Speak Bird Speak Again (20 page)

The
same thing happened again. As soon as the sister gave birth, the
midwife took the baby, wrapped him in a cloth, and gave him to the
sisters, placing the cat by the mother.

"What
did the daughter-in-law of the king's household give birth to? What
did the daughter-in-law of the king's household give birth to?"

"What
did she give birth to?" people whispered. "She gave birth
to a cat!"

The
two sisters did as before, putting the baby in a box and throwing him
into the river. Again the old folks living in the orchard came out
and found a box. Picking it up, they opened it and found a boy. They
adopted him, and now they had two children.

We go
back to the mother. She was pregnant again, and was about to give
birth. Her sisters said to the midwife, "Here's money! Take it!
Take also this stone, put it next to her, and give us the baby."

When
the sister gave birth, the midwife came and took the daughter she had
had, wrapped her in a cloth, and gave her to them, leaving the stone
in her place. The sisters took her, placed her in a box, and dropped
her into the river.

"What
did the daughter-in-law of the king's household give birth to? What
did she give birth to?" people asked.

"What
did she give birth to?" came the answer. "She gave birth to
a stone!"

The
son of the king, meanwhile, thought to himself, "What's going
on? One time she gives birth to a dog, another time to a cat, and
this time to a stone." He deserted her. The baby girl was also
discovered by the old couple, and they brought her up with her
brothers.

The
boys became young men, and the girl became a young lady. She turned
out to be exactly as her mother had wished. If it was raining and she
laughed, the sun shone; and if it was sunny and she cried, it started
to rain. One day the old man died, leaving them all his possessions.
Whatever he had - the orchard and the hut - he gave it to the
children.

"What!"
said the young people. "Are we going to stay here in this
orchard all alone? Let's go somewhere, build ourselves a place, and
live in it."

Where
did they go? They went to their father's city, bought a piece of land
across from his palace, built a palace just like his, and settled in
it. There they were, by themselves! They did not know anyone, but as
they went back and forth in the town, their aunts recognized them.
They realized these were the children they had thrown into the water.
What were they to do? They wanted to get rid of them. They found an
old crone who was willing to help, and, taking a tray full of
trinkets with her, she went to their palace and started crying her
wares. Waiting until the brothers had gone out to hunt, the old woman
cried her wares by their palace.

The
girl was sitting by her window. Her brothers were not around, and,
wanting to buy something from the old crone, she started weeping. As
her tears fell down, they landed on the henna powder and made it
soggy. Looking up, the old crone said, "Yee! What am I going to
call down upon your head? Why did you do that, my dear?"

"O
grandmother!" answered the girl, "my brothers aren't here,
and I cried. I don't know why."

"Never
mind," said the woman.

The
girl invited her in, and the old crone came up beside her.

"O,
my dearest!" she coaxed. "Here! Take this henna, and
whatever else you want - I'll give it to you." Meanwhile, she
was looking up and down the palace, inspecting it.

"Yee,
by Allah!" she cried out. "Your palace is very beautiful,
my dear, and nothing is missing from it except Little Nightingale the
Crier."

"Where's
Little Nightingale the Crier, grandmother?" asked the girl. "And
who's going to bring him?"

"Your
brothers will bring him," the old crone replied. "You have
two such brothers, Allah bless the Prophet on their behalf! and you
ask who's going to bring Little Nightingale!"

The
girl sat and wept. Clouds formed, thunder roared, and rain fell. The
brothers wondered what might have befallen their sister, and they
came home running.

"What's
the matter, sister?"

"Nothing's
the matter," she replied. "A woman came to see me and said
my palace was missing nothing except Little Nightingale the Crier,
and I want him."

"And
how are we going to get him for you, sister?" they asked.

"I
don't know," she answered, "but I want Little Nightingale
the Crier to put in our palace."

"Fine,"
said the eldest brother. "Prepare some provisions for my
journey, and I'll go." Removing a ring from his finger, he gave
it to his younger brother and said, "Wear this ring, and if it
becomes tight on your finger, then I'm in danger and you should
follow after me for three days and a third. If the ring doesn't get
any tighter, then I'm all right and you shouldn't come for me."

His
sister prepared his horse, loading it with provisions, and he
departed. He traveled for a while, and in the course of his travels
he came' upon a ghoul in the wilderness.

"Peace
to you, father!" he said.

"And
to you, peace!" responded the ghoul. "If your salaam had
not come before you'd spoken, I would've torn your flesh to pieces
before tackling your bones. What's your story? Where're you going,
young master?"

"I'm
on my way to fetch Little Nightingale the Crier," he replied.

"In
that case," said the ghoul, "go straight ahead. I have a
brother who's older than me by a month but wiser by a lifetime. He'll
show you the way."

The
young man traveled until he reached the second ghoul.

"Peace
to you, father!"

"And
to you, peace!" answered the ghoul. "If your salaam had not
come before you'd spoken, I would've torn your flesh to pieces before
tackling your bones. Where're you going, Aladdin?"

"By
Allah," replied the young man, "I'm on my way to fetch
Little Nightingale the Crier."

"Son,"
the ghoul advised, "go straight ahead for a while, and you'll
see my sister. If you find her grinding salt and her eyes red, come
up to her and eat some of her salt, then suck at her breasts. But if
you find her grinding sugar, don't go near her!"

"Fine,"
said the young man, and moved on. In a while he came upon the ghouleh
and found her grinding salt. Her hair was disheveled, and her breasts
were hanging down in front of her. Coming forward, he sucked at her
right breast.

"Who
was it that sucked at my right breast?" she asked. "He's
now dearer to me than my son Ismain."

He
turned and sucked at the left breast.

"Who
was it that sucked at my left breast?" she asked. "He's now
dearer than my son Abdir-rahman."

Turning
to face her, he ate some of what she was grinding.

"Welcome
in Allah's safekeeping!" announced the ghouleh. "And may
Allah betray him who betrays this oath! What can I do for you?"

"I
want Little Nightingale the Crier," he answered.

"Ah,
yes!" responded the ghouleh. "You should know that Little
Nightingale the Crier is a bird in such and such an orchard. Better
wait till my sons come home. You can't reach him on your own."

Blowing
on him, she turned him into a pin, which she stuck in her headband,
and sat waiting until her children came. In wind and storm her sons
arrived. They were forty, and one of them was lame. Before they had
even arrived, they were muttering, "You smell of human, mother!"

"I
smell of no human," replied the mother, "nor do I have
anything like that around. Sit down and be quiet!" But they kept
on chattering and saying, "You smell of human."

"Listen
and I'll tell you," she confessed. "He has suckled at my
breasts, so he's now my son like all of you. All of you guarantee his
safety, and I'll bring him out."

"He's
welcome in Allah's safekeeping," they swore, "and may Allah
betray ham who betrays this oath!"

When
the ghouleh brought him out and they had a good look at him, they
greeted him, and they all sat down together.

"Do
you know what he wants?" asked the ghouleh of her children.

"No,"
they answered.

"He's
your brother," she went on, "and he wants Little
Nightingale the Crier. Which of you is going to take him?" One
of them said he'd do it in ten days, another said in two, and a third
in an hour.

"I'll
take him there in the wink of an eye," the lame one jumped in.

"Get
moving!" said the ghouleh. "But be careful, Aladdin.
There's a cage hanging in a tree, and Little Nightingale comes there
to roost for the night. Perching in the tree, he will shout, 'I'm
Little Nightingale the Crier! Who dare say, "Here I am!"'
He'll say it three times. If you declare. yourself, you're lost; but
if you don't, you can catch him and bring him with you."

"Very
well," he said.

Picking
him up, the lame ghoul brought him to Little Nightingale's orchard,
where the ghoul let him down and left. The youth went into the
orchard, and in flew Little Nightingale the Crier and perched in a
tree.

"I'm
Little Nightingale the Crier!" he declared. "Who dare say,
'Here I am!'" The first time the young man held his tongue, but
the second time he shouted back, "Here I am!"

"You!"
laughed the. bird, and he blew on him, turning him into a stone, and
rolled him down the orchard.

Now
the ring tightened around Aladdin's brother's finger, and he mounted
his horse and came after his brother. As the first brother had done,
so did the second. He visited the ghouleh and was taken to the
orchard. Before leaving, though, he had given the ring to his sister.
When he came into the orchard, the bird flew in: "I'm Little
Nightingale the Crier! Who dare say, 'Here I am!'" The first
time and the second, he kept quiet, but the third time he shouted
back, "Here I am!"

"You!"
said the bird, and he blew on him, tossing him down like his brother.

Who
was left? The sister. The ring tightened around her finger. What was
she to do? "My brothers are lost to me," she said to
herself. She wanted to follow them. Saddling the horse, she disguised
herself and followed them. She did the same as her brothers, going to
the ghouleh.

"Listen!"
said the ghouleh. "You'll be lost like your brothers, and all
memory of you will be gone forever. But if you can catch him, you'll
save your brothers and many other people as well. Take care! Don't
talk back to him!"

"No,
I won't," said the girl.

When
they had brought her to the orchard, she climbed into a tree and sat
waiting. In flew the bird: "I'm Little Nightingale the Crier!
Who dare say, 'Here I am!' I'm Little Nightingale the Crier . . ."
He repeated his call till he nearly burst, but she was waiting for
him without making a sound. When he had finished, he went into his
cage. Now, she was waiting fight behind the cage on the tree. She
shut the door on him quickly, locked it, and took the cage in her
hand.

"Please!"
he begged. "Let me go free! I'll sing for you, I'll do
anything."

"Not
a chance," she said. "Bring back my brothers!"

"Take
a handful of dirt from that molehill," he said, "and
sprinkle it on those stones over there, and your brothers will rise."

Lifting
some dirt, she threw it over the stones, and her brothers came back
to life. She went On sprinkling dirt all over the stones, and a whole
creation came back to life. Everyone went back to his family.
Carrying the cage with her, she returned to the ghouleh with her
brothers. They said good-bye to the ghouleh and went home.

Once
they reached home, they hung the cage up inside the palace. The boys
would go hunting and then come back and sit in the coffeehouses.
Eventually their fame spread in the city. "Whose children are
these?" people asked. "Where did they come from?"

One
day they met their father at the coffeehouse, but they did not
recognize one another. How fond of them he became! He would invite
them over and enjoy their company.

"You
must come and have dinner with us," said the brothers to him one
day. "You've already invited us two or three times, and now you
must come and eat with us, O Ruler of the Age!"

"Yes,"
he said, "why not?"

When
they had prepared the dinner, Little Nightingale the Crier said, "Put
a dish of carrots with the meal, among the fruits." They served
dinner and ate. How delightful it was! They had a great time. After
dinner they brought a plate of fruits and served it, along with the
dish of carrots.