The Tale of the Djinn

Once upon a time, there was a woman who had done something very bad. She had been told not to open a box and she did. When she had done so, hope had died. She was left with an open box and a dead cat.

She was distraught. She had tried to fix things and they had just turned out worse than ever. Finally, she was told there was something that could fix all of her mistakes: there was a lamp with a djinn in it and she could wish all of her mistakes away.

With the dead cat clutched in her hands, she searched far and wide and finally, one evening, found the lamp with the djinn. She called the djinn forth and it appeared before her, its arm glowing red. 'What is it you wish, mistress?' the djinn asked.

Anesidora held forth the dead cat and asked, 'I wish for you to bring this back to life. Please, bring hope back to life.'

'One wish,' the djinn said. 'That is all you get. Are you sure this is the wish you would choose?'

Anesidora thought about the fears she had let loose, but she knew hope was more important. 'Yes,' she said. 'Bring hope back to life.'

So the djinn did and the cat came back to life in her arms.

But it was not the same life that it had before. The cat had changed. 'What is wrong with it?' Anesidora asked.

'It has tasted death,' the djinn said. 'Even though it is now alive, it will never be the same as it was. Hope was always a fragile thing. You should kill it now. It is better off dead.'

'No,' Anesidora said. 'No, I will let it loose. I will give hope to the world.'

The djinn shrugged. 'Very well, then. Don't say I didn't warn you.'

And Anesidora let the cat go, its body thin and lanky, its mind ravaged by death. Hope returned and the people wept.