Indian Fairy Tales (2 page)

When Hiraman parrot found himself left alone, he called out to the
other parrots, "Don't fly away and leave me alone when the Raja's son
shoots. If you desert me like this, I will tell the Princess Labam."

Then the parrots all flew back to their Raja, chattering. The prince
was greatly surprised, and said, "Why, these birds can talk!" Then he
said to the parrots, "Who is the Princess Labam? Where does she live?"
But the parrots would not tell him where she lived. "You can never get
to the Princess Labam's country." That is all they would say.

The prince grew very sad when they would not tell him anything more;
and he threw his gun away, and went home. When he got home, he would
not speak or eat, but lay on his bed for four or five days, and seemed
very ill.

At last he told his father and mother that he wanted to go and see the
Princess Labam. "I must go," he said; "I must see what she is like.
Tell me where her country is."

"We do not know where it is," answered his father and mother.

"Then I must go and look for it," said the prince.

"No, no," they said, "you must not leave us. You are our only son. Stay
with us. You will never find the Princess Labam."

"I must try and find her," said the prince. "Perhaps God will show me
the way. If I live and I find her, I will come back to you; but perhaps
I shall die, and then I shall never see you again. Still I must go."

So they had to let him go, though they cried very much at parting with
him. His father gave him fine clothes to wear, and a fine horse. And he
took his gun, and his bow and arrows, and a great many other weapons,
"for," he said, "I may want them." His father, too, gave him plenty of
rupees.

Then he himself got his horse all ready for the journey, and he said
good-bye to his father and mother; and his mother took her handkerchief
and wrapped some sweetmeats in it, and gave it to her son. "My child,"
she said to him, "When you are hungry eat some of these sweetmeats."

He then set out on his journey, and rode on and on till he came to a
jungle in which were a tank and shady trees. He bathed himself and his
horse in the tank, and then sat down under a tree. "Now," he said to
himself, "I will eat some of the sweetmeats my mother gave me, and I
will drink some water, and then I will continue my journey." He opened
his handkerchief, and took out a sweetmeat. He found an ant in it. He
took out another. There was an ant in that one too. So he laid the two
sweetmeats on the ground, and he took out another, and another, and
another, until he had taken them all out; but in each he found an ant.
"Never mind," he said, "I won't eat the sweetmeats; the ants shall eat
them." Then the Ant-Raja came and stood before him and said, "You have
been good to us. If ever you are in trouble, think of me and we will
come to you."

The Raja's son thanked him, mounted his horse and continued his
journey. He rode on and on until he came to another jungle, and there
he saw a tiger who had a thorn in his foot, and was roaring loudly from
the pain.

"Why do you roar like that?" said the young Raja. "What is the matter
with you?"

"I have had a thorn in my foot for twelve years," answered the tiger,
"and it hurts me so; that is why I roar."

"Well," said the Raja's son, "I will take it out for you. But perhaps,
as you are a tiger, when I have made you well, you will eat me?"

"Oh, no," said the tiger, "I won't eat you. Do make me well."

Then the prince took a little knife from his pocket, and cut the thorn
out of the tiger's foot; but when he cut, the tiger roared louder than
ever—so loud that his wife heard him in the next jungle, and came
bounding along to see what was the matter. The tiger saw her coming,
and hid the prince in the jungle, so that she should not see him.

"What man hurt you that you roared so loud?" said the wife. "No one
hurt me," answered the husband; "but a Raja's son came and took the
thorn out of my foot."

"Where is he? Show him to me," said his wife.

"If you promise not to kill him, I will call him," said the tiger.

"I won't kill him; only let me see him," answered his wife.

Then the tiger called the Raja's son, and when he came the tiger and
his wife made him a great many salaams. Then they gave him a good
dinner, and he stayed with them for three days. Every day he looked at
the tiger's foot, and the third day it was quite healed. Then he said
good-bye to the tigers, and the tiger said to him, "If ever you are in
trouble, think of me, and we will come to you."

The Raja's son rode on and on till he came to a third jungle. Here he
found four fakirs whose teacher and master had died, and had left four
things,—a bed, which carried whoever sat on it whithersoever he wished
to go; a bag, that gave its owner whatever he wanted, jewels, food, or
clothes; a stone bowl that gave its owner as much water as he wanted,
no matter how far he might be from a tank; and a stick and rope, to
which its owner had only to say, if any one came to make war on him,
"Stick, beat as many men and soldiers as are here," and the stick would
beat them and the rope would tie them up.

The four fakirs were quarrelling over these four things. One said, "I
want this;" another said, "You cannot have it, for I want it;" and so
on.

The Raja's son said to them, "Do not quarrel for these things. I will
shoot four arrows in four different directions. Whichever of you gets
to my first arrow, shall have the first thing—the bed. Whosoever gets
to the second arrow, shall have the second thing—the bag. He who gets
to the third arrow, shall have the third thing—the bowl. And he who
gets to the fourth arrow, shall have the last things—the stick and
rope." To this they agreed, and the prince shot off his first arrow.
Away raced the fakirs to get it. When they brought it back to him he
shot off the second, and when they had found and brought it to him he
shot off his third, and when they had brought him the third he shot off
the fourth.

While they were away looking for the fourth arrow the Raja's son let
his horse loose in the jungle, and sat on the bed, taking the bowl, the
stick and rope, and the bag with him. Then he said, "Bed, I wish to go
to the Princess Labam's country." The little bed instantly rose up into
the air and began to fly, and it flew and flew till it came to the
Princess Labam's country, where it settled on the ground. The Raja's
son asked some men he saw, "Whose country is this?"

"The Princess Labam's country," they answered. Then the prince went on
till he came to a house where he saw an old woman.

"Who are you?" she said. "Where do you come from?"

"I come from a far country," he said; "do let me stay with you to-
night."

"No," she answered, "I cannot let you stay with me; for our king has
ordered that men from other countries may not stay in his country. You
cannot stay in my house."

"You are my aunty," said the prince; "let me remain with you for this
one night. You see it is evening, and if I go into the jungle, then the
wild beasts will eat me."

"Well," said the old woman, "you may stay here to-night; but to-morrow
morning you must go away, for if the king hears you have passed the
night in my house, he will have me seized and put into prison."

Then she took him into her house, and the Raja's son was very glad. The
old woman began preparing dinner, but he stopped her, "Aunty," he said,
"I will give you food." He put his hand into his bag, saying, "Bag, I
want some dinner," and the bag gave him instantly a delicious dinner,
served up on two gold plates. The old woman and the Raja's son then
dined together.

When they had finished eating, the old woman said, "Now I will fetch
some water."

"Don't go," said the prince. "You shall have plenty of water directly."
So he took his bowl and said to it, "Bowl, I want some water," and then
it filled with water. When it was full, the prince cried out, "Stop,
bowl," and the bowl stopped filling. "See, aunty," he said, "with this
bowl I can always get as much water as I want."

By this time night had come. "Aunty," said the Raja's son, "why don't
you light a lamp?"

"There is no need," she said. "Our king has forbidden the people in his
country to light any lamps; for, as soon as it is dark, his daughter,
the Princess Labam, comes and sits on her roof, and she shines so that
she lights up all the country and our houses, and we can see to do our
work as if it were day."

When it was quite black night the princess got up. She dressed herself
in her rich clothes and jewels, and rolled up her hair, and across her
head she put a band of diamonds and pearls. Then she shone like the
moon, and her beauty made night day. She came out of her room, and sat
on the roof of her palace. In the daytime she never came out of her
house; she only came out at night. All the people in her father's
country then went about their work and finished it.

The Raja's son watched the princess quietly, and was very happy. He
said to himself, "How lovely she is!"

At midnight, when everybody had gone to bed, the princess came down
from her roof, and went to her room; and when she was in bed and
asleep, the Raja's son got up softly, and sat on his bed. "Bed," he
said to it, "I want to go to the Princess Labam's bed-room." So the
little bed carried him to the room where she lay fast asleep.

The young Raja took his bag and said, "I want a great deal of betel-
leaf," and it at once gave him quantities of betel-leaf. This he laid
near the princess's bed, and then his little bed carried him back to
the old woman's house.

Next morning all the princess's servants found the betel-leaf, and
began to eat it. "Where did you get all that betel-leaf?" asked the
princess.

"We found it near your bed," answered the servants. Nobody knew the
prince had come in the night and put it all there.

In the morning the old woman came to the Raja's son. "Now it is
morning," she said, "and you must go; for if the king finds out all I
have done for you, he will seize me."

"I am ill to-day, dear aunty," said the prince; "do let me stay till
to-morrow morning."

"Good," said the old woman. So he stayed, and they took their dinner
out of the bag, and the bowl gave them water.

When night came the princess got up and sat on her roof, and at twelve
o'clock, when every one was in bed, she went to her bed-room, and was
soon fast asleep. Then the Raja's son sat on his bed, and it carried
him to the princess. He took his bag and said, "Bag, I want a most
lovely shawl." It gave him a splendid shawl, and he spread it over the
princess as she lay asleep. Then he went back to the old woman's house
and slept till morning.

In the morning, when the princess saw the shawl she was delighted.
"See, mother," she said; "Khuda must have given me this shawl, it is so
beautiful." Her mother was very glad too.

"Yes, my child," she said; "Khuda must have given you this splendid
shawl."

When it was morning the old woman said to the Raja's son, "Now you must
really go."

"Aunty," he answered, "I am not well enough yet. Let me stay a few days
longer. I will remain hidden in your house, so that no one may see me."
So the old woman let him stay.

When it was black night, the princess put on her lovely clothes and
jewels, and sat on her roof. At midnight she went to her room and went
to sleep. Then the Raja's son sat on his bed and flew to her bed-room.
There he said to his bag, "Bag, I want a very, very beautiful ring."
The bag gave him a glorious ring. Then he took the Princess Labam's
hand gently to put on the ring, and she started up very much
frightened.

"Who are you?" she said to the prince. "Where do you come from? Why do
you come to my room?"

"Do not be afraid, princess," he said; "I am no thief. I am a great
Raja's son. Hiraman parrot, who lives in the jungle where I went to
hunt, told me your name, and then I left my father and mother, and came
to see you."

"Well," said the princess, "as you are the son of such a great Raja, I
will not have you killed, and I will tell my father and mother that I
wish to marry you."

The prince then returned to the old woman's house; and when morning
came the princess said to her mother, "The son of a great Raja has come
to this country, and I wish to marry him." Her mother told this to the
king.

"Good," said the king; "but if this Raja's son wishes to marry my
daughter, he must first do whatever I bid him. If he fails I will kill
him. I will give him eighty pounds weight of mustard seed, and out of
this he must crush the oil in one day. If he cannot do this he shall
die."

In the morning the Raja's son told the old woman that he intended to
marry the princess. "Oh," said the old woman, "go away from this
country, and do not think of marrying her. A great many Rajas and
Rajas' sons have come here to marry her, and her father has had them
all killed. He says whoever wishes to marry his daughter must first do
whatever he bids him. If he can, then he shall marry the princess; if
he cannot, the king will have him killed. But no one can do the things
the king tells him to do; so all the Rajas and Rajas' sons who have
tried have been put to death. You will be killed too, if you try. Do go
away." But the prince would not listen to anything she said.

The king sent for the prince to the old woman's house, and his servants
brought the Raja's son to the king's court-house to the king. There the
king gave him eighty pounds of mustard seed, and told him to crush all
the oil out of it that day, and bring it next morning to him to the
court-house. "Whoever wishes to marry my daughter," he said to the
prince, "must first do all I tell him. If he cannot, then I have him
killed. So if you cannot crush all the oil out of this mustard seed,
you will die."