The Turkey Prince
(The Man who Became a Turkey)

Finally, a wise man came to the king and said: I pledge to cure him.

The wise man promptly proceeded to undress and sat under the table next to the prince, pecking oats and heaving at scraps of bones, which he gobbled up.

The prince asked him:
'Who are you and what are you doing here?'

Said the wise man:
'Who are YOU and what are YOU doing here?'

The prince replied:
'I am a turkey.'

To which the wise man responded:
'I am a turkey too.'

So the two turkeys sat together until they became accustomed to one another. Seeing this, the wise man signaled to the king to fetch him a shirt. Putting on the shirt, he said to the prince:
'Do you really think that a turkey may not wear a shirt? Indeed he may, and that does not make him any less a turkey.'

The prince was much taken by these words and also agreed to wear a shirt.

At length, the wise man signaled to be brought a pair of trousers. Putting them on, he said to the prince:
'Do you really think that a turkey is forbidden trousers? Even with trousers on, he is perfectly capable of being a proper turkey.'

The prince acknowledged this as well, and he too put on a pair of trousers, and it was not long before he had put on the rest of his clothes at the wise man's directions.

Following this, the wise man asked to be served human food from the table. He took and ate, and said to the prince:
'Do you really think that a turkey is forbidden to eat good food? One may eat all manner of good things and still be a proper turkey "comme il faut".'
The prince listened to him on this too, and began eating like a human being.

Seeing this, the wise man addressed the prince:
'Do you really think that a turkey is condemned to sit under the table? That isn't necessarily so -- a turkey also walks around any place it wants and no one objects.'

And the prince thought this through and accepted the wise man's opinion. Once he got up and walked about like a human being, he also began behaving like a complete human being.