*Folktales from Qatar: The Golden Cow*

*Once upon a time, there was an affluent man whose first two wives passed away before giving him any child. His third wife gave birth to a baby girl and passed away soon afterward. The man loved his baby girl so much. he didn’t get married until she was in her early teens, he asked her about his marriage with a woman so that this woman could take care of her. She agreed. But unluckily, this woman treated her badly behind her father’s back. To hide from her step mother, the girl asked a jeweler to make a huge golden cow. After finishing, she hid herself inside the cow which was displayed in the jeweler’s store.*

*The ruler’s son bought the cow from the store and put it in one of his rooms. As usual, the food would be brought to the room everyday for him after his return from outside, however the girl was hungry so she came out of the cow and ate all of his food. When he returned, he found out but no one could give him any reasonable reason. Still, the same thing happened on successive days. One day, he hid in his bed and kept watching behind his curtain. Then he found out her. Listening to her story, he decided to protect her and kept her there with him.*

*After that a time, the ruler’s son went abroad with his father. Before leaving, he told his mother to bring the food to his room everyday. One day, his cousin was preparing to get married. Their family borrowed the golden cow. Because the girl hid inside the cow so she didn’t know what was happening. As usual, she got out of the cow for food, she met the bride who was combing her hair. Being afraid of the beauty of the girl which could make the groom change his heart, the bride attacked her and threw her out of the house. A water carrier named Fattoum found her and took her to her house. After that she took care of the girl.*

*The ruler’s son came back home after the trips abroad with his father. He found out she disappeared. He was sick and did not leave his palace for years. No one could make his conditions better. One day, a medicine man heard his story and decided to cure him but he told it would take not a short time. The medicine man prepared some flour, mixed it with water and sent it to be baked in one of the houses in the town. Eight months passed, none of the loaves from most of households in the area could cure the ruler’s son. People began to talk about his story and whispered that the medicine man was deceiving the royal family. Sometimes later, the medicine man realized only Fattoum’s cakes could make the ruler’s son feel better. The next three days, he asked Fattoum to prepare the cakes for the man. The ruler’s son began to recover. Officials from the palace came to ask Fattoum the secret of the cakes. Firstly she denied to talk about the girl in her house, after knowing the ruler’s son’s story, she agreed to hand her over to the officials with the condition that they didn’t hurt her.*

*After bringing the girl and Fattoum to the palace, the ruler’s son was very happy. The ruler’s son and the girl got married and took care of Fattoum together in the palace.*