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One bright morning in ancient Baghdad, the wise and cheerful Caliph Chasid sat in his palace enjoying the sunlight. He was a kind ruler who loved stories, laughter, and learning new things. That day, as he sipped his coffee and listened to the singing of birds, his trusted Grand Vizier Mansor entered with a merchant seeking audience. The merchant bowed deeply and showed the Caliph a small, elegant box filled with strange treasures. Inside was a scroll written in curious letters and a tiny black powder in a small bottle. The merchant said it was a rare secret from the East and that whoever used it could understand the speech of animals.
The Caliph was immediately fascinated. He bought the bottle and the scroll and asked the merchant to leave. Then, he called his vizier closer. They opened the scroll and found written directions: whoever sniffs the powder and says the word “Mutabor” will turn into an animal, able to understand its language. But there was a warning—it said they must never laugh, or they would forget the magic word and be trapped in animal form forever. The Caliph smiled and said to Mansor that it would be fun to test this magic. They planned to try it the next morning in the garden, where no one could see them.
At dawn, they went out to the palace garden and looked for a quiet place. The Caliph carefully opened the bottle and took a small sniff of the powder. Mansor did the same. Then, together they said “Mutabor.” In an instant, they were no longer human! Their arms stretched into wings, their bodies shrank, and feathers sprouted all over them. They had become two storks with long legs and curved beaks. The Caliph was delighted. He spread his wings and looked around in wonder, and Mansor flapped beside him, both laughing at how silly they looked.
When they began to walk, they noticed their long thin legs made them wobble. The sight was so ridiculous that they burst into loud laughter. As they did, they suddenly realized what they had done—they had forgotten the word that would make them human again! The Caliph tried to remember, but the word was gone from his mind. Mansor too could not recall it. Panic filled their hearts. They were trapped as storks.
The Caliph tried to calm down. He said that since God had given them human understanding, they must stay calm and find a way out of this trouble. They decided to fly around the land, hoping to meet someone who might help. They took flight over Baghdad, watching the city shrink below them. The Caliph’s heart ached as he saw his palace fade in the distance. They flew far, over rivers and mountains, until evening came.
At sunset, they landed by a large pond surrounded by reeds. As they rested, they saw a group of frogs croaking near the water. The Caliph, curious to test his new gift, listened to their talk and was amused to find he understood their words. The frogs were gossiping about the weather and insects. But one frog sat apart, silent and sad. The Caliph approached and asked why she was quiet. To his surprise, she answered softly that she was no ordinary frog. She had once been a princess of India, but a wicked magician named Kaschnur had turned her into this form.
The Caliph’s heart was moved. He asked if she knew of any way for him and his vizier to become men again. The frog nodded. She said that Kaschnur had also enchanted the Caliph’s city, plotting to overthrow him. The only way to break both curses was for the Caliph to find Kaschnur’s daughter, who was kept as a captive in the magician’s castle. If the Caliph could make her laugh, the spell over both the princess and himself would end. The frog told him the castle lay to the south, beyond the mountains, guarded by dark magic. Before she could say more, the moonlight faded, and she slipped into the pond, vanishing into the water.
The next morning, the stork Caliph and his vizier took flight again. They flew south for many days. They passed deserts, forests, and strange villages. People below pointed in wonder at the two storks flying together. One day, they came upon a ruined castle surrounded by thorny bushes. It looked gloomy and silent, just as the frog had described. The Caliph felt in his heart that this must be Kaschnur’s castle.
They perched on a broken wall and peeked through a window. Inside, they saw a beautiful young woman sitting sadly, spinning thread. She looked lonely, and her eyes were full of tears. The Caliph whispered to his vizier that this must be the magician’s daughter. But how could they make her laugh? They thought for a long time until the Caliph remembered how silly Mansor had looked trying to walk with stork legs. He whispered an idea, and Mansor nodded.
They stepped into the hall and began to dance clumsily, hopping on one leg, stretching their long necks, and bowing to each other like foolish actors. The girl looked up, startled, and then began to giggle. The Caliph flapped his wings faster, making even sillier moves, while Mansor twirled and tripped over his own feet. The girl couldn’t hold it anymore—she burst into loud laughter that filled the hall.
At that very moment, a bright light flashed through the castle. The ground trembled, and a great wind swept through the room. The storks felt themselves spinning, their feathers melting away, and suddenly they were standing once again as men—in their fine robes, with human hands and faces. The young woman was no longer a prisoner but stood before them as a radiant princess. She told them that their laughter had broken the curse. Kaschnur, the evil magician, had vanished into dust. The Caliph thanked her deeply and promised to take her safely to Baghdad.
They set out together. The Caliph and Mansor led the princess through the valleys and back to their land. When they reached Baghdad, the people rejoiced. Their ruler had returned, wiser and kinder than before. The Caliph told them the story of his adventure and how laughter had cost him dearly but also saved him in the end. The princess, now free, became his queen, and their wedding was celebrated for many days.
As time passed, the Caliph often remembered his days as a stork. He would stand on his balcony watching the white birds fly over the city, smiling at the memory. Sometimes he would joke with his vizier, asking him to practice walking like a stork again, and they would both laugh, though carefully this time. He never again desired strange magic, for he had learned that wisdom, patience, and kindness were more powerful than spells.
The Caliph ruled with justice and love, and the people of Baghdad praised his name. The princess never forgot the lonely frog by the pond who had guided them. She asked the Caliph to send servants to search for that pond, hoping to free the poor creature. One day, they found it, and when the Caliph prayed for her release, a bright star fell into the water, and a beautiful flower bloomed where the frog had been. The Caliph believed it was her soul set free.
Years later, when the Caliph’s hair turned gray and he grew old, he often told his grandchildren the story of how he became a stork. He would act out his funny walk, and everyone would laugh, especially the children. He told them to always remember that curiosity can be wonderful, but wisdom must guide it. He taught them that even in dark times, laughter can bring light.
The Caliph and his queen grew old together, surrounded by love and peace. Sometimes, on quiet evenings, they would see two storks standing by the palace gardens. The Caliph would smile and whisper, “Perhaps they are our friends visiting us again.” The storks would nod as if they understood and then fly away toward the sunset.
And so, the tale of the Caliph Stork was remembered for generations—a story of magic, mistakes, laughter, and love. The city of Baghdad flourished under his rule, and his name became known far beyond its walls. And though many centuries passed, people never forgot the Caliph who once turned into a stork and learned the greatest lesson of all—that true wisdom lies not in power or magic, but in the kindness of the heart and the joy of laughter.