Synopsis by William Disbro, created from: Beyond The Hero, Classic Stories of Men in Search of Soul.by Allan Chinen, Jeremy Tarcher/Putnam Books, 1993.
Dr. Chinen's explanation of the symbolism involved in this tale is fascinating and enlightening as men venture beyond the hero and reclaim their own feminine side as a preliminary task for men at mid-life. (The cannibal-cook personifies the shadow in men's lives.)
The Sultan wanted to learn to weave and after practice he wove his fiancée a beautiful handkerchief of a particular red rose and background. The Sultan wanted to see what his people really thought of him and so he and two aides went to town in disguise and while there they became hungry and went into a famous restaurant where they fell into a deep pit. The restaurant owner/butcher looked down at them and welcomed them for slaughter to add to the menu. First terror and then thinking lead the disguised Sultan to request a loom in place of being slaughtered so that fine goods could be made and sold at the Sultan's court. A loom was lowered down. The Sultan wove an exact copy of his rose handkerchief that he had given to his fiancée who was now queen. The Sultan told the butcher to take the handkerchief to the Sultan's court and he would be given a great amount of money for it. When the Queen saw the handkerchief she had the butcher followed and the Sultan and his aides were rescued.
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