Why the fish laughed
As a certain fisherwoman passed by a palace carrying her fish, the
queen appeared at one of the windows and beckoned her to come near and
show what she had. At that moment a very big fish jumped about in the
bottom of the basket.
“Is
it a he or a she?” inquired the queen. “I wish to purchase a she fish.”
On hearing this the fish laughed aloud. “It’s a he,” replied the
fisherwoman, and proceeded on her rounds.The queen returned to her room
in a great rage; and on coming to see her in the evening, the king
noticed that something had disturbed her.
“Are you indisposed?” he said. “No; but I am very much annoyed at the
strange behaviour of a fish. A woman brought me one today, and on my
inquiring whether it was a male or female, the fish laughed most
rudely.” “A fish laughs! Impossible! You must be dreaming.” “I am not a
fool. I speak of what I have seen with my own eyes andhave heard with my
own ears.” “Passing strange! Be it so. I will inquire concerning it.” On
the morrow the king repeated to his vizier what his wife had told him,
and bade him investigate the matter, and be ready with a satisfactory
answer within six months, on pain of death. The vizier promised to do
his best, though he felt almost certain of failure. For five months he
laboured indefatigably to find a reason for the laughter of the fish. He
sought everywhere and from every one.
The wise and learned, and they who were skilled in magic and in all
manner of trickery, were consulted. Nobody, however, could explain the
matter; and so he returned broken-hearted to his house, and began to
arrange his affairs in prospect of certain death, for he had had
sufficient experience of the king to know that His Majesty would not go
back from his threat. Amongst other things, he advised his son to travel
for a time, until the king’s anger should have somewhat cooled. The
young fellow, who was both clever and handsome, started off
whithersoever Kismat might led him. He had been gone some days, when he
fell in with an old farmer, who also was on a journey to a certain
village. Finding the old man very pleasant, he asked him if he might
accompany him, professing to be on a visit to the same place. The old
farmer agreed, and they walked along together. The day was hot, and the
way was long and weary.
“Don’t you think it would be pleasanter if you and I sometimes gave
one another a lift?” said the youth. “What a fool the man is!” thought
the old farmer. Presently they passed through a field of corn ready for
the sickle, and looking like a sea of gold as it waved to and fro in the
breeze. “Is this eaten or not?” said the young man.
Not understanding his meaning, the old man replied, “I don’t know.”
After a little while the two travellers arrived at a big village, where
the young man gave his companion a clasp-knife, and said, “Take this,
friend, and get two horses with it; but mind and bring it back, for it
is very precious.” The old man, looking half amused and half angry,
pushed back the knife, muttering something to the effect that his friend
was either a fool himself or else trying to play the fool with him.
The young man pretended not to notice his reply, and remained almost
silent till they reached the city, a short distance outside which was
the old farmer’s house. They walked about the bazaar and went to the
mosque, but nobody saluted them or invited them to come in and rest.
“What a large cemetery!” exclaimed the young man. “What does the man
mean,” thought the old farmer, “calling this largely populated city a
cemetery?” On leaving the city their way led through a cemetery where a
few people were praying beside a grave and distributing chapatis
andkulchas to passers-by, in the name of their beloved dead.
They beckoned to the two travellers and gave them as much as they
would.“What a splendid city this is!” said the young man.“Now, the man
must surely be demented!” thought the old farmer. “I wonder what he will
do next? He will be calling the land water, and the water land; and be
speaking of light where there is darkness, and of darkness when it is
light.”
However, he kept his thoughts to himself. Presently they had to wade
through a stream that ran along the edge of the cemetery. The water was
rather deep, so the old farmer took of his shoes and paijamas and
crossed over; but the young man waded through it with his shoes and
paijamas on.

“Well! I never did see such a perfect fool, both in word and in
deed,” said the old man to himself. However, he liked the fellow; and
thinking that he would amuse his wife and daughter, he invited him to
come and stay at his house as long as he had occasion to remain in the
village. “Thank you very much,” the young man replied; “but let me first
inquire, if you please, whether the beam of your house is strong.” The
old farmer left him in despair, and entered his house laughing.
“There is a man in yonder field,” he said, after returning their
greetings. “He has come the greater part of the way with me, and I
wanted him to put up here as long as he had to stay in this village. But
the fellow is such a fool that I cannot make anything out of him.
He wants to know if the beam of this house is all right. The man must
be mad!” and saying this, he burst into a fit of laughter. “Father,”
said the farmer’s daughter, who was a very sharp and wise girl, “this
man, whosoever he is, is no fool, as you deem him. He only wishes to
know if you can afford to entertain him.” “Oh! of course,” replied the
farmer. “I see. Well perhaps you can help me to solve some of his other
mysteries. While we were walking together he asked whether he should
carry me or I should carry him, as he thought that would be a pleasanter
mode of proceeding.” “Most assuredly,” said the girl. “He meant that one
of you should tell a story to beguile the time.”
“Oh yes. Well, we were passing through a corn-field, when he asked me
whether it was eaten or not.” “And didn’t you know the meaning of this,
father? He simply wished to know if the man was in debt or not; because,
if the owner of the field was in debt, then the produce of the field was
as good as eaten to him; that is, it would have to go to his creditors.”
“Yes, yes, yes; of course! Then, on entering a certain village, he bade
me take his clasp knife and get two horses with it, and bring back the
knife again to him.”
“Are not two stout sticks as good as two horses for helping one along
on the road? He only asked you to cut a couple of sticks and be careful
not to lose his knife.” “I see,” said the farmer. “While we were walking
over the city we did not see anybody that we knew, and not a soul gave
us a scrap of anything to eat, till we were passing the cemetery; but
there some people called to us and put into our hands some chapatis and
kulchas; so my companion called the city a cemetery, and the cemetery a
city.” “This also is to be understood, father, if one thinks of the city
as the place where everything is to be obtained, and of inhospitable
people as worse than the dead.
“Then, just now, when we were crossing the stream, he waded through
it without taking off his shoes and pyjamas.” “I admire his wisdom,”
replied the girl. “I have often thought how stupid people were to
venture into that swiftly flowing stream and over those sharp stones
with bare feet. The slightest stumble and they would fall, and be wetted
from head to foot. This friend of yours is a most wise man. I should
like to see him and speak to him.” “Very well,” said the farmer; “I will
go and find him, and bring him in.” “Tell him, father, that our beams
are strong enough, and then he will come in. I’ll send on ahead a
present to the man, to show him that we can afford to have him for our
guest.”
Accordingly she called a servant and sent him to the young man with a
present of a basin of ghee, 12 chapatis, and a jar of milk, and the
following message:— “friend, the moon is full; twelve months make a
year, and the sea is overflowing with water.” Half-way the bearer of
this present and message met his little son, who, seeing what was in the
basket, begged his father to give him some of the food. His father
foolishly complied. Presently he saw the young man, and gave him the
rest of the present and the message. “Give your mistress my salam,” he
replied, “and tell her that the moon is new, and that I can only find
eleven months in the year, and the sea is by no means full.”
Not understanding the meaning of these words, the servant repeated
them word for word, as he had heard them, to his mistress; and thus his
theft was discovered, and he was severely punished. After a little while
the young man appeared with the old farmer.
Great attention was shown to him, and he was treated in every way as
if he were the son of a great man, although his humble host knew nothing
of his origin. At length he told them everything—about the laughing of
the fish, his father’s threatened execution, and his own banishment—and
asked their advice as to what he should do.
“The laughing of the fish,” said the girl, “which seems to have been
the cause of all this trouble, indicates that there is a man in the
palace who is plotting against the king’s life.” “Joy, joy!” exclaimed
the vizier’s son. “There is yet time for me to return and save my father
from an ignominious and unjust death, and the king from danger.”
The following day he hastened back to his own country, taking with
him the farmer’s daughter. Immediately on arrival he ran to the palace
and informed his father of what he had heard. The poor vizier, now
almost dead from the expectation of death, was at once carried to the
king, to whom he repeated the news that his son had just brought.
“Never!” said the king. “But it must be so, Your Majesty,” replied
the vizier; “and to prove the truth of what I have heard, I pray you to
call together all the maids in your palace, and order them to jump over
a pit, which must be dug. We’ll soon find out whether there is any man
there.” The king had the pit dug, and commanded all the maids belonging
to the palace to try to jump into it. All of them tried, but only one
succeeded.
That one was found to be a man!! Thus was the queen satisfied, and
the faithful old vizier saved. Afterwards, as soon as could be, the
vizier’s son married the old farmer’s daughter; and a most happy
marriage it was.
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