The Magic Pomegranate

Cultural origins: This is a Jewish story. It can be told in tandem with the Turkish tale The Silent Princess as that tale includes a story very similar to this one, but with a different ending.

Intended audience: Late Elementary School (8-11)

Why this audience?: This is a longer story and requires the attention of older children. However, there are princesses and magic carpets involved so you cannot go wrong telling this story to elementary aged children. It's fun to stop and ask what brother the audience thinks should win the hand of the princess. 

Characters:  Oldest Brother, with the magic glass
                        Middle Brother, with the magic carpet
                        Youngest Brother, with the magic pomegranate
                        Magician
                        Carpet seller
                        The King of the sick Princess
                        The sick Princess

Scenes/Settings: A certain country in the East at a magic show
                                 A certain country in the West at a grand bazaar
                                 A certain country in the south deep in a forrest
                                 The palace of the sick Princess

Synopsis: There are three brothers who seek adventure and fortune. They leave for different parts of the world and agree to return in a year's time with an unusual object. The oldest brother travels west and buys a magic spy glass. The middle brother travels east and buys a magic carpet. The youngest brother travels south and encounters a magical pomegranate tree, there one moment popping fruit into his hand, gone the next. When they reconvene they spy a sick princess in the eldest brother's spy glass. They race off to her castle on the middle brother's flying carpet. The King offers her hand in marriage to anyone who can make the princess well, who is knocking on death's door. The youngest brother slowly feeds the magic pomegranate's berries to the sick princess who is soon well. However, the three brothers argue about who should be the one to marry her as they all had a hand in making her well. The princess solves this by asking a simple question: How much did you sacrifice from your magical object to make me well? The youngest brother sacrificed the most of his object as most of it was gone. He married the now well princess and they lived happily ever after.

Story Climaxes/High Points: The Princess ends the brother's quarrel on who should be allowed to marry her by asking the who sacrificed the most of their magical object to save her life. 

Special Chants/Phrases: None

Bibliographic Information:

Schram, Peninnah. (1994). The Magic Pomegranate. In Ready-To-Tell Tales (pp. 179-183). Little Rock, AK: August House.