Kalif čápem

PëRMBLEDHJE

The young caliph is resting and bored. A merchant arrives with a precious gift, hiding a magic word. Whoever speaks it aloud becomes the animal of his choice. But he must not laugh in this form, or he will forget the magic word and be unable to return to human form. The Caliph and the Vizier see storks behind the fence, so they use the magic word to turn into storks too, only their conversation amuses them so much that they actually forget the word. They walk around the palace and see the magician and the merchant about to seize the government for the missing caliph. They are driven away from the palace by the servants, and so the caliph stork and the vizier stork take refuge in a cave. There lives an owl, but it is not a bird, but the girl Fatima, whom the evil magician has enchanted into this form because she would not marry him. From time to time he comes to her and tries again. So the girl owl and the caliph stork arrange that Fatima will try to learn the magician's forgotten secret word, and then the caliph will marry her, thus ridding her of her owl form. This is what happens, and the merchant and the magician are banished from the palace.