Dagar and Nabek’s Horse
Two friends, Dagar and Nabek, lived near desert.
Nabek had wonderful horse. Dagar longed to have it. Nabek wouldn’t sell.
Dagar decided to trick his friend. Disguised as a beggar, face covered, sat by road.
Nabek approached, Dagar called for help.
Nabek took pity, put him on horse’s back.
On horse, Dagar took control, galloped away: “I am Dagar. Horse is mine!”
Nabek called after him, “By Allah’s will, you have horse. But never tell anyone of your trick.”
“Why not?”
“If people hear, will never stop to help a beggar. This story could cause great evil in the world.”
Dagar listened, climbed down, gave horse back. Returned together as friends.
The following was posted on the Storytell listserv
This is told as an Arab Bedouin Tale but Yoel Perez says Ukrainian:
Well, then – I found the story about Dager (not Dagar) and Nabech (that is the way one should pronounce it, with ch pronounced like in the Scottish word loch or the German word Ich) in an old book written in Hebrew that was written by Shmuel (Samuel) son of Shmaria Pigit (1849 – 1911). Pigit was a Karaite Jew. He was the hazzan (cantor) of the Karaite community in Ekaterinoslav 1888.
“Among the Peul people of Africa it is said that there is a little peace and a big peace, but there is no little quarrel. Even a matchstick can burn down a village.”
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