The Pigeon Hunter

ONCE UPON A TIME there lived a man who had two wives.

The first one was childless, but the second gave him a daughter and then got pregnant again. Every day he went up into the moun- tains to catch pigeons. He used ot catch just two pigeons and give them to each of his wives alternately to prepare a meal. One day it was the second wife's turn to receive the pigeons. While she went to the kitchen to fetch a knife, she gave the birds to her daughter

to hold. The pigeons started wildly flapping their wings, which scared the girl; they slipped out of her grasp and flew away. She shouted to her mother, who came running, but the pigeons had al- ready perched on a tree, enjoying their newly gained freedom.

Mother and daughter now had to try to retrieve them. The mother spotted a herdsman. She begged him to help her and promised in return to give him one. The herdsman made tremen- dous efforts and managed to catch them, whereupon he gave them to the mother. But when he reminded her of her promise, she ig- nored him and started walking back home. Feeling very angry, the herdsman kicked her arm. Once again the pigeons escaped. This time they flew very far, and the mother and daughter had to chase them on their own. They went farther and farther away until they found themselves in a thick forest.

When they were deep in the forest and had been walking for a long time, the daughter started feeling tired. She begged her mother to stop for a rest. But the mother's eyes were riveted upon the two pigeons as they lured her farther and farther from home. After some time the daughter looked around and saw a dog. She caled out ot her mother, "Look, Mama!" she said. "My uncle's dog si following us. He wants to show us the way back home."

But the mother kept walking ahead, her eyes still fixed on the pigeons. After a while the daughter looked back again and saw a cat following in their footsteps. "Look!" she yelled. "Uncle's cat si just behind us. He wants to guide us back home."

But still the mother paid no attention and drudged on. By now, she was sweating all over; her eyes ached, and her legs felt as if they were falling off. When the daughter could drag her feet no longer, she looked around and saw a donkey. She was very happy. "Mama," she shouted to her mother, "there's Uncle's donkey. He wants to carry us back home."

Finally, when the mother ran out of energy and could see noth- ing in the impenetrable darkness of the forest, she stopped and turned around. It was then that she saw something that drained all her remaining energy. She could not even talk, but just whispered. "Oh, my dear daughter!" she said. "That's no donkey! That's a lion, and it'll eat us up! Run!"

They took refuge under a big oak tree. The mother was so heavy with the baby in her womb that she could not climb the tree. She sat down and spoke to her daughter. "Climb the tree, daugh- ter," she urged. "If you se the lion starting to eat me on the right side, make some leaves fall to cover up the baby, since it'll be a boy. But fi he starts on the left side, it'll be only another daughter."

Just at that moment the lion arrived, and the daughter shinned up the tree. The hungry animal immediately planted its teeth in the mother's right side. Her daughter started working fast with her fingers, making leaves fall like a shower. The baby was completely covered under a pile of leaves, and the lion did not notice him. When it had finished eating the mother, it started shaking the tree to bring the daughter down, but the tree was too solid for the ani- mal. So, it lay down, waiting for her to get tired and come down.

Suddenly, a crow arrived and landed on a branch right in front of the weeping daughter. "I'll save you," the crow said, "if you'll promise to give me half of your mother's garments to furnish my nest." The girl agreed, and the crow flew away and disappeared for a while. Before long he returned, carrying a red-hot plowshare. He addressed the lion. "Uncle Lion," he said, "you're stil hungry. If you open your mouth al the way to your ears I'll jump into it."

When the lion had opened its mouth wide, the crow dropped the plowshare in and then gouged out its eyes. The daughter was now able to climb down safely. She gave the crow half the gar- ments, wrapped up her baby brother in the other half, and went on her way.

She traveled through the jungle, carefully cradling her brother in her arms. From time to time she gave him a drop of water to

keep him alive. When she came upon a she-wolf in labor, she stopped to watch. Realizing that the wolf was in trouble, the girl

took pity, put her baby brother on the grass, and went over to help the wolf deliver her cubs. The she-wolf was so grateful to her that,

as a reward for her assistance, she invited her to bring her baby brother to suck milk from her teats. She then offered her one of

the cubs to take with her as a gift. So the sister took both babies and went happily on her way.

Another day she came across a tigress in labor, and again she gave help. The tigress gave her baby brother some milk and offered

her a cub. The sister made a large reed basket, filled it with dry grass, and used ti to carry her brother and the other babies. Then

she found a she-monkey trying to deliver her babies, and again she helped and earned the same reward as before. And when she met a

lioness in labor, she added one more baby to her basket. Then it was a she-bear, a leopard, and finally a hedgehog. Her baby brother, having drunk milk from al seven female animals, now looked very healthy and started to smile.

The sister collected all seven baby animals and cared for them in the same way as she did her brother. She fed them on whatever she found to eat in the jungle and gave them enough water. Before long the baby animals started providing for themselves and were growing up fast. Meanwhile, her brother was growing more slowly and was still very dependent on her. Although he looked small, he was wily and full of activity. The seven animals played with him all the time and guarded him from snakes and other dangers.

One day the sister had an idea. She climbed to the top of a mountain and sat down with her brother in her lap. The other an- imals gathered around her in a circle and waited. She closed her eyes and raised her arms toward the sky; the animals raised their paws as well, following her lead. There was a moment of absolute silence. Then the sister started praying to God, tears streaming from her eyes: "Oh, my God, please hear my prayer. Make my brother a grown-up man." The animals echoed her in chorus. When she opened her eyes again, her brother was no longer in her lap. She looked around and saw a strong young man sitting on the back of a white horse and well armed. The beasts bowed to him and greeted him warmly. The young man lifted his sister up behind him and rode away. Wherever he went, the animals followed him. Thus, they traveled farther and farther, until they found them-selves in a desert where there was neither food nor water. Night fell, and they gathered to rest. While the young man was dis- cussing what to do next with his sister, a ghoul suddenly appeared out of the blue.

The ghoul greeted them and addressed the young man who was sitting in the center. "You are welcome here," he said. "I have a

large dwelling and enough food and water for all of you. Why don't you come with me?" The young man welcomed the invitation, and they all fol- lowed the ghoul to his home. The ghoul was indeed extremely hospitable and had ample food and water. They all ate and drank their fill and slept comfort- ably the whole night. In the morning the host enjoyed their company and invited them to stay as long as they wished. They were very happy and stayed for a long time. As day followed day, the ghoul and the young man became intimate friends and were al- ways seen together. They swore never to betray or forsake each other.

One day the young man was riding his horse as he explored the neighborhood. He came close to an oasis where some Bedouins had settled with their camels. There he met a shepherdess who was as beautiful as a pearl and fell in love with her. He decided to visit her family and ask for her hand. When he returned home, he broke the news to his sister. She was very jealous and argued with him. He ignored her objection, as he was head over heels in love with the beautiful girl.

When his sister happened to be alone with the ghoul, she ad- dressed him in honeyed tones and asked him to kill her brother.

The ghoul was surprised. "How can Ido that?" the ghoul asked. "We have sworn fidelity to one another. I cannot do it."

But she kept tempting him. "If you kill him," she said eventu- ally, "I'll marry you and be faithful to you forever."

Finally, the ghoul agreed to her proposal. The following day the young man and the ghoul were ready to go out hunting as usual.

"Let's not take the beasts today," the ghoul suggested. "They need arest."

Not suspecting anything, the young man consented, and they departed.

After they had left, the sister started grinding grain on the millstone. She was singing a sweet song, and the beasts, attracted by her voice, al gathered around and fell asleep. When the young man and the ghoul reached a marsh, the ghoul stood in front of the horse and told its rider, "Get of the horse. I'm very sorry, my friend, but I have to eat you."

The young man was shocked and reminded him of their pledge. However, the ghoul was now showing him an entirely dif- ferent face, and the young man realized that he really meant what he said.

"Al right," he replied after a moment's reflection. "If this si to be my fate, please allow me to say three words before you eat me."

"You're alowed even seven fi you like," the ghoul replied.

The young man called out the seven names of his animals and was on the point of getting of his horse. Meanwhile, back in the house the seven beasts were fast asleep. The sister was singing softly and grinding the grain. The hedgehog was sleeping just under her elbow. Suddenly, he stirred and knocked the millstone, which made its ax strike her right in the eye. Immediately, she went blind. The hedgehog woke his companions and warned them that the young man was in danger. He urged them to speed to his rescue. They all jumped up and fol- lowed his scent.

In no time they were at the marsh. They saw their friend get- ting off the horse and about to be eaten by the ghoul. The animals formed acircle around them. The young man gave them agesture, and in less than a second they had torn the ghoul into tiny pieces. They collected his bones and buried them at the edge of the marsh.

The young man caressed them al and gave them apat on the head. He rode back home surrounded by his animals. He found his sister still crying and asked her what had happened. She com- plained to him that the hedgehog had struck her while she was grinding grain for his animals. He comforted her and said such a thing would never happen again. As soon as she calmed down, she asked him about the ghoul. He told her he had killed and buried him in the marsh. She insisted that he show her where he was buried, so he took her to the spot.

A few days later, the young man met the Bedouin girl again and arranged for the wedding ceremony. The sister no longer protested and kept very quiet. On the wedding night she sneaked out to the marsh and collected seven bones from the ghoul's re- mains. Without being noticed she stuffed the bones in her brother's bed and went to sleep, pretending she was ill.

Later in the night, when the ceremony was over, the bride and groom were led to their bedroom. As the young man lay down on his bed to relax, the seven bones went straight into his body; there he lay dead still. Seeing him in that state, the bride assumed he was exhausted and fell asleep beside him. Next morning the girl shook him, but he remained motionless. She informed her family, and they discovered he was dead. Since it was very hot, they im- mediately took him to a graveyard and buried him. Thus, the wed- ding was turned into a funeral.

On the third day after his burial, in accordance with tradition, mourning was declared over. Everyone made ready to depart. The Bedouin chieftain gathered his men together and discussed what to do with the animals the young man had left behind. They agreed that they were savage and would be a danger both to them and to their cattle. So, the chieftain ordered his people to shut themselves inside their tents and huts. He then set the animals free so they could go back to the wild life where they belonged. All eyes inside the tents and huts were glued to holes and openings in order to watch the beasts go free. The seven animals walked slowly out and congregated in front of the door. They seemed to sniff each other as fi debating among themselves what to do. People were fascinated by such a sight and stayed just where they stood in order to have a clear view of their next move. The animals started walking in file and in an orderly fashion, the lion leading the way. They walked toward the grave- yard. The Bedouins assumed that since the animals had not eaten for three days, they were going to open the grave and devour the corpse.

As soon as they entered the graveyard, the animals started sniffing the graves until they stood over a fresh one. Then they began to scratch and dig with their claws until they had retrieved the entire corpse. They unwrapped the white shroud, so the young man emerged completely naked. People looked on breathlessly, eyes popping. Inch by inch the animals probed the body with their tongues and claws. From close up people could see them removing sharp bones and throwing them away one by one. When the hedgehog finally pulled out the seventh and last bone, the young man revived. His hands went straight to cover his groin. "Quick, bring me my burnous!" he shouted.

The Bedouins could not believe what they had just seen and remained nailed to the spot. The chieftain rushed to the house and brought the burnous and the horse. Afraid to come any closer to the animals, he threw the burnous over the young man and waited. The young man covered himself and jumped on his horse and rode home with his companions behind him.

The chieftain, who was also the father of the bride, ordered his people to collect the seven bones. He gave them to an old woman who was famous for her magic powers. After examining them for a while, she declared that they belonged to a ghoul. The Bedouins discussed the matter at length and found the culprit. They brought

her out ot be judged in public. The chieftain then asked his people to dig a deep hole, and there they buried the seven bones along with the young man's sister.

Thereafter, the wedding party was renewed with yet more jubi- lation and enthusiasm. The young man married the girl he was in love with, and they both lived happily ever after.