Pearls on a Branch

by Najla Jraissaty Khoury

  As for the wicker basket, the river swept it up and the current carried it along until it touched shore near a planted garden. The gardener was taken aback to find a basket which had inside it two little infants of radiant beauty. He picked them up and ran to his wife, saying:

  “Be happy with the news I bring! God has sent us two children. They will be our family in the years that are left to us.”

  The gardener’s wife kissed them and held them tenderly in her arms. The old couple took care of the children and raised them lovingly. Surrounded with affection and indulgence, the twins flourished: the boy with the lock of silver in his hair and his sister with the lock of gold. They learned to read and write; they also practiced fencing and horseback riding. Time passed and the gardener’s wife died and was mourned. When the gardener too was on his deathbed, he called the children to him and explained how he had found them in a wicker basket floating down the river. He showed them where he kept the money he had saved for them to live on and after urging them never to be parted from each other, he kissed them both and died.

  The twins continued to live together in the same house. Then one day one of their aunts, their mother’s sister, happened to see them as they were walking outside. She followed them to find out where they lived and raced to tell the other aunt what she had discovered:

  “I saw them with my own eyes! Twins! With a lock of silver and a lock of gold! They are alive!”

  “What if the king finds out?” cried her sister. “He will surely cut off our heads. What can we do?”

  They went to the old midwife, asking her to help them in their difficulty. Meeting in secret with the two sisters, the old woman devised a scheme. She made her way to the gardener’s house and knocked at the door. The girl was alone. When she opened the door the old woman said:

  “My dear, do you have a corner in your house where I can pray? I don’t want to miss the midday prayers.”

  “Please come in, Granny,” said the girl, “I bid you welcome!”

  When the old woman had done praying she said:

  “What a beautiful house you have, God bless it! How well built and spacious!”

  The girl was pleased to hear this, so she showed the old woman round; she took her into the bedrooms and to the garden behind the house. Everywhere the old midwife went she was filled with wonder. Each time she admired a part of the house that impressed her she repeated, “It is God’s will! Mashallah! It is God’s will!” People say this to avert bad luck. She went on:

  “My dear child, you possess everything, you lack nothing! The only thing you need for your happiness to be complete is Bulbul as-Siah, the Nightingale that Speaks.”

  “A nightingale that speaks?” asked the girl in surprise, “Where can I get it?”

  “What a question!” said the old woman, “Ask your brother for it! You told me he was the world’s best horseman. Let your brother bring it for you!”

  And off she went.

  Sitting alone in the house, the girl kept thinking about Bulbul as-Siah and crying. She waited impatiently for her brother to come home. When he returned in the evening and asked why she wept, she told him about the strange bird that would make her happiness complete:

  “Bring me Bulbul as-Siah, dear Brother,” she said, “and I will never ask for anything again!”

  “It must live in some faraway place,” said her brother, “How can I go and leave you by yourself?”

  This made her cry the harder but she went on begging until at last he said:

  “Prepare the supplies and get the provisions

  For you I’ll go to the farthest of regions.”

  The next morning he packed and set out alone, to faraway countries, beyond his own.

  He traversed mountains and valleys and rode across level plains until he came to a parting of the ways. There in the middle of the path sat a ghoul, his hair so long it covered his eyes and his face. The young man saluted the ghoul and said:

  “Peace be with you, Uncle Ghoul.”

  The ghoul said:

  “Had not your greeting

  Come first before your speaking,

  Your flesh and bones I’d now be eating.”

  The youth approached the ghoul, cleaned his face, cut his hair and altogether sweetened his mood.

  “Wonderful! I can see the world again!” said the ghoul.

  The young man told his story and explained that he was seeking Bulbul as-Siah.

  The ghoul advised him:

  “Take this road until you reach an orchard in the grounds of a castle. You will see two birdcages, one made of gold and one of woven cane. Take the cage of cane and don’t think of touching the cage of gold.”

  The youth rode on and on till he came to the orchard. Fruits of every kind and shape hung from the branches of the trees and there before him were the two cages, a bird in each. He said to himself:

  “Does it make sense to take the cage of cane and leave the one of gold?”

  As soon as he reached with his arm to seize the golden cage, the bird inside awoke and gave a warning shriek. In an instant, the guards protecting the orchard fell upon the boy. They arrested him and took him to the king. The king asked,

  “What brought you to this place, young man?”

  He answered,

  “Believe me, O King of the Age, my motive is not greed but love. I am here for my sister’s sake.”

  He told his story and the king said,

  “Good! I will give you Bulbul as-Siah if you bring me the Rice-Bearing Tree.”

  The young man mounted his horse and left. He crossed hills and valleys until he found himself face-to-face with a ghoul sitting in the middle of the road with one leg pointing to the east and one leg to the west. He saluted the ghoul and the ghoul said:

  “Had not your greeting

  Preceded your speaking,

  The mountaintops and heath

  Would hear me crunch your bones between my teeth.”

  The youth went up to the ghoul and bathed him and cleaned him and offered him a piece of cheese to soften his throat. The ghoul was pleased. When the young man told his story and explained that he was looking for the Rice-Bearing Tree, the ghoul said:

  “Continue on this road until you come to a garden alongside a river. There you will find the Rice-Bearing Tree. Break off one small twig and do not think of uprooting the whole tree.”

  The young man rode and went on riding until he reached the garden. Greenery and grass covered the ground and in the midst of it, white and translucent, stood the Rice-Bearing Tree. Instead of breaking off a small twig, the youth thought:

  “Does it make sense to take a twig and leave the tree?”

  But the moment he raised his hand to touch it, the tree shuddered and began to rustle. Immediately he was surrounded by guards who seized him and took him to the king. The king asked:

  “What brought you to this place, young man?”

  He said:

  “Believe me, O King of our Time, my reason for coming is not greed but love. I am here for my sister’s sake.”

  He told his story and how he wanted the Rice-Bearing Tree in order to get Bulbul as-Siah, the Nightingale that Speaks. The king said:

  “Good! I’ll give you the tree if you bring me the daughter of the king of the Far City.”

  The young man leapt onto his horse and went on his way. When he reached the city gate, he saw an old man sitting by the side of the road, leaning on a cane. The man asked:

  “Where are you going, my son?”

  The young man answered:

  “I am looking for the king’s daughter.”

  “That is a difficult and dangerous quest,” said the old man.

  The young man said:

  “Let me tell you, Uncle, that my motive is not greed but love of my sister. For her sake I am willing to undertake any difficult and dangerous task.”

  And he explained how he wanted to find the king’s daughter in order to get the Rice-Bearing Tree and that he needed t
he tree to get Bulbul as-Siah. The old man said:

  “I can help you but listen to me carefully, my Son! I will be transforming myself into a bird and I will fly with you to the king’s daughter. You will enter her room. She will be in front of the mirror combing her hair. If you pluck one hair she will come with you. But do not on any account take more than a single hair!”

  The old man stood up and struck the ground with his cane. There was a flash of light so bright that the boy was forced to close his eyes. When he opened them again he saw a large bird spreading its wings and inviting him to mount. He climbed onto the bird’s back and was carried through the air until he reached the window of the king’s daughter. He alighted carefully and softly entered the room. The king’s beautiful daughter was in front of the mirror combing her long black hair. The youth plucked one hair only. The young woman stopped what she was doing but smiled at him in the mirror. The young man froze, overcome by her beauty, unable to breathe. When he took her hand, she came willingly as if she had been expecting him. She rode beside him on the bird’s back and so they flew until they reached the king who owned the Rice-Bearing Tree.

  The princess stopped at the garden’s edge, watching the bird turn into an old man and the old man strike the ground with his cane and turn into a young woman with long black hair exactly like herself.

  The youth presented this second girl to the king and in exchange he received a twig off the Rice-Bearing Tree. However, when the king went up to the girl to hold her, she became an old man tapping the ground with his stick. The king was dumbfounded. Then the old man turned into a bird. The princess and the youth rode on his back with the twig off the Rice-Bearing Tree and traveled through the air until they came to the king who owned Bulbul as-Siah. The young woman dismounted and remained in the orchard holding the twig of the Rice-Bearing Tree while the bird changed into a Rice-Bearing Tree. The young man went into the king’s presence carrying what the king thought was the Rice-Bearing Tree and he took the cage of woven cane that held Bulbul as-Siah.

  When the king went to touch the tree, it became an old man holding a cane to guide him. The king could not believe what he was seeing. The old man changed into a bird once more and carried the princess and the youth on his back with the twig of the Rice-Bearing Tree and the cage of Bulbul as-Siah. They flew a long way above valleys and plains until they reached the boy’s sister in the gardener’s house. There the bird changed back into his old self again. Brother and sister thanked the old man and bid him goodbye and he returned to his own city.

  The sister was overjoyed to see her brother. She kissed him and kissed the princess too. Then she took the twig of the Rice-Bearing Tree and planted it in the garden in front of the house. In the blink of an eye it grew into a large and shady tree with branches stretching to the sky! Next the girl opened the cage of woven cane. Bulbul as-Siah flew out beating his wings and warbling as he fluttered above their heads. He perched on the Rice-Bearing Tree, shaking the grains of rice that sparkled in the sunlight and flashed rainbow colors as they danced to his song.

  “Are you perfectly happy now, dear Sister?” asked the young man.

  “My happiness will be complete with your happiness when you marry the princess,” she replied.

  So the young man married the princess, his sister was delighted, and all three were contented living together. The people of the city shared their joy; they came in crowds to witness the wonders of Bubul as-Siah and the Rice-Bearing Tree as well as the radiance of the twin brother and sister with their gold and silver hair.

  The news eventually reached the palace. So the king’s son decided to go and see for himself. When he arrived he was dazzled by the magical scene: liveliness and color and beauty and happy faces. Suddenly the Nightingale-that-Speaks perched on the Rice-Bearing-Tree right in front of the prince, and looking directly at him, sang:

  “I am Bulbul as-Siah.

  I bring you no distress

  Misfortunes even less

  But I ask you to guess:

  Is it a likely thing

  That the wife of a king

  Into the world would bring

  A kitten and a puppy dog?

  No! She gave birth to a boy and a girl,

  One with a lock of silver and one with a golden curl!”

  The people stared at the king’s son while he looked back at the crowd. Among the rest, his eye fell on a young man with a lock of silver in his hair and next to him a young girl with a lock of gold. The sight troubled and confused him so he ordered the bird:

  “Repeat your song, Bird! Sing again!”

  The bird raised his head and flapped his wings and repeated in a melodious voice:

  “I am Bulbul as-Siah

  I bring you no distress

  Misfortunes even less

  But I ask you to guess:

  Is it a likely thing

  That the wife of a king

  Into the world would bring

  A kitten and a puppy dog?

  No! She gave birth to a boy and a girl,

  One with a lock of silver, one with a golden curl.”

  The bird then fluttered down to where the twins were standing. At last the king’s son understood that these were his own two children, that he had been at fault and had wronged his wife. He ran to his son and daughter and clasped them to his heart and wept. Then they all proceeded to the palace of isolation. The king’s son went to his wife and kissed her and asked her forgiveness. He promised that they would live happily to the end of their days with their children beside them.

  When the wicked old midwife and the two sisters heard what happened, they exploded in anger and died on the spot.

  May you, O listeners, live long and happy lives!

  THE DAY IT RAINED DUMPLINGS

  It happened or maybe no.

  If it did, it was long ago

  If not, it could still be so.

  THERE WAS A MAN AND HIS WIFE. They were poor and lived in a modest house that was falling into disrepair. But they owned a cow and from her milk they made a modest living. They drank the milk, churned it into butter, made cheese and yoghurt, and any that was left they sold in the souk.

  The cow grew old and weak and her milk dried up. So the man and his wife decided to sell her. The man tied a rope round the cow’s neck and set off for the cattle market.

  He walked along the road pulling the cow behind him. A short distance before reaching the town, he felt tired and decided to take a rest. So he sat down in the shade of a carob tree. Perched in that tree was Umm Suleyman, the owl. She began to hoot:

  “Whoo! Whoo!”

  “A good morning to you too, Umm Suleyman,” the man greeted her in reply.

  “Whoo! Whoo!” the owl hooted again.

  “The fact is,” said the man, “I want to sell this cow for five gold liras.”

  “Whoo! Whoo!” hooted the owl.

  “No need to worry, Umm Suleyman,” said the man. “If you don’t have the money with you today, I’ll come for it tomorrow.”

  The owl leaned its head to one side and the man said,

  “Do you want me to tie the cow here to the tree?”

  He looped the cow’s lead rope round the trunk of the carob tree and went home to his wife who was anxiously waiting for his news.

  “Did you have any luck?” she asked. “Have you sold the cow? How much did you get for her? Who bought her? Tell me!”

  “Umm Suleyman bought her,” said the man. “She will pay me tomorrow: five gold liras!”

  “Only five liras!” exclaimed his wife. “Who is this Umm Suleyman, where does she live?”

  “My dear woman, what kind of question is that?” said the man, “Surely you know Umm Suleyman! She is the owl that is perched in the carob tree not far from the entrance to the town.”

  His wife struck one hand against the other and sighed:

  “Why look for sense in a madhouse!”

  She dashed out the door and ran without stopping until she heard the owl h
ooting.

  “So this is Umm Suleyman!”

  She went on running until she reached the carob tree and saw the cow.

  “That is our cow!” she yelled and sprang towards her. But she tripped on what looked like a stone sticking out of the ground.

  “This is not a stone!” she exclaimed picking herself up. At her feet she saw a clay pot. She looked inside and she was stunned: it was filled with gold!

  “It’s a pot of gold!” she whispered, looking right and left. Not a soul in sight! So she picked up the little clay jar, loosened the cow’s rope from the tree trunk and headed home laughing to herself all the way.

  Once she was inside her house, she locked the door and began to count the gold coins that chance had thrown her way. She could not believe her eyes! When her husband saw what she was doing, he was angered, accusing her loudly:

  “You have stolen Umm Suleyman’s money! You have stolen Umm Suleyman’s money!”

  Then he looked outside and saw the cow. He began to shout louder and louder with objections and threats:

  “She has stolen the cow as well! I must return them to Umm Suleyman! I must return the cow and the money!”

  The man went to get the gold but his wife had hidden it where he could not find it. He told her:

  “Tomorrow morning I’ll go before the judge and report you!”

  What did his wife do? She hurried to the butcher for some meat, and hurried back. Quickly she mixed the meat with onions and cracked wheat to make kibbeh dough. Quickly she shaped the dough into balls the size of dumplings, fried them and scattered them on the ground in front of the house. When she had done that, she called to her husband who was working in their little plot of meadow in the back:

  “Come, dear husband! Come and take a look! It has been raining kibbeh!”

  The man came round, picked up a dumpling and took a bite.

  “This is excellent kibbeh, by God.” He said. “It has been an age since I tasted meat.”

  “May it bring you good health, dear husband,” said the wife. “I wish you the best of health!”