🧚 Rupsinh and the Queen of the Anardes.

Once upon a time there was a great king of Guzarat, who died leaving two sons Phulsinh and Rupsinh.1 On the father’s death Phulsinh mounted the throne.2 In no long time he died leaving a widow and no children and Rupsinh became king of Guzarat, although still a little boy.3 Phulsinh’s widow would have burnt herself on her husband’s pyre had not the townspeople bidden her live and care for their child king.4

The widowed queen was very wise and clever.5 So deft was she with her fingers that she could dress her hair with oil and afterwards press the hair so skilfully that not a drop of oil remained in it.6 On a day when Rupsinh was a lad of fifteen, he lay asleep with his head resting on the lap of the queen.7 As he slept, she dressed his hair with oil and then began to squeeze it out.8 By chance she pulled out one of Rupsinh’s hairs.9 Rupsinh awoke and said crossly: “You are not so clever to-day as usual with your fingers, or you would not have pulled out my hair.”10 The queen said with a laugh: “Yes, I am getting old and make mistakes.11 If you want someone who will never make mistakes, you had better marry the queen of the Anardes.”12 The queen was only joking, for the Anardes were a race of fairies.13 But Rupsinh took her words in earnest and cried “Marry the queen of the Anardes, then, I will!14 And till I have done so, I shall neither eat nor drink inside my kingdom.”15 The poor queen regretted bitterly her words and begged the young king to pay no heed to them.16 But the headstrong boy would not mind her.17 He told his grooms, to saddle his horses.18 “Shew me,” he said to the queen, “the house of the queen of the Anardes.19 If not, I shall seek her without your aid.20 I shall ask my way and with God’s help I shall find it.”21 The widowed queen was greatly grieved at the way the boy king had taken her words; still, she thought it best now to help him on his way, rather than to thwart him.22

She said: “If you will go, my King, then heed my words carefully, for the road is long and full of perils.23 Trust none whom you meet or you will perish miserably.24 On leaving the palace gates ride to the north.25 In three days’ time you will come to a dense forest.26 Ride boldly into it and in its very heart you will find a lake.27 But beware of the lake and do not bathe in it or drink its waters.28 If you do, you will die; for the lake is a fairies’ lake and no mortal who bathes in it or drinks its waters can live.29 Ride therefore past the lake until you come to a great mountain.30 Avoid the mountain; for near it lives a monstrous elephant; and should it see you, it will trample you to death.31 Beyond the mountain you will come to Thugtown, a town full of thugs and cheats.32 They will kill you if they can.33 If you can outwit the men of Thugtown, you will come next to a beautiful wood.34 Here above all be on your guard, for the wood is peopled by demons who live on human flesh.35 Beyond the demon’s wood lie the lands of the Princess Phulpancha.36 She is so called because her weight is only that of five flowers.37 In her country you will surely die; but if someone will drop on your body three drops of Amrita, or ambrosia from the bottle that I give you, you will come back to life.38 Such are the perils that await you, yet if you still wish to go, take with you my blessing.”39 As the widowed queen spoke, her voice trembled and the tears rolled down her cheeks, for she loved Rupsinh as if he had been her own son.40 She put in the youth’s hands a bottle of Amrita.41 He took it, bowed his head to her feet, mounted his horse and spurring it along the northern road was soon out of sight.42

Three days later Rupsinh saw, as he rode, the forest of which the widowed queen had spoken.43 He rode into it and rejoiced in the shade of the great trees overhead.44 Suddenly he saw in front of him, like a sheet of silver, a beautiful lake.45 Forgetting what the widowed queen had said, he let his horse walk to the edge and quench its thirst.46 A moment later he heard a noise of wings above him.47 He looked up and saw a great company of fairies on horseback flying towards the lake.48 The young king in a fright turned his horse’s head towards the road and tried to spur it into a gallop.49 But the poison of the fairy lake was killing the poor horse and after trying feebly to answer to the spur, it fell down dead.50 The king undid the girths and taking with him the saddle ran to a big tree close by and climbed into its branches.51 The fairies had not seen him, so they dismounted; tied their horses to trees and plunged gaily into the fairy lake.52 Rupsinh slipped down from his tree and slipped noiselessly to where the queen of the fairies had tethered her horse and put his saddle on its back.53 He jumped on it and galloped off.54 The fairies did not notice their loss until they came out of the water.55 The queen was in great distress; and she and other fairies followed Rupsinh’s tracks until they came near the elephant mountain.56 Far off they saw Rupsinh galloping away on the fairy queen’s horse.57 They called to the elephant to stop him, as he was a horse thief.58 The elephant ran after the king and caught him and his horse in its mighty trunk.59 Carrying them to the mountain, it tried to crush them to death against one of its steep sides.60 The young king was in despair.61 Then regaining courage, he slashed so fiercely at the elephant’s trunk with his sword that it let him and the horse go.62

Rupsinh galloped away until he reached Thugtown.63 At its gate he saw an old man sitting.64 As the king rode up, the old man rose and with great courtesy said “Welcome, Thakor.65 Your father married you when a child to my daughter; and yet you have never come to see her until now.”66 “This is Thugtown,” thought the king, “and the old man must be one of the thugs who live there.”67 Still Rupsinh could not but return the old man’s greeting.68 He said “My father died so long ago that I cannot remember him at all, nor anything he did.69 It was only the other day that I heard from a kinsman that my father had married me to your daughter.70 I at once set out to claim my bride.”71 The old man bade the king enter the town and stay at his house, that he might meet his daughter.72 They entered the town gates together.73 At the old man’s door his four young sons came out and greeted the king as their brother-in-law.74 At night they would have led him to a room at the top of the house.75 But the king guessed that in the night they meant to throw him from the window.76 He said he could not sleep anywhere but on the ground floor.77 He was so obstinate that the old man at last put a bed for him in the verandah on the ground floor, while he and his sons slept in rooms off it.78 The king kept awake all night.79 It was well he did so.80 The queen of the fairies, who had never ceased to follow her horse’s tracks, came to the old man’s house and saw Rupsinh lying in the verandah.81 She tied a magic thread round his ankle and ran to the stable to mount the horse which the king had stolen.82 But Rupsinh untied the thread and tied it round the ankle of the old man.83 He had no sooner done so, than the magic thread became quite taut.84 The fairy queen had mounted her horse and riding off dragged the old man after her.85 She never thought of looking back, but galloped straight off to the elephant mountain.86 There she threw him before the elephant, who at once trampled the old man to death.87 In the meantime Rupsinh drew his sword.88 Going to the beds of the four sons, he sternly demanded his horse.89 One of the four sons went to the stable to saddle it.90 As it was not there, Rupsinh made him give him one of the old man’s own horses instead.91 He then rode as fast as he could out of Thugtown.92

Rupsinh rode north for some hours when he saw in front of him a beautiful wood.93 He at once recalled the widowed queen’s warning about the demons who lived in it.94 He entered it.95 Suddenly he saw two demons fighting together.96 When they saw the king they stopped fighting and began to laugh.97 Rupsinh laughed back and then asked them what amused them.98 “We have not tasted human flesh,” said one of the demons, “for twelve years.99 When we saw you we laughed for joy.100 But why did you laugh?”101 “I am a messenger of the god Shiva” said Rupsinh.102 “The parchment on one of his drums is torn and he sent me out to get two demon skins with which to repair it.103 The drum is so big that the skin of one demon would not be enough.104 So when I saw two demons in front of me, I laughed for joy.”105 Rupsinh drew his sword and rode at the demons as if to skin them alive.106 In an agony of fear they begged him to take the skin of their blind uncle instead.107 “One demon’s skin will not do,” said the king sternly; “besides the skin of a blind demon would sound hollow.”108 The demons in despair offered Rupsinh a large ransom, but he would not accept it.109 At last they offered him a flying machine known as a pavanpavdi.110 “In it,” they said, “you can fly all over the sky and whenever you see a demon on earth, you can come down and skin him.”111 The king took the pavanpavdi and tied it on to his horse’s back and rode on until he crossed the borders of the Princess Phulpancha’s country.112 Some time later he reached her town and lodged with an old woman who owned a garden outside the city.113

The king had not been there many days before the princess came to hear of him.114 One day as he rode under her window her maid-servants whispered to her, “That is the young king, my Princess.”115 Phulpancha on the spot fell in love with him.116 One day Rupsinh came to his lodging, hungry and thirsty, and asked the old woman to cook him some food at once.117 The old woman said that she could not, as she was weaving garlands for the Princess Phulpancha.118 The king bade the old woman cook his dinner while he wove the garlands, which he did very skilfully.119 He then took off his diamond ring and hid it in one of them.120 When his dinner was ready, he ate it and the old woman went to the palace with the garlands.121 As the Princess put them round her neck, her fingers touched the diamond ring.122 She knew that it must have been sent to her by Rupsinh, as he lodged with the old woman.123 Some days later Rupsinh left his lodging and dressed as a poor Rajput, went to the court of Phulpancha’s father and asked for service.124 The old king was pleased with Rupsinh’s speech and bearing and made him chief of the guards round the Princess’ palace and paid him three gold pieces a day.125 In this manner Rupsinh came to see the Princess almost daily and told her all about himself.126 Some days later came the weighing of the Princess Phulpancha.127 It was the custom of the land that once a year the Princess should be weighed on a pair of magic scales.128 If no man but the king had seen her during the previous year, her weight would only be that of five flowers.129 But if a man had seen her, her weight would be that of an ordinary girl of her age and height.130 At the appointed hour Phulpancha sat on one of the scales, while the weigher put five flowers on the other.131 Instead of the five flowers balancing the Princess, her scale clung obstinately to the ground; and it was not until two maunds had been put in the other, that the Princess began to move upwards.132 The old king made enquiries and came to know that Rupsinh had several times spoken to Phulpancha.133 Instantly he had Rupsinh hanged, from the branch of a tree.134 Fortunately before entering the king’s service, Rupsinh had told the old woman of the garden about the Amrita.135 Hearing of the poor young king’s execution, she went at night and sprinkled three drops of Amrita over his body.136 Rupsinh came to life again.137 But the old woman fearing the old king’s anger would not take him back.138 Rupsinh was at first at his wit’s end.139 Then he remembered the demons’ pavanpavdi and seating himself in it he rose in the air and flew northwards.140