Indian Fairy Tales (17 page)

The beautiful boy now lived in the horse's stomach, and he stayed in it
for one whole year. At the end of that time the horse thought, "I will
see if this child is alive or dead." So he brought him up; and then he
loved him, and petted him, and the little prince played all about the
stable, out of which the horse was never allowed to go. Katar was very
glad to see the child, who was now four years old. After he had played
for some time, the horse swallowed him again. At the end of another
year, when the boy was five years old, Katar brought him up again,
caressed him, loved him, and let him play about the stable as he had
done a year before. Then the horse swallowed him again.

But this time the groom had seen all that happened, and when it was
morning, and the King had gone away to his hunting, he went to the four
wicked Queens, and told them all he had seen, and all about the
wonderful, beautiful child that lived inside the King's horse Katar. On
hearing the groom's story the four Queens cried, and tore their hair
and clothes, and refused to eat. When the King returned at evening and
asked them why they were so miserable, they said, "Your horse Katar
came and tore our clothes, and upset all our things, and we ran away
for fear he should kill us."

"Never mind," said the King. "Only eat your dinner and be happy. I will
have Katar shot to-morrow." Then he thought that two men unaided could
not kill such a wicked horse, so he ordered his servants to bid his
troop of sepoys shoot him.

So the next day the King placed his sepoys all round the stable, and he
took up his stand with them; and he said he would himself shoot any one
who let his horse escape.

Meanwhile the horse had overheard all these orders. So he brought up
the child and said to him, "Go into that little room that leads out of
the stable, and you will find in it a saddle and bridle which you must
put on me. Then you will find in the room some beautiful clothes such
as princes wear; these you must put on yourself; and you must take the
sword and gun you will find there too. Then you must mount on my back."
Now Katar was a fairy-horse, and came from the fairies' country, so he
could get anything he wanted; but neither the King nor any of his
people knew this.

When all was ready, Katar burst out of his stable, with the prince on
his back, rushed past the King himself before the King had time to
shoot him, galloped away to the great jungle-plain, and galloped about
all over it. The King saw his horse had a boy on his back, though he
could not see the boy distinctly. The sepoys tried in vain to shoot the
horse; he galloped much too fast; and at last they were all scattered
over the plain. Then the King had to give it up and go home; and the
sepoys went to their homes. The King could not shoot any of his sepoys
for letting his horse escape, for he himself had let him do so.

Then Katar galloped away, on, and on, and on; and when night came they
stayed under a tree, he and the King's son. The horse ate grass, and
the boy wild fruits which he found in the jungle. Next morning they
started afresh, and went far, and far, till they came to a jungle in
another country, which did not belong to the little prince's father,
but to another king. Here Katar said to the boy, "Now get off my back."
Off jumped the prince. "Unsaddle me and take off my bridle; take off
your beautiful clothes and tie them all up in a bundle with your sword
and gun." This the boy did. Then the horse gave him some poor, common
clothes, which he told him to put on. As soon as he was dressed in them
the horse said, "Hide your bundle in this grass, and I will take care
of it for you. I will always stay in this jungle-plain, so that when
you want me you will always find me. You must now go away and find
service with some one in this country."

This made the boy very sad. "I know nothing about anything," he said.
"What shall I do all alone in this country?"

"Do not be afraid," answered Katar. "You will find service, and I will
always stay here to help you when you want me. So go, only before you
go, twist my right ear." The boy did so, and his horse instantly became
a donkey. "Now twist your right ear," said Katar. And when the boy had
twisted it, he was no longer a handsome prince, but a poor, common-
looking, ugly man; and his moon and star were hidden.

Then he went away further into the country, until he came to a grain
merchant of the country, who asked him who he was. "I am a poor man,"
answered the boy, "and I want service." "Good," said the grain
merchant, "you shall be my servant."

Now the grain merchant lived near the King's palace, and one night at
twelve o'clock the boy was very hot; so he went out into the King's
cool garden, and began to sing a lovely song. The seventh and youngest
daughter of the King heard him, and she wondered who it was who could
sing so deliciously. Then she put on her clothes, rolled up her hair,
and came down to where the seemingly poor common man was lying singing.
"Who are you? where do you come from?" she asked.

But he answered nothing.

"Who is this man who does not answer when I speak to him?" thought the
little princess, and she went away. On the second night the same thing
happened, and on the third night too. But on the third night, when she
found she could not make him answer her, she said to him, "What a
strange man you are not to answer me when I speak to you." But still he
remained silent, so she went away.

The next day, when he had finished his work, the young prince went to
the jungle to see his horse, who asked him, "Are you quite well and
happy?" "Yes, I am," answered the boy. "I am servant to a grain
merchant. The last three nights I have gone into the King's garden and
sung a song, and each night the youngest princess has come to me and
asked me who I am, and whence I came, and I have answered nothing. What
shall I do now?" The horse said, "Next time she asks you who you are,
tell her you are a very poor man, and came from your own country to
find service here."

The boy then went home to the grain merchant, and at night, when every
one had gone to bed, he went to the King's garden and sang his sweet
song again. The youngest princess heard him, got up, dressed, and came
to him. "Who are you? Whence do you come?" she asked.

"I am a very poor man," he answered. "I came from my own country to
seek service here, and I am now one of the grain merchant's servants."
Then she went away. For three more nights the boy sang in the King's
garden, and each night the princess came and asked him the same
questions as before, and the boy gave her the same answers.

Then she went to her father, and said to him, "Father, I wish to be
married; but I must choose my husband myself." Her father consented to
this, and he wrote and invited all the Kings and Rajas in the land,
saying, "My youngest daughter wishes to be married, but she insists on
choosing her husband herself. As I do not know who it is she wishes to
marry, I beg you will all come on a certain day, for her to see you and
make her choice."

A great many Kings, Rajas, and their sons accepted this invitation and
came. When they had all arrived, the little princess's father said to
them, "To-morrow morning you must all sit together in my garden" (the
King's garden was very large), "for then my youngest daughter will come
and see you all, and choose her husband. I do not know whom she will
choose."

The youngest princess ordered a grand elephant to be ready for her the
next morning, and when the morning came, and all was ready, she dressed
herself in the most lovely clothes, and put on her beautiful jewels;
then she mounted her elephant, which was painted blue. In her hand she
took a gold necklace.

Then she went into the garden where the Kings, Rajas, and their sons
were seated. The boy, the grain merchant's servant, was also in the
garden: not as a suitor, but looking on with the other servants.

The princess rode all round the garden, and looked at all the Kings and
Rajas and princes, and then she hung the gold necklace round the neck
of the boy, the grain merchant's servant. At this everybody laughed,
and the Kings were greatly astonished. But then they and the Rajas
said, "What fooling is this?" and they pushed the pretended poor man
away, and took the necklace off his neck, and said to him, "Get out of
the way, you poor, dirty man. Your clothes are far too dirty for you to
come near us!" The boy went far away from them, and stood a long way
off to see what would happen.

Then the King's youngest daughter went all round the garagain, holding
her gold necklace in her hand, and once more she hung it round the
boy's neck. Every one laughed at her and said, "How can the King's
daughter think of marrying this poor, common man!" and the Kings and
the Rajas, who had come as suitors, all wanted to turn him out of the
garden. But the princess said, "Take care! take care! You must not turn
him out. Leave him alone." Then she put him on her elephant, and took
him to the palace.

The Kings and Rajas and their sons were very much astonished, and said,
"What does this mean? The princess does not care to marry one of us,
but chooses that very poor man!" Her father then stood up, and said to
them all, "I promised my daughter she should marry any one she pleased,
and as she has twice chosen that poor, common man, she shall marry
him." And so the princess and the boy were married with great pomp and
splendour: her father and mother were quite content with her choice;
and the Kings, the Rajas and their sons, all returned to their homes.

Now the princess's six sisters had all married rich princes, and they
laughed at her for choosing such a poor ugly husband as hers seemed to
be, and said to each other, mockingly, "See! our sister has married
this poor, common man!" Their six husbands used to go out hunting every
day, and every evening they brought home quantities of all kinds of
game to their wives, and the game was cooked for their dinner and for
the King's; but the husband of the youngest princess always stayed at
home in the palace, and never went out hunting at all. This made her
very sad, and she said to herself, "My sisters' husbands hunt every
day, but my husband never hunts at all."

At last she said to him, "Why do you never go out hunting as my
sisters' husbands do every day, and every day they bring home
quantities of all kinds of game? Why do you always stay at home,
instead of doing as they do?"

One day he said to her, "I am going out to-day to eat the air."

"Very good," she answered; "go, and take one of the horses."

"No," said the young prince, "I will not ride, I will walk." Then he
went to the jungle-plain where he had left Katar, who all this time had
seemed to be a donkey, and he told Katar everything. "Listen," he said;
"I have married the youngest princess; and when we were married
everybody laughed at her for choosing me, and said, 'What a very poor,
common man our princess has chosen for her husband!' Besides, my wife
is very sad, for her six sisters' husbands all hunt every day, and
bring home quantities of game, and their wives therefore are very proud
of them. But I stay at home all day, and never hunt. To-day I should
like to hunt very much."

"Well," said Katar, "then twist my left ear;" and as soon as the boy
had twisted it, Katar was a horse again, and not a donkey any longer.
"Now," said Katar, "twist your left ear, and you will see what a
beautiful young prince you will become." So the boy twisted his own
left ear, and there he stood no longer a poor, common, ugly man, but a
grand young prince with a moon on his forehead and a star on his chin.
Then he put on his splendid clothes, saddled and bridled Katar, got on
his back with his sword and gun, and rode off to hunt.

He rode very far, and shot a great many birds and a quantity of deer.
That day his six brothers-in-law could find no game, for the beautiful
young prince had shot it all. Nearly all the day long these six princes
wandered about looking in vain for game; till at last they grew hungry
and thirsty, and could find no water, and they had no food with them.
Meanwhile the beautiful young prince had sat down under a tree, to dine
and rest, and there his six brothers-in-law found him. By his side was
some delicious water, and also some roast meat.

When they saw him the six princes said to each other, "Look at that
handsome prince. He has a moon on his forehead and a star on his chin.
We have never seen such a prince in this jungle before; he must come
from another country." Then they came up to him, and made him many
salaams, and begged him to give them some food and water. "Who are
you?" said the young prince. "We are the husbands of the six elder
daughters of the King of this country," they answered; "and we have
hunted all day, and are very hungry and thirsty." They did not
recognise their brother-in-law in the least.

"Well," said the young prince, "I will give you something to eat and
drink if you will do as I bid you." "We will do all you tell us to do,"
they answered, "for if we do not get water to drink, we shall die."
"Very good," said the young prince. "Now you must let me put a red-hot
pice on the back of each of you, and then I will give you food and
water. Do you agree to this?" The six princes consented, for they
thought, "No one will ever see the mark of the pice, as it will be
covered by our clothes; and we shall die if we have no water to drink."
Then the young prince took six pice, and made them red-hot in the fire;
he laid one on the back of each of the six princes, and gave them good
food and water. They ate and drank; and when they had finished they
made him many salaams and went home.

The young prince stayed under the tree till it was evening; then he
mounted his horse and rode off to the King's palace. All the people
looked at him as he came riding along, saying, "What a splendid young
prince that is! He has a moon on his forehead and a star on his chin."
But no one recognised him. When he came near the King's palace, all the
King's servants asked him who he was; and as none of them knew him, the
gate-keepers would not let him pass in. They all wondered who he could
be, and all thought him the most beautiful prince that had ever been
seen.