A taleb offered 100 mitquals to anyone willing to sell themselves, and a man accepted. The taleb used him to retrieve a magical box from the earth, but the man kept it secret. After being abandoned and recovering, he discovered the box contained magical wonders, including genii and dancers. This led to a royal invitation, a marriage to the Sultan’s daughter, and eventually becoming the Sultan himself.
Source
Moorish Literature
romantic ballads, tales of the Berbers,
stories of the Kabyles, folk-lore,
and national traditions
The Colonial Press,
London, New York, 1901
► Themes of the story
Trickster: The taleb deceives the man into retrieving the magical box, showcasing cunning behavior.
Forbidden Knowledge: The man uncovers hidden magical wonders within the box, delving into secrets beyond ordinary understanding.
Quest: The man’s task to retrieve the magical box serves as a journey undertaken to achieve a specific goal.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Berber peoples
Translated by Réne Basset
and Chauncey C. Starkweather
A taleb made a proclamation in these terms: “Is there anyone who will sell himself for 100 mitquals?” A man agreed to sell himself. The stranger took him to the cadi, who wrote out the bill of sale. He took the 100 mitquals and gave them to his mother and departed with the taleb. They went to a place where the latter began to repeat certain formulas. The earth opened and the man entered it. The other said to him, “Bring me the candlestick of reed and the box.” He took this and came out keeping it in his pocket.
“Where is the box?” asked the taleb.
“I did not find it.”
► Continue reading…
“By the Lord, let us go.”
He took him to the mountains, cast a stone at him, and went away. He lay on the ground for three days. Then he came to himself, went back to his own country, and rented a house. He opened the box, found inside a silk napkin, which he opened, and in which he found seven folds. He unfolded one. Genii came around the chamber, and a young girl danced until the day dawned. The man stayed there all that day until night. The King came out that night, and, hearing the noise of the dance, he knocked at the door, with his vezir. They received him with a red h’aik. He amused himself until the day dawned. Then he went home with his vezir. The latter sent for the man and said, “Give me the box which you have at home.” He brought it to the King, who said to him: “Give me the box which you have so that I may amuse myself with it, and I will marry you to my daughter.” The man obeyed and married the Sultan’s daughter. The Sultan amused himself with the box, and after his death his son-in-law succeeded him.
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