The Orphan King

Once upon a time there was a king, Shah Bakhtiar. He was a great king, very nice and kind to his fellow citizens. In his kingdom everybody was very happy. People enjoyed freedom, justice, harmony and all good things in life. They loved their king and always prayed for his long life and health. Shah Bakhtiar had only one daughter. Her name was Princess Huma Farah and she was fifteen years old. She was extremely beautiful. Storytellers told stories of her charm in seven kingdoms. Poets depicted her in their poems. The fame of her beauty traveled far away in the world with merchants and traders who had seen her. Princes of several kingdoms wanted to marry her. Most of them sent many gifts with requests for marriage. King Shah Bakhtiar always responded with politeness and answered that the princess was still too young to be married.

On the far north side of the kingdom in the mountain of Kohkaf lived a very old, evil-minded magician who was teaching magic to several magicians and witches. When he heard the stories of the princess's beauty, he could not believe it. So he decided to look for the princess in his magic mirror and decide himself how beautiful she was. When he saw her, he could not believe his eyes. She was so beautiful that he fell in love with her instantly. He called his slave genie and sent him to the king's palace to bring the princess. She was in the royal garden with her companions and servant ladies when the genie appeared. He was so big and scary that most of the ladies including princess fainted with fear. The genie lifted the unconscious princess in his big and ugly hands and flew back to Kohkaf.

The whole kingdom was in a shock with the news. Everybody was worried; all citizens prayed for the safety and life of their princess. They shared the loss of their king. Nobody was able help him. The genie was so powerful and strong that no one dared to rescue his or her princess. They also didn't know where he took her. The king called upon many wise men and magicians. One told the king that the princess had been taken to Kohkaf and was a prisoner of the old evil magician who was very powerful and had an army of evil sprits, magicians, witches and genies. He also said that there was no one in this world that was so powerful as this magician. The king was worried and saddened with this news. He announced that the one who would bring back his daughter would be declared as crown prince and could marry her. Many brave princes from other kingdoms and brave men gambled their lives to rescue the princess. Most of them could not find the way. Some of the unlucky ones who reached to Kohkaf were killed or imprisoned by the magician's spell and evil forces. King Shah Bakhtiar became very sick with the worry and fear for his daughter's life.

One day a very handsome young man knelt before the King Bakhtiar in his court and asked for his permission to rescue Princess Huma Farah. This young man was Ali.

The king told him, "Young man I love my daughter. Until now many soldiers and princes have lost their lives in attempting to rescue my beloved Huma. Why do you think you will be able to rescue her? I don't want another's blood on my daughter's account. Beside, who knows if the princess is still alive?"

Ali responded bravely, "Your majesty! Last night I saw my mother in my dream. She blessed me and ordered me to go and rescue Princess Huma Farah. She told me that the princess is alive and waiting for me. She also told me that God has chosen me to destroy the power of this evil magician and remove him from the face of this earth."

The king said, "Young man if you are so confident, I will not stop you from rescuing Princess Huma; you have all my blessing. However, before you go I granted you the command of one thousand men from my army. You can chose these trained soldiers who will accompany you in your mission."

Ali responded very respectfully, "Your majesty! I am very thankful for your kindness, but I cannot take these men with me. Allow me to go alone. Allah will be my companion. Besides, I don't want to put a thousand men's lives in danger."

"As you wish Commander Ali, Allah be with you," The king responded to him. Then he turned to his Vizier and ordered him to provide Ali with all the things he needed for his mission. Ali knelt before the king to pay his final respects and left with the Vizier.

The Vizier took Ali to his chamber. In his chamber he called the in-charge of the castle and instructed him to prepare and arrange everything for Commander Ali's journey. He offered Ali a chair and asked him, "Commander Ali, would like to tell me where you came from? You look quite young. Who is your father. Do I know your father?"

Ali replied respectfully, "Respected Grand Vizier, I am an orphan. I was born in a small city far away from the capital city. My father Mustafa was a rich merchant who spent most of the time travelling on the sea. He took his merchandise to trade to far away lands. My mother and I lived in a big palace-like house in the city with our servants. One of my father's cousins, Bahawal, and his wife Nigar also lived with us. Whenever my father returned from his trading trips he always brought a lot of gifts and expensive items for us. He told us stories of wonders and beauties of other lands. In My father's absence his cousin Bahawal was in-charge of our business affairs.

"Nigar, Bahawal's wife was also a cousin of my mother. She was a nice and kind-hearted lady. She was very fond of me, she loved me very much. Nigar and Bahawal do not have any of their own children even though they were married about ten years.

Bahawal on the other hand was a very ill natured person. He was very greedy and dishonest. He was also very jealous of my father. He was always making schemes to get rid of my father and get his wealth and fortune.

"Once when my father was returning home from his trading trip his ship got caught in a very heavy storm. My father and his crew fought with the storm very courageously but eventually lost against fate. The ship sank in the open sea. Only two servants survived and took refuge on a small boat. The rest of the crew including my father drowned. I was only five years old at the time.

"When the surviving servants reached the shore, they met Bahawal and told him what had happened to their master. Bahawal jumped with the news but he did not show his real emotion to anybody. His ill-natured and greedy mind started making schemes. He was thinking about my mother and I. We were the stones still in his way to fortune. On the way home his sick and greedy mind came up with a scheme. He decided to kill my mother and deal with me later. I was playing with Nigar in the front garden of our house when Bahawal reached home. He went directly to my mother's room, which was on the third floor of the house. She was standing on the balcony beside the fence looking at the river's water that was flowing right behind our house. Bahawal pushed her over the fence in the river with his full force without giving her any chance to scream for help or escape. No one saw him. My poor mother fell directly on the rocks and then slid and drowned in the river's water. Bahawal waited for a few minutes and then started shouting for help. He ordered servants to rescue their master's wife. He told us she jumped in the river from balcony when she heard the news of my father's death. The servants found her body several miles away from the house floating in the river.

"Being the only close relative of mine, Bahawal was appointed my guardian and attorney for my father's estate. I was now at the mercy of Bahawal, but I was too young to understand my loss and Bahawal's nature. Bahawal never liked me because I was the only stone left in his way to fortune. Bahawal made my life really hard and miserable. He continuously discouraged and criticized me. I on the other hand, tried very hard to please my uncle. Nigar was the only person who really loved and cared for me. She always comforted and helped me. I respected and loved her too. She was the only breeze in my life where I found peace and comfort. Years passed and I grew in this tough environment. By the time I was about eighteen years old, circumstances, hard work and the tough childhood had made me very strong. I understood my uncle's nature and intentions and was worried. I was afraid that some day my uncle might have me killed to keep my estate. I was very grateful of my aunt Nigar who was keeping me informed of the dangers and saved me from many murder attempts planned by my uncle. But I had not reached the legal age to claim my inheritance.

"One day Bahawal told me to go to another city to buy some merchandise. He asked me mockingly, "Nephew, now you are big enough to learn trade secrets. You should start paying attention to the business. After all, you will be managing all this pretty soon." He sent his two servants along to help me. When two servants and I reached the middle of the jungle, the servants attacked me suddenly. One servant held me in his strong arms and the other attacked me with his dagger. He stabbed it in my chest many times. When they thought I was dead they threw me in a hidden cave. This was all Bahawal's plan to get rid of me. Fortunately, I was not dead. When I became conscious, I crawled out of the cave. Some travelers who were searching for a safe place to spend a night found me. They treated me and took me in their horse wagon the next day. These travelers were fortune hunters who were travelling to the capital city to test their fate in the king's court. I was very thankful to these people who saved my life. I told them that some thieves robbed and injured me. I was too embarrassed to tell them the real story. I told them that I was an orphan. I told them that I would be very grateful if they would take me to the capital city. I offered them the golden coin which my aunt Nigar had given me. I was hiding this coin in my inner pocket to be used on a rainy day. I was afraid of my life to go back to my uncle. The travelers agreed to keep me with them to their destination. They allowed me to travel in their luggage wagon. After many days of travel we reached the capital city. By this time I had recovered from the wounds. But I was still very weak. One of the travelers introduced me to a merchant. Fortunately, this merchant knew my father. He offered me to work as a supervisor at one of his warehouses. For one year I have been working for this kind man."

"I am very impressed with your story commander Ali. Shall I send some soldiers to arrest Bahawal?" Grand Vizier asked Ali.

"No! Respected Grand Vizier, I don't want to hurt my aunt. She has been always very kind to me. I will respectfully ask you to wait until I rescue Princess Huma Farah. When I come back then we will deal with this matter," Ali replied respectfully.

"As you wish Commander Ali. I will pray for you. Allah will help you in your mission. Hopefully, I will see you and the Princess soon," Grand Vizier said in a parental tone.

The royal stallion, food, weapons and other things for his journey were ready. Grand Vizier accompanied Ali to the gate of the capital city. After saying fare well to the Grand Vizier, Ali headed toward Kohkaf on the royal stallion. He traveled to the north for several days. He crossed several rivers and jungles and finally reached the mountains. One day when he was very close to the mountain he saw a deer running toward a cave. He noticed that the deer was injured. An arrow was tucked into his blood dripping leg and he was having difficulty running. Ali followed the deer in the cave. He saw the poor creature sitting on the cave's ground, licking his wound. The deer looked very weak and exhausted because he did not try to run away when he saw him. Ali tied his horse on a rock beside the door of the cave and went closer to the deer. He patted the head of the deer and sat beside him to examine his wound. The arrow probably was shot from a close distance because it went across the poor creature's thigh. Ali went back to his horse and took out some herbs to put on the wound. Then he grabbed the deer's leg with his left hand and pulled the arrow from it with his right hand. "Maaaaaa..." the deer cried in pain. Ali put some medicine on the wound and then tied it with a piece of cloth. After treating the poor creature Ali turned to his horse, took his luggage off the hors's back, untied the saddle and let the horse go away for grazing. He brought his things inside the cave and put them on the ground. He decided to stay there for a one night's rest before climbing the mountain. Then he went out and brought some grass for the injured deer who was lying on the ground with his eyes closed.

The next day when Ali woke up he noticed the deer's leg was swollen and it was shifting in a discomfort. He changed the deer's bandage again and brought some fresh grass from outside to feed him. Ali decided that he would stay there for a few more days until this poor creature could take care of itself. He could not leave it there to die.

That night Ali saw his mother again in his dream. She was saying, "Son I am proud of you. You did a very good thing to save this deer's life. He actually is a genie who is in the spell of the old magician. You will find a nail behind his left ear. Pull this nail out and the spell will be broken. This genie will help you."

Ali woke up and he pulled the nail from the back of deer's left ear. All of a sudden the deer changed into a big genie. He knelt before Ali and spoke in his heavy voice, "Thank you master Ali for saving my life and freeing me from the spell. The old magician wanted to make me his slave. When I refused to comply with his ill commands he put his spell on me and turned me into a deer. Tell me what can I do for you?"

Ali told the genie his whole story and asked for his help in rescuing Princess Huma Farah. The genie told him that the old magician was very powerful and had a big army of magicians, witches and evil-natured genies, and that it would be beyond his power to fight him. However, he knew some secrets, which would be very helpful. Then he gave Ali a magic cap and told him that when he wears this cap no one will be able to see him and no magic spell will be effected. Then he told Ali that the old magician was afraid of his own life. So, he put his soul in a parrot and was keeping this parrot in a cage in his bedroom. Since nobody knew that his soul was in this parrot, no one had been able to kill him. I came to known it accidentally. I would only be able to take you to the door of his castle at the top of Kohkaf. Then you have to go inside for yourself and kill him. If I tried to enter his castle I can be burnt with magic spell.

The next day the genie took Ali on his shoulder and flew to the Kohkaf, and dropped him off in front of the magician's castle. It was a very spooky-looking, black castle. The big wooden gate was closed. Ali put his magic cap on his head before going close to the castle's door. He waited there patiently for some one to open the door. After a long wait he saw the small window open and an ugly witch came out with her broom in her hand. Ali jumped through the small opening in the castle's gate. Inside the gate he saw some witches were cooking something in a big pot in the kitchen as they were talking and laughing in very scary voices. A few magicians with their eyes closed were sitting in a circle around a burning fire. A big turkey was hanging above in the roof right in the middle of the fire. One very old magician with a long white beard, was reciting some magic words and throwing some red liquid on the poor turkey. No one was able to see Ali but somehow the old magician sensed him. He stopped reciting and turned towards Ali. He opened his small red eyes. The magician was a very scary and dirty looking old man. His hands and clothes were filthy with fresh blood, which he was throwing on the turkey. There were hardly any teeth in his mouth and they all were very long, dirty and yellow. He stared to the side Ali was standing, and then he started reciting spells again while he threw some blood towards Ali. The blood burnt into a flame and died before it reached Ali.

The old magician stood up and started shouting at his companions. He said, "Danger, get ready we have some intruder. Look for him and bring him to me, I am going to my room."

All the magicians scattered throughout the castle in search of the intruder, but no one could see Ali. Their spell was also not helping them. Ali followed the old magician to his room, and he looked around to find the parrot, but there was none. He came out of the room and started searching the other rooms. It was a big castle with many rooms in it. It took Ali about half an hour to wander through every room except a few that were locked. He saw many scary creatures, animals, genies, witches, and magicians in different parts of the castle. But he was unable to find Princess Huma Farah or the parrot that he was looking for. Ali came back to the old magician's room. He found the room empty. He was about to go out again when he heard some voices behind one of the door in the room. He heard a hysterical woman's voice saying, "I told you many times, I hate you! There is no way that you can convince me to marry you. You better let me go or kill me."

Ali recognized the old magician's voice as he said, "Princess, you know I love you. I am not going to kill you. I will keep you here until you agree to become my wife. I can force you into it, but I am giving you a chance. There is no one in the world that is more powerful than I am. I can provide you anything you wish. All my treasures are in this room including you. Nobody is allowed to come in this room. Don't expect anyone to help you. If you want freedom you have to marry me."

Ali heard the woman start to cry. He was about to open the door when it opened itself. The old magician came out. Ali rushed into the room behind the door before the old magician closed and locked it. The room was decorated with many unique items; every thing was very beautiful. On one sidewall there was another small door which was not locked. He saw an extremely beautiful girl sitting and crying on a huge bed. Ali guessed this was Princess Huma Farah. He took off his magic cap.

"Are you Princess Huma Farah?" Ali asked.

"Yes. But who are you? How did you get in here? I have not seen anybody except the old ugly magician since the time I came here," Princess replied.

"My name is Ali, I came to rescue you. Have you ever seen a parrot in the magician's possession," Ali asked her.

"Yes, there is a parrot in a golden cage in the next room. The magician told me not to go near that cage. He even feed the parrot himself."

Ali went into the other room and saw the parrot in the golden cage. He opened the cage door, grabbed the parrot and twisted its neck. The moment Ali killed the bird, scary voices started coming from all around. Everything started rocking and shaking. It seemed like a big earthquake. Ali broke the door lock with his sword and went to the magician's room. The old magician was lying dead on the floor. Ali grabbed the hand of the princess and ran out of the room towards the main gate. With the death of the old magician the spell was broken. The castle was shaking, its walls and roof started falling. When Ali and Princess Huma came out of the big gate, they saw that the friendly genie was waiting for them. The genie took them on his back and flew back to Shah Bakhtiar' s palace.

Ali was declared a crowned prince and was married to beautiful Princess Huma Farah in a big ceremony. The king announced one month's celebration for the whole kingdom.

When Princess Huma gave birth to their first child he named him Mustafa after his father. He missed his parents and aunt Nigar. Ali decided to forgive his uncle Bahawal. He thought that Bahawal and Nigar were the only relatives he had left. He sent his soldiers to bring his uncle and aunt. When they reached Bahawal's house, they found out that thieves who came to rob him already killed Bahawal. Soldiers returned with his aunt Nigar.