parsons] 



FOLK TALES 407 



19. The Girl Who Turned Eagle; the Man Who Understood 



Animals ^' 



At Nafia' lived a man and his wife. They had a daughter. Thej^ 

 loved her very much. The old man did not want his wife to scold 

 her, nor did the old woman want him to scold. She used to grind 

 corn early in the morning before sunrise. After she finished grinding, 

 she would cook. After they ate, she would go after water to a spring. 

 They lived near the mountain. She would clean the house, then she 

 would prepare their dinner. The old man used to go aromid the 

 village chopping wood. The old woman used to help other people 

 in their houses. They would give her food. So they lived. One 

 morning the girl went after water with her water jar. Some other 

 girls were getting water in the same spring. She was waiting until 

 they got their water. She never played with the other girls. One 

 of the girls got her jar and threw out her water. So she went back 

 and filled up her jar again. She put the jar on the ground and was 

 talking to the girls. Another girl went and threw out her water. 

 "Do not thi-ow out my water! I will be late. They will scold me.'' 

 "No, they will not scold you. We always play this way, and they 

 do not scold us." A girl threw out her water again. And she was 

 crying. So at last they let her go. She was late, and her father 

 began to scold her for the first time. She said it was not her fault. 

 She was worrying about being scolded. Next morning as she was 

 grinding she began to think she would like to be an eagle, so she could 

 fly away. As she ground, the first corn was white corn, the second 

 time she ground black corn, the third time, yellow corn, the fourth 

 time, blue corn, the last time corn of all colors. She was singing: 



Awi ai ai 

 Awi ai ai 

 Awi ye ye. 



The first corn meal, the white, she threw to the east, then she 

 turned eagle from her knees down. The second time she threw to 

 the north, black corn meal, and she turned eagle from her waist 

 down. The third time she threw to the west, yellow corn meal, and 

 she turned eagle from her chest down. The fourth time she threw 

 to the south, blue corn meal, and she turned eagle from her neck 

 down. She was singing and crying all the time. The old woman 

 was listening. She said, "Old man, get up! I think our daughter 

 is singing, but far awa}\" The last time she threw up and down 

 corn meal of all colors, and she turned eagle altogether. Then she 

 flew out to the door, and from there to the ladder. The old man 

 came out and saw the eagle, but he did not know it was his daughter. 

 The eagle flew up on the roof. The old man went into the room, 



" This is the first tale of the Arabian Nights. 



