Many years ago there was a king who ruled over a vast kingdom, and was believed by many to be the wealthiest man in the world.
This king had a daughter who was curious to know about everything—why the sun rises and sets, why spring follows winter, why the moon is full at some times and is only a sliver at others. So it was that when the princess learned there was a wise old man in their kingdom, a soothsayer who knew how to read the stars, she begged her father to bring him to the palace to teach her what he knew.
Now the king's daughter was very precious to him, and he was very proud that she so loved to learn. Therefore he sent a messenger in a golden carriage to bring the old man to the palace.
And while the messenger was still far away, the soothsayer read in the stars that he was coming, and he wondered what it was the king wished of him. When the messenger arrived he said to the old man: You need not be afraid, for the king will do you no harm. So the old man accompanied the messenger to the palace.
When the old man arrived, he was given an audience with the king at once. The king said to him: It is known that you possess the knowledge of how to read the stars. I would like you to reveal this secret to my daughter, the princess, who has a great thirst for such knowledge. As your reward, I shall build you the finest observatory in the world, from which you may gaze at the stars. Then the old man said: I agree to teach the princess on these terms, but there must be one more condition—that no one else be present while I instruct her. The king agreed to this condition, and the old man began to teach the princess how to read the stars. The princess listened carefully to everything he had to say, and she proved to be a fine student. At the end of one year the old soothsayer had taught her all he knew about the stars, and when he returned to his home he found the observatory had already been built, as the king had promised.
Now the princess was very pleased with all that she had learned, and she quickly put it to good use. For she read in the stars that an evil king in a bordering kingdom was planning a secret invasion. The princess warned her father about this, and he set a trap for the invading army, which was easily defeated.
After this, the princess became the king's primary adviser, and he came to depend on her in many ways.
Some time passed, and one night the princess read in the stars of a mountain that had a vast treasure of gold hidden within it, and that only one person in the world knew how to enter it.
And she also learned that this was none other than the old man who had taught her how to read the stars.
Then the princess reported what she had learned to her father, the king, and begged him to send for the old man again, so that he could reveal the secret of where the golden mountain could be found, and how it could be entered. The king agreed to his daughter's request, and sent a messenger in a golden carriage to bring the soothsayer back to the palace. And when the old man arrived, the king told him what his daughter had discovered in the stars, and asked him to reveal the secret of the golden mountain to her. As a reward, the king promised to have a telescope made for him that would bring the stars a thousand times closer to his eyes.
Now at first the old man hesitated, for he knew there were dangers associated with the golden mountain. But when the king insisted, he agreed to reveal the secret to the princess, but on the condition, as before, that no one else be present when he was with her. The king accepted this condition.
Then, when they were alone, the princess begged the soothsayer to take her to the golden mountain that very night. The old man told her that in that case they must hurry, for they had to be there exactly at midnight. So it was that the two of them made their way in complete darkness, and reached the mountain at the appointed time. There the soothsayer uttered a spell, which caused a large stone of the mountain to move with much rumbling, so that they could enter the cavern. But as they did, the old man warned the princess that the mountain would remain open for only half an hour, and that they must return before half past midnight, for then the stone would close over the mountain, and if they had not departed from it, they would be trapped inside.
Inside the golden mountain the princess beheld treasures unmatched in all the world, even in the treasuries of her father, the king. She saw golden apples, silver raindrops, and a multitude of diamonds in the shape of snowflakes. She was dazzled by the unimaginable splendor she saw there, and would not have remembered to take her leave had the old man not reminded her. And shortly after they took their leave, the stone entrance to the mountain closed. Then they returned to the palace, and the soothsayer received the telescope the king had promised him, and returned to his home. But before he left he warned the princess to take care if she ever returned to the mountain, and not to forget that she must leave it in time.
The following night the princess decided she wanted to return to the golden mountain, for just as they were leaving the night before she had glimpsed a golden seashell so exquisite that she had dreamed about it all night, and now she wanted to make it her own. She traveled there by herself, and when she reached the mountain it was almost midnight, and she repeated the spell that the old man had uttered, for she had listened very carefully while he had spoken. Once again there was a great rumbling, and the stone moved, and she was able to enter the mountain. But in the darkness her gown caught on a thorn bush as she entered, and a single golden thread became unraveled, although the princess did not notice this.
Inside the mountain, the eyes of the princess were again so dazzled by the golden treasury that she became dizzy. But she had not forgotten the golden seashell she had come there to seek out, and soon she held it in her hand. It was truly a miracle to behold, for it resembled an actual seashell of the most beautiful kind in every respect, except it was made entirely of gold.
Knowing that real seashells echo the sea, the princess held the golden shell up to her ear, and to her amazement she heard voices speaking there. That is how she discovered it was a magic seashell in which she could hear anything being said anywhere in the world. If she held it in one position, she would hear one conversation, and if she moved it ever so slightly, another would take its place. Now the princess was fascinated by this magic shell, and did not notice the swift passage of time. Suddenly she realized it was time for her to leave the cavern, and she rushed to the entrance, but it was too late, for the mountain had already closed, and she was trapped inside it.
The next morning cries for help were heard from inside the mountain, and when it was discovered that the princess was missing, the king understood it must be the voice of his daughter that they heard. Then he commanded his soldiers to take pickaxes and other tools and to dig into the mountain to pull her out.
But it was all in vain, for every pickaxe broke against the hard rock, and before long even the king conceded they would never save the princess that way.
Then the king recalled the old soothsayer who had taught the princess the secret of how to enter the mountain, and he immediately sent a messenger in the golden carriage to fetch him. But the messenger returned alone, and he told the king that the old man had passed away. The king was very grieved when he heard this, for now there was no one left who knew how to open the mountain and free his trapped daughter. Then the king announced that anyone who could free the princess would be wed to her, and would also receive half of his kingdom. Many journeyed to the mountain and sought to free the princess with one spell or another, but none of them succeeded in making the mountain open, and the princess remained trapped inside.
Now in that kingdom there was a clever lad whose name was Yousef, and although his family was poor, he always managed to find something so that they never went hungry. One day Yousef was walking in the marketplace when he heard an old woman cry out that she had an oud to sell. But everyone who looked at the oud only laughed in her face, for it was very old and battered, and besides, it was missing all of its strings. Now Yousef had only three copper coins in his pocket, but he said to himself:
The oud is old and worn, but I could polish it, and someday, when I have more money, I will buy strings for it and play it. Then Yousef approached the old woman, and offered his three copper coins for the old oud. The old woman accepted his offer at once. After this she motioned for him to come closer, and she whispered in his ear: This is a fine oud you have bought, my lad, for it is a magic oud. But for it to perform its magic, it requires golden strings, for no others will suffice. Then the old woman turned to go, and disappeared in the crowded marketplace. And even though Yousef ran after her, he could not find her, and he was sorry she had left before he could ask her what kind of magic the oud could do, and now it was too late.
It was at that time that the princess had become trapped in the golden mountain, and the king sought help in setting her free. And like many others, the boy Yousef liked to imagine how wonderful it would be if he was the one who freed her. And even though he had no idea how to do this, Yousef decided to go to the golden mountain to see for himself. So he took leave of his parents, picked up his only possession, the stringless oud, and set out on his journey.
Meanwhile the princess had begun to despair of ever escaping from the cavern. At first she had hoped that those trying to get her out would succeed, for she was able to listen to all their comments with the aid of her magic seashell. But in this way she soon discovered that they had failed, and that the king, in his desperation, had announced he was seeking the aid of anyone, and had offered her hand to whoever succeeded in releasing her.
Then it occurred to the princess that she might be able to open the mountain from within by pronouncing the spell, but this too failed, for the spell was effective only from the outside. She had searched through the cavern of treasures to see if there was anything to eat or drink, and found a spring deep in the cavern, which had its source inside the mountain. So too did she find growing next to it a carob tree, which sustained her. And to pass the time she put the golden seashell to her ear, and heard in it all that her parents and others in the kingdom said about her, and learned how much they grieved over what had happened. So too did she listen to the lectures of wise men all over the world, for she had not lost her love for learning. And in this way several months passed, with the princess no nearer to freedom than she was in the first place.
Then one day the boy Yousef arrived at the golden mountain.
He saw the crowds that gathered there during the day, because what had happened to the princess had made it a famous place. But when it grew dark, they all left and returned to town, leaving Yousef alone outside the golden mountain, for he had nowhere else to go. He found a place for himself on the ground, and was about to go to sleep when he suddenly saw something glint in the moonlight. And when he arose and went over to see what it was, he was amazed to find a long, golden thread—the very one that had become caught in the thorn bush as the princess had entered the cavern. Yousef carefully pulled the golden thread from the bush without pricking his fingers on the thorns, and when he had it in his hand it occurred to him that he might try to string his oud with it. For, after all, the old woman had told him its magic would work only with golden strings. And when he had strung the oud, he found that the golden thread was just long enough to serve for all its strings.
So it was that as midnight arrived Yousef plucked the strings of the magic oud for the first time. And all at once it sang out with a melodious voice, almost human, and each time he plucked a string, it sang out another word, of something that sounded to Yousef like a spell. Suddenly he heard a loud rumbling.
Then the princess, who had heard every word pronounced by the magic oud with the aid of the golden shell, hurried outside, and ran straight to the boy who had released her, and embraced him, and thanked him again and again for setting her free.
Then Yousef and the princess returned to the palace of the king, he with his magic oud, and she with her magic seashell, and when the king saw that his beloved daughter had been freed, he was overjoyed. So too did he keep his promise, and soon there was a lavish wedding at which Yousef and the princess were wed. And the princess soon found out that the clever Yousef loved to learn as much as she did, and she taught him all that she knew, so that one day he became the wise ruler of that kingdom, where he was admired and respected by all.