Exploring the Sea

One Morning King Aaron called the smart man, Abunawas, to the palace again. He said, “Today I have another mission for you, Abunawas,” said the king.

“What should I do, Your Majesty?” asked Abunawas impatiently.

“Do you know that we have a wide gulf nearby?” asked King Aaron.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Abunawas answered.

“Good! Too bad that nobody has ever swum across the gulf. I wonder, is that possible for a man to swum across the gulf? How many days will he take to get to the other side of the gulf? Abu, I need you to answer my curiosity. I want you to take this mission as an honour duty”.

Abunawas was very surprised. “Your Majesty, I’m not a good swimmer,” he said.

“I know you are not a good swimmer, but everybody knows you are the smartest man in the country. You must be able to do so,” answered the king.

“Yes, I’ll do it, Your Majesty,” grumbled Abunawas as he walked out.

Then he took a walk to the beach. He looked at the wide gulf. Then he sat down under a palm tree. He was trying to get ideas to solve his impossible mission. At that time he saw children’s clothes. They were piled up on a big rock beside him.

“Where are the children? They must be swimming on the beach,” he talked to himself. Then suddenly he shouted, “I’ve got an idea!”

He stood up and walked home. He got up early the following day. He soon went to the beach. He smiled and took off his dresses and his ring. He put them on the sand. He, put off his shoes, and then laid them beside the dresses. He went back home.

About one hour later the king and his minister arrived at the beach. They smiled because they were sure that Abunawas would fail to do the king’s assignment.

“Where is he?” asked the king. “He said that he would have been here by now.”

“Maybe he escaped out of the country. How can a man swim across this wide gulf?” said one of the ministers.

They walked along the beach. When they were near the palm tree, King Aaron saw something on the sand. “What’s that?” he said.

                           

They walked quickly to the piling stuff the king saw. “Whose clothes are these?” said the king wonderingly.

The king and the ministers examined the clothes. When the king lifted the shirt, something dropped down. He took it and was surprised as he knew that it was Abunawas’ ring. He remembered that he gave the ring to Abunawas several weeks ago.

“This is Abunawas’ ring,” he answered. “Where is he?”

Abeydron, one of his ministers, shouted to call Abunawas many times. Nobody appeared. The king and the ministers did not say anything for a moment.

“Is it possible that Abunawas is swimming across the gulf now?” asked the King Aaron softly as if asking for himself.

Abeydron laughed loudly. “Abu dares to swim across such a wide gulf?” he said cynically. “These may belong to somebody else.”

“Okay, let’s now go to Abunawas’ house and prove it,” said the king.

The king and the minister walked to Abunawas’ house. Abunawas’ wife said that her husband left the house in the morning the day before.

“Yesterday he told me that he would swim across the gulf. He said that Your Majesty ordered him to do so. Actually I did not let him go. Everybody knows that he is not a good swimmer,” said the woman sadly.

At that time a palace guard came and reported, “Your Majesty, Abunawas was found!”

The king was very happy to hear the news. He asked the guard how he was found. The guard told him the story.

In the late afternoon, three fishermen on the beach, at the other side of the gulf saw a man swimming. When they were close to the man, the recognized that it was Abunawas Because Abunawas looked very tired, they helped Abunawas reach the beach. Not long after that, he collapsed. The news spread very quickly and reached the guard.

Not long after that, the king and several guards went to the beach. The king sat down beside Abunawas, “Abu, Abu!” said the king while shaking Abunawas’ body.

Abunawas opened his eyes slowly. King Aaron was very glad. He held the smart man’s body tightly. He looked very sorry for causing his beloved citizen to suffer.

Abunawas smiled slightly when the king hugged him. “You are great Abu.”