"THE STORY OF LITTLE MOOK" "Yussef, deliver the wares." "Now?" "It's the end of the working day." "The Imam doesn't like to be kept waiting." "Always me." "I've had no time at all today." "Mook, can't you go to the Imam for me?" "You know I don't like going out." "Fresh air is good for you." "It's not the air, it's the people." "Ignore them." "Why can't you go?" "My friend is waiting for me." "Your friend." "Okay then." "I'll go." "Shake on it." "I'm tired of standing here." "Plus your turban." "I haven't seen him in ages." "Little man, evil guy, Don't look at us with evil eye." " Look there." " It's the evil man." "I know him." "Let's follow them." " What is it?" " A camel, idiot." " There are no shards for the hump." " Not enough glass shards in the world." "Make way for the Sultan's elephants!" "Make way for the Sultan's elephants!" "He must pay, by the beard of the Prophet!" "Don't let him escape!" " Let's get out of here!" " The vases!" "The vases!" "Let us out now, evil man!" " I won't let you out!" " We won't do it again!" "Let us go home!" "I shall not let you out." "Not before you have all listened to the story of the little evil man." "We want no stories!" "We want to get out!" " A real story?" " That'll be the day!" "He won't let us out otherwise." "Okay then." "The story." "But quickly!" "I shall tell my story until... the clock you see over there has fully wound down." "Wind it up for us, Mustafa!" "When the last ball has gone clack, then shall I cease." ""Once upon a time..." No." "I cannot start like that." "I should say:" ""Once upon my time..."" "I used to be like you." "Like you, Mustafa." "Like all of you." "I bartered." "I played with colorful glass shards just like you." "When the dolls were sick," "I fixed them up." "One day, however, my father announced that he had some important news for me." "I was very excited." "But my father made me wait." "He rummaged in his chest and then suddenly said:" "The Golden Spoon is not here!" "Look, Father!" "Here it is!" "Is it important, Father?" "Listen to me." "You must know that we have nothing of greater value in the house... than the Golden Spoon." " Apart from my books, of course!" " I never use it." "You can use it." "It is coveted by my aunt and my greedy brother-in-law." "You are the cruelest thief under Allah's sun." "You want to steal the Spoon while he's alive." " You wish him plague and death!" " He told me I'd inherit everything!" "I have been thinking long about your future." "What will you be?" "I don't know." "Mother told me of the merchant of fortune." "I thought that it would be best if I set out to seek this merchant." "But you must learn a trade." " What do you do all day?" " I play." " What with?" " Different things." "The glass shards are my favorite." "You make beautiful pictures with them." "Look!" "There is no purpose to that!" "Come with me." "Tomorrow I'll take you to a schoolmaster I know." "You must learn something decent." "I am honored by your visit." "Please step inside." " What do you want?" "Get out!" " But..." "Immediately, my master." "Get out!" "Excuse the disturbance." "That was not one of our students." "We have no hunchbacked pupils here." "I am sure that you are come hither, honored master, to spread the fresh buds of knowledge once more among our avid pupils!" " How honorable!" " No, something else." "Actually, I wanted to bring my son to you." " So that he can learn." " But of course!" "That would be a joy for us." "Why did you not bring the dear child today?" " I did bring him with me!" " He's waiting outside!" "Such modesty!" "You have brought him up well." "He was here in your study." "In my study?" "I cannot remember that!" "Yes!" "You asked him..." "to go back out again." "Really?" "Did I do that?" "My poor memory!" "Recently it has been..." "You mean..." "That was him?" "The boy with the..." "Clear out!" "Come in." "Come in." "I have just realized..." "How could I forget that?" "But as I said, my memory..." "We have no places for him." "So many sons of rich fathers!" "It is a source of deep regret!" "What do you have on your chest?" "My boy wanted to know what the children here learn." "Above all, the wisdom of the Koran." "Is it written in the Koran that they should hit me on the turban?" "Be quiet!" "This is a source of deep regret." "We shall try elsewhere." "So, my son." "I do not know where we should go from here." "It is a great misfortune that we lost Mother so early." "Maybe I should seek the merchant of fortune." "Merchant!" "They didn't want you in the school." "You can't even become a scholar and learn to read and write." " But I can read and write!" " How come?" "But Father, you taught me!" "Oh yes, of course I did!" "So what should we do now?" "Someone will need me somewhere." "Do you really think so?" "But I have so much to think about." "It is a matter of this question:" "what revolves around what?" "Does the earth revolve around the moon?" "Or does the moon revolve around the earth?" "Yes, Father." "Go and think." "He's here." " Does he know?" " No." " He's not been home three days." " You won't tell him?" " I can't tell him." " Poor devil." " Who are you?" " I'm Little Mook." " What do you want here?" " What I want?" "I live here!" " Where is the key for this?" " I don't know either." " Do you know now?" "You'll remember!" " Father!" "Father!" " But we're relatives!" "We know you!" " Father!" "Father!" "But your father is dead!" "He died very suddenly!" "I'm his brother-in-law." "It's all very sad." "Tell me then where he hid all the money." " My money was in the coffer." " Mook has it!" "Where is Mook?" "Where is he?" " Where is it?" " Where?" " Tell your aunt where the coffer is." " No, tell your uncle!" " He stole it!" " To court!" " To the Mufti!" " I don't have it!" "You thief!" "You thief!" "I'll tell you." "Under Father's divan." "Stop!" "Stay here!" "Well then, Little Mook?" "What do you want to do now?" "Nothing at all." "I don't have anything to do now." "That is a great misfortune." "Is there anyone on earth who can help you now?" "Nobody can help me anymore." "Really?" "Nobody, Little Mook?" "Yes." "There is someone, but nobody knows where he is." " Who?" " The merchant of fortune." "You must seek him." "You'll get nothing from them." "If I only knew where to find him!" "Now I remember!" "The merchant of fortune!" " He passed through here yesterday!" " Yesterday?" "Here?" "Where?" " Does he come here often?" " Rarely." "The merchant of fortune is very difficult to find." " Do you have enough money?" " You pay with little shards of glass!" "You should go, Little Mook." "Did the merchant go from there to there or there to there?" "From there to there!" "Now go!" " Allah be with you!" " And with you!" " Did you see Little Mook?" " He ran away." " Which way?" " From there to there!" "Avarice makes speedy feet!" "They won't get Little Mook, and he won't find his merchant." " Merchant?" " The merchant of fortune!" "A merchant of fortune?" "I have journeyed across the land for 50 years." "I have never met such a man." "Well, thank you." "May Allah be with you." "Little man!" "Stay and journey across the land with us?" " The desert is perilous." " Where are you headed?" "From there to there." "No, I can't." "I must go from there to there." "Where are you from?" "Poor creature!" "All alone in the desert!" "How glad I am!" "At last I have somebody to talk to." "I shall tell you that I seek the merchant of fortune." "Come." "You can help." "I have asked for him in many bazaars, in houses and huts." "Everywhere..." "The merchant!" "You really do exist!" "Ibrahim!" "My Ibrahim!" "My Ibrahim!" "There he is!" "Yes, my Ibrahim!" "I have you back at long last!" "And such a little man has returned my Ibrahim to me!" "How can I thank you, little friend?" "Give me food and drink." "Of course." "Food shall you have." "Drink shall you have." "Gold and jewels shall you have." "You shall have it so good you'll never want to leave here!" "Come on in!" "Come on!" "I have to keep my door bolted." "They all steal from me!" "My treasures are so valuable, and people are so evil." "So I live alone in the desert." " What was I doing?" " Getting me some food!" "Yes!" "But come inside first!" "So!" "Your dear Ibrahim is returned!" "No more need for crying!" "Shut the door!" "My dear Ibrahim!" "You must never do that again, or I'll drown in my tears." "My darling Ibrahim!" " What was I doing?" " Getting me food?" "Yes." "You can eat with the cats." "Are you not astonished by this splendor right in the desert?" "Here." "Real gold." "From the Sultan!" "Pearls from the Grand Vizier!" "Look at those pots of ointment!" "From the Prince of the Desert!" "They keep me beautiful." "Now here!" "Come on!" "Do you see those roses which bloom at my command?" "From an Indian maharaja!" "Watch this!" "But they were all evil!" "Worse than wild animals in the desert!" "I abandoned people." " What was I doing?" " Getting me some food!" "You can wait!" "Be modest." "You're drearier than the desert." ""Getting me food!" Is that all you can say?" "Comb Ibrahim!" "The poor devil hasn't been combed for 3 days!" "I'll make some food." " Which one's Ibrahim?" " You'll have to learn that!" "To tell the cats apart!" "Here!" "After you stay a while you'll see." "They're more thankful than humans." "What are you doing?" "I carved that cane all by myself." "Those are the only shoes I have." "So you're not tempted to strike my cats... or run away from here!" "Dinner is served, my darlings!" "Enjoy it!" "Make sure my cats don't fight!" "Make sure they eat enough!" "Don't eat their food!" "They're hungry!" "Don't smash a vase or get into mischief!" "And don't think about running away!" "You'd burn your feet in the hot sand." "There's no oasis far and wide." "The King of the Desert, the lion, lies in wait for you." "Ibrahim, what are you doing?" "Why did she hide them in the vase?" "What do you think, Ibrahim?" "Should I take these for myself?" "You are so right, Ibrahim." "She burned my own slippers." "You see?" "Now I can run away from here." "Many thanks to you." "The old woman!" "Allah be with me!" "My vase!" "My vase!" "My slippers!" "My cane!" "I've been robbed!" "Where is the thief?" "Where are my precious slippers?" "I'll destroy you, dwarf, when I get my hands on you!" "I'll kill you!" "You hear me?" "I said I'll kill you!" "Bring back my cane right now!" "They are too big for me after all!" "That's strange!" "Run with me today" "What does that say?" "To a place that's far away." "To run there straight you ought Where fortune can be bought." "If I pull up the heels they'll stop falling off." "Stop!" "Stop!" "Melons!" "Oranges!" "Olives!" " Sweet grapes!" " Stop!" "Stop, Ali!" "Show me your grapes." "Stop!" "Help me!" "Help me please!" "Get me out!" "Help!" "He'll rend our nets!" "Help me!" "Take my shoes off!" " Keep still!" " I can't keep still!" "My slippers!" "It's the slippers!" " I've got them!" " What kind of fish have we caught?" "Praise be to Allah!" "You must be the merchant of fortune!" "That's the merchant of fish!" " Who is that?" " The Sultan's chief messenger." "His name is Murad." " The Sultan's chief messenger?" " Yes." "A respected man." "Only the fastest in the land can be the chief messenger." " The fastest in the whole land?" " Back to work." "Can I help you?" " You've done enough!" " Go and seek your merchant!" "When your run is done, Fortune you have won." "Highly respected man." "Chief messenger." "Your run is done..." "Maybe when you pull them up you buy fortune, and when you push them down..." "you stop." "Yes." "That must be it." "To the Sultan's palace!" "What was that?" "What was it?" "What was that?" " What was it?" "What was it?" " One moment please!" "Pardon, Fourth Ramujin." " Who disturbs my sleep?" " I, the Sultan's chief sentry." " What is it?" " There's an intruder in the palace." "To the Third Ramujin!" "How did this happen?" "It will cost us our lives." " This way to the Third Ramujin." " Allah protect our Sultan!" "Pardon, Third Ramujin!" " An intruder." " He outwitted the sentries." "He overpowered the sentries?" "To the Second Ramujin!" "I want to see the Sultan!" "Pardon, Second Ramujin!" "To the First Ramujin!" "I most humbly request one thing." "Allah protect our Sultan!" "Slaves, warriors!" "To arms!" "Oh!" "My ring, you clumsy little oaf!" " Ouch!" " You deserved that!" "No." "You often get more than you deserve." "Thank you." "What could that noise be?" "I most humbly beg pardon, Princess Amarza." "Have you seen a stranger who broke into the palace?" "No." " Have you seen anybody?" " No, me neither." "We shall defend the Sultan and you with our lives." " Do they mean me?" " You?" "Where are you from?" "Who are you?" "I am the son of Mukrah." "He was a very famous teacher." " My name is..." " You're in danger." "If they find you..." " But I want them to find me!" " I know a secret path to the palace." "Stop him!" "He wants to kidnap the Princess!" "Come!" "Lay him in chains!" "Praise be to Allah that I could save you!" "You would be a cunning eagle, Prince Bayazid." "But he mirrors you better." " What are you laughing at?" " Dwarfy wants to be chief messenger!" "You challenge Murad to be the fastest in the land?" "Yes." "You'll be cast in the deepest dungeon if you lose the race!" "And if I win?" "Tomorrow's the big race!" "Greyhound versus Toad!" "Six gold pieces for the victor." "Five gold pieces for the victor." "Four gold pieces for the victor." "Three gold pieces for the victor." "Two gold pieces for the victor." " One gold piece for the victor." " Won't you rub me down?" "First meet your challenger." "Here he is." "Allah be with you." "Do you still want to be rubbed down before a tough race?" "Allah be with you." "It is a disgrace to run against such a miserable creature." "Go on, Murad." "As soon as Princess Amarza raises her veil..." "That's the signal to start." "You must complete 17 laps." "Go on, out with you." "Leave your cane here." " Raise your veil, Amarza." " The dwarf is anxious to win!" "Why won't you bring me joy?" "Bayazid, you raise the veil." "Why aren't you running?" "You have to run!" "The Fourth Ramujin said we start when Princess Amarza raises the veil." " The race has started." " Not until the Princess raises the veil." " But the Princess hasn't raised it." " Run, little friend, if you love your life." " Run, you dwarf!" " Keep to Murad's tail!" " Now he's sitting down for a while." " What a clown!" "What will he do next?" "It's a disgrace to..." "The magic slipper rose up into the air." "And then it went clack." "Yes, but what does clack mean?" " The clock went clack." " I'm going to go clack on your head." "Clack away, but I don't know the outcome." "Little Mook stopped when the clock went clack." "But who won the race?" "I don't know either." "He threw us the key and we left." "But what about the race?" "He is an evil man, or he would have ended it." "If only I knew if the Sultan's messenger won!" " Mook won." " But his slipper was up in the air." " What do you think, Mustafa?" " I don't care at all who won." "We should ask." " He may lock us up again." " Sure he will." "Curiosity is killing me." "I'll go see Mook." "You're cowards." "Who could have won?" "Only the chief messenger." "Or maybe Little Mook." "But we won't ask him!" " Where are you going?" " To Little Mook." "He'll tell me the rest." " Will he really do that?" " Maybe." "If she asks him to." " I'm going to!" " Me too!" "You cowards!" "You're all cowards!" " We're going fishing." " We must hear the end." " We'll look stupid." "I'm going with them." " Me too!" "Traitors!" " What do you want?" " The story." "Tell the end!" " Who won the race?" " We all want to know!" " Since you asked so nicely..." " We're forcing you to!" "You're forcing me to?" "Then, Mustafa, please wind the clock up for us." " Ignore him!" " We'll do it!" "Do you remember where we stopped?" "With my slipper out of reach." "Dancing higher and higher." "And while Murad..." "While Murad pounded round, straining mighty legs..." "I strained my brain about how to get my slipper back." "Suddenly I was rescued by a cunning plan." "Go, Murad, go!" "Go, Mook, go!" "The race is finished." " One gold piece for the victor." " Thank you." "Come to the Sultan." "Move." "Exalted Sultan, won't you make him your new messenger?" "Very good." "I'll make the smallest man in the land my greatest chief messenger!" "Did you hear that, dwarf?" " Thank the Sultan for the honor." " Thank you." "Thank you very much." "For the honor." "And for the one gold piece." " Six gold pieces!" " No!" "One gold piece!" " A mistake, exalted Sultan." " And this to go with the gold piece!" "Little Mook!" "How easily you gave away that ring, Princess." " A gift as a sign of my love." " A gift?" "I was only making good your "mistake"." "You!" "Listen to this!" "The Sultan made me his new chief messenger." "Princess Amarza gave me her ring." "Look at this!" "Don't you have anything to say?" " Life is full of fortune!" " For you!" "And I must go." "Why should you go?" "Do you think the Sultan wants two chief messengers?" "I didn't think about that." " I'd better go instead." " You are a dimwit!" "You have to stay." "You can't escape the Sultan's wrath or his favor." "I must disappear today, or I'll be in trouble." "Can't we do anything?" " Where will you go?" " To my family in the country." "A roof over my head and something to eat." "Don't worry, such things happen under Allah's sun." "One man's fortune is another's misfortune." "One man's fortune is another's misfortune?" "Just as the moon's reclining crescent of silver shining light" "Bears all the weight of the body's darkened sphere," "My yearning desire" "Must carry the cumbersome burden" "Of untold hours alone." " Princess Amarza!" " Hassan!" "How nice of you to break your word." " Break my word?" " You were coming later." " When the moon changed phase." " It seldom changes." "I couldn't wait." "For me too." "Amarza, listen to me." "I, Prince Hassan, son of Sultan Vasil ibn Hussein, heir to the neighboring kingdom, hereby announce, that my father will not stand in the way of our love, and..." "What's wrong?" " I spoke to my father." " And what did he say?" " No!" " But yes, exalted Sultan!" "You have the impudence to say the sun rises in Vasil ibn Hussein's kingdom before it rises here?" "His realm is farther east." "Go away!" "Don't come back until a bright idea dawns on the sun." "I only had 31 slaves to bathe me today!" "You'll be asking me to dry myself next!" "What do you have to say?" "No money, exalted Sultan." "Why does Sultan ibn Hussein have money?" "He buys all the slaves we can't afford to keep." "Why are you silent, Bayazid?" "Hussein buys the slaves we can't keep, so ibn Hussein is wealthier than we." " Allah can be unjust." " We must beg Allah for help." "We must take what we don't have." "Fourth Ramujin, write!" "Declaration of war." "I hereby declare war, on Vasil ibn Hussein, because..." "We can't say the real reason." " On grounds for war!" " Good!" " That's right!" " Because..." "No!" "Bad!" " That's best!" " The very best!" "Write!" "...because it can be no longer tolerated that the sun in your kingdom rises before it does in my kingdom." "Rejoice, Little Mook!" "You have the honor of conveying a declaration of war!" "The Sultan ordered you to rejoice!" "Will you not obey?" "War?" "What do we need a war for?" "Are you chief messenger or chief inquisitor?" "Be off!" "Be off!" "And Bayazid would have to ride on a donkey!" "I would take you home on my swiftest charger!" "And the First Ramujin would have to lose weight!" "Hassan, we're forgetting the time completely." "I must go." "What's that?" "Hassan, the drums!" "That means war!" " Are you a messenger again?" " I'm on a private mission." "My sister is at home dying." "I got this medicine in the city." "It could save her, but I won't make it in time." " By the time I get there she'll be..." " Take that!" " Where is she?" " Two towns from here." "The stones of fate of our exalted Sultan will build our house of triumph!" "And brave Prince Bayazid will bring our Princess great spoils!" " I must speak with you." " Illustrious Princess, what an honor!" "Certainly you fear for the life of Prince Bayazid?" "No." "My father holds your art in high esteem." "You alone can convince him not to start the war." "That would be a crime!" "A crime?" "Never did a war start under such lucky stars!" "Victory is ours!" "Rich spoils wherever I look!" "The enemy is on the run!" "Ibn Hussein cringes in the rubble of his realm." "He begs our Sultan for mercy." " Rows of caravans loaded with..." " You're on fire, wise magician!" "That's no omen!" "I would still ask you to carefully surmise again whether this war... could still be lost." "What could move us... to be against this war?" "It is the fear for your prince?" "Exactly." "The fear for my prince." "The mirror of the future shows that Prince Bayazid is still alive." "The drums bear the message." "The warriors are impatient for..." "What do I see?" "Your stones of fate, wise magician." "How could I be wrong?" "Stand over there." " Prophesy if I'll win or lose." " Lose, exalted Sultan." "Check!" "Where is Mook?" "And mate!" "You're a lousy prophet." "I did not know, exalted Sultan, that you referred to the chess game." "I thought, exalted Sultan, that you were referring to the war." "I meant the chess of course, not the..." "Wha..." "What?" "Vasil ibn Hussein will be victorious." "He'll destroy us." "And Princess Amarza... will die miserably and ignominiously." "Cowardly prophet!" "Don't cry, Princess." "I shall protect your life with my sword." "Where's Mook?" " He's taken the declaration!" " What can I do?" "Fight like a lion, Sultan!" " Save her by the sword!" " Quiet!" "Send riders!" "A reward if they catch Mook!" "This side of the border!" "She opened her eyes and smiled." "Many thanks to you!" "Your sister lives!" " Did you hear me?" " Yes, Father." " Why aren't you happy?" " I know something." "The Sultan's chief messenger has more work to do." "He must deliver this scroll to Sultan Vasil ibn Hussein." "A declaration of war." "The Sultan's horsemen!" "Hey, what are you doing?" "The Sultan thanks the Savior of our land." "Little Mook!" "You can't know that you saved the most precious thing I own." "Thank you." "My noble blood is boiling!" "I wait like a slave while that freak's in there." " He'll save nothing for us!" " We could trap him." "He can do no wrong." "He's friendly." "By the sword..." "The Sultan welcomes you!" " Did you see the chain?" " It's so big he'll trip over it." "What are you doing?" " I'm investigating." " Investigating?" " You can be sure it's genuine gold." " Genuine gold?" "That would explain what's happening with this cane of mine." "Watch this, Princess." "Oh, my, that's really strange!" "Since I've been Sultan of this land, the Treasury has lacked funds." "Why is that?" " Mook!" " How did Mook cause a budget deficit?" "Mook stopped the war, exalted Sultan." "Thanks be to Allah!" "And?" "No war - no money." "Make sure that nobody learns the secret of your cane." " Why?" " They'll take it." "You don't know how evil people are." "I hereby make him my new Treasurer." "With full powers and duties." "Exalted Sultan, would you take the Treasury keys from your most loyal servant?" "Do you consider, exalted Sultan, that your dearly beloved..." " Highly valued..." " Most honorable Mook is capable?" "He is doomed to fail." "Remember experienced counselors have always filled this post." "I have too many counselors!" "I'm the one who thought of sending the magician to find the lost treasure." "Not here!" "Not there!" "Not here either!" "Not there!" " Not here!" " Aren't you feeling well?" "Why?" "I'm fine." "Well, actually, I'm not." "I amat the end of my magical powers." "I can't go on." "Tell me what's up!" "Perhaps I can help." "During the reign of our wise Sultan's grandfather, the enemy invaded our land." "The treasure was buried in this park." "The Sultan's grandfather died suddenly." "Nobody knows which part of the park the treasure is buried in." "I am the greatest magician of all time and I am bound to find it." "My honor is at stake!" "Allah be with you!" "Allah be with you!" "The treasure!" "If the Sultan really makes this rat the Treasurer, we are lost!" " Why?" " Why?" "Mook will uncover our embezzling!" " I warned you!" " You took most of it!" " Less than you!" " Twice as much!" "Slander!" "You all took more!" " You..." " Enough!" "The Prince is right." "There's no use blaming each other." "We must act." "He's human like us." "Even though he's small, he can be bribed with gold like the rest of us." "That's excellent!" "Take this gold piece from me." " One from me!" " Take two!" " That won't be enough." " He's poor." "It'll do!" "Forgive us, Prince." "You didn't contribute." " I'd prefer to use my sword!" " We know that, but coins are better." "May Allah protect our endeavor." "Mercy, Prince!" "Have mercy, exalted Ramujins!" "Give me my freedom!" "Let me go!" " Have you money to buy it?" " I have nothing!" "Don't hold us up." " We can't help." "Back to work." " My mother is ill and needs my help." "Come on!" "Have mercy!" " My brothers are in the Sultan's army." " What do we care?" " Come on!" "We must find Little Mook!" " I'm here!" "Do not worry." "You will have your freedom." "He gets more and more impudent!" "With all the respect which is due to you," "I mean, I must say, that I have endowed right to decide the fate of the exalted Sultan's slaves." "I cannot allow you to give them their freedom." " Give?" "But she wants to buy it!" " She has no money." " How much must she pay?" " My mother sold me for 3 gold pieces." " Yes. 3 gold pieces." " Not much for a sold life." "Yes." "But that was then." "Meanwhile, she's been fed, housed and clothed." "I worked very hard." "This slave costs 10 gold pieces now!" "Go now and care for your sick mother." "I'm free!" "I'm free!" " She's gone!" " We've been bribed!" "Not there!" "Not here either!" "Not here!" "Not there..." "No, not there!" "Not here either!" "Not there..." "What now?" "He must fall one way or the other." " Him or us!" " Him!" "But how?" " That money!" " We say he robbed the Treasury." "Good!" "We get rid of him and our money problems." "Bad!" "We should leave the Treasury out of this." " Find out where he got the gold from!" " How?" "I have a plan." "He's generous." "He's good-natured and helpful." "He has money, and that's his downfall!" "Not here!" "Not there!" "Not here either!" "Not there!" "Not here!" " I am at your service, Prince Bayazid!" " Thank you!" "The most difficult duties of the Treasurer!" "I need your help!" "Gold!" "No!" "I need more than that!" " 300 gold pieces!" " That's a lot!" "I know you are generous, good-natured and helpful!" "Don't leave me with my misfortune!" "Stand up, Prince." "I would love to help you." "But I don't have that much." " Can you get it?" " I think so." "By tomorrow morning." "I've got him!" "Grab him!" "Hold him tight!" " Where is he?" " Here!" "Underneath me!" " I just wanted to get you gold!" " You're a thief!" "Unworthy of this ring." "Give me it!" " And this chain!" "We'll lay you in irons!" " Throw him into the dungeons!" "You wormed your way into the Sultan's favor." "You carried your nose too high." "Big Mook!" "These chains suit you much better than a gold chain!" "Maybe the slippers are on the wrong feet, exalted Sultan." " Maybe it's the folded heels." " Shut up!" "I really would unfold the heels." "Come on!" "Unfold them!" "They're under a spell!" "Magician!" "Help me!" "Ramujins!" "Please help me!" "Help!" "Help!" "What are you looking at?" "Help!" "Someone's cast a spell on me!" "What's happening to me?" "Stop!" "What was that?" "Fetch the guards!" "Catch him!" "Stop!" "My heart!" "Mook!" "Mook!" "Ramujins!" "Get me Mook!" "Help!" "Get these slippers..." "Mook!" "You Ramujins!" "Get me Mook now!" "Get Mook from the dungeon!" "Dear Little Mook!" "Help!" "Please help me!" "You can have everything!" "The cane!" "The slippers!" "Gold besides!" " Help me, Mook!" " Here, exalted Sultan!" "Help!" "Mook!" "If you laugh you go to the dungeon!" "Stop it, Mook!" " I'm not laughing, Sultan!" " No, stop the kicking!" "I'm not kicking, Sultan!" "No, I want to stop!" "Where's my cane?" "Ramujins!" "Take those slippers back off him!" "I keep my word." "You shall be set free!" "But you have ridiculed me and must leave the land immediately." "That comes from messing in business that doesn't concern you." "Begone!" "Oh, wise Sultan!" " He has squandered your benevolence!" " Yes, I know." " You have done me grievance!" " Yes, I know!" " You have spurned my love!" " Yes, I know!" " Abused my loyalty!" " I know!" "Humiliated!" "Yes, I know!" " What do you demand from me?" " Amarza!" "Little Mook!" "Poor Little Mook!" " What then?" " I'd leave the Sultan kicking!" " He did that wrong!" " What about the Princess?" "What did Prince Hassan do?" "It looks bad for him." " Why leave the Sultan your slippers?" " What can you take from a Sultan?" "Did Amarza have to take the evil Prince?" " I can't tell you that." " Why ever not?" "The clock went clack a long time ago." " But what did you do then?" " Tell us about the merchant of fortune." "Quiet!" "What's the problem?" " The clock is still running, Little Mook." " Exactly!" "How could I be so wrong?" "Well, I must continue my story." "I turned my back on the palace, and wandered off." "Barefoot, without my cane." "It was very difficult." "The sun burned down." "My bare feet soon started to hurt." "I came to a small lake." "Two fig trees stood on its bank." "I laid myself down under one, ready to die." "I was tired of looking everywhere for the merchant of fortune." "I prayed to Allah to grant me a quick and painless death." "Suddenly, a fig fell down from the tree." "At first, I just wanted to throw it away." "Then I thought it wouldn't hurt me to eat a fig just before I died." "It tasted delicious." "No sooner had I put it in my mouth than I felt a weird feeling in my head." "I was scared to touch my ears." "But I did feel them and got a most terrible shock." "I had grown donkey's ears!" "Nature knows best!" "Yes, well." "I was really an ass." "But even a real ass needed something else." "So I ate another fig." "I was amazed!" "I noticed that my donkey ears had disappeared again." "That was a curious thing to happen!" "I couldn't figure it out." "But then I realized:" "I realized I had eaten the first fig from the first tree, but the second fig from the other." "And so Allah granted me a wonderful idea..." "Figs!" "And at this time of year too!" "Immaculate!" "The Sultan will thank me!" "Do you have more, little merchant?" "A shame!" "How much do these figs cost?" "They'll be perfect for Amarza's wedding!" " What did he say of Amarza?" " She's going to marry tomorrow." " I see." " She's supposed to, but she won't." "Oh, figs!" "The most delicious fruit Allah created!" "Sadly only five." "Five figs for the five people who are closest to my heart:" "One for me!" "For Amarza, my child!" "For you, Prince." "My wise friend and counselor." "And... my First Ramujin!" " The Sultan with donkey's ears!" " First Ramujin!" " Donkey's ears!" " Magic!" " We've all been bewitched!" " What's happening to us?" "I'll reward the healer with treasure!" " Are they getting any smaller?" " But of course!" "Noticeably." "Almost." " Should I continue?" " A little." " More?" " Just a bit." "Just keep on doing that!" "Keep them nice and cool!" "I shall attempt the operation!" "Are they gone?" " You are healed, Prince." " Really?" "Where is there a mirror?" "Well?" "Give me a mirror!" "Material!" "Please buy my lovely material!" "Thanks be to Allah!" "What are you going to do with that?" "I am a healer and treat excrescences of all kinds." "It's okay." "The hotter the better, wise magician!" "May I ask what led to this illness?" "A fig!" "I ate a fig!" "Nothing else!" "I thought as much!" "Logically, if this illness was caused by a fig, this illness can only be cured by a fig." "What next?" "Will the patient get donkey's hooves as well?" "Or bray like a..." " I'm healed!" " The magician is healed!" "Heal me too, learned sir!" " Not you, me!" " This one's for... the Sultan!" "Didn't you hear?" "That's for me!" " I'm the Sultan!" " You?" "Why didn't you say so?" "That was my last fig!" "Come into my Treasury!" "Please come in, learned sir!" "Take what your heart desires!" "Make me poor!" "Free me from the ears!" "Help me!" "A poor man implores you!" "A mirror!" "A mirror!" "There!" "Yes!" "That's me again!" "Learned sir!" "A fig!" "Please, a fig for me!" "I implore you, learned sir, for a fig!" "I don't like this at all!" "There is a certain kind of prince who just cannot be cured of this illness." "I'm not one of those, am I?" "They're different!" "What kind of prince?" "Such princes are not worthy of marrying a princess as beautiful as Princess Amarza!" "They are false, conceited..." " And stupid!" " Stupid?" "You'll pay for that!" "I thank you, learned sir." "My greetings to the princess!" "May Allah keep you all blessed!" "Hassan!" "Amarza!" "I wanted the desert sand to cover them." "I wanted them no more." "There's nothing more to tell." "That is the end of the story of your evil man, who had a magic cane, and who, with magic slippers, sought fortune but never found it." "And now go home." "You can play your pipe now, if you want." " Can you come down?" " Can you help me down?" "Here, take this." "I carved it myself." "Take my fishing hooks too." "These glass shards may make you happy." "They'll make me very happy!" "Thank you!" "Thank you!" "What's wrong?" "My Mook is sick." "And I love him so much!" "I'll come to you today and make your Little Mook better!" "I must go to the Imam!" "He's waiting for his vases." "We'll help you carry them!" "Make way for Little Mook!" "Little man, evil guy, Don't look at us with evil eye!" "Little man, evil guy, Don't look at us with evil eye!" "Little man, evil..." "What do you think you're..." "Mustafa, are you starting that all over again?" " Didn't you hear what he said?" " Oh, leave him!" "He surely doesn't know the Story of Little Mook!" "Subtitling:" "TITELBILD, Berlin with Adam Ure et al." "Copyright © 1999"