The Princess And A Dispute
In the olden days, there was a princess in Burma who was famous for her sound sense of judgment. People came to her from far and near with their complaints. She resolved their conflicts with such honesty that even if one party was displeased with her judgment, it could not say that she was wrong. One day the princess received three unusual complainants brought by a young man. They were a mongoose, a cat, and a dog. They were the pets of the young man. Before putting forth their complaint, the young man narrated its background. The young man had brought the mongoose from a fellow who had caught it for fun and was tormenting it. The cat, which had been abandoned by its master, had been brought home by the young man. The dog's old master was very cruel to him. The young man had taken pity on it and had brought it too. He looked after his pets well and loved them very much. One day the mongoose was wandering in the forest near the young man's home when it saw a shining little gem in the hollow of a tree which was a snake's shelter
He carried it to his master. The young man was delighted. Holding the gem, he said, "I wish I had a beautiful house fit enough to keep this gem!" Lo and behold! A magnificent house appeared in place of his hut in the twinkle of an eye. The young man felt dazed at first. But he realized that the gem was a wish-fulfillment stone. It is capable of giving him whatever he wished to have. He had a desire to marry the landlord's daughter. In fact, the girl too would like to marry him. But since he was poor, nobody dared to bring up the proposal. Now hundreds of people flocked to see the house that had appeared miraculously. They marveled at it. The news of the grand house reached the landlord. He came himself to offer his daughter's hand in marriage with the young man. The marriage was performed and the young man looked forward to a peaceful and happy life with his wife and the three pets. Alas, that was not to be. The young man had set the little gem on a ring and wore the ring so that the gem would always be with him.
Now, his wife had an uncle who was very wicked. While he ushered everybody's ill, he gave the impression as if he wished everybody's well being. One day he met his niece, the young man's wife, and just sighed, saying nothing. "Why do you look sad, Uncle?" asked the young lady. "Who would not be sad to see that your lucky days are almost over?" commented the nasty fellow and sighed once again. The young lady was surprised. "Why, dear Uncle, why do you think that my lucky days are over?" she asked "My daughter, does your husband love you as he used to love?" asked the fellow. "Of course, he does!" "I don't think so. Can you prove it to me? Can you persuade him to let you wear his ring for a day?" provoked the fellow. "I believe, I can!" said the young lady. In the evening she asked her husband to be allowed to put on the ring for a day. "Why for a day, my dear? You can wear this forever! But make sure that nobody takes it from you. As you know, this is a wish-fulfilling ring," warned the young man as he handed over the ring to his wife.
The next day, the proud girl stretched her fingers before her uncle to show the ring to him. "I am so happy, my child! But is it the same ring? Can I see it?" said the fellow cunningly. The lady forgot her husband's instruction and handed over the ring to her uncle. The fellow held it between his teeth and wished to become a bird. Before the lady's eyes, the bird flew away, holding the ring in its beak! Instantly the palatial house disappeared. The young lady fainted to see that she was inside her husband's old hut. The young man returned from the market and found out what had happened. "Let us not cry over the spilled milk," he told his wife. "I love to work. I will work and earn enough for us and our pets." But the pets were very unhappy at their master's misfortune. The cat went out in search of the wicked uncle. The uncle had meanwhile wished to have a palace amidst the sea. He had that and was happy to dwell in it. The cat heard about it from some birds. It was a moonlit night. The cat, strolling on the seashore, saw a sea nymph. "O nymph! How beautiful you are!" it said. "Thank you. Can I do anything for you?" asked the nymph. "I wonder if you can lead me to that palace in the water," said the cat. "I can make a bridge for you using the moonlight," said the nymph. Next moment a solid silver bridge was there. The cat reached the palace and saw the old man asleep. As the ring sat tight on his finger, he had taken it out and kept it near his pillow. The cat stealthily extended its paw and drew the ring and holding it between its teeth, crossed the bridge, and ran to its master.
The young man's happiness knew no bounds. He built his palace once again and began to live happily. But one night a bandit entered his house, ready to kill him and take out the ring from his finger. Because the young man's dog never barked, the bandit was hardly aware of it. Now the dog acted just when he was about to stab the young man. Jumping up and clinging to his neck, he started biting him in the throat, growling, and barking. The bandit fell dead. The young man woke up and saw how the dog had saved his life. He fondled the dog for long. Now, among the pets, there were frequent quarrels, because each one claimed that it had served its master better than the other two. That is why their master led them to the princess. "Between the services of the mongoose and the cat, the cat's service was more valuable. It is because the mongoose discovered the gem by chance, but the cat recovered it with a great deal of planning and courage. Now, between the cat and the dog, the dog's service is more valuable because it not only prevented the bandit from taking away the ring but also saved its master's life!" said the princess. Then she added, "But what is important is, you all three are noble. If the situation so demanded, the mongoose would have done what the cat or the dog did and the cat would have done what the other two did. And, since your master treats all three of you equally well, you all are equally valuable," said the princess. The creatures went away happy.
The Royal Frog and His Diplomacy
Long long ago, there was a frog named Gangadutta who lived in a well. The well had been abandoned by people who once used it. A forest had grown around it. It was deep and spacious well. It never went out of water-not even in the hottest season of the year. It was overshadowed by trees. Occasionally woodcutters or hunters drank its cool water which remained undisturbed most of the time. Prominent among the small creatures who inhabited it were frogs. Gangadutta was the king over the small population of frogs in the well. But he lorded over them too much and became very unpopular. Some frogs began to defy his authority. Physically, Gangadutta was not strong enough to punish those rebel frogs. Soon a sinister idea came to his mind. An old rope, which was in use no more, hung from the mouth of the well. With great difficulty, Gangadutta came out of the well with the help of the rope and hopped on and on, till he saw a hole under a tree. He knew that the hole was the home of a snake. "Hello, snake! please come out. I have an excellent proposal for you," said Gangadutta. "Who are you?" asked the snake, although he was sure that it was either a snake charmer out to capture him and tame him, or a physician in search of his poison which was of great medicinal value.
"I am a royal frog, Gangadutta by name, out to befriend you." "Don't make me laugh! A frog would call out a snake to befriend him, eh? You take me for a fool, I see!" replied the snake. "Believe me, friend, I am a frog, a king among frogs though, and I do value your friendship!" replied Gangadutta. Slowly the snake showed his head and was amazed to see his caller. "I invite you to my well. There is a hollow on its stone wall, almost touching the water, which should prove a fine camp for you. Come, friend, follow me!" said Gangadutta. "But why on earth do you need my company?" demanded the snake. "To be frank, it is to punish my enemies. I shall point them out to you. You can gobble them up one by one. There are plenty of frogs who have incurred my displeasure. They would be food enough for you at least to last a month," informed Gangadutta. It was summer. The cool hollow in the well and the ready food were most inviting. The snake agreed to honor Gangadutta's suggestion. "I, however, wish you to make one solemn promise. You must not harm any frog who has not been marked by me as a bad character!" said Gangadutta. "How can I do anything without my host's sanction? Am I not an upright snake?" Satisfied, Gangadutta led the snake to the well. It was a tough job for the snake to descend into it with the support of the rope. But once he was inside the well, his eyes glittered with happiness. "What have you done? How could you bring a terrible enemy of our race here?" asked Gangadutta's wife in great disgust.
"I am a king. I have to do many things to maintain my authority!" Gangadutta replied gravely. "To suppress some foes with the help of other foes is called diplomacy!" The snake began his work. Gangadutta would point out his enemies and he would gleefully gobble them up. Looking askance at his host, he would swallow even those who had not been pointed out to him. There was a great panic in the well. A few frogs who tried to escape were caught by the snake. In a fortnight the snake finished all the enemies of Gangadutta. "Thanks a lot, sir, you may now return to your hole," said the host. "You are an ungrateful creature to say so. My hole must have been filled up by sand or occupied by another snake. I have to be here," declared the snake gobbling up Gangadutta's only son! Gangadutta's wife wailed. But not for long. She too was caught and despatched by the snake. In a few more days the snake emptied the well of all frogs, Gangadutta excepting. Slowly the snake turned towards Gangadutta. The dazed Gangadutta tried to recover his wits and said, "You can eat me, but that cannot keep you satisfied for long. Better I go out, and lure some more frogs into the well." At that, the snake allowed Gangadutta to go out, who needless to say, never returned to the well! But he lived only to repent for the rest of his life.
Long long ago, there was a frog named Gangadutta who lived in a well. The well had been abandoned by people who once used it. A forest had grown around it. It was deep and spacious well. It never went out of water-not even in the hottest season of the year. It was overshadowed by trees. Occasionally woodcutters or hunters drank its cool water which remained undisturbed most of the time. Prominent among the small creatures who inhabited it were frogs. Gangadutta was the king over the small population of frogs in the well. But he lorded over them too much and became very unpopular. Some frogs began to defy his authority. Physically, Gangadutta was not strong enough to punish those rebel frogs. Soon a sinister idea came to his mind. An old rope, which was in use no more, hung from the mouth of the well. With great difficulty, Gangadutta came out of the well with the help of the rope and hopped on and on, till he saw a hole under a tree. He knew that the hole was the home of a snake. "Hello, snake! please come out. I have an excellent proposal for you," said Gangadutta. "Who are you?" asked the snake, although he was sure that it was either a snake charmer out to capture him and tame him, or a physician in search of his poison which was of great medicinal value.
"I am a royal frog, Gangadutta by name, out to befriend you." "Don't make me laugh! A frog would call out a snake to befriend him, eh? You take me for a fool, I see!" replied the snake. "Believe me, friend, I am a frog, a king among frogs though, and I do value your friendship!" replied Gangadutta. Slowly the snake showed his head and was amazed to see his caller. "I invite you to my well. There is a hollow on its stone wall, almost touching the water, which should prove a fine camp for you. Come, friend, follow me!" said Gangadutta. "But why on earth do you need my company?" demanded the snake. "To be frank, it is to punish my enemies. I shall point them out to you. You can gobble them up one by one. There are plenty of frogs who have incurred my displeasure. They would be food enough for you at least to last a month," informed Gangadutta. It was summer. The cool hollow in the well and the ready food were most inviting. The snake agreed to honor Gangadutta's suggestion. "I, however, wish you to make one solemn promise. You must not harm any frog who has not been marked by me as a bad character!" said Gangadutta. "How can I do anything without my host's sanction? Am I not an upright snake?" Satisfied, Gangadutta led the snake to the well. It was a tough job for the snake to descend into it with the support of the rope. But once he was inside the well, his eyes glittered with happiness. "What have you done? How could you bring a terrible enemy of our race here?" asked Gangadutta's wife in great disgust.
"I am a king. I have to do many things to maintain my authority!" Gangadutta replied gravely. "To suppress some foes with the help of other foes is called diplomacy!" The snake began his work. Gangadutta would point out his enemies and he would gleefully gobble them up. Looking askance at his host, he would swallow even those who had not been pointed out to him. There was a great panic in the well. A few frogs who tried to escape were caught by the snake. In a fortnight the snake finished all the enemies of Gangadutta. "Thanks a lot, sir, you may now return to your hole," said the host. "You are an ungrateful creature to say so. My hole must have been filled up by sand or occupied by another snake. I have to be here," declared the snake gobbling up Gangadutta's only son! Gangadutta's wife wailed. But not for long. She too was caught and despatched by the snake. In a few more days the snake emptied the well of all frogs, Gangadutta excepting. Slowly the snake turned towards Gangadutta. The dazed Gangadutta tried to recover his wits and said, "You can eat me, but that cannot keep you satisfied for long. Better I go out, and lure some more frogs into the well." At that, the snake allowed Gangadutta to go out, who needless to say, never returned to the well! But he lived only to repent for the rest of his life.
The Strange Case of a Slave Girl
In a certain town lived a blacksmith. People were amazed by a certain miracle he could perform. He would hold a piece of burning coal in his grip, but his palm will suffer no burn. He would even throw his hand into the oven, but the flames would do him no harm. A pious man who heard about the blacksmith's miracle thought that the blacksmith must be more pious than him. He paid a visit to the blacksmith's house. The blacksmith received him coridally. The pious man observed the blacksmith for three days. Even at night, he kept a close watch on him. But he did not see the blacksmith practicing any rite or any special discipline. "How are you able to perform the miracle without practicing any special rite?" the pious man asked the blacksmith on the fourth day.
"My noble guest, I must confess that I have no credit in what I do. I consider myself rather a sinner. It is someone else's boon that has given me the power," said the blacksmith. The pious man grew even more curious. At his request, the blacksmith recounted the following story: Years ago, the blacksmith saw a slave girl working in the household of a rich man. She was charming, but she shied away from everybody. The blacksmith one day proposed to buy her off the rich man. "Why do you want to buy me?" asked the girl. "I desire to marry you," said the proud blacksmith. He was sure that the girl would be happy to hear this. Who would not wish to be elevated to the position of a wife from that of a slave? But, to his surprise, the girl showed no sign of joy. Calmly she said, "I cannot marry anybody. I am a devotee of God. To Him alone, I belong." This wounded the blacksmith's pride. He called her names and ridiculed her claim to being a devotee. The girl made no answer. A year later there was a great famine. The rich man who owned the girl dismissed all his slaves because he could not feed them. "Come to me. I am still willing to marry you," the blacksmith told the girl. "I'm sorry, I cannot marry anyone," replied the girl. This infuriated the blacksmith. He threw nasty words at her. But she did not answer back. Days passed. The famine proved devastating. One afternoon the blacksmith heard a knock on his door.
He opened the door and saw the girl. Starvation had reduced her to a skeleton. "Will you be pleased to give me something to eat if I work for you?" she asked. "I shall give you food only if you agree to marry me," announced the blacksmith. "But that is not possible," said the girl with a sigh and she went away. The blacksmith sat sulking under his humiliation. Two days later she returned. "I'm dying of hunger. Please give me a little food. God will bless you," she muttered. The blacksmith held out a dish before her. The girl's eyes twinkled with hope. She smiled. "Are you ready to fulfill my condition?" just then asked the blacksmith. "No," replied the girl. Her smile disappeared. "Then no food for you," shouted the blacksmith haughtily, taking the dish away. The blacksmith was angry with the girl, but he could not be at peace. The next day he saw the girl lying under a tree, about to die. Suddenly he was moved with great pity. "How wicked I am to refuse food to her because she has wounded my vanity!" he thought. Then he called the girl home and laid several items of delicious food before her. "I have no condition this time. Please eat to your heart's content," said the blacksmith. "God will bless you. Since you work with fire, I pray to God that he makes you immune to fire," said the girl and she sat down for eating. The blacksmith did not take her words as anything more than a formal thanksgiving. But suddenly a strong wind upturned his oven. The burning coal and some melting metal fell all over his body. To his great surprise, he saw that they did him no harm!
He cautiously picked up a lump of burning coal and held it. Nothing happened. He waved his hand through the fire. He did not feel any discomfiture. "O, divine girl! The boon you wished to obtain for me has come! I am immune to fire!" exclaimed the blacksmith. "Is that so?" asked the girl. Next moment a gloom descended on her. She muttered, "O God, never had I asked Thee for anything. I know that of Thine own accord Thou would grant to people whatever is good for them. Why did I break my discipline? This shows that I had grown a weakness for this man. Since I have asked for something once, let me do it once more. This time I ask Thee to take me away from this world". She knelt down for meditation. In a minute her body slumped. She had passed away! The blacksmith concluded, "What a fool I was not to know what a great soul the slave girl was!" The pious man returned absolutely amazed at the girl's divinity.
The Green-Eyed Monster
In a small town of China lived a tailor named Ching. All he had for an asset, his small house besides a sewing machine. But the real asset he had was sincerity. He worked hard and stood by his word. Naturally, he prospered well. Soon he bought four new machines and provided work to four other hands. His customers were extremely pleased with him. They would pay him even more than what he charged them. When Ching would show his reluctance to receive such extra fees, they would send him gifts such as fruits, vegetables, and milk. In the same town lived ten more tailors. Ching became their eyesore. They never realized that if they did not prosper, it was because they were not as hard or as sincere at work as Ching. They passed their time inventing and circulating damaging rumors about Ching. But the people of the town never believed in such mischievous rumors. They knew too well that the other tailors were just jealous of Ching. Now, when the ten tailors saw what they could not do any harm to their rival by mere wicked words, they were quite pensive. The leader of this gang of ten was Bang. "As long as Ching continues to prosper at this rate, we have no future in the trade," he lamented one day. "There are necromancers who can stop people from prospering, observed a friend. The hint was taken up.
They went to meet a necromancer who lived at a distance of half day's walk. But the necromancer was out of the station. They returned disappointed. But the next day a stranger knocked at Bang's door. "You desired to meet my venerable teacher, the great necromancer. Well, he sent me, his chief disciple, to see if I can be of any help to you. My teacher is too busy to come." The stranger's apparel showed him to be a necromancer. Bang confided to him the cause of his heart burning. "If we must harass Ching, we have to take the help of an imp. The process is a bit expensive," observed the stranger. "Well, I don't mind expense for sake of the work!" said Bang. "That is like a well-meaning client. Now, here is a magic lemon. You have to put inside it a small ball of pure gold and leave the lemon at Ching's house." Bang accepted the lemon with thanks and paid the necromancer his due. He had to sell the only piece of land he possessed in order to buy the gold necessary. Then he went to meet Ching and took care to leave the lemon in his house. The stranger visited all the other nine tailors too and distributed the magic lemons among them. Some had to pledge their machines and some had to sell their lands for the gold. But all managed to leave the gold-filled lemons in Ching's house. Then began their anxious waiting to see Ching's condition deteriorating. But what happened was the opposite. Ching added a new wing to his workshop, with ten new machines arranged in an array.
The gang of ten made a hurried trip to the necromancer and demanded agitatedly, "Where is your chief disciple?" "Chief disciple? I have no disciple at all!" replied the necromancer. The gang returned with their heads hung. Ching invited them to see the extension of his workshop. Bang, unable to suppress his curiosity, asked, "Brother Ching, what is the secret of this sudden boost in your condition?" "That is a miracle. Some beneficent being sent me ten lemons filled with ten gold balls. I used the lemons in my drink and used the gold for buying the new machines." The ten guests looked at one another. Tears drizzled in their eyes. "My brother, it is some god who asked us to leave those gold-filled lemons here. We fools were jealous of you and had to pay the price for our ill-will," confessed Bang. His friends nodded. "You were indeed fools to do so, my friends. It is no god that misguided you, but the green-eyed monster, the being of jealousy. However, you are welcome to work here- with my new machines. I have not yet employed new hands," said Ching. They accepted the offer. It was sheer good luck that Ching had overheard their discussion on the eve of their first visit to the necromancer's house. He could don a disguise and play the trick on them. But he never disclosed this to the ten until very late when they had grown old and wise.
The Secret Sculptor
Vijaypal, the king of Chandragiri, was a great admirer of art. A large number of sculptors and painters were in his payroll. He never stopped encouraging them to seek perfection in their works. Once a year he held an exhibition of sculptures and paintings. He invited entries from gifted artists belonging to other lands too. A panel of worthy critics, most of whom were people of other lands, judged the works and decided which ones among them were extraordinary. The king rewarded their makers. Rewards for sculptures were almost always bagged by the sculptors of Chandragiri. This was because the court sculptor of King Vijaypal, Shridhar, was a great genius. He had trained up a group of young men extremely well. King Vijaypal was very fond of Shridhar. The master sculptor had not only enhanced the prestige of Chandragiri in the world of art but also had declined highly lucrative offers from other kings. It so happened that Shridhar fell sick and died rather untimely. The king was very sad. However, he made Shridhar's son, Shekhar, his court sculptor, in the way of paying tribute to the memory of Shridhar The king did not expect Shekhar to prove as brilliant as his father. But, to his pleasant surprise, it is Shekhar who was voted the best sculptor by the experts from different kingdoms who judged the entries in the next exhibition. They declared that Shekhar was no less talented than the late Shridhar. But the truth was different.
The piece of sculpture that passed as Shekhar's creation was in fact the work of another young man, Vimal. Shekhar, despite his father's sincere efforts at making him a worthy sculptor, had failed to become one. On his death bed, Shridhar told Vimal, his dearest and most successful student, "Continue to patronize Shekhar in every possible way till he has learned your art thoroughly well." Vimal was deeply devoted to his teacher. Besides, he had no ambition for fame. His only joy lay in working hard. And such was the secrecy with which he worked that it appeared as if he did nothing more than assisting Shekhar. King Vijaypal had a daughter named Mallika. She was extremely beautiful. One day the king thought, "My daughter will marry and leave me in a short time. Also, as she will grow older, the charm she possesses now will begin to fade. It will be nice to make a statue of hers now." There was also another reason for the king to feel inspired to make a statue of her daughter. Princes from the neighboring kingdoms had begun visiting his palace to propose marriage with Mallika. Now, Mallika was reluctant to appear before them. Besides, any prince who once saw her would insist on marrying her whether he deserved her or not. That would create problems. They could be shown the statue of the princess instead of the princess herself. The king decided to entrust Shekhar with the task of making Mallika's statue. In order to serve as the model for the sculptor, he first had the chief painter of his court, an old man, draw a portrait of the princess. Then he asked Shekar to do the needful. A special room was allocated to Shekhar.
He was to work on Mallika's statue there. Vimal excepting, nobody was to be allowed in. The work went on. Needless to say, it was Vimal who went on working on the stone. All Shekhar did was to hand out to him a hammer or a chisel according to his need. Most of the time Shekhar slept or sat dozing. One day Princess Mallika grew inquisitive. She stealthily entered the sculptor's apartment and observed him at work. The work had not been completed. That is why she could not appreciate it. Suddenly she heard Vimal asking Shekhar, "I don't believe that the portrait represents the princess. It is just a beautiful picture. If the king had asked me to sculpt out just a beautiful maiden instead of asking me to follow a painting in doing so, I would have done the work promptly". What Vimal meant was, so beautiful a portrait could not have been the portrait of a real girl. But the princess misunderstood his remark. Besides, she did not like the half-done sculpture. "I doubt if you know anything of sculpture!" she blurted out. Startled, Vimal looked back. "Wonderful! Why don't you stand before me so that I can carve out your figure on the stone with greater accuracy? The portrait gives out only half of your charm!" spoke out Vimal. The artist in him had forgotten manners! The princess took offense. She went to the king and said, "Father! why have you employed a worthless fellow to make my image? I saw Shekar idling away his time!" The king knew that the only man who was with Shekhar was his assistant, Vimal. He was furious with him.
But instead of awarding any severe punishment to him on account of his unmannerly conduct, he ordered him to leave the kingdom. He was under the impression that Vimal was only tampering with Shekhar's work. A few months passed. The king wanted to know the progress of the work. But the work remained where Vimal had left it. Questioned by the king, Shekhar confessed that all the sculptures that passed as his were Vimal's! He won't dare touch the half-done statue of Mallika. The king threw Shekhar into jail. Then came the time for the annual exhibition. This time a sculpture sent by a neighboring king bagged the first prize. The judges said that the sculptor was the most gifted artist they had ever known. All were charmed by the entry. The king was surprised to see that the prize-winning entry was a lively image of Princess Mallika! He made an enquiry about the sculptor and learned that he was none other than Vimal who had taken refuge in the court of another king. He had seen the princess only once. But he had almost infused life into the stone image. Princess Mallika herself was charmed to see it. The king sent for the sculptor. Vimal came and received a great ovation. The king regretted his own conduct towards him. Vimal agreed to remain in his court, but on condition that Shekhar must be set free immediately and be given a regular life-long allowance.
The Two Abdullahs
Once upon a time, there was a fisherman named Abdullah who was very poor. Every day he devoted hours to throwing his net into the river. He carried to the Bazar whatever fish he caught. He bought his necessaries with the price he got by selling his fish. But one day he could catch no fish. Even the next day brought him no luck. He was tired and hungry. But disappointment made him quite adamant. He walked along the riverbank, casting his net into the water time and again. He reached the spot where the river met the sea. Standing knee-deep in the water, he threw his net vigorously into the confluence. Then, when he began pulling it, he found the net heavy. For a moment his heart was filled with joy. "I have caught a big fish, I'm sure," he mumbled to himself. But, as he looked on, a human head popped up before him. "You have caught me!" exclaimed the fellow, still submerged in the water to his neck.
"Who are you?" asked the amazed Abdullah. "I am Abdullah," replied the fellow. "Don't say so. I am Abdullah. You can ask all my neighbors about it," said Abdullah the fisherman. "You may be Abdullah of the land. But I am Abdullah of the sea. We, sea people, live far inside the ocean. I had swum into the river only to see if I could get any sweet fruit of your earth. Sometimes they come floating and we like them very much. But here I am, caught up in your net!" said Abdullah of the sea with a sigh. "Don't you worry, I am going to release you forthwith," said Abdullah of the land, also with a sigh. "You are as worthless to me as a tree trunk. If you are fond of fruits, I can give you some tomorrow, if you come here," he added. "Will you? In exchange, I will give you pearls and precious stones. Sea abounds in them," said Abdullah of the sea. Abdullah of the land helped the other Abdullah to get out of the net and both parted. The next day Abdullah of the land collected some fruits and, when it was night, went near the confluence and called out for his namesake. Abdullah of the sea came out and received a sackful of fruits. He looked delighted. Asking the fisherman to wait a moment, he disappeared. Soon he returned with a sack filled with pearls and dazzling stones. The two agreed to meet once a week and exchange gifts. The next day the fisherman went to the town with his pearls and stones and tried to sell them to the richest jeweler in the Bazar. The jeweler, casting just one look at the sack, shouted for his servants to take hold of Abdullah.
"We hear that some jewels are stolen from the Sultan's collection. This fellow must be a thief!" he declared. Abdullah's protest went unheeded. He received blows and slaps and was led to the Sultan's court. But the Sultan after examining Abdullah's wealth said they were not the stolen goods. Abdullah then narrated how he came to get them. "We had heard about the human inhabitants of the sea. But we knew of nobody who had seen any of them. Now here you are! You have not only seen one of those strange creatures but also have befriended him. You deserve to become a nobleman in my court," said the Sultan. Abdullah soon became the Sultan's favorite. He visited the confluence every week with the best of fruits grown in the royal orchard and returned with a sack of invaluable stones and pearls. In the course of time, he married the Sultan's daughter and came to reside in the palace. One day he proposed to Abdullah of the sea, "Can't I once visit your dwelling?" Abdullah of the sea could not turn down his friend's request. He put a mysterious ointment in his friend's eyes. That enabled Abdullah of the land to see everything clearly under the water. The underwater country of the sea people was wonderful. There pearls and diamonds were as common as pebbles. Their customs fascinated Abdullah of the land. He spent a few days in the company of those people. The two Abdullahs grew even more fond of each other. On the day Abdullah of the land was to leave the strange underwater world, he heard shouts of joy and laughter coming from one of the buildings.
"What makes them rejoice?" he asked his host. "One of our people is dead," was the reply. "What! One is dead and instead of weeping, your people are rejoicing at it!" exclaimed Abdullah of the land with surprise. "What strange words do you speak! One is dead, that is, he had gone back to our Maker, God. Instead of rejoicing, must we cry? What an idea! Do you fellows do that?" asked Abdullah of the sea, still more surprised. "Indeed, we cry when one dear to us dies," confessed Abdullah of the land. "Then you fellows do not have faith in God's wisdom. Is it not foolish of you to be happy when God sends one to be born, but to be sorry when he calls one back?" asked Abdullah of the sea. Abdullah of the land tried to answer him but failed. They were near the confluence. "When do we meet again?" asked Abdullah of the land, climbing to the bank. "You fellows do not know how to respect God. There is no more meeting between us!" answered Abdullah of the sea, and he disappeared.
The Day The Landlord Grew Invisible
Centuries ago there was a landlord in a big village in China. The one thing he knew in life was to grab at others' property. He had accumulated much money and many other valuable things. But he was not tired of desiring more. Once the province was struck by famine. Merchants set out to the neighboring provinces for securing rice. But a few days must pass before they would return with rice. The people of the village knew that the landlord had a bumper stock of rice. They appealed to him to lend them a few bags of his rice. But he turned down their request. He dreamt of a worse time for them when they would be obliged to get rice from him in exchange for their precious lands. Chung, a clever young man, has paid a visit to that village to meet his maternal uncle. He saw how the villagers suffered for the dearth of rice while the landlord had so much of it in his stock. Chung, an excellent actor, crept into the landlord's garden and took a position on a slab of stone. He sat fixing his gaze on a crow's nest in the tree. It was awfully hot summer noon. The landlord was intrigued to see a stranger seated in his garden. He came near him and demanded to know what he was doing.
"Is it your garden sir? I'm pleased to meet you. I don't mean any harm. I am waiting for the crow to leave the tree so that I can steal its nest," said the young man. Never had the landlord heard of anybody coveting a crow's nest. He grew even more intrigued. "But why do you need the nest?" he asked. "Excuse me, sir, that is none of your business. You surely won't grudge me a trifle like a crow's nest!" said Chung. "This is my garden. Even if I don't claim to have invited the crow to build its nest in my tree, legally the nest is my property. I won't allow you to take it unless you tell me why you need it," said the landlord. "Very well sir, I shall tell you all. But first promise that you won't stop me from taking it." "All right. I promise," said the landlord. "Keep it to yourself. This crow is a special kind of crow called 'one-in-a-billion-crow.' A wizard had pointed it out to me. Since then I am following it without food and sleep. I have covered hundreds of miles.
But it always evades me. I am lucky that today I could trace it to its nest. Its nest possesses a magic quality." Chung suddenly stopped. "What magic quality, please?" asked the landlord, agog with curiosity. "The nest is made of so many sticks, isn't it? Now, one of them has strange magic in it - I have to find out which one. The moment you thrust it into your hair, you grow invisible. You understand? You can do anything!" "I am not going to allow you to take away the nest," declared the landlord. "But you promised that you won't stop me from taking it!" complained Chung. Their quarrel scared away the crow. At once the landlord climbed the tree. He got badly bruised all over but succeeded in taking hold of the nest. When he came down, he found the young man weeping. "I will tell everybody that you can grow invisible and that everybody ought to be on his guard!" blurted out Chung, stomaching a sob. That put the landlord to anxiety. Nobody should know his secret. He offered a hundred-two hundred- a thousand rupees to Chung for buying his silence.
But Chung would not have any money. However, a hundred bags of rice can silence him- he said. The landlord agreed to the bargain. Chung distributed the rice among the villagers. Inside the house, the landlord whispered to his wife, "Tell me when you cease to see me!" He then picked up a stick from the nest and thrust it into this hair and asked, "Do you see me?" "Yes!" replied the wife. The landlord went on trying one stick after another. Bored with her husband's crazy conduct which seemed to her crazy, at last she shouted "I don't see anything!" "That's it!" exclaimed the landlord and he went out. Straight he headed for the bazaar that was a few miles away. He was hungry. He entered a sweetmeat shop and gobbled up some choice sweets and left the shop. The shopkeeper knew him. He was a bit surprised, but he said nothing, under the impression that the landlord was in a hurry and would surely pay him before leaving the bazaar. The shopkeeper's silence convinced the landlord that he had grown invisible. Overjoyed, he next entered a jeweler's shop and picked up the cash box. The jeweler looked puzzled but only for a second. He pounced upon the landlord and held him tight and raised a loud cry. So many people came rushing there. Blows rained on the robber. The landlord returned home limping, sad but wiser!
The Ungrateful King
King Brahmadutta of Varanasi had a son who was so wicked that he was hated by one and all. He would take hold of innocent passers-by and torture them for fun. He never spoke a kind word to anybody; never showed any respect to the learned or the aged. One day he was bathing in the river in the company of his pals. Although he did not know swimming, he was attended upon by a number of servants who were expert swimmers. Suddenly a storm broke forth. It grew dark The prince looked up at his servants and said, "Come on, carry me into the midstream. I wish to have a dip there." The swimmers jumped in and did as ordered. The pals of the prince waited in the shallow water. It was raining heavily. They could not see what was happening in the river even a few yards away. Now, the servants thought that it was a golden opportunity to do away with the wicked prince. They abandoned him in the midstream and swum back. "Where is the prince?" asked the prince' s pals. "He slipped off our hands. We thought that he was eager to return home!" answered the servants.
Back in the palace, they told the same story to the king. Immediately the king sent hundreds of soldiers to search for the prince in the river and along the banks. The search continued till late in the night. But the prince was not to be found. The strong current swept the prince away. Luckily for him. he found a floating log. That saved him from drowning. Three other creatures had already taken shelter on the log. They were a serpent, a mouse, and a parrot. They did not mind the prince sharing their shelter. The storm continued and the prince shouted from time to time, "Save me! Save me!" When, in the evening, the log floated by a forest, a hermit happened to hear the prince's cry. He was none other than the compassionate Bodhi, the soul that was to incarnate as the Buddha in a later birth. Bodhi was strong enough to brave the storm and enter the river and drag the log ashore. He led the prince as well as the other three creatures into his hut. In the warmth of fire he nursed them and prepared food for them. He saw to it that the serpent, the mouse, and the parrot were fed first. Being weaker creatures, they claimed the greater share of his care. But he never neglected the prince. He fed him well and made him sleep by the fire. They remained with Bodhi for two days. The storm had passed and they had recovered their strength. Preparing to depart, the parrot said, "O my Savior, I used to live in a tree which fell into the river. I could not fly due to the terrible storm. Had you not saved me, I would have perished. I have a number of friends in the Himalayas. If you ever call me standing at the foot of the hill on the other side of the forest, I shall come down and if you need, I shall ask my Himalayan friends to bring you some rare corn."
"I shall remember your promise," said Bodhi. The serpent said, "I was a merchant in my previous life. I kept several crores of gold coins hidden on the river bank. My attachment to the buried treasure made me take birth as a serpent. I am passing my days guarding it. But I should be happy if you can put my treasure to good use." The mouse too had a similar tale to tell. Bodhi promised to meet them in the future. "I am to succeed with my father as the king. If you visit Varanasi, I shall receive you with due honor," said the prince. Years later Bodhi paid a visit to Varanasi. By then King Brahmadutta was dead and the prince has ascended the throne. The young king was out for a ride, mounting an elephant. As soon as he saw Bodhi coming from the opposite direction, he told his bodyguards, "Take hold of that fellow bind him to a pillar and whip him hard. Thereafter lead him to the execution ground and behead him! The fellow had the audacity to neglect me and pay attention to a serpent, a mouse, and a bird!" At once the bodyguards swooped down upon Bodhi and began torturing him. A large number of people gathered around the king's victim and asked him, "Had you by any chance ever done a good turn to the king?" "Indeed, I had," said Bodhi and he narrated whatever had happened. The people of Varanasi were seething in agony under the tyrant's rule.
Their patience had come to an end. The king's conduct towards Bodhi suddenly inflamed a wild rage in the crowd. They drove away the royal bodyguards and freed Bodhi. The king had not gone far. The crowd rushed upon him and pulled him down from the elephant's back. He was killed. The people pleaded with Bodhi to sit on the throne. Bodhi conceded to the request and gave the land a glorious rule. In the course of time, he visited the forest and met the serpent and the mouse. They were tired of guarding their treasures. They requested him to take away the treasures. Bodhi obliged them and brought them to his palace, along with their wealth. He did not forget the parrot and brought it along too. The treasures were spent for the welfare of the kingdom. On the top floor of the palace, he built a tunnel of gold for the serpent to live in it. For the mouse, he got a sapphire cave made and for the parrot a golden cage. Everyone was happily spending their time.
Innocent Actions
Shambhu was a simpleton. In his own village, all knew his nature so well that nobody was prepared to employ him in any work. But poor Shambhu must earn his livelihood. He went away to Jankipur, a prosperous village bordering the town. There he found work with a rich farmer named Prasad. He was required to lead his cattle into the meadow, watch them graze there, and lead them back to his master's shed before dusk. One evening, after he had driven the cattle back to the shed, it was found that an old cow was missing. "Go you at once and return with the cow. Only then you shall eat," said Gauri, his master's wife. Shambhu had had his food in the morning only. He was awfully hungry. It would have been much better to let him eat first and then send him in search of the cow. As such, it was natural for him to feel tired after only a round of the meadow. But he was afraid of facing Gauri without the cow. He sprawled on the veranda of a deserted temple between the village and the meadow. At midnight he woke up at some voices. In the moonlight, he saw two able-bodied men shifting a slab of stone and sinking a pouch into a hole. "Let it lie here We can recover it after the sensation subsides," one told the other in a low tone.
Then they replaced the slab. Shambhu understood that they were thieves and they were hiding some treasure. As soon as the two departed, he removed the slab and picked up the pouch. It was quite heavy. "My master's wife will forget the cow when she gets the prize," he thought and ran to meet Gauri. At his knocks, Gauri opened the door and was about to rebuke him when he handed over the pouch to her. She carried it near a lamp and unfastened its string and looked into it. Her eyes grew bigger. Shambhu informed her that he got it from the street. Then he asked for food. "I am sorry to tell you, Shambhu, that I gave away the food meant for you to a beggar since you were so late in coming back. Go to sleep now. I shall cook a good dish for you in the morning." Gauri said. Shambhu sighed and retired. Gauri then showed the pouch to her husband. It was full of sets of dazzling ornaments. "Good God! These must have been stolen from some wealthy man's house. We will be in great trouble if fond out," said Prasad. "How can anyone know that these are with us?" asked Gauri, unwilling to part with the windfall. "It is Shambhu who will go on spreading the news. He is totally undependable!" said Prasad. Gauri thought for a moment and said, "Very well, see how I tackle Shambhu!" She then emptied the pouch and filled it with broken bricks. Shambhu was asleep.
She woke him up and said, "What on earth made you bring this pouch to me? It is full of bricks!" Shambhu, crestfallen, said, "But I thought it contained some precious goods!" "Go and bury it again," said Gauri. Shambhu proceeded to the deserted temple and sank the pouch in the hole. But when he was leaving the place, the thieves saw him. They grew suspicious and followed him. They marked where he went. Back at the temple, they opened the pouch and saw its content gone! They stood cursing and fuming. In the morning it was known that there had been a burglary in the palace. The queen's ornaments were stolen. The king announced a reward of ten thousand bucks for anyone who could give some clue to catching the burglars. The announcement made Prasad panicky. But Gauri gave him courage saying that the burglary would soon be forgotten. A few days passed. Gauri could no longer check her temptation to wear the ornaments. One night she put them on and saw herself in the mirror. She felt extremely elated.
Just then Shambhu, who was in the process of falling asleep, heard some footsteps. Soon he saw two fellows stealthily proceeding towards Gauri's room. One of them knocked on her door and said, "Open, will you?" "Who is it?" asked Gauri from inside "Can't you recognize your brother's voice?" said the fellow assuming a loving tone. "My brother! At such an unearthly hour!" exclaimed Gauri while opening the door. Shambhu had recognized the fellows. They were the burglars. The burglars entered the room. Gauri shrieked and tried to prevent their entry, but could not. The burglars pushed her to the wall and tied her with a rope. They did the same to her husband when he rushed in. They relieved Gauri of the ornaments. But, ready to leave, they found the door bolted from outside. Shambhu, after bolting the door, ran to inform the village guards of the incident. The guards reached the spot and took hold of the burglars. In the morning they were produced before the king. Shambhu realized that Gauri had bluffed him. What he had given her were not bricks but ornaments. He narrated the events before the king The thieves were thrown into jail. Prasad and Gauri were punished with a heavy fine for taking possession of the stolen goods. The king found Shambhu's actions were quite innocent. He was rewarded with ten thousand rupees. He was also appointed to a post in the palace!
The King and The Scavenger
Long long ago there lived a king whom everyone feared but no one loved. It was because he was cruel to all. In his country lived a priest who preached peace and piety. His radiant face and his noble conduct attracted many. They thronged to see him and hear him, both in the morning and in the evening. The news of the priest's popularity reached the king. He grew jealous. He ordered his guards to bring the priest to the court. The priest came and with him many of his followers. Their very sight infuriated the king. He shouted, "You wicked fellow! What makes you gather crowds around you? And what is this mass prayer for? I suspect treason." "My Lord! I am innocent and ignorant of any treason. I preach nothing but peace and piety to the folk. And I am not that wicked to plot against my sovereign lord," replied the priest. The king, far from being satisfied, said, "You liar! You can't cheat me as you cheat these foolish folk. I accuse you of treason. However, here are three questions. You will be spared if you answer them correctly. If you fail to answer even one, your head will go!" "My Lord! You are prejudiced against me. I know that you will no longer listen to what I say. Come on with your questions. Let whatever God wills befall me."
The jealous king poured out the questions: "First, tell me my worth! Secondly, tell me how many days it would take me to travel around the world. Finally, let me hear from you what I am thinking!" The priest's face paled. He scratched his head, tapped his forehead, and moistened his lip with his tongue. But he could not hit upon any answer to the questions. He bowed to the king and said, "My Lord! these are difficult riddles for me. If you would be pleased to allow me three weeks, I may be able to find out the answers." The king roared with laughter and said, "Poor priest! You would like to be alive for three more weeks! All right! I will treat this request as your last wish. Come back after three weeks. Your answers will decide your fate, although I can imagine what it will be!" The priest consulted all the scholars he knew and his friends and his disciples. All of them listened to his plight and were full of sympathy for him, but when asked for a solution, they pleaded helplessness. It was the fag end of the third week. The sad priest sat brooding in his garden. His scavenger who came to clean his garden inquired what the matter was. The priest told him all. The illiterate scavenger heard him with the utmost attention. "Worry no more sir," he said. "Lend me your horse, your gown, and a few of your disciples and buy me a false beard that resembles your true one. And that puts an end to the matter." His heart going pit-a-pit, the priest fulfilled the scavenger's demands. On the last day of the third week the scavenger, in the disguise of the priest, stood in the court, facing the king.
"Welcome, honest fellow, welcome. I hope you are ready with your answers. Remember, if you answer wrong, your head becomes mine. Well?" the king observed with joy. "Well, my good Lord, I am ready to answer your questions," said the disguised scavenger. "What is my worth?" "Twentynine silver pieces!" pat came the answer. The king got wild. "Look at my crown, blind fool. Look at my throne, if you have eyes. Count, if you can, the priceless stones studded therein. How dare you declare my worth to be just twenty-nine silver pieces?" "Stop getting angry, My Lord," interrupted the priest. "Jesus, our Saviour, was betrayed by Judas for a meager amount of thirty silver pieces. If that was his worth, should you not consider yourself less in value than the Lord, at least by one silver piece, you being a mortal?" "I never thought that I would be worth so little," murmured the king. "How many days will it take for me to travel around the world?" he now put forth his second question.
"My Lord! If you rise with the sun and ride with him until he rises again the next morning you can be sure that you have traveled around the world in twenty-four hours." The king laughed. "O, God! I wish I could do that!" he told himself. He praised the priest for his wit but hoped that he can trap him in the last question. "Now, take the last one on the list. Ready? What am I thinking?" asked the king. "My Lord!" the priest replied forthwith, "You are thinking that I am the priest. But I am his scavenger. I beg your pardon!" The king struck with awe and amusement, got down from his throne and patted the scavenger on the back, and said, "Your wit and wisdom are an asset to us. I appoint you a minister, here and now." But the scavenger shrugged his shoulders and said, "My Lord! I am neither read nor write. I am no good at that position. If you are pleased with me, kindly bear with the good priest who plots no treason but preaches peace and piety." The king nodded in approval and said, "You get a hundred gold pieces a month for your courage and merry jest. And your wit saves the old priest."
The Generous Stranger
A day did not pass without Bishar bestowing gifts on one needy man or the other. His fame as a generous man had spread wide. He was welcome in the houses of the noblemen. Indeed, even the Caliph liked him very much and was happy to see him from time to time. But Bishar fell into bad days. Those who had borrowed from him did not return him his dues and he had kept no document to proceed against them. Those who did business with him betrayed him, and he had no mind to bring an accusation against them in the Governor's court. For some days some of his friends helped him. But they too grew tired of him. Those who paid frequent visits to him during his days of prosperity avoided him. Bishar saw the ways of the world and felt extremely remorseful. "My future is dark. I do not wish to see anybody, nor do I wish anybody to see me," he told his wife.
He shut the doors and windows of his house and never went out. It was a dark night. Bishar sat alone in his outer room, sad as ever. Someone knocked on his door. Bishar ignored the knock for a while, but it continued. "I may not be having any true friend, but I have no enemy either. No bandit will visit my house, for my poverty is common knowledge," thought Bishar and curious to see who the midnight knocker was, opened the door. He saw the knocker, but could not recognize him. The stranger sat on a horse, his face below his nose is covered by a kerchief. "Who are you? What do you want of me at this hour of the night?" demanded Bishar. "I am a friend. You are in distress, aren't you? I hope, this bag will help you come out of your difficulty," said the stranger and he handed over a bag to Bishar. "But tell me first, who are you?" asked Bishar, surprised. "I am the 'Generous who understands the condition of Generous'. Goodbye!" "What you told is not enough," shouted Bishar. But the stranger galloped away. Bishar now realized that the bag was quite heavy. It contained coins, but he did not know of what value the coins were. He asked his wife to light a lamp. But his wife informed him that there was not a drop of oil in the house to do so! But his house had been illumined by the next night, for the bag contained a large number of dinars. Bishar paid off all his debts and began his business with greater care and with trusted people to help him. After he had recovered his position, Bishar went to meet Caliph.
"Welcome, Bishar, how is it that I did not see you for a long time?" asked the Caliph. Bishar told him all about the bad days he had lived through and how he got over his misfortune through the help of an unknown friend. The Caliph grew curious to know who that 'Generous of the Generous' was. But Bishar could not satisfy his curiosity as he knew nothing more about the stranger himself. The Caliph took great sympathy for Bishar who had passed through a very difficult period and appointed him as the Governor of Mesopotamia. The man who was the Governor of Mesopotamia had proved quite extravagant. He had neglected to send his dues to the Caliph. To Bishar, the new appointment, though a matter of pride, was also a matter of some embarrassment. It was because the dismissed Governor, Fayaz, had been a friend of his. However, obeying the Caliph's order, Bishar proceeded to Mesopotamia. "If ever you come to know who the 'Generous who understands the condition of the Generous' was, let me know forthwith," the Caliph instructed Bishar.
Bishar entered the capital city of Mesopotamia, with due pomp and show. He was courteously received by the retiring Governor, Fayaz, his old friend. When Bishar took charge from Fayaz, he found that Fayaz failed to give a proper account of a huge sum of money. "My sentiment as your friend forbids me to be harsh, but you must return the money immediately. Otherwise, you will be treated as provided by law," said Bishar. "How can I return any money? It is not that I have kept the money with me! I have spent all," was the reply Fayaz gave. Fayaz was arrested and put behind the bars. A month passed. Bishar asked him again to return the missing amount. But Fayaz only repeated his reply. One night Bishar received a private not from an unknown person. It read, "O wise governor, don't you know how to be generous towards the 'Generous who understands the condition of the Generous'?
Bishar trembled in excitement. He called for his guards and at once set out for the jail. Behind the bars, Fayaz looked gloomy and pale. He was in chains. Bishar freed him and hugged him and wept bitterly and exclaimed, "My friend, it is I who should be in chains. But why did you not reveal the fact that it was you who had pulled me out of my predicament?" "My friend, it was not to receive something in return from you someday that I had been generous to you. Nobody in the world knew what I had done to you or how I had introduced myself to you, save my wife. I am sure, she must have managed to send the message to you," said Fayaz. Bishar lost no time in starting for a meeting with the Caliph, taking Fayaz with him. "O Commander of the Faithful! I have found out the mysterious man, the 'Generous who understands the condition of the Generous'. Here he is!" Bishar announced to the Caliph. The Caliph heard everything and said, "Well, let me also become generous enough and appreciate why Fayaz has failed to send his dues regularly to me". He then made Fayaz the Governor of Armenia.
Cheating By Candle Light
Ali was a generous and popular man in the district; but he had two friends, Jabbar and Kassim, both of whom were inclined to be mean. These two friends liked to dine at Ali's house which was quite often as Ali was a lavish host and had an excellent cook. Whilst they ate, the three men would discuss everything under the sun. One evening, the talk happened to turn to the subject of ghosts. Ali firmly declared that there were no ghosts, but his friends argued loud and long that of course there were ghosts. After considerable arguments, Ali was challenged by his friends to test his convictions for a wager. Finally, it was agreed that on the night of the next new moon, Ali was to spend the whole night in the graveyard which was on the top of a nearby hill. Furthermore, he was to stay under a banyan tree there, which local superstition said was the home of ghosts, as numberless as the leaves on the tree. And it was finally laid down that Ali was not to have any light, and must spend the entire night in the darkness of the graveyard. If Ali passed this test, which his friends would make sure that he could not, they promised to treat Ali to a grand dinner. If on the other hand, Ali failed, then he was to provide his friends with a meal, comprising of not less than twenty courses. On the night of the new moon, after an early dinner at Ali's house, the three men set out for the graveyard. Arriving at the graveyard they had no difficulty in finding the ghostly banyan tree and it was certainly a dismal place for anyone to spend the night. The two friends, Jabbar and Kassim, quickly searched Ali to make sure that he was not carrying candles and matches, and then hurried away, with a promise to come back at daybreak to see how Ali had fared.
After they had gone, Ali took off the string of beads, which he wore around the neck, spread a cloth on the ground, and turning to the west, knelt and prayed to god. By the time Ali had finished his prayers, it was quite late in the night. In the distance a jackal started to howl, then other jackals joined in the chorus. Above his head, an owl dismally hooted, and the graveyard seemed to be full of unearthly sighs and rustling. Ali began to get scared, but calling loudly on God to protect him, he sat down under the tree and closed his ears to the noises around him. From where he sat, Ali could see the town below, with the lights in the houses going out, one by one, as the occupants went to bed until at last there was total darkness. But in one house there was a lighted candle in the window, shining out into the night. Ali watched this tiny light for hours and wondered why the people in that house should be awake at this time of night. He waited a long time to see this light go out, but he began to feel drowsy, and soon afterward fell into a deep and dreamless sleep. When Ali wakened, it was broad daylight, the birds were singing in the trees, and his two friends had already arrived. Ali rubbed his eyes, stretched his limbs, and in his heart was thankful to the merciful God for protecting him through the night. After greeting his friends, Ali exclaimed, "By the grace of God, I have won!" But his friends Jabbar and Kassim were evidently in no mood to concede that Ali won the wager, and they started asking him questions. "Brother, were you in complete darkness?", queried Kassim. "Yes," replied Ali. "Are you sure?" asked Jabbar, with a sly grin. "Was there not a lighted candle in the window of one of the houses?" Ali at once knew that his so-called friends had deliberately cheated him with the lighted candle.
So he decided to teach them a lesson, one that they would never forget. "Yes," said Ali, "I did see the candlelight" "Then you have lost the wager," his friends shouted. "And now you will have to give us a twenty-course dinner!" Ali knew better than to argue with his friends, so he fixed the day and hour for dinner. On the day of the dinner, Jabbar and Kassim dressed in their finest robes, arrived at Ali's house well on time. Ali as usual received them warmly and took them into the big hall. They talked for hours, but there was no sign of any food. At last, the pangs of hunger made them forget their manners, and ask Ali when the food was coming. "A twenty-course dinner takes a long time to prepare," said Ali, "So you must be patient." The friends waited and waited, but still, there was no sign of any food, and Ali seemed quite content to just sit and talk. Finally, the friends grew suspicious and told Ali they wanted to go to the kitchen, to see for themselves what was happening about the food. So Ali took his friends to the kitchen. What did Jabbar and Kassim find there? The cook was sitting in front of the stove, on which was placed a big brass pot, but only a small candle was burning inside the stove! The two friends could not hide their disappointment and shouted at the cook, "You fool, how can you cook a big dinner with the heat from just one candle?" Ali turned to his friends and quietly said, "Brothers, do not be angry with the cook. If a candle at the foot of a hill can provide light to a man on the top of the hill why cannot a candle under a pot, cook the food inside it?" After that Jabbar and Kassim were forever sorry that they had tried to cheat their good friend Ali, because Ali, though he remained friendly towards them, never again invited them to dine at his house.
A Wise Judge
Once upon a time, there was a king. In one of his towns, he had posted a judge. People spoke very highly of the judge. "No rogue can ever escape punishment and never an innocent can be victimized in his court," they said. The king decided to see the judge when he was holding court. He set out on horseback in the disguise of a merchant. Upon reaching the town he rested for a while in an inn. When he was about to mount his horse, a tired and haggard-looking man approached him and said, "Sir, I am a weary traveler. My horse died on the way. Will you please allow me to ride with you as far as the market square, where I can buy a horse?" "Why not!" said the disguised king taking pity on the traveler. He made the traveler sit behind him and rode on. When they reached the market square, the merchant brought his horse to a halt and asked the traveler to dismount.
The fellow, who was a rogue, shouted at the top of his voice: "What? Must you try to cheat me? Is this the reward I deserve for helping you reach this place?" The merchant stood stunned. Meanwhile, a crowd had collected. The rogue told the crowd: "This horse is mine. I carried this gentleman from the suburb to the market square. Now, look at his knavery! He refuses to dismount!" The king stood still stupefied over the cunningness of the traveler. Someone in the crowd proposed, "Why not go to our wise judge?" The merchant and the traveler went to court. There were other complainants there and the judge called them one by one. Before he took up the case of the merchant and traveler, he heard a butcher and an oil merchant. The butcher held a bagful of money in his hand, and the oil merchant held the butcher's hand in his grip. "This butcher came to my shop and asked to change a gold coin for him. When I opened my money bag he snatched it and began to run away. But I pursued him and caught him, as you see, my lord and brought him here."
"Don't believe this man, my lord. He is a liar. He came to my shop in order to buy meat and asked me if I could give him change for a gold coin. When I took out my money bag, he seized it and tried to run away. But I was alert. I caught hold of him," said the butcher. "Give that bag of money to me", said the judge. When the bag changed hands, the judge ordered his attendant to bring a bucket, half-filled with water. When the bucket was brought, the judge emptied the money bag into it. Seconds later blobs of oil emerged to the surface of the water. "The one who has collected the coins deals in oil. Hence the bag belongs to the oil merchant. It should go to him. What should go to the butcher? A hundred strokes by an oily cane" said the judge. The oil merchant went away with his money, thanking the judge. The butcher was dragged away to receive his punishment. Then the judge called the disguised king and the rogue. The traveler began first. When he finished, the merchant gave his version of the case. The judge listened to them intently. He then ordered his servant to lead the horse to the stable of a rich landlord.
"Would you be able to recognize your horse when it is amidst other horses?" he asked the merchant. "Certainly," replied the merchant. "And you?" He asked the rogue. "I won't fail to recognize it, my lord, since the horse is mine!" asserted the rogue. The judge then led them to the stable. There were more than twenty-five horses. First, the merchant was asked to point out the horse in question. He instantly did it. The rogue too pointed out the horse without any difficulty. The judge then returned to his court and his judgment ran thus: "Though the merchant and the traveler pointed out the same horse, the horse certainly belongs to the merchant. When he approached the horse, it turned its head and stretched its neck towards him. That is how horses behave with those familiar to them. But when the traveler approached the same horse it turned back its ears and lifted one hoof. That is how they behave with strangers. Hence the merchant will get back his horse and the traveler shall get a sentence of six months in jail." The king was immensely pleased with the wisdom and intelligence of the judge. He revealed his identity to him and made him his minister.
The Victorious Prince
Long long ago King Ranadhir ruled the land of Vidarbha. He was a great hero. Whoever happened to fight with him was defeated. Songs galore were sung in his praise. Once a number of kings of the neighboring regions came together and led a fierce attack against Vidarbha. The battle went on for a long time. King Ranadhir was an expert at strategy. He formed his army into ever new groups and attacked the enemies from unexpected angles. He also managed to breed distrust among the warring kings. A time came when the combined force of the kings broke down. They retreated. Thereafter they gave up all thoughts of rebuffing Randhir. They continued to pay him tributes. King Ranadhir had no son. His daughter, Princess Shanta, was a charming young lady. All wished that she gets a husband who was as brave as her father. But there seemed to be no prince in the country equal to the King Ranadhir in bravery. Several princes dreamed of invading Vidarbha and marrying the princess by force. But their dreams remained dreams. However, it was different with Vikramdev, the young prince of Gauripur. His father had been defeated by Randhir. From his childhood, the prince was determined to avenge the humiliation. He had devoted much of his time to building up a very strong army.
After his father's death, Vikramdev became the king of Gauripur. Neighboring kings and the nobles of his court congratulated him. But he had no joy. "It is better to be a farmer and live the life of a poor man than to be a king but to live in fear of another king. I am not only going to stop paying tributes to King Ranadhir but also going to teach him a lesson," the young king told the ministers. They appreciated his sentiments. Fully prepared, Vikramdev made a surprise attack on Vidarbha. Randhir had then fallen sick. The news of the attack made him restless. As a result, his sickness was on the increase. Even then he sat up and expressed his desire to lead his army himself. But his minister and his physician did not allow him to do that. The anxious king, however, devoted all his thought and time to devise strategies for successfully meeting the enemy. But when he received reports that his strategies failed, he grew even sicker. The minister saw that Vikramdev's victory was certain. At the same time, the physician told him that the king's ailment had reached a precarious stage and that he was not likely to live for more than two or three days. In this circumstance, the minister decided to keep the king in the dark about the real situation. "My lord, our army is pushing away the invaders. Victory should be ours soon," he whispered. The king recovered his peace. He had a restful night. Consequently, he showed signs of improvement. It was when the Vidarbha army was about to be routed that the king asked the minister in a faint voice, "What is the news of the battle?"
"My lord, we are about to win, the enemy is now in the defensive," replied the minister. But he wiped his eyes. He was sorry to lie to his king, but he certainly did not want him to die in frustration. The Vidarbha army was totally defeated the same day. Vikramdev's soldiers reached the threshold of the palace. "What causes such hullabaloo?" the king, on his sickbed, asked his minister. "My lord! Our soldiers, after our victory, are making joyous shouts before the palace," replied the minister. "I knew that there cannot be a defeat for us as long as I remain alive," exclaimed the delighted king. "But I must praise the courage of Vikramdev. What I had heard about him- that he is a brave young man-seems to be true," the king commented and then fell asleep. In the meanwhile, Vikramdev entered the royal court. King Ranadhir's commander, minister, and courtiers bowed to him and begged for a truce. The terms for a truce were drafted. It was necessary for King Ranadhir's insignia to be embossed on the document. The minister entered the king's room and tried to remove the signet ring from his finger, bearing the insignia. "What are you doing, my good minister?" asked the king, waking up. "My lord, we are obliging the enemy to sign a declaration of surrender. The document ought to bear the mark of your signet ring," replied the minister. The king felt so much elated that he tried to sit up. "Let me go to court. I wish to meet that daring young man," he announced.
The minister saw dark. He fumbled and said, "Very well, my lord, let me alert the court." He ran into the court. Prince Vikramdev had occupied the throne. The minister knelt before him and suppressing his tear, told him all that had passed between himself and the ailing king. He then said, "O Victorious Prince, you have proved your courage in the battlefield, pray, prove your moral courage by feigning defeat before our sick king. He is to die in a day or two. Do what you like thereafter." It was a queer situation for Vikramdev. However, he could appreciate the minister's love and devotion for the ailing king. He decided to act as requested and left the throne and stood like one who had been defeated. King Ranadhir was brought into the court. He gazed at Vikradev for a while and then said with a smile, "Young man, you are indeed a worthy warrior. You could not have foiled my strategies at the beginning otherwise. Who knows, you could have won a victory had my soldiers not given a fierce fight to save my prestige! But I assure you, there is no shame in being defeated by me. To prove this to the world, I have decided to marry my daughter to you!" There were thunderous shouts of joy. Vikramdev stood silent. The marriage was performed with due pomp and show. King Ranadhir took to bed again. He died a year later - after he had seen a grandson born. But, till the end, he did not know that Vikramdev had defeated his army!
Two Queens And A Prince
This happened long long ago. There was a certain king who married for the second time when his first queen failed to give birth to any child. The king as well as his subjects were delighted when they learned that the younger queen was expecting a child. Their delight increased when the maids of the elder queen announced that she too was expecting a child. A strange rumor spread around this time. It was said that in a forest bordering the kingdom an elephant had given birth to a camel! Some people said that such queer happenings indicated the coming of bad times. Others observed that nothing was impossible in this world; even more, queer things have happened in the past. A few months later both the queens were interned in their rooms for delivery. The elder queen was found to have given birth to a bonny prince. But, on coming to sense, the younger queen saw that ll she had given birth to was a kitten! "If a camel could be born of an elephant no wonder that a human mother should give birth to a cat!" was the comment that people generally made. The younger queen was stunned. However, the king and the court rejoiced at the birth of an heir. Nobody paid much attention to the anguish of the younger queen. Time passed.
One day an astrologer visited the court. The king requested him to prepare the prince's horoscope. He was sent to the elder queen's apartment where he studied the stars which presided over the prince's birth. After a while, the astrologer sighed and said, "I am sorry to tell you, O queen, that the boy is destined to be brought up not by his mother, but by another woman. And that woman shall die soon." The elder queen was shocked. "How to avert such a possibility?" she asked in her anxiety. "It would have been easy for me to deceive you and claim some reward by promising some false remedy. But I should not do so. What I have predicted is unavoidable," replied the astrologer. "What is the way out then?" asked the elder queen again. "When the circumstances shall be so arranged that the child's care would pass on to the hands of one who is not the mother, she must be prepared to die," said the astrologer. The elder queen went into the younger queen's apartment as soon as the astrologer departed. With tears in her eyes, she said, "Listen, my sister, this child belongs to both of us. Let him be brought up by you."
"Thanks, my sister. But I have heard what the astrologer said. I do not wish to die so soon," replied the younger queen. "You will not die, my sister," said the elder queen, tears flowing down her cheeks. "You are the prince's true mother. According to the astrologer's prediction, it is not the mother, but the other woman who would bring up the child shall die!" The elder queen then confessed of the deception she had played on the younger queen. Through her maids, she had spread the false news that she too was expecting a child. As soon as the younger queen gave birth to the prince, her maids carried the child to the elder queen's lap and place a kitten beside the younger queen. "I had guessed so. My suspicion grew stronger when I understood that the rumor that an elephant had given birth to a camel had been spread by your maids. That, I thought, had been done to prepare the minds of the people to take as natural what was most unnatural, that is, my giving birth to a kitten!" said the younger queen. The elder queen kept quiet and continued to weep. But the younger queen embraced her and said, "You must pardon me for the deception I have practiced on you. The astrologer was a courtier of my father. It was I who brought him here and briefed him what he should say to bring out the truth," She then added, "But, be sure, the prince is as much you son as he is mine. In fact, people need not know whether he was born of you or I."
The Magician Grocer
Mahendrapur was a prosperous village. Near the village was situated a small Bazar. There the biggest grocery shop was owned by Jeewan. Often the customers found the stuff they bought from Jeewan's shop quite inferior. They also found that such stuff weighed less when measured by the buyers at their own homes. But if anybody complained about it, Jeewan made such a sweet and fluent speech that the complainant felt sure it would be hard to find another trader as honest as Jeewan. From time to time many people told the village chief that they had been deceived by Jeewan. He wanted to see for himself what Jeewan really did. One evening he went to Jeewan's shop. Jeewan welcomed him. "What can this humble shopkeeper do for you, sir?" he asked with hands folded. "I want some ghee," said the chief, "I hope, you can give me." "Why have I opened a shop if I can't?" asked Jeewan. He entered an ante-room and came out with three of his fingers outstretched. "Sir, Please smell my fingers dipped in three different tins, one after another, and point out to me the smell you relish most," he said. The chief smelled the fingers but could not differentiate among the smells. "I don't understand the difference," he confessed. "Never mind, sir, I understand for you! You'd like to have the ghee of the finest quality, won't you? Though that would be slightly costlier," said Jeewan sporting a genial smile.
"That's right. But do you mean to say that you have ghee of three qualities?" asked the chief. "I must be frank with you. The finest quality of ghee is meant for men of quality like you. The second quality too is very good. In fact, what other shop-keepers brand as the finest quality is not as good as my second quality. The third quality is not bad either, though a bit inferior. You know, sir, that the common people would like to have things cheap! But I do not desire to hide anything from you!" said Jeewan. The chief was so charmed by Jeewan's frank talk that he felt guilty for having suspected him! He bought the ghee of the first quality and went away. "Sir, never have I deceived anybody or adulterated the stuff I sell," was the grocer's final statement. There was some commotion at midnight. A villager spied upon a gang of burglars and raised a cry. Some people were rehearsing a play in the clubhouse. They chased the burglars. The gang fled, leaving behind them their booty: a tin of ghee, a bag of rice, a bag of pulse, and some weighing stones.
The villagers recovered the things and deposited them at the chief's house. It was found that the weighing stones weighed less and the rice and the pulse contained sand and small stones. Early in the morning Jeewan met the chief and reported that it was his shop that had been burgled. "What have you lost?" asked the chief. "A tin of ghee, a bag of rice, a bag of pulse, and my weighing stones," said Jeewan. "No doubt, we have recovered such things from the burglars. We have to be only sure that they are yours. Come on, let us go to your shop. The two reached the shop. "Where are the other two tins?" asked the chief. "Sir?" fumbled the grocer. "You stored ghee of three different qualities in three tins, isn't that so? we have found one tin. Where are the other tow?" Jeewan hemmed and hawed. He was trying to cook up an answer. "Jeewan! You must be a magician to whip out three different kinds of ghee from a single tin! Then there is the question of your weighing stones and the strange presence of sand in the rice and pulse." Jeewan stood sweating. "Look here, Jeewan, you spoke blatant lies to me yesterday that Providence decided to expose you forthwith. Wind up your business and leave the village, before the villagers decide to boycott you," said the chief. Jeewan realized that one cannot survive too long by cheating but it was already too late.
Mystery Of The Salt In The Sea
Upon the stretch of land between the sea and the village stood a hut. A poor man and his wife lived in it. They had a rich neighbour who lived in a nice house and had many things to eat. Whenever he needed, he called the poor man and asked him to do this work or that, but never paid him anything. It was a Christmas evening. "We ought to eat well tonight," said the poor man's wife. "But we don't have a morsel in the house. Why not ask our rich neighbour to give us some foodstuff?" "Why not!" said the poor man in agreement and he went forth to meet the rich man. "God will bless you if you give us some foodstuff today," said the poor man. The rich man felt proud that someone begged of him. He was, however, not willing to part with even a loaf of bread.
But there was a basketful of rotten meat in his house and he wanted someone to take it away and dump it somewhere far so that he was not bothered with the foul smell. "I'd consider giving you what you want only if you carry this basket away," he said. "Carry it away where?" "To hell," said the rich man with a chuckle. Then, inspired by his own sense of humour, he said again, "But mind you, you must carry it right up to hell. Short of that, you get nothing!" The poor man lifted up the basket and went out. It was getting dark and a cold breeze was blowing. The poor man walked on and on by the desolate seashore. "I wonder how far is hell and if I can come back well on time to have a Christmas dinner with my wife!" he mumbled. "I'll show you the way to hell if you give me a few pieces from the basket," said a voice. The poor man looked to his left and looked to his right and then, looking back, saw a strange figure, as thin and as fearful as a scarecrow, following him. "There is a great demand for rotten meat in hell tonight. If you are clever, you won't part with your basket until you have got a good price for it," whispered the fellow. "What do you think would be the price?" asked the poor man. "There is a grinding stone behind the door. Ask that for the price of the meat," advised the fellow. The poor man hauled out a portion of the rotten meat for the fellow who removed a slab of stone from under a bush and asked the poor man to go down the dark passage. "When you come up, I'll show you how to handle the grinding stone," said the fellow.
The poor man dropped into the weird region. At once a hundred monstrous beings thronged around him and requested him for the rotten meat. "I can part with the whole basket for that grinding stone lying behind the door," said the poor man. Now, there are many things in hell lying scattered of which the residents of that region remember nothing. They had no hesitation in giving away the grinding stone. The poor man put down the basket amidst the monstrous crowd which scrambled for its contents and came out with the grinding stone. Out on the familiar road, he saw the fellow waiting for him. "I brought the grinding stone, obeying your instruction. But, to be frank, I have hardly any use for it, for I have nothing to grind!" lamented the poor man. "You can grind your wish, can't you?" asked the fellow. He then told the poor man the secret of the magic stone. You wish something and give a turn to it. The thing will come out of it. He also told him how to stop it when it has whipped up enough of the thing you need. The poor man returned home happy, though tired.
"Where were you so long? And what you are carrying is no food, I bet, but a useless stone!" observed his wife. The poor man smiled and set the grinding stone at the centre of the kitchen and wished into it a variety of items to make the most excellent Christmas dinner. The grinding stone whipped up everything, one after another. His wife remained gaping at it for a long time. Then she laughed and danced for a longer time. Next day they asked the grinding stone for gold enough to construct a good house. When the house was constructed, they asked it for various things with which to decorate the house. They went on asking the grinding stone for sumptuous food not only for themselves but also for their neighbours. Often they threw feasts for them. The rich neighbour got surprised and curious. A man who was so poor that he had nothing to eat on Christmas day was now doing like a King! This was puzzling, maddening! By and by he found out the secret. He then tried his best to persuade the neighbour to sell the grinding stone to him. When he did not succeed, he tried to steal it away. The poor man who was no longer poor saw that his life was in danger on account of the grinding stone. He, at last, agreed to sell it to his neighbour but only after he had obtained from it enough wealth to last for five generations. And he extracted for it the highest possible price from his rich neighbour. The rich neighbour was then setting sail for trade. Instead of taking any merchandise with him, he took only the grinding stone. "I will get all I want from it," he thought.
On the very first night after he set sail, he and his crew realized that they had forgotten to bring any salt with them for dinner. "Set the dinner. I will presently produce salt," the master ordered his men and then he wished the grinding stone to whip up salt. It began to work. Salt started pouring out of it. Salt, salt and still more salt. The master was very happy at first to see the magic. But soon he knew that he had already got more than he would ever need. "Stop!" he shouted. But the grinding stone still went on producing salt. His cabin was full of the thing. The load on the small ship was growing heavier. He handled the grinding stone in this way and that way but no avail. It went on giving salt. "What a pity that I forgot to ask my neighbour how to stop its work!" he shouted, scratching his head. And these were almost his last words. He was buried under salt which soon overflowed into the other parts of the shop. The panicky crew tried their best to relieve the load on the ship by hauling out into the sea as much salt as they could. But soon they got exhausted. Full to the brim with salt, the ship went down, down to the bottom of the sea. But the grinding stone is still at work under the sea. That is why the water of the sea never stops being salty. Every monsoon pours new water on the sea. But that too grows salty in no time.
The Master of The Cloud
Once upon a time, there was a hermit. He travelled from village to village through arid lands and rocky mountains. But such was God's grace for him that always a cloud floated above his head. Wherever he went, the cloud never stopped moving with him, giving him shade. The people marvelled at the phenomenon. "O Hermit, how great is your achievement that you can command even a cloud to serve you!" they exclaimed often. The hermit no doubt replied that it was not his achievement, but God's grace that protected him from the sun. Nevertheless, the people called him the Master of the cloud. By and by the hermit grew a bit proud. No one but he could sport a cloud overhead! Was it not achievement enough to enjoy such divine privilege? The hermit was walking a hard way feeling flattered with such thoughts when he felt quite hot overhead. He looked up and saw no cloud shading him. He was filled with remorse and repentance "It is my pride which deprived me of god's grace," he cried out.
He spent the whole night praying to God. "Pardon me, O Lord give me back the gift of the cloud," he repeated time and again. His eyelids grew heavy a little before the dawn. He slumped into a brief sleep. He heard a voice in his dream, saying, "It has to be a true devotee who must plead with the Lord on your behalf." "Where to find a true devotee?" asked the hermit. "The king of this land is a devotee of great merit," replied the voice and the hermit's dream ended. He walked towards the city and stood before the king's palace the next day. "I wish to meet the king," he told the guards at the gate. "You have to wait for a week. The king gives the audience only once in seven days. Today was that day, but the time is over," informed the guards. "But I have something very special to talk to him. I seek no wealth or title," said the hermit. "Instead of seeking anything from the king if you were to give him a million pieces of gold or a kingdom he will be available to receive the gift only this day next week. If you wish, you can meet one of his ministers or any other officer," explained the guards. The hermit felt much annoyed. What sort of a devotee is the king if he was not available to the people? Must he make merry for six days in a week? These were the questions which disturbed the hermit. But he decided to wait. On the appointed day he was ushered into the court. There were already a number of people with complaints and appeals awaiting the king. Then a bugle was sounded and the king entered the court.
He was dressed gorgeously, his turban was studded with large diamonds. All stood up and sang his glory. The King smiled and sat down on his throne. As the buzzing voices died down, the king looked at the hermit straight and said, "Hello, Master of the Cloud, welcome. But be seated till I finish looking into the matters of others." The hermit was greatly surprised. He had never met the king before. Nobody in the court knew him. How did the king know his popular name? He waited, suppressing his curiosity. With promptness and justice, the king disposed of the cases before him. He stood up at the end of the session and walked down to the hermit. Taking the hermit's hands into his, he led him into the palace. The royal bodyguards followed the king until he had crossed into the interior of the palace. Large and immensely beautiful were the apartments of the inner part of the palace. There were pools of scented water and corridors decorated with sculptures of great beauty. But the king did not stop near any of these apartments. He crossed into a garden. At the end of it was a high wall. The hermit observed that no inmate or servant of the palace came with the king when he went near the wall. The king unlocked a small door on the wall and stepped to the other side, beckoning the hermit to do the same. What a contrast the area on the other side made with the grandeur of the place. It was a desolate place, infested with shrubs and bushes. A jackal ran away on sighting them. In a corner of the palace stood a dilapidated hut.
"I have brought a guest with me," said the king, standing in front of the hut. "Will you please receive him?" One to come out was a charming woman. But here clothes were worn out and she looked as poor as a beggar woman. "Meet my wife, the queen," said the king. The hermit stood stunned. He did not know when the king entered the hut and returned to him changing his royal attire for poor man's clothes. The hermit recovered his speech after a long time when the queen asked them to come in for food. The king and the hermit sat on the floor. The food they had was no superior to what the hermit used to have in the homes of the common villagers. "I am sorry, we cannot entertain you to any better dishes. This is all we can buy with our meagre income from our labour," observed the king. "I don't understand what you mean by your labour, Your Majesty," said the hermit. "Myself and my wife make mats," informed the king. Presently a poor boy came there and collected two mats from the queen. It was obvious that he did not know who the woman was. He said in a casual manner, "I'll be late in returning from the market. I can pay you only tomorrow." "Your Majesty, I totally feel stupefied. What is the meaning of the king and the queen making mats for a livelihood?" the hermit, at last, put the question to the king. "There is nothing mysterious about it," said the king. "From my childhood, I had a desire to devote myself to prayers. I never liked the luxuries of the palace. I would have left the palace to wander about free as a hermit.
But my inner voice told me, "God has made you take birth in the royal family. Why do you shun your duty? Can't he help you to lead the life of a devotee while performing your duty as a king?" "So I decided to stay on in the palace. After my father's death, I appointed able and honest officers in various positions. They have been doing their duty well. One day in the week I sit in the court and decide matters that are placed before me. All the other time I am here in my hut, living a simple life, devoting myself to prayer. But through my prayers, I know that all is well in my land, just as I knew who you were." Such a character was beyond the hermit's dream. He could not speak for long. Then he told the king about the voice he heard and requested him to pray the Lord on his behalf. The king heard him in silence and nodded. At midnight the hermit woke up and saw that the king sat kneeling down at his head. "O Lord, be kind enough to restore the gift of the cloud to this hermit!" he muttered. The hermit lay stiff, his heart filled with gratitude and eyes filled with tears. The sun rose. "My friend," the king told the hermit, "I hope the Lord will be pleased to send the cloud to you again." The hermit felt sure that the king's was the voice of truth. The king led him to the end of the meadow and showed him the way. As the hermit began walking, he saw the beneficent cloud reappearing on his head.
A Strange Test
In a certain village lived a wealthy man named Kanak. Although he was the richest man in the locality, he never stopped desiring to possess more wealth. In a hundred ways he exploited the people. But Sumati, Kanak's wife, was quite different by nature. She was much pained at her husband's unending greed and she often told him, "Don't forget that you have to suffer the consequences of your doing. Why don't you stop accumulating money?" "It is to prove my superiority over others, my manliness, that I love to grow ever richer," Kanak explained. Days passed. Kanak continued to grow richer. His wife got disgusted reminding him of his sins. At last, she chose to keep quiet. Kanak carried on his dishonest business with equal zeal. A yogi came to live in the meadow on the river bank, close to the village. A man of miracles, he planted a tree which, in course of a few years, began yielding a strange kind of fruit, resembling a mango. When people came to learn about the astonishing quality of the fruit there was a great sensation. The fruit and the tree became to talk of the region. Whoever plucked fruit and ate it standing under the tree, changed into some animal or the other, depending on his nature.
There were only a few who did not change. But as soon as one came a few yards away from the tree, one got back his or her human form. This created a great stir in Kanak's village. Many came to see the miracle. Kanak and Sumati too stood in the crowd, enjoying the fun. With bated breath, everybody saw what happened. It was just fantastic. A retired general who ate a fruit suddenly turned into a tiger. He roared and jumped at the crowd. But as soon as he was beyond the shadow of the tree, he changed into the gentleman that he was. A good-natured teacher changed into a cow. A fellow notorious for his wickedness was seen changing into a cobra. A flatterer turned a dog. A man who was never tired of doling out advice to others changed into a donkey! A moneylender changed into a vulture. But as he began flying, he fell down with a bang and became human again. Thus, there were so many who, according to their inner nature, turned into different animals for brief moments.
Kanak was very much desirous of trying the fruit on himself. But he did not dare to make the experiment lest he should be changed into some despicable animal, making himself a laughing stock for others. However, curiosity got the better of him and he visited the spot at night, accompanied by his wife. They plucked two fruits and ate them. There was no change in Sumati. But Kanak suddenly changed into a ghastly looking ghoul. "I am hungry!" he shrieked out and tried to pounce on Sumati who ran for life. Kanak, of course, became his old human self after pursuing her only for a few yards. But the experience proved too shocking for Sumati to forget it. She refused to come near her husband even when Kanak was his normal self. Kanak met the yogi and told him about this plight. The yogi called Sumati and said, "My daughter, it is a pity that your husband, because of his excessive greed for money, appeared to you as a ghoul. But is it not good that he has now known his own nature? Be kind to him and live with him as of old. He will change." Turning to Kanak, the yogi said, "I have cut down the miracle tree. There is no more fear for you or others to stand exposed in your natures. But must you remain content with being human being only in form and not in nature?" Kanak heard the yogi's admonition with his head hung. He promised to behave better and, indeed, he grew better.
The Moon King And His Subjects
Once some creatures of the forest were discussing the need of having a king. They thought that without a ruler, there was anarchy. But who should be the king? "If we must have a king, then, we should choose one who is great," said a bird. "But one who is already great may not care to look after our interest," observed another. "Even then it pays to pass on as the subjects of the great. Did not the rabbits escape the great calamity by declaring themselves as the subjects of the moon?" replied the bird. And to satisfy the curiosity of his listeners, he narrated the following incident: In a certain forest lived a large number of elephants under their king, Chaturdanta. They lived quite happily, for the forest was evergreen and there were several natural lakes inside it. King Chaturdanta had a group of able-bodied elephants for his officers. They roamed about in the wide forest and kept watch on such beasts from whom they expect danger. Thus everything went on all right until one year there befell a severe drought. The lakes dried up. King Chaturdanta was worried about providing water to his subjects. He sent his officers in all directions to look for some fresh source of water. Most of them returned sadly after a fruitless search. Two, however, came back with their faces looking quite bright. "My lord, there is another forest ten miles away. Although there are no lakes in that forest, a river flows by it and there is enough water in the river to meet our needs. We can go over to that forest and live there till the next monsoon," reported one of the two.
The other elephant's face beamed even brighter. He said, "At the farthest end of this forest itself there is a lake which I have just discovered. It abounds in fresh and cool water. Half our thirst should be quenched even when we have a mere look at it!" King Chaturdanta, naturally, was not in favor of migrating to a new forest. He led his subjects, early next morning, to the lake at the end of the forest and rejoiced at its sight. There were think bushes around it teeming with berries. Tall trees with the prolific growth of leaves stood behind them. Lush creepers hanging from the trees touched the water. The elephants trumpeted loudly and danced with joy around the lake. Then they entered the lake and enjoyed a long bath. Giving out another chorus of trumpets, they left. Little did the elephants know what havoc they wrought on the peaceful life of a small settlement of rabbits. Their frolic and thumps of heavy freet killed dozens of rabbits and wounded many more inside their numerous small holes. Those who survived the calamity remained stunned for a while after the departure of the elephants. Then they came together and mourned their numerous small holes. "What I gathered from their talk, they will come here again tomorrow morning," said one of the rabbits. "That means we are doomed," observed another. There was a long silence. Then said the old rabbit, "Well, we have lived around this lake for generations. Because it is situated on the edge of the forest, we were never troubled by the big beasts who like to live in the interiors of the forest. Now scarcity of water has brought the elephants here. I agree that we are doomed should the elephants continue visiting the lake. But should we not try to stop them?"
There was silence again. Nobody knew how, the tiny creatures that they were, they could check the movement of the elephants. It was for the old rabbit to speak again: "Well, give me your good wishes and let me see if I can do anything. He did not disclose his plan to anybody and waited till the nightfall. He then marched towards the habitation of the elephants. A full moon shone over the forest when the old rabbit saw the elephant king, Chaturdanta, settling down near a rock for relaxation. The rabbit climbed the rock and said, "I greet His Highness King Chaturdanta!" The elephant king stood up and located the rabbit. With surprise, he asked him, "Who are you?" "You should look upon me as an ambassador, for I bring a message from the Moon King," said the rabbit gravely. "Moon King? What is his message for me, please?" asked Chaturdanta. "Who in the world does not know that the lake you visited today belongs to the Moon King? Even the shape of the lake should remind a passer-by of the crescent moon. It is at the wish of the Moon King that we the rabbits, his glorious subjects, live around the lake. Upon his visit to the lake tonight, the Moon King is distressed to see the harm you have caused to us, his subjects!" said the rabbit.
"Is it so? What do you suggest me to do?" asked the elephant anxiously. "I don't suggest anything. All I wish to tell you is, the Moon King may decide not to shine over this forest anymore. That will bring terrible consequences. You will go down in history as the cause of this misfortune of the forest," warned the rabbit. "Please lead me to your king. I will apologize to him," said the elephant. The rabbit led Chaturdanta to the lake which brilliantly reflected the full moon. Chaturdanta, wishing to go closer to the moon, stepped into the water. Instantly a hundred waves reflected a hundred moons. Scared, the elephant stepped back and asked the rabbit, "What is the matter? Is your king annoyed with me?" "Quite so, You see, he does not relish even your touching the water of his lake, what to speak of your bathing in it," explained the rabbit. "Then, how do I apologize to him?" asked the elephant. "I will do all the apologizing on your behalf. The best course for you should be to leave the forest and never to approach this lake," told the rabbit. "Let it be so. There is enough water in a river that flows by a nearby forest. We can migrate over there. Please plead with your king to shine over this forest as usual," King Chaturdanta appealed to the little rabbit and departed hastily. The same night he led his subjects away to the next forest!
The Pigeon's Message
In days gone by, the kingdom of Shripur was ruled by King Subirsen. Shripur was a prosperous land and the king was a man of vision and wisdom. The people were happy. Unfortunately, the more prosperous Shripur became, the more was the jealousy it raised in the heart of the neighboring king, Ranvir. Ranvir's kingdom, Merpur, was a small land. Ranvir desired to create chaos in Shripur so that he could wage a war and annex some areas of Shripur. But his plan never succeeded because King Subirsen was alert and vigilant. Subirsen had no desire for the lands of his neighbors. In fact, he had nothing but goodwill even for Ranvir. But Ranvir was not the man to appreciate that. Subirsen's court scholar died suddenly and he wanted to appoint another scholar to the post. When it was known, several scholars came to the king's court, offering, their candidature. The king who was a well-read man himself found that two scholars outshone all the rest. They were Ram and Prabhu. He decided to examine them further. Both the scholars were lodged in the royal guest house, waiting for the king's final decision. At sunset, the king was strolling on the terrace of the palace.
A pigeon came flying to him, holding a folded piece of paper in its beak. The king took it and opened it. The message on it read, "You must appoint Ram as the court scholar. Otherwise, you shall meet with dire consequence!" The pigeon had flown away. The king was terribly annoyed. His wrath fell on Ram. He concluded that Ram, afraid of a possible rejection, was trying to get the post by threatening him. The king at once ordered Ram to be thrown into jail. Poor Ram had just finished bathing in the river. He was returning to the guest house, reciting some sweet hymns, suddenly the king's soldiers surrounded him. He was only allowed to change his clothes before being led away. At night the king entered the jail, alone. Ram sat quiet, muttering God's name. "You must be surprised to see me, aren't you?" asked the king. "I am surprised, but not as much as I was when I was arrested!" replied Ram. The king showed him the letter which the pigeon had brought and asked him who wrote it. Ram saw the letter and thought over the matter for some time. Then he said, "My lord, it was not unnatural for you to think that I had written this. But surely, by now you have started thinking otherwise. I could not have written this. First of all, it is an absurd hope to get your favor through such a vague threat. Secondly, I was sure that you examined me and Prabhu, you would have found out that he was not a genuine scholar. You would have appointed me to the vacant post in the normal course." "I think you are right. Maybe, somebody played a practical joke on me and I was foolish enough to fall victim to him. I must release you forthwith," said the king.
"My lord, you need not be in a hurry to release me," said Ram. The king looked surprised. Ram smiled and observed, "I am afraid, there is some conspiracy behind this letter." Then Ram advised the king to act in a certain way. The next day Prabhu was informed that he had been appointed as the court scholar. He was given a warm reception in the court and was shown a fine house. Four servants were placed at his command, among them a deaf one. "Although deaf, he is a very good worker," Prabhu was told. Prabhu felt highly flattered. In the evening two men came to meet him. Prabhu immediately sent all his servants away on different works except the deaf one. "So, you have heard the good news, haven't you? Our plan succeeded thanks to the pigeon. Return to Merpur tonight itself and inform our king that in no time I shall gather all the defense secrets of Shripur. Thereafter it will be so easy for King Ranvir to defeat King Subirsen," Prabhu told his visitors. The deaf servant was none other than the chief of the king's detectives. He passed on word immediately. Within minutes Prabhu and the two spies were arrested. Ram was appointed not only a court scholar but also a minister.
Luck in the Woods
In a certain town lived a young man. He was ambitious. He had several schemes in his mind. But he could not put them into practice because he had no means to do so. "Only if I could once meet the king and put forth my schemes before him, he would help me to work them out," he thought. He proceeded to the capital and met one of the officers of the court. "Meet the king, eh? If he had the time to waste on strangers like you, do you think he would remain a king? No, he would be reduced to a fellow like you," observed the officer. "In that case, what's your advice, sir?" asked the young man. "It's wise of you to ask me for advice. Now, my advice is, forget meeting the king," said the officer. "But I had come with so much hope!" murmured the young man. "Is it not enough that you saw me and obtained free advice?" asked the officer. The young man left the capital disappointed. His humiliation before the officer often brought tears to his eyes. In order to hide them from his near ones, he began spending most of his time in the forest near his village. By and by the forest exercised a spell over him.
He explored new areas of the forest and was thrilled. One day, he saw two tombs lying neglected. Beside it, there was a dry pond. Since he had nothing else to do, he devoted his time to clear the tombs of shrubs and creepers. He also dug the pond deeper and channelized the flow of a brook into it. Around the tombs, he planted a number of trees that yielded colorful flowers and useful fruits. He made a hut for himself and began living there. In a few months, the place became beautiful. The road that passed through the forest was not far from the spot. The young man cut the bushes and made a byroad to the spot. One day a batch of merchants took the byroad and reached the spot. The young man served them with cool water and a sackful of fruits. The merchants were very pleased with him. "Who lie buried here?" they asked. "A great soul and his wife," said the young man. "I guard their tombs." "You're a dutiful youth. Here is our contribution towards the upkeep of the tombs," said the merchants as they handed out some money to him. Soon the spot became an attraction for all the travelers. What was a byroad became the main route to cross the forest. All those who stopped near the tombs paid the young man some money. Soon a strange rumor was in circulation: whoever prayed near the tomb with a certain wish found his wish fulfilled! Thereafter not only did the travelers make it a point to stop at the spot and pay their respect to the tombs but also the folks from around the forest began making regular trips to the spot. The young man opened an inn and two shops to cater to the needs of the visitors.
He employed some of his chums to manage them. The news of the tombs reached the king. He sent a delegation of courtiers to look into the matter. They drew the picture of the tombs and also carried a slab of stone found near the tombs. The slab bore a symbol. The king was taken aback at the stone. It bore the symbol of the founder of his dynasty. The founder and his wife, along with a handful of trusted people, had escaped into the forest, narrowly escaping the enemy's sword. The royal couple died in the forest. Their faithful companions raised tombs over their buried bodies, but all of them were soon killed in a bloody encounter with the enemy. In the course of time, the location of the tombs had been forgotten. The king was immensely pleased at the discovery of the forgotten tombs. He summoned the young man and asked him, "Can you prove that if one prayed near the tombs with a wish in his heart, the wish was fulfilled?" "Yes, my lord, I had an intense wish to see you. But I failed to see you however I tried. Now you called me from your side - thanks to my prayers near the tombs!" said the young man. The king gave the young man a handsome reward. The area around the tombs was developed into a magnificent park. It was the young man who was appointed the superintendent over it and he happily took the job.
How to Beg of A Beggar
A certain king once led his army against the ruler of another land. He, however, was badly beaten in the battle. His routed soldiers fled in different directions to save their skin. Even his bodyguards deserted him. The king was closely pursued by the enemy. His horse fell to their arrows. It was narrowly that he escaped into a forest that was situated within his own territory. He was extremely fatigued and thirsty. He faltered in the forest for a while and then fell down and swooned away. A hermit who lived in a cave close by saw the king. He revived him, pouring cool water into this mouth. The king relaxed in the hermit's cave for the night. By morning he had recovered his lost strength. "O Sage, how should I repay my debt to you? Just tell me your need and it will be fulfilled," said the king when it was time for him to leave for his palace. "I live quite content. I have no need of anything in particular," replied the hermit. The king looked sad. The hermit asked him what saddened him. Replied the king, "O Sage, till today, I was happy with the fact that I had not remained indebted to anybody. From today onward I have to remain indebted to you. That makes me sad."
The hermit kept quiet for a moment. He then said, "Well, King, I do not wish to deprive you of your happiness. Should any need arise, I will go and ask you to help me. I promise." "Thank you, O Sage. If ever you feel the need for a house here, tell me and the needful will be done. If you develop any ailment, tell me and my physicians, who are the best in the country, will be at your disposal," said the king, and thereafter he took leave of the hermit. Few years passed. The hermit suffered from a disease. He thought of the king's offer to help him with the royal physicians should the need arise. One morning he proceeds to the palace. The king, after his bath, was praying to his deity inside the shrine. "O Lord, grant me strength, grant me prosperity!" the king was repeating in the course of his prayer. The hermit stood in front of the shrine listening to the king. Then he turned back and walked towards his forest. The palace officers requested him to wait for a while but he did not respond to them. Upon coming out of the shrine the king heard about the hermit's visit and prompt return. He made haste to catch him on the way. And before long he located him in the meadow that lay stretched between the town and the forest. "Why didn't you wait for a moment, O Sage? Certainly, you had need of something and that was why you had come. Please tell me how I can help you," said the king. "It is true that I had need of something. But I have decided not to ask you for it," replied the hermit.
"But why? After all, you had come all the way to ask me for it!" observed the king. The hermit smiled and replied, "To be frank, just as you followed a principle according to which you were not to remain indebted to anyone, I too followed a principle. That was never to ask anything of anybody who was himself needy. I was under the impression that being a king, you had no need of anything. But I heard you asking your deity for a number of things. How can I beg something of a beggar?" The king kept quiet. After a while, he sighed and said," My pride shattered. I have to remain indebted to you all my life ." "You are mistaken there, O King. You have imparted me a great lesson. Thereby you have repaid the debt," said the hermit. "What lesson did I give you and when?" queried the king. "When I came to beg something of you, I heard you begging something of God. I asked myself, why should I not beg of God directly for sending me the help I needed? After so many years of meditating on God, was it not foolish of me to look to a human being for help? God showed me my error. And that He did through you. Hence I am grateful to you as you were grateful to me. Our exchange is complete!" explained the hermit and he departed.
The Giant That Vanished
Long long ago there was a king who had two queens. The two queens had two sons. The senior queen died of an illness. The king was a heartbroken man. He planned to retire from his kingly duty, after handing over the charge of the kingdom to the elder prince. The junior queen did not like the situation. Must the king feel so sad while she was alive? Secondly, must the elder prince become the king and not her son? She brooded over these questions. At this stage, invitations were received by the two princes to proceed to Ratanpur. The princess of Ratanpur, famous for her charm and wit, was to choose a prince for her husband. "My lord, let the elder prince accept the invitation. It is not desirable that two brothers should go for the same girl," the junior queen told the king. The king did not suspect the queen's motive. He asked the elder prince to proceed to Ratanpur. The junior queen privately heard that no suitor who went to meet the princess ever came out of the castle. It was rumored that the princess knew some magic and she changed her suitors into statues. The queen was hopeful that the same fate would meet the elder prince. Consequently, her son would succeed the king to the throne.
The prince who loved adventure was soon at Ratanpur. He announced his arrival at the royal court and was lodged in the royal guest home. At night, some merchants who resided in the guest house told the prince, "Young man, never venture into the princess presence. She knows magic. It is fancy with her to turn her suitors into statues!" "She must have some reason to do such a strange thing. Let me find it out," said the prince. In the morning he was ushered into the princess' apartment. "Welcome, O Prince," said the princess. "But one who aspires to marry me has to undergo a certain trial. It is risky, I warn you." "I love adventure. I don't mind taking a risk," said the prince. "Far in the sea, there is an island, walled by hills. At its center, in a huge castle, lives a giant. You must kill him and bring his head to me. But killing him is no easy task. A certain bird that dwells in the deep woods behind the castle is the custodian of his life. You have to kill the bird while the giant is asleep. Then you have to behead the giant," explained the princess.
"This is an excellent opportunity for an adventure," said the prince. "But I wonder if you have the stamina to undertake the adventure. I am going to give you a drink. If you have the needed stamina, the drink will have no effect on you. If you don't have the stamina, the drink will turn you into a statue," informed the princess. "I am ready to drink it," said the prince. A maid brought the drink. The prince drank it. It was quite delicious. He waited to see the effect. Minutes passed. There was no sign of his changing into a statue. "It is proved that I have the stamina. Now let me go for the giant," said the prince. The princess smiled. "As if there is really a giant!" she said sweetly, and added, "So far, no suitor had dared to take the drink. It was only a test in courage. All were terrified at the prospect of changing into statues!" "But where are they? I heard that they had become statues!" said the prince. "They are detained in a comfortable house-though as prisoners. Now that you have passed the test, they would be set free," said the princess. The marriage was a great event. To the utter disappointment of his stepmother, the prince returned home along with the princess. His coronation took place soon thereafter. In fact, he became the king over two realms, for his father-in-law had no son.
The Forbidden Door
Behind the magnificent building was a big tree. Under the tree sat a young man. He was in soiled and tattered robes and he looked quite famished. But his face bore the stamp of nobility and that did not escape the notice of an old man of the nearby building. The old man called the beggarly youth, whose name was Ahmad, into his house. Upon inquiry, it was seen that Ahmad indeed came from a noble family. But as ill-luck would have it, he lost his parents and property almost overnight and now did not know what to do "My boy, as you can see, I am pretty old. In this wide world, there is none whom I can claim my own. Yet, God has given me enough wealth and a fine mansion. If you so wish, you can live with me and forget your worries. All you have to do is to look after me," said the old man. "Your words, O Master, sound to me like blessings coming from heaven. I will consider myself extremely lucky to serve you," replied the young man. "Good. But let me caution you on one point. You will never see me jolly. In fact, you will see me weeping at times. Never let curiosity get the better of you. Never ask me why I weep," warned the old man. Although the condition seemed rather queer, Ahmad agreed to comply with it.
And, no doubt, he served the old man with great care and deep love, so much so that the old man came to look upon him as his son. Days passed and the old man grew older. He was kind to all, but he never smiled. And a day did not pass when he did not weep for a while. Such conduct of the old man saddened Ahmad, but he asked no question about it, true to the condition to which he had agreed. A year later the old man took to bed. After a few days, he called Ahmad to his bedside and said, "My boy, my hours on the earth are numbered. I bequeath all my property to you. Live happily, but I warn you against doing one thing: There is a flight of stairs under my bed leading into an underground room. That room has four doors one of which is painted black. Never should you open that door. If you do, you will lose all your happiness," The old man's voice grew faint. Soon he breathed his last. Ahmad duly performed the last rites of his departed master and gave his attention to bringing the household to order according to his own taste. The day he stood in the underground chamber and looked at the black door, he felt a surge of desire within him to open it. But he checked himself and opened one of the other three doors which led into another room filled with valuable things. The next day he opened yet another door. After three days all that remained to be opened was the black door. By and by his curiosity grew irresistible. "If I am cautious, no harm can befall me," he assured himself and after bolting all the doors of his house, he entered the underground chamber and opened the door. Beyond the door was open land, shrouded in mist. Ahmad walked into it. He could hear the roar of the sea.
But before he had seen anything else, a huge bird swooped down upon him and bore him away holding him tight in its claws. Up and up rose the bird. Below it was the sea. It flew for an hour and descended on an island. Leaving Ahmad on the ground, it flew away and disappeared behind a hill. Ahmad did not know what to do. Before him flowed a river. Soon he saw a beautiful boat sailing towards him. It stopped touching the shore and out came a number of charming young ladies. "Be pleased to board the boat. Our princess is waiting for you," they informed Ahmad, courtesying him again and again. Ahmad followed them, almost enchanted. The boat sailed smoothly into a lake. At the center of the lake stood a wonderful castle. A hundred damsels bowed to Ahmad as he was led through the marble corridors, studded with many a precious stone. He was soon ushered into the presence of the princess. Ahmad looked at her spellbound, for, so much beauty he had never beholden. The princess came forward and led him by her hand to the throne.
"My lord, I have waited for you for a long time. I am the ruler of this island. Now, be kind to marry me. Then you will be the king, and I, your queen," she said. If Ahmad delayed a little in giving his consent, it was because he could not believe his ears. They were wedded the same night. Ahmad was sure that there was no second man upon the earth as happy as himself. For him days passed as fast as hours and years as fast as months. There was not a moment when his wife was a little cool towards him; not a day passed without some novel entertainment being presented to him. So far as ruling the island was concerned, it was carried on by his ministers. One day, while strolling on the roof of the castle in the company of his wife, Ahmad happened to see a black door against a wall at one end of the roof. "What is there beyond that door?" he asked. The queen looked pale. "Never wish or try to know that," she whispered. Ahmad kept quiet for the moment. But, at night, he felt restless. He remembered how his dying master had forbidden him to open a black door.
But had he any reason to repent having disobeyed the old man? Far from that! He would have been a fool if he would have continued to obey him. Who knows if there are greater wonders behind the present black door too? Such thoughts inspired him to leave the bed at midnight and climb the roof stealthily. He pushed open the door and stepped out into a terrace. All of a sudden the huge bird swooped down upon him and carried him away. In a moment the island disappeared from his sight. The bird flew over the sea and after an hour left him on a spot near a door. Ahmad opened the door and found himself stepping into the underground chamber of his own house. He was most eager to return to his wife and the wonderful island. Several times he opened the black door, hoping that the bird would carry him off again. But he saw nothing behind the door but a wall. Never did he smile again. Like his departed master, he too wept haunted by the memory of his lost happiness.
The Value Of Praise
Vasanta Roy, the ambitious king of Karpurvan, nursed a great desire, that was to be praised by all his subjects. The more he read or heard about the great kings of the past whose glory was sung by the posterity, the more eager he grew to be counted as one among them. He was never reluctant to spend for the welfare of his people or in charity to the poor. Once in awhile he donned a disguise and wandered among his people and heard what they said about him and his administration. The people, in general, spoke well of him and that pleased him very much. But one day he had an unexpected encounter. A villager named Shiv told him, "What is there so great about our king? I don't think he has done anything to deserve praise!" The disguised king was quite surprised. He concluded that there must be some special problem concerning the people of that particular village which he had not solved. That made them unhappy. On enquiring, he learnt that there was a dearth of water in the village. He discussed the problem with the experts and dug a canal which greatly benefitted the village. A year later the disguised king met Shiv again. He certainly expected Shiv to praise him. But Shiv remarked, "Digging a canal does not make a king great. We have so many problems. How much does the king care for them?" The king made further enquiries and learnt that there was no road connecting the village with the town.
Villagers who earned their living by selling their produce in the town suffered much during the monsoon. The king lost no time in constructing a road. Even then no praise for the king was forthcoming from Shiv. The king established a dispensary and a school in the village in the course of another year. All the villagers spoke high of the king, but not Shiv. The disguised king asked Shiv, "Well, I fail to understand why you have no kind word for the king when all others in the village praise him! What is the matter with you?" "Those who are benefitted by the king naturally sing his praise. Why should I?" replied Shiv. "But it is not surprising that you alone do not benefit from the king's actions?" queried the king. "Those who have lands benefit by the canal; those who have some reason or the other to go to the town benefit by the road. I have none. Those who have kids to study benefit from the school. My sons are grown up. Those who are diseased are happy to have the dispensary. I am not. Will you please tell me why should I praise the king?" was Shiv's reply.
Instead of thinking about the problems of the village, the king now tried to find out the personal problems that beset Shiv. He soon learnt that Shiv quarrelled with his sons and the sons were united against him. As there was no peace at home, Shiv passed his time here and there and went without food on days. The king built a house for Shiv and so arranged that he did not have to go without food. On meeting the disguised king next, Shiv was full of his praise! A few days passed. While passing through another village the disguised king met another of his critics named Hari. No more did the king try to find out what was the problem of Hari's village. He simply found out what ailed Hari himself and gave him relief. Hari grew great admirer of the king. By now the king had realised that there were some people who were never happy with any good work unless they were directly benefitted by the work. They praised the king only when their interest was served. They remained blind to the great welfare works which benefited the whole community. As the king realised this, his fascination for praise was gone. No more was he eager to satisfy individuals for the sake of being praised by them. He devoted his resources and time for the general welfare of his subjects, no matter what a few people said about him. As a result, he was praised by all, although he had no need of such praise anymore!
The Costly Apple
It was evening. The Caliph, Harun-al-Raschid, and his Wazir, Zafar, were strolling along the narrow lanes of the city of Bagdad. Needless to say, they were in disguise. Nobody recognized them. Nobody cared to talk to them. But they talked to people and learned about their sorrows and joys. "O God, O God!" sighed an old man and cursed his own fate, as they passed by him. "What ails you?" queried the Caliph. "I am a fisherman. I have spent the whole day casting my net into the river, but without being able to catch a single fish," said the man with a sigh. The Caliph was moved to pity. "Come with me to the riverside. Cast your net just once more. Whatever comes ashore when you drag the net shall be bought over by me for a hundred gold mohurs" assured the Caliph.
The old man gladly accompanied the two to the river again. As the Caliph and the Wazir looked on, he cast his net. When he dragged it ashore, it was found to have brought with it a wooden casket. The Caliph rewarded the fisherman with a hundred mohurs and, with the help of the Wazir, carried the casket to the palace. But his surprise and sorrow knew no bound when the casket was opened. Inside it lay the dead body of a charming young lady. She had been stabbed to death. "My Wazir! You must catch the murderer at the earliest. Failing, you lose your head!" said the Caliph, overwhelmed with sorrow and trembling with rage. The Wazir was granted three days to find out the culprit. And, we may be sure that he and his hundred assistants did their best. But the culprit could not be traced. On the fourth day, the Caliph ordered for the Wazir to be hanged. The people of the city heard the Caliph's decision with deep sorrow, for they new the Wazir to be a just and good man. The citizens came by the hundreds to witness the hanging. The Wazir's kinsmen were wailing loudly. The Wazir stood with a solemn face. The Caliph was extremely unhappy to punish his good Wazir, but he wanted to set an example for the future Wazir. Suddenly a young man dashed at the Caliph and kneeling down before him, said, "O just ruler! spare the innocent Wazir and hang me. It is I who murdered the young lady." "He is not speaking the truth, O just Caliph!" shouted an old man who came out pushing through the crowd. "It is I who killed the young lady!" The Caliph, the Wazir, and all the people were perplexed. "Speak the truth- who between you is the murderer- or I will hang both!" growled the Caliph. "If you will be pleased to hear why she was killed, you will understand who could have killed her, myself, or this gentleman who is her father," said the young man.
With the Caliph's permission, he then narrated his story: He was a merchant. He considered himself lucky in his wife who was at once beautiful and faithful. Once the young lady fell sick. When no medicine did her any good, she expressed her desire to taste an apple. Her husband, thinking that to satisfy her desire would do her good, set out in search of apples. He visited every fruit shop in the city and every orchard. But no apple was available. He learned that in that season there was only one orchard, the Caliph's, away in the city of Bassora, where apples grew. The young merchant rode to Bassora. It took him four weeks to return with three fruits which he had bought paying three gold coins. His wife was delighted to receive the apples. However, instead of eating them, she kept them beside herself and continued to be delighted looking at them and playing with them. She began to recover. The merchant, absent from his shop for a long time, now gave more attention to his business in order to make good the lapse. One evening while closing the shop, he was surprised to see a fellow who looked a ruffian passing by holding an apple in his hand. The merchant asked him how he got the apple. The fellow's eyes brightened up. He whispered to him, "I have a mistress in this town, a very rich man's wife. Her husband brought three apples for her from the Caliph's garden in the faraway city of Bassora. She passed on one to me!" The ruffian then ran away with merry strides. The merchant felt that his blood had begun boiling! He marched home and saw that beside his wife lay two apples instead of three. "Where is the third apple?" he demanded. "It is missing for some time," said the lady. The merchant felt sure that what the ruffian said was true. Nobody had access to his wife's bedroom. The ruffian could not have got the apple unless she had given it to him. At the height of passion, he killed her. He then put her dead body in a casket and went out of the room. He saw his little son standing in a corner of the house. Afraid that the child might have seen what he did, the merchant asked him, "Why are you looking so gloomy?" "I do not know how to face my mother," said the boy sadly. "She did not allow me to touch those apples saying that you had brought them with great pains and so she would like to dry them and keep them with her forever. I stole an apple this afternoon only to play with it. As I was hurling it up and was catching it, standing in the meadow, a passer-by came rushing and took hold of it. I told him how it had been brought by my father from Bassora for my mother who was sick and requested him to return it. But he escaped with it." The merchant now realized the blunder he had made. He felt like smashing himself. Soon his father-in-law arrived there. The merchant told him everything. Both of them wept bitterly and carried the casket to the river and immersed it in the water.
The Caliph heard the story with rapt attention. His anger was now shifted to the ruffian. He order his Wazir to find out the fellow. Another three days passed. Again the Wazir failed to trace the culprit. On the fourth day, the Caliph ordered that the Wazir be hanged. The Wazir bade goodbye to his family. When he embraced his little daughter, he felt an apple hidden in her clothes. At his asking the girl showed him the apple and said that she had just bought it from their household slave, paying him a coin. The slave was questioned. He confessed to his pinching it from the merchant's son. The Wazir dragged the fellow to the Caliph who was happy that the culprit had been caught. He handed over the slave to the hangman and offered to reward the Wazir. "My lord! Let the slave be spared of his life. He can be paraded through the country and let the people know how an idle lie can cause a great tragedy!" appealed the Wazir. "But let people know the whole truth. The tragedy was caused by this fellow's lie on one hand and my passion and hasty action on the other hand. I too should be paraded with the fellow," proposed the weeping merchant.
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