Chapter Chapter 2 · How the Raja's Son won the Princess Labam.

. How the Raja's Son won the Princess Labam.

In a country there was a Raja who had an only son who every day went

out to hunt. One day the Rani, his mother, said to him, "You can hunt

wherever you like on these three sides; but you must never go to the

fourth side." This she said because she knew if he went on the fourth

side he would hear of the beautiful Princess Labam, and that then he

would leave his father and mother and seek for the princess.

The young prince listened to his mother, and obeyed her for some time;

but one day, when he was hunting on the three sides where he was

allowed to go, he remembered what she had said to him about the fourth

side, and he determined to go and see why she had forbidden him to

hunt on that side. When he got there, he found himself in a jungle,

and nothing in the jungle but a quantity of parrots, who lived in it.

The young Raja shot at some of them, and at once they all flew away up

to the sky. All, that is, but one, and this was their Raja, who was

called Hiraman parrot.

When Hiraman parrot found himself left alone, he called out to the

other parrots, "Don't fly away and leave me alone when the Raja's son

shoots. If you desert me like this, I will tell the Princess Labam."

Then the parrots all flew back to their Raja, chattering. The prince

was greatly surprised, and said, "Why, these birds can talk!" Then he

said to the parrots, "Who is the Princess Labam? Where does she live?"

But the parrots would not tell him where she lived. "You can never get

to the Princess Labam's country." That is all they would say.

The prince grew very sad when they would not tell him anything more;

and he threw his gun away, and went home. When he got home, he would

not speak or eat, but lay on his bed for four or five days, and seemed

very ill.

At last he told his father and mother that he wanted to go and see the

Princess Labam. "I must go," he said; "I must see what she is like.

Tell me where her country is."

"We do not know where it is," answered his father and mother.

"Then I must go and look for it," said the prince.

"No, no," they said, "you must not leave us. You are our only son.

Stay with us. You will never find the Princess Labam."

"I must try and find her," said the prince. "Perhaps God will show me

the way. If I live and I find her, I will come back to you; but

perhaps I shall die, and then I shall never see you again. Still I

must go."

So they had to let him go, though they cried very much at parting with

him. His father gave him fine clothes to wear, and a fine horse. And

he took his gun, and his bow and arrows, and a great many other

weapons, "for," he said, "I may want them." His father, too, gave him

plenty of rupees.

Then he himself got his horse all ready for the journey, and he said

good-bye to his father and mother; and his mother took her

handkerchief and wrapped some sweetmeats in it, and gave it to her

son. "My child," she said to him, "When you are hungry eat some of

these sweetmeats."

He then set out on his journey, and rode on and on till he came to a

jungle in which were a tank and shady trees. He bathed himself and his

horse in the tank, and then sat down under a tree. "Now," he said to

himself, "I will eat some of the sweetmeats my mother gave me, and I

will drink some water, and then I will continue my journey." He opened

his handkerchief, and took out a sweetmeat. He found an ant in it. He

took out another. There was an ant in that one too. So he laid the two

sweetmeats on the ground, and he took out another, and another, and

another, until he had taken them all out; but in each he found an ant.

"Never mind," he said, "I won't eat the sweetmeats; the ants shall eat

them." Then the Ant-Raja came and stood before him and said, "You have

been good to us. If ever you are in trouble, think of me and we will

come to you."

The Raja's son thanked him, mounted his horse and continued his

journey. He rode on and on until he came to another jungle, and there

he saw a tiger who had a thorn in his foot, and was roaring loudly

from the pain.

"Why do you roar like that?" said the young Raja. "What is the matter

with you?"

"I have had a thorn in my foot for twelve years," answered the tiger,

"and it hurts me so; that is why I roar."

"Well," said the Raja's son, "I will take it out for you. But

perhaps, as you are a tiger, when I have made you well, you will eat

me?"

[Illustration:]

"Oh, no," said the tiger, "I won't eat you. Do make me well."

Then the prince took a little knife from his pocket, and cut the thorn

out of the tiger's foot; but when he cut, the tiger roared louder than

ever--so loud that his wife heard him in the next jungle, and came

bounding along to see what was the matter. The tiger saw her coming,

and hid the prince in the jungle, so that she should not see him.

[Illustration:]

"What man hurt you that you roared so loud?" said the wife.

"No one hurt me," answered the husband; "but a Raja's son came and

took the thorn out of my foot."

"Where is he? Show him to me," said his wife.

"If you promise not to kill him, I will call him," said the tiger.

"I won't kill him; only let me see him," answered his wife.

Then the tiger called the Raja's son, and when he came the tiger and

his wife made him a great many salaams. Then they gave him a good

dinner, and he stayed with them for three days. Every day he looked at

the tiger's foot, and the third day it was quite healed. Then he said

good-bye to the tigers, and the tiger said to him, "If ever you are in

trouble, think of me, and we will come to you."

The Raja's son rode on and on till he came to a third jungle. Here he

found four fakirs whose teacher and master had died, and had left four

things,--a bed, which carried whoever sat on it whithersoever he

wished to go; a bag, that gave its owner whatever he wanted, jewels,

food, or clothes; a stone bowl that gave its owner as much water as he

wanted, no matter how far he might be from a tank; and a stick and

rope, to which its owner had only to say, if any one came to make war

on him, "Stick, beat as many men and soldiers as are here," and the

stick would beat them and the rope would tie them up.

The four fakirs were quarrelling over these four things. One said, "I

want this;" another said, "You cannot have it, for I want it;" and so

on.

The Raja's son said to them, "Do not quarrel for these things. I will

shoot four arrows in four different directions. Whichever of you gets

to my first arrow, shall have the first thing--the bed. Whosoever gets

to the second arrow, shall have the second thing--the bag. He who gets

to the third arrow, shall have the third thing--the bowl. And he who

gets to the fourth arrow, shall have the last things--the stick and

rope." To this they agreed, and the prince shot off his first arrow.

Away raced the fakirs to get it. When they brought it back to him he

shot off the second, and when they had found and brought it to him he

shot off his third, and when they had brought him the third he shot

off the fourth.

While they were away looking for the fourth arrow the Raja's son let

his horse loose in the jungle, and sat on the bed, taking the bowl,

the stick and rope, and the bag with him. Then he said, "Bed, I wish

to go to the Princess Labam's country." The little bed instantly rose

up into the air and began to fly, and it flew and flew till it came to

the Princess Labam's country, where it settled on the ground. The

Raja's son asked some men he saw, "Whose country is this?"

"The Princess Labam's country," they answered. Then the prince went on

till he came to a house where he saw an old woman.

"Who are you?" she said. "Where do you come from?"

"I come from a far country," he said; "do let me stay with you

to-night."

"No," she answered, "I cannot let you stay with me; for our king has

ordered that men from other countries may not stay in his country. You

cannot stay in my house."

"You are my aunty," said the prince; "let me remain with you for this

one night. You see it is evening, and if I go into the jungle, then

the wild beasts will eat me."

"Well," said the old woman, "you may stay here to-night; but to-morrow

morning you must go away, for if the king hears you have passed the

night in my house, he will have me seized and put into prison."

Then she took him into her house, and the Raja's son was very glad.

The old woman began preparing dinner, but he stopped her, "Aunty," he

said, "I will give you food." He put his hand into his bag, saying,

"Bag, I want some dinner," and the bag gave him instantly a delicious

dinner, served up on two gold plates. The old woman and the Raja's son

then dined together.

When they had finished eating, the old woman said, "Now I will fetch

some water."

"Don't go," said the prince. "You shall have plenty of water

directly." So he took his bowl and said to it, "Bowl, I want some

water," and then it filled with water. When it was full, the prince

cried out, "Stop, bowl," and the bowl stopped filling. "See, aunty,"

he said, "with this bowl I can always get as much water as I want."

By this time night had come. "Aunty," said the Raja's son, "why don't

you light a lamp?"

"There is no need," she said. "Our king has forbidden the people in

his country to light any lamps; for, as soon as it is dark, his

daughter, the Princess Labam, comes and sits on her roof, and she

shines so that she lights up all the country and our houses, and we

can see to do our work as if it were day."

When it was quite black night the princess got up. She dressed herself

in her rich clothes and jewels, and rolled up her hair, and across her

head she put a band of diamonds and pearls. Then she shone like the

moon, and her beauty made night day. She came out of her room, and sat

on the roof of her palace. In the daytime she never came out of her

house; she only came out at night. All the people in her father's

country then went about their work and finished it.

The Raja's son watched the princess quietly, and was very happy. He

said to himself, "How lovely she is!"

At midnight, when everybody had gone to bed, the princess came down

from her roof, and went to her room; and when she was in bed and

asleep, the Raja's son got up softly, and sat on his bed. "Bed," he

said to it, "I want to go to the Princess Labam's bed-room." So the

little bed carried him to the room where she lay fast asleep.

The young Raja took his bag and said, "I want a great deal of

betel-leaf," and it at once gave him quantities of betel-leaf. This he

laid near the princess's bed, and then his little bed carried him back

to the old woman's house.

Next morning all the princess's servants found the betel-leaf, and

began to eat it. "Where did you get all that betel-leaf?" asked the

princess.

"We found it near your bed," answered the servants. Nobody knew the

prince had come in the night and put it all there.

In the morning the old woman came to the Raja's son. "Now it is

morning," she said, "and you must go; for if the king finds out all I

have done for you, he will seize me."

"I am ill to-day, dear aunty," said the prince; "do let me stay till

to-morrow morning."

"Good," said the old woman. So he stayed, and they took their dinner

out of the bag, and the bowl gave them water.

When night came the princess got up and sat on her roof, and at twelve

o'clock, when every one was in bed, she went to her bed-room, and was

soon fast asleep. Then the Raja's son sat on his bed, and it carried

him to the princess. He took his bag and said, "Bag, I want a most

lovely shawl." It gave him a splendid shawl, and he spread it over the

princess as she lay asleep. Then he went back to the old woman's house

and slept till morning.

In the morning, when the princess saw the shawl she was delighted.

"See, mother," she said; "Khuda must have given me this shawl, it is

so beautiful." Her mother was very glad too.

"Yes, my child," she said; "Khuda must have given you this splendid

shawl."

When it was morning the old woman said to the Raja's son, "Now you

must really go."

"Aunty," he answered, "I am not well enough yet. Let me stay a few

days longer. I will remain hidden in your house, so that no one may

see me." So the old woman let him stay.

When it was black night, the princess put on her lovely clothes and

jewels, and sat on her roof. At midnight she went to her room and went

to sleep. Then the Raja's son sat on his bed and flew to her bed-room.

There he said to his bag, "Bag, I want a very, very beautiful ring."

The bag gave him a glorious ring. Then he took the Princess Labam's

hand gently to put on the ring, and she started up very much

frightened.

"Who are you?" she said to the prince. "Where do you come from? Why do

you come to my room?"

"Do not be afraid, princess," he said; "I am no thief. I am a great

Raja's son. Hiraman parrot, who lives in the jungle where I went to

hunt, told me your name, and then I left my father and mother, and

came to see you."

"Well," said the princess, "as you are the son of such a great Raja,

I will not have you killed, and I will tell my father and mother that

I wish to marry you."

The prince then returned to the old woman's house; and when morning

came the princess said to her mother, "The son of a great Raja has

come to this country, and I wish to marry him." Her mother told this

to the king.

"Good," said the king; "but if this Raja's son wishes to marry my

daughter, he must first do whatever I bid him. If he fails I will kill

him. I will give him eighty pounds weight of mustard seed, and out of

this he must crush the oil in one day. If he cannot do this he shall

die."

In the morning the Raja's son told the old woman that he intended to

marry the princess. "Oh," said the old woman, "go away from this

country, and do not think of marrying her. A great many Rajas and

Rajas' sons have come here to marry her, and her father has had them

all killed. He says whoever wishes to marry his daughter must first do

whatever he bids him. If he can, then he shall marry the princess; if

he cannot, the king will have him killed. But no one can do the things

the king tells him to do; so all the Rajas and Rajas' sons who have

tried have been put to death. You will be killed too, if you try. Do

go away." But the prince would not listen to anything she said.

The king sent for the prince to the old woman's house, and his

servants brought the Raja's son to the king's court-house to the king.

There the king gave him eighty pounds of mustard seed, and told him to

crush all the oil out of it that day, and bring it next morning to him

to the court-house. "Whoever wishes to marry my daughter," he said to

the prince, "must first do all I tell him. If he cannot, then I have

him killed. So if you cannot crush all the oil out of this mustard

seed, you will die."

The prince was very sorry when he heard this. "How can I crush the oil

out of all this mustard seed in one day?" he said to himself; "and if

I do not, the king will kill me." He took the mustard seed to the old

woman's house, and did not know what to do. At last he remembered the

Ant-Raja, and the moment he did so, the Ant-Raja and his ants came to

him. "Why do you look so sad?" said the Ant-Raja.

The prince showed him the mustard seed, and said to him, "How can I

crush the oil out of all this mustard seed in one day? And if I do not

take the oil to the king to-morrow morning, he will kill me."

"Be happy," said the Ant-Raja; "lie down and sleep; we will crush all

the oil out for you during the day, and to-morrow morning you shall

take it to the king." The Raja's son lay down and slept, and the ants

crushed out the oil for him. The prince was very glad when he saw the

oil.

The next morning he took it to the court-house to the king. But the

king said, "You cannot yet marry my daughter. If you wish to do so,

you must first fight with my two demons and kill them." The king a

long time ago had caught two demons, and then, as he did not know what

to do with them, he had shut them up in a cage. He was afraid to let

them loose for fear they would eat up all the people in his country;

and he did not know how to kill them. So all the kings and kings' sons

who wanted to marry the Princess Labam had to fight with these

demons; "for," said the king to himself, "perhaps the demons may be

killed, and then I shall be rid of them."

When he heard of the demons the Raja's son was very sad. "What can I

do?" he said to himself. "How can I fight with these two demons?" Then

he thought of his tiger: and the tiger and his wife came to him and

said, "Why are you so sad?" The Raja's son answered, "The king has

ordered me to fight with his two demons and kill them. How can I do

this?" "Do not be frightened," said the tiger. "Be happy. I and my

wife will fight with them for you."

[Illustration:]

Then the Raja's son took out of his bag two splendid coats. They were

all gold and silver, and covered with pearls and diamonds. These he

put on the tigers to make them beautiful, and he took them to the

king, and said to him, "May these tigers fight your demons for me?"

"Yes," said the king, who did not care in the least who killed his

demons, provided they were killed. "Then call your demons," said the

Raja's son, "and these tigers will fight them." The king did so, and

the tigers and the demons fought and fought until the tigers had

killed the demons.

"That is good," said the king. "But you must do something else before

I give you my daughter. Up in the sky I have a kettle-drum. You must

go and beat it. If you cannot do this, I will kill you."

The Raja's son thought of his little bed; so he went to the old

woman's house and sat on his bed. "Little bed," he said, "up in the

sky is the king's kettle-drum. I want to go to it." The bed flew up

with him, and the Raja's son beat the drum, and the king heard him.

Still, when he came down, the king would not give him his daughter.

"You have," he said to the prince, "done the three things I told you

to do; but you must do one thing more." "If I can, I will," said the

Raja's son.

Then the king showed him the trunk of a tree that was lying near his

court-house. It was a very, very thick trunk. He gave the prince a wax

hatchet, and said, "To-morrow morning you must cut this trunk in two

with this wax hatchet."

The Raja's son went back to the old woman's house. He was very sad,

and thought that now the Raja would certainly kill him. "I had his oil

crushed out by the ants," he said to himself. "I had his demons killed

by the tigers. My bed helped me to beat his kettle-drum. But now what

can I do? How can I cut that thick tree-trunk in two with a wax

hatchet?"

At night he went on his bed to see the princess. "To-morrow," he said

to her, "your father will kill me." "Why?" asked the princess.

"He has told me to cut a thick tree-trunk in two with a wax hatchet.

How can I ever do that?" said the Raja's son. "Do not be afraid," said

the princess; "do as I bid you, and you will cut it in two quite

easily."

Then she pulled out a hair from her head, and gave it to the prince.

"To-morrow," she said, "when no one is near you, you must say to the

tree-trunk, 'The Princess Labam commands you to let yourself be cut in

two by this hair.' Then stretch the hair down the edge of the wax

hatchet's blade."

The prince next day did exactly as the princess had told him; and the

minute the hair that was stretched down the edge of the hatchet-blade

touched the tree-trunk it split into two pieces.

The king said, "Now you can marry my daughter." Then the wedding took

place. All the Rajas and kings of the countries round were asked to

come to it, and there were great rejoicings. After a few days the

prince's son said to his wife, "Let us go to my father's country." The

Princess Labam's father gave them a quantity of camels and horses and

rupees and servants; and they travelled in great state to the prince's

country, where they lived happily.

The prince always kept his bag, bowl, bed, and stick; only, as no one

ever came to make war on him, he never needed to use the stick.