There
once lived a king , noble and prosperous. The King had a son – the young
Prince. The King wanted that his son should get married and settle down. But each time he
would bring up this subject, the Prince would shirk away saying that there was
no hurry.
Finally one day the King sent for the Prince and said
to him that he should get married as he was young and it was about time. The King
had seen the daughter of one of the neighboring Kings and liked her and the Prince should
consider marrying her. To this the Prince replied that he would like to marry a girl as
per his choice whom he feels he can vibe with and after he has judged her in terms
of wisdom even though she may be a beggars daughter as time can change fortunes. He would
like to go around the kingdom dressed like a commoner and find a girl he would want to
marry. The King agrees and says that he will accept any decision the Prince
makes.
The next day the Prince leaves the palace unknown
to anyone wearing ordinary clothes. On the way he meets a middle aged man. They
greet each other and the man asks the Prince who he is. The Prince answers that he is a
nomad and wanders from place to place wherever destiny takes him. The man introduces
himself as Sudhakar and tells the Prince that he had gone to the city for some work
and was now returning home. He lives in a village 15 miles away and his daughter
would be waiting for him. Sudhakar offers the Prince to come with him as the Prince has no
place to stay. The Prince accepts his offer and they set out.
They reach a hill and start walking up. The Prince says
that to continue the journey he needs some support. To this Sudhakar breaks a small branch
of a tree and hands it to the Prince. The Prince replies that this is not the support he
wants. Sudhakar does not understand and shrugs. They come to a small town and pass
through it. Nobody pays any attention to them. The Prince says what a nice graveyard
that was. Sudhakar does not understand and shrugs again. They come upon a graveyard
with a little cottage. An old man greets them and gives them food and refreshments.
When they leave the Prince says what a nice town that was. Sudhakar again does not
understand and thinks the Prince is mad calling the town a graveyard and the
graveyard a town.
Finally they reach Sudhakars house where his daughter
is waiting for them.. His daughter cooks for them and the Prince is very impressed with
her but he wants to know how intelligent this girl is. Sudhakar narrates to
her the incidents about the branch, the town and the graveyard and how he thought that the
statements made by the Prince were weird. His daughter understands and says that instead
of a branch, Sudhakar should have offered a story to keep the journey pleasant and
not tiring. A town which does not greet or welcome outsiders is as good as a graveyard and
a person in a graveyard who welcomes travellers and is hospitable towards them is like a
town.
The Prince is totally won over by her response and
reveals his true identity and asks Sudhakar for his daughters hand in marriage. Sudhakar
is overjoyed but is apprehensive as he is not a wealthy man. The Prince assures him
that wealth is not a criteria for him. He marries Sudhakars daughter and the two
live happily ever after. |
