by Jane Yolen
“He just was a chap to ride!” they said. “So grand a knight isn’t to be found in the wide world.”
“Oh!” said Boots, “I should so like to have seen him, that I should.”
“Ah!” said his brothers, “his mail shone a deal brighter than the glowing coals which you are always poking and digging at, nasty dirty beast that you are.”
Next day all the knights and princes were to pass before the king and the princess—it was too late to do so the night before, I suppose—that he who had the gold apple might bring it forth; but one came after another, first the princes and then the knights, and still no one could show the gold apple.
“Well,” said the king, “someone must have it, for it was something that we all saw with our own eyes, how a man came and rode up and bore it off.”
So he commanded that everyone who was in the kingdom should come up to the palace and see if they could show the apple. Well, they all came, one after another, but no one had the golden apple, and after a long time the two brothers of Boots came. They were the last of all, so the king asked them if there was no one else in the kingdom who hadn’t come.
“Oh, yes,” said they. “We have a brother, but he never carried off the golden apple. He hasn’t stirred out of the dusthole on any of the three days.”
“Never mind that,” said the king. “He may as well come up to the palace to rest.”
So Boots had to go to the palace.
“How, now,” said the king, “have you got the golden apple? Speak out!”
“Yes, I have,” said Boots. “Here is the first, and here is the second, and here is the third too,” and with that he pulled all three golden apples out of his pockets, and at the same time threw off his sooty rags and stood before them in his gleaming golden mail.
“Yes!” said the king. “You shall have my daughter and half my kingdom, for you well deserve both her and it.”
So they got ready for the wedding, and Boots got the princess to wife, and there was great merrymaking at the bridal feast, you may fancy, for they could all be merry though they couldn’t ride up the hill of glass; and all I can say is, if they haven’t left off their merrymaking yet, they’re still at it.
THE PROMISES OF THE THREE SISTERS
Egypt
Once there was a king. He wanted to see if his subjects loved him or not. He said to his vizier, “Vizier, send criers throughout my country to tell people not to have any lights on tonight.”
The vizier carried out the king’s order.
That night the king said to the vizier, “Let’s go out and see who loves me and who does not.”
They disguised themselves as merchants, wearing merchants’ clothes, and went through town. It was very dark in town, for nobody had lights on.
The vizier said to the king, “Now you can be sure that everybody loves you.” And they started back to the palace.
At the edge of town, they saw a very faint light coming from a small distant hut. The king was very upset and said to his vizier, “Let’s go and see what’s the matter with those who have disobeyed my order.”
When they arrived at the hut, they found three girls weaving inside. The eldest girl was pretty, the middle girl was prettier, but the youngest girl was the prettiest. The king and the vizier listened to them talk as they wove.
The first one said, “If the king were to marry me, I would bake him a cake that would be enough for him and his army.”
The second girl said, “If the king were to marry me, I would weave him a carpet that would seat him and his army.”
The third one said, “If the king were to marry me, I would bear him Sitt el-Husn [mistress of beauty] and Clever Muhammad. Their hair would be of gold and silver; for every golden hair there would be a silver hair.”
The king listened to what they said and went home. In the morning he sent for them. When they came he asked them, “Why did you disobey my orders? Didn’t you know that I ordered that no lights would be lit last night?”
The girls replied, “We knew, king.”
“Then why did you disobey my orders?” asked the king.
They answered, “We are orphans, and we have to weave all night so that we can sell what we weave in the morning for three piasters. If we didn’t weave, we would die of hunger.”
The king said, “I forgive you,” and he gave each of them a present and said to the eldest, “Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” Of course the girl agreed.
The day following the wedding night, the king said to her, “Now bake me a cake that will be enough for me and my army.”
The girl laughed and said, “Did you believe this? ‘Night talk is covered with butter; it melts when the sun rises.’ ”
The king divorced her and married the middle sister.
Again on the day following the wedding night the king said to her, “Now weave me the rug that will seat me and my army.”
The girl laughed and said, “Did you believe this? ‘Night talk is covered with butter; it melts when the sun rises.’ ”
The king divorced her and married the youngest sister.
God was kind to her, and on the day following the wedding night, she was pregnant. After nine months she gave birth to twins, a baby girl and a baby boy. Her sisters, who were living in the palace as servants, had fires of jealousy ignited inside them. They agreed with the midwife to substitute a puppy and a kitten for the boy and the girl. They put the infants in a box and nailed down the lid and threw it in the river.
When they told the king, “Your wife gave birth to a puppy and a kitten,” the king was sad, but he replied, “God’s grant is always good. Take the children to her, and let her feed them.”
He sent her off with her sisters and stayed alone sadly.
Now we go back to the box. It drifted with the current until it got caught in the weeds. A fisherman who had nobody but himself and his wife was fishing nearby. God had been sending him two fish a day, one for himself and one for his wife. He saw the box, picked it out of the water, and ran home to his wife.
His wife said to him, “Take it back to where you found it, for it is either money that we don’t need or evil that we don’t want at this old age. We are seeking only a good end.”
Her husband said to her, “Woman, this was sent to us by God, and we have to accept it.”
They opened the box and found the two beautiful babies. The girl had her thumb in the boy’s mouth and the boy had his thumb in the girl’s mouth. They were suckling each other. They took them in and called the boy Clever Muhammad and the girl Sitt el-Husn. The woman immediately had milk in her breasts, and that day the fisherman caught four fish.
Folktales’ children grow quickly. The boy and girl loved each other very much. When the girl cried, it rained, and her brother, wherever he was, would know that she was unhappy. When she smiled, the sun shone, and her brother would know she was happy.
One day the fisherman called his son and said, “Son, I will die on such-and-such a day. Under my pillow you will find two hairs from a horse’s mane. If you need anything, just rub them.”
The boy went out fishing in his father’s place that day. After a while it started raining, and he realized that his sister was crying and that his father had died. He went back and did what needed to be done and buried his father.
The following day when he was out, the mother called the girl and said to her, “Daughter, I’m going to die on Friday. Under my pillow you will find a purse. Every morning when you open it, you will find ten pounds in it.”
A few days later, when the boy was out fishing, it started raining, and again the boy knew that his sister was crying and that his mother had died. He went home and did what needed to be done. He called an old woman who was there: “Mother, won’t you help us wash my mother!” And he buried her.
The boy and his sister left the hut and went to town. With every sunrise the girl found ten pounds in the purse. She saved all the money she found and finally bought a plot o
f land opposite the king’s palace. She got builders and said to them, “I want you to build a palace exactly like that of the king.”
One day the king was passing by and saw the new palace. He asked, “Whose palace is this?”
People answered him, “Clever Muhammad and his sister Sitt el-Husn’s.”
The king met Clever Muhammad and found him to be very generous and polite. He liked him very much, and they spent most of their time together. They ate together, drank together, sat together, did everything together.
Now the boy’s maternal aunts, his mother’s sisters, recognized him because of his gold and silver hair. They kept on inquiring about him and learned also about his sister. Now they said, “Surely they are the two babies that we had thrown in the river.”
They went to visit this sister. They said to her, “Sweetheart, your palace is beautiful, and it is complete except for one thing.”
She asked, “What is it?”
They answered (they were mischievous), “It is very hard to get, and your brother would not be willing to get it for you.”
She said, “Just tell me, and my brother will get it for me.”
They said to her, “Your palace lacks the dancing bamboo.”
While her brother was sitting with the king, it started raining. He realized that his sister was crying. He asked the king’s permission and left. When he got home he asked her, “Why are you crying, sister?”
She told him, “I want the dancing bamboo.”
Clever Muhammad said to her, “Don’t worry; you will have it.”
They prepared rations for him, and he set out “from God’s countries to God’s peoples” asking about the dancing bamboo.
One old woman told him, “Between you and the dancing bamboo is three years’ travel. It is in the garden of Father Ogre. The ogre sleeps for seven years and is awake for seven years. Hurry, may God will that you catch him during his sleep, the seven years of his sleep.”
Clever Muhammad went in the direction that the old woman showed him; he finally got to the ogre’s garden. He heard neither sound nor word. He climbed the walls, and inside the garden he saw the bamboo, dancing just like humans, even better. When he got close, the bamboo started dancing very hard. The birds started screaming, and the roses shouted, “A stranger! A stranger! A thief!”
He quickly pulled out a bunch of bamboo, wrapped the roots in his mantle, and fled. Meanwhile, it was time for Father Ogre to wake up. The noise and the shouting awakened him, and he came out to look. He saw Clever Muhammad escaping. But before he could do anything, Clever Muhammad was gone. He went back to where he came.
When his sister Sitt el-Husn saw the bamboo, she became very happy. They planted the bunch in the garden. It grew and prospered and kept on dancing.
Her two maternal aunts came and saw the bamboo that dances. They knew that Clever Muhammad had returned safely. They said to Sitt el-Husn, “That bamboo is nothing! Still your garden lacks the singing water!” And they left.
Sitt el-Husn cried, and it rained. Her brother saw it and came back in a hurry. “What is the matter, sister?”
She answered in tears, “I want the singing water!”
He said, “Never worry. I will get it for you.”
Like the first time, they prepared rations, and he set out “from God’s countries to God’s peoples.” He took the same road that he had taken before and came to the same old woman. She said to him, “Clever Muhammad! Now what?”
He answered, “I need to get the singing water.”
The old woman said to him, “Between you and the singing water is seven years’ journey. It is in the garden of Mother Ogress. She is like her son and sleeps for seven years and is awake for seven years. Take this road.”
Clever Muhammad took the road which she showed him. He kept on traveling until he came to a beautiful palace with walls as high as ten men’s height. He climbed the walls and got in. What happened in the garden of Father Ogre happened in the garden of Mother Ogress. The water started shouting, “A stranger! A thief!” and so did the birds and the roses and the fruits, everything.
He filled a bottle which he had with him, and before the ogress woke up, he was on his way home. He returned to his sister, and they put the water in a fountain. It started singing! Now they had two wonders in their garden, the dancing bamboo and the singing water.
Their two aunts came to visit Sitt el-Husn. Of course they had thought that Clever Muhammad was gone—that he had died, or a beast had eaten him or something—but when they heard that he had returned, they thought of another disaster into which to throw him and his sister Sitt el-Husn.
They went to Sitt el-Husn and said to her, “Now your garden will be perfect, perfect if only you get the talking lark.”
They left, and Sitt el-Husn cried. Her brother came. She said to him, “Our palace—is lacking—the talking lark. I want it.”
He said to her, “Never mind. I’ll get it for you.”
He set out with his rations and took the same road which he had taken before. He got to the old woman. She said to him, “Now, Clever Muhammad, what next?”
He said to her, “I need the talking lark!”
The old woman said to him, “All but that! Someone wants you destroyed. You go back home and settle down, for no one knows where the land of the talking lark is.”
Clever Muhammad did not know what to do. While he was sitting and thinking, he remembered the two hairs his father had given to him. He rubbed them, and there in front of him he found a horse; this horse was the son of the king of the jinn.
The horse said to him, “I’m at your command. Order and you will find.”
Clever Muhammad told him the story. The son of the king of the jinn said, “Between you and the talking lark there are a thousand years. It is in the garden of the palace of Um-ishi-Aoor, the long-haired lady. I can only take you there, but I can’t go in with you. When you get there, you will find sheep grazing there. Take one and cut it in four pieces. In front of her palace you will find two lions. Give each one a sheep quarter. They will say to you, ‘Hello, Clever Muhammad. You have honored us.’ Do not answer them at all, because if you do, you will find yourself changed into stone. At the second gate of the palace, you will find two dogs. Give each one a sheep quarter. They will say to you, ‘Hello, Clever Muhummad. You have honored us.’ Do not answer them at all, because if you do, they will tear you apart. Inside the garden you will find Lady Um-ishi-Aoor. She will say to you, ‘Hello, Clever Muhammad. I love you, Clever Muhammad. You are predestined for me, Clever Muhammad.’ Do not dare to answer her or to utter a word. If you were to speak, she would transform you into stone.”
Clever Muhammad did as the son of the king of the jinn told him. As he entered the garden, trees spoke to him: “Hello, Clever Muhammad.” And roses spoke to him: “Welcome, Clever Muhammad.” And finally he found the long-haired lady before him. There were many stone people all around him; they had wanted to get the lark but had not kept silent. Wherever he looked, there were stone people.
The long-haired lady said to him, “I love you, Clever Muhammad. I know why you are here, Clever Muhammad. I know what your mother’s sisters have done to you and to your sister.” But he did not pay any attention to what she said. He walked to the middle of the garden and found a golden cage on a marble pedestal. The talking lark was sitting outside of its open door. The lark kept on saying, “Clever Muhammad, you whose father is a king—you who—you who—”
Clever Muhammad did not utter a word. Finally, when the lark got tired of talking, it said, “I am tired! Isn’t there someone who will say to me, ‘Rest!’ Isn’t there someone who will say to me, ‘Sleep!’ Isn’t there someone—isn’t there someone—”
Finally Clever Muhammad shouted at it, “Why don’t you be quiet! Why don’t you sleep, brother, and get it over with?” Immediately he was turned to stone.
Now, to whom shall we go back with our tale? To his sister, Sitt el-Husn. His sister’s heart felt tha
t her brother was in danger. She put on men’s clothing and prepared rations and left. She kept on going—one country carries her and one country puts her down. She finally saw a huge dust cloud reaching to the sky; it kept on coming nearer to her, and finally she saw herself in front of an ogre. Before the ogre could say anything, she said to him, “Peace be upon you, Father Ogre.”
The ogre replied, “Had your greeting not preceded your speech, I would have munched on your flesh before your bones. What brings you here?”
She said, “I am looking for the talking lark.”
He said to her (he didn’t know that she was a woman), “Son, why don’t you go back. You are too young to die.”
She said, “I must go on.”
He said to her, “Keep on going this way; you will find my brother. He is one day older and one year more knowledgeable than myself.”
She kept on going until she met the brother of the ogre. She said to him, “Peace be upon you, Father Ogre.”
He said to her, “Had your greeting not preceded your speech, I would have munched on your flesh before your bones. What do you want?”
She said, “I want to go to the country of the talking lark.”
He said to her, like the first one, “Go back” and all that.
She said, “I must go on.”
He said to her, “Keep on going. You will meet our eldest brother. He is one day older and one year more knowledgeable than myself or my younger brother whom you have met.”
She kept on going until she finally came to the third ogre. He was the biggest of them all. She said to him, “Peace be upon you.”
He answered, “Had your greeting not preceded your speech, I would have munched on your flesh before your bones. What do you want?”
She said, “I want to go to the country of the talking lark.”
He said to her, “It must be very important to you. Take this ball and this racket. Hit the ball with the racket and follow it. It will take you there in no time.”
She took the ball and the racket and kept on hitting the ball with the racket and following it until she finally found herself in front of the palace of the long-haired lady. She did as her brother did. She killed a sheep and gave each lion a quarter. They let her pass through the gate. When she met the two dogs, she gave each one of them a quarter and found herself inside the garden.