Shahrokh and Narpari - 2

The old woman was surprised of that stubbornness of the boy and liked him. She said him: "O stubborn man! I have not seen already a man as persistent as you! Bravo! I liked such huge persistence of you. Now you should perform the second test. You should bring water from this river during forty nights and forty days and make mud and make wall in front of the house by it and after that to ruin it. If you are able to do this continuously without any stop, I will help you." Shahrokh went and repeatedly build the wall and destroyed it, and in this manner he became successful in this test too.
When the old woman saw that he is a capable young man said him: "Now I am ready to help you. Listen to me carefully. If you don't do what I am saying you, the whole endeavor of you will be destroyed. Get going this way. You will reach the sea. At the beach, say: in the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful, the help is from God, the victory is near. Then go to the sea. You will pass through the sea healthy. At the other side of the sea you will reach a big garden having many trees. In the right corner of the garden you will see a pomegranate tree on the branches of which you can see many pomegranates. All the pomegranates have cracked except one on the upper branch which has remained sound. You should pick that pomegranate and put it into this bag I'm giving you and return back here. Be careful that you should not notice to any strange sounds you will hear behind yourself and anyway you should not return back to see behind you, otherwise you will lose the pomegranate."
Shahrokh went and as the old woman had said, passed the sea and reached the garden and reached himself to the pomegranate tree and picked that certain pomegranate and put it in the bag and returned back. In his way he heard various and strange voices shouting: "O human being! Where do you take our lady? Where do you take our master?" The voices were such laud and fearful that at last Shahrokh could not tolerate and returned back to see who were shouting so behind him. Just at this time the bag fell from his hand to the ground and the pomegranate changed into a beautiful deer that before any effective reaction of the king's son went out of the garden and released.
Shahrokh went back to the old woman while he was unsuccessful and so tired. When the old woman saw that he had returned back empty handed, she blamed him and said: "O selfish and wanton human being! But, didn't I say you not to see behind you anyway? If you were not a good man I would not be ready to help you again. Only be careful this time not to return back to sea behind you." The old woman ordered the same things in detail and emphasized that he should not forget anything.
Shahrokh got going toward the garden in the same way and passed through the sea and went and went until he reached the pomegranate tree and picked the pomegranate and put it in his bag and began to returning back. But this time ignored any voice he heard and never returned back to see anything. So he could go out of the garden while holding the bag.
While he was glad and laughing, he returned back to the home of the old woman. The old woman saw that this time he had been wise and was able to bring the pomegranate. So she said him: "Now you can return back to your father and mother. But you should be aware that this pomegranate may be changed into a form or color. You should not be surprised in this respect. On your way, you will reach the certain tree. You should cut from its leaves and took to your city. Your father and mother have become blind due to the grief of separation of you. When you reach you city, smash the leaves quite well and mix them with water and put them on the eyes of you father and mother in order that they become seeing. Don't forget that you must not put this bag on the ground at all. Whenever you wanted to rest or sleep, hang it from a stick. When you reached the city, order them to build a house for you having no windows or holes. After you became certain that the house had no holes or openings, take out the pomegranate from the bag and divide it to two halves. Then the girl you have fallen in her love will come out of the pomegranate and you will be the owner of her." Shahrokh kissed the hand of the old woman and thanked her for her help and got going and as before returned back the path he had come by the aids of the black and yellow demons until he reached in front of the palace of the red demon. There he untied his horse from the tree and rode it and got going toward his city. He went and went in day and night and in heat and cold until he reached his village after twenty years. He saw a shepherd in the desert and said him: "Go and say the king that his son has returned back." The shepherd laughed him and said: "Do not joke! It is about forty years that Shahrokh has gone and has not returned back. God know where he has died. Until now even his bones should have become soil. Even it is possible that the predatory animals had eaten him in the same first days. I cannot give the king such an untrue news."
Shahrokh was disappointed from the shepherd. So, he got going toward the city. He went and went until he reached an old man. He faced the old man and said: "Go and say the king that his son, Shahrokh, has returned back." The old man said: "How do I go to the king empty handed? If you have any address or sign of Shahrokh, give it me to take with myself to the king in order that he would believe me." Shahrokh liked this speech of the old man and took out his ring from his finger and gave it to the old man and said him: "Take this and show it to my father and he will believe you." The old man went rapidly to the city and when he reached in front of the palace the doorman prevented him and said him that the king was sad and did not receive any one, and if he had any work or words he should say the doorman to take it to the king. The old man who intended to take a very good gratuity from the king, did not agree to say his work to the doorman. Whatever the old man insisted, the doorman did not agree to let him going in. At last they began to quarrel with each other. Their shout and noise went into the palace and the king heard it. The kind asked what the matter was. They said him that the old man had come and wanted to see the king for a very important matter but he did not say what the important matter was. The king ordered to bring the old man to him.
The old man was going to the court that one of king attendants who had doubt to him, like others, as a person who wanted to take gold and jewelry from the king by saying him false news, took him a few gold coins and wanted him to leave there, but the old man did not accept the coins and swore that he was not beggar and need not their money, but he wanted to see the king for an important matter. Inevitably, they took the old man to the court. The king also thought at first that this old man like others wanted to deceive him to get money, but as he touched the ring he recognized it and understood that the old man had right news. The king got very glad and firstly gifted him a royal robe and secondly ordered to carpet from the gate of the city to the front of his court in red. He also sent so many people to welcome his son and ordered each carpet stepped by his son should be gifted to the poor.
Near the palace, so many sheep and cows were being sacrificed in front of Shahrokh and their meats were being given to the poor of the city. After so many years, Shahrokh stepped into the palace and went directly to see his father and mother. When he encountered them he noticed that his pitiful parents had become blind due to shedding tear in his parting. Immediately, as the old woman had ordered, he smashed well all the leaves he had brought with himself and then mixed them with water and put them on the eyes of his father and mother. Very soon, they were cured and could see just like the day Shahrokh had just left them.
The king and his wife did not know what to do from their excessive happy. They thanked God for this fact that not only their son had returned back but also they were able to see again. The king sat on the throne and ordered to illuminate the city and celebrate seven nights and seven days. The whole city was in such a celebration as no one had seen before kike that.
The people of the city was busy to celebration while Shahrokh himself was thinking totally to when that same hole free should be built. Eventually, they employed many architects and workers and built a beautiful palace in the middle of a big garden for Shahrokh. When the works of builders and workers finished, the king's son wanted to go to see how a beautiful palace had been built for him. Shahrokh went and for a long while searched every corners of the palace to be sure than there was not any hole in it. When he became certain in this respect, he took his bag and went to one of the rooms of the palace and closed the door. He took the pomegranate out of the bag and divided it into two halves. A very beautiful girl came out of the pomegranate and stood in front of the king's son. But as he reached out his arm to take the girl, she glided through the hole in the middle of the wall and went out. The king's son just noticed that he had broken the pomegranate in the winter room having a hole for chimney.