The King hung his head.
"Tell me truly," continued the holy Jogi, "have you any strange woman in your palace?"
Then Ali Mardan, feeling a strange relief in speaking, told the Jogi about the finding of the maiden, so lovely and forlorn, in the forest.
"She is no handmaiden of the Emperor of China--she is no woman!"
quoth the Jogi fearlessly; "she is nothing but a Lamia--the dreadful two-hundred-years-old snake which has the power of taking woman"s shape!"
Hearing this, King Ali Mardan was at first indignant, for he was madly in love with the stranger; but when the Jogi insisted, he became alarmed, and at last promised to obey the holy man"s orders, and so discover the truth or falsehood of his words.
Therefore, that same evening he ordered two kinds of _khichri_ to be made ready for supper, and placed in one dish, so that one half was sweet _khichri_, and the other half salt.
Now, when as usual the King sat down to eat out of the same dish with the Snake-woman, he turned the salt side towards her and the sweet side towards himself.
She found her portion very salt, but, seeing the King eat his with relish and without remark, finished hers in silence. But when they had retired to rest, and the King, obeying the Jogi"s orders, had feigned sleep, the Snake-woman became so dreadfully thirsty, in consequence of all the salt food she had eaten, that she longed for a drink of water; and as there was none in the room, she was obliged to go outside to get some.
Now, if a Snake-woman goes out at night, she must resume her own loathsome form; so, as King Ali Mardan lay feigning sleep, he saw the beautiful form in his arms change to a deadly slimy snake, that slid from the bed out of the door into the garden. He followed it softly, watching it drink of every fountain by the way, until it reached the Dal lake, where it drank and bathed for hours.
Fully satisfied of the truth of the Jogi"s story, King Ali Mardan begged him for aid in getting rid of the beautiful horror. This the Jogi promised to do, if the King would faithfully obey orders. So they made an oven of a hundred different kinds of metal melted together, and closed by a strong lid and a heavy padlock. This they placed in a shady corner of the garden, fastening it securely to the ground by strong chains. When all was ready, the King said to the Snake-woman, "My heart"s beloved! let us wander in the gardens alone to-day, and amuse ourselves by cooking our own food,"
She, nothing loath, consented, and so they wandered about in the garden; and when dinner-time came, set to work, with laughter and mirth, to cook their own food.
The King heated the oven very hot, and kneaded the bread, but being clumsy at it, he told the Snake-woman he could do no more, and that she must bake the bread. This she at first refused to do, saying that she disliked ovens, but when the King pretended to be vexed, averring she could not love him since she refused to help, she gave in, and set to work with a very bad grace to tend the baking.
Then, just as she stooped over the oven"s mouth, to turn the loaves, the King, seizing his opportunity, pushed her in, and clapping down the cover, locked and double-locked it.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Snake-woman in the oven]
Now, when the Snake-woman found herself caught in the scorching oven, she bounded so, that had it not been for the strong chains, she would have bounded out of the garden, oven and all! But as it was, all she could do was to bound up and down, whilst the King and the Jogi piled fuel on to the fire, and the oven grew hotter and hotter. So it went on from four o"clock one afternoon to four o"clock the next, when the Snake-woman ceased to bound, and all was quiet.
They waited until the oven grew cold, and then opened it, when not a trace of the Snake-woman was to be seen, only a tiny heap of ashes, out of which the Jogi took a small round stone, and gave it to the King, saying, "This is the real essence of the Snake-woman, and whatever you touch with it will turn to gold."
But King Ali Mardan said such a treasure was more than any man"s life was worth, since it must bring envy and battle and murder to its possessor; so when he went to Attock he threw the magical Snake-stone into the river, lest it should bring strife into the world.
THE WONDERFUL RING
_Once_ upon a time there lived a King who had two sons, and when he died he left them all his treasures; but the younger brother began to squander it all so lavishly that the elder said, "Let us divide what there is, and do you take your own share, and do what you please with it."
So the younger took his poition, and spent every farthing of it in no time.
When he had literally nothing left, he asked his wife to give him what she had. Then she wept, saying, "I have nothing left but one small piece of jewellery; however, take that also if you want it."
So he took the jewel, sold it for four pounds, and taking the money with him, set off to make his fortune in the world.
As he went on his way he met a man with a cat "How much for your cat?" asked the spendthrift Prince.
"Nothing less than a golden pound/ replied the man.
"A bargain indeed!" cried the spendthrift, and immediately bought the cat for a golden sovereign.
By and by he met a man with a dog, and called out as before, "How much for your dog?" And when the man said not less than a golden pound, the Prince again declared it was a bargain indeed, and bought it cheerfully.
Then he met a man carrying a parrot, and called out as before, "How much for the parrot?" And when he heard it was only a golden sovereign he was delighted, saying once more that was a bargain indeed.
He had only one pound left. Yet even then, when he met a Jogi carrying a serpent, he cried out at once, "O Jogi, how much for the snake?"
"Not a farthing less than a golden sovereign," quoth the Jogi.
"And very little, too!" cried the spendthrift, handing over his last coin.
So there he was, possessed of a cat, a dog, a parrot, and a snake, but not a single penny in his pocket. However, he set to work bravely to earn his living; but the hard labour wearied him dreadfully, for being a Prince he was not used to it. Now when his serpent saw this, it pitied its kind master, and said, "Prince, if you are not afraid to come to my father"s house, he will perhaps give you something for saving me from the Jogi." The spendthrift Prince was not a bit afraid of anything, so he and the serpent set off together, but when they arrived at the house, the snake bade the Prince wait outside, while it went in alone and prepared the snake-father for a visitor. When the snake-father heard what the serpent had to say, he was much pleased, declaring he would reward the Prince by giving him anything he desired. So the serpent went out to fetch the Prince into the snake-father"s presence, and when doing so, it whispered in his ear, "My father will give you anything you desire. Remember only to ask for his little ring as a keepsake."
This rather astonished the Prince, who naturally thought a ring would be of little use to a man who was half starving; however, he did as he was bid, and when the snake-father asked him what he desired, he replied, "Thank you; I have everything, and want for nothing."
Then the snake-father asked him once more what he would take as a reward, but again he answered that he wanted nothing, having all that heart could desire.
Nevertheless, when the snake-father asked him the third time, he replied, "Since you wish me to take something, let it be the ring you wear on your finger, as a keepsake."
Then the snake-father frowned, and looked displeased, saying, "Were it not for my promise, I would have turned you into ashes on the spot, for daring to ask for my greatest treasure. But as I have said, it must be. Take the ring, and go!"
So the Prince, taking the ring, set off homewards with his servant the serpent, to whom he said regretfully, "This old ring is a mistake; I have only made the snake-father angry by asking for it, and much good it will do me! It would have been wiser to say a sack of gold."
"Not so, my Prince!" replied the serpent; "that ring is a wonderful ring! You have only to make a clean square place on the ground, plaster it over according to the custom of holy places, put the ring in the centre, sprinkle it with b.u.t.termilk, and then whatever you wish for will be granted immediately."
Vastly delighted at possessing so great a treasure as this magic ring, the Prince went on his way rejoicing, but by and by, as he trudged along the road, he began to feel hungry, and thought he would put his ring to the test. So, making a holy place, he put the ring in the centre, sprinkled it with b.u.t.termilk, and cried, "O ring, I want some sweetmeats for dinner!"
No sooner had he uttered the words, than a dishful of most delicious sweets appeared on the holy place. These he ate, and then set off to a city he saw in the distance.
As he entered the gate a proclamation was being made that any one who would build a palace of gold, with golden stairs, in the middle of the sea, in the course of one night, should have half the kingdom, and the King"s daughter in marriage; but if he failed, instant death should be his portion.
Hearing this, the spendthrift Prince went at once to the Court and declared his readiness to fulfil the conditions.
The King was much surprised at his temerity, and bade him consider well what he was doing, telling him that many princes had tried to perform the task before, and showing him a necklace of their heads, in hopes that the dreadful sight might deter him from his purpose.
But the Prince merely replied that he was not afraid, and that he was certain he should succeed.
Whereupon the King ordered him to build the palace that very night, and setting a guard over him, bade the sentries be careful the young boaster did not run away. Now when evening came, the Prince lay down calmly to sleep, whereat the guard whispered amongst themselves that he must be a madman to fling away his life so uselessly.
Nevertheless, with the first streak of dawn the Prince arose, and making a holy place, laid the ring in the centre, sprinkled it with b.u.t.termilk, and cried, "O ring, I want a palace of gold, with golden stairs, in the midst of the sea!"
And lo! there in the sea it stood, all glittering in the sunshine.
Seeing this, the guard ran to tell the King, who could scarcely believe his eyes when he and all his Court came to the spot and beheld the golden palace.
Nevertheless, as the Prince had fulfilled his promise, the King performed his, and gave his daughter in marriage, and half his kingdom, to the spendthrift.
"I don"t want your kingdom, or your daughter either!" said the Prince. "I will take the palace I have built in the sea as my reward."