Long, long ago there lived in the Holy Land an old peasant and his
wife. They had an only son who was also married. The family all lived
happily together in a little house in a village near Samaria. The son,
whose name was Chaninah, was a very good man, deeply learned in the
Holy Scriptures and the ancient lore of Israel.
In course of time the old father, feeling his end drawing near, called
his beloved son to his bedside and said to him,—
“Hearken, my son, to the words which I am about to speak. Your mother
and I will soon die. After our death and burial you will observe the
customary period of mourning and lamentation. On the day following go
to the nearest market-place and buy the first thing offered to you, be
the price what it may. I also charge you to continue the study of the
Holy Word of the Bible by day and by night, keep the Divine
Commandments, support the poor and be kind to the dumb creatures.”
After he had spoken these words he blessed his son and closed his eyes
in the sleep of death.
Chaninah went to tell his mother of the death of his father. The sad
news was too much for the poor woman and the shock killed her
instantly. The pious son buried his beloved parents in the village
cemetery and returned home to keep the customary period of mourning and
lamentation, which lasted seven days.
Mindful of his father’s dying words, Chaninah went on the following
morning to the nearest market-place. One of the merchants, carrying a
beautiful silver casket in his hands, came to him and said,—
“Will you buy this casket?”
“What is the price?” asked Chaninah.
“I will take eighty pieces of silver for it,” answered the merchant,
and he added, “I will not accept any less.”
Chaninah agreed, and there and then paid the large sum of money
demanded, thinking all the while of his dear father’s last wish. The
money which he had spent in buying the casket was nearly all the
fortune he possessed.
Without any further delay he returned home with his purchase, which he
was anxious to show to his wife.
“Look here,” he cried, “I have spent nearly all our money in buying
this casket, even as dear father told me to do just before he died.”
“Open it,” said his wife; “there is sure to be something very valuable
inside it.”
He lifted the lid of the casket and was astonished to find that it
contained another silver box. He took this out and opened it, curious
to learn what was inside. To their great surprise a little green frog
leapt out.
“Well, I never,” cried Chaninah, “this is an expensive creature.”
“Do not forget,” his wife said, “your father’s command to be kind to
the dumb creatures.”
“Quite right,” says her husband, “we will provide for the frog even as
though the little fellow were one of us.”
The frog grew larger and larger and the silver box was no longer large
enough for its quarters. Chaninah therefore made a nice roomy cupboard
for their new friend’s abode. After a while the wife told her husband
that there was no more money left to buy food. With a very sad heart
the good man called the frog to his side and said,—
“I am awfully sorry to tell you, dear little friend, that we cannot
feed you any longer because we have no food left even for ourselves.”
“Please don’t worry,” cried the frog, “I hope you will believe me when
I tell you that I am indeed more than grateful to you both, for all
your kindness and hospitality. Let me prove my gratitude by giving you
this piece of advice. In the box where you found me, you will see a
strip of parchment. If you place it in the fold of your turban you will
be able to understand not only the different languages of mankind but
also the speech of birds, fish and beasts.”
Chaninah did exactly as the frog told him, and calling his wife told
her that they would accompany the frog to his new home wherever it
might be. The frog said this should be in a pond in the wood near by.
They all went to the wood feeling sad that poverty was forcing them to
part company.
As soon as they came to the wood the frog told them to rest themselves.
Then at the bidding of the frog, the birds and beasts in the wood
brought to Chaninah and his wife an immense quantity of valuable gems
and an assortment of roots and herbs. The kind-hearted frog gave these
gifts to his good friends, explaining how the herbs and roots were to
be used for healing purposes. Then at last the frog bids his friends
farewell and tells them that he was really a son of Adam and the demon
Lilith, and that he had the power of changing himself into any shape.
Chaninah and his wife gathered up the precious gems, roots and herbs
and returned home. On the way they met a caravan and offered some of
the gems for sale. A good bargain was struck and Chaninah and his wife
found themselves with plenty of money. They left their old home and
bought a nice house. Riches did not spoil them, for their hearts were
kind. Moreover Chaninah kept faithfully the charge of his beloved
father. He studied the holy words of Scripture by day and by night and
observed the Divine precepts with a good will. Their home was always
open to the poor. The good fortune of Chaninah spread far and wide. His
reputation as a charitable man reached the ears of the King who invited
him to visit his Court.
The King took a great fancy to Chaninah and persuaded him to take up
his abode in the palace. The King was by no means a pious man, in fact
he was very wicked and cruel. He was unmarried, and this fact alone
displeased his subjects. His counsellors urged him to find a good wife,
saying to him,—
“Let us, O King, remind you that we require not only a king but also a
queen and little princes; for there will surely come a time when a new
king will have to be found—because kings and queens are mortals and
they cannot live for ever.”
They did not tell the King what their real motive was in advising him
to marry. They thought that if the King were to find a true and good
wife it might be possible for her to use her influence and make him a
better man.
The King dismissed his counsellors, promising to see them again in a
week’s time, when he would tell them whether he would marry or not.
When they came to the palace at the appointed time the King’s valet met
them and told them that His Majesty would receive them in the palace
garden.
They went there and found the King sitting on his throne. As they
approached he rose up and bade them welcome. At that moment a beautiful
bird flew over the King and dropped a long golden hair upon his
shoulder. The King took the hair in his hand and turning to his
counsellors said,—
“I will marry only the maiden to whom this golden hair belongs. No
other wife shall be mine. You wish me to marry—well and good—so be it.
I now command you to discover the owner of this golden hair, and mark
you, if you do not bring her to me within a year from to-day I will
have you and all your families put to death.”
The counsellors were greatly distressed at the turn of events. They
feared that their lives would be forfeit. How were they to find the
lady whose golden hair had brought misfortune to them and their
families? With sad hearts they left the royal presence, and when they
were outside the palace they asked one another, “What is to be done?”
Chaninah, who was now one of the King’s counsellors, offered to find
the lady destined to be their queen. He hastened home to bid his wife
farewell and to prepare for his journey. He took a bag into which he
put six loaves, a small assortment of his precious herbs and roots and
twelve silver coins. Having blessed his wife he set out on his quest.
He walked during the best part of the day and at sunset, feeling very
tired, he sat down on a large stone beneath a tree. He was just about
to doze off when he was suddenly startled by hearing a raven’s croak.
He listened and understood that the bird had not found any food for
three days. He at once opened his bag and gave the raven a large piece
of bread. On the morrow Chaninah met a dog howling miserably.
“Come and tell me,” he said to the dog, “all your troubles. I
understand the speech of beasts and birds.”
The dog said that he was very ill and hungry, for it was just a week
since he had eaten any food. Chaninah gave him one of the healing roots
and a loaf of bread. The dog devoured the bread and ate the root and
thanked his good friend.
Next day Chaninah came to a river and found some fishermen trying in
vain to pull in their net, which contained a large fish. The fishermen
pulled so hard that they feared their net would break. Chaninah lent
them a willing hand and then they were able to pull in the net. The
fishermen shouted with joy,—
“We have enough now for dinner to-day and to-morrow.”
Chaninah asked them to sell the fish and he would give them twelve
pieces of silver as its price. They agreed and gave him the fish as
soon as he had paid them. They could hardly believe their eyes when
they saw Chaninah throwing the fish back into the river. Bidding them
farewell he continued his journey.
At last he came to a large town where, unknown to him, dwelt the maiden
whom he was seeking. She was a princess, the only daughter of the King
of that country.
Chaninah came to the courtyard of the palace and stood still awhile
gazing around. The Princess was looking out of the window of her room,
and saw Chaninah, whose strange attire attracted her attention. She
sends her chamberlain to bring him to her presence.
In reply to her inquiry as to the why and wherefore of his visit to her
father’s land, Chaninah tells her the story of his quest. Looking at
her he sees that she is the very lady whom he has to find to be the
wife of the King, his master, for her tresses were golden even like the
hue of the hair which the King found upon his shoulder.
“Come, good lady, with me,” he cries, “and save my people, the wise men
of Israel and their families, who are in mortal danger. Come and be
Queen in our land and save the soul of our lord the King.”
The Princess had listened very attentively to all the strange story
told by Chaninah, and in reply she said,—
“Well do I remember drying my hair one day last month in the garden of
our palace, and whilst doing so a strange bird flew over my head three
times and then plucked out one of my hairs. He flew away with the hair
and I can now believe that this is the very bird which brought my hair
to the King of your land. I will accede to your wish and consent to
become the Queen of your land if you fulfil two tasks which I will set
you. The first I will mention at once. Here I have two empty flasks.
You must bring them back to me full of water. I do not mean the water
of the brook or well, but the one flask must contain water from
Paradise and the other must be filled with water from Hell. When you
have done this task I will tell you all about the second one.”
With a kind word of farewell the Princess dismissed Chaninah. He left
the palace with a sad heart and prayed to God to help him in his
difficulty. Was he not trying to save the lives of his brethren in the
Holy Land?
After a little while he hears the croak of a raven speaking as
follows:—
“Dear friend! do you no longer remember me? Did you not give me bread
when you met me? I was so hungry then, for I had not tasted any food
for three days. Now just tell me, How can I be of service? I will
gladly do my best to please you.”
Chaninah told the raven all about the task which the Princess had set
him to do.
“Here are the flasks,” he said; “one must be filled with water from
Paradise and the other must be filled with water from Hell.”
The raven told him to tie a flask to each wing and at sunset to be at
the spot where they were conversing. The raven flew to the netherworld
and singed his wings in passing through the flames of Hell. At last he
reached the black boiling waters in the centre of Hell and filled one
flask. He then flew to the gates of Paradise and found the spring which
flows from its midst and bathed in its cool water to heal his wings. He
then filled the other flask and flew to the spot where he had arranged
to meet his friend. He gave the flasks filled with the desired water to
Chaninah, who returned to the palace and told the Princess that the
task was done.
The Princess was in doubt whether the water of each flask was genuine.
She proposed to test the contents there and then. Opening the flask
containing the water from Hell, she poured a few drops upon the palm of
her hand. The water burnt her skin and she quickly put some of the
water of the other flask upon the burnt spot and healed it at once. She
told Chaninah that she was quite satisfied with this performance.
“But now,” she said, “you have to perform a much more difficult task.
Just listen. Some years ago I was playing with my ring in a boat and by
accident I dropped it into the water. It was a golden ring with my
initials engraved on the gold and set with a beautiful pearl. Restore
this ring, and when I have it again I will comply with your request.”
The Princess thought that it would be impossible to find her ring and
that she would not be bothered to accede to the wish of Chaninah. She
again dismissed him with a few kind words and told him not to be
disappointed if he failed to find the ring.
Chaninah at once turned his thoughts to God and prayed for Divine help.
He then went to the nearest river, hoping that his good fortune would
not forsake him. As soon as he came to the water he beheld the large
fish which he had purchased and thrown back into the river.
“Tell me,” said the fish, “what you desire, and I will try to help
you.”
Chaninah told the fish the story of the ring of the Princess, and said
that he must have this ring as soon as possible.
“Meet me at yonder bridge,” said the fish, “to-morrow morning at
daybreak and I will bring you news concerning the ring.”
The fish then swam away and made for the bottom of the great sea in
order to seek the help of Leviathan, the monster king of the deep.
Leviathan welcomed the fish, and having heard his story promised to
help him. He issued an order throughout his vast kingdom compelling
every fish to report to him if any such ring had been heard of or
discovered. If he should discover that a fish had the ring and failed
to produce it, very severe penalties were sure to follow. Within an
hour the ring was brought to the palace of Leviathan and placed before
his throne. Leviathan then gave it to the fish which had promised to
help Chaninah.
Next morning at daybreak the fish delivered the ring to Chaninah, who
rejoiced greatly at the cleverness of the fish. How glad he was that he
had fulfilled his dear father’s wishes in being kind to birds, beasts
and fish.
At noon Chaninah entered the palace and was brought at once to the
Princess.
“Behold,” he cried in a joyful voice, “your Royal Highness! is this not
your ring? Your initials are engraved on the gold.”
The Princess admitted that this was her ring, and as the two tasks,
which she had imposed, had been satisfactorily accomplished, she now
consented to accompany Chaninah to the Holy Land.
On the way they were attacked by robbers. Chaninah, fearing that he
would be overpowered, called for help. At that moment a dog ran up to
his side and barked so furiously that the robbers made off. The dog was
glad to repay Chaninah for having fed him and healed him in days gone
by.
At last they came to the Holy Land, and when the King saw the beautiful
princess with the golden hair he was very happy. Amidst general
rejoicing the royal wedding took place. The King rewarded Chaninah by
making him his chief counsellor of State. The good man’s success,
however, was marred by a great misfortune which had befallen him during
his absence. His good wife had died. Moreover, some of the royal
servants were envious of his advancement in the King’s favour. They
resolved to hire some ruffians who were to waylay him. One day as he
was leaving the palace the ruffians attacked him and killed him in the
courtyard. As soon as the news of the sad event was told to the Queen,
she cried,—
“Never mind! let me see what can be done.”
She went to her cabinet and took out the flask containing the water
from Paradise. She then went to the courtyard where the King and nobles
were gathered around the corpse.
“Make way for Her Majesty the Queen!” the people cried.
When the Queen saw the dead body of her friend she smiled. All eyes
were fixed on her. She sprinkled some of the precious water upon the
corpse and immediately Chaninah opened his eyes and arose. Now the
people understood why the Queen had smiled.
“Come now,” said the King to his wife, “kill me and restore me to life
again. I should just like to know how it feels to be dead.”
The Queen declined to murder her husband, and turning to him she
cried,—
“Do not be so wicked. Life is sacred. Moreover, the wonderful water
will only bring a person back to life provided his life had been good.”
“Your Majesty,” she added, “must repent and mend your ways, otherwise
you will not be restored to life in the hereafter.”
The King went away in anger and returned to his royal apartments. Here
he ordered one of his servants to kill him.
“If you refuse,” cried the wicked King, “I will instantly kill you.”
Whereupon the servant obeyed the King and slew him.
The Queen was at once informed of the wicked death of the King. She was
truly sorry to find that he had not allowed himself to be influenced by
her advice, but that he had trifled with his life. She therefore
fetched the flask containing water from Hell. Then she sprinkled its
contents upon the body of the wicked King. His body immediately was
burnt to ashes. She thereupon turned to the astonished members of the
Court who were looking on, and in a gentle voice she said,—
“Do you not see, good friends, that if my husband had been a good and
holy man he would have been restored to life, just like Chaninah. But
the fact is that he was a cruel and bad man. You all knew this even
before I came here from my father’s land.”
After the burial of the King, the counsellors came to the Queen and
urged her to marry Chaninah, who had proved such a trusty friend. The
suggestion pleased the Queen, who gladly gave her heart and hand to the
good man. They ruled the people in justice and kindness, and as long as
they reigned there was peace in the land.
(From the Jewish Chap Book, Ma’aseh Book, § 143.)