SHORT STORIES

THE PRINCE OF RUBY

Once upon a time, there was a time when. . . A beggar in far-off Persia had a lucky break. The fast-flowing river close to the town shrank back to its old bed after a rapid flood, leaving mud and slime on the banks. A gleaming ruby stone attracted the beggar's eye in the dirt. He snatched it up and dashed out to see a friend who worked in the royal cooks.

He approached the man, eager, "How many meals would you give me for this brilliant stone?"

The cook screamed, "But this is a ruby!" "You must immediately present it to the Shah!" So the beggar delivered the stone to the Shah the next day, who asked him, "Where did you get this?"

"Lying in the mud on the riverbank, Sire!" he exclaimed.

"Hmm!

"Now why did the great river leave you such a treasure?" pondered the Shah. For the stone, I'll offer you a bag of gold. Will that suffice? " The beggar couldn't believe what he was hearing.

He stammered, "Sire, this is the most amazing day of my life." "Please accept my heartfelt gratitude!"

"This is the biggest ruby I've ever seen," the Shah told Fatima, his daughter, before locking the large stone away in his treasure chest. "I shall gift it to you for your 18th birthday!"

Fatima smiled as she looked at the stone in her fingers and put her arms around her father's neck.

"It's fantastic! Thank you so much; I'm sure it'll bring me good fortune!"

On Fatima's birthday a few months later, the Shah went to get the ruby as promised. When he raised the lid of the box, he was taken aback when a lovely young man stepped out, smiling and saying, "The ruby you seek no longer exists! I've taken its place. I'm the Ruby Prince. Please don't ask me how this miracle occurred. It's a secret I can never reveal!"

When the Shah recovered from his shock, he erupted into a raging wrath.

He yelled, "I lost a valuable stone, discovered a prince, and I'm not permitted to inquire why?"

"I'm sorry, Sire," the prince said, "but nothing and no one can force me to tell you how I came here."

The Shah was incensed by these statements and immediately resolved to punish the young guy for his impertinence.

"I guess you are now my servant, since you have taken the position of my ruby," he thundered.

"Of course, Sire," the young guy said confidently.

The Shah screamed, "Good!" "Then take my gold sword, and if you defeat the dragon of Death Valley that's preventing caravans from going through the forest, I'll give you the hand of my daughter Fatima."

Many a gallant young man had died trying to slay the horrible dragon, and the Shah was certain that the Ruby Prince would follow in their footsteps.

The Ruby Prince headed off for Death Valley, armed with the Shah's sword. He yelled for the dragon to appear as he approached the edge of the dense black forest. But all he got was an echo of his own voice. He was ready to fall asleep leaning against a tree trunk when he was startled awake by the sound of shattering branches. The earth trembled as a terrifying hissing got louder and louder. The dreadful dragon was approaching.

The enormous dreadful beast reared up in front of him, its jaws gaping. Unlike the other valiant soldiers who had gone before him, the prince resolutely kept his ground, taking a step forward and striking first with a powerful blow.

The Ruby Prince was called a hero when he returned to the castle with the dragon's head. As a result, Fatima and the Ruby Prince married and had a happy life together. Fatima, on the other hand, grew increasingly intrigued about her husband's past as time went on.

"I have no idea who you are," she grumbled. "At the very least, tell me who you are and where you used to live!"

When the Ruby Prince heard such comments, he turned white and exclaimed, "I can't tell you. You mustn't ask, or you risk losing me forever!"

Fatima, on the other hand, was plagued by the desire to know. Fatima pleaded with him to divulge his secret one day as they sat by the river that ran through the Shah's gardens.

"I can't!" exclaimed the young man, white-faced.

"Oh, please! Please tell me!" Fatima pleaded again.

"You know I'm not capable..."

The Ruby Prince paused for a moment, softly stroking his beloved wife's hair. He then made his choice.

"I don't want you to suffer like this, but if you absolutely need to know, I'll tell you..."

A large wave washed him into the river and dragged him under the water just as he was about to confess his secret.

The terrified Princess ran along the bank in vain, wailing for her husband. He had, however, vanished. Fatima summoned the guards, and the Shah personally came over to console her. The Princess, on the other hand, became depressed, knowing that her misguided interrogation had resulted in the disaster. Her favorite handmaiden rushed up to her one day.

She exclaimed, "Your Majesty!" "Last night, I saw the most incredible thing: a slew of tiny lights appeared on the river, then a thousand little genies draped the river bank in flowers, and such a handsome young man began to dance in honor of an old man who appeared to be a king, and beside the king stood a young man with a ruby on his forehead. I thought he was..."

Fatima's heart skipped a beat, wondering whether the young man with the gem was her husband.

The Princess and her handmaiden went into the garden that night and took cover behind a tree near the water's edge. At 12 a.m., little lights began to glitter on the river, and then a stately old man with a white beard emerged from the water, clad in a golden robe and wielding a sceptre.

Fatima recognized her spouse in the young man standing beside the throne. She emerged from her hiding place, veiling her face, and gracefully began to dance. At the conclusion, she was met with a thunderous ovation. Then a voice came from the throne.

"Ask us anything you want for such a magnificent dance, and it will be provided!"

"Give me back my husband!" Fatima wailed as she tore the veil from her face.

The old king pushed himself up to his feet. "Take back your husband, the Ruby Prince, as the King of the Waters of Persia has promised, but remember how you lost him and be wiser in the future!"

The floods then opened and closed over the King and his Court once more, leaving Fatima and the Ruby Prince reunited and joyful on the bank.