The chains of the mountain king

--- part 4

Prince Saipan Malik was not someone who would back down either. He said, "No matter what happens, either I will die or I will bring her back to my home." So he put on his traditional clothes, shoes, and turban, and set off after her.

As he was traveling on the road, he was caught by two women—who were actually witches. These two witches grabbed him, but he was so incredibly handsome that both of them fell in love with him. Even though these witches normally never touched humans—they would eat them without hesitation—when these two witches saw him, they were astonished and said, "How handsome he is!"

Both of them fell in love with him. One said, "I will marry him," and the other said, "No, I will marry him." They began arguing with each other. Then they decided, "Let’s make some food for him."

While they were preparing the food, they had him sit to the side and said, "Sit here," and laid out a mat for him...

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When the two witches said to Saipan Malik, HB

"You sit here, we are going to sleep, we are tired," they gave him an object and said, "Keep making noise with this so we know you’re still sitting here." So when they gave that object to Saipan Malik, he kept making sounds with it while they fell asleep.

Now the fairy—who loved him deeply—came to him disguised as a mouse. She said to him, "The mission you’re on, go and do it, and give me this object. I will keep making noise with it so they think you're still here." Saipan Malik said, "Alright." So the mouse kept making the noise, and Saipan Malik left.

As he was traveling, he came upon a sea, a great body of water that no one could cross. But God had given Saipan Malik courage and strength—he was madly in love. When someone is in love, he sees neither oceans nor mountains. He dove into the sea, and somehow, automatically, he made it to the other side.

When the two witches realized that Saipan Malik was gone and it was actually a mouse making the noise, they immediately chased after the mouse. The mouse kept running here and there, but they couldn’t catch it. Eventually, the mouse disappeared. In their rage, they destroyed all the walls in pursuit, but still couldn't find it.

Then they tried to follow Saipan Malik. He was now on the other side of the sea. The two witches, who were still madly in love with him, asked, "How did you get across?"

He replied, "I tied two or three stones to my waist and dove into the sea, and that’s how I reached the other side."

So the two witches tied two or three stones to their own waists and jumped into the sea. But when they did, they drowned and died.

And just like that, Saipan Malik was finally free of them.

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When he got rid of those two troubles, he went on a path where there was nothing else — just a desolate plain, a mountain, the land of demons and jinn. There was no sign or trace of any human being. Only one person was walking there — the noble prince (Sahib al-Mulk) — who was searching for his beloved.

No other human could even think of venturing into such a dangerous place. The very first time the prince set foot there, he encountered a giant (dev) — and this was no ordinary giant. He was a servant of the fairy’s father, who was the king of that realm. The giant, being loyal to the fairy’s father, automatically attacked Sahib al-Mulk. He grabbed him and threw him straight into a deep well.

This news reached the palace. When it became known that a human had come, and the giant had thrown him into a well, the princess — who was none other than the fairy Badr al-Jamal — immediately realized:

“This can only be him — that human, that prince, who came looking for me. It can be no one else.”

She went to the giant and asked what that man looked like. When the giant described his appearance, she confirmed:

“That is my lover! The one who came for me. And you threw him into a well? I’ll complain to my father!”

Frightened by the threat, the giant quickly pulled Sahib al-Mulk out of the well.

Right then and there, the fairy Badr al-Jamal turned her face away from the prince.

Seeing this, the prince was deeply hurt and said:

“I came here with so much difficulty, faced so many dangers, just to reach you… and now you’ve turned your face away from me? Why have you done this to me?”

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