Seven-year-old Ali's father, keeper of the pigeons for the wicked Sultan, faces the threat of being thrown into the deep, dark oubliette after the bird Ali trained steals the Sultan's cherries, but the clever child finds a way to save them all.
Chronicles the life of the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, discussing how he ruled his empire for nearly fifty years, his efforts to extend the boundaries of Islam, his political ideas, and other related topics.
When 7-year-old Ali's greedy pet steals cherries from the wicked Sultan for whom his father keeps carrier pigeons, Ali is given three days to find 600 new cherries or his father will be thrown into the deep, dark oubliette. Includes facts about carrier pigeons and the sultan on whom this story is based, as well as an excerpt from "In Praise of Books" by al-Jahiz.
