The Pale Maiden

Once upon a time in a faraway land lived a cruel knight.

The knight had plenty of land under his control. There were many peasants who lived under the control of the knight. The peasants worked day-and-night but most of the yield was taken away by the knight.

One of the peasants living under the control of the knight had a beautiful daughter. The old knight wanted to marry the peasant's young daughter.

However the young daughter did not like the old knight because he was a very cruel man.

Angry with this the old knight oppressed the peasant and his family in every way he could.

Finally unable to take it anymore, the peasant and his family decided to leave the little cottage that they occupied and go somewhere else.

Even as they were packing they heard a grating sound near the stove. The family was shocked to find a pale, transparent-looking lady near the stove. This grating sound they had heard was because the lady was trying to detach herself from the stove.

"Who are you?" The peasant was shocked.

"I am your Poverty." The woman told the peasant. "Now that you're leaving this place you have to take me with you too."

The peasant stared at the woman for a few seconds but he said nothing immediately.

"If you are coming with me then you have to help me move my belongings."

Poverty agreed.

The peasant made sure that his family carried all the other things.

After that he led Poverty to his barn where there was a log of wood. He created a wedge in the log of wood and directed Poverty to lift the log. As Poverty was about to lift the log, the peasant closed the wedge on the pale lady’s fingers.

No matter how much Poverty wailed the peasant did not come back or free her. He left her in the cottage and went to a new village.

The old knight came to the empty cottage. There he saw the pale lady in the barn and freed her.

After that the lady never left the person who freed her. The old knight eventually became very poor after he ran all his riches.

The peasant in the new village worked very hard. Soon he became one of the richest men in the place.

Polish Folk Stories

The Farmer and his Lazy Sons

Once there lived a hard working farmer. Unfortunately all the sons of the farmer were very lazy and none of his sons realized the importance of hard work.

Years later the farmer was on his deathbed.

He got all his sons to come together and gave them an important message. "I have hidden a treasure in our vineyard. The treasure buried in the vineyard is enough to keep you happy for a long time. Find the treasure and divide it equally amongst you."

In those words the farmer breathed his last.

The next day the son's dug the vineyard completely. They would not stop until they got the treasure.

But no matter how much they tried, they could not find the treasure.

The vineyard being dug and with the proper rains gave rich yields.

The sons saw the yields of the vineyard and the riches it made them. Finally, they realized that this was the treasure that the father had left for them.

They understood that hard work is the best way to get rich and followed it for the rest of their lives.

Adapted from Aesop's Fables

The Tiger Cub, the Calf and the Fox

A mother tiger has a little baby tiger in her cave. The mother tiger brought a baby fox with her to the cave one day. She wanted the little fox to be friends with the little baby tiger.

The baby fox was very happy in the cave. It had to do nothing at all. The mother tiger took care of its food and so the fox played with the baby tiger all day long.

Soon afterwards the mother tiger brought a calf to the cave. The calf was also brought there to play with the baby tiger.

The fox was however very jealous of this. He thought that everybody else loved the calf more than they loved him.

That was not true but the fox's jealousy prevented him from seeing the truth.

The fox began to plot to get rid of the calf so that things could go back to the way it had been before.

But the fox was not successful.

It so happened that the calf loved to dance and shake its horns daily in the morning. The tiger cub lied down and watched the whole thing.

This annoyed the fox some more but there was nothing he could do to stop the calf.



Soon the mother tiger became very sick.

She called her son and the calf together and told them something very important. "You are both children of different mothers, but you are brothers. Take care of each other and never believe lies that anyone tell you. And do not let others separate you."

After saying this the mother tiger breathed her last.

Now that the mother tiger was not there the fox saw his chance.

Every morning he would whisper to the tiger cub that the calf was practicing his dance and sharpening his horns to hurt the tiger.

Separately the fox would also tell the calf that the tiger was going to kill him one day.

Soon this led to a mistrust between the calf and the tiger.

The calf and the tiger were angry with each other but they did not talk about it openly.

Finally the calf angrily shook his head at the tiger. "If you want to kill me, go ahead!"

The tiger was surprised. "Why would I kill you? It is you who want to hurt me!"

Finally the two animals realized that the fox was trying to turn them against each other.



A few days later a gleeful fox saw that the tiger challenged the calf to a fight. The fox watched the fight unravel from far. That was when the fox saw that the two animals were attacking each other brutally. So he came a little closer to watch the fight better.

The fox was shocked and he did not know how to react when the tiger jumped on him and caught him with his powerful claws.

"You cannot create a fight between me and my brother calf, you silly fox," the tiger told the fox. We pretended to have this fight so that I could catch you. I am warning you. if you do not leave this place now, I will kill you."

The fox realized that the two animals had become wise and were good friends and he silently slunk away from the place, leaving the two good friends in peace.

Folk stories from Tibet

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