The Sunday Oregonian., May 30, 1915, MAGAZINE SECTION, Page 8, Image 72

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THE SUNDAY OREfiO.MAN. PORTLAND. MAY 30. 1915.
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SYNOPSIS OF THE SPEAKING BIRD.
The ttco elder sisters of the sultana of Persia "become
jealous of their royal sister and steal her children, ttco
boys and a girl, as soon as they are born. The sisters
tet each baby afloat in a basket on a canal, and all are
found and adopted by the governor of the sultan's
gardens. After they are grown an old woman tells
the princess of three wonders, a talking bird, a singing
tree and the yellow water, and the brothers determine
to get these for their sister, the eldest setting out in
search of them. , Before his departure he gives his
sister a knife, telling her as long as the blade remains
bright he will be safe, but if a stain appears he will
be dead. Some time after liis departure a stain
appears upon the blade. Prince Pcrviz goes out to
find what has become of his brother, and when he does
not return the princess goes in search of both. She
meets an old man, icho tells her to climb a certain
mountain, being careful not to look ba-k. Sear the
top of the mountain she sees the speaking bird, who
tempts her to look behind.
(Continued from last Sunday.)
REMEMBERING the old woman's ad
vice, the princess, however, would not
be tempted. She never stopped to look
back, but boldly climbed on up the
rocks and grasped the cage of the speaking
bird.
" I am your slave." cried the bird, " now
that you have captured me, and I hope that
jou will not be angry with me for trying to
trick you into looking back. Had you looked
back when I told you that your brothers were
being murdered, you would have been in
stantly lost."
" But, tell me now," cried the princess.
"Where are my brothers?"
" I cannot tell you." answered the bird,
" until you have found the singing tree and
the yellow water. If you break a small twig
from the tree you will find that when it is
planted in your garden it will soon grow into
a large tree." ti
The bird then told the princess where she
could find these other magic marvels, and at
once she started in search of them. She soon
came to the singing tree, and as she stood be
neath it all the leaves opened their mouths and
sang, making a wonderful chorus of the sweet
est voices.
Following the direction of the speaking
bird, she soon found also the yellow water,
and. filling a flask with the fluid, she ran
quickly back to the bird. '
" Now. do please tell me where I can find
my brothers." begged the princess, as she
drew up panting before the cage.
" You will find them down there," answered
the bird, pointing down the side of the moun-
tain. Seeing that the princess was still afraid
to look in that direction, the bird told her that
since she had captured him the charm was
gone, and she could look where she wished
with safety. The princess looked down the
path that she had climbed, but saw nothing
except the many black rocks she had passed.
" Do you see those black rocks?" continued
the bird ? " Each one represents a man, your
two brothers among them. Each has tried to
capture me, but becoming alarmed at the in
visible voices that cried out at them, they be
came frightened, looked behind, and were in
stantly turned into stones. You would have
shared the same fate had you turned your
head."
" Is there any way of bringing them baJc -to
their natural form?" anxiously asked the
princess. " Yes," answered the bird. " Take
some of the yellow water and sprinkle it on
the stones, and they will immediately come to
life."
The princess at once ran to the nearest stone
and threw a few drops of water upon it. In
stantly it disappeared, and a horse, bearing on
his back a handsome young man, stood in that
place. The young man rubbed his eyes sleep
ily at first, but they soon opened wide with
astonishment when the princess explained how
she had brought him to life.
As soon as the princess dropped the yellow
water on the stones they turned into men and
horses, and in a short time she had .quite an
army following at her heels. Presently one
big, black rock, to her great joy, turned into
her eldest brother, and soon after she was. de
lighted to see Prince Perviz, too, step from the
heart of a stone.
When the princess had turned all the stones
back to men, she told them of her adventure,
and how she had succeeded in capturing the
speaking bird.
With her royal brothers on either side, the
princess, carrying the cage with the speaking
bird in it safely under her-arm, rode down the
mountain, followed by the rest, and when they
came to the old man who had directed them
all to the mountain, they found that he was
dead. ' .
She never stopped to look back, but boldly climbed up on the rocks,
and grasped the cage of the speaking bird.
One by one the men dropped away from the
part', as they came to their various roads, and
after a pleasant journey the princess and her
brothers arrived safely at their own home.
As soon as the speaking bird was hung up
It began to sing, and soon thousands of song
birds gathered in the trees about the house
and made the air ring with their sweet voices.
The princess ordered a huge marble basin
placed in the garden, and when she poured a
few drops of the yellow water into it, it in
creased until it filled the basin and rose up
into a fountain, and though it constantly
played, it never overflowed. Next the princess
planted the twig of the singing tree in one of
her flower beds, and it soon grew to a large
tree, which sang as wonderfully as the tree
from which it had been taken.
The news of these wonders spread rapidly
through the countryside, and as the gates were
thrown open to the public many people came
to admire them. One day the sultan of Persia
happened to see Prince Balman and Prince
Perviz, and, struck with their handsome looks
and their pleasant manners, he invited them to
the palace.
" Your majesty," said Prince Balman, " we
should love to come, but we never like to leave
our sister without her permission, but if she is
willing we will be delighted to come."
When Prince Balman told his sister of tlie
sultan's invitation, she was greatly disturbed,
for she felt that if they visited the sultan he
would want them to become members of his
court, and then she would sec very little of
them.-' The princess told her brothers that be
fore she could decide she would ask her talk
ing bird, for he was wonderfully wise and had
promised to help her in every difficult matter,
doing to the bird, she told him all about the
sultan's invitation, and asked his advice.
"Your brothers must visit the sultan." an
swered the bird. " Ami tell them to invite the
sultan to visit your house in return. Do as I
have advised you and you will never re
gret it."
Next day the princess gave her consent, and
the brothers visited the sultan at his palace.
A big banquet was given in their honor, and
they were treated with the greatest respect by
the sultan and his court.
When the princes invited the sultan to visit
them, he was so pleased with the invitation
that he promised to come the very next day.
When the sultan arrived he was much pleased
with the beauty of the princess, and as he took
her hand in his he said : " If I could have one
wish, I could think of no greater happiness
than to have a daughter as lovely as yourself
and two sons as fine and manly as your hand
some brothers."
The talking bird, hanging in his cage near
by. had carefully listened to this fine speech,
and now, popping his head through the bars
of his cage, he cried in a loud voice: "Your
wish is a good one, great sultan, for they
really are your children."
"What do you mean, bird?" asked the as
tonished sultan.
The bird then told how the two wicked sis
ters of the sultan's wife had stolen the children
away at their birth and put dead babies in their
places. He told how they had been set adrift
on the canal by the sisters, and how the good '
governor of the gardens had found them and
brought them up as his own children.
The sultan had his wife's sisters brought
before him, and when he told them what the
bird had said, they confessed to their wicked
deeds. Filled with rage at the wickedness of
the wretched women, the sultan had them
thrown into prison, where they remained for
the rest of their lives. The sultan took his
children back to his palace, where they lived
happily with their royal father and mother,
and you may be quite sure that the speaking
bird had always a place of high honor at their
court.
(Another Arahinn "Kinhts story will appear nrrt Rundnu.)
Y J LA IN -;VZAW k L- I I 11
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T 1 V
OCTOR! Doctor! Doctor!" shouted the
Policeman as he ran up the front steps
and burst into the Teenie Weenie sitting
room.
' What is it, what is it, what's the trouble? " asked
the Doctor, bounding out of his easy chair.
" Why, why, there's a young bird that has fallen
out of its n-n-nest. I think it is badly hurt," panted
the Policeman, falling into a chair and fanning himself
with his helmet.
" Is that so?" cried the Doctor, " I'll get my satchel
and we'll go and see what can be done for the poor
thing."
The news of the unfortunate bird traveled very
fast among the Tecnie Weenies, and when the Police
man and the Doctor ran down the walk, toward the
fence at the end of the garden, quite a crowd followed
closely at their heels.
The bird was lying on its side and crying at the top
of its voice.
" There are no bones broken," said the Doctor,
after he had carefully examined the bird. " I think
it is more scared than hurt, but we can't leave it here.
It's too young to fly, and we've got to put it back in
its- nest."
After a great deal of work, the Teenie Weenies
fixed some ropes and pulleys firmly to the bush just
above the bird's nest. Wrapping one of the largest
teenie weenie sheets about its body, they nulled the
bird up into the bush and soon had it safely back in
its nest. The mother bird, having been away in
search of worms, flew into the bush, just as the Teenie
Weenies were taking the ropes and pulleys down.
When the General explained to her how her child
had fallen out of the nest, and how the Teenie
Weenies had put it back, she was very grateful, thank
ing them again and again.
"Do 3rou think my child was hurt?" anxiously
asked the mother bird of the Doctor.
"O, no," answered the Doctor. "Tiit a little
shaken up, that's all. Give him a nice fat worm for
dinner tonight, and I think he will be all right tomor
row." Soon the Teenie Weenies picked up their ropes and
pulleys, and trudged off home, glad in their teenie
weenie hearts that they had been able to help the un
fortunate bird.
Copyright: 1915: By Wm. Donahey J
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