Story: The Sultan and The Fish

The Sultan lived in a magnificent palace overlooking the entire village.  This palace was talked about all over the world. People would visit just to get a glimpse of its marvelous marble pillars and gold vaulted ceilings. The Sultan was proud of his home and loved living an extremely lavish life that people were envious of.  He loved each one of his servants, but one more than the rest. This servant, named Abel, was a young boy who lived to serve the Sultan. The Sultan treated him like his own son, giving him a roof over his head and three warm meals every single day.  One day, Abel went out to go find more fish. He never returned home. The Sultan was crushed.

A few months later, a new servant shows up with more fish than the Sultan has ever seen. “Tell me, where did you get this?” The Sultan questioned the boy.

“The lake! It is three hills away.” The boy answered.

The Sultan knew there was only one lake that people could fish at. This one was not an option. “It must be a new lake!” Thought the Sultan.

The next morning, the Sultan gathered his soldiers and men around the table. “We must set out to find this new lake. Pack enough things to last for a week or a month. We could be there for a while. We leave at dawn tomorrow.”

The men packed nets, tents and food to last for four weeks. They set of in the morning, unsure of what the next month would hold.

After a short three-hour journey, then men finally saw the lake in the distance. The water was bluer than the sky and crystal clear. When you peered into the lake, you could see every type of fish and plant in the water. The fish were plenty and the men knew that they would need to start gathering food here. Once the Sultan was done looking into the lake, he noticed something off in the distance. The bright gold roof reflected off of the sun, making it impossible to tell what the building was. The Sultan squinted his eyes and made his way towards the mysterious building.  As he approached it, he realized it was a palace. This was not any ordinary palace, but a bigger, more beautiful and better palace. If people knew of this, they would no longer visit the Sultan and his palace. The gate was wide open, so the Sultan called out. “Hello?” No response. He walked through the gate and knocked. No response. He opened the door and his mouth fell wide open. This place was everything he wished his palace was and more. “Hello?” He called out again. A small “Hello?” questioned back. 

The Sultan followed the voice until he was face to face with a man in a throne.

“Hello, your highness. I did not mean to intrude. I just wanted to see who lived here.”

The Sultan explained.

“Oh no, do not be sorry! I have not had a visitor in ages. Please, do not call me your highness. My name is Amir. I was banished here after my wife went crazy.” Amir answered.

“Banished? How?” Questioned the Sultan.

“Well, I am not sure if you can tell, but my lower half is completely made of stone. My wife was mad that I was king and she was not the only ruler. So, she did this to me and sent me far away.”

The Sultan looked at him in fear. He questioned Amir on how he had been eating and staying alive.

Amir answered, “I know this sounds ridiculous… but it is almost like there is someone watching over me. Like an invisible person is taking care of me. You must think I am nuts.”

Suddenly, a large vase crashed on the side of the room.

“See what I mean?” Amir said.

“I have been watching over you.” A voice said. The Sultan recognized the voice, “Abel?”

“Yes! I am so sorry I disappeared. Amir’s wife saw me fishing and cast a spell on me to disappear. I think her spell went wrong.

The Sultan seemed puzzled, but knew just how to fix it.

The Sultan had a genie friend who owed him a favor or two. The genie came to the house and fixed Amir and Abel. And they all lived happily ever after! 

Authors Note: After reading about the Sultan and how he found this man made of stone, I was really curious on how he was alive. I wanted it to be the Sultan's beloved servant who had a very kind heart!   The Sultan was interested in the fish and this new palace, so I wanted to make that a focal point of my story. I think talking about how beautiful his palace was was important because he had so much pride in it. 

Bibliography: The Arabian Nights' Entertainment by Andrew Lange, link to The Sultan and The Fish. 

Image: Palace from Miriadna