Neem the Half Boy

Jul 9, 2026

Upload by Violet

An enchanting folk tale set in the surreal country of Hich-Hich (“nothing at all”), where a king and queen live under odd, dreamlike conditions. When the queen longs for a son but has no answer, she consults her people and then the fairies. The wise man Arif offers a single guidance: a magical apple whose consumption leads to the queen’s wish.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages48

Reading Time1 h 14 min

Hich-Hich and the Queen’s Wish

The People’s Refusal

The Fairies and Arif the Wise Man

The Magical Apple

Neem the Half Boy Idries Shah Midori Mori, Robert Revels Once upon a time, when flies flew backwards and the sun was cool, there was a country called Hich-Hich, which means “nothing at all.”This country had a king, and it also had a queen. Once upon a time, when flies flew backwards and the sun was cool, there was a country called Hich-Hich, which means “nothing at all.” This country had a king, and it also had a queen. Now the queen wanted to have a little boy fora son because she didn’t have one . “How can I get a little boy?” she asked the king. “I don’t know, I’m sure,” the king replied. So the queen asked all the people, and they said, “We are very sorry, but we can’t tell Your Majesty how to get a little boy.” (They called her “Your Majesty” because you always call queens—and kings too—Your Majesty.) Now the queen wanted to have a little boy for a son because she didn’t have one .“How can I get a little boy?” she asked the king. “I don’t know, I’m sure,” the king replied. So the queen asked all the people, and they said, “We are very sorry, but we can’t tell Your Majesty how to get a little boy.” (They called her “Your Majesty” because you always call queens—and kings too—Your Majesty.) So the queen asked the fairies, and they said,“We could go and ask Arif the Wise Man.”The wise man was a very clever man, and he knew everything. So the fairies went to the place where Arif the Wise Man lived, and they said to him, “We are the fairies from the country of HichHich. That country has a queen, and she wants a little boy, but she doesn’t know how to get one .” “I’ll tell you how the queen can have a little boy for a son,” said Arif the Wise Man, with asmile. So the queen asked the fairies, and they said,“We could go and ask Arif the Wise Man.” The wise man was a very clever man, and he knew everything. So the fairies went to the place where Arif the Wise Man lived, and they said to him, “We are the fairies from the country of Hich-Hich. That country has a queen, and she wants a little boy, but she doesn’t know how to get one.” “I’ll tell you how the queen can have a little boy for a son,” said Arif the Wise Man, with a smile. And he picked up an apple, and he gave it to the fairies, saying, “Give this apple to the queen and tell her to eat it. If she eats it, she will have a little boy.” So the fairies took the apple and flew back to the queen. “Your Majesty, we have been to see the wiseman, Arif, who knows everything,” they told her, “and he says that you should eat this apple. If you eat it, you will have a little boy

FAQs

What problem does the queen face at the start of the story?

The queen wants a little boy for a son, but she does not have one yet.

Why can’t the queen get help from the people?

The people tell her they are very sorry but they cannot say how to get a little boy.

What does Arif the Wise Man advise the queen to do?

Arif gives the fairies an apple and instructs them to tell the queen to eat it, promising that she will then have a little boy.

Jul 9, 2026

Upload by Violet