The Little Glass Man, and Other StoriesHauff, Wilhelm
Science
The Little Glass Man, and Other Stories
Hauff, Wilhelm
Children's stories
Sadly the enchanted ones wandered through the fields, not knowing what
to do in their misery. They could not discard their stork-plumage,
nor could they return into the town and make themselves known, for
who would have believed that a stork was the Caliph? and even if one
had believed it, would the inhabitants of Bagdad accept a stork for a
Caliph?
Thus they wandered about for several days, living miserably on the
fruits of the field, which they could not swallow very well on account
of their long beaks. As for lizards and frogs, their stomachs could not
relish such food; besides, they were afraid of spoiling their appetite
with such tit-bits. Their only pleasure in their sad situation was that
they could fly, and thus they flew often to the high roofs of Bagdad to
see what was going on in the town.
During the first days they remarked great uneasiness and grief in the
streets. But on the fourth day of their enchantment, while sitting
on the roof of the Caliph's palace, they saw down in the street
below a splendid array. The drums and fifes played; a man dressed in
a gold-embroidered scarlet mantle rode a richly-caparisoned horse,
surrounded by a gaudy train of servants. Half Bagdad rushed about him,
and everybody shouted: 'Hail, Mizra! the ruler of Bagdad!'
Then the two storks upon the roof of the palace looked at each other,
and the Caliph Chasid said: 'Dost thou guess now why I am enchanted,
Grand Vizier? This Mizra is the son of my mortal enemy, the mighty
Magician Kaschnur, who in an evil hour swore revenge on me. But still
I do not despair. Come with me, thou faithful companion of my misery;
we will betake ourselves to the grave of the Prophet; perhaps at that
sacred shrine the magic may be dispelled.'
They rose from the roof of the palace and flew towards Medina.
They did not succeed very well in flying, for as yet they had had very
little practice. 'O Master!' sighed the Grand Vizier after a couple of
hours' flight, 'with your leave I can hold out no longer, you fly too
swiftly for me! Besides, it is dark already, and we should do well to
seek shelter for the night.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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