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THE SHORT STORIES OF ZAKARIA TAMER Sulayman lived a happy life in the palace, looking at the wonders in each room. He spent days staring at the door of the fortieth room. He did not open it, obeying the old man’s advice. His curiosity grew and grew, until finally he was compelled to open the door. Mountains of gold covered the floor. When Sulayman saw the gold, he thought: “If I kill the old man, the gold will be mine.” He did exactly that, he killed the old man. Looking at his blood-smeared hands, he realized that the old man had not lied: here was Sulayman, who had become a vicious animal, a man killer. Those With Long Ears The gazelle, goat, rabbit, and bird lived together in a large meadow, full of trees and grass and a river with sweet-tasting water. One day a donkey arrived in the meadow. The rabbit, bird, gazelle and goat circled him and gawked at him, because the donkey, in olden days, was beautiful – really handsome. At that time, he did not have long ears. The donkey said: “Your meadow is gorgeous, can I stay here?” The sheep said: “We live happy lives, free of strife.” The gazelle said: “Whoever wants to live with us is not allowed to hurt anyone.” The bird said: “We do not fight.” And the rabbit added: “We live like brothers.” The donkey assured them that his behavior would be good behaviour and that he would not kick anyone. Then he added: “I hope we can be friends.” 176 BANIPAL 53 – SUMMER 2015
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13 STORIES FOR CHILDREN The donkey lived a calm, happy life in the meadow. He did not work. There was water, plants, and many different kinds of fruit. The donkey thought: “I will stay here until I die.” Before a week had passed, he began to feel bored. He cheered up quite a bit when he overheard the gazelle tell the goat: “I do not have wings like the bird, but I can run faster than the bird can fly.” The donkey said to himself: “What fun and how funny!” Then he hurried to find the bird, who was warbling and skipping from branch to branch. The donkey said: “What? I cannot believe it. How can you go on warbling while insults come BANIPAL 53 – SUMMER 2015 177

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13 STORIES FOR CHILDREN

The donkey lived a calm, happy life in the meadow. He did not work. There was water, plants, and many different kinds of fruit. The donkey thought: “I will stay here until I die.”

Before a week had passed, he began to feel bored. He cheered up quite a bit when he overheard the gazelle tell the goat: “I do not have wings like the bird, but I can run faster than the bird can fly.”

The donkey said to himself: “What fun and how funny!” Then he hurried to find the bird, who was warbling and skipping from branch to branch. The donkey said: “What? I cannot believe it. How can you go on warbling while insults come

BANIPAL 53 – SUMMER 2015 177

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