[Collected by audio recording in August, 1964, from Mehmed Anli, in the Sinop Penitentiary.]
Once there was a padishah in Egypt who had been married for twelve years but still had no male heir. One day the padishah’s wife said to him, “We have so much in this world, but we have no son. To whom shall we leave all this? We must try to find out what to do in order to have a son.”
The padishah agreed with this and he consulted all of the wise men and doctors in his land to discover what he should do, but none of them could help him. He finally decided to travel to other lands to see if anywhere he could find the information he sought. He mounted his horse and rode away. After traveling for a month he came one day to a broad plain in the middle of which he met an old man with white hair who leaned upon a stick.
“Selamünaleyküm, father,” he said.
“Aleykümselam, Padishah of Egypt,” said the old man. “How did you know that I was the Padishah of Egypt?”
“I just sensed it from your general appearance and from that of your horse,” said the old man.
“Since you have understood this,” said the padishah, “you probably also know my problem.”
“Yes, your problem is that you have no male heir, and you are seeking a solution to this problem now. The mare that you are riding has never had a colt either. There is an old apple tree behind your palace. Do you know how many apples it yields each year?”
“Just one.”
“What is done with that apple each year?” “Oh, my vezirs pick it and eat it.”
“Well, this year guard that apple tree, and when the apple is ripe, pick it yourself. Peel the apple and give the peeling to your horse. Then cut the apple in two, eat half of it, and give the other half to your wife to eat. Your horse will foal and your wife will bear you a male child, but you must promise not to name the child. I shall come at the appropriate time and name him.”
“Very well,” said the padishah, “I shall do exactly as you say.” As he was reaching into his saddlebag for a handful of gold, the old man suddenly disappeared.
The padishah returned home and explained to his wife what had happened. He set men to guard the apple tree behind the palace, and when the fruit was ripe, he picked it himself, peeled it, gave the peelings to his horse, and then divided the apple. Half he ate and half he gave to his wife to eat. In a short time both the mare and his wife became pregnant, and in due time the horse foaled and his wife bore him a son.
As the old man had directed, the child remained for some time nameless. When he was still an infant this did not bother him, but when he was twelve, attending school, his namelessness embarrassed him. “Hey, Nameless!” his friends would call to him. One day after this had happened he returned home crying and he said to the padishah, “Father, I am the son of the padishah, but I have no name. All of my friends have names—Ali, Hasan, Ahmet, Mehmet. Why don’t I have a name?”
The padishah and his wife talked with each other about this, and they finally decided that the boy should be named. The padishah called together all of the doctors, judges, and khojas in the land in order to get their advice on this, and they agreed that the child should be named. Long lists of names were drawn up, and from these names one was to be selected on a special holiday set aside for the occasion.
All of the people were gathered on the appointed day, and a huge feast was served. When everyone had eaten his fill, the ceremony of naming the child was about to begin, but at that moment there was a loud knocking on the palace door, “Tok! Tok! Tok!” When they opened the door they saw there the old man with the white hair and beard, leaning upon a stick. “Selamünaleyküm, O Padishah of Egypt,” he said.
“Aleykümselam, father,” answered the padishah.
“Didn’t I tell you not to name the child, that I would come at the proper time and name him myself?”
“Yes, efendi, but we have waited so long. I beg your pardon, but we were only going to give him a temporary name at this time.”
“Very well, then, I shall give him his permanent name. It will be Hüsnügüzel, and the name of the colt born in the same year will be Altay.” He then called the child to him and stroked his back. Taking a sword from his belt he said to Hüsnügüzel, “There is a sacred mystery about this sword that concerns your life. Take it. It is your sword, but guard it well. When you are in trouble, a drop of blood will appear on the tip. When you are in serious trouble, two drops of blood will fall from the tip. When three drops fall, you will have only forty minutes to live. You must not give the sword to anyone, not even to your own father.”
The padishah ordered food brought for the old man, but when the food was brought, the old man had vanished. Everyone realized then that this must be Hizir.
Hüsnügüzel returned to school where he studied from books, and he learned also how to shoot an arrow, how to handle a shield, how to use his sword, and how to wrestle. He was, in fact, the best student in his class in these sports. The other students now called him Hüsnür-Aghabey.
One night in a dream Hüsnügüzel saw a very beautiful woman, and then on the next two nights he saw her a second and a third time. She was the most beautiful woman in the world, he thought, and he fell in love with her. He thought of her all the time, neglecting everything else. After a while he even stopped eating and drinking, and he became pale and sickly. His father asked him, “What is the matter with you, son?”
“There is nothing the matter with me, father,” said Hüsnügüzel. But the padishah saw that the boy was ill, and so he called together all of the khojas and learned men to examine his son. None of them could find anything wrong with the boy, however. “Perhaps he wants to marry,” said the padishah, and he sent his vezir to find out what girl he wanted.
“Which daughter of which padishah do you want, Hüsnügüzel?” asked the vezir. “Your father will arrange for you to marry anyone you wish.”
“No, there is no one I wish to marry,” said Hüsnügüzel.
One day a witch came to the palace and said to the padishah, “Your majesty, what is the difficulty here? You are calling here all of the doctors and khojas and wise men in the land. What is your problem?”
“I have a son who has a strange illness that nobody can understand,” said the padishah.
“I think that I can discover his malady,” said the witch. “You call some of his school friends here. I shall prepare food for them and serve them coffee, and from them I can probably learn about his trouble. If I do, I shall tell you what it is.”
Everything else had failed, and the padishah was willing to try anything that might help his ailing son. He called the boy’s teacher and asked him to send to him the four closest friends of Hüsnügüzel. When the boys appeared before him, the padishah said, “You will go to Hüsnügüzel’s room, talk with him, and take your meal with him there.”
The four friends went to Hüsnügüzel’s room and talked with him.
After a while the old witch woman brought them food, and when they had eaten the food, she said to them, “Now I shall bring you coffee, but you must each, in turn, drink it in honor of your sweetheart.” She brought in five cups of coffee and handed one to the first friend of Hüsnügüzel.
“Oh, for my Ayshe!” he said.
“Oh, for my Gülüzar!” said the second.
“In honor of my Feza!” said the third.
“In memory of my Fatma!” said the fourth.
Now it was Hüsnügüzel’s turn. He sipped his coffee and groaned, “Oh, The Most Beautiful Girl in the World!”
When the old woman heard this, she ran to the padishah and said, “Your majesty, your son has fallen in love with The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. That is why he is sick.”
The padishah was shocked to hear this. “It is impossible to find her,” he said. “I searched for her for twelve years without success, and many other padishahs have also searched in vain. How could Hüsnügüzel ever find her?”
That night the padishah told his wife about Hüsnügüzel’s hopeless love, and on the next morning she went to the boy and said, “My son, your father searched for twelve years for The Most Beautiful Girl in the World without finding her. Forget about her now, and we shall get forty girls for you instead.”
“As this secret of mine is now revealed, I demand that you give me permission to go and search for her,” said Hüsnügüzel. All that day both parents tried to dissuade him from this quest, but it was no use. He kissed his father’s hands and beard and bade his parents farewell. After ordering that he be supplied with his horse and with provisions, the padishah came in tears to his son and said, “Take this sword of mine and remember me with it.”
Hüsnügüzel set out upon his trip and rode a great distance. One day, after he had been riding for two months, he saw approaching a young horseman dressed like him and looking just as handsome. He came riding along raising a cloud of smoke and dust.
“Selamünaleyküm, brother,” said the young horseman.
“Aleykümselam,” said Hüsnügüzel.
“I am the son of the Padishah of the Seas,” said the stranger. “Where are you going?”
“I am the son of the Padishah of Egypt,” said Hüsnügüzel. “I fell in love with The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, and I am now seeking for her.”
“May I join you?”
“I was one, but now we are two,” said Hüsnügüzel. “Let us seek her together. Whoever is destined to have her will have her.”
The two young men rode along together, and after traveling for a way, they saw approaching a third horseman bearing a shield and a club and wearing a sword in his belt. When he drew near Hüsnügüzel and the son of the Padishah of the Seas, he shouted, “Selamünaleyküm, brothers.”
“Aleykümselam,” they both answered.
“I am the son of the Padishah of the Stars,” said the stranger. “Where are you going?”
“I am the son of the Padishah of Egypt,” said Hüsnügüzel, “and this is the son of the Padishah of the Seas. I fell in love with The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, and we are searching for her.”
“May I join you?”
“I was one, then we became two, and now we are three,” said Hüsnugüzel. “But let us search for the girl together. Whoever is destined to have her will have her.”
The three young men rode along together, Hüsnügüzel in front and the other two behind him. Toward the end of the day, when they and their horses were tired, they came to a grassy area where they decided to rest and let their horses graze. After telling his companions to make them some coffee, Hüsnügüzel lay down in the grass and fell asleep.
Unknown to them, they had stopped in the land of the Padishah of Arabs, a ruler who guarded his territory so closely that not even a bird flew over it. Three of the padishah’s watchmen saw the three strange horses grazing in his pasture, and when they rode up to the place, they saw also the three horsemen there. One was sleeping in the grass, and the other two were making coffee.
“Don’t you know that you are trespassing on the territory of the Padishah of Arabs? Don’t you know that not even birds fly over this territory? Come, pack up, and we shall take you to the presence of our padishah.”
All during this meeting Hüsnügüzel was asleep. Now he woke up and asked, “What is the matter?”
“It seems that we are in the territory of the Padishah of Arabs,” said the son of the Padishah of the Seas.
“I do not care whose territory this is,” said Hüsnügüzel. “Do you have the coffee ready yet?”
Two of the guards went toward Hüsnügüzel now and one of them said to him, “Get up on your feet!”
When Hüsnügüzel heard this, he jumped up, cut off the ears of the two guards and hung them around his neck on a string. To the third guard he said, “Go and tell your padishah that I am a visitor here. I shall leave his territory in a few hours’ time. If he wants to see me, he should come here with all of his men.”
The soldier rode in haste to the padishah and said, “Your majesty, three strangers have entered your territory with their horses. One of them cut off the ears of two of us and hung them around his neck. He sent me to tell you not to disturb him, for he will stay for a few hours only. If you want to see him he said that you should go to where he is with all your troops.”
The Padishah of Arabs was furious when he heard this, and he said to the guard, “Go and tell my vezir to take two hundred men and bring those fellows to me alive.”
The two hundred horsemen approached the pasture raising a cloud of smoke and dust as they rode. The son of the Padishah of the Seas and the son of the Padishah of the Stars were terrified and they called out to Hüsnügüzel, who had fallen asleep again.
“What is the matter?” he asked them as he woke up.
“Look,” they said, “we are being attacked by a large force of men.”
“Are you going to search for The Most Beautiful Girl in the World with such frail hearts?” asked Hüsnügüzel. “You go and drink your coffee and don’t interfere with me.”
When the troops of the padishah reached the pasture, one of them asked, “Who cut off the ears of our padishah’s men?”
Hüsnügüzel jumped up and asked, “Where is your padishah?”
“What do you want with our padishah?” asked the same soldier.
At that, Hüsnügüzel rushed upon these men like a wolf attacking a flock of sheep. He scattered them about this way and that way, and when they were completely routed, he cut off the ears of three of them and hung these ears around his neck with the others. “Now go back and tell your padishah that he shouldn’t disturb me. I have only half an hour left here in his land. If he wants to see me, he should come here with all his army. If he wants to fight, let them bring all their weapons.”
When the padishah received this message, he thought about it in silence for several minutes. He decided that it might be better to have such a man as his ally than to maintain a huge army. He ordered his vezir to bring him a flag of truce. Then he mounted his horse, gathered two thousand of his men around him, and rode toward the pasture where the strangers were.
The three young men were drinking coffee when they saw the huge body of troops riding toward them. The son of the Padishah of the Seas said, “Agha-bey, this time they are coming in numbers too great for us to fight. Let us run away.”
“Didn’t I tell you not to interfere in anything?” said Hüsnügüzel. He looked and saw the two thousand troops coming with the padishah riding in front waving a flag of truce. “Make more coffee,” he said, “for the Padishah of Arabs is coming.”
Ordering his men to halt and dismount, the padishah, still holding the flag of truce, marched up to a distance of seven paces from Hüsnügüzel, and saluted him.
Hüsnügüzel got up, walked the seven paces to the padishah, took his hand and shook it, saying, “Come, efendi, and join us here.”
“What is your name?” asked the padishah.
“Hüsnügüzel.”
“I am sorry to have disturbed you, Hüsnügüzel, but I did not understand the situation. Come to my palace with your friends as my guests.”
“We have no time to stop on our travels,” said Hüsnügüzel.
“But you can surely spend the night with us,” said the padishah. And so, after drinking coffee, they all rode to the palace of the Padishah of Arabs.
That evening at dinner the Padishah of Arabs said to Hüsnügüzel, “I have three daughters so beautiful that they have been sought by many padishahs. I will marry these three girls to you and your two companions if you will stay here and live with us. You can become the padishah of this land, your friends can become vezirs, and I shall serve as your grand vezir.”
“I started this journey I am on to find The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” said Hüsnügüzel, “but I shall discuss your offer with my friends and let you know our decision in the morning.”
That night the three friends talked about this, and after some time, the son of the Padishah of the Stars said to Hüsnügüzel, “We shall do as you wish in this matter.”
“Yes,” said Hüsnügüzel, “but I see that you really wish to stay here.”
The next morning Hüsnügüzel sent word to the Padishah of Arabs that his proposal had been accepted, and immediately the padishah started a wedding celebration that lasted for forty days and forty nights. At the end of that time, Hüsnügüzel was married to the youngest and fairest of the padishah’s daughters, the son of the Padishah of Stars was married to the second of the daughters, and the son of the Padishah of the Seas was married to the eldest.
When Hüsnügüzel went to the nuptial chamber, he found the youngest daughter standing against a wall waiting for her bridegroom. Without looking at her Hüsnügüzel went and sat on a cushion on the floor. “Come here, sister,” he said. “I shall call you sister for the present. Those two men who married your sisters are my friends, and for their sake I could not refuse your father’s offer. But I am really searching for The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, and tomorrow I am going to continue my search. If I return without finding her, then you will be mine.”
The girl cried when she heard this, but Hüsnügüzel would not change his mind. When they lay down to sleep, Hüsnügüzel placed his sword in the bed between them. “I am going to sleep now,” he said, “but I wish that you would do certain things for me. First prepare food and other provisions for my departure tomorrow. Then, after I leave, I want you to guard constantly this sword that I shall leave with you. Don’t touch the sword, and don't let anyone else even see it—not even your father. Keep it locked in this room at all times. Several times each day and several times each night look closely at it. If you see a drop of blood clinging to the tip, you will know that I am in trouble. When two drops of blood drip from it, I shall be in serious trouble. And when three drops of blood fall from the tip, I shall then have only forty minutes to live. If you see three drops, go immediately and inform the sons of the Padishah of Stars and the Padishah of the Seas of this, and they will come and help me.”
The girl spent the night preparing provisions for Hüsnügüzel’s trip, and when the morning came, she went and stood over him and admired him. As she cried, looking at him, a tear fell upon his face and he awoke. Saying farewell to the girl, Hüsnügüzel left the palace of the Padishah of Arabs, mounted his horse, and rode away.
After riding for a week, Hüsnügüzel stopped one evening at about the time of the evening prayer. Letting his horse graze, he said his prayers and prepared to sleep there for the night. It was becoming dark as Hüsnügüzel unbuckled the sword that his father had given him. Just then, however, he saw a light in the forest opposite him, and he decided to go there to spend the night, thinking there must be a village where he could get lodging. He rode until he came to the forest, and then he walked, leading the horse behind him. At last he came to the house from which the light was coming, but when he looked inside, he could see no one there. “Is anybody at home?” he shouted.
“Come in, Hüsnügüzel,” said a voice.
Hüsnügüzel was greatly surprised. “How does this person know my name?” he wondered.
An old man with a long white beard appeared in the door and said, “Come in, son.”
“How did you know my name, father?”
“Come in, son.”
When Hüsnügüzel went into the house he saw a dining table set with a feast. It had on it all the kinds of food that a man could wish to eat. After they had eaten, the old man said to Hüsnügüzel, “I see that you have left somewhere the magic sword that I once gave you.” Hüsnügüzel then knew that the old man was Hizir, and he kissed his beard and his feet and he begged his forgiveness. “It was I who caused you to fall in love with The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, just as I once caused your father to fall in love with her. But she is also in love with you and she is looking for you. She lives in a palace by the sea and no one can open the door of that palace. You have a week’s journey left to reach that palace. Now let us retire, and in the morning I shall tell you how to reach that palace and enter it.”
At dawn the old man awakened Hüsnügüzel and said to him, “Come now, son, and tell me what you see off in that direction.”
Hüsnügüzel looked toward the dawn, in the direction that the old man pointed, but he said, “I cannot see anything.”
“Look carefully. You should be able to see the palace of The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.”
“I think I see it now,” said the young man, “for that must be the red glimmer that I see in the east.”
Hizir looked hard and said, “No, that glow that you see is only the light given off by a hair in the head of The Most Beautiful Girl. She is sleeping at a window on the top floor of the palace, and one hair of her head is hanging out the window. That is the glimmer that you see, and now you know where the palace is located. It will take you a week to get there. Now leave the sword of your father here and take instead this magic sword from me.”
Hüsnügüzel took the sword, and then the old man gave him further directions. “When you reach the palace of The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, mark the point on the wall that you come to first, and then go around the walls three times reading this prayer as you go.” Here he handed Hüsnügüzel a prayer written on a paper. “After you have gone around the third time, stop at the spot you have marked on the wall, strike that spot with your sword, saying ‘Ya Allah!’ and a door will open there to let you in.”
Taking leave of the old man, Hüsnügüzel mounted his horse and rode off in the direction of the palace of The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. After a week he reached the wall of the palace, marked the spot, rode around the wall three times, reading the prayer as he rode, and then struck the spot as he shouted, “Ya Allah!” Just as Hizir had said, a door in the wall opened at the spot and Hüsnügüzel entered.
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World had awakened at the noise, and now she came down to the second floor of the palace and looked down on Hüsnügüzel. She knew at once that this was the man with whom she had fallen in love in her dreams. She immediately ran downstairs to him, embraced him, and led him by the hand up to the top floor. There they ate and drank and made love to each other for a whole week. The palace had everything in it that one could wish, but after a week’s time, Hüsnügüzel became restless. Noticing this, The Most Beautiful Girl said to him, “Darling, what is it that you would like to do?”
“I have seen many partridges over there on that plain. I should like to take a bow and arrows and go to hunt those birds. Those that I shoot you can cook for our dinner.”
“Very well,” she said, “but don’t go too far away. When you opened a door in the wall of the palace, you dissolved all of my magic power, and I now have no way of defending myself. There are many other padishahs searching for me, and you may lose me while you are gone.”
“Don’t worry,” said Hüsnügüzel, “for only God, your Creator, could take you from me now. Besides, no one could ever find you here.”
When he was out hunting Hüsnügüzel came upon a flock of partridges, but when he aimed at one of them, the image of The Most Beautiful Girl in the World came before his eyes so that he could not see the bird. This happened every time that day that he tried to shoot a partridge. At night, after he had returned to the palace, he told the girl about this.
“I shall give you something to change this,” she said, “though it could also be something that will cause you to lose me.”
“Don’t worry about that. I won’t lose you.”
“Take this hair from my head, then, and wrap it around your bow. When you aim at a bird, my image will be drawn to this hair, and you will then be able to see past it to shoot the bird.”
Hüsnügüzel took the hair and did as she instructed. That day he shot three partridges. In the evening he brought them home to the palace where The Most Beautiful Girl in the World cooked them for their dinner. For many days he went hunting and came back each night with partridges for their dinner. One day when he was out hunting, the hair on his bow came loose, and as he was riding back toward the palace, the hair slipped off the bow and flew away in the wind. He rode after it, trying to catch it, but it disappeared before he could reach it.
Now let us see what happened to that strand of hair. It flew on in the wind for a long time and finally it came to rest in the garden of the Padishah of Giants, who lived by the sea. That padishah had remained a bachelor for thirty years, during which time he had searched constantly for The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. As his guards were patrolling the garden on that day, they saw something glimmering in the grass. They picked up the hair and took it at once to the padishah. “Your majesty,” one of them said, “we have found this strange thing in your garden, but we do not know what it is.” The padishah could not understand what it was either, nor could any of his wise men, so he wrapped it carefully in a handkerchief and put it in his pocket.
Now let us go back and see what Hüsnügüzel and his beloved are doing. They were both deeply concerned over the loss of the hair. That day Hüsnügüzel did not go hunting but stayed with The Most Beautiful Girl all day. In the afternoon they went bathing in the sea near the palace. As they were about to leave, a large wave came along and carried away one of the golden sandals worn by The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. Hüsnügüzel dived into the sea many times searching for this sandal, but he was unable to find it.
The waves carried the sandal to the seashore alongside the garden of the Padishah of Giants. The guards patrolling the garden noticed the glittering object on the beach and took it at once to their padishah.
“Where did you find this sandal?” he asked one of the guards.
“On the beach, your majesty, not far from the place where we found the gleaming hair before.”
“What a strange business this is,” said the padishah. He called together all of his wise men, but they could not tell him anything about the golden sandal. As they were puzzling over the sandal, a witch came along and asked, “What are you thinking about, my padishah?”
“I am thinking about this golden sandal.”
“I have good news for you,” she said, “but I don’t suppose you would reward me for it.”
“What is your news?”
“That is one of the golden sandals worn by The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.”
“Since you know what this is, perhaps you can also tell me what it is that is wrapped here in my handkerchief,” and he took from his pocket the handkerchief containing the gleaming hair.
“Of course I can. That is a hair from the head of the girl who has kept you a bachelor for thirty years,” said the witch.
“Since you know what these things are,” said the Padishah of Giants, “then perhaps you also know how their owner can be found.”
“Of course I do,” answered the witch, “and if you will give me a pot of gold, I shall help you find her.”
“I shall give you five pots of gold if you can locate her, but if you fail, I shall have you executed.”
“The task will be done, but first you must get me a large clay pot, a goat skin, and a whip. Then I can find her.”
The padishah ordered that these objects be brought to her. The witch placed the skin on the clay pot and sat astride it. Then she took the whip and, beating the pot with it, flew away through the air in the direction of the palace of The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. She landed in the garden of the palace, and because the wall had been broken by Hüsnügüzel and his magic sword, she was able to walk right into the courtyard. Just inside the wall door, right near the threshold, she dug a hole and buried her clay pot. Then she bent her back as if she were a hunchback and groaned, “Oh! Oh!” as if she were ill.
When The Most Beautiful Girl heard this, she looked out her window and saw the old woman walking about below. “Are you fairy or jinn?” she asked.
“Neither, but a human being like you. I am a sick old woman and I have no one in the world to care for me. Have you a place here for me to sleep?”
“My husband is away hunting,” said the girl, “and I cannot accept anyone into the palace when he is gone.”
“Which way did your husband go?” asked the old woman.
“He went over on those plains, toward the distant forest.”
The old woman started in that direction, hobbling slowly at first, but walking rapidly once she was out of the girl’s sight. She met Hüsnügüzel on his way home from hunting, and as soon as she saw him she bent over again like a hunchback, crying, “Oh! Oh!”
“What are you doing here, mother?” he asked.
“I am a lonely old woman, son. I am sick and I have nobody in the world to care for me. I have neither son nor daughter, father nor mother nor brother. I have lost my way, and I have no place to spend the night. Can you give me a place to sleep tonight?”
“If you have no place to live, why don’t you live with us? My wife is The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, but she feels very lonely when I am away hunting. If you would stay with us you could keep her company.”
“I would like that,” said the witch.
“Very well, then,” said Hüsnügüzel, “climb up on the back of my horse.” But when the old woman tried to mount the horse, the animal kicked at her and reared up on its hind legs. No matter what Hüsnügüzel did to it, the horse would not let the evil woman come near it.
“It looks as if your horse won’t let me ride,” she said, “but it doesn’t matter. You ride and I shall walk along behind.”
When Hüsnügüzel reached the palace he went upstairs to his beloved’s room and said to her, “I have found an old woman who is willing to live with us. When I am out hunting, she will be company for you.”
The girl looked at the old woman and said, “She was here earlier, but I did not let her in. I am glad, however, to have her here.”
“What a perfect pair you two are,” said the witch. “I shall pray for your happiness.”
Now let us go back for a moment to the Padishah of Arabs and see what is happening at his palace. The friends of Hüsnügüzel had been living in the palace with their wives since he had left. The son of the Padishah of Stars had become padishah and the son of the Padishah of the Seas had become his secretary. The former Padishah of Arabs had become the grand vezir, just as he had promised he would. Each of Hüsnügüzel’s friends had a son now, and they were very happy with their wives. The youngest princess who was married to Hüsnügüzel remained always in her room guarding the sword he had left with her. She stayed there alone and she would not let anyone enter the room. Because her father, like everyone else, was afraid of Hüsnügüzel, he respected his daughter’s wishes and did not force her to open the door.
Now let us leave these people where they are and go back to the palace of The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. It was near the end of the month that the Padishah of Giants had allowed to the witch for getting The Most Beautiful Girl. One day when Hüsnügüzel was out hunting, as usual, the old woman said to her, “Your husband leaves you alone here so often. It is quite all right while I am here to keep you company, but, as you can see, I am old and unhealthy, and I shall die someday. Then you will be very lonely. This young man of yours seems to have a secret charm of some kind, for without one, he could not have found you here. Many padishahs searched years for you and failed, but he succeeded. He will tell you about his secret charm, and then when I am gone you will have something living to enjoy.”
That night when Hüsnügüzel and The Most Beautiful Girl in the World were in bed, she said to him, “Hüsnügüzel, how did you find me here? You must have a secret charm of some kind. Why don’t you tell me of it? The old woman in our palace will one day die, and then I shall be very lonely, for I am used to having her company. If you will tell me of your charm, then when she is gone, I shall have something living here with which to entertain myself.”
“You have never asked me this before,” said Hüsnügüzel, “and so why do you ask me now? My secret charm is that mirror on the wall. If that mirror should be broken by someone, I should have only an hour to live. Don’t ever take any chance of breaking it, but while I am away, you can play with it and enjoy yourself in that way.”
When Hüsnügüzel had gone hunting again next day, the old woman asked the girl, “Did you ask him about his secret charm?”
“Yes, I did, mother. His secret is that mirror on the wall, but don’t ever touch it, for if it should be broken, he would have only an hour to live.”
“All right, my girl.” But when The Most Beautiful Girl in the World was in the next room, the old woman took the mirror from the wall, broke it into many pieces, and threw the pieces into the sea. She thought that she had killed Hüsnügüzel and she was surprised when he returned that night unharmed.
“I think that your man has not really told you his secret,” she said to the girl. “A mirror cannot contain the secret of someone’s life. It must be something else. Ask him again.”
When the girl asked Hüsnügüzel again, he said, “Why do you keep asking me about this? I have told you once already, but if you insist, I shall let you know my secret charm. It is in that broom behind the door. If that broom is lost or burned, then I am lost too. So don’t ever take any chance of losing that broom.”
The next day when the old woman asked the girl about Hüsnügüzel’s charm, The Most Beautiful Girl in the World said, “It is in that broom behind the door. We must never lose the broom, however, for if it is lost then Husnügüzel will be lost too.”
“Very well, my girl,” said the witch, but when she was alone in the room, she took the broom from the corner and threw it out the window into the sea. That evening she was again amazed to see Hüsnügüzel come home in good health. She now pretended that her illness had become much worse. “Dear girl, my health is getting much worse, and I may die in a day or two. You will then be very lonely. Try to learn your man’s secret—won’t you?” She cried as she said this.
After eating dinner and going to bed, the girl said to Hüsnügüzel, “Why do you keep your secret from me? I am The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. Many men searched for me without success, but you found me, and I am yours. Why, then, don’t you tell me where your secret charm is located?”
“Very well, then,” said Husnüguzel, “I shall tell you. My life force is really in this sword that I keep here in our bedroom. If anyone even touches it, I become ill. If anyone draws it halfway out of its sheath, I become seriously ill. If anyone should draw it completely from the sheath, I would then have only forty minutes to live. You may go close to the sword and enjoy it from a distance, but don’t ever touch it.”
When the young man went hunting again next morning, the old witch went to the girl, groaning, “Ohl Oh!” pretending to be very ill. “Did you ask him?” she inquired.
“Yes, I did, mother.”
“Well, what is it?”
“His life force is in his sword. If anyone touches it, Hüsnügüzel becomes ill. If anyone draws it halfway from its sheath, he becomes seriously ill. And if anyone should draw it all the way out, then he would have only forty minutes to live. So we must leave this sword alone.”
“Very well, my girl. My own trouble is too great for me to bother about that sword. I had a dream last night in which I saw myself very, very ill. I may be much worse tonight. Will you leave your bedroom door open so that you may hear me if I cry out for help? If I need water you can bring me some.”
“Yes, and I shall explain this to Hüsnügüzel,” said the girl.
While the young couple slept that night, the old woman crept slowly and quietly into the room, went over to their bed, and very gently slipped the sword from beneath Hüsnügüzel’s pillow, where he always kept it at night. She immediately drew the sword from its sheath and threw it out a window into the sea.
Immediately after this Hüsnügüzel got up out of bed and began to roll around the room like a millstone. The girl awakened and shouted, “Hüsnügüzül! Hüsnügüzül!” but he did not answer at all. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World began to cry aloud, “Hüsnügüzel is dying! Come, let us help him, mother.”
“Quick, my girl,” said the witch, “let us go down to the garden and pick some mint leaves. If he smells these, he may be revived.” They went downstairs to the garden, but in the dark the girl could not find any mint. “It was here or over there,” said the old woman. “No, it was right here. Dig in this spot quickly!”
As The Most Beautiful Girl in the World dug, she uncovered the mouth of a large pot. The witch pushed the girl into the pot, sat on the skin, whipped the pot, and away they flew through the air straight to the palace of the Padishah of Giants.
Now let us see what the youngest daughter of the Padishah of Arabs is doing. When she looked at the sword of Hüsnügüzel, about midnight, she saw that three drops of blood had dripped from its tip. She grew very agitated at this and rushed to tell the son of the Padishah of Stars and the son of the Padishah of the Seas that Hüsnügüzel was dying. “Find him at once and help him!” she ordered.
The son of the Padishah of Stars looked at the sky and studied the stars. After a minute he pointed and said, “We must go that way.” They went in the direction he indicated, and they reached the palace of The Most Beautiful Girl in the World just three minutes before Hüsnügüzel was to die.
The son of the Padishah of the Seas saw the empty sheath on the floor near Hüsnügüzel, and then, looking out the window, he saw the sword gleaming on the bottom of the sea. He immediately jumped into the sea and brought back Hüsnügüzel’s sword. When the sword was put back in its sheath, Husnügüzel opened his eyes and looked around. Seeing his friends, he jumped up and embraced them. He wanted to order coffee for the son of the Padishah of Stars and the son of the Padishah of the Seas, but he could find neither the old witch nor The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. Explaining to his friends what had happened to him and how the witch had deceived him, Hüsnügüzel thanked them for saving his life and bade them farewell: “You go back to the palace of the Padishah of Arabs, and I shall search once more for The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.”
As soon as they had gone, Hüsnügüzel began to look for the girl. After traveling for several hours, he met a shepherd along the way and he said to him, “Selamünaleyküm.”
“Aleykümselam,” returned the shepherd.
“Have you some bread, friend?” he asked the shepherd.
“Yes, I have, my padishah,” answered the shepherd.
“How did you know I was a padishah?”
“There are no horses like yours in this kingdom, nor does anyone but a padishah carry a sword like yours.” Saying this, the shepherd gave Hüsnügüzel some bread and cheese.
As they were eating, Hüsnügüzel heard a drum and pipes playing somewhere. “What is this music for?” he asked the shepherd.
“The Padishah of Giants, who rules this land, is getting married. He has been a bachelor for thirty years, but at last he has found The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, and they are getting married.”
“Here is a handful of gold for you. I want to exchange clothes with you, and while I am gone, I want you to take care of my horse.” Hüsnugüzel dressed himself in the shepherd’s tattered clothes, stuck his sword in his belt, and started down the road toward the town. He saw an old hag near the town. Although she did not recognize him, dressed like a keloghlan, Hüsnügüzel thought that this must be the witch who had taken The Most Beautiful Girl in the World from him. Lifting her veil to be sure it was the witch, he shouted at her, “What did you do with my girl? Tell me at once or I shall kill you.”
“She is sitting at the window in the palace of the Padishah of Giants, watching for you. The padishah gave me a great quantity of gold for bringing her to him, but my bargain with him is now complete, and I can get her back for you.”
“Very well, then,” said Hüsnügüzel, “take this ring and give it to her. Tell her not to worry and tell her that tonight I shall come beneath her window where we can talk.”
The old woman went to the palace and asked the padishah for permission to talk with the girl. When she went to the girl’s room and knocked on the door, The Most Beautiful Girl in the World would not let her in. “Go away, you filthy hag. You have brought me here and now you want to come near me.”
“Don’t misunderstand me. I simply want to show you something, and then I shall go away.”
The girl opened the door a crack and saw Hüsnügüzel’s ring in the hand of the witch. “Where is he?” she asked.
“Don’t worry, daughter. He will rescue you. He sent greetings to you and said that tonight he will come beneath your window, in the garden, to talk with you. Watch for him.” Saying this, the witch left her.
In the evening when Hüsnügüzel came to the garden of the palace, the vezir saw him and called out, “What are you doing there, you son of a donkey Keloghlan? Get out of this garden and go back to your sheep.”
“All I want is to have one glimpse of our padishah and The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, and then I shall return to my flock. A friend is tending it now.”
The padishah heard this discussion from his room. He came out and asked the vezir, “What is going on here?”
“Your majesty, this filthy, stinking shepherd has come into your garden, and he won’t go away.”
“Perhaps he is hungry,” said the padishah. “Give him something to eat from the leftover food and from the scrapings of dinner, and then get him out of here.”
When they brought the food to Hüsnügüzel, he said, “Take this back to your padishah. I don’t eat such filthy food.”
“Catch that scoundrel,” the vezir ordered his men, but Hüsnügüzel ran away and hid in the garden.
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World was waiting for Hüsnügüzel at her window, and she saw all this, but she did not speak to him for fear this would reveal his identity. Later in the evening, she signaled to him, when no one was nearby, and he came beneath her window.
“Ask the padishah to give you a basket and a rope,” Hüsnügüzel said to her. “Tell him you wish to buy vegetables from passing sellers and pull them up to your apartment. Then you can lower the basket on the rope and pull me up to you.”
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World called her attendants and told them to go to the padishah to ask for a large basket and enough rope to reach to the ground. “Tell him that I wish to buy things from passing hawkers.” The padishah sent the basket, some money with which to buy things, and three times as much rope as she had requested.
When everyone else was in bed that night, the girl lowered the basket and pulled Hüsnügüzel up into her room. It was the last night of the wedding period, and the nuptial day was to follow.
“I’ll hide in this wardrobe,” said Hüsnügüzel. “When the padishah comes into the room, you praise me and say, ‘He is such a brave man. If he came here now, what would you do?’ Let us see what he will say about me.”
When the wedding ceremonies were complete and the nuptial night was approaching, the padishah prepared to enter the girl’s room. Hüsnügüzel hid himself in the wardrobe and waited. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World simply sat by the window, looking out, and didn’t pay any attention to the padishah when he entered. “My beloved,” he said, “I have searched for you for thirty years. I am the Padishah of Giants and no one can defeat me in battle. I have finally got you. Why don’t you stand up so that I can have a full view of you?”
“Pooh!” said the girl, despising the padishah. “You should have seen my own lover, Hüsnügüzel. He would have held you in the air on the tip of his sword.”
“Who is this fellow you call Hüsnügüzel?”
“He is the son of the Padishah of Egypt,” said the girl.
“I don’t care whose son he is. Even if all of the padishahs of men in the world should come, I would not be afraid. They would tremble before me, for I am the Padishah of Giants.” He went over to The Most Beautiful Girl in the World and started to fondle her shoulder. Then Hüsnügüzel came out of the wardrobe.
“Oh, Padishah of Giants, I was the shepherd to whom you sent the leftover food, but I am actually Hüsnügüzel.”
The giant was speechless with amazement. “Oh, Padishah of Giants,” said the girl, “before Hüsnügüzel came, you were bragging about your courage. If you have anything to say to him, say it now that he is here.” But the giant was struck dumb. Hüsnügüzel drew his sword, struck the giant dead with it, and, cutting his body into four parts, stuffed him into the wardrobe. Then he and the girl ate and drank the food that had been prepared for the nuptials and went to bed.
Toward morning they arose and went to the baths. Maidservants led The Most Beautiful Girl in the World to a bath for women, and Hüsnügüzel went to another. When he came out of the bath, the members of the court said to each other, “How young our padishah has become after sleeping for just one night with The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.”
Coffee was served to the padishah, and then the grand vezir came in and asked, “What is your wish today, your majesty?”
“Call the town criers together and have them announce that there will be no further wedding celebrations today.” The vezir did as Hüsnügüzel had ordered, and when the people heard this, many of them concluded that the padishah had grown proud after sleeping one night with The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. Hüsnügüzel said to the grand vezir, “We are going on a journey and we shall be away for a long time. You will be in charge while I am gone. Here are the keys to the palace, but do not open that wardrobe door in the nuptial chamber while I am gone.”
“Very well, your majesty.”
Hüsnügüzel and the girl left the palace that morning, and all of the people who saw them again commented upon the unbelievable youthfulness and health of their padishah. They still could not understand why he had canceled the wedding celebrations.
As the two lovers were crossing a bridge, they met the old witch. “Why did you commit such treachery against me?” asked Hüsnügüzel. “We took care of you all that long time, and in return you sold my wife to the Padishah of Giants.” Without even waiting for the witch to answer, he drew his sword, cut her body into four pieces, and threw the pieces in the river. Then they went to the shepherd and Hüsnügüzel said, “Take this gold and give me back my padishah’s clothes and my horse.”
After Hüsnügüzel had put on his own clothes again, the two mounted his horse and set out along the road. After riding all day, they were tired, and so they stopped by a fountain near a poplar tree. They ate and drank and then sat by the fountain where Hüsnügüzel fell asleep with his head in the girl’s lap. They slept there that way all night, but when morning came, the girl was awakened suddenly by the noise of many horses’ hoofs.
We must go back to the palace of the Padishah of Giants to learn about these horses. After Hüsnügüzel had left, the grand vezir smelled something strange, and he noticed many flies around the forbidden door. “The padishah warned me not to open that door,” he said, “but something must be done about this. Let us open the door for just a moment and see if perhaps a cat or dog died in that closet.”
When they opened the door of the wardrobe, they found the body of the Padishah of Giants, covered with flies, and near it a heap of the shabby clothes Hüsnügüzel had worn as a disguise when he entered the garden. One of the palace attendants recognized the body and said, “This is our own padishah. That keloghlan must have killed him and taken on his identity, wearing our padishah’s clothes. How could a man have grown so young in just one night?” The grand vezir then gathered some troops around him and set out in pursuit of Hüsnügüzel and The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. It was the noise caused by these troops that had awakened the girl.
When the girl saw the approaching troops, she slipped the saddlebag under Hüsnügüzel’s head, without awakening him, drew her sword, and advanced to meet the troops. While she fought with them, Husnügüzel’s horse neighed several times until the young man awoke. He joined his wife in the battle against the palace troops, and between them they killed many soldiers. Finally, Hüsnügüzel captured the grand vezir and said, “What a fool you have been! Don’t you realize that I am Hüsnügüzel? I took back my own girl, killed your padishah, and left you in charge. Go back to the palace and live comfortably. Go and let me not kill you.”
After the vezir had left, Hüsnügüzel and the girl mounted his horse and rode to her palace. They lived there for some time, and then one day Hüsnügüzel said, “Now let us go to the palace of the Padishah of Arabs. I have friends there who saved my life once. After visiting them, we can go back to Egypt, the land where my father is the padishah. I have missed my parents.”
“As you wish, Hüsnügüzel,” said The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.
They rode to the palace of the Padishah of Arabs and stayed there a few days. There Hüsnügüzel married the youngest daughter of the padishah, the girl who all this time had been guarding his sword that once dripped blood. Hüsnügüzel then asked his friends to permit him to leave. To the Padishah of Arabs he said, “You should return to the position of padishah, for I shall return to Egypt. The son of the Padishah of the Seas shall be your vezir and the son of the Padishah of Stars shall be your secretary. All I want is a horse for The Most Beautiful Girl in the World and a horse for my new bride.”
The Padishah of Arabs was saddened when he learned that Hüsnügüzel was determined to leave. He granted him the two horses that he wished, and when Hüsnügüzel left, the padishah and his attendants rode along with them toward Egypt for a week. Drums and pipes were played as they rode along.
After the Padishah of Arabs left them, Hüsnügüzel and his two wives rode for a whole month and finally arrived at Egypt. There his parents rejoiced at his return, and they arranged another wedding for him and his two wives that lasted for forty days and forty nights. They lived happily thereafter, and may God give happiness to us all. And may you remember me, Mehmet Anli, of Samsun, by this tale.