Fables

These are works of the imagination, not intended to convince the listener of their veracity, and which take place at an unspecified time. Repetitions are made at the beginning and end of, and sometimes even during the story, in order to ensure the concentration of the audience.

EXAMPLES OF FABLES

The Idle Girl

Once upon a time, when fleas were barbers and camels worked in public baths and I rocked my mother’s cradle, there were a man and wife.
They had a daughter. The girl was very spoiled, and grew up knowing no work. So they called her Idle Girl.

She was so lazy that she refused even to get up. Her parents gave her a poker, and she worked with that from where she was sitting.
It came time for her to marry. Her parents married her to a huntsman.

The man went off hunting and killed a duck. He came home, plucked its feathers and put it on the fire. He then got ready to go out hunting again, and told his wife he had put the duck on the fire and not to let it burn. The Idle Girl said she would not, but still did not even get up. A long time passes. A beggar came to the house, and asked the lady for a piece of bread for sake of God. The Idle Girl told him to go into the kitchen and get it.

The beggar entered the kitchen, and saw the duck cooking on the stove. He took it, put it in his bag, and put his dirty socks in the pot. He then returned to the Idle Girl. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I have taken the bread. May God bless you. Let me now sing you a song and be on my way.’ He began:

‘Your duck is in my bag,
My socks are in your soup,
You just lie on your comfy bed
While I eat my duck in the forest.’

The beggar sang his song and left. After a while, the hunter returned. He asked his wife if the duck was cooked yet. His wife told him what had happened, and that the beggar had sung her a song. The huntsman then understood what had happened and grew very angry with his wife. After that, the Idle Girl stopped being lazy. They were happy, so let us now go to bed.

The Valuable Salt

Once upon a time, when fleas were barbers and camels worked in public baths and I rocked my mother’s cradle, this is how the story goes.
Once upon a time there was a king who had three daughters. One day he called his daughters to him and asked how much they loved him. The eldest daughter said as much as the world, the middle one as much as an embrace and the youngest as much as salt.

The king was angry at his youngest daughter’s answer, and handed her over to the executioner. The executioner took her off to the mountain to behead her. The girl begged him not to kill her, reminding him that he too was a father.

The executioner was unable to resist, and killed an animal in her place, smeared its blood over the girl’s blouse and took it to the king.

The young girl wandered away, far away, and eventually came to a village. She was taken in by one of the wealthy inhabitants of the village, grew up, and became a beautiful maiden. The fame of her beauty spread far and wide, and destiny decreed that she married a king’s son.
A while passed. She told her husband her true story, and suggested they invite her father for dinner. Her husband agreed. The preparations were made and her father, the king, invited to the feast.

The girl’s father came to the feast on the appointed day with his retinue. When he and his companions had sat down, the different courses began to appear. However, the girl had instructed the cook not to out any salt in any of them. Whichever course the king tried he left untouched.

At that moment, the girl leapt to the king’s feet, and told him that she had heard that he had had his youngest daughter killed for only loving him as much as salt. The king agreed. She then announced her true identity, and explained that she had had the food cooked without salt in order for him to understand what a valuable thing salt was.

The king was ashamed of his deeds, and embraced his daughter. A new period then opened. They were all happy, so let us now go to bed.