The Enchanted Storks
Once upon a time, there lived a man called Chasid, who was the Caliph, or ruler, of the city of Bagdad. For some time, he had been meaning to reward his Grand Vizier, the man who looked after the affairs of his kingdom, with a small present for his many years of faithful service. One morning, a pedlar came to the palace, selling all kinds of wonderful gifts, and the Caliph thought it would be a good opportunity to buy something for the vizier.
The Caliph summoned the vizier, and from the pedlar’s treasure chest, he chose a pair of pistols for the vizier and a jeweled comb for his wife. Just as the pedlar was closing the chest, the Caliph noticed a small drawer. “What do you keep in there?” he asked. The pedlar opened the drawer and took out a small box containing black powder and a piece of parchment. The man explained that the box and the parchment had been given to him by a merchant in exchange for some of his goods, but as he could not read the writing on the parchment, he had never been able to find out what the black powder was for.
When the pedlar had gone, leaving behind the box and parchment, which was useless to him, the vizier, a learned man, studied it very carefully. “The writing is in Latin, my lord,” he said finally, “and it is the instructions for using the black powder. According to this, if you take one sniff of the powder and say the word ‘Mutabor,’ you can change yourself into any animal you like and understand the language of all animals. To change back into a normal being, you must bow three times to the East and say the magic word again. However, if you so much as give one laugh while you are under the spell, the magic word will slip from your memory, and you will be an animal for the rest of your life.”
The Caliph could not wait to try the magic powder and hurried outside, closely followed by a very worried vizier. “I think I shall change myself into a stork,” he said, handing a pinch of powder to the vizier and taking a pinch for himself. “I have always thought they are such graceful birds, and I have often wished I could fly.” The two men cried “Mutabor,” together, and at once, they were both changed into storks. As they strutted around the palace gardens, listening to the talk of the other animals, they suddenly caught sight of their reflections in the water of an ornamental pond, and without warning, both the Caliph and the vizier burst into laughter at the sight of themselves. Then, realizing their mistake, both of them hurriedly bowed to the East three times and tried to remember the magic word, but it was no use; they had completely forgotten it.
For several days, the Caliph and the vizier wandered around the palace gardens, trying to attract the attention of the servants, but nobody took any notice of what appeared to be two very tame storks. One morning, they were awoken by a great noise coming from the palace, and when they went nearer, the Caliph saw, to his anger, that the people were electing a new Caliph. “The pedlar and his magic powder must have been a trick to make us disappear,” said the Caliph, “for you see who is being elected as the new Caliph. It is Mizra, the son of my chief enemy, Kuschnur the magician.”
The two storks flew away, not knowing what to do. Far across the desert, they went until the Caliph, spying a ruined palace below them, decided it was time to rest for the night. The two birds strutted through the entrance and along a corridor, looking for a suitable place to sleep. Suddenly, the Caliph held up a wing for silence. The sound of somebody crying was coming from a nearby room, and as the Caliph poked his beak round the door, he had the surprise of his life. Sitting on the floor was a screech owl, crying so much that great big tears were rolling down its feathery cheeks and dropping onto the floor.
“Why are you crying, screech owl?” asked the Caliph.
“Oh lord and master,” replied the owl, “once I was a beautiful princess, but because I refused to marry Mizra, his wicked father, the magician Kuschnur, changed me into an owl.”
Before the Caliph could find out any more, he heard the sound of footsteps and voices at the end of the corridor. All three birds peeped round the door, and to their horror, saw the magician Kuschnur, his son Mizra, and the pedlar disappearing into a large banqueting hall.
Suddenly the Caliph had an idea. “If we can creep close enough to the hall and overhear their conversation, perhaps the magic word we have forgotten will be mentioned,” he whispered to the others. The Caliph and the vizier crept up the corridor and hid behind a stone pillar.
They were just in time, for they heard the magician Kuschnur say, “Tell me, my pedlar friend, what word is it that would free the Caliph and his vizier from the spell?”
“A difficult Latin word,” replied the pedlar with a sly grin. “The word is ‘Mutabor’ and…”
The Caliph and the vizier did not wait to hear any more. Rushing outside, they both bowed three times to the East and cried “Mutabor” together. To their great joy, they were changed back into normal people again, and when they turned around to look for the screech owl, they saw instead a beautiful princess.
All three hurried back to the city of Bagdad, and when the people saw that their beloved Caliph had returned and heard what he had to say, they realized that they had been tricked by the wicked Kuschnur. They searched high and low for the evil magician, his son, and the pedlar, and when they were found, they were brought before the Caliph and made to take the black powder and say the magic word. All three were changed into storks, and when they looked at one another, all three burst out laughing at the funny sight. They quite forgot the magic word, and to this day all three wander the world, listening to the conversations of all animals in the hope that the magic word will be mentioned once again.