The Bronze Ring Part-2

 For a few months the gardener's son and the princess lived happily as husband and wife in the kingdom.

In the same kingdom lived a man who practiced black magic and sorcery. This man realised that the source of the gardener's son's power and fame was the bronze ring that the gardener's son had.

One day the princess saw a man selling lovely red fishes in the market.

"How much are these fishes?" The princess asked the man who was selling the fish.

"I will take only a bronze ring for these fishes." The man replied with a sly smile.

The princess was perplexed. "Where shall I find a bronze ring?"

"Underneath the cushion of the princess," the man replied immediately.

The princess was surprised. 

But she went to her palace and she was surprised to find a bronze ring under her pillow. 

She removed the ring and gave it to the man in return for the red fishes.

Needless to say the man who was well versed in black magic and sorcery now had the bronze ring for himself. 

Now he commanded the genie of the bronze ring. "Let the golden ship turn into a ship with weak wood. Let all the crew of the ship become old. Let the cargo of the gold become into black cats."

On seeing this the gardener's son realized that somebody had stolen his bronze ring.

Realizing that whoever had the bronze ring had probably taken his wife too, the gardener's son set sail from the place in his old ship.

The gardener's son had become very poor and he and his crew with the cargo roamed from one island to another. The gardener's son and his crew found nothing else other than herbs and roots to eat. 

Finally they reached an island which was infested by mice.

The hungry cats in the cargo were let loose on the island. The cats ate many mice there. 

The remaining mice were worried and they held a council before their queen on how to stop the cats.

"We should approach their captain so that he will take away the cats with him," the queen finally decided after listening to her ministers.

The gardener's son heard the queen mouse and he told her his own story. 

So it was decided that the mice would get the bronze ring back to the gardener's son and the gardener's son would take away his cats with him.

But the Queen mouse was at a loss. She did not know how to get the bronze ring. So she called all the mice all over the world to help her.

Finally three mice came to help the Queen. One of the mice was blind the other was lame and the third mouse had its ears cropped.

The three mice knew where to find the bronze ring with their uncanny abilities.

They made a boat and set sail to the gardener's son's kingdom.

The blind mouse stayed on the ship looking after it. 

The other two mice slowly walked towards the sorcerer. They found that the sorcerer had the bronze ring hidden inside his mouth. So even though he was asleep they could not take the ring out without the sorcerer knowing about it.

The mouse with its ears cropped thought about it and dipped its' tail in oil and then in pepper. The mouse went near the sleeping sorcerer and made the sorcerer sneeze. 

The ring fell out of the sorcerer's mouth. 

The lame mouse took the ring and hid it.

After noticing that the sorcerer had not woken up the two mice made their way back to the boat.

The three mice happily set sail back to their own island.

Unfortunately on looking at the bronze ring the three mice fought with each other. Each believed that the bronze ring could not have been obtained without their help.

"I looked after the ship so that it did not sail away in the water."

"I made the sorcerer sneeze."

"I took the ring and hid it from the sorcerer."

In the fight between the three mice the ring fell into the water.

The three mice were aghast. They did not know what to do. 

All the three mice decided to hide in another island, instead of facing their queen and telling her what had actually happened. 

Adding on top of their woes there was a sudden storm and their boat was overturned. So even as the three mice hid on the island their boat was gone.

On the new island the three mice were stunned.

One of the fishes from the sea had been swept into the island because of the storm and the fish laid dead on the land. 

What the three mice could not believe was that this fish had unknowingly swallowed the bronze ring.

The three mice happily took the ring and made another boat and went back to the queen and gave her the bronze ring.

Once the gardener's son got back his ring the cats were taken off the island and things went back to normal there. 

The sorcerer was punished for his deeds. 

The gardener's son and the princess got back their kingdom and lived happily ever after.

Adapted from the Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

The Bronze Ring Part-1

 A long ago in a particular kingdom there was a king who had a large spacious garden space outside his palace. 

No matter what the king did or how many good gardeners he employed from his kingdom, no fruits or flowers grew in the garden space.

The king did not know what to do so he approached his courtiers. 

One of the courtiers studied all the gardeners whom the king had employed. " Your majesty, you should employ somebody who comes from a family of gardeners. They are the only ones who will understand the soil and do justice to your garden space."

The king looked far and wide and finally found a family of gardeners in another kingdom. He sent his ministers to employ the gardener. 

The ministers paid the debt of the gardener and brought him to the king's kingdom.

The gardener then set about to work on the garden space outside the king's palace.

In no time at all the place was blooming with flowers and fruits of all kinds and the aroma and the sights of the garden was dizzyingly beautiful.

The gardener had a son who was very handsome and brave.

The king's daughter saw the young man and needless to say she fell in love with him.

When the princess reached a marriageable age the king asked the princess about whom she wanted to marry. 

The king was shocked when the princess said that she wanted to marry the gardener's son. 

The king was even more worried because he wanted the princess to marry one of his minister's sons.

The king spoke with some of his courtiers about this problem and he hit upon an idea.

The very next day the king announced in court. "I would provide resources for both the minister's son and the gardener's son to go to other kingdoms and make their name  for themselves. The person who was successful and returned to his kingdom first would win my daughter's hand."

The minister's son was given a powerful horse, and a strong ship with good workers, to complete his assignment.

On the other hand the gardener's son was given an old horse and a ship with worn out timber and old workers, for his adventures.

The minister's son naturally set off first and he had reached the ship easily without any problems.

The gardener's son slowly drove his old horse from his house to the sea port where his ship was situated.

As the gardener's son slowly drove his old horse,  he met an old woman on the road. The kind gardener's son gave the old woman his money and let the woman drive with him to the place that she wanted to go.

They passed the neighbouring kingdom. 

That was when they heard an announcement.

"The king of the place has lost his youth. He has now become old and feeble. Any person who is able to give the king back his youth shall win untold riches."

The old woman turned to the gardener's son. "You have been kind to me so I will let you in on a secret." The old woman pointed to the gates of the kingdom. "Just outside you will find three dogs of three different colours - black brown and red. Kill those dogs. Gather the ashes of those dogs and return to the kingdom. Announce that you are a physician from Janina in Albania and that you are the only one who can cure the king's disease." The old woman looked sconfully at the people in the kingdom. "The people here would not believe you." The old woman nodded at the gardener's son. "Convince them otherwise and go and meet the king." The old woman pointed at the palace. "There you will find the king lying on his bed. Spread the ashes that you have collected on the king. Within some time the king will emerge as a young man in his twenties."

The youth looked disbelievingly.

However the old woman caught the young man's hands and looked even more serious.  "After that the king will offer you untold riches but you must ask only for the bronze ring that the king has. The bronze ring can grant the wearer any wish that they want."

The youth set out to find the dogs.

The youth was successful there and then he returned to the kingdom. 

Exactly as the old woman had predicted no one believed his claims and the people of the kingdom tried to belittle him. With great difficulty the gardener's son convinced the people around him that he could really cure the king.

Once inside the palace he found the old king lying on his bed. He followed the instructions of the old woman. 

In no time the king emerged as a young man.

*******

"All my riches are yours." The king cried in happiness. 

"I want only your bronze ring, your majesty." The young man told the king in a firm voice.

The king was reluctant at first but realized that he had given his word and handed over the bronze ring to the young man.

The young man took the bronze ring and spoke into it. "I want to have a strong golden ship with excellent workmen which will take me across the seas."

The young man was surprised to find a marvelous gold ship with strong sailors in the waters before him.

The gardener's son set sail to the neighbouring kingdom and reached there within a few days.

There the gardener's son found the minister's son in a very poor condition. The minister's son had lost all his wealth as he was roaming around moving dust and rubbish to earn his living.

The gardener's son first branded the back of the minister's son. 

Thereafter the gardener's son created an old ship with the help of his bronze ring. 

He gave an old ship to the minister's son and asked him to go back to his kingdom.

The minister's son reached his own kingdom first and went directly to the king.

"I have won the bet." The minister's son hid all the other details about how he had managed to come back to the kingdom and asked the king for the princess's hand.

A king was a little unhappy on seeing the minister's son in the old broken down ship. 

But he was happy that it was the minister's son who had won the bet and not the gardener's son. So he happily agreed to the marriage. 

The entire kingdom was in a festive mood.

It was at this time that a handsome young man sailed in a golden ship into the kingdom.

The king was beyond happy to see the rich handsome man. He did not recognise the handsome man In his rich clothes. 

The king offered the rich, young man  a room in his own palace. "My daughter is getting married. I would be happy if you give my daughter away in marriage to my minister's son."

Until then the princess had been very unhappy with the turn of events. But the fact remained that the minister's son had won the bet so she had no say in the matter. 

But on seeing the rich handsome stranger her heart was filled with happiness.

The handsome young man looked at the minister's son and gravely shook his head at the king. "I am afraid I cannot give your daughter away to this man. He is a slave." The young man waved at the beautiful princess. "Your daughter does not deserve to marry a man who had been a slave."

The king was shocked. 

The young man was however not done not yet done. "If you do not believe me, you will see my brand on the minister's son's back."

Needless to say, the marriage function was stopped. 

But now that the festivities for a marriage were already going on the king offered his daughter's hand to the rich handsome stranger. 

That was when the king also recognised that the rich handsome stranger was none other than the gardener's son. 

The marriage between the princess and the gardener's son took place with great pomp and show and was celebrated all over the kingdom.

Adapted from the Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Intelligence and Luck

This is a story of Intelligence and Luck.

The two entities were having a heated debate about who was more important in a person's life.

Then Luck saw a peasant working in a field. Luck pointed at the peasant and told Intelligence, "If you change the life of that boy then I will admit that you are superior."

So Intelligence entered the peasant whose name was Vanek.

Vanek then suddenly realised that he did not have to spend his whole time in the farms and instead he could work in the king's garden.

So the very next day he went and told his father that he wished to work In the king's garden and not here.

The father was not very happy with this but it was obvious that Vanek's mind was made up.

So the father decided that the farm and the cottage that a father owned would go to his other son. The father decided that Vanek would not get anything.

Vanej did not care. He went to the king's gardener that very evening. He joined as an apprentice under the king's gardener.

Vanek worked hard at the king's garden.

A wide variety of flowers bloomed there and the garden looked beautiful all through the year. Soon it so happened that the king frequently enjoyed walking in the gardens along with his daughter, and the daughter's little dog to admire the garden.



The king's daughter, the princess, was a beautiful woman. Unfortunately since her twelfth year the princess was unable to talk. The king tried everything to change this. But the princess did not utter a word.

Finally the king announced that anyone who would get the princess to talk would win her hand in marriage.

Many princes from the neighbouring kingdoms tried to get the princess to talk but were unable to do so.

After learning about this, Vanek decided to help the princess.



On coming to the princesses room Vanek saw the dog.

Instead of talking with the princess, Vanek conversed with the dog.

"I will tell you a story," Vanek told the dog. "It is a story of me, a sculptor and a tailor. It so happened that we were staying in a small abandoned hut for the night. Each one of us had to keep watch while the others slept in the night. The sculptor kept watch first. The sculptor had a log of wood and he created a statue of a damsel. The tailor woke up when it was his turn to keep watch. The tailor asked the sculptor about the statue. The sculptor said he sculpted the damsel to pass his time. After the sculptor slept, the tailor clothed the statue. I woke up and saw a clothed statue of the damsel and the tailor told me what he had done. During the time that I was awake I taught the statue to talk." Vanek smiled at the dog. "As soon as all the three of us woke up in the morning we fell in love with the talking damsel." Vanik grinned at the dog. "Now why don't you tell me to whom the damsel belongs to?"

"The damsel belongs to you, as you were the person who taught the damsel to speak." The reply came from the princess. "What use is your life and clothes when you cannot talk and express yourself?"

Everyone in the kingdom was thrilled.

********

But the king was worried now. According to the promise that he had made, he would have to marry the princess to Vanek.

The king offered riches to Vanek.

But Vanek now wanted to marry the princess and nothing else satisfied him.

The other courtiers also supported the king because Vanek was not a king or a prince.

Instead of rewarding the man who had made his daughter talk, the king wanted to kill Vanek.

The king sentenced Vanek to death.

*******

It was at this time that Luck took over.

It so happened that every single time the sentence to kill Vanek was to be carried out something thwarted it.

Besides, the princess also loved the man who had finally taught her to talk.

The king realised his folly.

And with the help of Luck Vanek married the princess and became the Prince of the land.

It is believed that since that day Intelligence stays well clear of Luck.

A folk story from Bohemia

The Mediator

Once in a forest in a tree lived two partridges. The partridges were best of friends and talked with each other daily.

One of the partridges lived in the branches of a tree whereas the other bird lived in the hole at the base of the same tree.

Once one of the partridges flew away in search of food. But that time the partridge did not return in the evening.

The other partridge grew worried as his friend did not return for the next three days. The partridge living in the branch of the tree was afraid that the partridge which had flown away had been injured or killed. But there was nothing that he could do. Finally after three days, the partridge living in the tree decided that something untoward had happened to his friend and left it at that.

That evening a rabbit came to the tree. The rabbit wanted to live in the empty hole at the base of the tree.

The partridge who lived in the branches of the tree saw this but he realized that now that his friend was no more, this rabbit could live in the base of the tree.

A day later the other partridge returned. He had found a great place with lots of good food. But he had eaten quite a lot of food there and he had become fat.

That was when the partridge saw that his home had been taken over by the rabbit.

The partridge and the rabbit fought over whom the hole at the base of the tree belonged to.

Finally they decided to go to a mediator to decide the matter.

In the same forest lived a cat. The cat pretended to be very pious. So he always sat still and made sure he did not attack the small animals that came near him. The cat kept this up for a day or two.

It was at this time that the rabbit and the partridge came there looking for a mediator.

"Let us go and talk to him. The cat seems very noble and will surely help us." Said the rabbit.

"Be careful." The partridge warned. "The cat is a natural enemy to both birds and rabbits. We have to stay far away from the cat so that he cannot pounce on us."

The rabbit agreed to this. Both the rabbit and the package bowed to the cat. "Great soul! Would you please solve a dispute between us?" Both the smaller animals spoke together from a far away position.

The cat studied the two animals. "You should know I have given up violence. I am following the path of nonviolence and peace. But I am very old. I cannot listen to you. Please come a little closer so that I may be able to listen to your problems and settle any disputes that you may have."

The two small animals did not understand the import of the cat's words. They were impressed with the cat’s words and foolishly they went forward to present their case better.

The cat saw the opportunity and pounced on the two small animals and killed them immediately.

The clever cat kept to his act and he was never hungry after that.

Adapted from the Panchatantra

The Wise Weaver

Once a king was in his court hearing his people. At that time an envoy from the neighbouring kingdom came to his court.

The envoy spoke no words. He merely drew a huge circle in the middle of the court.

After drawing the circle the envoy sat by the side patiently.

The envoy was very silent after that.

A few minutes later it became obvious that the circle drawn by the envoy was a message and that the envoy would offer no other explanations for his actions or his reason to come here.

The king did not know what the circle meant neither did his ministers.

The king decided to ask the common people in his kingdom about the meaning of the circle.

Under the orders of the king the courtiers and the ministers announced the actions of the envoy to the common people of the kingdom.

Most of the people in the kingdom stared blankly at the riddle.

However one particular courtier felt that a wise old man could know the meaning of the riddle. So the courtier went to the house of the old man to see if the old man could help with the puzzle.

The courtier was surprised as soon as he entered the house. There he saw a swing gently swinging itself in the first room. In the second room the courtier saw another swing swinging itself. The swinging moved making sure that the branches of a willow tree moved to scare away the sparrows which could come and eat the corn from the field near the house.

In the basement of the house the courtier found a weaver. But surprisingly the weaver was not doing any work himself. He had obviously built a machine which followed his commands. The weaver directed the machine and the weaving machine would work by itself.

The courtier was sure that the weaver would be able to solve the riddle.

And so the courtier told the old weaver everything.

The weaver smiled as soon as he heard the words of the courtier.

From a nearby hen-coop the weaver picked up a knuckle-bone first. The weaver also picked up a hen and went with the courtier to the king's court.

There the weaver saw the envoy sitting patiently at the side of the court.

The weaver placed the knuckle bone right next to the circle drawn by the envoy. 

As a reply the envoy threw millet seeds all over the place. 

The weaver then placed the hen which ate up all the millet seeds. 

A second later the envoy got up and left the place.

The king and his ministers looked surprised. "What is the meaning of all this?" The king asked the weaver.

The weaver smiled. "The envoy was a messenger of the neighbouring king. With the circle the envoy wanted to know what you would do if the neighbouring king surrounded our kingdom with all their soldiers? The envoy wanted to know whether you would lay down your arms and stop fighting and hand over the kingdom to them."

The king was astonished as the weaver continued "I told him that all these threats were not serious and were just toys like the knuckle-bone for us."

"And the millet seeds?" The king asked anxiously.

"That meant that the neighbouring king could order more soldiers from other places too."

The Weaver studied his hen and smiled at the king "I replied that we could easily destroy all the men that they would bring to our kingdom, just as the hen had eaten all the millet seeds."

"The envoy probably realised the futility of the attack and went away, your majesty," the weaver told the king.

The king was overwhelmed with the wise Weaver and thanked him profusely. 

The king gave the weaver a huge plot of land where the weaver could live for the rest of his life with wealth and prosperity. 

None of the neighbouring kingdoms ever attacked this kingdom because they had all realised that this kingdom had clever and wise people and the people of this kingdom would always fight back and win.

From the Olive Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

A story of fishes

Long ago it was believed that the fishes lived on land and not in water. The fishes did everything that the other animals did on land.

Once a tribe of fishes came back from hunting.

It was hot so the fishes decided to rest under a huge tree near the bank of a river.

Thuggai who was the chief of the fishes along with Biernuga, the bony fish and Kumbal, the bream, cooked the food that they had hunted.

Guddhu was a cod fish and he was always quiet. The other fishes all were looking at the fire that they had created to cook their food. Some fishes were happily dancing around the fire.

After eating their hearts fell the fishes were tired and they all went to sleep.

It so happened that while the fishes were asleep, dark clouds gathered at the place that they were sleeping. The dark clouds started pouring immediately.

Worse, an icy chill wind also blew through the place.

The fishes were huddled miserably in the rain and cold wind because the fire that the fishes had created had been put out because of the rains. Under the direction of Thuggai, the other fishes tried to build the fire again. But none of the fishes could do it. Finally a little young fish told Thuggai that the cod fish had magic in him and he could create a fire.

Guddhu patiently started creating a fire and soon he was successful.

As soon as the fire started burning, Guddhu asked the other fishes to bring more wood. They were about to bring more wood when a gust of wind blew through the place.

The fishes were at the back of a river. So when the gust of wind blew all the fishes were thrown into the water.

The fishes were trembling even worse in the water and that was when the wind blew the fire also inside the water.

Unlike on land the fire is not put out under the water. The warmth of the fire spread throughout and the fishes decided to stay around the fire to keep themselves warm forever.

That is why on the cold surface of water when ice is formed on the surface of the water, underneath the surface, the waters are warm. It is quite pleasant and unlike the fishes you will be sorry that you cannot stay there forever.

Folk Story from Australia

The Boy and the Evil dragon

 A boy once lived with his parents. 

But the boy was very bored there. He wanted some adventures in his life.

That was when he heard that a dragon had attacked the outskirts of his village. The dragon carried off women and children from the outskirts. It was believed that the dragon carried away the women and children to the far side of the mountains where the dragon supposedly lived. And there the dragon ate the people whom it had taken from the outskirts!

It was even rumoured that the dragon could change form into any animal or even a human if the dragon so wished.

*****

The boy decided to help the people in his village. With the blessings of his parents he set off the very next morning. 

He walked deep into the mountains and that was when he found another young man walking up the mountain.

"Where are you going?" The young man asked the boy.

The boy was slightly suspicious that the young man could be the dragon in disguise. Though the boy dismissed his own suspicions, the young boy lied to the man about the real reason he had come to the mountains.

"My home is just around the corner there." The young man told the boy, "Why don't you come with me?"

The boy said nothing and just stared at the young man.

"You seem tired, you can have some food and have some rest at my home." The man offered studying the boy.

The boy was very hungry and tired so he agreed to the man's suggestion.

******

The boy was shocked when he found some bones near the outside of the man's house. He found an old woman stirring and cooking in a pot under fire outside the house.

"What will you have to eat?" The old woman asked the boy.

"Just some corn." The boy told the old woman because he was unsure of what she was cooking under the fire.

******

The young man had some work outside and left the boy and the old woman alone for sometime. It is during this time that the young boy talked to the old woman. 

She looked at him with kind eyes. "You seem to be a very good and innocent boy. For this I shall tell you something important. The man whom you have met is actually the dragon in disguise. The dragon plans on eating you tomorrow morning. You have to escape this place as soon as possible."

"How do I do that?" The boy asked the old woman.

"Take these shoes and this birch bark with this picture with you. These shoes are magical. With one step in these shoes you will be able to reach those mountains there." She pointed at a far away blue mountain. "After you reach the place you will meet an old man. Give him this birch bark, and he will tell you what to do after that." The old woman suddenly looked worried. "But remember no matter how far you go the dragon will find you by evening."

The boy thanked the old lady.

The old lady suddenly caught the boy's hands.

The boy looked surprised as the old woman continued. "Before leaving you must kill me in the morning."

"Why?!"

"After killing me," the old woman continued, "you must wrap me in this colourful robe. That is the only way I can break the power that the dragon has over me. I can bring myself back from the dead after the dragon has left me here."

The boy agreed to this too.

******

The entire night the dragon man slept next to the boy. So the boy could not escape the place. 

The next morning the dragon went to the stream to get some water. 

The boy killed the old woman and wrapped her in a colourful robe. The boy then put on the shoes that the old woman had given him and he took a step.

The boy was shocked because he found himself near the far away blue mountain immediately. He even found an old man there. 

The old man looked at the birch bark in the boy's hands and smiled. "So you are the young man for whom I am supposed to wait."

But the old man did not wait for a reply from the boy. 

The old man gave another birch bark and another set of shoes to the boy and pointed at a far away pink mountain. "One step in these shoes should take you to those hills and there you will find another old man and he will tell you what to do."

The boy did as he was told. 

There he found another man who gave him a Maple leaf and his last set of instructions. 

The old man told the boy to find a stream and walk into the waters as if it were land. But the old man warned the boy not to look at the water. The old man also gave the boy, a birch bark  and said that the birch bark would help the boy change appearance and also keep him safe.

*******

The boy did all this very easily.

He felt the power of the birch wood and that was when he saw the dragon far off coming towards the mountain.

He realised that the dragon had found him by evening.

The boy immediately changed himself into a little fish and swam in the stream.

******

The dragon man looked around but could not find the boy anywhere. The dragon man found a little fish in a stream. "Little fish, have you seen a young boy here?"

"No," the little fish replied and swam away.

After that all the animals in the forest including the great Turtle either lied to the dragon or misdirected the dragon away from the boy.

Finally the dragon changed into a Snake and it was directed by the Turtle towards a portion in the stream.

There the boy with the help of his birch bark swam round and round in the water creating a violent whilrpool.

The dragon in the form of the Snake is about to drown in the whirlpool, when the boy changed his form and picked up the Snake. 

The boy cut off the head of the Snake. 

The dragon was no more.

******

The boy went back to the house of the dragon and found that the old woman was alive.

He received many gifts for his deed and he became very well known as a brave boy.

The kingdom never had to fear dragons again.

But even now the Snakes are hated in that particular village because the dragon man had taken the shape of a Snake before meeting its end.

A Canadian Native American folk story