The Apples of Pregnancy

Sham S, Misri

There was a king and a queen. For sixteen years the king and the queen had no sons or daughters.  The king and the queen were very sad. They were always weeping and lamenting, for what would become of them without any children? Then the king said to the queen, 'O queen, I will go away and leave you, and if I do not find a son born of you by my return, know that either I will kill you with my own hands, or I will send you away, and live no longer with you.'

After some time, another king sent a challenge to him to go or fight him. If he did not go, the other king would come and slay him on his throne. Then the king said to his queen, ' O queen, a challenge has come to me to go and fight. If I had a son, would he not have gone to fight and I would have remained at home?'

She said, 'How can I help it, O king, if God has not chosen to give us any sons? What can I do?'

He said, 'Pray for me to God. If I come and don't find a son born of you, I shall kill you.'

And the king departed. Then the holy God and St. Peter fell to discussing what they should do for the queen. The God said to Peter, 'Here, you Peter, go down with this apple, and pass before her window, and cry, "I have an apple, and who so ever eats of it will conceive." She will hear you Peter; otherwise the king will come and kill her. ‘So St. Peter took the apple, and came down, and did as God had told him. He cried in front of the queen's window. She heard him, and came out, and called him to her, and asked, 'How much do you want for that apple, my man?'

He said, 'I want much; give me a purse of money.' And the queen took the purse of money, and gave it him, and took the apple and ate it. And when she had eaten it, she conceived. And St. Peter left her the purse of money there. So the time drew near for her to bear a child. And the very day that she brought forth her son, his father came from the war, and he had won the fight. When he came home and heard that the queen had borne him a son, who was now sixteen years of age. He was so happy to hear about this. He went to the wine-shop and drank heavily till he was dead drunk. And as he was coming home from the wine-shop, he reached the door, and fell down, and died. When the boy heard it, he went to the wine shop owner and killed him. When he came home the people, the nobles, beheld him as a hero .They wondered at him. But an evil eye fell on him; he was taken ill and after few days passed away. He died of the evil eye.