The demon charged out of the princess with a loud bang and vanished, never to be seen again.
The Brahmin was rewarded with more wealth than he could spend in his lifetime, and he returned joyfully to his wife and family at Mysore.
How Prince Ranbir Found Knowledge
A king once ruled over a prosperous kingdom in central India. There was peace in the land and his people loved him, but the king was not happy. The reason was that his only son, Prince Ranbir, lacked the wisdom and knowledge a good monarch required. He was good-natured and dutiful, well-built and handsome, but no one could teach him anything. Even the most learned of pundits―brought from distant places at great expense―left without making him any wiser.
In despair, one day the king said to his chief minister, ‘Is there no guru in this land who can impart knowledge to my son? How will he manage the affairs of the kingdom when I am gone?’
The minister replied, ‘Your Majesty, if Prince Ranbir hasn’t been able to find knowledge here, maybe he should search for it elsewhere.’
The idea appealed to the king. Immediately, he commanded his priests to choose an auspicious time for the prince to depart on this important journey. Ranbir too, found the idea of travelling to faraway lands exciting. But before he left, the king asked him to take off his rich gold-embroidered garments and put on rough cotton ones.
‘The road is full of dangers,’ he said. ‘It’s better you dress poorly so you don’t attract robbers. Four valuable rubies have been sewn into the waistband of your trousers. They will be safe there and come in handy if you fall upon hard times.’
The prince set off, full of enthusiasm. By late afternoon, he had arrived at a dense forest. A strange sight made him halt. Sitting under a tree—hardly visible through the dense bushes and tall grass that surrounded him—was a holy man deep in meditation. So engrossed was he that he had not noticed that termites had built a nest of mud on his body.
Ranbir took out his dagger right away and cut down the bushes and weeds. Then he gently began to scrape the mud from the sage’s body.
Now it so happened that the saint had been performing a rigorous penance—meant to give him extraordinary powers—for the last 12 years, and the period had ended just then. He opened his eyes and looked around, and found his surroundings well-maintained, unlike other times when he had come out of his long periods of meditation.
He noticed the prince and asked, ‘Did you do this, my son?’
Prince Ranbir bowed and said, ‘That is right, Venerable Sir.’
The sage nodded approvingly. ‘You have a good heart,’ he said, ‘and I would like to reward you. I have the power to grant a boon. Ask for anything you desire, and it shall be given to you.’
‘If you are pleased, Respected Sir,’ said the prince folding his hands, ‘kindly grant me knowledge. That’s all I desire.’
The hermit laughed. ‘You have asked for what seems like nothing and yet is everything. You will gain knowledge, but remember the following things. First, two are better than one. Secondly, do not eat anything offered by strangers till you feed it to an animal. Thirdly, if someone offers you a place to sleep, do not lie down without examining it carefully.’
The prince thanked the holy man profusely. The words of advice made no sense to him, but he hoped he would discover their meaning later. He spent the night at the same spot and set off again in the morning. As he passed by a pond, he saw a hawk swoop down and pounce on a tortoise. Unable to pierce its shell, it dropped the animal down. While it was preparing to try again, Prince Ranbir remembered the saint’s words and picked up the tortoise, saying: ‘Now there are two of us. Let’s see if it helps me to gain knowledge.’
The sun grew strong as the day progressed. Weary from the heat, the prince lay down to rest under a shady tree. Little did he know that a poisonous snake lived in its roots. It had two friends, a crow and a jackal. Whenever an exhausted traveller happened to stretch out beneath the tree, the crow would caw loudly. Hearing this, the jackal would howl. At this signal, the snake would crawl out and bite the man. After he was dead, the crow and jackal would devour him.
As soon as the prince dozed off, the crow cawed, the jackal howled and the snake slithered out and stung his big toe. Immediately, the crow flew down from the tree and began to edge cautiously towards the prince, to see if he was dead. The moment it came close, the tortoise clamped its jaws around its throat.
The crow began to choke. ‘Brother tortoise,’ it pleaded, ‘please let me go.’
‘I will not,’ said the tortoise. ‘You killed my friend.’
‘I promise to bring him back to life,’ squawked the crow. ‘Please let me go.’
‘Prove what you are saying first,’ said the tortoise.
Desperate, the crow began to caw, the jackal howled and the snake came out of its hole. Seeing its friend in trouble, the snake sucked the venom out of the prince’s toe.
Within seconds, Ranbir sat up and stretched, saying, ‘That was a refreshing nap.’
‘It wasn’t a nap,’ said the tortoise. ‘You have come back from the dead.’
The tortoise showed him the snake and told him what had happened. ‘Now I understand what the sage meant,’ said the prince, heaving a sigh of relief.
They travelled on and reached another pond. The tortoise asked to be left there, so the prince thanked him for saving his life and continued on his journey, hoping to find another companion.
By evening, he had arrived at a village. Finding a well, he began to draw water to quench his thirst when a man approached him. ‘You seem to be a stranger in these parts,’ he said. ‘It’s growing dark, and you’ll need shelter. You are welcome to come and spend the night with me.’
The prince agreed gratefully. How could he have known that the man was a trickster who enticed wayfarers to his house and robbed and killed them? And that he had a daughter, who had the gift of clairvoyance? She had told her father that a man was coming to the village and, though poorly dressed, he was a prince carrying four valuable rubies. For this reason, the rogue had been lying in wait. He also had a son who followed his trade.
The trickster made the prince comfortable and served him a sumptuous meal. Ranbir was ravenous but just as he was about to eat, he remembered the sage’s advice.
‘It’s my practice to feed a hungry animal first,’ he said, rising and taking his plate outside. He flung some food to a dog loitering there. To his horror, the animal fell to the ground, writhing. The prince quickly threw the rest of the food away and was about to run for his life, when the trickster appeared. So he simply said, ‘That was the best meal I’ve had in a long time.’
The robber was fuming inwardly but he smiled and said, ‘You look tired. Perhaps you want to go to sleep.’
He led the prince to a room where a bed was laid out, spread with a spotless white sheet. Ranbir would have fallen into it right away, had he not recalled the holy man’s words. He removed the sheet and found a deep pit with spears bristling up from below. Quickly, he spread the sheet out again and lay down on the ground.
When his host peeped in to see what had happened, he was furious to discover the prince still alive. He summoned his daughter, saying, ‘This man seems to be a sorcerer of some sort. But we must get the better of him and seize the rubies however we can.’
Now the girl had fallen in love with the handsome prince, and could not bear to see him die. She replied, ‘Don’t worry, father. I happen to know that in the last watch of the night, this man will be lost in an enchanting dream. If I do the job then, he will not even notice what’s happening.’
Then she slipped into Prince Ranbir’s room and said in a whisper, ‘My father has made up his mind to kill you for the four precious rubies you are carrying. But I can save your life, if you promise to marry me and make me your queen.’
Ranbir was stunned. But he didn’t waste time asking how they knew about the rubies, and agreed to the girl’s request immediately. It was a small price to pay for
his life, he thought.
‘All right,’ she said. ‘Wait till the whole house is asleep, then go to the stables. There are two camels tied there. One is plump and healthy-looking, the other – bony and sickly. The well-fed one can travel 60 miles in a day and the skinny one can travel 100 miles. Untie the thin one and bring it out, while I put my clothes and money together.’
The prince went to the stables, but he didn’t like the looks of the lean camel. So he untied the stout one. When the girl saw it, she frowned but said nothing. The two mounted the camel and set off.
When morning came, the trickster―eager to lay his hands on the rubies―went to wake his daughter. He found her missing, along with the prince and the 60-mile camel.
He yelled out to his son, ‘That cunning fellow has carried your sister away! Go and bring her back at once. Luckily, he left the 100-mile camel behind, so you’ll catch up easily.’
The son quickly headed out, following their tracks.
The prince and the trickster’s daughter had travelled quite a distance and thinking themselves safe, they halted by a tree to rest. Suddenly, the girl caught sight of her brother approaching on the speedier camel. ‘Quick!’ she said to the prince. ‘Get up the tree. My brother’s coming to catch us. I’ll deal with him.’
When her brother got close, the girl began to weep, saying, ‘Thank God, you’ve come! This wicked fellow tied me up and took me away. He’s hiding on the tree. Grab him and teach him a lesson!’
The brother immediately clambered up the tree and began to chase the prince from one branch to another. While they were thus preoccupied, the girl mounted the 100-mile camel. Then she looked up and cried out, ‘Watch out brother, he’s about to jump off the tree!’
Hearing this, the prince immediately leaped onto the 100-mile camel behind her, and the two hurried away, leaving the brother far behind.
They headed for the prince’s kingdom. But as they rode along, Ranbir could not help thinking, She’s a rogue’s daughter. Suppose she tricks me later on? He decided to test her. ‘It is still some distance to my home,’ he said. ‘Who knows what dangers might befall us on the way. You’re much cleverer than I am. Why don’t you take charge of the rubies?’
‘I’ve already done that,’ replied the clever girl. ‘I removed them from your waistband the very night we fled.’
‘But how did you guess they were there?’ asked the prince, astonished.
‘I have a special gift. I knew you were carrying them even before you reached our village,’ smiled the girl. ‘That’s why my father was lying in wait for you.’
Stunned and a little ashamed, Ranbir realised that she was truly loyal and returned to his kingdom happy and relieved.
The king was overcome with joy to see his son back. Eager to hear the story of Ranbir's travels, the king asked him to narrate it.
When he had heard all, the king said, ‘You have surpassed my expectations, son. You got excellent advice and survived all kinds of dangers, but you also made use of your wits. Now I can rest assured that I have a worthy heir to follow me.’
‘Better still,’ the prince added, smiling, ‘I found a wife who is not only clever but also devoted to me.’
Prince Ranbir married the trickster’s daughter with great pomp and show, and she proved to be as worthy a queen as he was king.
Wisdom for Sale
A young boy named Buddhi lost his father after a long illness. He was barely done with the funeral rites when he realised that he had been left almost penniless. What was he to do now? He sat down and desperately racked his brains to come up with a way to make a living. Finally, he got an idea that seemed excellent to him.
So he set off for the market place and looked for the cheapest shop he could rent. Then he bought some paper, ink and a pen and set up a sign on top of his shop, which said, ‘Wisdom for Sale’. Since his name was Buddhi, meaning wisdom, it had struck him that it might be a good idea to start a business connected with his name. And as people went past doing their shopping, he cried out, ‘Wisdom for sale! Wisdom for sale!’ the way other vendors called out, ‘Fresh, ripe tomatoes!’ or ‘Melons, sweet melons!’
Hearing this, people laughed and said, ‘Is he crazy? Can you buy wisdom?’ And no one ever stopped to buy his wisdom.
Several days passed. Buddhi continued to call out without any success. But he did not give up, because he was confident that sooner or later someone would come along who would need his wisdom.
Sure enough, one day, a merchant’s son who had plenty of money to spend but was completely lacking in brains came to the market. When he heard Buddhi call out, Wisdom for sale! he thought wisdom must be some kind of fruit or vegetable that he had not heard of.
So he went to Buddhi’s shop and asked him if he could try ten rupees worth of wisdom. Buddhi was overjoyed to find a customer and promptly wrote on a piece of paper, ‘A wise person will never stand and watch two people quarrelling.’
The merchant’s son went home and told his father what he had spent his money on and showed him the piece of paper. The merchant was extremely annoyed. He felt that his son had wasted his money and cried out, ‘You idiot! Everyone knows you should not stand and watch two people fighting. That rogue has swindled you.’
He went to Buddhi’s shop right away and demanded his money back. The boy said, ‘That’s no problem. If you don’t want my wisdom you can have your money back. But you have to return it to me.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked the merchant.
‘It means that your son must promise that he will always watch two people fighting,’ Buddhi replied. ‘If he does otherwise, he will be making use of my wisdom. And you will have to sign an agreement promising that.’
The merchant tried to argue, but most of the people standing nearby sided with Buddhi, so he had no choice but to sign the contract. Indeed, he was so happy to get his money back that he thought he had got the better bargain.
Now the king of the country had two wives who could never get along. Naturally, their servants also got involved in their battles and took sides. One day, one of the queens’ maids went to the market and saw a nice fresh pumpkin for sale. As she was about to purchase it, the other queen’s maid appeared on the scene. Her eye fell on the pumpkin too and she wanted to buy it as well.
‘Give me that pumpkin,’ she told the vegetable vendor.
‘You’d better not,’ said the first queen’s maid. ‘I saw it first, and you have to give it to me.’
‘But you didn’t buy it. I spoke first!’ cried the other maid.
‘Everyone can see I was here before you!’ shouted the first.
‘Ladies, ladies, please,’ pleaded the vendor. ‘Let me divide the pumpkin.’
‘I want it whole!’
‘So do I!’
‘You won’t get it!’
‘That’s what you think!’
Their quarrel continued and neither would give in. The merchant’s son, who happened to be passing, remembered the contract his father had signed and stood there to watch the fight. It grew so heated that they finally came to blows. The two maids began to hammer each other mercilessly. Terrified, the vendor left his stall and fled, and only the merchant’s son was left standing there.
When the two maids were both badly battered, they paused to catch their breath. Then the first maid said, ‘I will report you to my mistress and see that you are punished, you wicked creature!’ She turned to the merchant’s son, ‘You saw what she did. She hit me first. You witnessed it all.’
‘You liar! You hit me first. You boy, you were watching, you must tell the truth and testify on my behalf,’ said the other maid.
Both the maids rushed to their mistresses and complained. And both of the queens sent for the merchant’s son and insisted that he bear witness before the king for their respective maids or his head would be struck off.
The merchant’s son was in a real fix and did not know how to escape. He went to his father and asked him to find a way out of thi
s difficulty. But the father began to tear out his hair instead, and cursed himself for signing that contract. Finally, they decided to go to Buddhi and ask him to get them out of this mess.
When they reached Buddhi’s shop and told him what had happened, he said, ‘I can help you, but I will charge five hundred rupees for my wisdom.’ The merchant was so desperate now that he was ready to pay anything, so he agreed.
‘When the king summons you,’ Buddhi told the son, ‘pretend to be mad and talk nonsense.’
The merchant’s son did as he was told. The king could make no sense of the gibberish he uttered and sent him away as a useless witness. His life was saved and both the merchant and his son could not praise Buddhi enough. Word spread, and people began to come to him to buy wisdom whenever they had a problem to be solved.
But the merchant realised that his son would always have to pretend to be mad or he would get into trouble with the king. So he went and consulted Buddhi again. ‘You will have to pay me five hundred rupees more,’ said the boy.
‘All right,’ replied the merchant. ‘I can’t let my son be mad forever.’
‘Go and see the king when he is in a good mood,’ Buddhi told him. ‘Tell him the whole story, and he’ll see it as a big joke.’
The merchant followed his instructions and waited till the king was in a jolly mood and told him the truth. The king had a hearty laugh and forgave him. But he was curious about the boy who sold wisdom so he sent for him.
‘Have you any wisdom to sell me?’ he asked Buddhi.
‘Yes, Your Majesty, but it will cost you one hundred thousand rupees,’ was the reply.
‘That’s a lot of money,’ said the king. ‘But you have already proven yourself, so it might be worth it.’ He directed his treasurer to pay Buddhi. Then he asked, ‘Now what extraordinary wisdom are you offering me, boy?’
‘Think deeply before you do anything,’ Buddhi said.
The king felt this was sound advice and took it seriously. He would always think deeply before embarking on any course of action. And he found the practice so effective that he had the words written down and framed and hung everywhere. He even had them engraved on his cups and drinking glasses to remind him in case he forgot.
Sacked! Folk Tales You Can Carry Around Page 6