In
the valleys of Kashmir there once lived a rich and prosperous king who was very fond of
hunting. He would take any opportunity to go and hunt in the adjoining forests. One day
the king was about to go for a hunt when the queen insisted that she would go with him.
The king tried his best to dissuade her but she was adamant. After much perseverance the
king relented and agreed to take the queen with him to the forest.
They set out but inside the
forest they get lost and for many hours keep wandering. Finally they come across a small
cottage where a young Gujar maid is churning curd.Extremely thirsty and tired the queen asks whether there is a stream nearby.
The maid offers them butter milk but seeing the maids filthy clothes the queen refuses to
drink anything from her hands. The maid is enraged but in a demure tone offers them some
clean water in a clean mug. The king and queen drink the water and extremely tired fall
asleep . When the queen awakens she finds that her hands and feet are tied. She turns
towards the king and is horrified to see him lying on his back with thorns stuck all over his body on his arms, legs,
face and eyes. The queen manages to free herself and starts to take out the thorns out of
the kings body . She manages to take out all the thorns but just as she is about to take
out the thorns out of the kings eyes, the maid sneaks up behind her and hits her on her
head. She then ties and gags the queen and throws her into a dingy room. The maid then
pulls out the thorns out of the kings eyes.
When
the king awakens he thinks that it’s the maid who has removed all the thorns from his
body. He is extremely grateful and promises to reward her but wants to know who did this
to him. The maid tells him that it was the queen who put the thorns on his body. The king
is furious. He draws his sword and goes to kill the queen. But an inner voice tells him
that he should hear the queens version also. He removes the cloth from the queens mouth
and she tells him the whole story that it was actually the maid who had bound and gagged
her and put the thorns on the kings body. The king realises his mistake and releases the
queen. The maid is taken to the palace where she is punished.
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