by Bali Rai
A year later, Balna gave birth to a son. Her sisters had no other children, so the boy became the favourite of everyone, and they loved him as their own. They lived without care, their lives full of comfort and joy. Then, one morning, Prince Mohan went hunting with his servants. Hours became days, and days turned into weeks, yet Mohan did not return. Balna grew sick with worry, and was comforted by her sisters.
Mohan’s brothers decided to search for him. The six brothers saddled their horses, loaded provisions, and set out to find Mohan. But their search was in vain, and soon they were lost too. The seven princesses, the rajah and the entire kingdom fell into grief. They were certain that the princes had met a wicked fate.
As Balna bathed her son one evening, a stranger arrived at the palace gates. The man wore a long black cloak and had a matching wispy beard. He told the guards he was a fakir – a wandering monk. He asked to see the princesses. The rajah’s guards turned him away, but the fakir would not move. A servant overheard his request, and spoke up for him.
‘It is bad luck to ignore a holy man,’ said the servant. ‘Have we not suffered enough?’
The guards stepped aside, and the servant took the fakir to the kitchens, where he was fed.
‘Thank you for your kindness,’ the fakir said. ‘Your kingdom is cursed. Let me give you a blessing.’
When the servant failed to understand, the fakir explained.
‘My name is Punchkin,’ he said. ‘I know your princes have disappeared. I have come to bless the princesses. Perhaps that will help them.’
The servant was too afraid to ask the rajah, so he found Balna instead. He explained what Punchkin had said, and asked for advice.
‘What harm can he do?’ said Balna. ‘I am happy to meet this fakir.’
‘As you wish, Your Majesty.’
The servant hurried back to the kitchens where he found Punchkin entertaining the staff with jokes.
‘Please follow me,’ the servant said.
When Punchkin arrived, he gasped in surprise. Balna was even more beautiful than he had imagined.
‘You are truly radiant,’ he said.
Balna, surprised by Punchkin’s comment, grew suspicious.
‘Why would a fakir speak this way?’ she asked.
‘I am merely telling the truth,’ said Punchkin. ‘I was told you were beautiful, but you are more than that.’
‘Silence!’ replied Balna. ‘No holy man would say such things!’
‘You are correct, fair princess,’ said Punchkin. ‘I am no monk. I am a powerful magician and my wealth is extraordinary. Come away to my palace, and I will make you my bride!’
Holding back her anger, Balna responded calmly.
‘Good sir,’ she said. ‘You are welcome to our food and drink. But you are not welcome to me.’
‘I meant no disrespect,’ said Punchkin.
Balna shook her head.
‘I don’t care,’ she told him. ‘My husband is missing, feared dead, and I have a son to raise. I will never leave with you!’
‘But fine princess …’
‘Leave at once!’ Balna ordered. ‘Or I will summon the guards!’
A vicious sneer spread across Punchkin’s face, his eyes widening in rage.
‘Mind your tongue!’ he roared. ‘I am Punchkin and no one defies me!’
Before Balna could scream, Punchkin produced a wand from his robes. With a single swish, he turned Balna into a little black dog. And leaving the infant in his cot, Punchkin led Balna away. At the gates, the guards asked where the dog had come from, and Punchkin smiled.
‘Why, the dog is a gift from Princess Balna,’ he replied. ‘She is very grateful for my blessing.’
And with that, he left the palace, never to return.
As the years passed, Balna’s sisters raised her son as their own. They could not bring her back, or the missing princes, but they made sure the boy grew into a fine young man. The young prince was named Nanda, which meant joy. He was strong and brave, and resembled his mother, with big eyes and clear skin. His friends often teased him for being so pretty, but Nanda did not care. He simply wanted his parents back. His aunts had never explained where his parents had gone, and he was desperate to know. When Nanda turned fourteen, his grandfather died, and Balna’s sisters decided to tell him the truth.
As soon as he heard the truth, Nanda grew determined to find his parents and his uncles. The princesses grew anxious and warned him not to leave.
‘We cannot lose you too!’ they cried. ‘You are our last hope, Nanda!’
‘Please don’t worry,’ the young prince replied. ‘I will find them, and I will return. I promise!’
A day later, Nanda began his quest. For many months he searched fruitlessly, from jungles to deserts, and across mountains and valleys. Then, after many hundreds of miles and almost losing hope, he reached a very strange country. It was like nothing he’d ever seen. Everywhere he saw oddly shaped rocks and trees that seemed almost human. In the distance, through a vast forest, he saw a magnificent palace sitting upon a mountain. Intrigued, he decided to pay the palace a visit, weaving his way through the forest for many days.
When he got to the mountain, he climbed a narrow path until he reached the plateau on which the palace stood. He found many more stone pillars, rocks and trees, each one oddly shaped, and beyond those, a small city. On its outskirts stood a little house, outside which sat an old woman.
As soon as she saw him, the woman ran over, waving her arms.
‘No!’ she cried. ‘You must stop at once!’
‘But why?’ he asked.
‘This is a terrible and dangerous place! Why have you come?’
‘I am a prince,’ Nanda explained. ‘I am searching for my parents and my uncles. My mother was tricked by a wicked magician.’
The woman slowly shook her head. ‘Then,’ she said, ‘perhaps you have found the right place.’
Prince Nanda’s hopes soared.
‘A powerful and wicked magician rules this place. He is a vicious and deceitful man. You see these rocks and stones, and the strangely shaped trees?’
‘I noticed them at once,’ the prince replied.
‘They were living beings until the magician cursed them,’ she revealed.
‘My father was lost,’ said Nanda. ‘His six brothers came to find him, and they never returned.’
The old woman sighed. ‘I know their story,’ she said softly. ‘They came here and were turned to stone.’
Prince Nanda grew angry. ‘Where is this magician?’ he demanded. ‘I will avenge my family!’
‘No, no!’ the woman cried. ‘You cannot match Punchkin. He is too powerful. He has turned hundreds of people and animals to stone. Do not anger him.’
Nanda felt his heart thudding inside his chest.
‘Did you call him Punchkin?’ he asked excitedly.
‘Yes, boy,’ the woman replied. ‘That is his name.’
‘Tell me, did he bring anyone else here? A princess, perhaps?’
The woman nodded. ‘He keeps a beautiful princess hostage – in his palace.’
‘What is her name?’ asked Nanda.
The woman shrugged. ‘I don’t know,’ she replied. ‘But when he brought her here, she was a little black –’
‘DOG!’ yelled the prince. ‘That is my mother!’
When he saw the woman’s confusion, Nanda took her hand and led her indoors. There he explained his story, and the woman listened in horror. When he finished, she hugged him and told him how sorry she was.
‘Will you help me?’ asked Nanda.
‘Help you?’ the woman replied. ‘Your only chance is to run. Go now, before he discovers your presence.’
‘I cannot leave,’ Prince Nanda told her. ‘I have searched far and wide for my family. I must save them!’
‘But he will curse you too,’ the woman warned.
‘Please,’ begged Nanda. ‘You must help me.’
‘Very well,’ the woman replied.
‘But if anyone sees you, they will tell Punchkin. All strangers must be captured and sent to the palace. If you stay here, I must disguise you.’
The prince, eager to find his mother, agreed. The woman found some saffron and green sari material, and wound that round the prince. Then she covered his head with more fabric.
‘There,’ she said. ‘You are very pretty, for a boy.’
‘I feel ridiculous!’ said Nanda.
‘Never mind,’ said the woman. ‘At least you are disguised. If someone asks, you are my niece.’
For three days, the prince waited, helping the woman with her chores. When he went out for walks, he spoke to the neighbours, but no one suspected him. Then on the fourth morning he was in the garden when a tall man in black robes happened by.
‘Who are you, girl?’ asked the man, smoothing his wispy black beard. ‘I haven’t seen you before.’
The prince put on a quiet, high-pitched voice. ‘This is my aunt’s house,’ he said. ‘I am visiting her.’
‘You are very pretty,’ said the man. ‘I am Punchkin – ruler of this kingdom.’
Prince Nanda felt his legs begin to tremble and his heart beat faster. Here was the man who’d taken his family. When he failed to reply, Punchkin continued, ‘Tell me, pretty girl – will you do something for me?’
‘Yes,’ said Nanda. ‘Anything, Your Majesty …’
‘A beautiful woman lives in my tower. I would like you to take her some flowers for me. The last flower girl displeased me, so I … let her go.’
‘I would be happy to take her place,’ said Nanda, wondering what fate the poor flower girl had met.
‘Tomorrow, then,’ Punchkin replied. ‘Come to the palace before midday.’
The prince nodded and turned away, so that Punchkin did not see his excitement. Once the magician had gone, he ran into the house.
‘He was here!’ the prince said. ‘Punchkin was here!’
He told the woman what had happened, and how he would soon see his mother again.
‘But how will your mother know you?’ asked the woman. ‘You can’t risk being discovered.’
The prince reached into his tunic, producing a chain upon which was a tiny golden ring.
‘My mother gave me this,’ he said. ‘She will know it.’
‘It is too dangerous, boy,’ she replied. ‘Wait and you will find another way.’
‘No!’ Prince Nanda told her. ‘I am grateful for your help, kind woman, but I must save my mother!’
The woman realized that Prince Nanda would not change his mind, so she gave him another warning.
‘Remember,’ she said, ‘Punchkin is wily and mistrustful. Do not give him any reason to suspect you. Your mother will be well-guarded.’
Next morning, Prince Nanda arrived at the palace, to be met by Punchkin. In the magician’s hands was a bunch of roses. ‘Take these flowers and climb the tower,’ Punchkin told him. ‘And please be sure to return and tell me everything my princess says.’
‘Of course, Your Majesty.’
Punchkin took a gold coin from his pocket. ‘And this is your payment,’ he said.
Prince Nanda took the money and the flowers, and entered the dark stairwell. The tower was tall and the steps narrow and worn. He wound his way to the top, where a guard sat by the only door.
‘I bring flowers for the princess,’ said Nanda.
The guard grunted before unlocking the door. Inside, Nanda found an apartment filled with luxurious furniture and fabrics, and the biggest bed he’d ever seen. But the room was gloomy and dusty, and seemed cold too. By the tiny window, he saw the woman he believed to be his mother. She was more beautiful than he’d ever imagined. Her hair was long and shiny, her eyes wide and deep brown, and her skin was like caramel. She eyed him without a word and nodded at a pile of dead flowers by the table.
‘Leave them here!’ the guard ordered.
Nanda fought the urge to call out to the princess, but he kept his nerve. Placing the flowers in a vase, he turned and left.
For three more days, Nanda took flowers to his mother, but not once was he left alone. He grew frustrated and angry, and on the fourth evening, he decided to try a new plan.
‘Are there tigers in the forest below the mountain?’ he asked the old woman.
‘Why, yes,’ she replied. ‘You must have seen them on your journey here?’
Prince Nanda shook his head. ‘No, only jackals and bears,’ he said.
‘Why do you ask about tigers?’
Prince Nanda lowered his voice. ‘I have an idea,’ he told her. ‘But I need your help …’
The next day, as Prince Nanda climbed the tower, a commotion began outside. Someone had spotted a tiger, loose in the streets. Punchkin’s men ran to find the beast, before it attacked someone. When Nanda reached the door, the guard seemed confused.
‘You must hurry!’ Nanda told him. ‘There is a tiger in the city!’
‘But what about the princess?’ the guard asked.
‘I will wait here,’ said Nanda. ‘I’ll give the princess her flowers and keep watch until you return. Hurry – I’ve heard terrible stories about Punchkin. Don’t upset him …’
The guard shuddered at the thought of an angry Punchkin. Convinced that the girl was no threat, he unlocked the door and then ran downstairs. Nanda waited a while, and then entered the room. The princess sat at the window, her back to him, so he set down the white roses.
‘Princess,’ he said, still disguising his voice.
‘Go away,’ the princess replied.
‘But, my lady …’
When the princess didn’t respond, Nanda dropped his pretence.
‘Mother!’ he said in his own voice.
The princess turned and shot him a suspicious glare. ‘Who are you?’ she asked, peering through the gloom.
Nanda produced the ring from his clothes and stepped forward.
‘You gave me this when I was born,’ he explained. ‘I am your son …’
Balna took a moment to register. Her eyes grew wide. She threw a hand over her mouth, to stifle her scream.
‘Mother,’ Nanda whispered through tears. ‘I have found you …’
They held each other for a long while, crying all the while. When at last they let go, Balna grew frightened.
‘Please,’ she said. ‘You must leave at once! If Punchkin discovers you, he will turn you to stone!’
But the prince stood fast. ‘I have a plan, Mother, but I will need your help.’
‘Anything,’ said Balna. ‘But hurry up. The guard will return soon.’
The prince smiled.
‘Punchkin must have a weakness,’ he said. ‘If I am to rescue you, I must know what it is.’
‘But how can I help?’ asked Balna.
‘I need you to find out,’ Nanda told her. ‘Perhaps you can make Punchkin trust you?’
Balna nodded.
‘He has imprisoned me until I marry him,’ she said. ‘Perhaps if I agree, he will tell me everything.’
‘It is our only hope,’ Nanda told her. ‘I’m sorry, but there is no other way.’
‘I understand,’ Balna replied. ‘Now, go! The guard is coming back.’
‘I shall return each day with flowers,’ said Nanda. ‘Do not fear, Mother. I will save you …’
The guard burst through the door, his face red.
‘Did you find the tiger?’ Nanda asked in his false voice.
‘It was nothing,’ the guard replied. ‘Just some crazy old woman, seeing things.’
As Nanda descended, his heart felt light and he grinned.
A week later, Punchkin visited Balna. She smiled when he entered and asked him to sit.
‘I realize my mistake,’ she told him. ‘And I wish to leave this tower.’
‘Yes, the flower girl told me,’ said Punchkin. ‘Does that mean you will marry me?’
‘Perhaps,’ Balna replied.
‘Then we shall wait no longer!’ the excited magician cried.<
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‘No, no,’ said Balna. ‘You must give me time. We should have dinner and talk. Get to know each other …’
‘Hmmm,’ said Punchkin. ‘Perhaps you are right. After all, you have been imprisoned for a long time.’
‘Yes,’ Balna agreed. ‘We have been enemies for too long. We should be friends before we marry.’
‘Then come with me!’ Punchkin declared. ‘You will live in the palace, with servants to attend to your every need.’
‘I would like the flower girl to be my maid,’ said Balna. ‘She is lovely and loyal …’
‘Of course,’ smiled Punchkin. ‘Anything you desire, my princess …’
Balna’s new quarters were luxurious, and she was very comfortable, but she was also worried. What if Punchkin didn’t tell her his secrets? What if he found out she was playing a trick? The magician visited every evening, and Balna did her best to gain his trust. But after five days, she still wouldn’t commit to a wedding and Punchkin grew impatient.
‘I am no fool,’ he told her on the sixth night. ‘Your beauty is great but I cannot be tricked! You will accept marriage by morning, or you will return to the tower!’
Balna grew frightened and thought quickly.
‘There is one thing more,’ she said. ‘If I am to marry you, I must know if you are truly invincible.’
Punchkin seemed puzzled.
‘Why ask this?’ he replied.
‘Because you must have made many enemies,’ said Balna. ‘I have already lost a father, a husband and a son. If I marry you, how do I know you won’t be taken too?’
Punchkin nodded. ‘Because I am not like other men,’ he told her. ‘They are weak and I am strong.’
‘Surely any man can be killed?’ said Balna, pretending to be sad at the idea.
‘Not I,’ Punchkin boasted. ‘The source of my powers is well hidden.’
‘But nothing cannot be found,’ said Balna, hoping he’d explain further.
‘Haha!’ said Punchkin. ‘My power resides in a faraway land, through deserts and jungles. There is a clearing there, and within lies a circle of palm trees. I have placed six clay water pots there, one on top of the other. The bottom vessel is empty save for a small cage. And inside that cage lives a green parrot …’