The mouths of storytellers bring to us a story once told by Abdallah Abbas about how one day a scarred man came to his house, with a clear mark of a slap on his face. And this is what happened next.
Seeing this man, the guests of Abdallah Abbas felt awkward and embarrassed, interrupted their conversation and, turning to the stranger, asked:
- Who are you and what happened to you?
“I am a poor wanderer,” answered the man, “and
A lot of amazing things happened to me. And Abdallah Abbas asked:
-Won't you tell us your story?
“Three stories happened to me,” answered the wanderer, “if you are able to believe in the wonder, I am ready to tell them to you.”
- Please, we believe you.
“Let it be known to you,” he began, “in former times I was the owner of a large caravan of camels.” One night a man knocked on the door of my house and asked me to come out to him. Going out into the street, I saw in front of me an armed rider on an Arabian horse. Turning to me, he said:
- O most worthy husband! I need some camels immediately. I'm ready to pay you generously for them.
“Now all my camels are used up,” I answered. “I don’t know if the little that’s left is enough for you.”
Glancing at me impatiently, he pulled out a tight pouch from his bosom and, handing it to me, ordered:
- Take the camels and follow me. At first I was pretty scared, but the dinars
fear overcame me, and I went to my mother for advice. My mother, suspecting something was wrong, began to beg me to stay away from this man.
“Oh, mother,” I objected, “in my entire life I have never been able to earn as much money as this man gave me.”
Having equipped the camels, we set off on the road. We rode without rest and finally reached the foot of a high mountain, the top of which touched the moon. Then my companion stopped and said:
“Wait for me with your camels here, and when midnight has passed, I will return.”
Frightened, I looked at the mountain and saw many different predators there. However, do not
So, I had to overcome the fear that gripped me and continue to wait. After midnight he returned, carrying a sack full of something on his back. He told me to come closer and when I got closer he said:
- Finally I achieved my goal. Raise your camels, it's time for us to start our return journey.
I carried out his orders, and soon we reached another mountain.
“Leave your camels here,” he ordered sternly, “and move on.” However, don't even think about looking back.
Having walked some distance, I began to slowly spy on him and saw that he had pulled a beautiful and moon-faced girl out of the bag, and that he had struck this girl twenty times with his sword. Afterwards he began to dig a grave with that sword. When he buried the girl and, having caught up with me, found that I was crying, he flew into a rage and slapped me hard, as if he had cut my face with a stone. The world disappeared from my eyes, and when I came to my senses, dawn had already come, and I saw that there was no one nearby except the camels. Then I went to the girl’s grave, and I dug it up and saw that the girl was still breathing. And that girl had a lot of gold and a lot of expensive stones on her. My heart began to beat violently. I thoroughly washed and bandaged her wounds. Then the girl opened her eyes, and I hastened to calm her down.
- Don't be afraid, your enemy is not here. But she said:
“Have mercy on me, young man, take me away from here as quickly as possible, otherwise he may return and then kill us both.”
I hastily leveled the grave, took off my clothes, dressed the girl in them, and we set off. After some time, her health returned, and her beauty increased and shone stronger than before. My heart turned to her and she responded with love. However, it was worth asking me what was the reason
that the young man tried to kill her, how she began to cry and beg for me to leave her alone. One day, when we were making love, the scars on her body reminded me that I had not yet understood her secret, and I began to ask her to reveal it to me. Then the girl said:
“I’m afraid that, having learned about my past, you will treat me like my tormentor.”
- Fear Allah! - I exclaimed. “At the mere memory of your misfortune, my heart is ready to stop.” However, I prefer the bitter truth to sweet lies.
“Your will,” she said. “Just remember that you yourself forced me to reveal my shame to you, and I am your slave and must obey you.” Let it be known to you that that young man is my lawful husband. He is handsome, and strong, and noble, and in the whole world for him there was only one me. And he saw that I didn’t need anyone but him. We never parted. And there was never a time when I met the moon and the sun without him. One day he decided to go hunting. However, not wanting to be separated from me, he built a country house for me, and in that house there was everything I needed: supplies, clothes, and everything else. One day I went out onto the balcony and saw a one-eyed old man perched at the door. He had apparently traveled a long way, and he was so unkempt and disgusting that even Satan himself would have turned away from him. I immediately called my maids and ordered them to go to the old man and tell him that the place he had chosen for rest was unsuccessful, for if my husband, upon returning, found him here, he would chop him into pieces. Squinting his only eye, the old man answered:
“I am a merchant of potions and fragrant rubs and came here with my goods.
Having said this, he took out a bottle of musk, cast some kind of spell over it and asked the maids to give it to me. Sniffing the contents
bottle, I lost power over myself and ordered that old man to be brought into the house so that I could choose the best of his goods. When they brought the old man into the house, he seemed young and handsome to me. He cast another spell, and then an eclipse came over me, and I forgot about the duty of a wife, and about the punishment of Allah, and about my love for my husband. However, my nurse appeared and said:
“Aren’t you afraid of your husband’s anger?” It is not proper for you to indulge in conversation with this dirty and disgusting old man.
Then the old man cast a spell on the nurse, and her face brightened, and she changed her anger to mercy.
“May Allah help you,” she said, “may good luck accompany you in everything.” Do with her according to your own understanding.
In response to these words, the old man, turning to me, said:
“Oh, most venerable one, let it be known to you that I am a powerful sorcerer and my name is Habib Attar.” One of my spells is enough to separate you from your husband and bring all sorts of troubles to your head. However, if you show me your favor, then I am ready to do for you whatever you want.
Soon my mind completely disappeared, and I rushed into the arms of that old man. And we indulged in lovemaking.
- Tell me, what reward do you wish for your husband? If you want, I will deprive him of his mind, otherwise I can completely destroy him. Choose what you like - its fate is in your power.
“I don’t want him to die,” I answered the old man, “but arrange it so that he will not be a hindrance to us.”
The old man said:
- That's what I'll do.
He gave me a bottle of musk and told me to give this bottle to my husband. When my husband smells the musk,” he instructed me, “and asks where this bottle came from, I must say that I bought it.”
it from a seller of fragrant ointments. Afterwards I was ordered to throw a little musk into the fire, so that my husband, barely inhaling the aroma of burnt musk, would immediately turn into a raven. When I carried out all the orders of Habib Attar and when he was convinced that I did everything as he ordered, he entered the room and threw my husband, who had turned into a raven, out the window. The raven sat on a tree in the garden and did not take his eyes off us. When we sat down to eat, he would fly to us looking for crumbs. On other occasions I fed him from my hands. And he always witnessed how we indulged in love pleasures. So a whole year passed, and my love for Habib Attar flared up more and more. Thanks to the spells, he seemed young and handsome to me. Meanwhile, my husband’s sister, a kind and devoted woman, visited us from time to time, and Habib Attar always appeared to her in the guise of my husband and her brother, and therefore it did not occur to her that trouble had befallen her brother. After a year and another four months, the husband’s sister, praying from the Koran, fell asleep on the prayer rug, and then the truth was revealed to her, and she learned that her brother had been turned into a raven, and her brother’s wife was indulging in lovemaking with an old sorcerer. And suddenly she heard a prophetic voice: “The salvation of your brother is in your hands. Go help him." And she immediately woke up from sleep and thought: “No other way than I was overcome by a devilish obsession. This kind of thing can only be seen in a dream. Just yesterday I was talking to my brother!” However, she had a prophetic dream again, and then she believed in it, and, having performed ablution, she offered a prayer to the creator, in which she asked him to return her brother to human form. Then, out of nowhere, the beautiful Peri appeared, she greeted my husband’s sister and said:
- O kindest of the kind, do not be afraid of me! I am your sister and am ready to help in your trouble.
And she told her the following;
“The brother whom you now see in your daughter-in-law’s house is none other than the evil sorcerer Habib Attar, who has betrayed his identity.” Your true brother was turned into a raven by Habib and banished to the garden. If you want to be convinced of the truthfulness of my words, go there and see what happens.
My husband’s sister thanked the peri and the next day, offering a prayer to the creator, she went to us. Looking at Habib Attar, who had been transformed into his brother, she thought again: “The devilish force inspires these ridiculous thoughts in me. This kind of thing can only be seen in a dream.”
As soon as she entered the garden, however, the raven flew up to her and began to sob and caress her.
- Are you really my brother? - the sister asked, and the raven nodded his head affirmatively.
Meanwhile, Habib Attar and I also went to the garden. The raven rushed towards me and kept trying to peck me in the eye. Habib Attar cast some kind of spell, and the raven immediately calmed down. Then my daughter-in-law turned to Habib:
- O brother, don’t you know why this raven is crying and sobbing?
And he answered her:
- O light of my eyes, know that before he was a talking raven, but he lost the power of speech and now, as soon as he sees a person, he begins to complain to him.
The daughter-in-law returned to her home and for forty days and forty nights incessantly devoted herself to prayer. Shedding tears, she asked Allah to reveal the truth to her. After forty days and forty nights, the beautiful Peri appeared to her again and said:
“Oh my sister, let it be known to you that, having parted with you forty days ago, I declared war on the evil peri and have now defeated them. Let's think about how to free your brother from the evil spell.
“I entrust our fate to you,” my daughter-in-law answered her, “just be kind and arrange everything quickly.”
Peri immediately went to her husband and told him the sad story of the black raven. At the end of the story, she fell at his feet and began to pray that he would help my husband regain his human form.
And he said:
- Comfort your heart and calm your sadness! I know the secret of that transformation, and I hope that with the help of the wisest of the divas, I will be able to fulfill your request. Now I will go to him and ask him carefully about Khabib and the crow.
Having said this, Adesh (that was the name of the husband of the beautiful Peri) went to the chief of the divas, and came to him and told him about the witchcraft of Habib Attar, and at the same time mentioned that the sister of that raven was the sister of his wife.
“O Adesh,” the wisest of the divas answered him, “you came to me from distant lands, having overcome many adversities, but know that there is no sorcerer in the world more powerful and insidious than Habib Attar.” No one can unravel the secret of his witchcraft. I am always ready to help you, but Khabib is stronger than me, and it is unlikely that our business will be crowned with success.
“O ruler,” Adesh prayed, “will you really become a coward in front of this scoundrel and I will have to leave with nothing?”
The main diva was silent for a while, and then said: “Well then.” If your determination is unshakable and you insist on your own, I will tell you what to do. After walking sixty farsangs, you will reach a forest where various trees grow and clear waters flow. Then you will go deep into the forest and after two days and two nights you will see a spring surrounded by trees so tall that the length of their shadow is equal to the length of two arrow flight distances. There is a wooden trough in the shade of one of these trees. Break off a branch from this tree and move on. When you pass the forest, you will find yourself in the desert. You will see many predators there, but let it be you
not scary; As long as you have a branch of that tree in your hands, not one of them will dare to approach you. When you leave part of the way behind, you will meet a lion. Here you must show both courage and caution, for this lion serves Habib Attar. Tell that lion that you are carrying out the will of the main div, and if he does not calm down, hit him on the head with that branch, and he will immediately disappear. You go further. Along the way you will meet a wolf. Know that he is your enemy too, so hit him with a stick and he too will disappear. When you approach the foot of the mountain, you will see a black man standing on his head, with blood gushing from his sides. He will ask you for help, but in response you hit him with a branch and go your way. After forty days you will meet sorcerers. All these will be Habib Attar's people. Whatever they tell you, do not heed them, and deal with those who block your path with a branch. Meanwhile, you will reach the desert, and in that desert you will see a spring, the water of which is like milk. Not far from the spring rises an ivory throne, and on that throne sit two moon-faced slaves calmly, while an old man is drowning in the spring and begs for their help. Help the old man get out of the water and seat him on the throne, kill those slaves, and let the old man you saved drain their blood. Afterwards he will thank you and show you blessings. The name of that old man is Maryam, and he is the main sorcerer of that region. Give him my regards and then you can be sure that he will help you in everything. But just remember: everything I said, you must do exactly.
Adesh listened to these words and set off. Leaving behind all the roads that the div told him about, he reached that tree and broke off a branch from it. And when he did everything as the diva told him, and reached the spring, and saved the old man, and killed two slaves, and gave the old man their blood to drink, the old man thanked him and said:
- Let it be known to you, Adesh, that the two slaves you exterminated were ifrits - servants of Habib Attar. I know why you came to me, and I will try to help you.
As night fell, the old man sat on his throne and called out. And immediately numerous divas and peris came running to him from all sides, ready to immediately carry out any of his orders. They told him about everything that was happening on earth, in water, in mountains and in deserts. And then they talked about the evil machinations of Habib Attar and that he had bewitched the noble young man.
“Habib Attar is cunning and treacherous, and people have no peace from him,” added Adesh. “If you, O noble Maryam, want to reward me with good for good, save the poor young raven, return him to his human form.”
Then numerous divas said:
“All the strength of all the divas in the world will not be enough to dispel the evil spell of Habib Attar. Maybe, O Maryam, you will send a message to the leader of the divas and he will be able to help with something?
Maryam thought and, looking at Adesh, said:
“Oh Adesh, it’s hard to help a young raven, it could cost you your life.”
“A long and dangerous journey has fallen to my lot,” Adesh objected, “and your warning does not frighten me.” I cannot return home without fulfilling the wishes of my beloved wife.
“Well,” said Maryam, “if your determination is unshakable and you insist on your own, I’ll tell you what to do next.” Go forward, O Adesh, and after two days of travel you will see a horse and a donkey. Hit the donkey with a magic branch, saddle the horse and ride it as fast as you can. When there is still part of the way behind you, you will meet an old man. He will give you a letter and say, “Read this letter.” Take the letter from him and move on. On the way you will see a spring, and near the spring - two beautiful women who started a quarrel. These are the maids of Habib Attar.
They will ask you to reconcile them. However, don’t get off your horse and don’t mess with them. Hit them with a branch and say: “I carry out the will of the chief
diva".
When you pass the desert, a lush garden suddenly appears in front of you. At the gate of that garden there will be a stone bench, and on the bench people will sit and drink sherbet from bowls. When they see you, they will invite you to share a meal with them. Take the cup that will be given to you on the right, knock the cups out of the hands of the others and say: “I am fulfilling the will of the main diva.” While you are driving through the garden, hit everyone who meets on your way with a branch. Then you will finally reach a high mountain. Having climbed it, you will see two camels and on them - two people hanging upside down, each with a sword in their hands. They will greet you warmly and ask you to help them. Just answer the white-faced man’s greeting and go on your way. Soon you will reach a river, on the bank of which you will see a stone house. A tall, ugly old woman, overgrown with hair and looking like a wolf, with an ugly face with four eyes, will sit at his threshold. At the back of her head there is another mouth gaping, like a cave. This is the mother of the young man to whom you must address on my behalf. That young man's name is Khavarsh. He is a hundred times uglier than his mother. When he sees you, he will say: “Peace be with you, O noble Adesh. I know what brought you to me." Give him a low bow and do not leave him a single step, for he is destined to do you a lot of good. However, you yourself must not say a word to him. His mother will say everything you need for you.
Adesh listened to these words and moved on. Leaving behind many paths and roads, he reached the gates of the garden, drank tperbet from the cup given to him on the right, and in that garden two birds flew at him and pecked out his eye. Then he hit them with a branch and shouted: “I carry out the will of the main diva!” And they were afraid and immediately disappeared, because they too were servants of Khab,iba
Attara. Adesh continued on his way. Soon he went to the river, climbed to the top of the mountain, saw two camels and finally met an ugly old woman, the mother of Khavarsh, and together they went to Khavarsh.
“Praise be to you, O brave young man,” Havarsh exclaimed. “Your appearance here testifies to how brave and courageous you are.” Someone like you will always overcome difficulties and achieve what they want. Tomorrow I will take care of your business, and you will be convinced of my goodwill.
When morning came, Khavarsh brought Adesh and his mother to the river and, turning to Adesh, said:
- Sit here, rest and calm down.
He himself entered the water and began to play with the fish. And the fish began to jump out of the water on their own, and Khavarsh caught them in his mouth and threw them ashore. One of the fish thrown ashore endlessly darted from side to side and beat its tail on the ground.
- Well, you have achieved what you wanted! — Khavarsh was happy.
He ripped open the fish's belly, took out a thin hair, and tied it in a tight knot. Turning to Adesh, Havarsh's mother said:
“This is the hair with which Habib Attar turned the young man into a raven, and without this hair nothing can remove this terrible spell from him. Take this hair, Adesh, and when night comes, throw it into the fire. Then the young raven will again acquire human form. And in order for people to get rid of Habib Attar forever, this tree needs to be uprooted.
Adesh immediately grabbed the tree with his hands and pulled it out of the ground. Then Khavarsh’s mother read a spell over the tree and set it on fire,
This is what the wife of the young man whom Habib Attar turned into a raven told her second husband. And then, after a short silence, she continued:
- It happened at night. Habib Attar was lying next to me, suddenly he jumped up and shouted:
“The enemy has defeated me!” - and ordered me to bring his basket with witchcraft drugs. And when I brought that basket, I saw that he was lying dead and completely black.
The mouths of storytellers convey to us the news that with the tree destroyed by the will of Adesh, all the evil divas and sorcerers left this world. Then Khavarsha’s mother told Adesh to hurry home and free the young crow from the evil spell. And at the same time she said:
- Be careful not to lose a hair, because a person’s fate rests on this hair. If you lose him, the young raven will never be able to regain his human form. Besides, you must return home by a different route.
When night fell, Khavarsh brought a boat, put Peri Adesh in it, and he set off. After a week, he returned home safely. When he saw his wife, he hugged her and she said, “Welcome.” Adesh told his wife about all his adventures and ordered her to inform the sister of the raven youth about his return and good luck. When the beautiful Peri came to her, she found her in tears, sitting facing the wall, in mourning attire. Then the beautiful peri asked:
- O most worthy one, why did you dress in mourning clothes?
“I have lost hope of saving my brother,” answered the sister of the young raven.
- O Allah! How impatient you are! After all, my husband spent a whole year traveling and looking for a means that could return your brother to his human form. He suffered hardships and torment, and he defeated many enemies and lost one eye. He was lucky enough to destroy the evil sorcerer Habib Attar and gain the ability to free the young raven from evil spells. Finally, a good day has come for you too.
My daughter-in-law bowed deeply to the beautiful peri, and they went into the garden. Barely a raven of them
saw him, he flew up to them and began to caress and sob. Then the peri took out a magic hair, put it next to the raven and set it on fire. And by the will of Allah, the raven immediately took on human form. Seeing this, my daughter-in-law screamed loudly, and the world disappeared from her eyes. When she came to her senses, she threw her arms around her brother’s neck and burst into loud sobs. Meanwhile, the beautiful Peri told him about everything that had happened to him. Soon Adesh arrived, and they all rejoiced at the young man’s deliverance.
Adesh and the beautiful Peri left, and the young man and his sister went into the house. On the way, my sister asked him not to tell me about what happened.
When the young man entered the room, he saw me in mourning, but did not show surprise, but only said:
“Last night I had a terrible and amazing dream. However, no matter how hard I try, I cannot remember it.
I wondered what to do: believe in the truth of his words or consider them tricks.
- What can I do to make you come to your senses? - I asked.
And he said:
- Come and show me your eyes. I saw in a dream that you were not far from me, but cheated on me with one man.
Hearing these words, I was confused. It was hard to tell if he knew what happened. Wanting to distract him from the conversation, I busied myself with my toilet. First of all, I took off my mourning clothes, dressed myself in a festive dress, anointed myself with fragrant ointments and then approached him. He kissed me, as had happened between us before, and we began to eat. When night fell, he asked for wine, drank it himself and gave me a drink, and in those days it was allowed for a woman to drink wine. And so it went on until the wine began to play in my head. Then he tied him tightly
my arms and legs and stuffed me into a bag. Then you know everything.
Having said this, the wanderer continued: “I calmed her down as best I could.” And the first day, and the second day, and then for many, many days in a row I calmed her down with my caresses. When my mother found out about everything that had happened, she became very angry with my wife and began to pester me. “How can you throw in your lot with such a wicked woman?” Since she once betrayed her loved one, she will not spare you either. Leave her before it's too late.
I could not part with my wife, but my mother’s annoying reproaches eventually had an effect, and my love began to wane. One day, the mother was angry with her wife and kicked her out of the house. Then we settled in another place. However, my mother did not leave me alone, and I was forced to leave the city. My wife and I sat on a camel and went to Taif. One day a young man came to us and, turning to me, said: “Oh, unfortunate one! How can you tolerate this scoundrel? I will punish you in a worthy manner!” He pulled out a sword and cut off my wife's head. When I saw this, I jumped out of the window in fear onto the roof of the neighboring house. The world disappeared from my eyes, and after an hour I came to my senses, and went down, and saw my dead wife, and buried her, and returned to my mother.
That's my whole story. Twelve years have passed since then, but my tears do not dry up, and the image of my beautiful wife does not leave me. Abdallah Abbas liked the wanderer's story, he generously gave him gifts and ordered that this story be written down. As for that young man, they say that he was a young raven.
May this story serve as an edification for everyone!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru