Pg. 577
Well, I did find her asleep, and I sprinkled some water on her and said, “Leave this shape for the shape of a mule.” She at once became the very mule you see here, oh sultan and chief of the demons.”
The Owl’s Trap
However, that is not the end of my story, oh sultan of the demons! When I cast the spell on wife I must have said the spell in the wrong way, since she became an owl instead of a mule, and she flew away instantly. She flew into the woods and I lost sight of her between the branches of the high and dense trees. From that day on, I was not able to have a peaceful night or a joyful day thinking that she might find some soothsayer to reverse the spell, come back, and take revenge on me.
Then, oh lord of the demons, I went to the shop’s owner’s daughter and related to her what had happened, and how all my wealth and my own life was at risk. To what she replied “oh nobleman, the only way to find and catch an owl is by being and thinking like one! So, I shall convert you into an owl and once you find your wife’s nest, come back and we will destroy her together after I made you a man again.” After these words, she converted me into an owl and I flew into the high and dense trees to start looking for my disloyal wife.
After weeks of intense search, I found out that thank God Almighty, she had not found any soothsayer that will convert her back into her human shape. I continued watching her during another whole week trying to come up with a trap to catch her. Consequently, I noticed that every night she would go hunting by a waterhole that was near my home, kill and eat his prey under a small tree next to it.
So, sultan of the Demons, I rushed back to the shop and waited anxiously for the owner’s daughter to notice me and lift the spell off me. She saw me and immediately converted me back into my human shape and said, “so, my dear friend, did you find whom you were looking for?” to what I answered, “Yes, great soothsayer, I also know how to capture her.” Consequently, when the sun was at its highest point and I knew my wife, this very mule that once was an owl, was sleeping, we set up a set of nets around the small tree where she used to eat her prey.
Finally, we captured her that very night, after she hunted her prey and posed herself under the small tree. We let the nets drop and the soothsayer sparkled water on her and said “you evil human in the shape of an owl, you shall live forever in the shape of a mule! May no spell ever be able to convert you into anything else!”
She at once became the very mule you see right here, oh sultan and chief of the demons.”
“What an interesting story you have there. Dear humans, I have a proposal for you. I will tell you a story and if my story is more enjoyable than all three of your stories, you all will be punished with nature for trying to help the man who killed my son. If my story is not good enough, your lives are spared and you will each be granted a wish from me.” Although this proposal both excited and scared the three men, they all agreed in hopes of obtaining a wish.
“The forest around us has not always been this way. This place used to be a barren plain with roaming horses and the like. Occasionally you would have a traveler cross these plains. No one would stay very long here, there is no game to hunt, no lake to drink from, no river to wash your clothes in. However, a well off merchant came along and decided to start a town here- this merchant had always wanted to be a town leader. Normally, people would not want to live here as it as barren and empty as a desert is but he had an idea. This merchant decided to spend a sizable portion of his wealth in hopes of enticing people to stay at his village- he built houses and rented them off cheaply, he forced all of his relatives to come live with him to pretend as though the town he built was not empty, he spread rumors that the town was blessed by the gods and whoever lived in the town would have great fortunes, and the like. Eventually, the merchant ran out of money and he had only built half of his town. With no real source of income, he turned to stealing. At first, he was quite afraid and was not very daring and stole little by little from neighboring towns during the nights. As time went on, he became much more brave and began stealing in broad daylight. He even got his relatives to assist him with stealing. One day, he came across a cave- a demon’s home. Peering inside, he saw a tiara crafted from the purest gold and largest diamonds. Overcome by greed, he sneaked inside, grabbed the tiara, and dashed out. As he exited the cave, he came face to face with a demon returning home. Seeing the tiara, a present for his demon daughter, tainted by human hands, the demon became enraged. The demon tore off the man’s limbs one by one, ate them, and turned the man into a tree. Seeing as he was not satisfied, he headed towards the village the merchant built. Upon reaching the village, the demon did the exact same thing to all the merchant’s relatives as he had done to the merchant- he pulled off all their limbs and turned them into trees.
And to this day, you can still see some of the trees have human-like faces on them. If you look closely enough, you might be able to catch one of them blinking or begging for help. Looking at the three men’s gaping faces, the demon could tell that they knew their stories could not compare to his.
“It seems as though I have won.” The demon pulls all their limbs off and turns them into trees. He leaves the animals besides the men alone and walks up to the merchant awaiting his death. The merchant says, “…”