"
The Caliph, thus appealed to, arched his neck most gracefully and
replied:
"Alas! Screech Owl, I fear we are unable to aid you, as you will
understand when you have heard our miserable story."
He then related how the magician, Kaschnur, had changed them into
storks and made his own son ruler of Bagdad. The screech owl became
very much excited and exclaimed:
"How strange that misfortune should have come to us through the
same man. I am Tusa, the daughter of the King of the Indies. The
magician, Kaschnur, came one day to my father, to ask my hand in
marriage for his son Mirza. My father ordered him thrown down
stairs, and in revenge he managed to have me given a powder which
changed me into this hideous shape. He then conveyed me to this
lonely castle, and swore I should remain here until some one asked
me to be his wife, and so freed me from the enchantment."
At the conclusion of her story, the screech owl wept anew and would
not be consoled. Suddenly, however, she wiped her eyes on her wing and
said:
"I have an idea that may lead to our deliverance. Once every month the
magician, Kaschnur, and his companions meet in a large hall at this
castle, where they feast and relate their evil deeds.
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