Abu Nawas and King Aaron by Y. Y. Ann

Type: Fiction
100 Pages
Published in Kuala Lumpur by Sabunai Media Sdn. Bhd. (2014)

This book contains two different stories: one is the cover title, Abu Nawas and King Aaron, while the second story is titled Master Maid.

Abu Nawas and King Aaron follows the story of a smart man named Abu Nawas whom King Aaron likes so much. It all started one day when King Aaron was so bored and tired due to his never ending administrative duties. He asked his ministers to find someone who can tell him a funny story to improve his mood. Thus Abu Nawas was brought to the palace to entertain the King. When Abu Nawas succeeded in making the King laugh, the latter was so happy that he began to frequently summon Abu Nawas to meet him. On several occassions King Aaron purposefully tried to play tricks on Abu Nawas to test his wit. When Abu Nawas managed to outwit him, the King will be delighted.

One day, the King summoned Abu Nawas and said he wanted Abu Nawas to go away and never to step on the grounds of his country ever again, because he felt so embarrassed that Abu Nawas outwitted him all the time. Abu Nawas, being the witty person he is, never left the country: instead, he began to walk on stilts and from time to time he dived into the waters. When the King learnt that he was still inside the country, he summoned Abu Nawas to his palace. When asked why he did not abide by the King’s orders, Abu Nawas explained that he did obey the orders: he had not touched the grounds of the country ever since the King asked him not to. That was why he just either walk on stilts or swim in the waters. The King was delighted and said that he was only joking about expelling Abu Nawas; the King was only testing Abu Nawas’ wit yet again to see how he responded.

Master Maid tells the story of naughty 16-year-old teenager Henrik who defied his father’s order to not play in the forest near his house. Henrik is the son of a farmer named Olaf. His father had warned him not to go near the forest because it was dangerous. There was a man-eating troll living in the forest, and Henrik had seen the troll once.

One day, when Olaf was not around, Henrik sneaked into the forest again to look for the troll. He found the troll’s house, and at the same time the troll had seen him. When the troll asked him what he was doing there, Henrik had to lie: he claimed that he was looking for a job. The troll then allowed Henrik to stay at his home as his helper. Henrik lived with the troll for about three days and he was given one almost impossible task each day. Every time the troll ordered out a task, he would threaten Henrik with death if the latter failed to finish the task. But Henrik managed to complete the task after he met a girl named Henrietta, who gave him clues on how to overcome the challenge within each task.

The mysterious Henrietta also lived with the troll, apparently as his maid. Every time Henrik successfully completed a task, the troll will ask him whether he had gotten the help of “Master Maid”, in which he denied. Henrik pretended not to be aware of Henrietta’s existence in the house.

After completing the tasks given by the troll on the third day, the troll had begun to suspect that Henrik had been lying to him about not knowing Master Maid / Henrietta. The troll then brought Henrik to the kitchen where Henrietta was, and asked her to cook Henrik for him to eat.

Henrietta did not kill Henrik. Instead she helped Henrik escape while the troll was sleeping. Henrietta also ran away alongside Henrik because she will certainly be harmed by the troll for letting Henrik away. When the troll realized that both Henrik and Henrietta had escaped, he gave chase. He used his magic to quickly reach where Henrik and Henrietta were. Henrietta used her own magic to counter the troll’s magic and deter him temporarily. Finally, when they arrived at the seaside, Henrik and Henrietta took a boat and sailed to the sea. The troll then fell into the water and apparently died, and both Henrik and Henrietta were safe.