The four men chased the white doe. The horses of the three sons of the king tired even as they chased the doe. Baki continued the chase alone.
The doe looked like it was getting exhausted and Baki was sure that he would catch the doe.
That was when something very strange happened. The doe galloped on and touched a rock before it. The rock flew up and the doe walked into the place where the rock had been. That place where the rock hid showed the entrance to a huge cave.
The strangest thing was that once the doe went into the rock, the doe disappeared. In its place was a beautiful young woman.
The brave Baki followed the beautiful woman and he also entered a cave. The rock at the caves came back and the door closed behind.
Baki kept walking and followed the woman before him.
The two of them came up to a huge and brilliantly lighted building and great glass pillars running down the centre.
The woman sat in the palace and turned to Baki. “Who are you?”
Baki smiled at her and told her about himself.
The woman looked at Baki and she was suddenly troubled. “This palace belongs to a dangerous ogre. The ogre kidnapped me when I was young. I learnt magic here and change myself to any animal for a short duration. I am worried because anytime now, the ogre may propose to make me his wife. I can escape this place only with the help of another human.” The woman looked worried. “Can you help me?”
A second later, the woman looked around and looked even more worried. “The ogre is coming and if he finds you here, he will kill you. So hide here, as the ogre comes back.”
The girl pointed to one of the glass pillars and hid Baki in the cavity of the pillar there.
Adapted from Tibetan Folktales
No comments:
Post a Comment