green fairy tale book

Chapter 6 The Story of the Stork Caliph (1)
1
On a sunny afternoon, the caliph who holds the power of the country is lying comfortably on a bench.He was smoking a long pipe, and now and then he took a sip of the coffee brought by his slave, and with each sip he stroked his beard contentedly.All in all, everyone could tell that the caliph was in a good mood.This is definitely the best time of the day to get close to him, because at this time he is always full of energy and amiable, so Prime Minister Mansour visits him at this time every day and reports on state affairs.

This afternoon, the prime minister came on time as usual, but unlike before, the prime minister looked anxious.The caliph drew his pipe from between his lips, and asked, "What is the cause of alarm, Vizier?"

The prime minister folded his hands on his chest, bowed deeply to his master and said:

"Oh! My lord, it doesn't matter if I look shocked or not, but down there, in the courtyard of the palace, there is a peddler who is selling some very beautiful things, which makes me very distressed—why do I only have such A little money!"

The Caliph had long wanted to give his Grand Vizier a present, so he ordered the black slaves to bring the peddlers to him.The nigger brought the peddler after a while.The peddler had a short stature, a dark complexion, and wore tattered clothes.He was carrying a chest containing all sorts of treasures: strings of pearls, rings, jeweled pistols, goblets, and combs.The Caliph and the Prime Minister carefully appreciated the items inside.The caliph chose some handsome pistols for himself and the grand vizier, and a comb set with jewels for the vizier's wife.Just as the peddler was about to close his chest, the caliph noticed that there was still a small drawer in it, so he asked the peddler if there was anything in the drawer for sale.The peddler opened the drawer and showed them a small box of black powder and a scroll written in a strange script that neither the caliph nor the grand vizier could understand.

"I got these two from a merchant who picked them up in the streets of the city," said the peddler, "and I don't know what they are for, but since they are of no use to me, Just give me two coins and take them away."

The Caliph liked to have ancient books in his library, even if he could not understand what was written.So he bought the scroll and the box, and sent the hawker away.Eager to know what was on the scroll, he asked the Grand Chancellor if he knew of anyone who could translate the text.

"My sovereign master," replied the Grand Chancellor, "near the temple lives a man called Selim the Wise, who knows all the writings under the sun. Send for him, and perhaps he will translate Such a mysterious text."

Soon Selim the Wise was summoned.

"Selim," said the caliph, "I have heard that you are very learned. Take a good look at the scroll and see if you can read it. If you can, I will reward you with a robe of highest honor; if you read If you don’t understand, I’ll reward you with 25 big mouth blows left and right, making your face full of peach blossoms; and [-] blows on the soles of your feet, because you are a deceitful guy, calling the name of "Selim the Wise" in vain .”

Selim prostrated himself and said, "My lord, it is as you wish." Then he stared at the scroll for a long time.Suddenly he cried out: "Oh my lord, if this is not Latin, I shall die!"

"Well," said the Caliph, "if it is in Latin, tell us what it says."

So Selim translated: "Whoever finds this thing, you need to praise the mercy of Allah. Inhale the powder in the box into your nose, and at the same time read the mantra 'Mutabo (Latin for "change")' , you can transform into various animals, and can understand the language of all animals. If you want to change back to human form, you only need to kowtow to the east three times and recite the same spell. But be careful, when transforming into animals or birds You must never laugh when you are reborn, or you will forget the spell and remain in the form of an animal forever."

When Selim the Wise finished reading the words on the scroll, the Caliph was overjoyed.He made Selim swear that he would never tell anyone about it, then gave him a robe of great honor and sent him away.Then he said to the Grand Vizier: "This is a good deal, Mansur. I have always hoped that one day I could become some kind of animal. Come early tomorrow and we will go to the countryside and smell the powder in my box, and then Listen to what the animals in the sky, on the ground, and in the water are saying."

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The next morning, the Prime Minister was summoned to accompany the caliph on an expedition.The caliph got up and dressed in a hurry, had breakfast, tied the box around his waist, ordered his entourage to stay at home, and set off with the great vizier.First they came to the gardens of the palace, but there were few creatures here to interest them in trying the magic powder.The Prime Minister advised the caliph to go far away, preferably to a pond on the outskirts of the city, because he often saw a large number of creatures inhabiting there, especially storks. The chancellor's attention.

The Caliph agreed to the proposal, and together they walked towards the pond.When they got there, they found a stork preoccupied with preying frogs, and seemed to be talking to itself from time to time.At the same time they saw another stork flying towards the first one in the distant sky.

"I would bet my beard, my supreme master," said the Grand Chancellor, "these two long-legged fellows will have a good chat together, how about we become storks?"

"True," said the caliph, "but first let's think about how to change back into human form again. By the way, bow three times to the east and say 'Mutabo!' Then I become caliph again and you become big again Prime Minister. But please don’t laugh, or we’re all doomed!”

While the caliph was speaking, he saw a second stork circle around his head before landing on the ground.He quickly pulled out the box from his waist, took out a pinch of powder, and shared some with the Grand Chancellor, and they all shouted at the same time: "Mutabo!"

Immediately their legs shriveled and became thin and red; their yellow slippers became the feet of clumsy storks; their arms became wings; their necks protruded a full yard from between their shoulders; their beards also disappeared; the whole body was covered with feathers.

"You have a nice long beak, Grand Vizier," said the Caliph, who was amazed, and after a while, "I swear, I have never seen such a thing in my life!"

"Thank you for your compliment," replied the Grand Vizier, bending his long neck, "and, if I may venture to say, you are handsomer now than you were when you were Caliph. Now if you are interested , let's go together to our fellow storks, and see if we can understand the language of the storks."

By this time the second stork had already landed on the ground, rubbed its beak against its paws, combed its feathers, and then walked up to the first stork.The caliph and the prime minister immediately approached, and they were surprised to hear the following conversation:

"Good morning, Mrs. Longlegs, you are so early today."

"Ah, yes, dear Big Mouth, I'm getting myself breakfast. Would you like a piece of lizard or frog's leg?"

"Thank you very much, but I really don't have an appetite today. I didn't come for breakfast. I'm going to dance in front of my father's guests today, so I'll have to practice quietly in the meadow for a while."

So the young stork began to dance.The Caliph and Grand Vizier al-Mansur watched for a while in amazement.But at last, when the stork stood on one leg in a peculiar pose, and flapped its wings gracefully up and down, the caliph and the vizier could bear it no longer, and laughed at the same time, and it was a long time before they regained their composure.The Caliph first returned to normalcy. "It's the best joke I've ever seen," he said. "It's a pity that those two silly birds were scared away by our laughter, or they would have been singing after the dance!"

Suddenly, the Grand Vizier remembered the stern warning on the scroll—you must not laugh while transforming into an animal, or else—and he immediately shared his concerns with the Caliph.The Caliph was taken aback, and cried out: "If I can only be a stork for the rest of my life, then I am a poor joke! You have to think hard, and you must remember the damned spell, I can't think of it anymore." Woke up!"

"We have to kowtow three times to the east, and then say: Mu... Mu what?"

They turned and kowtowed to the east, touching the ground with their beaks.But, alas, it was terrible that the spell had been forgotten by them in Java.No matter how many times the caliph and his poor prime minister called "Mu... Mu...", they just couldn't remember what the last two words were. Now the sad caliph and his great prime minister can only be storks with all their heart!
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The two magically transformed storks wander the meadow sadly.They are too sad to be in the mood to think about what to do next.If they couldn't get rid of the stork, it was useless to go back to the city and tell the people who they really were—who would believe a stork saying that it was the Caliph?Besides, even if people really believed their words, would the people of Baghdad agree to be ruled by a stork?
They wandered around for a few days and ate wild fruits to satisfy their hunger.Their long beaks are hard for them to eat wild fruit, but who doesn't love lizards and frogs.The only consolation is that they have the ability to fly, so they can often fly back to the sky above their homeland to see how their country is doing.

In the first few days they noticed signs of commotion in the streets and alleys of the city.But on the fourth day, as they were sitting on the roof of the palace, they saw a procession in red and green going through the streets below with drums and drums.A man in a crimson cloak trimmed with gold was riding a pair of well-saddled horses, surrounded by well-dressed slaves.Half the city followed him, and the people shouted: "Long live! Mirza! Our King!"

Two storks looked at each other on the roof of the palace.The Caliph said: "Can you now guess why I was enchanted, Grand Vizier? This Mirza is my sworn enemy, the son of the magician Katsna. His father swore to take revenge on me, but I Do not despair! Come with me, my faithful friend, to that holy place, and perhaps the magic of the spell will wear off."

(End of this chapter)