The second evening, when the four of them sat together, the prince and the princess and the two witnesses, the prince said to the witnesses: “Tell us a tale to while away the time, for tomorrow I shall die.”

The witnesses said: “We will not speak, for we are only witnesses, and our job is to listen and remain silent.”

“In that case,” said the prince, “will you reply if I ask you something?” “Perhaps . . .” they replied.

Then the prince said: “Three companions climbed together to the top of a mountain. One of them had a magic jewel through which he could see to the ends of the earth. Another had a flying carpet, and the third had a potion with which to revive the dead.

“The one with the magic jewel looked through it and saw in a faraway land a great crowd following a coffin to a grave site. And when he told his companions what he saw, the one with the flying carpet said: ‘Get on the carpet quickly and we will attend the funeral, for it must have been a great man who has died.’

“The three friends sat down on the magic carpet, and in the wink of an eye it carried them where they wanted to go. And after they joined the pro­cession, they asked the mourners who had died and why there was such sorrow. The mourners told them that the king’s fair and lovely daughter had died while still very young. And when the three heard this, they made their way to the king and said: ‘We can revive your daughter, sire.’ The grieving king replied: ‘Whoever can revive my daughter shall have her for a bride.’

“Then the one with the magic potion stood near the girl’s body and sprinkled the potion on her, and all at once she began to breathe. But after she had been revived, and embraced her father and mother amid great re­joicing, the three men began to argue over her.

“The one with the magic jewel said: `If it were not for me, the princess would have been buried and not have been revived, for it is I who saw the funeral procession. Since she was saved because of me, she belongs to me.’

“The owner of the flying carpet said: ‘If it were not for my magic carpet, which carried us a great distance as fast as lightning, we would not have ar­rived in time to revive the girl. Therefore she should be my bride.’

“Then the one who had brought the magic potion said: ‘If it were not for my potion, the princess would now be in her grave, so I have a greater right to her than either of you.'”

Then the prince who had told this story asked the witnesses for their decision, but they said: “It is a difficult matter which we cannot decide by ourselves. Tomorrow we will ask the judges for their verdict.”

“But I am to be hanged at dawn,” said the prince, “and I will go to my grave without knowing your answer.”

Here the princess intervened and said: “I will reply to your question. I believe that the man who revived the princess with his magic potion should receive her as his bride, for without his potion she could not have been revived.”

Then the prince thanked the princess, and agreed that she was correct.

The next day, at dawn, the executioner again arrived and began to drag the prince away, but the witnesses stopped him and said: “The princess spoke to the young man, and he does not deserve to die.”

Now when the king heard the witnesses, he did not believe his ears: “It can’t be that my daughter has finally spoken after having remained silent for so long. But since I have some doubt about it, let us have a third and final test, this time in the presence of three reliable witnesses.”

Part 3 of 4

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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 Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3) 

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