Robert's Raves

Questions, Answers and Dilemmas:
Tales with a Twist
by Robert Rodriguez

n a story in the ancient Indian collection known as the Baital Pachisi, the twenty-five tales of the vampire, King Vikram is asked by the vampire tale teller to determine which of three queens is the most delicate: one whose foot has been broken by a falling lotus blossom, another whose skin has raised blisters from being exposed to mere moonlight, and a third who faints after suffering a headache caused by the sound of a pestle. Because Vikram is required, under penalty of immediate termination, to respond to the baital’s question with a solution to the tale, he decides that the third queen is perhaps the most delicate of the three. Having given the tale’s solution, Vikram must retrieve the vampire-animated corpse from a tree and once more carry him upon his back while he is told another tale whose solution he must determine. This same scene is repeated until the final story with its surprise conclusion.

Stories of the type contained within the "king and the corpse" story cycle are often referred to as puzzle, conundrum or dilemma tales. Though dilemma tales are found throughout world folklore and the oral narratives of many cultures, they seem to be most prominent in tales found in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and among certain cultural groups ranging from the Romany gypsies of eastern Europe to Jewish tales told from Spain to north Africa and from Turkey to central Asia. The final solution of such a story may often depend on the main protagonist’s ability to twist the solution to his favor. This can be seen in an Indian tale in which a weaver has been both blessed and cursed by two opposing deities. He finds that he can weave the finest cloth and sell it at the highest price, but each night thieves come and steal all the gold that he has managed to make that day. The local magistrate threatens him with execution unless he can deal with the growing nuisance of the nocturnal burglars who have infested the weaver’s neighborhood. The weaver cleverly decides to give all his gold to the local beggars. He can continue to sell his cloth, make his profits and keep the thieves away at night. He still lives a comfortable life style since all the beggars are now so grateful to him because of his largesse that they keep him handsomely by giving him food and all the comforts of life until his dying day.

In another clever use of mental artifice, a Jew manages to outwit a Christian and Moslem into allowing him to sleep in the warm center of a blanket they share during a night’s rest on a journey. He pointed out to them that since his Sabbath comes between both of theirs, he should get the center of the blanket for his resting place at night.

One of the best known dilemma stories is the West African "Tale of the Cow-tail Switch." A village chief goes hunting and does not return. After a long while he is presumed to be lost or dead. During his absence his wife gives birth to a seventh son whose first words are an inquiry as to what happened to his father. The six older sons undertake a journey to locate their father. They find that he had been killed by a lion. By combining their special talents and powers they manage to restore him to life and bring him home. The question now arises: who will be chief after him and receive the cow-tail switch as symbol of ultimate authority. Each son puts in his claim to be chief based on his power used to heal the father and bring him back home. In the end, the chief gives the cow-tail switch to the youngest son. It was his question concerning his father that started the search and restored his life. Among the Ashanti there is a proverb that says that a man is only truly dead when he is no longer remembered.

There is a most innovative contemporary variation upon the theme of the cow–tail switch. A Jewish father emigrates to America. After a while his family, at the behest of his youngest daughter, undertakes a search for him. After many travails they are reunited. The father gives his treasured gold watch to his youngest daughter as a symbol of his undying gratitude for her efforts in finding him and uniting the family once more.

An example of another dilemma tale is that of the carpenter, tailor and the magician. While traveling they take shelter together in a cave. To amuse themselves they make a woman out of wood, dress her up, and, finally, give her the breath of life. The question then arises as to who should get the woman to wife. In some Arabic and Indian versions the girl chooses the magician who gave her the breath of life. In a Persian variant there is no solution and the argument rages to this very day. In an unusual Jewish version an old man suddenly shows up and determines that the woman should have the final choice. She chooses the old man. He is suddenly turned into a handsome young fellow and they walk off into the sunset. The three travelers are left shaking their heads in puzzlement with nothing to show for their efforts.

Another well known dilemma tale is that of the search for the three most valuable treasures in the world in order to win a woman, often a princess, to wife. It may be three brothers, as in the tale from Iraq, or three friends, as in the tale from Afghanistan. One acquires a mirror that can observe anyone in the world. One acquires a carpet that can transport one anywhere. One acquires a wondrous fruit that can restore a dying person to life, They observe the lady through the magic mirror and discover that she is dying. They use the magic carpet to reach her bedside, and the magic fruit to restore her to health. In several versions the woman chooses to wed the young man that gave her the fruit. It could only be used once and, therefore, was the most selfless gift for he could never use it to his own advantage. In an unusual version from Tunisia, it is the young men’s father, the sultan, who takes her to wife. He points out that if it were not for him they would never have been born. In a Tajik version from central Asia the lady solves the problem by suddenly producing two look-alike sisters. All three couples waltz off happily into marital bliss, it is hoped.

There are other stories in which several young men combine their special powers to rescue a princess from a giant, wizard or rival monarch. These stories are often refered to as "The Story of the Seven Simons," from the Bulgarian tale with seven young men named Simon. As in "The Cow-tail Switch" or "The Tale of the Five Chinese Brothers," each Simon has a special power: ship builder, mariner, archer, thief and so forth. After rescuing the princess they return home and argue as to who should get to marry her. As in many dilemma stories, it is often left to the audience to decide. Sometimes it is the rescued lady that makes the choice, confounding all conventional solutions. The ending of the Bulgarian version is unusual, even for a dilemma story. The seven young men argue and their dispute becomes violent and they pursue each other. In a strange turn of events, the men find themselves taken off the earth and flung into the heavens. They are changed into seven stars pursuing one another across the nocturnal skies. It is a Balkan counterpart to various Native American origin stories explaining the seven stellar sisters.

Several other dilemma stories should be mentioned. One is "The Tale of the Three Golden Dolls" from the Kazaks of central Asia. In this tale, a vassal raj sends a great treasure to his overlord, the great khan in Samarkand, along with a strange riddle. The treasure is three solid gold dolls. They are similar in height and garb but not at all alike in worth. The daughter of a humble blacksmith solves the riddle. At the same time she teaches the great khan male humility and the actual worth of royal advisors. As the tale goes, the raj was so impressed by the wisdom of a mere girl, he quietly and quickly cancels the rebellion he had planned against the great khan.

Another tale known from Italy to India tells of a woman who becomes involved with an amorous suitor, a future husband and a thief wishing to steal her jewels. All three gentlemen defer to her wishes and act with honor and faith in various endeavors. In the end the question is: of the three, who is the most honorable in his behavior towards the woman? In one form or another this tale can be found in Bocaccio’s Decameron, the Spanish collection of the Tales of the Conde Lucanor, the Arabic collection known as the Tales of the Forty Grand Wazyrs, and in the Indian Vikram and baital cycle.

Thus, we come full circle. We end where we began with the final tale from Baital Pachisi. A father and son are hunting in a forest. They come upon two sets of female footprints, no doubt a mother and a daughter. They decide to take off after these women in hope of finding wives for themselves. They assume that the larger footprints belong to the mother and the smaller to the daughter. The father decides he will take the mother and leave the daughter for the son. Unfortunately they have erred slightly. The father ends up with the daughter and the son with the mother. The baital asks Vikram what will the relationship of the children of these two couples be to each other. Vikram is unable to answer the question logically for there is no rational solution to the dilemma. Vikram’s inability to answer the question frees him from the baital’s power, thus bringing the collection to an end. In reality, this is just the beginning. As there is no solution to the baital’s twenty-fifth tale, there is no end to the enjoyment and entertainment and cleverness of dilemma tales. Whether they have logical solutions or not, dilemma tales are favorites of storytellers today as they have been from time immemorial. They will continue to be as long as good stories are told and there are folks to enjoy them.

—published in WIP Summer 1997

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