Rocs and Stones

No sooner had he tried to kill two birds with one stone than he realized that these were no ordinary birds. Rather they were rocs, those gargantuan birds of legend which devour sheep, cows and, yes, stones as well. Thus, all he accomplished was to feed two birds with one stone. “Still,” he figured, “better the stone crumble between their beaks rather than my body!”

Though he could not defeat the two birds, he found a solution to save his life. Every morning he would go with his donkey to the quarry and collect the best rocks and stones as food for his new pets. He continued like this until one morning when he found a sparkling jewel amongst the rocks. When he grabbed it and brushed it off with his sleeve, a vicious efrit emerged - and swallowed his poor donkey in one gulp! He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, and the efrit chased him until they reached the rocs’ nest. With a great whoosh of air, the birds rose into the sky and did battle against the efrit, less out of loyalty to the man and more because efrits are far tastier than even the most scrumptious boulders.

The sounds of the battle were beyond description. Even the clouds got out of the way, fearing for their lives. Squinting in the harsh sunlight, the man could not tell which side was winning, so he instead watched the giant shadows cast by the combatants on the ground below.

After the battle was over, the two birds migrated south in search of other efrits to satisfy their ferocious appetites. The bewildered man returned to the quarry, where he found on the ground a little of his poor donkey’s fur and beside it, the jewel which the efrit had inhabited. He dug a simple grave in which to bury what was left of the donkey, then hesitated for a moment and cast the jewel in as well, for he did not aspire to become rich, but just to return to his humble farmer’s life. Thus the man learned that one can kill one efrit with two rocs.