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Translator: Mohammad Ali Asefipoor
Source: Rasekhoon.net
Source: Rasekhoon.net
The sun had just risen and the brothers were between sleep and wakefulness that they heard that two pigeons were talking to each other. One of them said: "O sister!" The other one answered: "What do you want to say, dear sister?" The first pigeon said: "These two brothers who have slept under this tree, have eaten the head and heart and liver of the bird of welfare. One of them who has eaten the head of the bird, will reach to kingdom, and the other one who has eaten the heart and liver of the bird, will find a bag of one hundred gold coins under his head every night." Saad and Saeed woke up. Saeed noticed that a bag containing of gold coins was under his head. He got happy and said: "Brother! It seems that the talk of the pigeons was right and you also will become king."
The brothers stood up and washed their hands and face in the water of the fountain and got going. They went and went until they reached a point with two ways. Nobody was around there. There was only a rock there on which was written: Oh the two persons who have reached here, be informed that if both of you go the same way, you will be killed, and if you separate your ways, you will reach your wishes. As Saad and Saeed read this, they became so sad. They embraced each other and kissed each other and each went a separate way.
Saad went several nights and days until he reached near a city and saw that there had happened a huge and strange uproar. Many people had been gathered outside the city and all were wearing black clothes. He asked a man why all the people were wearing in black and why they had come outside the city. The man glanced at him and said: "Aren't you from here?" Saad answered: "Yes, I am a stranger and have just reached here." The man said: "It is four days that the king of our city has died and since he had no successor, all the people have come here to fly hawk in order to see on whose head it will sit to determine him as our king. When our king is determined, we will undress our black clothes and will celebrate seven nights and seven days."
The speech of the man had just finished that the people flew the hawk and remained waiting to see what would happen.
The hawk rotated above the crowd and swiftly came down straight and sat on the head of Saad. The crowd began to celebrating and clapping and they lifted him onto their hands and took him with dignity and respect to the palace and put the crown on his head and announced that all were obedient to him.
Now hear from Saeed. Saeed went the other way. He went and went until he reached a city in the middle of which there was a beautiful palace. A group of beautiful and young men were sitting in ash around the palace. He went ahead and asked a person whose palace that was and why they were in such bad conditions, while their appearances did not show that they were poor. The young man began to tell him that that palace was the palace of Delaram, the daughter of the king of there, a very beautiful girl, and everyone willing to glance at her at a night was to give one hundred gold coins at a night, and that they had given all they had to see her, and now that they had become poor she had no notice to them, and then they had become sitting persons in ash due to her love.
Every night one hundred gold coins appeared under the head of saeed, so he decided using them to go to visit the girl and remain with her for at least a week. So, he went in front of the palace and sent a message that he wanted to see Delaram. The slaves took his message and returned back and took Saeed into the palace and put him in a very beautiful room the walls and ceiling of which were all from mirror.
It was not so long before when Delaram came in toward saeed welcoming him. They began to talk with each other warmly until the time of dinner. Bondwomen spread tablecloth and brought dinner and wine and various sweets. When they removed the tablecloth, musicians and singers and dancers came in and played wonderfully. When it was the time for sleep, Delaram, as an excuse, went out of the room. Delaram had forty bondwomen quite similar to her. From that night on, she sent one of them each night (in the time of sleep) instead of herself to the room to saeed pretending that she was Delaram. Saeed remained forty nights in the room of Delaram and was so happy and gave her each night one hundred gold coins. At the fortieth night Delaram doubted how that boy provided all those gold coins. She became curious and investigated so much and finally found out that he had eaten the heart and liver of the bird of welfare. So, in the next night, she served to him old wine and made him such drunken that he vomited the heart and liver of the hen. At once, Delaram rinsed the heart and liver of the hen and ate them and slept there.
When the sun rose, Saeed woke up and wanted to pick up the golden coins from under his head but there was no coin there. Very soon he understood what happened. So, he silently escaped from the palace of Delaram and went toward the desert. He went and went until he reached near a city an saw three young men were quarreling with each other. He went ahead and asked them what the matter was. The boys said they were quarreling about the heritage of their father. Saeed asked who their father and what his heritage was. They said he was Simon and his heritage was unique. Saeed was curious to know more about Simon. So he asked them if their father had died really. The boys said that Simon went to the house of a thistle picker person to get the bird of welfare, but the sons of the thistle picker ate the head and heart and liver of the hen and escaped. So Simon got angry and killed the wife of the thistle picker, so the neighbors killed him. Saeed was laughing within himself but said nothing. Then, he asked them on which subjects they were quarrelling. They answered: "Rug and kitbag and kohl box of Solomon." Saeed deliberately said them that they were not such important that they quarrel with themselves on them. The boys said that he knew nothing about their importance, and explained that if he sat on the rug and ordered it to take him to a destination, the rug would fly to that destination, and whatever food he wanted could be found in the kitbag, and when he rubbed the kohl on his eyes he would become invisible.
Saeed said them: "So, you should know that these will belong to the cleverest person of you." The boys agreed. The also wanted him to judge among them. Saeed said that he would throw a pebble toward the desert and they should try to go and bring it to him as soon as possible, and the winner would be the cleverest of them who would be the owner of the heritage of Solomon. The brothers accepted, and Saeed picked up a white pebble and forcefully threw it. Simon's sons hurried toward the pebble, and Saeed immediately picked up the kitbag and kohl box and sat on the rug and ordered it to go to Delaram palace.
/J