"Children's Books - Parrot Shah" - читать интересную книгу автора (Children's Books)

any obstacle. So he wanted to persuade the Shah to try and win the princess's
hand. Every day, Saleb described the trials men had to go through to reach the
king's daughter, and to begin with, the Shah was amused by such stories. Then
he became curious and began to ask questions himself. The clever Minister told
his master of the princess's beauty and all about her brave suitors. In the
end, the Shah began to fall in love with the girl he had never seen, just by
hearing so much about her. In no time at all, he began to pore over ways of
reaching the fruit. And the Chief Minister was delighted to hear of the Shah's
plans.
Next day, the Shah ordered a large, brightly feathered parrot with a strong
beak to be brought to him. He had decided to use his own magic powers, and he
said to Saleb:
"My soul is going to enter this parrot, but my lifeless bodyy wlll return.
Watch over it day and night till I come back."
After a long prayer to the God of Reason, the Shah did everything he had
been told and fell into a deep sleep. His breathing grew fainter and fainter
till it died away and he lay still on the bed. Watching worriedly, Saleb saw
that the parrot, which had been sitting quietly on its perch, was now flapping
its wings wildly.
The parrot quickly reached the mountain. The air was cold and he flapped
heavily upwards but the highest peak was soon left behind. Far below lay the
turrets of the palace and the glinting of thousands of spikes. Somehow, the
parrot struggled across tne rows of sharp steel and landed safely beside the
magic tree.
The sun was setting when Gala and her two servants stepped into the fruit
for the night. As the pomegranates closed, the calls of the three maidens rang
in the ears of the Parrot Shah, and in the second before they shut, he caught
a fleeting glimpse of the beautiful princess. Her gleaming dark eyes seemed to
smile at him. Then the branches rose into the air and the fruit shrank back to
their normal size. As they pointed upwards, the parrot sprang into the air
and, with a blow of his strong beak, ripped the pomegranate containing the
princess from its branch. Clutching the fruit in his claws, he flew off into
the night.
The twinkling stars lit the Parrot Shah's path home. This time it was hard
to cross the mountain, but the parrot felt neither cold nor fatigue, for he
could still picture Gala's lovely face. As he gripped the magic pomegranate,
the parrot knew that it was hindering his flight, and his wings grew weary and
slow. In panic, he felt he was going to drop the fruit, but the thought of
Gala's eyes filled him with new strength. Suddenly he saw the valley. He was
over the mountain. Now, he had to find the energy to go on and re-enter his
own body. And then admire Gala, the bride of his dreams.
Saleb had been watching at the window, left open day and night, and
guarding his master's lifeless body. Full of remorse at having coaxed the Shah
into undertaking such a dangerous mission, the poor Minister had never stopped
praying. Suddenly, he leapt to his feet:
"Thank Heavens!" he cried. "At last! At last! . . " The stars were fading
and the sun coming up, tinting the clouds with pink, when the parrot appeared.
Gently laying its preclous burden on the bed, the bird went back to its
perch... and the Shah's body came slowly to life. Saleb threw himself in
front of his master.