Friday, January 26, 2024

The Adventure of the Two Princes - Part One


On the tip of a big flat mountain, King Gencho ruled a kingdom there. He and his wife had a son whom they named as Nyema.

Unfortunately, the king's wife died immediately after giving birth to her only son. 

So the king married another wife and the king and his second wife had another son by the name Dawa.

The second wife, however, realized that as long as the oldest son was alive, her son never stood a chance to rule this kingdom. She decided to come up with a plan to get rid of the first son. 

A few days later, she pretended to be very ill and rolled on the floor groaning in agony. 

The king saw this and was very worried. “What is the matter with you?”

Between her painful groans she answered. “I have had this sickness since I was little. But now it has hit me very hard.”

The king was even more worried. “Is there any way to heal you? Please tell me. I will do what I can.” 



On hearing this the wife pretended to be silent for some time. But finally she gave in and told the king about what could cure her.

“I must eat the heart of one of your sons. If that happens, then this illness would be gone.” The king's wife however, hurriedly shook her head. “I cannot eat my own son's heart. He's my own flesh and blood. I could not do that even if it were to save my life. And I will not eat the heart of the older son who is the crown prince of the kingdom.”

The king wondered about the words of his wife. 

It so happened that the younger son Dawa also heard the words of his mother and decided to do something about it. 



Unlike his mother, Dawa loved his older stepbrother. He saw through the plan of his mother and realized that his mother did not like the older son. Dawa did not support his mother's plan of getting rid of the older son.  

So he went and told his elder brother everything that he had heard.

Adapted from the Tibetan Folk Stories


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