The Prince and the Flower Queen’s Daughter - Part Two

The Prince realized that the old woman had to be a fairy and that he had been rewarded for doing something good to her.

He safely put the little bell in his pocket. He then went home and told his father that he wanted to set the daughter of the Flower Queen free. He told his father that he wanted to start traveling all around to search for her.

His father agreed to this.

The next morning the prince got on his horse and started his journey.

However the prince traveled for more than a year and he had absolutely no news or no place to look for the daughter of the flower queen.

The horse of the prince was completely exhausted and the prince himself was miserable from the continuous fruitless travel.

One day the prince came to a hut. Outside the hut was a very old man. “Do you know about the Dragon who has kidnapped the daughter of the flower queen?”

The old man thought for some time and shook his head. “I do not. But if you walk on this road for nearly a year you will find my father. He may be able to help you.”

Happy that he had got some information the prince thanked the old man and set out on walking the road. 

The prince had walked here when he saw another old man before another hut.

Unfortunately for the prince, even the second old man had no idea about where the dragon kept the daughter of the flower Queen. But he guided the prince to his father who lived about a year on the same road. 

This old man was sure that his father would be able to help the prince on his quest 

Adapted from European Fairy Tales (Bukovina)

The Prince and the Flower Queen’s Daughter - Part One

A prince was once riding through a meadow. At that time he heard someone sobbing. 

He saw a ditch on the far side of the meadow. He got off his horse and looked inside the ditch. He was stunned to find an old woman inside the ditch.

“Please let me out!” The woman called out from inside the ditch 

The prince helped the woman out of the ditch.

The old woman was grateful to the prince.

“What happened? How did you end up in this place?” The prince looked questioningly at her.

“I had gone to the neighbouring town to sell my eggs but I lost my way in the dark. I fell into this ditch. I would have remained there forever if you had not come and saved me.”

The prince then saw that the old woman had hurt herself when she had fallen into the ditch 

The Prince lifted her and put her on his horse.

They reached the woman's hut.

The woman then turned to the prince. “Wait here. I will be back!”

The old woman then came back in a short time. “You are a very kind man and your kindness deserves to be rewarded. Do you want to have the most beautiful woman in the world as your wife?”

The Prince was surprised with the question but he nodded.

The old woman smiled at the prince. “The flower queen’s daughter is the most beautiful woman in the world. However the flower queen’s daughter has been kidnapped by a dragon. If you want to marry her you have to free her from the clutches of the dragon first.” 

The woman pulled out something from her cloak. It was a bell. “Take this with you. If you ring the bell once, the king of the Eagles will come before you. If you ring it twice the king of the foxes will come to you and if you ring the bell three times the king of the fishes will come to your side. They will help you in your quest.”

Adapted from European Fairy Tales (Bukovina)

The Story of King Vikramatunga - Part Two

The king took the fruit and inside his mind the king made a vow that if Agni did not appear to receive this fruit, then the king would strike off his own head instead of offering another fruit.

The king then offered the fruit into the sacrificial fire.

The man was stunned when Agni appeared from the Fire. 

Agni was pleased with the penance and asked the king what he wanted.

The king wanted nothing for himself and he said that he had performed this for the other man and wanted the Fire God to give the other man the inexhaustible wealth that the other man wanted as the fruit of this sacrifice.

The Fire God happily granted the boon of the king and he also added that the king’s treasure would also never get exhausted.

After that the other man fell on the feet of Agni. “My lord! I have performed this penance for so many years. But you have never appeared before me. The king has just returned from hunting. He has not even cleaned himself properly before performing this penance. How is it that you are pleased with what the king has done and not with what I have been doing for so many years?”

Agni smiled at the other man. “The intensity that the king has was what dragged me here this instant. The king had mentally promised to himself that if I did not appear before him he would strike off his own head. Though your mind is slow and sure it does not have the intensity and clarity that the king's mind has. That conviction of the king was what brought me here.”

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara

The Story of King Vikramatunga - Part One

The kingdom of Patliputra was ruled by the mighty king Vikramatunga. Vikramatunga was victorious in every battle that he fought and he was also kind, generous and a very good king. 

The king, as was his practice, once went to the forest for hunting.

On the way the king saw a man performing some special fire sacrifice with some fruits.

Though the king saw this the king did not let himself get distracted by the actions of the other man. The king was completely involved in his hunt and he did not pay any attention to anything else around him.

The king spent the full morning in the hunt and he returned in the afternoon. 

At that time he saw the same man in the same place sitting before the sacrificial fire.

The king then got off his horse and bowed to the man. “What are you doing here?”

“I am performing a fire sacrifice towards Agni the God of Fire. Long ago, I had learnt about this special means to perform this special sacrifice to Agni. If this sacrifice is properly completed Agni will appear with a golden fruit. The golden fruit given by Agni would give me inexhaustible wealth.” 

The man however suddenly looked a little glum. “I have been devoted to Agni and have performed this penance for many years. However Agni has not yet appeared before me.”

The king studied the man for a second. “Please give me the fruit.”

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara

The Greedy Fisherwoman and the Golden Fish - Part Three

 

Though the fish granted all the wishes of the women, every time the fisherman went to the sea the sea became more turbulent than before.

After having become the Zarina the fisher woman finally sent her husband to the fish and told her husband that she wanted to be the ruler of the sea her drinking was such that if she became the ruler of the sea then the Golden Fish would completely subjugated to her and be forced to grant all her wishes the fisherman tried to refuse this but as usual his wife Nagin him and finally called the fish nd looked solemnly at it. "My wife wants to be the ruler of the sea."

Through the stormy seas, fish should its head and look back at the man. "The only thing I can do for you is to go back to ask you to go back to the hut where you lived before all this started."

After that the fish disappeared from therre and it was never to be seen by the fisherman or his wife who went back to their poverty.

Adapted from Russian Folk Stories

The Greedy Fisherwoman and the Golden Fish - Part Two

After a few days the fisherwoman became greedy again. 

She nagged her husband to go to the fish and ask for the palace. “This cottage is getting too small for us. You should go to the fish and ask for another wish. The fish cannot refuse you one more wish. You must not forget that the fish owes its life to you.” 

The fisherman refused to go back to the fish at first. But when his wife kept nagging him, the fisherman decided to go and ask the fish for one more wish.

“What do you want now?” The Golden Fish asked when the fisherman came to the sea again. 

“My wife wants a palace this time,” the fisherman sounded very hesitant.

The sea grew a little windy and the fish fell silent for a few seconds after hearing the fisherman. 

However nothing happened as the fish finally nodded. “Go back to the place where your cottage is situated. You will find a palace there.”

The fisherman thanked the fish profusely and went back to the place where his cottage had been and he was surprised to find a beautiful palace there.

The fisherman and his wife happily lived in the palace for some time.

But the fisher woman became more and more greedy because she realized that now she could have all her wishes fulfilled. She sent her husband to ask for more and more things from the fish. 

After getting a palace from the fish she sent her husband to ask many more wishes from the fish. 

She wanted to be a noble lady, the ruler of her province and finally become Tzarina.

Adapted from Russian Folk Stories

The Greedy Fisherwoman and Golden Fish - Part One

A fisherman and his wife lived near the sea. They were very poor. One day as the fisherman threw a net in the sea he pulled out a golden fish in his net.

He was shocked when he heard the fish talk to him “I am not a fish. I am an enchanted prince. Please throw me back in the water and let me live.”

The fisherman was kind and he did not want to kill the fish. So he threw the golden fish back in the water and he went back home after that.

The wife was working very hard at their home when the fisherman came back home. He told her all that had happened in the sea today.

The fisherman thought that his wife would be happy to hear what he had done.

He was shocked to see her angry. “You were kind to the fish and did not kill it. That means that that fish owes its life to you. Go back to the sea and ask the fish for something.” 

The fisherman did not like the idea but he did not know how to refuse this to his wife. 

So he went back to the sea and asked the fish for a bigger and richer cottage than the small hut that they had.

The fish happily granted this wish to the fisherman.

The fisherman came back home and he was surprised to find a rich cottage in the place of his hut. 

He and his wife lived happily for some days in the cottage. 

Adapted from Russian Folk Stories

The Shepherd and the Wolf

 

There was once a shepherd who had a flock of beautiful white sheep. The shepherd took the sheep to the forests to graze and he would watch over them carefully. 

In the evening he would bring all the sheep back home. 

One day the shepherd saw a big wolf near the area where the shepherd had taken his sheep.  

The wolf eyed the sheep and looked hungry. 

The shepherd was very concerned, and he was ready to attack the Wolf in case it was needed. 

The Wolf however, stayed at a distance and did not come close to the sheep at all. 

The shepherd carefully studied the wolf.  

A few days passed like this.

Every day the wolf would eye the flock of sheep but did not come close.

The shepherd studied the wolf and noticed that the wolf never came any closer. 

A few days later, the Wolf came even closer and the shepherd, though he noticed it, did not get as anxious as he did the first time. 

Gradually, it went to a point when the shepherd relaxed completely even when the wolf stood right next to the sheep.  

The shepherd started feeling that the wolf was actually a protector of his herd of sheep. 

One day when the shepherd had to go back home immediately. He studied the sheep near the wolf and he felt that the wolf would take care of it and he went back home.  

He attended his work at home and came back to the forest. 

He was shocked because there were very few sheep in the field. He realized that the wolf had eaten all the sheep. 

The shepherd had no one but himself to blame because he had trusted a wolf with his flock of sheep.

Adapted from African Folk Tales

The Story of the Constellation of the Stars

 

It was the time when the Sun and the Moon were man and wife. It was believed that the Sun and the Moon descended to the earth through a hole in the Sky and at night returned through another hole to a better land.

However, Heng the Thunder God was very angry. 

He thought that the Sun did not take good care of the Moon and that was the reason the Moon grew thinner and thinner every day.

So the Thunder God cast a giant black cloud across the shining face of the Sun. 

When the Thunder God did this the heat from the Sun melted the cloud.

This resulted in a beautiful rainbow.

The animals of the forest saw the lovely rainbow and they all thought that this was a bridge to the sky.

They all rushed to their King the Old Turtle and they pleaded with the Turtle to go to the sky through the Rainbow Bridge.

However the Old Turtle asked them not to do that because he felt that the bridge could disappear after some time and if that happened, the animals that went to the sky would be stuck there.

Some of the animals went on the bridge while the others stayed back. 

Like the Old Turtle had predicted, the Rainbow Bridge disappeared sometime later.

It is believed that the Gods outline the animals bodies in the stars and these are the constellations that people see in the sky.

Adapted from North American Indian Folk Stories

The Prince of the Iron Stove - Part Five

 

The princess slipped near the Prince's door and she narrated the story of the iron stove and how she had come here crossing all the dangers to find him. 

The servants of the castle heard her story but the Prince had not heard anything because he had slept due to the sleeping drought.

Not knowing what to do, the princess cracked the second nut and found an even more beautiful dress inside. 

Naturally, the bride wanted this too, and this time too, the same events happened as before. 

Third time when the princess cracked the third nut an even more beautiful dress came out which was made of pure gold.

By this time, the Prince had heard from the servants of the castle that the kitchen maid slept outside his room and was telling tales about an iron stove. 

So this night, the Prince was determined to hear the story for himself and he did not take the wine that his bride had offered him.

When the princess narrated the story from outside his door he suddenly remembered everything and he jumped up from the bed and met his princess outside.

The prince realized that the false bride did not know that he had come out of the enchantment and the two of them escaped at night.

They returned the same way using the same gifts that the princess had used to come in and this time when they arrived at the toad’s house which turned into a large castle and the toads were all free from their curse.

The prince and the princess lived happily ever after.

Adapted from the Grimm Brothers’ Stories

The Prince of the Iron Stove - Part Four

Taking the three gifts with her, she first came upon the glass mountain. It was very slippery and she fell every time she tried to climb up. 

Finally, she stuck the three needles that she had got behind her foot and then she stuck the needles in the front. Using that she was able to get over the mountain.  

After that, she crossed the glass mountain and then came to the three cutting swords. 

She used the plough-wheel and rolled over the swords. 

She was very easily able to cross this barrier and then she came to a great lake. 

She crossed it and arrived at a beautiful castle.  

Outside she learnt that there was a prince who lived in the castle, who did not remember much about his past. But the Prince was to be married to the princess of the castle. 

The Princess knew that this was her Prince and she went to work in the castle as a kitchen maid.  

That was when she realized that she still had one more gift that the toads had given her. 

She cracked one of the nuts and found a beautiful royal dress inside it. 

When the princess of the castle saw the dress, she asked her to give it to her.  

The original princess agreed to this, but she had a favour - she wanted to sleep by the princess door. 

The bride-to-be granted this because she did not see any harm in this and the dress was very beautiful.

That night however, the bride gave a glass of wine to the prince and she poured some sleeping draught in the wine. 

Adapted from the Grimm Brothers’ Stories

The Prince of the Iron Stove - Part Three

 

The Prince had vanished and he had been put in a place over a mountain of glass which had many sharp swords around it.

The princess did not know any of this.

She bid her goodbye to her father and came to the forest. 

She searched everywhere but she could not find the iron stove of the prince anywhere nor could she find the prince. She realized that she had in some way broken the enchantment and that was the reason the prince was missing. She was determined to find the man she loved and kept walking and looking for the prince 

She had looked around for almost nine days and barely had enough food and that was when she climbed a tree to rest for the night.

Walking through the forests for the past few days had taught her to fear the night because she realized the dangers that came from the wild beast at midnight. She climbed a tree and stayed there and that was when she saw light far off.

She decided that she would reach for the light and stay for this night at least today. 

She got down the tree and went towards the light. 

It was a little old house. There was plenty of grass growing around the house. The Princess peeped through the window and she saw nothing other than big and little toads. She was surprised that there were really toads living in the house. 

However the house had very rich food and dishes and drinking cups made of silver.

When she knocked on the door of the old house, a little toad let her in. 

The little toad and the others were very hospitable. They made her sit down and ask her how she had ended up there.

She told them everything. Now she had realized but she had spoken more than the three words and then her Prince had asked her to say and that was the reason the iron stove and her prince had disappeared. She told the toad about that too.

The toads gave the princess food and drink and they even led to a beautiful bed made of silk when she slept for the night.

The next morning the toads told the Princess where her Prince was. They also gave her three gifts which would help her get her prince back.

The toads gave her three large needles, a plough-wheel and three nuts which she had to take good care of.

The princess thanked the toads with all her heart and set out on her journey.

Adapted from the Grimm Brothers’ Stories