Three Boons In One
Long ago, in the far north of India, there was a very kind and innocent king. Taking advantage of his goodness his wicked minister, with the help of some courtiers and aided by another king of the neighborhood one day besieged his palace, threw him and his queen into the jail, and usurped the throne. The young prince narrowly escaped into the nearby forest. He ran and ran through the wood and stopped only when it was evening. He sat down under a big mango tree, too tired to walk any more and gasping for breath. There came a wave of breeze and at once a few ripe mangoes fell on the prince's lap. The prince looked up and said, "I thank you very much, O good tree, for giving me your fruits. I was very hungry indeed." A little dove hopped down to a lower branch and cooed, as though to acknowledge the receipt of thanks, on behalf of the tree. The prince ate the mangoes which were as sweet as nectar. He then relaxed, leaning against the tree. A moment later a notorious gang arrived there. They climbed the tree and plucked the ripe as well as the unripe mangoes. While they ate the ripe mangoes, they threw away the unripe ones.
They broke and scattered the branches just for fun. The little dove flew away and circled overhead, shrieking, afraid that its nest might be destroyed by the fellows. "Why do you plunder the tree in this manner? What is the use in plucking all the fruits? Don't you see that many of them are unripe? And what business have you to break the branches? Don't you see that birds rest on them?" protested the prince. "See, see and see! As if you alone have eyes and we don't have any!" ranted one of them. "Audacity! He teaches us how to see! Now that we have plucked all the mangoes, let us pluck out his eyes. He has already seen too much for his age. He need not see anything more for the rest of his life," said the leader of the gang, goggling his hyena-like eyes. And they took hold of the prince and while he struggled to free himself, they plucked his eyes out and then left the place. The prince cried in pain. But soon he heard a most soothing voice, "Do not grieve, O sweet prince. Know that this is one of the rare magic trees. At night it can fly anywhere it likes. Now it is already dark enough for it to take off. We will take you to the goddess who dwells on a mountain in a faraway region. You ask the goddess for the boon of a pair of new eyes and I am sure they will be granted to you."
"But who are you?" asked the prince. "I am the dove you had seen. The tree and myself are grateful to you for your efforts at resisting those fellows. Naturally, we are most eager to help you. We will see that you get back your eyes. Now cling on to the trunk," said the dove. The prince did as the bird said and soon the tree rose high into the clouds. "Rejoice, O Prince, rejoice, for in a short while you will get back your vision," said the bird joyfully. But the prince only sighed. "Why do you sigh, O prince? Don't you believe me? Be sure. The compassionate goddess will give you a new pair of eyes. She always grants a devotee any one boon, though not more," said the bird again. "In that case, sweet bird, I will rather ask for the freedom of my parents who are rotting inside the enemy's jail and not for my eyes," said the prince and he narrated to the bird all their misfortunes.
The bird heard everything with attention and mumbled, "It is a pity that we can obtain only one boon from the goddess. You have to choose from your parents' freedom, your own eyes, and the recovery of the kingdom" "I don't care for the kingdom," said the prince. "I must decide between securing my parents' release and getting a new pair of eyes for myself. And my choice is for the first." "Wait, wait, I have a wonderful idea," exclaimed the bird and whispered his advice to the prince as the tree began to descend on the mountain of the goddess. The bird led the eyeless prince to the presence of the deity inside the temple. "In a sense, it is good that you cannot see anything. There are no human beings here. All the shrieks and noises you hear are from a variety of imps, gnomes, and goblins. They would not have pleased your eyes at all!" But soon they entered a chamber that was perfectly immune to any sound. The bird taught the prince a hymn and asked him to repeat it for three hundred and thirty-three times. As soon as he had done it, he heard a sublime voice, "My son, I am pleased with you. You can ask me for a boon, but only one boon."
"Thank you, O Goddess," said the prince prompted by the bird, "Grant that flanked by my parents, I should be able to see from the roof of my palace, looking over my kingdom, your blessed temple here!" "It is granted," said the voice. Bowing down to the deity, the prince came out and sat on the tree, guided by the bird. And as the tree rose high, he could soon see the twinkling stars and a bright moon. He had got back his vision. In an hour the tree came down and took root gain. And before long, his father's soldiers came and found him out. The people of the kingdom had risen in rebellion against the usurpers and had routed them and had restored the throne to the old king. The prince led the army against the neighboring king who had helped the usurpers and defeated him and annexed his kingdom to theirs. By doing so he extended his domain up to the temple of the goddess. Flanked by his happy parents he could now look over his kingdom and was able to see the deity's temple on the horizon. Thus the single boon he received from the goddess proved in fact to equal three boons. The dove often flew into the prince's garden and gave him much useful advice. People believed that it was at the dove's instance that the prince married the most beautiful girl in the world, some years later.
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