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THE PARROT SHAH

Once upon a time . . . hundreds of years ago, there lived a brave young
Shah. His counsellor was a very old wise Minister called Saleb.
Like all his subjects, the Shah worshipped the God of Reason. Every day, he
went to the temple he had built close to the palace. In response to the
prayers, the God gave the Shah good advice on the difficult art of government.
Indeed, the kingdom had never been so well ruled and had become very
prosperous. One day, at the end of his first visit, the Shah was amazed to
hear the God's deep voice say: "You no longer need my advice. You are wise
enough. You can keep on praying to me, but this is the last time you will
speak to me. But before I leave you to Fate, I will grant you a wish. Anything
you ask will be given to you."
On his knees before the statue, the Shah thought for a long time before
replying. Then he said: "Oh, God who rules over us all, thank you for all you
have done for me and my people. Give me the power to transfer my soul into the
body of another man or animal, whenever I want. And let my own body remain
intact till I enter it again."
"It shall be so," said the God. "Now listen carefully . . ." Back at the
palace, the Shah quickly called the Chief Minister.
"Would you believe it, Saleb! In his infinite goodness, the God has given
me his trust and a great power . . ." and he told his counsellor all about it.
The old man, however, had great doubts about the wisdom of this, but he hid
his feelings.
"This strange incredible thing could change my master's whole life and
destiny," the old man told himself. "I must do my best to make sure he doesn't
alter his ways and makes no dangerous changes. What he needs is a wife and
family to keep him from making risky decisions. It only takes strange deeds to
ruin good government.
Far beyond the mountains bordering on the Shah's kingdom lay a great
fertile plain, the realm of an old king, who had an only daughter named Gala.
Gala was young and beautiful and so sweet and gentle that her father hated the
thought of letting her get married. The Court, however, was eager to see her a
bride. The king was very possessive and wanted to keep Gala all to himself,
and with the help of a wizard, he had thought up a plan to discourage her
suitors. A magic tree was planted in the garden, a huge pomegranate that had
three fruits. At sunset, the branches bent over to touch the ground and the
fruit split open. Inside each lay a soft feather bed. Gala, the princess,
slept in the middle one, with her servants on each side. The fruit closed over
the maidens and the branches swung back to the sky, carrying the princess high
above all danger. Seven walls were built round the garden, each studded with
thousands of spikes which nobody could ever cross. The king sent out a
proclamation:
"Any man wishing to marry my daughter must be noble, rich and handsome. But
he must also succeed in picking the fruit in which the princess sleeps. Yet,
if he falters in trying to cross the seven circles of spikes, he will be left
to die." As it so happens, the Shah's Chief Minister decided that the princess
would make a good wife for his master. As time went by, many flne brave
warriors perished on the spikes guarding the enchanted garden. Saleb, however,
was sure that the special divine powers of the Shah would help him to overcome