Once there lived a Sultan in Kashmir. His name was Zafar Ahmed. One day he went out hunting. And he saw a hangul (a type of Kashmiri deer). It ran so fast, that before he knew it, he was in China! The people were speaking a strange language and he couldn’t understand what they were saying. He told them, “I don’t know what you are speaking." After a long time they taught him Chinese and told him that he was in China. “How do I get back?” he asked.
“Keep heading west until you see the hanguls .” He did that and then he saw the hangul . He aimed at it and killed it. An ibex saw the killing and he was furious. “How dare you kill my brother?”
But the Sultan said, “But then, how will I hunt?”
“Near my cave, there is a lake. You can get fish in that lake,” the Ibex said.
The next day the Ibex showed the sultan the cave. He said, “Get fish here!” So the Sultan started fishing.
After a few days, the fish in the lake started to decline. “Tell me another way to hunt,” Zafar asked the Ibex.
“Go to the Indus and down to the Arabian Sea.”
So Zafar went to the Indus. There he paddled off to the Arabian Sea and found loads of fish. He was so happy that he went back to the Ibex and asked, “Is there any way I can give you a reward?” The Ibex said, “Near my cave there are apple trees and strawberry bushes. I am too old and my legs are hurting. Please carry me there.”
Zafar carried the Ibex to the cave. When he reached the cave, he put the Ibex down. And then he saw the strawberry bushes and apple trees and found that the Ibex was right. The Ibex ate many fruits. He said, “I am feeling energetic again. I would like you to do me a favour and keep me in the Royal Stables.”
Zafar said, “As you wish!” The Ibex and the Sultan went to the Royal Stables.
Finally the horses got jealous that they were replaced by an Ibex. One wise horse said, “Only the Ibex has a very thick coat that can protect him from the winter. It’s going to be winter. So we will be in a hot room to keep ourselves warm while the Ibex goes out in the thick snow.”
“But we have very furry coats too!” the other horses said.
“Yes, yes, you have very furry coats which can stand -10C cold. Can you cope with -40C?”
“Maybe not, but…” they said.
“That’s why we are kept inside this hot room. If the king still kept us out, wouldn’t we freeze?”
“You’re right,” said the other horses. The Ibex said, “I cannot cope with the heat in the stables”. He was sitting next to the fire.
Immediately the king burst out, “We need to get Ibex into a much colder place because the furry coat will keep you much warmer than you want to be.”
The Ibex told the horses, “See! It’s just as the wise horse said!”
The Ibex stepped out into the cold. In a token of thanks, he ran to the apple tree nearby and kicked off an apple and carried it back to the Sultan. “Tastes good. Should I feed it to the horses there?” the Sultan asked.
“If you want,” said the Ibex. Later the Ibex felt restless. He told the Sultan, “I miss my home. Could you please take me back?”
The king said, “You are my friend. I cannot bear to lose you. I will move my palace to your cave. I promise.”
And the Sultan kept his promise. And when the Ibex found him there, he was very happy.
Abdurrahman Jamal, Al Qamar Academy International School
