“Let us fly to another place,” said the falcon. “We must move on to a land with water to drink.”
All of the animals agreed with this. So after some discussion, it was decided that they would fly off the next morning to a more hospitable land.
“Tomorrow,” said the falcon, “Insha’allah, if Allah wills it, we will fly to another land.”
“Tomorrow,” said the myna, “Insha’allah, we will fly to another land.”
“Tomorrow,” said the pelican, “Insha’allah, we will fly to another land.”
And so each bird spoke. And each bird said, “If Allah wills it,” as one should always do when one makes plans.
But the hen said, “Tomorrow, I will fly to another land.” The other birds all looked at her. But she simply sniffed and refused to add, “Insha’allah.”
On the following morning, the falcon, the myna, the pelican, the lark, and all the other birds spread their wings and rose up. Off they flew to another land, where there were streams and marshes where they could survive.
But the hen, struggle as she might, found herself unable to fly. And to this day, the hen still finds herself without the gift of flight.
THE SHAIKH’S SHEEP
There was once an old man who had three daughters and one son. Before he died, the father called his son to him.
“I must give you some advice, my son. It is your duty to find husbands for your sisters. But this you must avoid. Do not marry any of your sisters to a stranger.
“And I have more advice for you. Never trust a woman.
“And third, never trust an illegitimate child.”
After the father had passed away, some time passed. And then a stranger came to the son and asked for the hand of one of his sisters. The man agreed, even though his father had warned him against this. For a long time, the couple lived happily, so he thought perhaps his father’s advice was wrong. He married his other two sisters to cousins, who he knew well.
One day, the man came upon a young child which had been abandoned along the road. He took the child home with him and raised him, even though the child was likely an illegitimate child. The child grew and became dear to him and his mother. When the child reached manhood, he took up work with the shaikh. So this too had turned out well.
The man decided his father’s three pieces of advice had been wrong. But he decided to test one of the pieces of advice: never tell a secret to a woman.
The man found a sheep which belonged to the shaikh. He took it and hid it away, looking after it very well. Then he went to the butcher and bought meat and fat and got some sheep’s wool. Taking these things home, he gave them to his wife.
“Where did you get these things?” his wife wanted to know.
“Oh, I cannot tell you,” he said. “That is something that must be kept a secret.”
His wife pestered him with questions, until at last he said, “Well, I will tell you the secret. But you must promise not to tell another person about this.” And he told her that he had stolen the shaikh’s sheep and slaughtered it.
Now the shaikh soon missed his sheep and sent servants everywhere to search for it. When it could not be found, an old woman came to the shaikh and promised that she could discover who had stolen his sheep.
The old woman went from house to house, showing a finger wrapped in a bloody cloth and saying she had cut her finger. She needed fat to cure the wound. No one had any fat to give her. But when she came to the home of the man who had hidden the sheep, his wife brought out fat for her.
“This is just what I needed!” said the old woman. “But where did you get this fat?”
“Oh, that is a secret,” said the man’s wife.
But the old woman begged her to tell, and soon enough she spilled it all out.
“But you must promise not to tell anyone,” said the wife.
Of course, the old woman went right to the shaikh.
“Bring that man to me at once,” demanded the shaikh.
The young boy the man had raised was working for the shaikh, so he said, “No problem. I will go and arrest him.” And thus the illegitimate boy was the one who went to arrest the man who had raised him.
“We cannot allow thievery in our land,” said the shaikh. “As a fine, I require you to bring me 10 camels.”
The man went right away to ask help of his brothers-in-law. The brother-in-law who was a stranger gave him one sickly camel. “That’s all I can spare,” he told him. When the man went to his other two brothers-in-law, those who were cousins, they hurried to bring him the camels he needed.
Then the man went and brought the shaikh’s sheep from where he had hidden it and took the sheep to the shaikh. He explained how he had hidden the sheep and told the “secret” to his wife to test the wisdom of his father’s three pieces of advice.
“And I see that all three were good pieces of advice,” he told the shaikh. “For the illegitimate child treated me cruelly, even though I had raised him. And my brother-in-law who was a stranger refused to give me much help, while my brothers-in-law who were relatives aided me in every way possible.”
Then the man loaded the camels of his helpful brothers-in-law with rice and flour and dates and took them back to them. But the sickly camel of the third brother-in-law he returned, with the advice to look after his animals better.
And thus it was proved that following the advice of one’s elders is wise indeed.
THE FISHERMAN’S DAUGHTER
There once was a fisherman’s daughter who was being looked after by a cruel stepmother who had two daughters of her own. Of course, those daughters got all the good food and nicest clothes and did no work at all. The fisherman’s daughter had to do all the work for the household and was dressed only in the oldest of rags.
One day, the stepmother sent the girl to clean five fish. She took them down to the seashore and was cutting the fish up, when the last fish, which was still alive, started trembling and begged the girl, “Please don’t cut me up. Put me back in the water so that I may live. If you do that, I will come to help you when you need me. Just look for me here beside this rock.”
So the girl felt pity on the fish and tossed it back into the sea.
But when she reached home, her stepmother was furious. “I sent you to clean FIVE fish. You return with only FOUR. No supper for YOU tonight.”
The girl went back down to the sea, weeping, and sat beside the rock where she had tossed back the fish. Soon the fish itself came up. When he heard of her troubles, he brought up to her the most delicious foods imaginable, and she ate until she was full.
A few weeks later there was to be a wedding at the shaikh’s palace. Everyone was invited to attend the celebration. Of course, the fisherman’s daughter had to stay home and clean and cook and was not allowed to go to the wedding. But when she told her friend the fish about this, he came up with all sorts of beautiful clothes and jewels, and even a pair of golden slippers. And the fish gave her a piece of advice.
“When you enter the palace, be sure to pass by the barza where the shaikh’s son is resting. I would like for him to lay eyes on you.”
This is exactly what she did, and when the shaikh’s son saw her, he fell in love immediately. The shaikh’s son hurried out and followed the girl. But seeing herself pursued, she ran off home. However, her golden slippers dropped off just as she passed the water trough where the shaikh’s horses watered. When the shaikh’s son came back, after giving up on chasing her, he found those golden slippers.
The next day, the shaikh sent his servants to visit all the homes in the area where daughters could be found. They tried the slippers on every girl, but none of them were a fit. When they came to the fisherman’s house, the stepmother hid the girl in a tannur and had her own daughters brought out to try on the slippers. Of course, they did not fit.
“Is there no other girl in this house?” asked the shaikh’s men.
“None at all,” lied the stepmother.
But just then the cock started crow
ing, “My ugly aunts are on the bed, and my beautiful aunt is in the oven!” The cock just kept on crowing this and would not stop.
So the shaikh’s men searched the entire house, and there in the oven, they found the beautiful fisherman’s daughter. The slippers fit her perfectly.
So the fisherman’s daughter was taken to the shaikh’s son, and he was so happy that he married her immediately. And they lived in much happiness.
FOLKTALES FROM YEMEN
THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITS KING SOLOMON
The Queen of Sheba is believed to be Queen Bilquis of Saba. The country of Saba included the present-day country of Yemen. Here is a brief account of Sheba’s visit. You can read more details in the Old Testament, First Book of Kings, chapter 10.
When the Queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, who was king of Israel, she traveled to Jerusalem to pose some hard questions to him about his faith. She brought a camel train with many spices and gold and precious stones.
They talked together, and Solomon answered all of her questions. The queen was impressed by Solomon’s wisdom.
“It was a true report that I heard in my own land about your acts and your wisdom,” she told him. “I couldn’t believe it until I had seen it with my own eyes. But in fact, your wisdom even exceeds what I was told. Your people and your servants are truly lucky to stand before you and hear your wisdom.” And she called blessings on God, who had put Solomon on the throne.
Then King Solomon gave her anything she asked for and more, and she returned home with her servants with many presents.
QUEEN BILQUIS VISITS KING SUYLEIMAN
The Koran gives other details and a more elaborate story (Koran, sura 27).
It happened that a hoopoe bird came to King Suyleiman one day. The bird brought news of a land far to the south called Saba, where a beautiful queen ruled. But the bird told Suyleiman that the people of that land worshipped the sun. They did not know about the one true god, Allah.
So Suyleiman sent the queen, whose name was Bilquis, a letter asking her to change her religion and accept the one true God. She wasn’t sure what to do. Her counselors reminded her that they were very tough and could go to war against this Suyleiman if she wished. But the queen was afraid of what might happen should they lose a war to Suyleiman. So she decided to go and visit him.
Suyleiman was delighted that she was coming. He wanted her throne to be brought to his palace so that she could be seated on her own throne when she arrived. One of the jinn under his control offered to bring it, but he couldn’t bring it quick enough for Suyleiman. Then one of the jinn who had converted said that he could do it immediately. And the throne appeared in Suyleiman’s palace.
Suyleiman had ordered a crystal palace built to receive the queen, and when she entered, she was amazed to see her throne waiting for her there.
In some versions of the story, the queen sets riddles to Suyleiman. It is told that before going to visit him she first sent a present of an unpierced pearl and a pierced emerald. She asked that he pierce the pearl and thread the emerald. Suyleiman called a wood carver, who pierced the pearl. But he was stymied by how to pass a thread through the tiny winding hole in the emerald. Then he heard a tiny voice down by his feet.
“I can do it, O prophet of the Lord.” It was a tiny worm.
The worm took the thread in its mouth and entered the hole in the emerald. In a few moments it emerged from the other side, dragging the thread behind. So King Suyleiman put the pearl and the emerald back in the bottle they had been sent in and returned them to the queen. When she saw this, she prepared to visit him.
On arriving, the queen tested Suleyiman with another riddle. “What water belongs to neither heaven nor earth?”
Suleyiman came up with a good answer for that one. “When my horses gallop, the sweat runs off of them. If I collect this water, it is from neither heaven nor earth.”
THE MIGHTY DYKE OF MA-RIB
The dike at Ma-rib was about 1,800 feet long (550 m) and irrigated over 4,000 acres of land. It was built by the Sabbaen people (950–115 BC).
One night, Queen Zarifa heard a voice in the night.
“Zarifa, you may choose. You may have a child to bring you delight or knowledge to fill your soul. Which do you choose?”
Without hesitation, Zarifa spoke. “I choose knowledge.”
At once she felt a hand placed on her head. And she realized that knowledge was entering her being. And then she felt a hand placed on her womb, and she knew she would be barren from that moment.
The king and queen lived happily, until one night the queen had a horrid dream. “I saw thunderbolts shattering our world!” she told the king when she awoke. But he told her it was nothing more than a bad dream.
Some days later, the king went down to the orchard with two slave girls. Zarifa walked down with one of her slave boys to find him. Suddenly, on the path, she saw three rats standing up on their hind legs with their paws over their eyes. Zarifa knew this was a bad omen. She crouched down and covered her own eyes.
“Tell me when the rats are gone,” she directed her slave boy. Then she continued on.
Suddenly, a tortoise leaped out of the stream and landed on its back. This too must be an evil omen.
When she reached the orchard, the trees were swaying, though there was no breeze. She told her husband of these omens. And falling into a trance she began to forecast the destruction of their valley.
“The Dike of Ma’rib will fall!” she wailed. “Our land will be destroyed!”
The king did not want to believe this horrible fate. She told him to go to the dam and watch. If he saw rats burrowing among the rocks there, he must know it was true. Sure enough, the rats were scurrying about and digging right into the face of the dam; boulders were starting to roll away.
King ’Amr took all of his people, and they fled their valley. He led his own and many other tribes away from the disaster that would soon befall. Because of Queen Zarifa, the people were saved. And the dam did break.
THE YEAR OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT
The event described in this story is important in Islamic tradition as this is believed to have occurred in the year that Prophet Mohammad was born.
An Abyssinian ruler, named Abraha, once crossed over from Ethiopia and took control of the area of Yemen. Wishing to compete with the strong religion centered on the Ka’ba in Mecca, he had a great Christian temple, called Al-Qalis, built in San’a, the capital of Yemen. This failed to attract the attention he had hoped, though. So he mounted a great army and went to Mecca to destroy the Ka’ba so that people would make their pilgrimage to his temple instead.
As Abraha neared Mecca, his army captured all of the camels and sheep that belonged to the people of Mecca. He had captured over 200 camels which belonged to Abd Al-Muttalib, the chief of the Quraysh tribe, who were the custodians of the Ka’ba. Abraha then sent a message to Abd Al-Mutalib saying that he came to destroy the Ka’ba, not to conquer the people.
Abd al-Muttalib went to Abraha’s tent and asked to speak to him. Abraha thought Abd al-Muttalib had come to beg him to not touch the Ka’ba. But Abd al-Muttalib simply asked for his camels to be returned.
Abraha sneered at him. “I thought you were a man of sincerity who would come to beg that I not destroy your sacred site. Instead, you just ask for livestock.”
But Abd al-Muttalib said simply, “I am the master of the camels. I must defend them. Our Sacred House belongs to the Lord. He will defend it.”
So Abraha returned the camels. But he also prepared to take over Mecca city and the Ka’ba. He was surprised to see that no people tried to defend the sacred site.
Abraha had brought with him one extraordinarily large and impressive elephant imported from Africa, a white elephant named Mahmud. He assumed that this beast would terrorize the people of Mecca. But when he approached the Ka’ba with the beast, the huge elephant knelt to the Ka’ba and then turned and walked away. Abraha goaded the elephant back to the Ka’ba. But
once again, it bowed to the Ka’ba and then turned and walked away. No matter how he tried, Abraha could not get the beast to attack the sacred site.
Then suddenly the air was filled with fantastical green birds. Each bird carried a stone in its beak and stones in each claw. The birds swooped in and began to drop the stones on the army of Abraha. Each soldier hit by a stone was poisoned and fell dead, until the field was littered with dead bodies like bent straw. Abraha’s forces were defeated, and the people of Mecca returned safely to their homes.
THE MANLY MAIDEN
Here is a Yemeni version of a story found in The Arabian Nights. You will notice the device of a frame story and other stories within the story. This is common in many of the Arabian Nights tales.
THE GIFT OF A BIRD
A merchant who was leaving for a trip wanted to give his wife something to comfort her while he was gone. In the marketplace, he met a vendor who offered him a little goldfinch for sale.
“This bird sells for a thousand dinars,” said the vendor. “Who buys it shall not regret it. And who buys it shall regret it.”
The merchant was befuddled by this statement. What could it mean?
“Just buy the bird and you will find out,” replied the vendor. “But you must know that this little bird eats only almonds and raisins and drinks only milk and honey.”
The merchant carried the goldfinch home to his wife. “Take good care of this bird while I am gone,” he told her. “It will keep you good company. But be sure to feed it almonds and raisins each day and give it milk and honey to drink. Care for it well until I return.” And the merchant set off on his journey.
The wife leaned out her upper window to watch him go, and just at that moment, the sultan’s son was passing by. When he saw her unveiled beauty leaning out of the window, he fell instantly in love. He returned home and took to bed ill with longing for her.
Folktales from the Arabian Peninsula Page 10