narrated by francisco m. africa.
once upon a time in an unknown country there lived a royal couple endowed with almost all the blessings of god. their palace was decorated with all kinds of precious stones, diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds. they were often honored with visits from the celestial beings. there was hardly an hour of the day when some sort of jubilation or festival was not being held in the royal home. but, in spite of all his riches, there was a melancholy in the mind of the king,—a brooding, a cankering thought, that would not give him an hour of rest or contentment. in spite of all the favors lavished on him by god, he felt miserable and uneasy. he had a happy and wealthy kingdom, but—he had no heir. there was nobody to manage the government after his death. whenever the thought of death came to his mind, he fell on his knees and implored the almighty to give him a son: “have mercy on me, o god! give me a son to manage my kingdom after i am gone!”
one evening an angel from paradise came to visit him, and, on finding the king at his prayers, said, “dry thy tears, o king! thy royal prayer is heard in heaven. thou shalt be given more than a son, but not in the same shape as thou art. thy sons shall see the light of day crowned with their own flesh.” the king was so greatly overjoyed, that he could not speak a single word of gratitude in reply.
not long afterward the queen gave birth to a cock that crowed on seeing the light of day. the couple were very glad: [404]night and day they caressed the royal babe, and they would have made for him a cage of gold had not god forbidden them to do so. every year a cock was born into the royal family, until the feathered sons numbered thirteen. but these sons were jealous of one another: each thought that the others had no right to wear crowns.
at last the old king and queen died, and no one was left to manage the royal demesne but the dumb sons. thereafter the feathered orphans began fighting one another, each one trying to wrest the crown from the others.
