Hassan and the Jewels
Collected and translated by Fatima Al Sada, VCUQatar
Edited by Patty Paine
There once was a young boy in Qatar named Hassan. Hassan lived a very happy, carefree life until his father died. Hassan and his mother were very sad. His mother had no money, and could not support Hassan, so she married a jewelry maker. For many months, the jewelry maker paid no attention to Hassan, then suddenly one day the jewelry maker called Hassan over to him. The jewelry maker told Hassan about precious jewels that were hidden in the nest of an enormous bird that lived in the mountains. He told Hassan that he was going to take him on a journey to find the jewels. Hassan was very excited, but Hassan’s mother begged the jewelry maker not to take her son on such a dangerous journey. The jewelry maker refused to listen.
The next morning, the jewelry maker woke Hassan very early in the morning and told him it was time to go find the precious gems. The jewelry maker tied packs on the donkey, and then they climbed on the donkey and set off to find the jewels. They left the village while everyone was still asleep in their beds, and rode off into the desert. For many days they crossed the desert. stopping only to sleep. Finally, they reached a mountain so high that the top of the mountain was lost in the clouds. The jewelry maker pointed at the clouds and told Hassan that a giant bird lived at the top of the mountain, and that the bird’s nest was full of precious gems. Hassan eyes grew wide, and he asked the jewelry maker how he would ever be able to climb to the top of the mountain. The jewelry maker laughed and said that he would never dare to climb the mountain. He took a sheepskin from the donkey’s pack and threw it at Hassan’s feet. He told Hassan to wear the sheepskin so that the giant bird would swoop down and grab him and then carry him to the nest to eat. Hassan cried, and begged the jewelry maker to take him home, but the jewelry maker forced Hassan to put on the sheepskin.
As soon Hassan was wearing the sheepskin a giant bird dropped from the sky and grabbed him with its enormous, sharps claws. The bird flew higher and higher and higher until finally it arrived at its nest. The bird dropped Hassan into the nest and he was shocked to see that the nest was full of skulls. The bird was about to tear into him with his deadly beak and claws when Hassan freed himself of the sheepskin and threw it out of the nest. The bird flew off to chase the sheepskin. Hassan dug beneath the skulls and saw a glittering pile of huge jewels. He began throwing the gems out of the nest. He threw and he threw until his arm grew so tired he could throw no more. Hassan leaned out of the nest and yelled down to the jewelry maker. Hassan asked the jewelry maker how he was supposed to get down from the nest. The stepfather yelled back that he did not care how Hassan got down and that he was leaving. The stepfather scooped up all the gems then climbed on the donkey and rode away.
Hassan thought and thought about how to get down. Finally, he covered himself with the skulls and waited for the giant bird to return. When the giant bird came back, Hassan grabbed onto his foot and held on as the bird flew away. The bird tried to shake Hassan free from his foot, but he clung on. The bird spiraled and swooped, faster and faster. As the bird swooped close to the ground Hassan let go of the bird’s leg. Hassan was shaken by the fall, but not hurt, so he got up and began to walk.
He walked and walked until he came to a forest. He walked through the forest and suddenly a grand palace appeared before him. He knocked on the door and a beautiful woman opened the door. Hassan told her what his stepfather had done, and the woman invited him into the palace. She told Hassan that according to tradition he could stay in the palace for 7 days. After the 7th day she would help him find his way home. The woman said he could go anywhere he wanted in the castle except for one room. She showed him a golden door and told him that he was not allowed to open the door. Each day Hassan became more and more curious about the golden door. On the 5th day, Hassan could contain his curiosity no longer and he opened the golden door. To his surprise the door did not open to a room at all. Behind the door Hassan found a beautiful garden with lush green plants, flowers that were all the colors of the rainbow, and lovely, burbling streams. He heard the sound of laughter in the distance. Hassan followed the sound of laughter. It led him to a lake as blue as turquoise and as clear as a crystal. In the lake girls were swimming and playing. Hassan was especially drawn to the youngest girl who captivated him with her beauty. After several hours they emerged from the lake and Hassan was amazed to see them each put on a gown made of feathers. Suddenly their arms turned into wings and they flew away.
Hassan went back to his room to sleep, but he stayed up all night thinking about what he saw. On the 6th day he returned the lake as before, but on the 7th day he arrived at the lake with a plan. He stole the dress of the youngest girl while she was swimming so that she couldn’t fly away. The other girls flew off leaving the youngest girl behind crying. Hassan approached the girl and told her that he loved her, and would like to take her to his home to marry her. Without her dress of feathers she was bound to the ground, and she had no choice but to go with him.
When the lady of the palace returned, she was very angry that Hassan had opened the door against her wished. As she heard Hassan talk about his love for the young girl the lady of palace became happy and led them back to Hassan’s home.
When Hassan returned home his mother was overjoyed to see him. She looked much older than when Hassan left, and Hassan asked what had happened to make her age so much in only seven days. Hassan’s mother shocked Hassan by telling him that seven years had passed since he left. He also learned that his stepfather died shortly after returning with the stolen jewels.
Hassan married the girl from the lake and they lived very happily together. They were very rich because of the jewels the jewelry maker made Hassan steal from the nest of the giant bird. Hassan kept the jewels in a velvet bag that he hid under a rock in the yard. One day Hassan’s mother and wife were invited to a wedding. The ladies were dancing, and asked Hassan’s wife to dance with them. She told them she could only dance if she was wearing her feathered dress, but that her mother-in-law had hid the dress from her. The ladies begged the mother-in-law to get the dress. Finally, after much begging, she got the dress and gave it to her daughter-in-law. She turned into an enormous bird and flew away. She flew to Hassan’s yard and overturned the rock covering the jewels. She grabbed the bag of jewels in her claws and she flew and flew until finally, she reached a mountain so high that the top of the mountain was lost in the clouds.
No comments:
Post a Comment