In one village there were three wives, none of whom had become pregnant despite several years passing since their marriages. One day the neighbors heard a vendor calling in the street: “Apples for pregnancy! Apples for pregnancy!” They hurried to him, and he had two apples and half an apple. He gave the first wife one apple, the second wife one apple, and the third wife half the apple. The first wife gave birth to a boy and named him Nāfiʿ, the second wife gave birth to a boy and named him ʿUmar, and the third wife gave birth to a boy of strange appearance and named him Niṣf Nuṣayṣ. He had one sound arm and the other paralyzed, and the same condition with his legs, but he was brilliant in intelligence.
The three boys grew up and went to school together and returned together, and they excelled in their studies. Niṣf Nuṣayṣ was skilled in reading and arithmetic. When the boys reached the age of youth, they would stroll together outside the village. Nāfiʿ had a horse and ʿUmar had a horse, while Niṣf Nuṣayṣ had a black male goat as swift as the wind. One day the youths left their homes for a stroll. Nāfiʿ and ʿUmar mounted their horses and Niṣf Nuṣayṣ mounted his black goat. They went outside the village and moved from hill to hill and from forest to another until the sun set without them noticing.
But it was not easy for the youths to return to their village after dark, and they were perplexed about what to do. They saw a house on the opposite hill and said: “Let us go to that house and spend our night there until its owner permits us, and we will return to the village tomorrow morning.” The youths climbed the hill. When they reached the house, Nāfiʿ knocked on the door, and one of the old women soon opened it. When she saw them, she welcomed them and said: “Enter, my sons, welcome.”
The old woman presented them with dinner, and they soon fell asleep from extreme fatigue—all except Niṣf Nuṣayṣ, who pretended to sleep but remained awake. The old woman passed by them and saw them asleep. She said: “This fat one I will eat tomorrow, and this fat one I will eat the day after tomorrow, but as for this scrawny one, I will fatten him for a few days then eat him.” The old woman returned to her room, and Niṣf Nuṣayṣ had heard her words. He knew she was a ghoul disguised as a woman. He thought of a ruse to escape and waited until dawn. Niṣf Nuṣayṣ went to where the water was, took the jar, headed toward the window, emptied it, then went to the ghoul and woke her, repeating: “Auntie, I am very thirsty.” She said: “Go to the jar and drink.”
He went to the jar, then returned to her and said: “The jar is empty, auntie.” The ghoul rose, took the jar, went out, locked the door behind her, and placed the key under a stone near the house. Niṣf Nuṣayṣ followed her with his eyes until she went away to fill the jar from the spring. He woke his companions, informed them of the truth about the old woman who was a ghoul, mounted their two horses and mounted his black goat, then they fled swiftly. The ghoul returned to the house and found no one there. She knew that Niṣf Nuṣayṣ had deceived her and escaped with his companions. She set off running after them, but she found the road filled with people who had come from the village searching for the youths, so she failed and returned to her home.
A few days later, Niṣf Nuṣayṣ said to his companions: “What do you think about my bringing you the ghoul’s mattress?” They said with one voice: “Don’t risk your life, Niṣf Nuṣayṣ.” Then he said: “I will not be away from you long.” He rode his black goat and went to the ghoul’s house. The ghoul was not in the house. He went to a stone outside the house, took the key from under it, opened the door, went to the ghoul’s bed, took a box of pins from his pocket, and stuck a large number of them in various places on the mattress. He left the house, returned the key to its place, then moved away from the house. The ghoul came before sunset, dragging her feet. She had searched much for children to eat, but had not succeeded.
The ghoul went to her bed but could not lie down, for the pins pricked her. She was filled with great fury. She took the mattress and threw it from the window. Niṣf Nuṣayṣ caught it and returned with it on his black goat. When he reached his companions, they said: “You are truly a genius!” The next day his companions were surprised by what he brought from the ghoul’s house: chickens, vessels, and gold coins. The ghoul would set traps for him, but he was cleverer than she, so he was able to thwart all her attempts. One day he said to his companion: “I will bring you the ghoul herself.”
He went to the ghoul’s house and began calling out loudly: “Sweets for sale! Sweets for sale!” The ghoul heard this and came out of the house with a piece of gold. When she saw him, she hesitated, then grabbed him tightly, saying: “You are the one who stole my chicken and my things!” He said: “No, my lady. Perhaps you mean my wicked brother. As for me, I am poor and live by selling sweets. This is the first time I have the honor of seeing your beautiful face.”
The ghoul was pleased with his words and gave him the piece of gold, saying: “Give me sweets for this.” He said: “This is a large amount, my lady. Enter inside the cart and eat until you are full.” The ghoul entered the cart and began devouring the sweets. Meanwhile, Niṣf Nuṣayṣ had blocked the door of the cart. He rode the goat and returned with the ghoul to his village. When he reached the village, the people gathered a large pile of firewood and threw the ghoul into it, and she burned and turned to ash.