Speaker 1: The charmed ring. A merchant started his son in life
Speaker 1: with three hundred rupees and bade him to go to
Speaker 1: another country and try his luck in trade. The son
Speaker 1: took the money and departed. He had not gone far
Speaker 1: before he came across some herdsmen quarreling over a dog
Speaker 1: that some of them wished to kill. Please do not
Speaker 1: kill the dog, pleaded the young and tender hearted fellow.
Speaker 1: I will give you one hundred rupees for it. Then
Speaker 1: and there. Of course, the bargain was concluded, and the
Speaker 1: foolish fellow took the dog and continued his journey. He
Speaker 1: next met with some people fighting about a cat. Some
Speaker 1: of them wanted to kill it, but others not. Oh,
Speaker 1: please do not kill it, said he. I will give
Speaker 1: you one hundred rupees for it. Of course, they at
Speaker 1: once gave him the cat and took the money. He
Speaker 1: went on till he reached a village where some folk
Speaker 1: were quarreling over a snake that had just been caught.
Speaker 1: Some of them wished to kill it, but others did not.
Speaker 1: Please do not kill the snake, said he, I will
Speaker 1: give you one hundred rupees. Of course, the people agreed
Speaker 1: and were highly delighted. What a fool the fellow was.
Speaker 1: What would he do now that all his money was gone?
Speaker 1: What could he do except returned to his father. Accordingly
Speaker 1: he went home, You fool, you scamp, exclaimed his father,
Speaker 1: when he had heard how his son had wasted all
Speaker 1: the money that had been given to him. Go and
Speaker 1: live in the stables, and repent of your folly. You
Speaker 1: shall never again enter my house. So the young man
Speaker 1: went and lived in the stables. His bed was the
Speaker 1: grass spread for the cattle, and his companions were the dog,
Speaker 1: the cat, and the snake, which he had purchased so dearly.
Speaker 1: These creatures got very fond of him and would follow
Speaker 1: him around during the day and sleep by him at night.
Speaker 1: The cat used to sleep at his feet, the dog
Speaker 1: at his head, and the snake over his body, with
Speaker 1: its head hanging on one side and its tail on
Speaker 1: the other. One day, the snake, in course of conversation,
Speaker 1: said to its master, I am the son of Raja Indrisha.
Speaker 1: One day, when I had come out of the ground
Speaker 1: to drink the air, some people seized me and would
Speaker 1: have slain me had you not most opportunely arrived to
Speaker 1: my rescue. I do not know how I shall ever
Speaker 1: be able to repay you for your great kindness to me.
Speaker 1: How glad he would be to see his son's preserver.
Speaker 1: Where does he live? I should like to see him,
Speaker 1: if possible, said the young man. Well said, continued the snake.
Speaker 1: Do you see yonder mountain. At the bottom of that
Speaker 1: mountain there is a sacred spring. If you will come
Speaker 1: with me and dive into that spring, we shall both
Speaker 1: reach my father's country. Oh, how glad he will be
Speaker 1: to see you. He will wish to reward you too,
Speaker 1: but how can he do that. However, you may be
Speaker 1: pleased to accept something at his hand. If he asks
Speaker 1: you what you would like, you would perhaps do well
Speaker 1: to reply the ring on your right hand and the
Speaker 1: famous pot and soon which you possess. With these in
Speaker 1: your possession, you would never need anything. For the ring
Speaker 1: is such that a man has only to speak to it,
Speaker 1: and immediately a beautiful, furnished mansion will be provided for him,
Speaker 1: while the pot and the spoon will supply him with
Speaker 1: all manner of the rarest and most delicious foods. Attended
Speaker 1: by his three companions, the man walked to the well
Speaker 1: and prepared to jump in. According to the snake's directions,
Speaker 1: O master, exclaimed the cat and dog when they saw
Speaker 1: what he was going to do. What shall we do?
Speaker 1: Where shall we go? Wait for me here? He replied,
Speaker 1: I'm not going far. I shall not be long away.
Speaker 1: On saying this, he dived into the water and was
Speaker 1: lost aside. Now what shall we do? Said the dog
Speaker 1: to the cat. We must remain here, replied the cat,
Speaker 1: as our master ordered, do not be anxious about food.
Speaker 1: I will go to the people's houses and get plenty
Speaker 1: of food for both of us. And so the cat did,
Speaker 1: and they both lived very comfortably till their master came
Speaker 1: again and joined them. The young man and the snake
Speaker 1: reached their destination in safety, and information of their arrival
Speaker 1: was sent to the Raja. His highness commanded his son
Speaker 1: and the stranger to appear before him, but the snake refused,
Speaker 1: saying that it could not go to its father till
Speaker 1: it was released from the stranger, who had saved it
Speaker 1: from a most terrible death, and whose slave it therefore was.
Speaker 1: Then the Raja went and embraced his son, and, saluting
Speaker 1: the stranger, welcomed him to his dominions. The young man
Speaker 1: stayed there a few days during which he received the
Speaker 1: Raja's right hand ring and the pot and spoon in
Speaker 1: recognition of his Highness's gratitude to him for having delivered
Speaker 1: his son. He then returned. On reaching the top of
Speaker 1: the spring, he found his friends, the dog and the
Speaker 1: cat waiting for him. They told one another all they
Speaker 1: had experienced since they had last seen it each other,
Speaker 1: and were all very glad. Afterwards, they walked together to
Speaker 1: the river side, where it was decided to try the
Speaker 1: powers of the charmed ring and pot and spoon. The
Speaker 1: merchant's son spoke to the ring, and immediately a beautiful
Speaker 1: house and a lovely princess with golden hair appeared. He
Speaker 1: spoke to the pot and spoon also, and the most
Speaker 1: delicious dishes of food were provided for them. So he
Speaker 1: married the princess, and they lived very happily for several
Speaker 1: years until one morning the princess, while arranging her toilet,
Speaker 1: put the loose hairs into a hollow bit of reed
Speaker 1: and threw them into the river that flowed along under
Speaker 1: their window. The reed floated on the water for many
Speaker 1: miles and was at last picked up by the Prince
Speaker 1: of that country, who curiously opened it and saw the
Speaker 1: golden hair. On finding it, the prince rushed off to
Speaker 1: the palace, locked himself up in his room, and would
Speaker 1: not leave it. He had fallen desperately in love with
Speaker 1: the woman whose hair he had picked up, and refused
Speaker 1: to eat or drink, or sleep or move till she
Speaker 1: was brought to him. The King, his father, was in
Speaker 1: great distress about the matter and did not know what
Speaker 1: to do. He feared lest his son should die and
Speaker 1: leave him without an air. At last, he determined to
Speaker 1: seek the counsel of his aunt, who was an ogress.
Speaker 1: The old woman consented to help him and bade him
Speaker 1: not to be anxious, as she felt certain that she
Speaker 1: would succeed in getting the beautiful woman for his son's wife.
Speaker 1: She assumed the shape of a bee and went along
Speaker 1: buzzing and buzzing and buzzing. Her keen sense of smell
Speaker 1: soon brought her to the beautiful princess, to whom she
Speaker 1: appeared as an old hag, holding in one hand a
Speaker 1: stick by way of support. She introduced herself to the
Speaker 1: beautiful princess and said, I am your aunt, whom you
Speaker 1: have never seen before, because I left the country just
Speaker 1: after your birth. She also embraced and kissed the princess
Speaker 1: by way of adding force to her words. The beautiful
Speaker 1: princess was thoroughly deceived. She returned the Ogress's embrace and
Speaker 1: invited her to come and stay in the house as
Speaker 1: long as she could, and treated her with such honor
Speaker 1: and attention that the Ogress thought to herself, I shall
Speaker 1: soon accomplish my Errand when she had been in the
Speaker 1: house three days, she began to talk of the charmed ring,
Speaker 1: and advised her to keep it instead of her husband,
Speaker 1: because the latter was constantly outshooting and on other such
Speaker 1: like expeditions, and might lose it. Accordingly, the beautiful princess
Speaker 1: asked her husband for the ring, and he readily gave
Speaker 1: it to her. The Ogress waited another day before she
Speaker 1: asked to see the precious ring. Doubting nothing, the beautiful
Speaker 1: princess complied. When the Ogress seized the ring, and, reassuming
Speaker 1: the form of a bee, flew away with it to
Speaker 1: the palace where the prince was lying nearly on the
Speaker 1: point of death. Rise up, be glad more and no more,
Speaker 1: she said to him. The woman for whom you yearn
Speaker 1: will appear at your summons see here is the charm,
Speaker 1: whereby you may bring her before you. The prince was
Speaker 1: almost mad with joy when he heard these words, and
Speaker 1: was so desirous to seeing the beautiful princess that he
Speaker 1: immediately spoke to the ring, and the house with its
Speaker 1: fair occupant, descended in the midst of the palace garden.
Speaker 1: He at once entered the building, and, telling the beautiful
Speaker 1: princess of his intense love, entreated her to be his wife.
Speaker 1: Seeing no escape from the difficulty, she consented on the
Speaker 1: condition that he would wait one month for her. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: the merchant's son had returned from hunting and was terribly
Speaker 1: distressed not to find his house and wife. There was
Speaker 1: the place, only just as he knew it before he
Speaker 1: had tried this charmed ring which Raja Indusha had given him.
Speaker 1: He sat down and determined to put an end to himself. Presently,
Speaker 1: the cat and dog came up. They had gone away
Speaker 1: and hidden themselves when they saw the house and everything disappear,
Speaker 1: Oh master, they said, stay your hand. Your trial is great,
Speaker 1: but it can be remedied. Give us one month and
Speaker 1: we will go and try to recover your wife and house. Go,
Speaker 1: said he, and may the great God, aid, your efforts
Speaker 1: bring back my wife, and I shall live. So the
Speaker 1: cat and dog started off at a run and did
Speaker 1: not stop till they reached the place whither their mistress
Speaker 1: and the house had been taken. We may have some
Speaker 1: difficulty here, said the cat. Look, the king has taken
Speaker 1: our master's wife and house for himself. You stay here.
Speaker 1: I will go to the house and try to see her.
Speaker 1: So the dog sat down, and the cat climbed up
Speaker 1: to the window of the room wherein the beautiful princess
Speaker 1: was sitting, and entered. The princess recognized the cat and
Speaker 1: informed it of all that had happened to her since
Speaker 1: she had left them. But is there no way of
Speaker 1: escape from the hands of these people, she asked, Yes,
Speaker 1: replied the cat, if you can tell me where the
Speaker 1: charmed ring is. The ring is in the stomach of
Speaker 1: the ogress. She said, all right, said the cat, I
Speaker 1: will recover it. If we once get it, everything is ours.
Speaker 1: Then the cat descended the wall of the house and
Speaker 1: went and laid down by a rat's hole and pretended
Speaker 1: she was dead. Now at that time a great wedding
Speaker 1: chanced to be going on among the rat community of
Speaker 1: that place, and all the rats of the neighborhood were
Speaker 1: assembled in that one particular mine by which the cat
Speaker 1: had lain down. The eldest son of the king of
Speaker 1: the rats was about to be married. The cat got
Speaker 1: to know of this and at once conceived the idea
Speaker 1: of seizing the bridegroom and making him render the necessary help. Consequently,
Speaker 1: when the procession poured forth from the hole, squealing and
Speaker 1: jumping in honor of the occasion, it immediately spotted the
Speaker 1: bridegroom and pounced down on him. Oh let me go,
Speaker 1: Let me go, cried the terrified rat. Oh let him go,
Speaker 1: squealed all the company. It is his wedding day. No, no,
Speaker 1: replied the cat, not unless you do something for me. Listen,
Speaker 1: the ogress, who lives in that house with the prince
Speaker 1: and his wife, has swallowed a ring which I very
Speaker 1: much want. If you will procure it for me, I
Speaker 1: will allow the rat to depart unharmed. If you do not,
Speaker 1: then your prince dies under my feet. Very well, we agree,
Speaker 1: said they all. Nay, if we do not get the
Speaker 1: ring for you, devour us all. This was rather a
Speaker 1: bold offer. However, they accomplished the thing. At midnight, when
Speaker 1: the ogress was sound asleep. One of the rats went
Speaker 1: to her bedside, climbed up on her face, and inserted
Speaker 1: its tail into her throat, whereupon the ogress coughed violently
Speaker 1: and the ring came out and rolled on to the floor.
Speaker 1: The rat immediately seized the precious thing and ran off
Speaker 1: with it to its kinge, who was very glad, and
Speaker 1: went at once to the cat and released its son.
Speaker 1: As soon as the cat received the ring, she started
Speaker 1: back with the dog to go and tell their master
Speaker 1: the good tidings. All seemed safe. Now they had only
Speaker 1: to give the ring to him, and he would speak
Speaker 1: to it, and the house and beautiful princess would again
Speaker 1: be with them, and everything would go on as half
Speaker 1: as before. How glad Master will be, they thought, and
Speaker 1: ran as fast as their legs could carry them. Now
Speaker 1: on the way they had to cross a stream. The
Speaker 1: dog swam and the cat sat on its back. Now
Speaker 1: the dog was jealous of the cat, so he asked
Speaker 1: for the ring and threatened to throw the cat into
Speaker 1: the water if it did not give it up, whereupon
Speaker 1: the cat gave up the ring sorry moment for the
Speaker 1: dog at once dropped it, and a fish swallowed it. Oh,
Speaker 1: what shall I do? What shall I do? Said the dog.
Speaker 1: What is done is done, replied the cat. We must
Speaker 1: try to recover it, and if we do not succeed,
Speaker 1: we had better drown ourselves in this stream. I have
Speaker 1: a plan. You go and kill a small lamb and
Speaker 1: bring it here to me, all right, said the dog,
Speaker 1: and at once ran off. He soon came back with
Speaker 1: the dead lamb and gave it to the cat. The
Speaker 1: cat got inside the lamb and lay down, telling the
Speaker 1: dog to go away a little distance and keep quiet.
Speaker 1: Not long after this and Nadar, a bird whose look
Speaker 1: can break the bones of a fish, came and hovered
Speaker 1: over the lamp and eventually pounced down on it to
Speaker 1: carry it away. On this, the cat came out and
Speaker 1: jumped on to the bird and threatened to kill it
Speaker 1: if it did not recover the lost ring. This was
Speaker 1: most readily promised by the Nadar, who immediately flew off
Speaker 1: to the King of the Fishes and ordered it to
Speaker 1: make inquiries and to restore the ring. The King of
Speaker 1: the Fishes did so, and the ring was found and
Speaker 1: carried back to the cat. Come along, now I have
Speaker 1: got the ring, said the cat to the dog. No,
Speaker 1: I will not, said the dog unless you let me
Speaker 1: have the ring. I can carry it as well as
Speaker 1: you let me have it, or I will kill you.
Speaker 1: So the cat was obliged to give up the ring.
Speaker 1: The careless dog very soon dropped it again. This time
Speaker 1: it was picked up and carried off by a kite.
Speaker 1: See see there goes away to that big tree. The
Speaker 1: cat exclaimed, Oh oh, what have I done, cried the dog.
Speaker 1: You foolish, saying I knew it would be so, said
Speaker 1: the cat. But stop your barking, or you will frighten
Speaker 1: away the bird to some place where we shall not
Speaker 1: be able to trace it. The cat waited till it
Speaker 1: was quite dark, and then climbed the tree, killed the kite,
Speaker 1: and recovered the ring. Come along, it said to the dog,
Speaker 1: when it reached the ground. We must make haste. Now
Speaker 1: we have been delayed. Our master will die from grief
Speaker 1: and suspense. Come on. The dog, now thoroughly ashamed of himself,
Speaker 1: begged the cat's pardon for all the trouble it had
Speaker 1: given him. It was afraid to ask for the ring
Speaker 1: the third time. So they both reached their sorrowful master
Speaker 1: in safety and gave him the precious charm. In a
Speaker 1: moment his sorrow was turned into joy. He spoke to
Speaker 1: the Ring, and his beautiful wife and house reappeared, and
Speaker 1: he and everybody were as happy as ever they could be.
Speaker 1: End of the Charmed Ring.