The Snake Prince

A sultan's wife could not have a child for many years. At last she prayed, "Let me have a child, even if it is a snake." Her wish was granted; a snake came into the world. The sultan and his wife loved it all the same and raised it in a golden cradle.

When the snake grew up it said, "I want to marry." The sultan sent word to the girls of the land; nobody wanted to marry a snake. Elif, the poorest girl in the village, stepped forward: "I will. Perhaps there is someone else inside."

The wedding was held. At night the snake came into the room and took off its skin; out of it stepped a prince as beautiful as a piece of the moon. "A witch put a spell on me," he said. "By day I am a snake, by night a man. Never tell anyone, and never burn my skin; or you will lose me."

Elif kept the secret. But the sultan's wife grew curious, looked through the keyhole one night and saw the prince. In the morning she pressed Elif: "Bring the skin, let's burn it, so my son stays human forever!" Elif protested, but the woman found the skin and threw it into the fire. The moment the prince smelled the burning he said, "You have lost me; look for me beyond Mount Kaf," and vanished.

Elif put on iron shoes, took an iron staff and set out. She walked for years. The iron shoes wore through and the staff grew short. She met an old woman who gave her three walnuts: "Crack one when you are in trouble." Elif crossed Mount Kaf and came to a palace: there they were marrying the prince to a giant's daughter.

Elif cracked the first walnut: a golden spinning wheel came out. The giant's daughter wanted it. "In exchange for one night in the prince's room," said Elif. The giant's daughter gave the prince a sleeping draught; Elif talked all night, and the prince did not wake. The second walnut: a golden hen with her chicks. The same thing happened. The third walnut: a golden mirror. This time a servant of the palace told the prince, "Every night a woman weeps at your bedside." The prince did not drink the sleeping draught. When Elif began to speak, he opened his eyes and knew her.

That night the two of them fled the palace. The giant's daughter chased them, but when the last piece of Elif's staff fell to the ground it became a mountain, and the giant's daughter could not cross it. They returned to the sultan's land. The prince was never a snake again, because the spell had been broken by a person's patience.

They reached their heart's desire. Sleep now, so that you may see Mount Kaf in your dreams.