And so, when Omar awoke, Sheherazade had vanished. Confused and upset, the prince asked his guards and servants if they had seen her. When the king heard the story, he told Omar: "My lad, you are losing your head over a girl you dreamed about!" "No, she wasn't a dream," the prince insisted. "This is the ring she left me!" Omar was lovesick. The king called doctors and wise men, but there was nothing they could do, for Omar was losing his will to live.
And far away, Sheherazade was pining in sorrow. The king was certain his daughter must have dreamt it all. How otherwise could she have met the mysterious young man? The only person who believed the princess was Marzuan, a childhood friend, and he offered to search for the missing youth. Sheherazade handed him Omar's ruby ring. Marzuan set out that same day but, though he travelled far and wide, no-one could give him a clue as to the young man's identity. In the meantime, Abhu and Dhabi secretly followed in his tracks. One day, a merchant told Marzuan that, on the island of Kaledan, there was a lovesick prince. Feeling that this might be the very person he was seeking, Marzuan took a passage on a ship bound for Kaledan. After days of sailing, a terrible storm broke, driving the ship onto a reef, where it sank. Clinging to a floating spar, Marzuan held on till the storm died away, then headed for the shore. The beach was deserted, but in the distance he could see the turrets of a castle. Then, as he was getting his strength back, he saw a horseman approach.
"Where am I?" Marzuan asked the stranger.
"On the island of Kaledan," replied the horseman. "Who are you?" Marzuan jumped to his feet.
"I'm a doctor, and famous in my own land. I hear that a prince here is seriously ill, and I'd like to try and cure him." "Yes," replied the horseman, "Prince Omar is indeed seriously ill, but it seems his illness is fatal." Disturbed by his words, Marzuan said: "Take me to him straight away." When admitted to Omar's presence, without saying a word, Marzuan showed him the ruby ring. Omar uttered a shriek and leapt to his feet. The onlookers stared in surprise.
"This is the ring I gave to the girl I want to marry!" the prince exclaimed joyfully.
"That young lady is Sheherazade. She lives in far off China and is dying to see you again," Marzuan told him instantly. Omar was delighted. In finding the girl of his dreams, he would be truly happy.
He presented Marzuan with a jeweled sword and a splendid horse, as fast as the wind, as a token of thanks. Then he told him to take him as quickly as could be to the beautiful princess. Overcoming all the difficulties that it had to face during the long journey, the cheerful procession led by Omar and Marzuan, many days later, reached distant China. When they reached Scheherazade's city, Omar announced his arrival by sending a messenger with a letter for the princess and a diamond ring. At long last, the couple had met again! They exchanged their first, affectionate words and found they really were meant for each other. Sure of their feelings and anxious to start a new life together, Omar and Sheherazade quickly asked the king's permission to get married as soon as possible. The invisible genies, Abhu and Dhabi too, were at the wedding, a few days later.
"Sheherazade really is lovely!" Dhabi exclaimed.
"Yes, but Omar . ." said Abhu.
"Are you looking for an argument again?" demanded Dhabi. Just then, Lilibeth, the genie king's daughter appeared. "We still haven't decided which is the better-looking," said Abhu and Dhabi. "Well, I'd say they are the best-looking couple in the world," said Lilibeth. "And I'm certain their children will be even more handsome." And so the argument finally ended to everybody's satisfaction, and the two genies hugged each other contentedly. Four animal friends, in search of fame as singers, find, along their travels, great adventure and something much more important that mere fame.
The Musicians of Bremen Once upon a time, an old donkey was ill-treated by his master. Tired of such unkindness, he decided to run away, and when he heard that Bremen was looking for singers with the town band, he decided that someone with a fine braying voice like his might be accepted.
As he went along the road, the donkey met a skinny dog, covered with sores.
"Come with me. If you have a good bark, you'll find a job with the band too. Just wait and see!" A little later, a stray cat, no longer able to catch mice, joined them and the trio trotted hopefully on towards the town. As they passed a farmyard, they stopped to admire an elderly cockerel who, with outstretched wings, was crowing to the skies.
"You sing well," they told him. "What are you so happy about?" "Happy?" muttered the cockerel with tears in his eyes. "They want to put me in the pot and make broth of me. I'm singing as hard as I can today, for tomorrow I'll be gone." But the donkey told him, "Run away with us. With a voice like yours, you'll be famous in Bremen!" Now there were four of them. The way was long, night fell, and very frightened, the four creatures found themselves in a thick forest.
They scarcely knew whether to press on or to hide in some caves and rest. Suddenly, in the distance they saw a light amongst the trees. It came from a little cottage and they crept up to the window. The donkey placed his front hoofs on the window ledge. Anxious to see, the dog jumped on the donkey's back, the cat climbed onto the dog and the cockerel flew on top of the cat to watch what was going on inside. Now, the cottage was the hideaway of a gang of bandits who were busily celebrating their latest robbery. The hungry donkey and his friends became excited when they saw the food on the table. Upset by the Jittery crew on his back, the donkey stuck his head through the window and toppled his three companions on to the lamp. The light went out and the room rang with the braying of the donkey who had cut his nose on the glass, the barking of the dog and the snarling of the cat. The cockerel screeched along with the others.
Taken completely by surprise, the terrified bandits fled screaming: "The Devil! The Devil!" And their abandoned meal ended up in the four friends' stomachs. Later, however, just as the donkey and his companions were dropping off to sleep, one of the bandits crept back to the now quiet house and went in to find out what had taken place. He opened the door, and with his pistol in his hand, he stepped trembling towards the fire. However, mistaking the glow of the cat's eyes for burning coals, he thrust a candle between them and instantly the furious cat sank its claws into the bandit's face. The man fell backwards on to the dog, dropping his gun, which went off, and the animal's sharp teeth sank into his leg. When the donkey saw the bandit's figure at the door, he gave a tremendous kick, sending the man flying right through the doorway. The cockerel greeted this feat with a grim crowing sound.
"Run!" screamed the bandit. "Run! A horrible witch in there scratched my face, a demon bit me on the leg and a monster beat me with a stick! And . ." But the other bandits were no longer listening, for they had taken to their heels and fled.
And so the donkey, the dog, the cat and the cockerel took over the house without any trouble and, with the booty left behind by the bandits, always had food on the table, and lived happy and contented for many years.
