
Translator: Mohammad Ali Asefipoor
Source: Rasekhoon.net
Source: Rasekhoon.net
Shah Abbas, whose capital of kingdom was Isfahan, used to wear dervish clothes at nights occasionally and go among the people. One night, according to the habit, he wore dervish clothes and went to the city to patrol to see how the people were. When he was passing an alley, he stopped at a window and listened to the talking of three girls. One of them was saying: "If I marry Shah Abbas, I will cook some food for him that it will remain if even all of his retinue and army eat from it." The second girl said: "If I marry Shah Abbas, I will weave a carpet for him that only he can sit on it." At last, the third girl said: "If I marry Shah abbas, I will give birth to a son and a daughter for him that the hair of the daughter will be golden and the hair of the son will be silver."
Shah Abbas listed to their talk and then returned back to the palace. In the next morning he ordered to bring those three girls and said them that he would marry them and they should do what they had said. He married all of them. The first girl cooked a pottage and added too salt in it. The pottage had become too salty to be tolerated to be eaten so much by anyone. All the retinue and army ate a little from it and still it remained. The second girl, who had promised that she would weave a carpet that only the king would sit on it, weaved a carpet that, except for its center where the place for the king to sit, its upper cover had been needle worked.
Now hear from the third girl. He gave birth to a daughter with golden hair and a son with silver hair after nine months. But her two sisters consulted with each other and said if these two babies would remain alive the king would notice them no longer. So they plotted out and before that anyone could guess, they put the babied in a box and dropped the box into the river and instead of the babies they put two bricks next to their sister.
When Shah Abbas came and saw two bricks instead of the children, he got furious and ordered to wrap the girl in a sheepskin and sew the skin until then the sheepskin become dried on the body of the girl.
But now hear from the babies. The water of the river took the box up to the down side of the river. There a fisherman took the box from the water. The fisherman had no child. He took the babies and raised them. After passing several years, the fisherman got old and died. The boy and girl sold their home and went to the city and bought a small house next to the king's palace.
By chance, one day the one of the same two wicked sisters who had gone up to the roof of the palace, saw the girl having golden hair in the yard of their home and recognized her as the same daughter of Shah Abbas. She went and informed her sister. They thought if the king saw the girl and boy, it would be probable that he would discover the truth and kill them. So they plotted and sent an old woman to kill them.
The old woman went to the girl having golden hair and said her: "What a beautiful house! What a beautiful tree! But pity that you have no talking nightingale." The girl said: "What is talking nightingale?" The old woman said: "It is a nightingale that when you say it something it will reply you "What do you want my dear?" and will begin to tell tale." The old woman said this and went.
At noon, when the brother came home, the girl said him: "When you go to your work at days, I am alone at home. I want a talking nightingale to be my companion and tell me tale when I am alone." The boy said: "What is talking nightingale and from where can it be gotten?" The girl answered: "I don't know. Go and ask. Maybe you will find." The boy, who liked her sister and cared about what she wanted, said: "OK. I will go and will find talking nightingale in any possible way."
When it was morning, the boy made ready his luggage and leaved the city toward the desert and went and went. He asked everyone he encountered where he can find talking nightingale. But no one knew anything about talking nightingale. At noon, he sat under a tree and opened his bread bundle to eat something. He saw that a horseman was approaching there. When the horseman reached him, the boy asked him: "O horseman! Don't you know where I can find talking nightingale?" The horseman answered: "Why do you want talking nightingale?" The boy said: "My sister is alone and has no companion. I want to give her a talking nightingale to tell her tale and become her companion." The horseman said: "The talking nightingale is in a cave in the certain mountain. But it belongs to a male demon that will swallow every human being he saw. Take pity to your youth and forget the talking nightingale." The boy said: "I have promised my sister to do this act. I will go and bring back the talking nightingale with myself or will die." The horseman said: "Now that you have decided to go anyway, go, but be cautious that this nightingale likes only females and if a male calls it he will become spellbound." The horseman said this and went.
The boy stood up and went until he reached the mountain. He climbed the mountain and arrived at the opening of the cave. He looked into the cave and saw that the nightingale was in the cave. He forgot what the horseman asked him to be cautious; so, he called: "O talking nightingale! O talking nightingale!" The nightingale replied: "Under the ground! Under the ground!"
As the boy wanted to step, he noticed that his legs had been stuck into the ground like nails stuck into the ground. Whatever he wanted, he could not move. Just then, he remembered the advice of the horseman. So, he was confused and began to beg. But whatever he begged more, he would be stuck more until when only his head was not under the ground.
Now hear from the girl. Whatever she sat waiting, his brother didn't come. After seven or eight days, she stood up and took luggage and got going and came and came until she reached the same spring and tree. She sat under the tree to each something. Suddenly the same horseman came and asked her who she was and where she was going. In reply, the girl told him the story of herself and his brother. The horseman said: "A few days ago, your brother passed here and I gave him the address of the talking nightingale. If he has not returned back so far, we should infer that the demon has eaten him or the talking nightingale has made him spellbound. If he is such lucky that has not been eaten by the demon, you can help him to get rid of the magic since you are a female. The nightingale likes females." The girl took the address of the cave and went until when she arrive at the opening of the cave. She saw that her brother had been stuck into the ground up to his neck. The girl called: "O talking nightingale! O talking nightingale!" The nightingale answered: "O my dear! What do you want?" The girl called it again, and the nightingale also answered her. This calling and replying continued and little by little her brother was coming out of the ground until when he came out completely and his spellbound was broken.
Then the girl went and took the cage of the nightingale to take it with herself. The nightingale said her: "Now that you are going to take me, take the treasure of the male demon too. And also want his brother to go and take the life bottle of the demon from the stomach of the red fish in the river down the mountain and break it." The girl came and became busy to gather the treasure and the boy also went and broke the life bottle of the demon.
Briefly, the boy and the girl went back with the treasure of the male demon and the talking nightingale and build a big palace next to the palace of Shah Abbas. On the other hand, Shah Abbas was informed and came to see who they are who had built such a palace. As soon as Shah Abbas arrived at the porch of the palace, the talking nightingale shouted: "Hey Shah Abbas! Hey Shah Abbas! Have you become blind that you don't know even your son and daughter?" Shah Abbas was surprised. He went close to the cage of the nightingale and said: "O nightingale! Say me to know why you are saying so. What do you know?" The nightingale said: "O Shah Abbas! Hey Shah Abbas! Have you become mad that you have sewed you wife in the skin of sheep?" Shah Abbas said himself: "I cannot understand! What is saying this nightingale?" The nightingale shouted again: "Shah Abbas! Hey Shah Abbas! Is it possible for a human being to give birth to brick?" Shah Abbas had begun to think deeply that suddenly the girl having golden hair and the boy having silver hair came to the porch. As Shah Abbas saw them, understood the meaning of what the nightingale had said. He understood that they were the children of him. He embraced and kissed them and took their mother out of the skin of sheep. The he ordered to tie the hairs of the two wicked sisters to the tails of two mulish horses and then made them to run toward the desert.
/J