Astérix and the Magic Carpet

Asterix and the Magic Carpet is the twenty-eighth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was first published in 1987. It is the fourth book to be published after the death of René Goscinny and is thus both written and drawn by Albert Uderzo alone.

The full original French title was Astérix chez Rahàzade ou Le compte des mille et une heures (Asterix meets Orinjade or the 1001 Hours Countdown), a reference to Queen Scheherazade who tells the famous 1001 Arabian Nights collection of stories.

Following the successful rebuilding of the village after Brutus’ attack in the previous story, Chief Vitalstatistix is trying to give a speech, when he is interrupted by the bard Cacofonix, whose song causes rain. This introduces Watziznehm the fakir, by dropping him from his flying carpet; whereupon Watziznehm explains that he is searching for a way to make it rain in his country, a kingdom in the Ganges Valley, in fear that if no rain falls in the following 1001 hours, Princess Orinjade, daughter of Rajah Wotzit, will be executed as a sacrifice to the gods. This prophecy is part of an evil scheme by Grand Vizier Hoodunnit, to seize the throne.

Vitalstatistix agrees to send the rain-making Cacofonix to India, accompanied by Asterix, Obelix, and Dogmatix. All five mount the flying carpet; but their journey is often interrupted either by Obelix’s insistence on obtaining food, by Cacofonix’s attempts to sing, and once by a lightning strike which forces them to replace the carpet. The Gauls eventually arrive in India with exactly 30 hours, 30 minutes, and 30 seconds to save Orinjade; but Cacofonix has lost his voice during the journey, and Rajah Wotzit’s doctors proclaim that to regain his voice, Cacofonix must take an overnight bath in a combination of elephant milk, dung and hair. Accordingly, the Gauls and Watziznehm take Cacofonix to elephant-trainer ‘Howdoo’ and set up the bath; but Hoodunnit sends his henchmen to kidnap the bard, and take him to an elephants’ graveyard to be trampled by the wild elephant herd.

When Watziznehm, Asterix, and Obelix set out to recover the bard, they are stopped by Owzat, Hoodunnit’s fakir sidekick. While Watziznehm and Owzat curse each other, Asterix and Obelix escape to Howdoo, with whom they embark to the elephants’ graveyard. After delays by tigers, monkeys, a rhinoceros, and Hoodunnit’s henchmen, they find Cacofonix alive and well, his smell having placated the elephants. Meanwhile Watziznehm defeats Owzat and recovers the Gauls on his flying carpet.

At the execution grounds, Asterix defeats Orinjade’s executioner and saves her, while Watziznehm intercepts Hoodunnit. Cacofonix recovers his voice by the dose of magic potion he has taken, and sings, causing rain. At the victory feast in the palace, Obelix surmises that his fellow villagers might be having their customary banquet, this time without him. This is proven true; and at the banquet, some of the Gauls begin to express desire to retrieve the bard, in fear of a drought, and Fulliautomatix the blacksmith, Cacofonix’s habitual menace, appears to be missing him.