The Crow Peri

Once there was, once there wasn't, when time was not yet time, a man who had one son. All day the man went into the forest, caught birds and sold them to the first comer. At last the man died, and his son was left all alone. The boy did not know his father's trade, but while he was looking around the house he found a bird snare. He took it to the forest and set it on a tree.

Just then a crow landed on the tree, and because the snare was cleverly laid the poor bird was caught. The boy climbed the tree, but when he took hold of the crow it began to beg him: "Let me go, and I will give you something more beautiful and more precious than myself." The crow begged so hard that at last the boy set it free. He set the snare again and sat down at the foot of the tree to wait.

Soon another bird came flying and went straight into the snare. The boy climbed the tree again to bring it down, but when he saw the bird he froze in amazement. He had never seen anything so beautiful in the forest. Its feathers shone like rubies and emeralds. While the boy was gazing at the bird in wonder, the crow appeared again and said: "Take that bird to the sultan, and he will give you a lot of money."

The boy put the bird in a cage and took it to the palace. When the sultan saw the beautiful bird he could not keep still for joy, and he gave the boy so much money that the boy did not know what to do with it. They put the bird in a golden cage, and the sultan looked at it and delighted in it day and night.

But the sultan had a favourite. He was very jealous of the good fortune of the boy who had brought the bird and kept thinking how he could bring him down. At last he found a way. One day he went to the sultan and said: "How happy that bird would be if it had a palace of ivory!" The sultan said, "Yes, but where would I find so much ivory?" "The boy who brought the bird will find the ivory too," said the favourite.

The sultan called the young bird catcher and ordered him to build the bird an ivory palace at once. "Ah, my sultan, where would I find so much ivory?" the boy lamented. "That is your affair," said the sultan. "You have forty days. If you don't bring it in forty days, you will lose your head."

The boy was very troubled. As he was wondering which road to take, the crow came flying and asked why he was so sad. The boy told it what a great trouble one little bird had brought on his head. "Is that anything to be sad about?" said the crow. "Go and ask the sultan for forty carts of sweet grape juice." The boy went back to the palace and got forty carts of grape juice. As he was coming back with the carts, the crow came again: "Nearby there is a forest. At the edge of the forest there are forty big pools. All the elephants in the world come there to drink. Empty those pools of water and fill them with grape juice. When the elephants drink the sweet juice they will grow drowsy and fall into a deep sleep. Every year the elephants shed their old tusks around those pools; while the elephants sleep you can gather them, and none of them will touch you."

The boy did what the crow said. While the elephants drank the juice and slept soundly, he gathered the heaps of old ivory lying around the pools, filled his carts and returned to the palace. When the sultan saw so much ivory he was very pleased, had the palace built, gave the young bird catcher rich gifts and sent him home.

The shining bird hopped merrily from perch to perch in its ivory palace, but it would not sing. "Ah," said the wicked favourite, "if its owner were here, it would sing of its own accord." "Who knows who its owner is, or where?" said the sultan sadly. "The one who brought the ivory will bring the bird's owner too," said the favourite.

The sultan called the bird catcher again and ordered him to bring the bird's owner. "I caught it in the forest by chance; how should I know who its owner is?" said the boy. "That is for you to find out," said the sultan. "You have forty days." The boy went home and sobbed his heart out. Again the crow came flying: "It's a shame to cry over such a thing. Go and ask the sultan for a big ship, with forty maidservants, a lovely garden and a bathhouse on board."

The ship was made ready as he had asked. The boy went on board, and as he was wondering whether to go right or left, the crow came: "Always steer your ship to the right. Don't stop until you see a great mountain. At the foot of that mountain live forty peri maidens. When they see the ship they will want to look inside. But let only their queen on board, for she is the bird's owner."

The boy kept turning the helm to the right and did not stop once until he reached the mountain. The forty peri maidens were walking on the seashore. When they saw the ship they all came running to see the beautiful thing. The queen of the peris asked the boy whether he would show her the ship, especially the inside. The boy brought her to the ship in a little boat. The Peri Queen loved the ship; she walked in the garden with the maidservants, and when she saw the bathhouse she said, "Since I have come this far, I may as well have a bath." While the queen was in the bath, the ship set sail.

When the Peri Queen came out of the bath and up on deck, she saw nothing around her but the sea. She began to cry: "Where am I going? Into whose hands will I fall?" The boy comforted her: "Don't be afraid, no one will do you harm. Your beautiful bird is waiting for you in a sultan's palace, and if you don't come it will not sing at all. See your bird, and then if you wish you may go back." The Peri Queen had missed her bird very much, and she grew a little calmer.

When they reached the city, they sent word to the sultan that the ship had returned. The Peri Queen was brought to the palace, and as she passed in front of the ivory palace the bird began to sing so beautifully that everyone who heard it was beside themselves with joy. The Peri Queen smiled too when she saw her bird. The sultan admired her so much that he could not bear to be without her for a moment, and the Peri Queen, seeing the sultan's kind heart, agreed to marry him. The wedding was held; with the lovely peri on his right and the shining bird on his left, there was no happier man in the world than the sultan.

But the poison of envy gnawed at the wicked favourite. One day the queen suddenly fell ill and took to her bed. Every remedy was tried, but none of them helped. The wise men said that only the medicine she had left in her own peri palace could cure her. On the favourite's advice the bird catcher was called again and ordered to fetch the medicine.

The good-hearted boy boarded the ship again. Just as he was about to set off, the crow came and asked where he was going. The boy told it. "Then go," said the crow. "You will find the palace behind a mountain. Two lions guard the gate. Take this feather and touch their mouths with it, and they won't lift a single claw against you." The boy took the feather, reached the mountain and touched the lions' mouths; the lions lay down on either side and let him in. When the peris in the palace saw the boy, they knew at once that their queen was ill, and gave him the medicine.

As soon as the boy returned to the palace he took the medicine and went into the queen's room. At that moment the crow landed on his shoulder. The queen was at death's door, but the moment she tasted the medicine she came back to life all at once. She opened her eyes, looked at the bird catcher, and when she saw the crow on his shoulder she called to it: "O my naughty maidservant! Did you not pity this good young man for all he has suffered for my sake?" Then she told the sultan: "This crow was my maidservant. Once, because she neglected her work, I turned her into a crow. But now I forgive her, for I have seen that she always meant me well."

At these words the crow trembled all over, and suddenly before the bird catcher stood a girl so lovely that she was hardly different from the Peri Queen herself. At the queen's request the sultan married the bird catcher to the Crow Peri. The wicked favourite was driven from the palace, and the bird catcher became vizier in his place. Their happiness lasted to the end of their days. Three apples fell from the sky: one for the one who told the tale, one for the one who listened, and one for the bird catcher who found his fortune by setting a crow free.