A Clever Princess
It was princess Udita's Swayamvaram (the process of choosing the groom). Her father, King Dhanan had sent forth invitations to all the eligible princes of the neighboring kingdoms and now they were all present. The king and his queen Padmini were sitting at one end of the hall while a dozen young princes sat opposite them, in a semi-circle. They looked handsome in their colorful attires, and their smiles shone brighter than the diamond and ruby necklaces around their necks. Their eager eyes were fixed on princess Udita. As the auspicious hour struck, the Princess got up from her seat, as bashful and beautiful as the garland in her hands. There was a flash of smiles on the faces of the princes and their eyes sparkled with expectation and their hearts throbbed. Suddenly, all hearts started throbbing even more rapidly but for a different reason. All eyes showed panic and all the bright smiles showed fear and horror! There was pandemonium in the big hall. The king's elephant, Virat which was all the while standing outside was suddenly seized by a 'must' - a temporary madness - and it charged into the hall, straight towards the Princes! Trembling with terror, the princes sought protection wherever they could: some hid behind the pillars, some others jumped into the pool around a fountain and one of the princes, the one with big mustaches and a big sword, jumped out of his shoes and scampered and hid behind princess Udita! Hardly a minute had passed when young Shashidhar jumped into the chaos and brought the rioting elephant under control.