There once was a prince named Sadim, who despite his wealth was always hungry for more silver. So it was with great luck that one day, he found a djinni imprisoned in a bottle that was among his great wealth. The djinni, powerless to refuse the demands of the prince, asked what it was the prince wanted. Immediately, prince Sadim asked for eloquence to persuade others to give him silver.
The djinni agreed, and granted this power to the young prince. With his silver tongue, he was able to persuade anyone. He went around his kingdom demanding things from everyone within. Though his subjects had paid their taxes, with just a word they gladly gave up their money, even to the point that they no longer had enough to live.
Overjoyed with his new wealth, leeched off the people he spoke to that day, he returned to his palace. He was greeted by a beautiful princess of a neighboring land. He had long desired to be with her, and arrangements between their families had been discussed for a fortnight. With his new power, he demanded she marry him unconditionally, and unable to say no, she approached her father that night and insisted she be allowed to marry him without concern for their own country.
Pleased with his sudden good fortune, the prince went to bed without dinner, dreaming of his ever-growing wealth. In the morning, the prince was surprised to find that his attendants were nowhere to be seen. As he stepped out of his bedroom, he came upon a most terrible sight. The princess to whom he was to be wed was just outside his door, reaching forward as if to knock, but frozen in place and made of pure silver.
The servants in the courtyard were made of silver, and every last subject he had spoken to the day before was an unmoving and glorious silver statue. He searched for his father, but he was missing. As the day drew on, his hunger got the best of him. Sadim sat to eat a meal, but the moment a morsel touched his tongue, it turned to stone. Brilliant bread, glistening grapes, shining sausages, silver all.
Parched, starving, and terrified, the prince located the bottle of the djinni who had given him this power. Begging, he asked that the djinni free him of this curse. The djinni, seeing this as its opportunity, agreed on the condition that he be set free from the bottle. The prince agreed, and set the djinni free.
"Go to the mouth of the river, and drink. Take with you soap, and wash your mouth thoroughly. Only then will you free yourself of this curse." The djinni laughed as it departed.
So the prince went to the river, and scrubbed his mouth free of the silver tongue. As he did, the things which had turned to silver transformed back to their original states. Thinking his troubles over, the prince returned to his palace. But there he found the princess, his servants, and all the subjects of the land. They all scowled at him, some bearing weapons, and others shouting curses.
For although they were no longer silver, they still remembered how he had used his silver tongue to coerce them into doing things they did not want to do, because a word spoken cannot be taken back.
The djinni agreed, and granted this power to the young prince. With his silver tongue, he was able to persuade anyone. He went around his kingdom demanding things from everyone within. Though his subjects had paid their taxes, with just a word they gladly gave up their money, even to the point that they no longer had enough to live.
Overjoyed with his new wealth, leeched off the people he spoke to that day, he returned to his palace. He was greeted by a beautiful princess of a neighboring land. He had long desired to be with her, and arrangements between their families had been discussed for a fortnight. With his new power, he demanded she marry him unconditionally, and unable to say no, she approached her father that night and insisted she be allowed to marry him without concern for their own country.
Pleased with his sudden good fortune, the prince went to bed without dinner, dreaming of his ever-growing wealth. In the morning, the prince was surprised to find that his attendants were nowhere to be seen. As he stepped out of his bedroom, he came upon a most terrible sight. The princess to whom he was to be wed was just outside his door, reaching forward as if to knock, but frozen in place and made of pure silver.
The servants in the courtyard were made of silver, and every last subject he had spoken to the day before was an unmoving and glorious silver statue. He searched for his father, but he was missing. As the day drew on, his hunger got the best of him. Sadim sat to eat a meal, but the moment a morsel touched his tongue, it turned to stone. Brilliant bread, glistening grapes, shining sausages, silver all.
Parched, starving, and terrified, the prince located the bottle of the djinni who had given him this power. Begging, he asked that the djinni free him of this curse. The djinni, seeing this as its opportunity, agreed on the condition that he be set free from the bottle. The prince agreed, and set the djinni free.
"Go to the mouth of the river, and drink. Take with you soap, and wash your mouth thoroughly. Only then will you free yourself of this curse." The djinni laughed as it departed.
So the prince went to the river, and scrubbed his mouth free of the silver tongue. As he did, the things which had turned to silver transformed back to their original states. Thinking his troubles over, the prince returned to his palace. But there he found the princess, his servants, and all the subjects of the land. They all scowled at him, some bearing weapons, and others shouting curses.
For although they were no longer silver, they still remembered how he had used his silver tongue to coerce them into doing things they did not want to do, because a word spoken cannot be taken back.
