Akmal Hakim

Once there was an Arab boy called Akmal Hakim. He lived with his parents in a village by the river.

Akmal Hakim was not like other boys in the village. In­stead of playing games after school he spent most of his time inthe forest gathering herbs and roots. When he came home, he would boil these and make medicines. Whenever anyone in the village was sick, Akmal Hakim gave the person one of his medi­cines, and the person immediately felt better.

Of course, some of the villagers did not think Akmal Hakim could cure their sicknesses. These villagers whispered evil things about him.

But Akmal Hakim's parents told him not to mind. “Some people are jealous,” they said. “But if these people are ever sick, they too will come to see you.”

Years passed, and Akmal Hakim grew into a young man. He spent a good deal of time writing about his herbs and roots in notebooks, and he carried these notebooks with him every­where. As he grew older, his powers became even stronger, and people from all over the countryside came to see him. But many of the villagers still whispered about Akmal Hakim's evil power, and he behaved rudely towards them.

One day Akmal Hakim told his parents that he was leaving home. “These people in our village are ungrateful,” he said. “Iwill go across the sea to find people who want my medicine.”

He wrapped his notebooks in a parcel, climbed into a boat at the riverside, and waved goodbye to his parents.

As soon as the boat reached the sea, it sank, carrying Akmal Hakim and his precious herbs with it. Unfortunately, Akmal Hakim could not swim.

But that is not the end of the story. Akmal Hakim's note­books floated across the sea. They floated across the oceans of the world and landed here and there in distant countries. They were found by holy men who studied Akmal Hakim's books. These holy men made medicines by following Akmal Hakim's instructions, and they became the world's first doctors.

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The King and Stilts

The king wanted to test Abunawas' smartness. So, he invited Abu to the palace.

"You want me, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, you've fooled me threetimes. And that's too much. I want you to leave this country. Otherwise, you'll have to go to jail."

"If that is what you want," Abu said sadly, "I will do what you say."

"Remember, start from tomorrow you may not step on the ground of this country anymore," the king said seriously. "Yes, Your Majesty."

Abu then left the palace sadly.

The following morning the king ordered two of his guards to go to Abu's house. They were surprised. Abu was still there. He was swimming in a small pool in his front yard.

"Hey, Abu, why haven't you left this country? The king ordered you not to step on the ground of this country again, didn't he?"

"Sure he did," answered Abu calmly. "But, look at me. DoI step on the ground? No, I'm swimming. I'm in the water."

The guards were not able to argue with Abu. So, they left and went back to the palace to report what they had seen. The king was curious on Abu's excuses not to leave the country, therefore, he summoned Abu. Abu came to the palace on stilts.

"Abu, I will surely punish you because you did not do what I said. And now, look at you! You walked on stilts like a child. Are you crazy?" said the king pretended to be furious.

I remember exactly what you said, Your Majesty," Abu answered calmly. "This morning I took a bath in the pool sothat I did not have to stand on the ground. And since yesterday I have been walking on stilts. So you see, I do not step on the ground.”

The king was not able to say anything. He thought that Abu was really smart. He then offered Abua drink. Abu was glad and smiled a lot.

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The husband who looked after the house

 A farmer's wife became fed up with being criticised by her husband about how she ran the house, so one day she challenged him. “Tomorrow I'll go out and work in the fields, and you can take care of the work in the house, if you think you can do it better than me!” The next day the husband did his best to do things right. He began to make the butter, but his efforts soon made him thirsty and he went down to the cellar to drink some wine. He opened the barrel, but then he heard the pig come into the house and knock over the butter dish. He rushed back upstairs to stop the animal from causing more trouble, but he forgot toput the cork in the wine barrel again.

He kept getting into trouble all morning long. At lunchtime, when he put the stew on to boil, he remem­bered that he had not taken the cow out to pasture yet; but there was no time anymore. He decided to take it onto the roof, so it could eat the grass that grew among the tiles. It was very difficult to get the cow onto the roof. In the end he succeeded, and to make sure that the animal did not fall off, he tied it there with a rope.

Then he remembered the stew over the fire. To get back to the kitchen as fast as possible, so that the stew did not bum, he lowered himself down the chimney. For safety, he tied the other end of the rope to his foot. But the cow fell off the roof Just then, and the man was yanked back up the chimney and got stuck there.

When his wife came home from the fields, the first thing she saw was the cow dangling from the rope, so she cut it loose. On the other end the man dropped down.... into the fireplace. When the woman entered the house, she found the floor covered in butter, the cellar flooded with wine, and her husband upside down with his head in the stew!

She returned to her housework. From then on, of course, he never grumbled at her again.

The Clever Violinist

One day a violinist decided to play some music as he was walking through the woods. But this attracted a large fierce bear.

“How well you play,” he said to the man, to gain his confidence. “Could you teach me to play as well?”

“Of course,” answered the violinist, not fooled at all. “As long as you do what I tell you. Put your paws in the crack in this tree.”

The bear did as he was told and the musician was quick to jam his paws in the crack with a large stone. The bear was stuck tight.

The next time the violinist played, he attracted a lion, and the same scene was repeated. This time the beast was caught in a trap and ended up hanging by its tail from a tree. Then it was the turn of a tiger, which was captured by a similar trick.

When the three wild beasts managed to free themselves, the chased after the violinist, seeking revenge; but they found him in the company of a new friend: a huge woodsman with a giant axe, who chased the animals away.

And so the clever violinist Crossed the forest in safety.

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