The Story of Caliph Stork

This beautiful story by German writer Wilhelm Hauff is about the ruler of Baghdad—the Caliph—and his assistant, the Vizier. One day they came into possession of an unusual gift. By the power of magic, the Caliph and his first minister could turn into any animal or bird and understand the language of animals. All it took was to sniff a mysterious powder and say the magic word “Mutabor.” And to become human again, they only had to follow one condition: under no circumstances must they laugh.

One morning, the Caliph and his vizier Mansur wanted to turn into storks. In the guise of these beautiful birds they felt so good and had so much fun that both of them burst into laughter. And at once they forgot the magic word…