Latest / Sandman Stories Presents / EP 300: Turkiye The Bird of Sorrow (Kunos)

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EP 300: Turkiye The Bird of Sorrow (Kunos) · Sandman Stories Presents

• 0:25
  Welcome back listeners to Sandman 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.
• 0:40
  You can even join at the free tier and get everything.
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  Today we are back in the book of Turkish folklore written down by
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  Ignas Kunios. In today's story, we learn about
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  what it means to be sad. We also learn why it's important
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  not to snitch on the magic bird that ruined your coffee shop.
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  OK, let's begin the bird of sorrow.
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  In very remote times, there lived a potty Shah.
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  His daughter was so fond of her nanny that she scarcely ever
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  left his side. One day, seeing the nanny deep
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  in thought, the sultana asked, What are you thinking of?
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  I'm sad, answered the nanny. What is sadness?
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  Asked the Sultana. I want it too, OK, said the
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  nanny. And she went to the market where
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  she bought a sorrow bird in a cage.
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  She gave it to the maiden, who was so happy that she played
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  with the creature all day long. Some time later, the Sultana
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  went to the zoo. She took the bird with her and
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  she hung its cage upon the branch of a tree.
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  Suddenly the bird said. Set me free for a little while,
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  Sultana, so that I may play with the other birds.
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  I will return, I promise. The Sultana then set the bird
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  free. A few hours later, while the
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  Sultana was sauntering idly about in the park, the bird
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  returned, seized its mistress, and flew off to the top of a
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  high mountain. Behold, this is sadness, said
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  the bird, and there will be more.
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  Saying this, you flew away. The Sultana, now hungry and
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  thirsty, wandered until she met a herder, and she traded clothes
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  with him so that she could disguise herself as a man for
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  better protection. The herder was happy to have her
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  fine clothes and felt more beautiful than ever.
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  After wandering for a long time, she came to a village.
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  There she found a coffee house, entered and asked to be hired as
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  a barista. The boss, thinking that this
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  young man needed a job, hired her and then went home, leaving
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  her in charge of the cafe. After closing up shop, the girl
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  lay down to sleep. Around midnight the sorrow bird
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  appeared, broke all the cups and saucers and hookahs in the
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  place, woke up the maiden and said, Behold, this is sadness,
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  and there will be more. Having spoken again, he flew
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  away. All night long the poor girl lay
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  thinking about what she could tell her boss the next day.
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  In the morning the owner returned, and seeing the damage
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  done, beat his assistant severely and drove her away.
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  Her eyes filled with bitter tears, and she set out once
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  more. Before long she arrived at a
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  tailor's shop. The holy day of Bairam was
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  coming up soon, and the tailor was very busy taking orders from
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  the palace. He was in need of an extra hand,
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  and he hired the youth. After a few days the tailor went
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  on a trip, leaving the Sultana alone in the house.
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  When evening came, she closed up shop and went to bed.
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  At midnight the bird came again, tore up all the clothes, and
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  woke up the girl, saying, Behold, this is sadness, and
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  there will be more, and he flew off again.
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  The next morning the master who saw the shredded clothes called
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  his assistant into account. Since the girl had no answer,
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  her Master beat her soundly and sent her away weeping bitterly.
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  She set out again, and by and by came to a fringe maker's shop,
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  where she was taken in. Being left alone again, she fell
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  asleep. The sorrow bird reappeared, tore
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  up the fringes, woke the girl, made his customary speech, and
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  flew away like before. When the master returned the
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  next morning and saw the mess, he beat his assistant more
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  cruelly than ever, and then fired her.
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  Overwhelmed with grief, the unhappy maiden again went away.
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  Feeling sure that the sorrow bird would give her no peace,
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  she went into a mountain pass. There she lived in seclusion for
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  many days, suffering the pangs of hunger and thirst and in
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  constant fear of the wild beasts that haunted that region.
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  Her nights were spent sleeping in a tree.
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  One day a Prince was out hunting and he spied the girl in the
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  tree. Mistaking her for a bird, he
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  shot an arrow, but it missed and stuck in the tree.
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  He walked up to retrieve his arrow when he saw what he
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  thought was a bird appeared to be a man.
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  Are you a good spirit or a bad spirit?
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  He called out. Neither good nor bad, was the
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  response, but a human like you. Then the Prince helped her climb
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  down from the tree and took the strange shepherd to the palace.
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  After bathing, she put on women's clothing.
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  Then the Prince saw that she was as beautiful as the moon and
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  immediately fell in love with her.
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  Without delay, he looked for his father to ask his permission to
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  marry her. The Patishah ordered the maiden
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  to be brought before him, and when he saw her, her kindness
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  and beauty melted his heart. They were immediately engaged
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  and at the end of a festival lasting 40 days and 40 nights,
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  the wedding was held. In due time.
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  A little daughter was born to the royal pair, as lovely as her
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  mother. One night the bird came in and
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  stole the baby and smeared blood on the sultana's lips.
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  Then it woke her and said, behold, I am taking your child
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  away. This is sadness and there will
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  be more. Then the bird flew off.
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  In the morning, the Prince looked for his daughter and he
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  saw that his wife's lips were covered in blood.
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  Going quickly to his father, he related the ominous occurrence.
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  Did you bring her down from the mountain?
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  Asked the Patisha. She is a Devi and eats human
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  flesh. Therefore I tell you to send her
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  away. But the devoted Prince begged
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  for his young wife to be pardoned.
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  Some years later, another daughter was born to them and
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  the birds stole again like before.
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  This time the potty shot ordered that the Sultana be put to
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  death, and only through the pleading of his son did he
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  begrudgingly pardon her. Time passed and eventually his
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  son was born. The Prince feared that this
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  child would also disappear, and his beloved wife would surely be
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  put to death. Determined not to let this
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  happen, he tried his best to stay awake all night.
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  Try as he might, the Prince was eventually won over by the
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  Sandman and fell asleep. That night the bird returned,
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  stole the babe, smeared the sultana's lips with blood, and
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  flew away. When the poor Sultana woke up
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  and discovered her terrible loss, she wept bitterly, and
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  when the Prince woke up and found his child missing and his
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  wife's mouth covered with blood, he hastened to his father with
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  the awful truth. The potty, shot in a violent
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  rage, again condemned the woman to death.
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  The executioner's were summoned. They bound her hands behind her
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  and LED her to the execution chamber.
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  But they were so charmed by her kindness that they said to her,
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  We cannot find it in our hearts to kill you.
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  Go away and do not return to the palace.
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  The poor woman again sought refuge in the mountains, sulking
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  over her sad lot, until one day the bird appeared again, seized
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  her, and carried her off to the garden of a grand palace.
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  Setting down the woman, the bird shook himself, and lo, he was
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  suddenly transformed into a handsome youth.
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  Taking her by the hand, he led the sobbing woman into the
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  palace. Here a wonderful sight met her
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  eyes. Surrounded by servants, 3
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  beautiful children approached her, all radiant and smiling as
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  she looked upon them in amazement.
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  Her eyes were filled with tears of joy and her heart melted.
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  He walked the Sultana into the stately apartment, richly
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  carpeted and furnished with all of the cushions worthy of a
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  potty Shah. Then the youth addressed her.
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  Sultana, though I brought you grief and sorrow, stole your
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  precious children, and nearly brought you to a sad death, you
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  patiently bore it all and did not betray me.
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  As a reward, I've built this palace for you where I restore
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  you to your loved ones. Look at your children from now
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  on, Sultana, I am your servant. The Sultana flew to her long
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  lost children, embraced them, pressed them to her chest and
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  covered them with kisses. But what about the Prince
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  lamenting for his wife and children who he believed to be
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  dead? He grew melancholy passing the
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  time with his storyteller, who wasted the hours with opium and
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  nonsensical stories. One day, having no more opium,
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  the old man asked the Prince if he could go to the market to buy
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  some more. On his way, he saw something
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  that he had never seen before. A brand new shiny palace.
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  That is remarkable, thought the old fellow.
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  I walk this street every day, but this is the first time I've
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  seen this palace. When was it built?
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  I must find out. The Sultana happened to be at
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  one of the windows and caught sight of her husband's
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  storyteller. Her servant, formerly the Sorrow
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  Bird, suggested respectfully, What do you say about playing a
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  trick on the Prince's old storyteller?
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  At this, he threw a magic rose at the feet of the grey beard.
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  The man picked it up, inhaled its exquisite perfume, and
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  muttered to himself, If your rose smells so beautiful, you
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  must smell amazing. So instead of going home, he
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  entered the palace. The Prince grew worried.
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  When the old man failed to return, he sent his lala to look
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  for him. When the lala got to the palace,
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  he noticed that the door had been left open intentionally by
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  the bird. He slipped inside.
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  A harem of servants greeted him and led him upstairs.
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  At the top landing, he was passed to the magic servant, who
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  asked him to take off his robe and hat and follow him.
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  The robe came off easily, but the lala was flabbergasted to
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  find that no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to remove
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  his fez. At this, the magician kicked him
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  out for refusing to take off his fez.
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  The lala was then thrown out on his ear.
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  No sooner had he landed on his rump than his fez fell off and
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  rolled into the street. Meanwhile, the Prince was
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  concerned that his lala had not returned, so he sent out his
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  eunuchs after him. The eunuch met both on the road
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  and demanded to know what trouble they had gotten into.
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  The storyteller answered somewhat enigmatically.
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  If a rose falls from that window, do not smell it, or the
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  trouble will be your own making. And the lala warned him no less
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  mysteriously. When you enter that palace, be
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  sure to take off your fez at the door.
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  The eunuch thought that the behavior of his companions was a
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  bit strange, but brushing aside their warnings, he entered the
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  palace. Inside, he was ordered to Don a
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  kaftan. Before going upstairs.
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  He started to undress so he could wear the kaftan, but he
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  discovered that his pants refused to come off.
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  Consequently, he was unceremoniously thrown out of
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  the palace. He had just landed outside when
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  his pants flew off and landed next to him.
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  The Prince, unable to wait any longer, set out to discover what
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  had happened to the men. On the way he met all three, who
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  counselled him in an excited manner.
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  If a rose is throat you, be careful not to smell it.
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  When you enter, be sure to take off your fez at the door, and
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  before you take the stairs take off your pants.
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  The Prince was thoroughly puzzled at such strange advice,
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  yet straight away he went to the palace and disappeared through
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  the doorway. Unlike his servants, the Prince
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  was received with honor and respect and taken to a Great
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  Hall. Here a lady of remarkable
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  talents, surrounded by three adorable children greeted him.
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  He did not recognize any of them.
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  The lady gave her oldest child a stool, the second a towel, and
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  the youngest a tray. She set a bowl onto the tray.
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  She put a pear into the bowl along with a spoon.
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  This was odd because pears were normally eaten by hand.
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  The eldest put the stool on the floor, the second offered the
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  towel, and the youngest sat down in the bowl.
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  The Prince then asked the children how long has it been
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  the custom to eat pears with a spoon since human beings have
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  eaten human flesh? They answered together.
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  This struck A chord with the Prince.
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  The past flashed before the prince's eyes.
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  Then the magician appeared and cried.
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  O Prince, behold your sultana, behold your children too.
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  They all fell on each other's necks, weeping for joy.
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  The magician continued. My shahzadah, I'm your servant.
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  If, however, you wish to set me free, I will return to my own
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  parents. Overflowing with gratitude for
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  their reunion, they immediately set the Magician's Servant free
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  and prepared a new festival, happy in the knowledge that from
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  then on, they would never be apart.
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  The End. Wow, that one was sad for most
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  of the story. It reminds me of another story
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  of sadness and a poor maiden forced to endure a lot of pain.
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  I think it was in the Armenian tales, or possibly the Georgian
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  tales, or maybe even the Brazilian tales.
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  At this point I'm not even sure one of my excellent listeners
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  will remember, and I like the happy ending, that the bird
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  wasn't really a bad guy, he just wanted her to know sorrow and
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  sadness. And there are about 20 more
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  stories in this book, so expect it to go on until about 20-30.
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  Wow, that date looks strange to type.
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  And the podcast shout out is to the China Lore Podcast.
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  You want somebody to read the Chinese classics for you and
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  tell you the background and extras, then this is the pod for
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  you. John knows his stuff and has
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  been making the podcast since 2014, a very early adapter.
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  And so if you want the Chinese classics read by a talented
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  storyteller, give him a like a listen and a review.
• 16:58
  And the listener shout out is to Papayete, French Polynesia.
• 17:03
  You might know this group of islands better is Tahiti in
• 17:06
  France. It is the birth place of the
• 17:08
  painter Gauguin. Here's Google's take on it.
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  Papayete on Tahiti is the capital of French Polynesia, a
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  group of islands in the South Pacific beside the port.
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  Busy place Vieete fills with roulettes or food carts in the
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  evenings. Nearby, the large Marsh de Pepit
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  market sells local produce, fish and handicrafts.
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  The Robert Juan Pearl Museum focuses on the local Pearl
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  industry and sells jewelry. A red Spire tops the 19th
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  century Notre Dame Cathedral. Thank you, Google, and I really
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  hope to visit there someday. And so I say to my listener in
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  Papa ET, I say mercy Y bondui.