Once upon a time, a merchant’s caravan was passing by a lofty mountain. Suddenly, the merchant felt the urge to climb it and see the world from top. He told his caravan to move on and that he would join them after he had seen the top. On the mountain top he saw a beautiful woman. He fell in love with her and married her. They made a small house, the same house that Hatim had discovered after reaching the mountain-top. One day, the merchant asked his wife to come and live with him in his hometown. She said to him, “I am a fairy; I have to take permission from my chief to leave this mountain. Wait here till I come back.” Years passed by but she did not return. The poor merchant lamented, “Oh come, I can’t bear your absence!” Hatim knew that he had to find the fairy in order to relieve the merchant from his miseries.
The Merchant and the Fairy
