Part 6

So Ali mounted and smacked him, and he soared up over the clouds. Then he returned and said, "Now bring out another sack of grain, that I may eat and be satisfied."

So he gave him another sack, and then he said, "Now fasten another sack of grain on to me, lest I grow hungry in the way."

So Ali fastened on a sack of grain, and then the horse said, "Take a crow-bar and dig there in the floor of the house."

So Ali dug there and found more precious stones, and he put them in bags, and brought them and fastened them to the saddle.

Then the horse said, "Come on, Ali, mount me. We are going now, and this advice I give you before we go. In the way we will meet with great strife, so listen well, and do as I tell you."

Then Ali mounted and smacked him, and the horse soared up over the clouds, higher and higher.

When they had gone a little way they met the Jin and a host of his fellow demons, whom he had brought to feast on those eight people in his house. One was taking an axe to chop up the meat, others carried firewood and pots and water with which to cook the flesh.

When those demons saw them they called out, "Look, there is the flesh going off."

The horse said to Ali, "Take the bottle of sun and break it." So Ali broke it, and the sun shone on the demons and scorched them.

But they pursued them, crying, "Our meat is going away, our meat is going away."

They ran after them, and as they came near the horse said, "Break the bottle of rain." So Ali broke the bottle and rain poured on them, but still they pursued.

Ali looked round and said, "They are coming." So the horse said, "Break the bottle of needles."

Ali broke the bottle, and many got needles in their feet and could not run quickly, but many escaped and came on swiftly, crying, "Hi there! Hi there! our meat is escaping."

Then the horse said, "Break the bottle of hail." So Ali broke the bottle, and the hail poured down on them, and knocked many of them over, but they got up again and ran on.

The horse said, "Break the bottle of thorns." So Ali broke the bottle, and the thorns got in their feet and delayed many of them, but the rest came on. Ali called out, "There they come," and the horse said, "Break the bottle of mud."

So he broke the bottle, and the demons went slipping and falling about in the mud till they got across it, and still pursued them.

Then the horse said, "Break the bottle of sea." So Ali broke the bottle, and the demons rushed into the sea, where many were drowned, and the rest were unable to cross and turned back.

The horse flew across to the opposite side and alighted, and said to Ali, "Let us rest here now that we have crossed safely."

Then he said, "Take out the sack of grain, for hunger is paining me."

So Ali gave him the grain, and he ate till he could eat no more, and he did not finish it, because he was so tired.

Then he said, "When we have nearly arrived, stand in the midst of the way, that I may give you advice."

Ali replied to him, "Very good, father."

After that they went on till they were nearly at their journey's end, and then Ali stood still in the middle of the way, and the horse stood still and said to Ali, "The first counsel I give you, that you must take it to heart, is that when you arrive home you must speak to no one for the space of seven days. If you want to do anything, first ask me, that I may advise you whether to do it or not; and if you want to marry a wife and place her in your house, you must first ask me.

"And if, when you arrive home, you want to walk abroad, you must first ask me, for I know all things great and small. If you walk out without telling me, that Jin of Jehan will take you; you will return home no more."

Ali replied, "It is well, father; I have heard."

Then they journeyed on and went their way.

At three o'clock the people of that town saw a dust coming.

There in the Wazir's house the Wazir himself was on the roof looking out, and his middle son was there with him upstairs; he and his father were looking out at that road by which Ali had been lost to them.

That Wazir, his hair covered his face, as he had not cut it, and he could not see for weeping for his son.

Then the people of that town saw a wondrously big horse soaring and soaring like a kite.

Ali entered the town, but he spoke to no one.

The door of his house had been left open since the day he had set out, and he passed in, he and the horse, but he spoke to no one, and there were great rejoicings at his return.

Ali stayed for the space of seven days, neither speaking to any one, nor drinking water, nor bathing, for fear of being bewitched by that Jin. If he wanted food it was the horse who brought it to him, and if he wanted water it was the horse who gave it to him.

When the eighth day came there was a big festival at the Wazir's and at the Sultan's, for the child who had been dead was alive, he who had been lost to sight was restored to view.

If Ali wanted to walk out it was necessary for him first to take counsel of the horse. On the tenth day Ali brought all his riches downstairs and filled ninety-nine store-rooms full.

So Ali lived, he did not marry nor did he want a wife, and those seven sisters of his, whom he had brought away from amongst the Jins, they did not marry, but they read their Korans night and day.

He built a house of seven storeys, and, in this house he put his seven sisters who had come with him from the Jins.

This is the end of the fable.

XX

FEEDING THE HUNGRY

There was once upon a time a man, and he took an axe and went into the forest to look for honey. He found a bees' nest in a tree, so he climbed up and began to cut a hole to get at the honey.

Whilst he was in the tree a second man came up; he was a hunter, and he had been looking for game, but had found none. When the hunter saw that man in the tree he asked him, "What are you cutting?"

The man replied, "I am looking for honey. If you want any, sit down there and wait for it."

So the hunter sat down, and presently a buffalo came up and, seeing the man in the tree, asked, "What are you doing?"

He replied, "I am looking for honey. If you want any, sit down there beside the hunter."

So the buffalo sat down, and presently a lion came up, and he, too, asked what the man was doing, and the man told him to sit down on one side and wait.

Presently an eland came along and asked the man what he was doing in the tree. He answered, "I am looking for honey. If you want any, sit down there by the lion and wait for it."

So the eland sat down, and presently a leopard came along, and he also the man told to sit on one side and wait for the honey.

Then came up a bushbuck, and the man told him to sit down by the leopard and wait.

Then a gennet came up and asked the man what he was doing. The man replied, "I am looking for honey. If you want any, sit over there by yourself and wait for it."

So the gennet sat down and waited, and presently a guinea fowl came along and asked the man what he was doing. The man said, "I am looking for honey. If you want any, sit down by the gennet and wait for it."

After that the man went on cutting the tree, and at last made a hole and looked in, and he found that there was no honey in the nest.

All those sitting round asked him, "When are you going to give us our honey?"

The man said, "There is no honey in this nest, but there is no need for you to go hungry. If you are fools it is your own faults."

Then that hunter turned and killed the buffalo, and the lion seized the eland, and the leopard caught the bushbuck, and the gennet got the chicken.

So they were very glad, and said to that man, "You have done very wisely to-day."

That is all.

XXI

SHANI AND TABAK

This is a story about a woman and man who were of like wisdom, and so were suited to each other.

Now the beginning of this history is what I will now write. A certain stranger said to his parents, "I am going to journey forth to look for a woman of like wit to myself. If I find her I will marry her, but if I do not find her I will return."

So that man set out, and when he got outside the town he met another man walking. Now this man was the Wali of the town to which he was going, but he did not know that. The Wali called to him, "Wait for me; as we are going the same way let us walk together." That stranger agreed, and both walked together. After they had gone about twenty paces he said to the Wali, "Will you carry me, or shall I carry you?" The Wali did not answer him, for he thought, "For what reason should he carry me or I carry him, when each one has his own legs?"

They walked on some way, till they arrived at some cultivation. Then the stranger asked, "That millet there, has it been harvested yet or not?"

Now that millet was standing in the stalk with the ears there on them.

The Wali thought, "Surely this man is a fool or blind. How can he ask if this millet has been harvested, and there it is standing?" So he did not reply.

As they came near the town to which they were going they met a funeral coming forth, on its way to the cemetery.

The stranger asked, "Is that man in the bier dead, or is he still alive?"

The Wali thought, "Surely his foolishness is increasing." So he did not reply.

So they entered the town, and the Wali went to his house, whilst the other went to the mosque, for he was a stranger, and knew no one in that town with whom he might stay.

The Wali, after he had arrived at his house, rested awhile, and then said to his wife, "I met a stranger coming here, and I walked with him as far as the town, but that man was a fool, he had no wit; his folly increased at every stage of the journey." Then he told her the words of that man.

The Wali's daughter, who was present, said to him, "My father, you made a mistake leaving that man, you should have brought him here, for he is a man of great understanding."

The father said, "For what reason, my daughter, when his words were as of a madman or a fool?"

His daughter said, "Listen to me and I will explain to you the meaning of his words from first to last.

"The first words which he said to you, were they not, 'Will you carry me, or must I carry you?'

"His meaning was as if he said to you, 'You, will you tell me a story, or shall I tell you one, that we may be beguiled in the way, and that we may not perceive the length of the journey?' That was what he meant by 'Shall I carry you, or will you carry me?'

"His next words were, 'Has this millet been harvested or not yet harvested?' His meaning was, 'Has the owner of that millet planted or cultivated his field without having to borrow money to do so? If he has had to borrow the wherewithal with which to cultivate, surely he has already harvested his field, for he has to pay away his profit.'

"Lastly, when he saw the bier and asked, 'Is that man dead or alive?' he meant, 'Has that man any children? If he has left a child he is alive although he is dead, for his name is still there. If he has no child he himself is dead, and his name also is dead.'

"Those were the meanings of his words, so, father, you did wrong to let him go away by himself to the mosque."

But her father, the Wali, would not believe that, and said, "No, he is only a fool, and his words have no meaning."

Then his daughter said to him, "Wait, I will show you that my words are true, and that this is a man of great wisdom."

Then she took a large round loaf, and she prepared a fowl, and put all over it chopped eggs, and poured out a jug brimful of sweetened milk. She gave these to a slave girl and said to her, "Take these, and bear them to the stranger in the mosque, and say to him, 'My mistress greets you, and sends you word that the moon is full, the tides are spring tides, and that there are many stars in the heavens.'"

So the slave came to the mosque, and the stranger ate, and when he had finished he gave back the plates and said to her, "Give your mistress my greetings, and tell her that the day is the thirteenth of the lunar month, and that the tides are neap tides, and that the stars are only one by one in the heavens."

The slave returned and gave her mistress the stranger's message.

Then the girl said to her father, "This slave girl has thieved, she has broken off a piece of the bread, taken some of the eggs, and drunk some of the milk."

Next day she sent another slave girl with food, as before, and gave her the same message. The stranger answered as at first.

Then the girl said to her father, "This slave has also stolen some of the food like the first one did."

On the third day she sent some food, as before, and the same message with another slave girl.

This time the stranger sent back the message, "To-day the moon is full, the tides are spring tides, and there are many stars in the heavens."

So she said to her father, "This one has not stolen."

Her father asked her, "How do you know, my daughter?"

She replied, "The meaning of the moon being full was that the big round bread was whole. When the stranger replied that the day was the thirteenth I knew that a piece of the bread was gone, and that it was as the moon is on the thirteenth day of the lunar month. The meaning of the many stars in the heavens was that the dish was covered with pieces of chopped egg. When he told me that the stars were only one by one in the heavens, I knew that some of the food had been taken, but when he said that there were many stars, I knew that the food was covered all over with the egg, and so that the chicken underneath was safe.

"The meaning of the tides being spring tides was that the jug was brimful of milk; but when he sent word that the tides were neap tides, I knew that some of the milk had been taken. So you see, my father, that this stranger is a man of wisdom."

Then the Wali was very sorry that he had not understood the stranger's words, and that he had not asked him to his house. So he went straightway to the mosque to look for him, and when he had found him he brought him home again and gave him food, and asked his pardon, saying, "I did not at first understand your words, now I know their meaning."

The stranger said to him, "How is it that now you know?"

The Wali replied, "There in the road I was suffering from the length of the journey and fatigue from the heat of the sun. After I had rested, and been fanned by the cool breeze in my house, I came to understand."

The stranger said, "Tell me then."

So the Wali told him the meaning, and the stranger then said, "Tell me truly, who was it who told you the meaning of my words?" and he pressed him much, till at last the Wali said, "It was my daughter who told me."

Then the stranger said, "That daughter of yours is my desire, she is the one whom I would wish to put in my house. I have been looking for a person like this your daughter, and now I have found her, ask of me anything, that I may give it you, that you may marry me to her; for I will have no life if I do not get a wife like that."

The father said, "I must go and consult with my child herself."

The stranger replied, "That is well, go and consult her, but what she answers tell me truly, do not hide it from me."

So the Wali went to his daughter and gave her all the news from first to last. Then he said, "Now, my daughter, the counsel and the choice are yours alone."

She answered him, "And I, if I do not get a husband like that, I want no other, and will choose to remain unmarried until I die. For if I do not get a husband like that, to me there is no advantage; it will be like two women marrying one another."

So the Wali went and gave her answer to the stranger, and he rejoiced greatly, for he had got his desire.

So her father married her to him, and this is the end of the story.

Now Shani was the name of that stranger, and Tabak was the name of that woman who became his wife. Even now there are those who talk of Shani and Tabak, meaning some one obtaining his heart's desire, as Shani got Tabak, or who use these names for two people who are exactly suited to one another, as Shani was to Tabak.

XXII

A MAN AND HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW.

There was once a man, and he went and married a girl and went to live with her in her village.

One day that girl's mother came to him and said, "My son-in-law, I want you to do something for me. See, all my maize is being broken by the wind. You must go out and drive away the wind for me, so that it does not break my maize."

So that son-in-law went out into the fields and tried all day to drive away the wind, but he was unable to; the wind got the better of him, and in the evening he returned discomforted.

Then he thought to himself, "My mother-in-law is a very bad person. Who would try to drive away the wind? It is not possible. Now I will find something that she is unable to do, and tell her to do it, so that she also will be discomforted."

So he went out into the bush and killed an animal and brought it back to the village. Then he called his wife and said to her, "Take this meat and give it to your mother, and tell her to cook and eat all the meat, but that she is to keep the gravy for me, and that she must spread out the gravy on the matting, so as to be ready for me."

So that girl brought the meat to her mother and gave her the message. The mother-in-law then cooked and ate the meat, but left the gravy. Then she took it and tried to spread it out on the matting for her son-in-law, but it ran through.

Then that girl came and told her husband, "That gravy is not spreadable. Mamma has tried to spread it out on the mat for you, but it has all run through."

Her husband answered her, "Your mother is a very bad person. One day she told me to drive away the wind from the maize, and I tried all day, and it was not possible. So I, too, wished to tell your mother to do something that was not possible; so I told her to spread out the gravy on the mat. I knew that she would be defeated, even as I was defeated."

XXIII

THE JACKAL, THE HARE AND THE COCK

Once upon a time there was a hare who was cunning with great guile. That hare went to the jackal and said, "I want to make friends with you, jackal. Our friendship will be that we walk about together and agree in every matter. Everything that I do you must do also, and everything that you do I must also do."

When the jackal heard those words of the hare he was very pleased, and he thought, "This will be very good to have the hare for a brother, for he is very clever."

So the jackal agreed to make friends with the hare, and they walked about together. Till one day the hare said to the jackal, "To-day, my brother, we will each take a knife and a spear, and we will go and kill our mothers. I will go and kill mine, and you, jackal, must go and kill yours."

So they each took a spear and a knife and went their ways to kill their mothers. The hare went to his mother and took her and hid her in a cave. Then he went to a tree which is called Mtumbati and smeared his knife and spear with the sap of that tree, which is red. Then he returned to the place at which he had agreed to meet the jackal.

Now the jackal was very grieved when he was told that he must kill his mother, and being without guile he said to himself, "I will stay away for a little while, and then say to my brother, the hare, that I have killed my mother."

So he went off, and returned again to the place of meeting, and there met the hare. The hare asked him, "Have you killed your mother, my brother?"

The jackal said, "Yes, I have killed her."

So the hare said, "Let me look at your spear and knife. See, here are mine, and you can see that I have killed my mother, truly."

Then was the jackal ashamed, and the hare said to him, "Oh, my brother, you have deceived me. We agreed that each one must do as the other, and now I have gone and killed my mother, and you have not done likewise. We must both go and kill your mother, so that we may both be without our mothers."

So they went and killed the jackal's mother, and the jackal was very sorry.

After that the hare said to the jackal, "Now, my brother, we must eat nothing but insects." So they went about the forest trying to catch insects to eat, but when the jackal slept the hare used to run into that cave where he had hidden his mother, and she fed him.

The jackal lived with the hare, trying to catch enough insects to eat, and he grew thinner and thinner, till at last he died.

Now when all the animals heard how the hare had deceived the jackal, and made him kill his mother, and how he had made him live on nothing but insects till he died, they were very angry with the hare. Then they held a meeting, and it was asked, "Who is a match for the hare in cunning?"

The cock said, "I am; I am able to deceive the hare and kill him."

All those animals said to the cock, "You, cock, are not the equal of the hare. What sort of cunning have you to match yourself against the hare?"

The cock replied, "I know very well that I can get the better of the hare. Now I am going off to see him, and you will all hear the news of what has passed between the hare and me very soon."

So the cock set forth and went to see the hare.

The hare asked him, "How is it that you have never before walked out to our house here? To-day is the first time that I have seen you, oh cock."

The cock answered, "Your words are true. I have never yet walked as far as your house. To-day I have come to ask your friendship, for I have no friend. That is why I want your friendship. We will get on very well together, and now I am going to return home. I will prepare food for you, and to-morrow you must come and see me and we will have a talk."

The hare replied, "It is well. To-morrow, if Allah pleases, I will come to your house."

The cock then returned home and told his wives, "To-morrow my friend the hare is coming, so get food ready for him. When the hare comes I will sit in the courtyard and hide my head under my wing. Serve up food to the hare, and when he asks, 'Where is my friend the cock?' show him his friend and say, 'There is his body lying in the courtyard, but he has sent his head away to have audience of the Sultan, and to speak his cases for him.' Tell the hare like that."

So next day, when the hare came and asked for his friend the cock, the cock's wives took him, and showed him the cock where he was lying with his head under his wing, and they told him, as they had been taught, that his head had gone away to speak his cases for him before the Sultan. Then they took him on to the verandah and bade him sit down and await his friend and eat the food that was ready for him.

That hare was very astonished, and said to himself, "My friend the cock must indeed be strong if he can send his head by itself all the way to the Sultan's, to speak his cases alone without a body."

They set much food before the hare, and he ate there in the verandah. Presently the cock came round the corner and said to the hare, "Oh, my friend, I am indeed sorry that I was not here to greet you, but I had to send my head away to speak of some very important matter to the Sultan."

The hare said, "It is well, my friend. I saw your body lying out there in the courtyard, and now that your head has returned it is indeed well."

Shortly after that the hare took leave of the cock, and said to him, "I am now going home, and to-morrow you must come and eat with me."