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I’m hoping someone here can help me identify a fantasy story I read sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s. I believe it appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (F&SF), though it might have been in a similar magazine from that era.

Here’s what I remember about the story:

  • It’s set in a version of the ancient Middle East, in a nation that is notably poor and less advanced than other surrounding nations.

  • The main character is a sheik (or a similar tribal/royal leader) who encounters a djinn.

  • The djinn grants him a wish, and the sheik doesn’t ask for immediate riches or power. Instead, he wishes that his descendants and future generations will be prosperous, respected, and among the great nations of the world.

  • The djinn grants the wish, explaining that the sheik’s descendants will become extremely wealthy and that his people will live in one of the most affluent nations on earth.

  • The “twist” is that the djinn fulfills this wish by transforming underground water into oil, thereby setting up the future oil wealth that will enrich the sheik’s descendants and nation.

I don’t recall the title, author, or exact publication date, but the tone was more fantasy with a clever, speculative twist than hard science fiction.

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    This was a really great issue of F&SF, I remember it vividly. It was shortly after I subscribed to the magazine, and it had the first installment of Lord Valentine's Castle in it (the first thing by Silverberg I had enjoyed in a long time), this story, and a story by Vonda McIntrye. Commented 2 days ago
  • Thank you, Organic Marble! I appreciate your comment and insights. Yes, I read this story in an issue of F&SF during the late 1970s or early 1980s. Thank you for providing additional leads to track down the story! Commented yesterday

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This could be Well-Wisher, a short story by Bob Shaw that was indeed published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in November 1979.

The protagonist is Ibn Zuhain, the "Lord of the Long Valley", who finds a genie in a bottle by his fountain, and so is rewarded with three wishes. The first to heal his wounded hand, and the second is to see his land a thousand years in the future. As described in this summary:

He’s shocked to see his kingdom is no more, and instead it’s all desolate ruins and starving people being treated by the red cross. He notices cars and asks what makes them go, and the djinn explains there are magic blue crystals of great power. These are not found in the king’s land, but make the future great and allow even the poor to live as princes.

The king demands the djinn remove all crystals from this world and instead give him an equal talisman of power. He exits his garden thinking what the djinn will have given him, and finds his fountain now runs with crude oil.

or as Ibn Zuhain phrases it "The clear water of the fountain — solace of his fading years — had dried up, and in its place there gouted forth a black and evil-smelling oil which, already, had begun to disfigure everything in its vicinity."

The magazine issue is available from the Internet Archive.

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    Came here to post, found it was redundant! Well done. Commented 2 days ago
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    Clara, this is fantastic—thank you! Well-Wisher is absolutely the story I was trying to remember. As soon as I saw the name Ibn Zuhain and your description of the three wishes, it all clicked into place. That quote about the “black and evil-smelling oil” disfiguring everything brought the whole ending back to me in one go. I really appreciate your thorough reply—especially the summary and the publication details. Your pointing me to the Internet Archive is above and beyond. I’m genuinely excited to revisit the story now with grown-up eyes and see what I missed as a younger reader. Commented yesterday
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    @AlainHarvey My pleasure! I hope you enjoy rereading the story. Commented yesterday

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