The King and The Falcon
Intro
There are many versions of the story ‘The King and the Falcon’, ‘The King and The Hawk’ or ‘The King and His Hawk’.
This particular version is a re-imagining of the story based on James Baldwin’s version of the tale, which in turn comes from the original ‘Story of King Sindibad and His Falcon‘ from the Arabian stories ‘One Thousand and One Nights.‘
The King and The Falcon
Once upon a time, there was a famous king in Arabia. The king was kind and understanding. Every day he received his subjects, primarily peasants, to listen to their problems, which were usually disputes between neighbours, and thus find solutions that were agreeable to both parties. Since the king was so loved, he received many gifts from his vassals, both from the poor peasants and from the wealthiest.
One day the king received as a gift two grey falcons, native to Australia, and hitherto unknown in those lands of Arabia. The king was delighted with the gift and soon sent for the falconry master to train them.
After a few months, the teacher informed the sovereign that one of the falcons was perfectly trained and ready to go hunting with him or to put on shows in front of the other rulers of the region. The other bird, however, worried him. Since the day she arrived in the care of the teacher, she had remained motionless on the branch where they perched, oblivious to everything that was happening around her.
The worried king sent for all his healers and medicine men and medical experts. They all tried unsuccessfully to make the falcon fly. Some prayed, and others used magic potions, but the weeks went by and no one managed to make the falcon fly.
Finally, the king, very sorry for the beast, decided to tell his people that he would offer a reward of one hundred gold coins to whoever managed to make it fly.
The next morning, the monarch saw the falcon flying nimbly through the palace gardens. Very happy, the king asked his court to bring him the author of the miracle to pay him his reward. His assistants took him to a humble peasant, poor and ragged.
– Did you make my falcon fly? – asked the king. How did you do it? Are you a magician?
– It was easy, my Lord – answered the peasant. All I did was cut the branch and the falcon, realizing it had wings, took flight.