A. K. Seklemian

“ Roses, violets and other flowers of every color and perfume grew there luxuriously. Nightingales, birds of paradise, and all kinds of birds and beasts of the forest were there. In the middle of the orchard a fountain gushed out its crystal waters, and formed a pond amid overhanging verdure. It was, throughout, a paradise.
“Bring those flower pots and put them around this pond,” said the giant to the lad. “Bring here all kinds of delicious foods, which you have prepared. Every day this week we shall have company, and we must prepare for them.” ”

“ The lad thanked the old monk, and continuing his journey soon saw, at a distance, Zoolvisia’s magnificent castle decorated with gold and jewels. He did just as the monk had advised him, and at Zoolvisia’s third call jumped up and stood before her gazing at her. Zoolvisia recognized him, and said:
“You have overcome me; you are brave and a real hero worthy of me. No one except you has ever heard my voice and lived. Now my talisman is broken, and I have become a mere woman. Come in, hero, I and my forty maids will serve you.” ”

“ When he arrived he saw a cave where a fairy woman was kneading dough.
“The goodness of the hour upon you, mother!” said the lad.
“Heaven bless you, son!” said the old dame. “Neither the snake on its belly, nor the bird with its wing could come here; why did you venture to come?”
“Your love brought me hither, mother,” answered the lad.
The fairy woman was pleased with the lad, and said to him:
“The seven fairies, my sons, have just gone out a-hunting; they hunt all night long and come back in the morning. If they find you here they will devour you. Let me hide you.” ”

“ He had gone to the hunt, that they might have noble game for their wedding dinner. When the bull was overcome and fell, the giant began to grow drowsy. As soon as the youth cut off the bull’s head, the Giant turned dizzy, and a tremor ran through his frame.
“Alas!” cried the Giant. “Some one has killed the white bull. I know it is my fault. I gave my secret to the maiden, and she has told it to Bedik or to some other lover. The bull is killed, and I must die. I will go and kill the maiden. She is not to be for me; why shall she be for another?” So saying, he began to run toward the castle. ”

“ You will be like ourselves.”
“How?” asked the lad.
“Each of us was a wealthy merchant, such as you are,” said the men; “we went to Tiflis and there heard that the King had a daughter called the World’s Beauty. We wished to see her, and they charged each of us forty pieces of gold to behold her from behind a glass partition. We fell in love with her, and thereafter spent all our wealth to see her over and over again. So we wasted eighty camel-loads of merchandise and to-day we are so poor that no one cares to look at us.” ”

“ The lad said that he was going after Zoolvisia.
“Zoolvisia!” exclaimed the seven brothers. “Be advised, cousin, do not go. This is a most dangerous journey. Zoolvisia is a cruel tyrant. No human being who has ever undertaken this journey, has returned. Come, cousin, stay with us; be our elder brother, we your subordinates, and let us live together in happiness.”
“No,” said the lad, “let come what may; I will go.” Thereupon he gave the seven brothers a pair of scissors, saying:
“When you see blood dripping from the scissors, know that I am in danger and come to my rescue.” ”

“ The lad who was watching them closely, took aim with his bow and arrow and was just about to shoot the leader in the forehead, when he suddenly stopped.
“That is a woman,” he said to himself. “I will not shoot at a woman.” At once he jumped out from the place of his concealment and standing before the leader exclaimed:
“Are you a human being, a fairy or a demon? Disclose yourself. To lead people astray and to destroy human life by poison are not the deeds of heroes. ”

“ The lad, taking leave of the old woman, climbed up the mountain till he came to the nest of the eagle. Taking refuge under a rock, he set himself to watch. Soon a gigantic dragon came creeping up toward the young birds, and was just devouring them, when the lad drew his sword of lightning, and cutting the dragon into pieces, gave its flesh to the young eaglets, which began to eat it and to chirp merrily. ”

“ The door of the palace was opened, and the lad was received by the maiden, who told him that she was the daughter of a Prince, and that the giant had stolen her and kept her in that palace, where she had forty beautiful handmaids serving her.
“And as you have killed the giant,” she added, “I, who am a virgin, shall be your wife, and all these maidens will serve us.” And they accepted one another as husband and wife.
Opening the treasures of the giant, they found innumerable jewels, gold, silver, and all kinds of wealth. ”

“ The lad came to his palace and found that his beautiful bride was imprisoned in a dark cellar, where she was left to starve, while the witch, his stepmother, was in an excess of merriment with the giant and half a dozen younglings around her. They were all amazed to see the hero enter, and the giant was about to make his exit through a secret door in the wall when the lad seized hold of him, saying:
“How now, coward, are you running? Stop and solve this puzzle for me; whose are these ugly younglings that are infecting the very air of my palace?” ”

“ The King, hearing that a beautiful [11] maiden had come to the haven, hastened thither, and seeing the princess, said to her:
“Fair maiden, come and by your presence complete the number forty. You are the jewel of all the maidens, and will surely be my dear queen, while the rest shall become your handmaids.”
“Very well, I will come,” answered the princess; “only send hither your thirty-nine maidens, that I may come to your palace with great pomp.” ”

“ One day he hid himself under the stairs. Soon a splash of water was heard in the sea, and, lo! a big fish cast itself on the threshold. At once the skin of the fish fell down, and out of it came a maiden as beautiful as the shining moon. She swept the house clean, and finishing the kitchen work was just going out of the door, when the lad took hold of her. ”

“ Then he entered Bagdad with great pomp, and said to his mother, who had gone to meet him:
“Mother, here are all my possessions, and here is the maiden who tortured your son so much. I was obliged to become an ass before I learned how to treat her, and it was necessary for her to become an ass before she ceased to be a deceitful shrew. She is now a human being and promises to become a submissive daughter-in-law.” ”

“ For the love of Heaven, bury me in this grave and tell my story to the King.’ This she said, and stabbing herself with a dagger, fell dead at my feet. I buried her in that grave near her husband. Here you have the example of a faithful and brave wife. If the unfaithful wife of the goldsmith gave you occasion to order the death of all the women of the realm, let this woman be the means of saving her sex from general slaughter. Why shall many good women die because of the wickedness of one woman? ”

“ The old woman, making herself as trim as she could, started on the errand and did all that the Princess had bid her. The King, upon seeing the jewels in the shape of a pomegranate slice, at once called the royal jewelers to set a price on them. The jewelers, examining the slice of pomegranate, said:
“No one can set a price on this. Let a lad of fifteen stand and throw a stone with all his might toward the sky; a heap of gold as high as that would hardly equal the value of this wonderful row of precious stones.” ”

“ He killed the last sparrow; the Giant knocked his head against the threshold of the castle, his skull was broken, and his brains oozed out. A black smoke rose from his mouth and nostrils, and he lay dead as a stone. Thereupon Bedik came on horseback like a flash of lightning. The maiden descended from the tower, and they embraced one another. At once they decided to go to the maiden’s parents and celebrate their wedding. They collected all the wealth of the Invulnerable Giant, and mounting the horse of lightning, began to proceed toward the East. ”

“ The maiden intoxicated him with poisonous wine, and taking away the purse expelled him from her house. He returned to his mother, lamenting his loss. He wept and promised not to go again to Tiflis, if she gave him something else from his father’s secret chamber by which he might earn his living. A mother’s heart is tender; she could not resist his importunities, and at last brought to him from the secret chamber a cap, saying:
“This is a magic cap; when you put it on your head you will see others without being seen by anybody.”
This was something that suited the lad best of all. ”

“ The giantess took the lad out of the box and brought him to the giants, who were very much pleased to see a human being so small, but so beautiful and manly. Holding him up like a toy, the giants handed him to one another to gratify their curiosity by looking at him. ”

“ By that time all the followers of secret arts crowded about the King’s palace. Priests, monks, astrologers, star-gazers, magicians, sorcerers, witches, wizards, necromancers, bird conjurers, mice conjurers, snake conjurers, predictors by measuring with the span, predictors by casting beans or blue pebbles, predictors by gazing at cups of water, and all kinds of enchanters, male and female, old and young, were there, practicing their arts, but none could understand the secret, or devise a remedy. ”

“ The lad did so and brought her the two whole skins. The Lioness milked her udders into them until they were filled.
“Here,” said the Lioness, “take these and go, and be careful not to harm my little cubs on your way.”
The lad took the two cubs’ skins full of milk and thanking the Lioness, departed. On his way, however, he slily stole two beautiful cubs and began to run. But the mother Lioness smelling her young ones, pursued the lad, and overtaking him, exclaimed:
“How now, human being! is this the way you reward kindness done to you? Why did you steal my two cubs?” ”

“ SALMAN AND ROSTOM.
Salman was a strong and mighty man, He was as large as a hill, as powerful as a giant, and a terrible tyrant. He lived in one corner of the world, but his fame spread terror over all the earth. He had a horse of lightning, and his arms were as strong as iron. He assaulted men in their peaceful habitations, and took tribute from them; none could refuse to pay him tribute, else he would slaughter and destroy the people. In another portion of the earth there was another strong brigand, called Chal, who had a son named Rostom. ”

“ I am a woman and had a boundless love for my husband. This vile Prince, whose body we have just now buried, having fallen in love with me, killed my own husband that he might win my love. But I vowed by the sacred love I bore my husband to kill the murderer and bury him under my husband’s feet. ”

“ The lad was so glad and in so great a hurry that the last sheep’s tail which he was going to give to the eagle fell from his hand. But he did not wish to disappoint his friend, so he drew his sword, and cutting one of the calves of his own leg, gave it to the eagle. The wise bird knew from the flavor that it was human flesh, and kept it under her tongue. ”

“ I have not tasted human flesh for a long time;” and he assailed Mirza, to devour him.
“Halt!” exclaimed the lad, preparing his bow and arrow. “I shall prove a hard nut for you to crack. My name is Mirza. I have so far butchered forty-seven giants; you are the forty-eighth.”
He shot his arrow, which passed through the giant’s heart and nailed him to the ground. Drawing his magic sword, [95] he cut off his head, and thrusting it on his sword’s point took it to the white castle and called to the maiden:
“Fair Princess, here is the head of the White Giant, whom I have sacrificed to your love.” ”

“ Lifting up his eyes, nearby he saw a Giant sitting with a maiden on each side, one colored and the other white.
“Look, human being,” exclaimed the Giant; “I will ask you a question. If you answer it rightly I will let you go; if not, I will kill you with this club, as I have killed so many men before you. Which of these two maidens is the beautiful one, and which the ugly?”
The lad remembered the first maxim of the old monk, and said: “She whom one loves the most is the most beautiful.”
The Giant jumped up, and kissing the lad on the forehead, said: “Well done, youth! ”