with you might put my sister’s lives in danger. Just remember that the castle has seven gates, which are guarded by seven Divs. To go through them you must know the password. Unfortunately I do not know the password, but if you manage to go through the gates and get the bird I will come back and collect you from this spot." Saying this bird flew up and perched on the castle’s highest tower.

  Coming closer to the first gate Malek saw to his astonishment that leaning on a crutch, the first guard was no other than the same Div he had earlier struck with his sword. As soon as the demon caught sight of Malek it started to shake like a leaf with fear.

  "O bravest of all, have pity on me for I have never harmed anyone since that night you fought with me with such a bravery."

  "Don’t be scared. I am not going to harm you, but there is a task I have to perform in the castle so you must give me the password."

  The demon whispered the password into the prince’s ear but begged him not to tell anyone from whom he had heard it.

  Malek approached the other gates; at each he was asked for the password by a fierce looking Div but by giving the correct password he was let through each gate courteously.

  Eventually he passed through the last gate and stepped into the castle only to find himself in a vast entrance hall around which rose numerous staircases.

  Desperate to choose the right staircase he suddenly heard a faint singing sound coming from a narrow staircase at the end of the hall. Malek chose the one which climbed so high its end was out of sight. As he climbed the singing become clearer. It was the most beautiful love song he had ever heard. By the time he finally reached the top of the staircase he was both out of breath and overwhelmed.

  He drew back a curtain that was hung from the wall and stepped into a dim-lighted room. There in deep sleep was a girl whose beauty had no rival. Malek was so stunned by her beauty that for a while he forgot his entire affair there. When he finally found his bearings he noticed that above the queen’s head were two unlit candles and a bit further in a sparkling golden cage was the singing bird.

  He gently unhooked the cage, kissed the girl on both cheeks, lit the candles and slowly crept out of the room.

  Without wasting any more time the prince dashed toward the gates carrying the golden cage. He bade farewell to the Divs and climbed on the great white bird that was waiting for him as promised.

  Together they flew towards the city of his father. When the city wall came into the view in the far distance the bird descended to the ground and said, “dear friend, our journey ends here, I have to leave you now and go back to my sisters who are waiting for me .I will give you one of my feathers, if you encounter any more dangers stroke the feather three times and I will be at your side in no time”. After saying this, the great white bird vanished into the thin air.

  Malek set out toward the city on foot. After a few miles he crossed his brothers’ path who were also returning to the city, both empty handed and tired by their futile journey.

  When they saw their youngest brother with the golden cage they were overcome by jealousy and secretly hatched a wicked plan to kill him and steal the bird. Taking advantage of a moment of distraction therefore, they attacked Malek by their daggers and threw him down a deserted well to die alone in the darkness.

  The treacherous brothers entered the city with the stolen bird in triumph and immediately presented it to their father. When the king asked after Malek they wept and said with shaking voice that there was a story going that he and his horse were savaged by a lion in desert unexpectedly.

  Upon hearing this new the king become so sad that he went into seclusion and refused to hear the enchanting songs of the magical bird any more.

  Meanwhile, Malek remained trapped in the bottom of that old well, slowly becoming weaker for the loss of blood and fatigue. Suddenly he remembered the gift the bird had given him upon her departure. He took the feather out of his pocket with great difficulty, and with trembling hands stroked it three times before losing consciousness completely. When he opened his eyes again he found himself laid under the blue sky next to his dear friend the young peri sister who was tending to his wounds by applying a little bit of her saliva on them.

  The wounds were gone instantly and Malek felt fresh and young like before.

  But he was so heartbroken by his brothers’ betrayal and losing the magic bird that he decided not to return to the c
ity any more.

  He thanked the fairy sister who had helped him so much and headed bare foot away from the city.

  He walked for days in the desert until one day came to a strangely beautiful blooming tree on his way. It was so beautiful that Malek decided to take a rest under its shadow. He was so tired from walking for so long that fell asleep instantly. In his dream he saw two mysterious birds, sitting on the branches of the same tree talking to each other.

  "Dear Dodo"

  "Yes dear?"

  "Do you know what is buried under this tree?"

  "No. What is it?"

  "There are seven jars full of gold coins hidden under this tree, and no body knows about them."

  "How strange!"

  Having said this, the birds flapped their wings and flew up into the blue sky and were gone.

  Malek opened his eyes and remembering his dream. He started digging up the ground with his dagger, and sure enough after some digging the lids of seven earthen jars were exposed. All the jars were filled with old gold coins just as the strange birds had said in his dream.

  Malek recovered the pots and went to the nearest village where he purchased donkeys to carry the treasure. Having loaded the donkeys he returned to his city disguising himself as a merchant.

  There he purchased a beautiful house and started a new life, but all the time thinking that he would much prefer to have the magical bird so he could make his dear father happy again.

  But destiny had other plans for him.

  Part three:The End

  When the peri queen awoke from her deep sleep she found out that her beloved bird was gone but it was by no means difficult for her to find out who had taken it. She summoned a troop of the most viscous magical creatures and marched with them to the land of the king.

  When the creatures reached the city gate they pitched their tents and waited for the next command. The queen sent a messenger to the king saying, “I am the queen of the entire magical realm and my powers surpass those of any king. I know that one of your sons has stolen my magic bird. You must return the bird and send the culprit to me at once or all your kingdom will be turned into dust.”

  Hearing this, the king was fearful of what might become to his people if the peri queen’s command was not obeyed, he therefore sat on his throne and summoned his sons to the court.

  "One of you needs to go to the queen and talk to her before it is too late." ordered the king.

  "Since I was the one who took the bird I will go and talk to this ruthless queen." Said the oldest brother in fake bravery but trembling with fear inside.

  He asked for his horse and left the city alone and went to the fairy queen. Once in her presence he repeated his lie, “I was the one who took your bird and I am not afraid of you or your army."

  "How did you steal it?" Asked the queen.

  "I killed your weak guards one by one and stole the bird from your castle," replied the eldest son.

  The queen was so angered by these lies; she uttered a magical incantation and instantly turned the prince to a stone statue.

  The other brothers went to the queen and repeated the same story; they were also turned to stone one by one by the enraged peri queen.

  The news of these events eventually reached Malek. Aroused by his brothers’ tragic fate he immediately mounted his horse and galloped as fast as he could to the queen’s camp and demanded to see the lady.

  "Set my brothers free", Requested Malek. "They are innocent, it was I who took your bird and I will bring it back to you."

  "How did you steal it?" Repeated the queen.

  "When I came into your room, you were asleep. I lit the candle so you would not be in dark, and then took the magical bird with me."

  The queen was very much intrigued by this handsome and brave prince, she uttered some magic words and Malek’s brothers returned to life.

  The brothers were very ashamed of what they had done to Malek, but he kindly forgave them.

  Malek then invited the queen and her army to his father castle which she accepted happily. The king was so pleased to see his son again that he ordered a big celebration in honor of his youngest son’s return.

  The magical creatures feasted together with the king and his subjects for seven days and seven nights. During the celebrations Malek and the fairy queen fell in love and decided to marry.

  The festivity therefore carried on for another seven days, and when Malek and the fairy queen were married the king gave his kingdom to them.

  Ever since that day magical creatures and humans have lived peacefully together and no conflict has been reported so far.