Latest / Sandman Stories Presents / EP 286: Turkiye- Kamer Taj the Mon Horse (Kunos)

Transcript

EP 286: Turkiye- Kamer Taj the Mon Horse (Kunos) · Sandman Stories Presents

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  Welcome back listeners to Sandman's Stories Presents, a
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  folklore podcast where I read you to sleep or until the next
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  story. I'm your host, Dustin.
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  If you want more Sandman, I have extra stories that are too spicy
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  for the main feed available on my Patreon.
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  You can even join at the free tier and get everything.
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  Today we are back in the book of Turkish folk tales written down
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  by Ignaz Kunios. In this story we have a skinned
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  insect, an amazing horse, and babies that turn into dogs.
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  OK, let's begin. Kamer Taj, the Mon Horse.
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  There once was a patishah who one day found a little insect.
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  The patishah called his lala, and they both examined the tiny
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  creature. What could it be?
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  What could it feed on? Every day an animal was killed
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  for its sustenance and by living.
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  So it grew and grew until it was as big as a cat.
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  Then they killed it and skinned it, hanging up the skin in the
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  palace gate. The Pettishaw now issued A
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  proclamation that whoever could guess correctly to what animal
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  the skin belong should receive the Sultan's daughter in
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  marriage. A great crowd collected and
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  examined the skin from all sides, but no one was ever found
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  wise enough to answer the question.
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  The story of the skin spread far and wide until it reached the
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  ears of a dew. That is exceedingly fortunate
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  for me, he thought to himself. I've had nothing to eat for
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  three days. Now I shall be able to satisfy
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  myself with the Princess. So he went to the Potty Shah and
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  told him the name of the creature, and immediately
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  demanded the maiden. Woe is me, groaned the Potty
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  Shah. How can I give this dew my only
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  daughter? He offered him in ransom for her
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  as many slaves as he liked, but all in vain.
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  The Dew insisted on having the Sultan's daughter.
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  Therefore the Patishah called the maiden and told her to
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  prepare for the journey, as her kismet was the Dew.
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  All weeping and wailing were fruitless.
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  The maiden put on her clothes while the Dew waited for her
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  outside the palace. The Patishah had a horse that
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  drank the nectar of roses and ate grapes.
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  Camertaj or Moon Horse was its name.
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  This was the creature on which the Sultan's daughter was to
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  accompany the Dew to his abode. A cavalcade escorted her for a
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  portion of the way, and then, turning, rode back.
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  Now the maiden offered up a prayer to Allah to deliver her
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  from the fiend. Suddenly the moon horse began to
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  speak. Lady, fear not, Shut both your
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  eyes and hold my mane firmly. Hardly had she shut her eyes
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  when she felt the horse rise with her, and when she opened
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  her eyes again she found herself in the garden of a lovely palace
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  on an island in the midst of the sea.
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  The Dew was very angry at the disappearance of the maid.
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  Still. Never mind, he said, I will find
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  her soon. And he went home alone.
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  Not far from the island a Prince sat in his canoe with his lala.
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  The Prince, seeing on the calm surface of the water the
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  reflection of the golden hued steed, said to his lala that
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  perhaps someone had arrived at his palace.
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  They rode to the island, got out of the canoe, and entered the
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  garden. Here the youth saw the beautiful
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  Princess, who, however much she tried to veil her face, could
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  not succeed in hiding from him her loveliness.
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  Oh, Parry, said the Prince, fear me not.
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  I am not an enemy. I am only the sultan's daughter,
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  a child of man. No, Parry announced the
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  Princess, and she told the Prince how she had been
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  delivered from the dew. The Prince assured her that she
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  could not have come to a better place.
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  His father also was a parishah. With her permission, he would
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  take her to him, and by the grace of Allah, he would make
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  her his wife. So they went to the Padishah.
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  The Prince told him of the maiden's adventure, and in the
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  end they were married, merriment and feasting lasting 40 days and
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  40 nights. For a time they lived in
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  undisturbed bliss. But war broke out with the
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  neighboring Kingdom, and in accordance with the custom of
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  that period, the Padishah must also set out for the campaign.
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  Hearing of this, the Prince went to his father and asked
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  permission to go to war. The Padishah was unwilling to
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  consent, saying, You are young also you have a wife whom you
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  must not forsake. But the son begged so
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  assiduously that in the end the Padishah agreed to stay at home
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  and let the Prince go in his stead.
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  The Dew discovered that the Prince would be on the
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  battlefield, and he also made further discovery that during
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  his absence a son and a daughter had been born to him.
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  At that time Tartars were employed as messengers and
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  carried letters between the Potty Shah at home and the
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  Prince at the seat of war. One of these messengers was
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  intercepted by the Dew and invited to a coffee house.
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  There the Dew entertained him so long that it turned to night.
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  The messenger wished to be off, but he was persuaded that it
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  would be better to remain till morning.
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  At midnight, while he was asleep, the Dew searched his
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  letter bag and filed a letter from the Potty Shah to the
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  Prince, informing the latter that a baby's son and daughter
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  had come to the palace during his absence.
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  Tearing up this letter, the Dew wrote another to the effect that
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  a couple of dogs had been born. Shall we destroy them or keep
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  them till you return? Wrote the Dew in the false
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  letter. This missive he placed in the
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  original envelope, and in the morning the Tartar arose, took
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  his sack of letters, and went to the Prince's camp.
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  When the Prince had read his father's letter, he wrote the
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  following answer. Sean, father, do not destroy the
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  young dogs, but keep them until I return.
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  This was given to the Tartar, who set out on his return
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  journey. He was again met by the Dew, who
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  enticed him to a coffee house and detained him until the next
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  morning. During the night the Dew
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  abstracted the letter and wrote another which said, Sean,
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  Father, take my wife and her two children and throw them down a
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  precipice, and bind the Mon horse with a 50 ton chain.
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  In the evening of the day following, the Tartar delivered
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  the letter to the Patishah. When the Princess saw the
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  Tartar, she hastened joyfully to the monarch that he might show
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  her her husband's letter. The Patishah, having read it,
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  was astonished, and dared not show it to the Princess, so he
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  denied that any letter had arrived.
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  The woman answered. I have indeed seen the letter
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  with my own eyes. Perhaps some misfortune has
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  happened to him, and you are keeping it from me.
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  Then, catching a glimpse of the letter, she put forth her hand
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  and quickly took it. Having read it, the poor woman
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  wept bitterly. The monarch did his best to
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  comfort her, but she refused to remain longer in the palace.
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  Taking her children, she left the city and went forth into the
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  wide world. Days and weeks passed away, and
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  she was without food to appease her hunger, or bed on which to
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  rest her tired body until, worn out with fatigue, she could go
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  no step further. Let not my children die of
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  hunger, she prayed. Behold, instantly water gushed
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  forth from the earth, and flour fell from the skies, and making
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  bread with these she fed her children.
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  In the meantime the Dew heard of the woman's fate, and set out
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  immediately to destroy the children.
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  The Princess saw the Dew coming, and in her terrible agony she
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  cried. Hasten my comertage, or I shall
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  die in the far off land. The Magic Horse heard this cry
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  for help. He strained at his fifty ton
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  fetters, but could not break them.
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  The nearer the Dew came, the more the poor princess's anguish
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  increased. Clasping her children to her
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  breast, she sent up another despairing cry to the Moon
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  Horse. The fettered steed strain still
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  more at his chain, but it was of no avail.
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  The dew was now quite close upon her, and for the last time the
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  poor mother shrieked with all of her remaining strength.
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  Kamertaj, hearing it, put forth all the force he could muster,
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  broke his chain and appeared before the Princess.
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  Fear not, lady, he said. Shut your eyes and grasp my
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  mane. And immediately they were on the
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  other side of the ocean. Thus the Dew went hungry once
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  more. The Moon Horse took the Princess
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  to his own country. He felt that at last his hour
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  had come, and told his beloved mistress that he must die.
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  She implored him not to leave her alone with their children.
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  If he did, who would protect them from the evil designs of
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  the Dew? Fear not.
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  The horse comforted her. No evil will befall you here.
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  When I am dead, take off my head and set it in the earth, slit up
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  my stomach, and having done this, lay yourself and your
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  children within it. Saying these words, the magic
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  horse breathed his last. The Princess now cut off his
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  head and stuck it in the ground, then opened his stomach and laid
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  herself and her children in it. Here they fell fast asleep.
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  When she awoke she saw that she was in a beautiful palace, 1
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  finer than either her father's or her husband's.
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  She was lying in a lovely bed, and hardly had she risen when
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  slaves appeared with water. One bathed her, one clothed her.
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  The twins lay in a golden cradle, and nurses stood around
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  them, soothing them with sweet songs.
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  At dinner time gold and silver dishes appeared laden with
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  delicious food. It was like a dream, but days
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  and weeks passed away, weeks passed into months, and months
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  into years, and still the dream, if it was a dream, did not come
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  to an end. Meanwhile the war was over, and
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  the Prince hastened home. Seeing nothing of his wife, he
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  asked his father what had become of her and her children.
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  The Patishah was astonished at this strange question.
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  The letters were produced, and the Tartar messenger was sent
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  for. Being closely questioned, he
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  related the account of his meeting with the DU on both
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  occasions. They now realized that the DU
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  had tempered with the messenger and the correspondence.
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  There was no more thought of peace for the Prince until he
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  had discovered his wife. With that intention he set out
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  in the company of his lala. They wandered on and on
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  unceasingly. 6 months had passed already, yet they continued
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  their way over hill and down Dale, never stopping to rest.
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  One day they reached the foot of a mountain where they could see
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  the palace of the Moon Horse. The Prince was entirely
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  exhausted, and said to his lala, Go to that palace and beg for a
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  crust of bread and a little water, that we may continue our
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  journey. When he reached the palace gate,
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  the lala was met by two little children, who invited him to
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  rest. Entering, he found the floor of
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  the apartment so beautiful that he hardly dared set his foot
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  upon it, but the children pulled him to the divan and made him
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  sit down while food and drink were set before him.
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  The lala excused himself, saying that outside his tired son was
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  waiting and he wished to take him the refreshment.
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  Father Dervish said the children, eat first yourself,
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  then you can take food to your son.
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  So the lala ate, drank coffee and smoked, and while he was
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  preparing to return to the Prince, the children went to
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  tell their mother about the guest.
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  Looking out of the window, the Princess recognized the Prince
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  as her husband. She took food with her own hands
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  and put it in golden vessels sent out by the lala.
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  On receiving it, the Prince was struck with the richness of the
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  service. He lifted the cover of one of
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  the dishes, set it on the ground, and it rolled back to
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  the palace of its own accord. The same happened with the other
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  dishes, and when the last had disappeared, a slave came to
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  invite the stranger to take coffee in the palace.
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  While this was happening, the Princess gave each of her
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  children a wooden horse and sent them to the gate to receive the
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  guests. When the dervish comes with his
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  son, said the mother, take him to such and such an apartment.
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  The dervish and his son came up the two children on their wooden
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  horses, greeted them with a Salaam and escorted them to
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  their apartments. Again the Princess took the
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  dishes of food and said of the children, Take these to our
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  guests and press them to eat. If they say they have already
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  had enough and ask you to partake of the food, answer that
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  you are also satisfied, but perhaps your horses are hungry
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  and put them under the table. They will probably ask, how can
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  wooden horses eat? And you must reply SH SH Here
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  she whispered something into the children's ears.
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  The children did as their mother had commanded them.
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  The food was so delicious that the guests tried to eat a second
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  time, but becoming satisfied very soon, they asked, Won't you
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  eat two children? We cannot eat, answer children,
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  but perhaps our horses are hungry.
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  So saying, they drew them up on to the table.
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  Children, the Prince remonstrated.
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  Wooden horses cannot eat. That you seem to know, answered
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  the children, but apparently you do not know that it is
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  impossible for little dogs to become human children, such as
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  we are. The Prince sprang up with a cry
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  of joy, kissed and embraced both of his children, his wife
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  entering at the moment he humbly begged her pardon for the
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  suffering she had experienced. They were related to each other,
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  all that had befallen them during their time of separation,
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  and their joy knew no bounds now.
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  The Prince and her children were prepared to accompany the Prince
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  back to his own Kingdom. After they had gone some
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  distance, they turned to take a farewell look at the palace, and
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  lo, the wind swept over the place as though no building had
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  ever been there. The dew was lurking on the
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  wayside. But the Prince caught him and
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  killed him, and after that they arrived home without any further
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  adventures. Soon afterwards the old Padishah
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  died, and the Prince became the chief of the land.
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  Three apples have fallen from the sky.
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  One belongs to the story teller, the second to the listener, the
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  third to me. The end.
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  I love this tale of trickery and tragedy.
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  I feel bad for the horse and I was a little shocked at the
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  tauntaun situation that happened.
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  And I just found out that Luke's tauntaun was named Reba.
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  Weird. I like the addition of the
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  Tartars as I feel that they are kind of erased from history, but
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  that may just be me. I like the kids calling out the
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  Prince for thinking that dogs can become human.
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  And I have a lot more stories in this book, so we'll keep at it
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  for a long while. And the podcast shout out it is
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  to not just any book club. Justin and Pierce and sometimes
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  Luke get together and talk about books and more.
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  They pick books based on monthly themes and then go through and
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  discussing them. Without spoiling the story.
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  You can jump in on any episode and feel like you're among
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  friends. And if you like their show as
• 15:59
  much as I do, go and give them a like a rating and a review.
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  And the listener shout out is to Port Louis Mauritius.
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  According to the Wikipedia, Port Lewis was used as a harbor by
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  the Dutch Saddlers from the sixteen O 6 when they started to
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  refer to the area as the harbor of Tortoises in 1736.
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  Under the French government, he became the administrative center
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  of Mauritius and a major reprovisioning halt for French
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  ships during the passage between Asia and Europe around the Cape
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  of Good Hope. The port is named in honor of
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  King Louis the 15th. During this period of French
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  colonization, Mauritius was known as is de France.
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  I would love to visit this island nation someday.
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  The locals speak a language called Maurician, a Creole with
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  French roots, but many people speak some French or English to
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  accommodate the tourists that visit often.
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  And so to my listener in Port Lewis, I say merci E bonsoir.
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  Thank you and good night.