Arabic Tales for the Young and the Curious

By Paul D Kennedy

Enjoy fabulous worlds, fascinating characters and strange customs in these enthralling stories passed down by generations of Arab story-tellers retold by a master narrator and illustrated by a renowned artist. Read the story of the farmer who understands the language of animals. Cry with the old men whose broken hearts prevent them from ever smiling. Learn about the strange ways in which dreams may come true. Experience the envy and betrayal of friendship, Laugh with the con-men who prey on the gullible. Be fascinated by the unending story of the famous cobbler's caravan. Ideal for all children from 10 to a 100.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul D Kennedy
• Release date: Dec 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310770166

Paul D Kennedy

Paul D Kennedy was born in Ireland and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. As a business consultant and writer he has enjoyed a varied career in the UK and the Far East, and especially in the Arabian Peninsula where he was based in Kuwait for nearly 20 years. Indeed he was the liaison officer for the Irish community in that country during the Iraqi invasion and occupation in 1990. After the war he established a career in Kuwait as a radio presenter, business consultant, writer of books and articles, and a publisher of guide books and consumer magazines. He is currently living in County Dublin, Ireland, where he runs an international management consulting and editorial business.

Book preview

Arabic Tales

... for the young and the curious

rewritten by:

Paul D Kennedy

illustrated by:

Abbas

Thorn Island Publishing

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ARABIC TALES

FOR THE YOUNG AND THE CURIOUS

First published in 2007

Copyright © 2007 by Paul D Kennedy

Smashwords Edition

License Notes

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www.thornislandpublishing.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE OX & THE DONKEY

A smart donkey and a wise farmer

THE MAN WHO NEVER SMILED

Curiosity kills the heart

THE DREAM BELIEVER

A fortune depends on a dream

THE NAMING OF ABUKIR BAY

Friendship, envy, betrayal and just deserts

THE OLD MAN & HIS DONKEY

A trickster who relies on misbelief

THE COBBLER’S CARAVAN

A fantasy that doesn’t need an ending

AFTERWORD

LEXICON

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Arabic Tales

for the young and the curious

These stories are suitable for all children — aged ten to a hundred years — who are curious about the folk-ways of a culture that is as old as ours.

Arabic Words

A few Arabic words are used here and there in these stories, sometimes for the sake of flavouring, more often because there is no word in English that conveys the sense of the word in Arabic accurately.

If the meaning of a word is not clear from the context, the reader will find it in a lexicon at the back of the book.

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The Ox and the Donkey

Once upon a time a farmer and his wife lived on a large farm. They were blessed with many fertile fields, herds of animals, faithful servants and sturdy farm workers. But in addition to his wealth, the farmer himself had a very strange gift — he could understand the language of the animals.

On the farm, along with all the other animals, there was an ox and a donkey. They lived in stalls, side by side, in the barn and they were great friends.

The ox was a great big muscular fellow, with a creamy light-brown skin. He was full of breath and strength. But he had a hard life. Every day he was lead out to the fields by the ploughboy. There he had to walk up and down, from one end of a field to another, in a straight line, hauling a heavy plough, from dawn until dusk, no matter what the weather. He was always covered in dust, mud and dirt, and by the end of the day he was totally exhausted.

The donkey on the other hand led a life of comparative leisure. He seldom had to carry his master or mistress anywhere, and he did not have to pull a cart often at all. Small and dark-brown in colour, he spent most of his day just lounging around, eating and drinking, wandering around the farmyard and passing the odd hour snoozing under a shady tree. Life for the donkey was sweet and easy.

‘I don’t know how you manage it,’ the ox used to moan in the evenings, when he and the donkey were in the barn together with the other animals.

‘Life is really unfair,’ he used to say to his friend.

The donkey felt sorry for the ox. One evening, as the farmer went through the barn checking on his animals, he overheard the donkey giving his friend some advice.

‘What you need to do,’ said the donkey, ‘is make yourself look sick. Don’t eat and pretend you are ill. The next time you’re out in the fields pulling the plough, let yourself fall over and pretend you are too weak to get up. Then struggle to your feet and fall over again. When they get you back here, don’t eat anything. Don’t eat at all, even if they put the best oats in front of you in your manger. Keep it up for a few days and you’ll be on easy street. You’ll see.’

The ox nodded his head. The farmer smiled as he went about tidying up the barn.

The next morning when the ploughboy arrived for the ox at dawn he found him lying flat on his side in his stall. His manger was still full of barley oats and it was obvious that he hadn’t eaten anything at all. The ox moved his head slowly from side to side and groaned. He didn’t flick his tail, even when a fly landed on his side.

The ploughboy ran off to tell his master about the ox. The farmer nodded his head gravely as he listened to the boy.

‘Well,’ said the farmer, ‘the ploughing has to go on, so there is only one thing for it. You will have to use the donkey to pull the plough. We’ve no choice in the matter if we’re to get the ploughing done. The donkey, of course, is much smaller than the ox so you’ll have to drive him hard to get the work done. Make sure you drive that donkey as hard as you can.’

The ploughboy was a bit surprised at his instructions and he thought it was strange that the farmer didn’t seem to be too worried about the ox. But he didn’t know about his boss’ gift. The boy did as he was told and lead the donkey out to the fields where he hitched him