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14. The Girl And The Rat

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Drower’s Folk-Tales of Iraq
This chapter is in the book Drower’s Folk-Tales of Iraq
14 THE GIRL AND THE RAT Told by a Kurdish girl. March 1931, Baghdad There was once an old woman who had three daughters. They were very poor, and every day the girls spun wool, and took it to the suq. With the money they earned, they bought bread. This was their livelihood. One day the youngest took her wool to the suq to sell it. She sold it, and when she had the money in her hand, she saw a pretty rat. She bought it for the money she should have spent on food, and when she returned, her mother began to scold her, saying, "What shall we eat today? We have to fast because you bought this rat!" The girl answered, "Wallah\ (By God!) My mother, I loved the rat, and I bought it!" They went hungry that day, and when night came, they slept. The rat slept beside its mistress, the girl. The next morning she looked, and saw beside her bed pearls and gold. She was delighted and told the good news to her mother. They went to the suq and bought bread, oil, rice, and meat, and everything they needed, and were very happy. Now an old woman who was their neighbor came into their house and saw the pearls and gold and said to herself, "Where did these poor peo-ple get their wealth?" And she went and informed the Sultan, saying, "These are poor people, and up till now they have not had enough to nourish themselves, and now they are rich!" The Sultan sent soldiers and went to the house of the woman and her daughters and said, "What do you have here?" They replied, "We have a rat—nothing else. He is the cause of our good fortune." The sol-diers seized the rat and took it to the Sultan's house. There, the rat gave out a horrible stench and they were forced to kill it. Now the youngest daughter wept every day over the loss of her rat, and she went to the Sultan's house to beg that she might see it. She saw the dead body of the rat lying near the gate, and they told her, "It smelled badly, so we killed it and threw it out." 439
© 2019 Gorgias Press LLC

14 THE GIRL AND THE RAT Told by a Kurdish girl. March 1931, Baghdad There was once an old woman who had three daughters. They were very poor, and every day the girls spun wool, and took it to the suq. With the money they earned, they bought bread. This was their livelihood. One day the youngest took her wool to the suq to sell it. She sold it, and when she had the money in her hand, she saw a pretty rat. She bought it for the money she should have spent on food, and when she returned, her mother began to scold her, saying, "What shall we eat today? We have to fast because you bought this rat!" The girl answered, "Wallah\ (By God!) My mother, I loved the rat, and I bought it!" They went hungry that day, and when night came, they slept. The rat slept beside its mistress, the girl. The next morning she looked, and saw beside her bed pearls and gold. She was delighted and told the good news to her mother. They went to the suq and bought bread, oil, rice, and meat, and everything they needed, and were very happy. Now an old woman who was their neighbor came into their house and saw the pearls and gold and said to herself, "Where did these poor peo-ple get their wealth?" And she went and informed the Sultan, saying, "These are poor people, and up till now they have not had enough to nourish themselves, and now they are rich!" The Sultan sent soldiers and went to the house of the woman and her daughters and said, "What do you have here?" They replied, "We have a rat—nothing else. He is the cause of our good fortune." The sol-diers seized the rat and took it to the Sultan's house. There, the rat gave out a horrible stench and they were forced to kill it. Now the youngest daughter wept every day over the loss of her rat, and she went to the Sultan's house to beg that she might see it. She saw the dead body of the rat lying near the gate, and they told her, "It smelled badly, so we killed it and threw it out." 439
© 2019 Gorgias Press LLC

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Introduction vii
  3. Preface ix
  4. Contents xxi
  5. List Of Plates xxiii
  6. Note On Transliteration xxv
  7. I. The Crazy Woman 1
  8. II. The Goat and the Old Woman 7
  9. III. Three Little Mice 10
  10. IV. The Sparrow and his Wife 12
  11. V. Dungara Khsheybān 14
  12. VI. The Crystal Ship 20
  13. VII. The Old Couple and their Goat 27
  14. VIII. Shamshūm al Jabbār 30
  15. IX. Husain an Nim-Nim 36
  16. X. The Blackbeetle who Wished to get Married 40
  17. XI. The Thorn-seller 45
  18. XII. The Blind Sultan 58
  19. XIII. Jarāda 74
  20. XIV. The Stork and the Jackal 80
  21. XV. 'It is not the Lion's Fur Coat!' 83
  22. XVI. Two stories of Abu Nowās 85
  23. XVII. A story of the Khalīfa Hārūn ar Rashīd 87
  24. XVIII. Another story of the Khalīfa 89
  25. XIX. The Tricks of Jānn 91
  26. XX. It was Enough to bewilder the Lion 93
  27. XXI. Two Nursery Rhymes 95
  28. XXII. The Bitter Orange 98
  29. XXIII. Tale told by a Shammar Tribesman 103
  30. XXIV. Shammar Stories. I 105
  31. XXV. Shammar Stories. II 108
  32. XXVI. Shammar Stories. III 112
  33. XXVII. Hājir 114
  34. XXVIII. The Woman of the Well 120
  35. XXIX. Hasan the Thief 127
  36. XXX. Moses and the Two Men 141
  37. XXXI. Al Gumeyra (Little Moon) 142
  38. XXXII. The Three Dervishes and the Wonderful Lamp 145
  39. XXXIII. The King and the Three Maidens, or the Doll of Patience 157
  40. XXXIV. The Merchant's Daughter 162
  41. XXXV. Wudayya (Little White Shell) 183
  42. XXXVI. The Poor Girl and Her Cow 187
  43. XXXVII. The Prince and the Daughter of the Thorn-seller 194
  44. XXXVIII. Uhdeydān, Uch'eybān, and Unkheylān 205
  45. XXXIX. Melek Muhammad and the Ogre 210
  46. XL. Er Rūm 219
  47. XLI. The Cotton-carder and Kasilūn 224
  48. XLII. Bunayya 231
  49. XLIII. The Cat 246
  50. XLIV. The Fish that Laughed 253
  51. XLV. The Honest Man 263
  52. XLVI. The Generous Man and the Niggardly Man 267
  53. XLVII. The Boy and the Deyus 275
  54. XLVIII. The Shepherd and his Brother 287
  55. Notes 293
  56. Part II
  57. Table of Contents 307
  58. Preface 309
  59. Acknowledgments 315
  60. 1. The Story Of The Khalifa And The Three Maidens 317
  61. 2. The Valiant Shepherd, Or The Chinese Egg 321
  62. 3. The Adventures Of Sultan Mahmud's Youngest Son 331
  63. 4. Harun Al-Rashid And The Poor Man's Daughter 339
  64. 5. The Arabi Boy 345
  65. 6. The Loves Of Ahmad Sultan And Tar Aswar 351
  66. 7. The Sardines 377
  67. 8. The Coppersmith And The Jinni 381
  68. 9. The Story Of The Avaricious Man 383
  69. 10. The Story Of The Fisherman And The Sultan 387
  70. 11. The Story Of The Jackal Who Turned Hajji (Pilgrim To Mecca) 415
  71. 12. Juj And Majuj (Gog And Magog) 419
  72. 13. The Story Of Hasan Al-Basri 421
  73. 14. The Girl And The Rat 439
  74. 15. How The All-Powerful Yielded A Hundredfold 441
  75. 16. The Appearance Of The White Cat 443
  76. 17. Allah Maku (There Is No God) 449
  77. 18. The Faithful Slave 459
  78. 19. The Lion And The Jackal 465
  79. 20. How Heskel Was Possessed By A Jewish Demon 467
  80. 21. Lokman 469
  81. 22. The Black Cat 471
  82. 23. The Story Of Budur 479
  83. Bibliography 485
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https://doi.org/10.31826/9781463211011-070

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Introduction vii
  3. Preface ix
  4. Contents xxi
  5. List Of Plates xxiii
  6. Note On Transliteration xxv
  7. I. The Crazy Woman 1
  8. II. The Goat and the Old Woman 7
  9. III. Three Little Mice 10
  10. IV. The Sparrow and his Wife 12
  11. V. Dungara Khsheybān 14
  12. VI. The Crystal Ship 20
  13. VII. The Old Couple and their Goat 27
  14. VIII. Shamshūm al Jabbār 30
  15. IX. Husain an Nim-Nim 36
  16. X. The Blackbeetle who Wished to get Married 40
  17. XI. The Thorn-seller 45
  18. XII. The Blind Sultan 58
  19. XIII. Jarāda 74
  20. XIV. The Stork and the Jackal 80
  21. XV. 'It is not the Lion's Fur Coat!' 83
  22. XVI. Two stories of Abu Nowās 85
  23. XVII. A story of the Khalīfa Hārūn ar Rashīd 87
  24. XVIII. Another story of the Khalīfa 89
  25. XIX. The Tricks of Jānn 91
  26. XX. It was Enough to bewilder the Lion 93
  27. XXI. Two Nursery Rhymes 95
  28. XXII. The Bitter Orange 98
  29. XXIII. Tale told by a Shammar Tribesman 103
  30. XXIV. Shammar Stories. I 105
  31. XXV. Shammar Stories. II 108
  32. XXVI. Shammar Stories. III 112
  33. XXVII. Hājir 114
  34. XXVIII. The Woman of the Well 120
  35. XXIX. Hasan the Thief 127
  36. XXX. Moses and the Two Men 141
  37. XXXI. Al Gumeyra (Little Moon) 142
  38. XXXII. The Three Dervishes and the Wonderful Lamp 145
  39. XXXIII. The King and the Three Maidens, or the Doll of Patience 157
  40. XXXIV. The Merchant's Daughter 162
  41. XXXV. Wudayya (Little White Shell) 183
  42. XXXVI. The Poor Girl and Her Cow 187
  43. XXXVII. The Prince and the Daughter of the Thorn-seller 194
  44. XXXVIII. Uhdeydān, Uch'eybān, and Unkheylān 205
  45. XXXIX. Melek Muhammad and the Ogre 210
  46. XL. Er Rūm 219
  47. XLI. The Cotton-carder and Kasilūn 224
  48. XLII. Bunayya 231
  49. XLIII. The Cat 246
  50. XLIV. The Fish that Laughed 253
  51. XLV. The Honest Man 263
  52. XLVI. The Generous Man and the Niggardly Man 267
  53. XLVII. The Boy and the Deyus 275
  54. XLVIII. The Shepherd and his Brother 287
  55. Notes 293
  56. Part II
  57. Table of Contents 307
  58. Preface 309
  59. Acknowledgments 315
  60. 1. The Story Of The Khalifa And The Three Maidens 317
  61. 2. The Valiant Shepherd, Or The Chinese Egg 321
  62. 3. The Adventures Of Sultan Mahmud's Youngest Son 331
  63. 4. Harun Al-Rashid And The Poor Man's Daughter 339
  64. 5. The Arabi Boy 345
  65. 6. The Loves Of Ahmad Sultan And Tar Aswar 351
  66. 7. The Sardines 377
  67. 8. The Coppersmith And The Jinni 381
  68. 9. The Story Of The Avaricious Man 383
  69. 10. The Story Of The Fisherman And The Sultan 387
  70. 11. The Story Of The Jackal Who Turned Hajji (Pilgrim To Mecca) 415
  71. 12. Juj And Majuj (Gog And Magog) 419
  72. 13. The Story Of Hasan Al-Basri 421
  73. 14. The Girl And The Rat 439
  74. 15. How The All-Powerful Yielded A Hundredfold 441
  75. 16. The Appearance Of The White Cat 443
  76. 17. Allah Maku (There Is No God) 449
  77. 18. The Faithful Slave 459
  78. 19. The Lion And The Jackal 465
  79. 20. How Heskel Was Possessed By A Jewish Demon 467
  80. 21. Lokman 469
  81. 22. The Black Cat 471
  82. 23. The Story Of Budur 479
  83. Bibliography 485
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