Judar And His Brothers

Judar lived with his mother and his two brothers, Ali and Ahmed, and they were all very poor until Judar met the magician, Abdul Samad. As a reward for helping him, the magician gave Judar a Magic Saddlebag. He had only to say the magic words, and he could take from the saddlebag as much food as he needed. Judar returned home with the saddlebag, and for a time, the family lived in great comfort, always well-fed and well-clothed.

The brothers found a sea captain who agreed to help them get rid of Judar.

Judar’s brothers were jealous of Judar’s fine clothes and his newfound wealth, and they kept watch secretly to see if they could find out where it came from. One day, they saw Judar take the Magic Saddlebag, say the magic words, and draw out silver dishes piled high with food. “We must get rid of Judar,” said Ali to his brother. “Then we can take that saddlebag for ourselves, and we shall be the rich ones, not Judar.”

They went down to the harbour and found a sea captain who agreed to help them to get rid of Judar. That night, when Judar was asleep, the brothers led the sea captain to his room. Judar awoke to find himself held fast and before he could cry out, one of his brothers had slipped a sack over his head. They bound him hand and foot and carried him down to the harbour.

Next morning, the ship sailed away with Judar on it. He was taken to a pirate ship, which lay outside the harbour and there he joined a number of slaves who pulled the huge oars that rowed the ship.

Ali and Ahmed were sure that they had seen the last of their brother and they were very pleased, for now they could keep the Magic Saddlebag for themselves. There was only one difficulty: which brother was to have it? The brothers quarreled so long over it that they finally came to blows. The city guards heard them and dragged them before the Sultan for causing a disturbance.

The Sultan demanded to know what the quarrel was about and the brothers had to tell him about the saddlebag. The Sultan asked to see how it worked, and he was very pleased. “It is quite obvious that such a valuable saddlebag should be kept by someone more worthy than you,” he said. “I shall keep it myself.” Then he ordered the guards to put the two brothers in the dungeon.

In the pirate ship, Judar despaired of rescue. But one day, a great storm blew up. One wave, greater than all the rest, struck the ship and dashed it to pieces. Judar was flung overboard, still clinging to the oar. When the storm cleared, he saw that he was near land and, hungry and weary, he waded ashore.

After a time, he began to explore, and he came to a road, along which he walked for a long distance without seeing anyone at all. Then, in the distance, he saw a man riding on a donkey. As the man drew nearer, Judar recognized his old friend, Abdul Samad.

“Greetings,” called Abdul. “What brings you here?”

Judar told him what had happened and showed him the broken chains on his wrists, where he had been chained to the oar. Abdul Samad sat down, rubbed a ring on his finger, and a huge genie appeared. Abdul ordered the genie to remove Judar’s chains and bring them food, and when they had eaten, he gave the ring to Judar.

“All you need to do is rub the ring, and the genie will appear,” he said. “He will do anything you wish. Keep the ring always on your finger and no one can steal it.”

Judar thanked the magician. Then he rubbed the ring, and when the genie appeared, asked to be taken home. He climbed on the genie’s back and they set off.

Judar’s mother was overjoyed to see him, for she had feared he was dead. She told him of the hard life she had lived since he had been away and how the Sultan had seized the Magic Saddlebag and imprisoned his brothers.

“My brothers have been punished enough for their evil deeds,” said Judar. “Perhaps now they will change their ways.” He rubbed the ring and ordered the genie to fetch his brothers from the dungeon and then bring all the gold and jewels from the Royal Treasure House.

He climbed onto the genie’s back and they set off.

In the dungeon, Ali and Ahmed were bitterly regretting their wicked deeds. “After all, we always had more food than we needed, and Judar was always kind to us,” said Ali. As he spoke, a huge genie appeared in front of their astonished eyes. He made the brothers climb on his back, and he carried them out of the prison, On their way, they passed the Royal Treasure House. As the guard fell into a deep sleep, the genie opened the door, and casket by casket, and trunk by trunk, all the Sultan’s treasure floated after them, back to Judar’s house. Last of all came the Magic Saddlebag.

“Now we will live in luxury,” said Judar, and he ordered the genie to build them a great palace outside the city.

In the Royal Palace, the Sultan was furious and ordered that both the brothers and the saddlebag should be found. Then news was brought to him that Ali and Ahmed were living with their brother, Judar, in a magnificent palace that seemed to have sprung up overnight, outside the city.

“It must be he who has stolen my wealth,” roared the angry Sultan. He called out his whole army and sent them to Judar’s palace to take Judar and his family prisoners.

The army approached the gate of the great palace and saw that it was guarded by only one man. “We want your master, slave,” called the captain, and thinking that they could easily overcome one man, they began to advance.

However, the guard was really a genie, and as the men advanced, he rose up and grew larger and larger until he towered far above them. “Begone,” he thundered. “No one comes to this palace without the permission of Judar.”

He looked so terrifying that all the soldiers turned and ran back to the Sultan in great disorder. Nothing that he could say would persuade them to return, so in the end he decided to go himself. All the way he raged and thundered.

When he reached the great hall, where Judar sat on silken cushions, the Sultan forgot his threats, for lined up on either side of the hall were big, strong, armed guards.

“Come forward, Your Majesty,” called Judar. “No one will harm you if you send your soldiers away.”

Trembling, the Sultan walked between the lines of armed guards to where Judar sat. “I would like to be your friend,” said Judar. “For I wish to marry the beautiful princess, your daughter.”

The Sultan looked at the rows of guards and thought it best not to refuse. “I consent,” he said. “But you must also obtain the consent of my daughter.”

The beautiful princess was very pleased to have such a young, handsome, and rich husband as Judar, and the marriage was arranged at once. All the people were delighted and cheered themselves hoarse at the wedding.

At last, the old Sultan died and the people called for Judar and the princess to rule them, for they were known to be kind, wise, and just.

Judar had forgiven his brothers long ago, and now, seeing that they had proved loyal, he made Ali and Ahmed his chief ministers and they served him well.