SHORT STORIES

The Mysterious Bed

On a particularly hot day, a young Prince, or Rajah as they are known in India, had spent the morning hunting in the jungle and had lost sight of his companions by noon. So he took a seat under a tree to rest and eat some cakes that his mother had sent him.

He discovered an ant in the first one when he shattered it. There were two ants in the second, three in the third, and so on until there were six ants and the Ant-King himself in the sixth.

The Prince remarked to the Ant-King, "I think these cakes belong to you more than they do to me." "Take them all, since I'm going to bed."

"We are grateful for the cakes and have gobbled them up," the Ant-King murmured after a while, crawling up to the Prince's ear as he lay there sleeping. In exchange, what can we do for you? ”

"I have everything I need," the Prince said to himself as he slept. "I can't spend all of my money, I have too many jewels to wear, and too many servants to count, and I'm bored of them all."

"You'd never get weary of Princess Lalun," the Ant-King responded. "You should look for her, since she is as beautiful as the morning."

The ants had all vanished when the young Prince awoke, and he felt terrible about it because he remembered what the Ant-King had said about Princess Lalun.

"The only thing left for me to do is figure out where this princess lives," he told himself.

So he continued through the forest till nightfall, where a tiger waited roaring alongside a pool.

"Do you want something to eat?"

", the Prince inquired. "What's the matter?" says the narrator. ”

"I'm not hungry," the tiger said, "but I have a sore on my foot that hurts a lot."

The Prince then leapt from his horse and examined the tiger's foot. He then removed the thorn and covered the wound with healing leaves wrapped in a piece of cloth torn from his turban.

A tigress crashed down through the jungle just like he was about to saddle his horse again.

"How lovely!"

" she sobbed. "Here's a man we can eat," says the narrator.

"No, no," her husband said. "He has been quite helpful to me. I am grateful to him for removing a thorn from my foot. If he needs assistance at any time, we must provide it."

"We'd be better off eating him," moaned the tigress, but her husband snarled so loudly in response that she bolted into the bush.

"However," the tiger explained, "there is a fakir or holy beggar in the next jungle who has a magic bed that will transport you anyplace you choose to go." He also possesses a bag that will give you anything you ask for, as well as a stone bowl that will fill itself with water as frequently as you ask. If you can obtain these items, you will almost surely be able to locate Princess Lalun."

The Prince was ecstatic, and he set out to find the fakir. He discovered him sitting under a tree on the outskirts of the bush, with his bed to one side and his bag and bowl on the other.

When the fakir heard what the Prince desired, he sat extremely still for a long time before asking, "Why do you seek Princess Lalun?" ”

"Because I want to marry her," the Prince stated solemnly.

"Look into my eyes while I hold your hands," the fakir continued, and the Prince recognized that he was someone he could trust as he did so.

The fakir then promised to lend him the items and look after his horse until the Prince returned.

"Now lie down on the bed, you wish yourselves in Princess Lalun's realm," urged the fakir, and the Prince spread himself out on the bed, holding the bag and the stone bowl.

The Prince then said, "Take me to Princess Lalun's realm," and with that, he was gone, crossing the seven jungles and three mountain ranges in less than a minute, and landing within the boundaries of the realm where Princess Lalun resided.

The Princess's father's name was Afzal, and he was the country's king or Rajah. He was tired of saying "No" to so many princes who wanted to marry his daughter. Then he tried giving them impossible tasks to do in order to get rid of them that way, but they still came, so Rajah Afzal decided to keep foreigners out of his country entirely. As a result, he issued an edict prohibiting anyone from providing a stranger with a night's accommodation.

When the Prince asked if he could spend the night at an elderly woman's cottage, she assured him that the Rajah would not allow it.

"Is it possible for me to carry my mattress in your yard and stay there?" " he inquired. "Can't I join you for supper?" ”

"All I have for tonight is rice," the elderly woman replied, shaking her head. But the Prince pleaded so earnestly that she agreed, and he placed his suitcase on the table.

Then he addressed the bag. "Bag, I want to eat something!" " And then the sack burst open, revealing a delicious meal for two people. So the Prince ate with the old woman. The cuisine was delectable, and it was served on gold-plated plates with gold spoons.

The old woman said she'd go to the well for some water once they finished eating.

"You don't have to do that," the Prince remarked, tapping the bowl with his finger. “Bowl! "I want water!" he screamed. " The old woman immediately filled the bowl with water and began washing the gold dishes and utensils.

"You may have the plates and spoons for your own if you would let me stay with you for a short while," the Prince stated, before ordering the bowl to be refilled with water and washing his hands in it.

"My bowl offers me all the liquid I want, while my purse gives me anything else I ask for," the Prince said. They belong to a holy fakir, and if you took his belongings out of the house tonight, he could be enraged."

"The rage of a Rajah is something to be feared, but the anger of a fakir might be far worse," the old woman added after a lengthy silence.

"Did you count them?" says the narrator. ", the Prince inquired. "There are twelve gold plates and twelve gold spoons," the elderly lady said as she tucked them beneath her bed. "You may stay," she added, "but be careful not to be caught by the Rajah's men."

By this time, it was night, and the Prince and the old woman sat in the dark because the dwelling lacked a lamp. "The Rajah forbids the usage of lamps," she explained. "At night, his daughter, Princess Lalun, sits on the roof of her palace and sparkles, illuminating the entire land."

When the King went outside, a lovely silver radiance flooded the chamber, and he saw the Princess seated on the top of her palace. Her black hair flowed to almost her feet, and her saree or garment was made of silver gauze.

She wore a band of gold and pearl around her neck, and the light she gave off was as brilliant as the sun, moon, and stars combined.

"The Ant-Rajah was correct," the Prince stated. "Her beauty transforms night into day and darkness into brightness." The Princess Lalun should never make me tired."

The Princess descended from her roof and returned to her room at midnight. The Prince then sat down on his bed, holding his suitcase. "Bed, carry me to the Princess's palace!" he exclaimed. " As a result, the bed whisked him away to where she was fast asleep. After that, he shook the bag. "Bag," he continued, "I want a wonderful shawl with red, blue, and gold embroidery!" " It was given to him by the bag, and he carefully spread it over the Princess." Then he was taken back to the old woman's cottage by the bed.

The bag provided breakfast, dinner, and supper for the Prince and the old woman the next day, and when night fell, the Princess perched on the roof once more. Her saree this time was white silk with diamond butterflies on it, and she gleamed even brighter than before.

At midnight, the Princess returned to her room, and the Prince instructed his bed to return him to the palace. "Bag, I want a really lovely ring!" he remarked to his bag. " The bag gave him a ruby ring, which he put on the Princess's hand while she slept, and when she awoke, the Prince told her who he was."

When the Princess saw what a noble, gorgeous young man he was and learned that he was the son of a renowned Rajah and that he had brought her the magnificent shawl the night before, she fell in love with him and told her father and mother that she wanted him as her husband. The Prince then returned to the elderly lady's cottage.

The next day, Princess Lalun's father, Rajah Afzal, summoned the Prince and informed him that he could marry the Princess if she so desired.

"But first," he insisted, "do this for me." You have eighty pounds of mustard seed to smash and extract the oil from in one day."

As he walked away from the palace, the Prince exclaimed, "It's impossible." "How am I going to accomplish it?" "When the old woman heard about it, she exclaimed, "It's impossible." It could only be done by an army of ants."

The Prince then thought of the Ant-Rajah, and the Ant-Rajah and all his ants slipped beneath the door and into the room the precise second he thought of him.

"We'll take care of it," the Ant-Rajah answered. "Go to sleep and leave it to us," the Prince said, and when he awakened in the morning, there was not a drop of oil left in the mustard-seed, so he took it to the King with a light heart.

"That is excellent," Rajah Afzal replied, "but I have another task for you to complete." I caught two demons while up in the hills one day, and I kept them imprisoned there in a cage. I want them slain because I'm afraid they'll break out and attack my people. If you can kill them, you can marry Princess Lalun."

"How am I supposed to combat two demons?" " When he returned to the old woman's cottage, the Prince inquired.

"Only a couple of tigers could do it," the old woman said, and the Prince's tigers appeared at the door as soon as he remembered them.

The tiger said, "Take us to the King."

When the Prince questioned if the tigers could battle the two demons, the Rajah claimed they could because he was desperate to get rid of them. The entire court came to watch the combat, and the tigers defeated the devils.

"There is only one thing more," Rajah Afzal answered when the Prince asked, "Now you will give me your daughter." You will marry Princess Lalun if you can beat my kettledrum."

"Can you tell me where your drum is?"

", the Prince inquired.

The Rajah said, "Up there in the sky."

"I'm not sure how I'm going to climb up into the sky," the Prince moaned. "This is the most difficult assignment of all," he returned to the cottage and told the old woman, "My ants crushed his oil, my tigers killed his demons, but who is going to beat his kettle-drum up in the sky?" ”

"You're quite foolish," the elderly lady observed. "Don't you suppose your bed can lift you up into the sky if it can carry you across seven jungles and three mountain ranges?" ”

"It's extremely unusual; I never considered that," exclaimed the Prince as he sat down on his small bed. It flew up into the sky, where he pounded the kettle-drum with the handle of his hunting knife so loudly that the King heard him.

When the Prince returned, the Rajah remarked, "The wedding shall take place as soon as you wish," and the Prince returned the bed, bowl, and bag to the fakir.

Then invitations to the wedding were issued to all of the neighboring countries' kings and queens, and when they were married, the Prince returned to his own country with Princess Lalun.