LITTLE MUCK.
In Nicea, my beloved father-city, lived a man, whom people called"Little Muck." Though at that time I was quite young, I can recollecthim very well, particularly since, on one occasion, I was floggedalmost to death, by my father, on his account. The Little Muck, eventhen, when I knew him, an old man, was nevertheless but three or fourfeet high: he had a singular figure, for his body, little and smartas it was, carried a head much larger and thicker than that of others.He lived all alone in a large house, and even cooked for himself;moreover, it would not have been known in the city whether he wasalive or dead, (for he went forth but once in four weeks,) had notevery day, about the hour of noon, strong fumes come forth from thehouse. Nevertheless, in the evening he was often to be seen walking toand fro upon his roof; although, from the street, it seemed as if itwere his head alone that was running around there.
I and my comrades were wicked fellows, who teased and ridiculed everyone; accordingly, to us it was a holiday when the Little Muck wentforth: on the appointed day we would assemble before his house, andwait for him to come out. When, then, the door opened, and at firstthe immense head and still larger turban peered forth, when the restof the body followed covered with a small cloak which had beenirregularly curtailed, with wide pantaloons, and a broad girdle inwhich hung a long dagger, so long that one could not tell whether Muckwas fastened to the dagger, or the dagger to Muck--when in this guisehe came forth, then would the air resound with our cries of joy; thenwould we fling our caps aloft, and dance round him, like mad. LittleMuck, however, would salute us with a serious bow, and walk with longstrides through the street, shuffling now and then his feet, for hewore large wide slippers, such as I have never elsewhere seen. We boyswould run behind him, crying continually, "Little Muck! Little Muck!"We also had a droll little verse, which we would now and then sing inhis honor; it ran thus:--
"Little Muck, oh Little Muck! What a fine, brave dwarf art thou! Livest in a house so tall; Goest forth but once a month, Mountain-headed, though so small. Turn thyself but once, and look! Run, and catch us, Little Muck."
In this way had we often carried on our sport, and, to my shame, Imust confess that I took the most wicked part in it, for I oftenplucked him by the mantle, and once trod from behind on his largeslippers, so that he fell down. This was, at first, a source of thegreatest amusement to me, but my laughter soon ceased when I saw theLittle Muck go up to my father's house; he walked straight in, andremained there some time. I concealed myself near the door, and sawMuck come forth again, escorted by my father, who respectfully shookhis hand, and with many bows parted with him at the door. My mind wasuneasy, and I remained some time in my concealment; at length,however, hunger, which I feared more than blows, drove me in, andashamed and with downcast head, I walked in before my father.
"Thou hast, as I hear, insulted the good Muck," said he with a veryserious tone. "I will tell thee the history of this Muck, and then Iam sure thou wilt ridicule him no more. But first, thou shalt receivethy allowance." The allowance was five-and-twenty lashes, which hetook care to count only too honestly. He thereupon took a longpipe-stem, unscrewed the amber mouthpiece, and beat me more severelythan he had ever done before.
When the five-and-twenty were all made up, he commanded me to attend,and told me the following story of Little Muck.
* * * * *
The father of Little Muck, who is properly called Mukrah, lived herein Nicea, a respectable, but poor man. He kept himself almost asretired as his son does now. The latter he could not endure, becausehe was ashamed of his dwarfish figure, and let him therefore grow upin perfect ignorance. When the Little Muck was still in hisseventeenth year, a merry child, his father, a grave man, keptcontinually reproaching him, that he, who ought long before to havetrodden down the shoes of infancy, was still so stupid and childish.
The old man, however, one day had a bad fall, from the effects ofwhich he died, and Little Muck was left behind, poor and ignorant. Hiscruel relations, to whom the deceased owed more than he could pay,turned the poor fellow out of the house, and advised him to go forthinto the world, and seek his fortune. Muck answered that he was allready, only asking them for his father's dress, which they willinglygranted him. His father had been a large, portly man, and the garmentson that account did not fit him. Muck, however, soon hit upon anexpedient; he cut off what was too long, and then put them on. Heseemed, however, to have forgotten that he must also take from theirwidth; hence the strange dress that he wears at the present day; thehuge turban, the broad girdle, the wide breeches, the blue cloak, allthese he has inherited from his father, and worn ever since. The longDamascus dagger of his father, too, he attached to his girdle, andseizing a little staff, set out from the door.
Gayly he wandered, the whole day, for he had set out to seek hisfortune: if he saw upon the ground a potsherd shining in the sunlight,he took care to pick it up, in the belief that he could change it intoa diamond of the first water; if he saw in the distance the cupola ofa Mosque sparkling like fire, or the sea glittering like a mirror, hewould hasten up, fully persuaded that he had arrived at fairy-land.But ah! these phantoms vanished as he approached, and too soonfatigue, and his stomach gnawed by hunger, convinced him that he wasstill in the land of mortals. In this way he travelled two days, inhunger and grief, and despaired of finding his fortune; the produce ofthe field was his only support, the hard earth his bed. On themorning of the third day, he espied a large city upon an eminence.Brightly shone the crescent upon her pinnacles, variegated flags wavedover the roofs, and seemed to be beckoning Little Muck to themselves.In surprise he stood still, contemplating the city and the surroundingcountry.
"There at length will Klein-Muck find his fortune," said he tohimself, and in spite of his fatigue bounded in the air; "there ornowhere!" He collected all his strength, and walked towards the city.But although the latter seemed quite near, he could not reach it untilmid-day, for his little limbs almost entirely refused him theirassistance, and he was obliged to sit down to rest in the shade of apalm-tree. At last he reached the gate; he fixed the mantle jauntily,wound the turban still more tastily around his head, made the girdlebroader, and arranged the dagger so as to fall still more obliquely:then, wiping the dust from his shoes, and seizing his cane, he marchedbravely through the gate.
He had already wandered through a few streets, but nowhere did anydoor open to him, nowhere did any one exclaim, as he had anticipated:"Little Muck, come in and eat and drink, and rest thy little feet."
He was looking very wistfully straight at a large fine house, when awindow opened, and an old woman, putting out her head, exclaimed in asinging tone--
"Hither, come hither! The porridge is here; The table I've spread, Come taste of my cheer. Hither, come hither! The porridge is hot; Your neighbors bring with you, To dip in the pot!"
The door opened, and Muck saw many dogs and cats walking in. For amoment he stood in doubt whether he should accept the invitation; atlast, however, he took heart and entered the mansion. Before himproceeded a couple of genteel kittens, and he resolved to follow them,since they, perhaps, knew the way to the kitchen better than himself.
When Muck had ascended the steps, he met the same old woman who hadlooked forth from the window. With frowning air she asked what hewanted.
"Thou hast invited every one to thy porridge," answered Little Muck,"and as I was very hungry, I came too."
The old woman laughed, saying, "Whence come you then, strange fellow?The whole city knows that I cook for no one but my dear cats, and nowand then, as you see, I invite their companions from theneighborhood." Little Muck told her how hard it had gone with himsince his father's death, and entreated her to let him dine, that day,with her cats. The old woman, on whom the frank relation of the littlefellow made quite an impression, permitted him to become her guest,and gave him abundance to eat and drink. When he was satisfied andrefreshed, she looked at him for som
e time, and then said:--
"Little Muck, remain with me in my service; you will have little todo, and shall be well taken care of." Muck, who had relished thecat-porridge, agreed, and thus became the servant of the Frau Ahavzi.His duties were light but singular: Frau Ahavzi had two male, and fourfemale cats; every morning Little Muck had to comb their hair, andanoint them with costly ointment. When the Frau went out, he had togive them all his attention; when they ate, he placed their bowlsbefore them; and, at night, he had to lay them on silken cushions, andwrap them up in velvet coverings. There were, moreover, a few littledogs in the house, on which he was obliged to wait; but there were notso many ceremonies gone through with these as with the cats, whom FrauAhavzi treated as her own children. As for the rest, Muck led asretired a life as in his father's house, for with the exception of theFrau, he saw every day only dogs and cats.
For a long time it went very well with Little Muck; he had enough toeat, and but little to do; and the old woman seemed to be perfectlysatisfied with him. But, by-and-by, the cats began to behave verybadly; the moment the Frau went out, they ran around the rooms as ifpossessed, threw down every thing in confusion, and broke considerablefine crockery, which stood in their way. When, however, they heardtheir mistress coming up the steps, they would creep to theircushions, and wag their tails, when they saw her, as if nothing hadhappened. The Frau Ahavzi always fell in a passion when she saw herrooms so disordered, and attributed all to Muck; assert his innocenceas he might, she believed her cats who looked so demure, in preferenceto her servant.
Little Muck was very sorry that here also he had been disappointed infinding his fortune, and determined in his own mind to leave theservice of the Frau Ahavzi. As, however, on his first journey, he hadlearned how badly one lives without money, he resolved to procure, insome way, for himself the wages which his mistress had once promisedhim, but had never paid. In the house of the Frau Ahavzi was a room,which was always closed, and the inside of which he had never seen.Nevertheless, he had often heard the Frau making a noise therein, andhe would have willingly risked his life to know what was thereconcealed. Reflecting upon his travelling-money, it occurred to himthat there his mistress might conceal her treasures. But the door wasalways tightly closed, and therefore he could not get at them.
One morning, after the Frau Ahavzi had gone out, one of the littledogs who was treated by her in a very stepmother-like manner, butwhose favor he had in a great degree gained by various acts ofkindness, pulled him by his wide pantaloons, and acted as if he wantedMuck to follow him. Muck, who always gladly played with him, did so,and perceived that the dog was leading him to the sleeping apartmentof his mistress; he stopped before a door, which the little fellow hadnever before observed, and which was now wide open. The dog entered,and Muck, following, was overjoyed at finding himself in the verychamber, which had so long been the object of his curiosity. He lookedall around for money, but could find none: old garments only, andstrangely-fashioned vases were scattered around. One of the latter, inparticular, attracted his attention; it was of crystal, and finefigures were cut thereon. He lifted it up and turned it on all sides;but, oh horror! he had not observed that it had a lid, which was butinsecurely fastened on: it fell to the floor, and broke into athousand pieces.
For a long time stood Little Muck motionless through terror; now washis fate decided, now must he fly, or be killed by the old woman. Hisdeparture was immediately resolved on; he only looked around, to seeif he could not use some of the goods of the Frau Ahavzi upon hisjourney. Thereupon, a formidable pair of huge slippers met his eye;they were not, it is true, beautiful, but his own could hold out nolonger; moreover their size was an inducement, for when he had theseupon his feet, people would see, he hoped, that he had cast off theshoes of childhood. He quickly took off his own slippers, and put onthe others. A walking-stick, also, with a fine lion's head cut uponthe handle, seemed to be standing too idly in the corner; so he seizedit, and hurried from the apartment. He hastened to his own room, puton his cloak, arranged his paternal turban, placed the dagger in hisgirdle, and ran as fast as his feet would carry him, out of the house,and out of the city. Fear of his old mistress drove him farther andstill farther, until, from fatigue, he could scarcely run any more. Hehad never gone so quickly in his life; nay, it appeared to him as ifhe could not cease running, for an invisible power seemed propellinghim on. At last he observed that this must be connected with theslippers, for they would continually shoot forward and bear him alongwith them. He endeavored in various ways, to stand still, but couldnot succeed; at last, in the greatest distress, he cried out tohimself, as a man calls to his horse, "Wo--wo!" Then the slippersstopped, and Muck fell exhausted upon the earth.
The slippers were a source of great joy to him. Thus had he, by hisservices, gained something that would help him on his way through theworld to seek his fortune. In spite of his joy, he fell asleep throughfatigue; for the body of Little Muck, which had to carry so heavy ahead, could not hold out long. In his dream the little dog appeared tohim, which had assisted him to the slippers in the house of the FrauAhavzi, and thus spoke:--
"Dear Muck, thou dost not still rightly understand the use of theslippers: know that if, in them, thou turnest thyself three timesaround upon the heel, thou canst fly wherever thou wilt; and with thestaff thou canst find treasures, for, wherever gold is buried, it willbeat three times upon the earth; where silver, twice."
Thus dreamed Little Muck. When he awoke, he reflected on the singularvision, and resolved to make the experiment immediately. He put on theslippers, lifted one foot, and began to turn around upon his heel. Butwhoever has attempted to perform this manoeuvre in an enormously wideslipper, will not wonder that the Little Muck could not succeed,particularly when he remembers that his heavy head kept falling onthis side and on that.
The poor little fellow fell several times violently upon his nose;nevertheless, that did not deter him from making the trial again, andat last he succeeded. Like a wheel he went around upon his heel,wishing himself in the nearest large city, and--the slippers mountedinto the air, ran with the speed of the wind through the clouds, andbefore Little Muck knew what to make of it, he found himself in alarge market-place, where many stalls were erected, and innumerablemen were busily running to and fro. He moved among the people, butconsidered it more prudent to retire into a less frequented street,for near the market one of the slippers bore him along so rapidly,that he almost fell down, or else ran against one and another withhis projecting dagger, so that it was with difficulty he avoided theirblows.
Little Muck now seriously reflected what he should set about, in orderto earn a piece of money. He had, it is true, a staff which would showhim concealed treasures, but how could he find a place where gold orsilver was buried. He could, indeed, in this emergency, have exhibitedhimself for money, but for this he was too proud. At last thequickness of his gait occurred to him. Perhaps, thought he, myslippers can procure me support, and he determined to hire himself outas a courier. He ventured to hope that the king of the city rewardedsuch service well, so he inquired for the palace. Before the door ofthe palace stood a guard, who asked him what he sought there. Onanswering that he was in search of service, they led him to theoverseer of the slaves. Before this one he laid his request, andentreated that he might be admitted among the royal couriers. Theoverseer measured him with his eyes from head to foot, and said: "How!with thy little feet, which are scarcely a span long, wishest thou tobecome a royal messenger? Away with thee! I cannot play with everyfool."
Little Muck assured him, however, that his proposal was made inperfect seriousness, and that he would let it come to a trial with theswiftest, upon a wager. The matter seemed very ludicrous to theoverseer. He commanded him to hold himself in readiness for a race inthe afternoon, and leading him into the kitchen, saw that he wasfurnished with proper meat and drink. He himself, however, repairedunto the king, and told him of the little man and his proposal. Theking was a merry lord, and therefore it pleased him well th
at theoverseer had kept the little man for their amusement. He directed himto make preparations in a large meadow behind the castle, that therace might be conveniently beheld by his whole court, and once morecommanded him to take great care of the dwarf. The king told hisprinces, and princesses, what a pastime they were to enjoy thatafternoon; these told it again to their attendants, and when the timearrived all were in great expectation; and as many as had feet pouredinto the meadow, where a scaffolding had been erected, in order tosee the boastful dwarf run.
As soon as the king and his sons and daughters had taken their placesupon the platform, the Little Muck walked forth upon the meadow, andmade before the noble sovereign a very elegant bow. A universal cry ofjoy arose, the moment they beheld the little fellow; such a figure hadthey never seen. The small body with the mighty head, the littlecloak, and the wide pantaloons, the long dagger in the broad girdle,the tiny feet in the immense slippers--no! it was so droll a sightthey could not keep from laughing aloud. Little Muck, however, was notdisconcerted by their laughter. He proudly walked forward, supportedby his cane, and awaited his opponent. At Muck's own desire, theoverseer of the slaves had selected the best runner. Walking in, heplaced himself near the dwarf, and both looked for the signal.Thereupon the Princess Amarza made a sign with her veil as had beenpreconcerted, and, like two arrows shot from the same bow, the racersflew over the meadow.
At first the courier took a tremendous bound, but Muck pursued him inhis slipper carriage, overtook him, passed him, and had been standingfor some time at the goal, when his opponent, gasping for breath, ranup. Amazement for a few moments enchained the spectators: the king wasthe first to clap his hands; then shouted the crowd for joy, allexclaiming, "Long live the Little Muck, the victor in the race!"
Meanwhile they had brought up the little man; he prostrated himselfbefore the king, saying, "Most mighty King, I have here given thee buta small proof of my powers; allow them, I pray thee, to give me aplace among thy couriers." The king answered:--
"Nay, dear Muck, thou shalt be my favorite messenger, and shalt remainabout my person; every year shalt thou have a hundred gold pieces asthy wages, and thou shalt sup at the table of my first attendant."
Then Muck thought he had at last found the fortune, of which he had solong been in search, and was merry and light-hearted. Moreover, herejoiced in the peculiar favor of the king, for the latter employedhim on his quickest and most secret errands, which he performed withthe greatest care, and with inconceivable rapidity.
But the other attendants of the king were not well affected towardshim, because they reluctantly saw themselves displaced from theirlord's favor by a dwarf, who knew how to do nothing, but to run fast.They set on foot many a conspiracy against him in order to work hisdestruction, but all failed, through the confidence which the kingplaced in his private Oberleiblaeufer, (for to this dignity had he inso short a time arrived.)
Muck, upon whom these movements against himself produced no effect,thought not of revenge; for that he had too good a heart: no, hereflected upon the means of making himself necessary to his enemies,and beloved by them. Thereupon the staff, which in his good fortune hehad forgotten, occurred to him; if he could find treasures, he thoughtthe lords would be more favorably disposed towards him. He had beforethis often heard that the father of the present king had buried muchof his gold, when the enemy had invaded the land; they said, moreover,that he had died without imparting the secret to his son. From thistime Muck always carried his cane, in the hope that he would sometime pass over the place where the money of the old king was buried.
One evening, chance led him into a remote portion of thecastle-garden, which he seldom visited, when suddenly he felt thestaff move in his hand, and three times it beat upon the ground. Heknew in an instant what this indicated; accordingly he drew forth hisdagger, made marks on the surrounding trees, and then slipped backinto the castle. Then he procured a spade, and awaited night for hisundertaking.
Treasure-digging, however, gave Muck more trouble than he hadanticipated. His arms were very feeble, his spade large and heavy; hemight perhaps have been laboring a couple of hours, without gettingany farther down than as many feet. At length he hit upon somethinghard, which sounded like iron: he then set to work still morediligently, and soon brought up a large cover; he then descended intothe hole, in order to examine what the cover concealed, and found alarge pot completely full of gold pieces. His feeble wisdom, however,did not teach him to lift up the pot; but he put in his pantaloonsand girdle as much as he could carry, filled his cloak, and thencarefully covering up the rest, placed the load upon his back. But,indeed, if he had not had the slippers on his feet, he could not havestirred, so heavily did the gold weigh him down. Then, unobserved, hereached his room, and secured the money under the cushions of hissofa.
When the little man saw so much gold in his possession, he thought thetables would now be turned, and that from among his enemies at court,he could gain many well-wishers and warm friends. But even in this,one could see that the good Muck had enjoyed no very carefuleducation; otherwise he would not have imagined that he could buy truefriends with gold. Ah! that he had then put on his slippers, and withhis mantle full of gold, scampered away!
The gold which from this time Little Muck distributed with lavishhand, awakened the envy of the other court-attendants. Thekitchen-master, Ahuli, said, "He is a counterfeiter." Theslave-overseer, Achmet, said, "He has cajoled the king." But Archaz,the treasurer, his most wicked enemy, who himself, even, now and thenput his hand into his lord's coffers, exclaimed, "He is a thief." Inorder to be sure of the thing, they consulted together, and the headcup-bearer, Korchuz, placed himself one day, with a very sorrowful anddepressed air, before the eyes of the king. He made his wo soapparent, that the king asked him what was the matter.
"Ah!" answered he, "I am sorry that I have lost the favor of my lord!"
"Why talkest thou idly, friend Korchuz?" rejoined the monarch. "Sincewhen have I veiled from thee the sun of my favor?"
The cup-bearer answered, that he loaded his private Oberleiblaeuferwith money, but gave his poor faithful servants nothing. The king wasmuch astonished at this accusation, had the story of Muck'sgold-distribution told him, and the conspirators soon aroused in himthe suspicion that the dwarf had, in some way or other, stolen themoney from the treasure-chamber. Very pleasant was this turn of thematter to the treasurer, who would not otherwise have willinglysubmitted his accounts to examination. The king thereupon commandedthat they should secretly watch all the movements of the dwarf, inorder, if possible, to surprise him in the act. When, now, on thenight which followed the fatal day, seeing his funds almost exhaustedby his generosity, Muck crept forth, with his spade, into thecastle-garden, to bring new supplies from his secret treasury, thewatch followed him in the distance, led by Ahuli and Archaz; and, atthe moment when he was removing the gold from the pot to his cloak,they fell upon him, bound him, and immediately led him before theking. The latter, whom, independently of any thing else, thisinterruption of his sleep would have enraged, received his poor dwarfvery ungraciously, and ordered an immediate trial. Meanwhile they haddug the full pot out of the ground, and with the spade and cloak fullof gold had placed it before the king. The treasurer said that he hadsurprised Muck with his guard, just as he had buried this vessel ofgold in the earth.
The king thereupon inquired of the accused, whether it was true, andwhence the gold had come.
Little Muck, conscious of innocence, answered that he had discoveredthis pot in the garden; that he had not buried it, but had brought itto light.
All present laughed aloud at this defence; the king, however, provokedin the highest degree by the supposed impudence of the dwarf,exclaimed, "How, wretch! wilt thou so stupidly and shamelessly lie tothy king, after having stolen from him? Treasurer Archaz, I commandthee to say whether thou knowest this sum of gold to be the same thatis missing from my treasury."
The treasurer thereupon answered that he was sure of the thing; that
so much and even more had been missing from the royal treasures; andhe could take his oath that this was the stolen money. Then the kingcommanded them to place Little Muck in galling chains, and convey himto prison: to Archaz, however, he gave the gold, that he might restoreit to the treasury. Delighted at the fortunate issue of the matter,the officer took it, and counted out, at home, the glittering goldpieces; but the bad man never disclosed that down in the pot lay aletter, to the following purport:--
"The enemy has overrun my land; therefore I here conceal a portion of my treasure. Whoever may find it, the curse of his king fall upon him, if he do not immediately deliver it to my son!
KING SADI."
In his dungeon, poor Muck gave way to sorrowful reflections; he knewthat for taking royal property death was the penalty; and yet--hecould not betray the secret of his staff unto the king, because, inthat case, he justly feared being deprived of both that, and hisslippers. His slippers, alas! could render him no help, for there byclose fetters he was fastened to the wall, and, torment himself as hemight, he could not turn around upon his heel. When, however, on thenext day, sentence of death was pronounced, he thought it would bebetter to live without the magic staff, than to die with it; and,having asked a private audience with the king, disclosed to him thesecret. At first the king gave no credit to his assertions, but LittleMuck promised him a proof, if he would respite him from death. Theking gave him his word upon it, and having had some gold buried in theearth, unseen by Muck, commanded him to find it with his cane. In afew moments he succeeded in doing so, for the staff beat three timesdistinctly upon the ground. Then the king saw that his treasurer hadbetrayed him, and sent him, as is customary in the East, a silkencord, wherewith he should strangle himself. To Little Muck, however,he said:--
"I have indeed promised thee thy life, but it seems to me that this isnot the only secret thou art possessed of, connected with this staff.Therefore thou shalt remain in everlasting captivity, if thou do notconfess what relation exists between it and thy rapid running."
Little Muck, whom one night in his dungeon had deprived of all desirefor further confinement, acknowledged that his whole art lay in theslippers; nevertheless, he informed not the king of the wonderfuleffect of turning three times upon the heel. The king put on theslippers, himself, in order to make the experiment, and ran, like mad,through the garden; often did he wish to hold up, but he knew not howto bring the slippers to a halt, and Muck, who could not deny himselfthis revenge, let him run on, until he fell down exhausted.
When the king returned to consciousness, he was terribly angry atLittle Muck, who had suffered him to run until so entirely out ofbreath. "I have promised thee thy freedom and life," said he, "butwithin twelve hours must thou leave my land; otherwise will I havethee hung." The slippers and cane, however, he commanded them to bearto his treasure-chamber.
Thus, poor as ever, wandered the little fellow forth through the land,cursing the folly which had led him astray, and prevented his playingan important part at court. The land from which he was banished, wasfortunately not extensive, and accordingly eight hours brought him tothe frontier; but travelling, now that he was used to his dearslippers, came very hard to him. Having arrived at the border, hechose the usual road for reaching the most lonely part of the forest,for he hated all men, and resolved to live there by himself. In athick portion of the wood, he lighted on a place, which seemed to himquite suitable for the resolution he had taken. A clear brook,surrounded by large shady fig-trees, and a soft turf, invited him: hethrew himself down, determined to taste food no more, but calmly toawait his end. Amid his sorrowful reflections on death, he fellasleep; when he awoke, he was tormented by hunger, and began to thinkthat starving to death was rather an unpleasant affair; so he lookedaround to find something to eat.
Fine ripe figs hung upon the tree beneath which he had slept; hestretched forth his hand to pluck some; their taste was delicious, andthen he descended into the brook to slake his thirst. But what was hishorror, when the water showed his head adorned with two immense ears,and a long thick nose! Amazed, he clapped his hands upon his ears, andthey were really more than half an ell long.
"I deserve ass's ears!" he exclaimed; "for, like an ass, have Itrodden Fortune under my feet." He wandered around among the trees,and feeling hunger again, was obliged to have recourse once more tothe fig-tree, for he could find nothing else that was eatable. Afterthe second portion of figs, it struck him that if his ears could findroom beneath his large turban, he would not look so ridiculous, and,on trying it, he found that his ears had vanished. He ran straightback to the stream, in order to convince himself thereof; it wasactually so; his ears had resumed their original figure, his longmisshapen nose was no more! He soon perceived how all this hadhappened; from the first fig-tree he had received the long nose andears, the second had relieved him of them: he saw with joy that kinddestiny yet again placed in his hands the means of becoming fortunate.He plucked, therefore, from each tree as many figs as he could carry,and went back to the land which shortly before he had left. There, inthe first town, he disguised himself by means of different garments;then, turning again to the city inhabited by the king, he soon arrivedat it.
For about a year ripe fruit had been quite scarce; Little Muck,therefore, placed himself before the gate of the palace, for from hisformer residence there, it was well known to him, that here suchrareties would be purchased by the kitchen-master for the royal table.Muck had not long been seated, when he saw that dignitary walkingacross the court-yard. He examined the articles of the traders whohad placed themselves at the palace-gate; at length his eye fell uponMuck's little basket.
"Ah! a dainty morsel!" said he, "which will certainly please hismajesty: what wish you for the whole basket?" Muck set a high priceupon them, and the bargain was soon struck. The kitchen-master gavethe basket to his slave, and went his way: meantime Little Muck stoleaway, for he feared, when the change should show itself on the headsof the court, that he, as the one who sold them, would be sought forpunishment.
At table the king was well pleased, and praised his kitchen-mastermore than ever, on account of his good kitchen, and the care withwhich he always sought the rarest morsels for his table; the officer,however, who well knew what dainties he had in the back-ground, smiledpleasantly, and let fall but few words: "The day is not all past tillevening," or "End good, all good;" so that the princesses were verycurious to know what he would still bring on. The moment, however, hehad the fine, inviting figs set upon the table, a universal "Ah!"escaped the lips of those who were present. "How ripe! how delicate!"exclaimed the king; "kitchen-master, thou art a whole-souled man, anddeservest our peculiar favor!" Thus speaking, the king, who with suchchoice dishes took care to be very sparing, with his own handsdistributed the figs around the table. Each prince and princessreceived two; the ladies of the court, the Viziers and Agas, each one;the rest he placed before himself, and began to swallow them withgreat delight.
"In the name of heaven, father, why lookest thou so strange?" suddenlyexclaimed the Princess Amarza. All gazed in astonishment upon theking; vast ears hung down from his head, a long nose stretched itselfbridge-like, over above his chin; upon themselves also they looked,one upon another, with amazement and horror; all, more or less, wereadorned with the same strange headdress.
The horror of the court may be imagined. All the physicians in thecity were immediately sent for; they came with a blustering air,prescribed pills and mixtures, but ears and noses remained. Theyoperated on one of the princes, but the ears grew out again.
From the place of concealment into which he had withdrawn, Muck hadheard the whole story, and perceived that it was now time for him tocommence operations. He had already, with the money obtained by thesale of his figs, procured a dress which would represent him as alearned man; a long beard of goat's hair completed the illusion. Witha small sack full of figs he repaired to the royal palace, and offeredhis assistance as a foreign physician. At first they were quiteinc
redulous; but when Little Muck gave a fig to one of the princes,and thereby restored ears and nose to their original shape, then wereall eager to be cured by the stranger. But the king took him silentlyby the hand, and led him to his apartment; then, opening a door thatled into the treasure-chamber, he made signs to Muck to follow.
"Here are my treasures," said the king; "choose for thyself: whateverit may be, it shall be thine, if thou wilt free me from this shamefulevil." This was sweet music in the ears of Little Muck: at the momentof entering he had seen his slippers standing upon the floor, and hardby lay his little staff. He moved around the room, as if in wonder atthe royal treasures; but no sooner had he reached his beloved shoes,than he hastily slipped into them, and seizing the little cane, toreoff his false beard, and displayed to the astonished king thewell-known countenance of his exiled Muck.
"False king!" said he, "who rewardest faithful service withingratitude, take, as well-deserved punishment, the deformity whichthou now hast. The ears I leave thee, that, each day they may remindthee of Little Muck." Having thus spoken, he turned quickly aroundupon his heel, wished himself far away, and before the king could callfor help Little Muck had vanished. Ever since, he has lived here ingreat affluence, but alone, for men he despises. Experience has madehim a wise man--one who, though there is something offensive in hisexterior, deserves rather your admiration than your ridicule.
* * * * *
Such was my father's story. I assured him that I sincerely repented ofmy behavior towards the good little man, and he remitted the otherhalf of the punishment which he had intended for me. To my comrades Itold the wonderful history of the dwarf, and we conceived such anaffection for him, that no one insulted him any more. On the contrary,we honored him as long as he lived, and bowed as low to him as to Cadior Mufti.
* * * * *
The travellers determined to rest a day in this caravansery, in orderto refresh themselves and their beasts for the rest of their journey.The gayety of the day before again prevailed, and they divertedthemselves with various sports. After the meal, however, they calledupon the fifth merchant, Ali Sizah, to perform his duty to the rest,and give them a story. He answered, that his life was too poor inremarkable adventures for him to relate one connected therewith, buthe would tell them something which had no relation to it: "The storyof the False Prince."
The Oriental Story Book: A Collection of Tales Page 11