Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: June 2, 2025
Now, however, he forgot all about that, only thinking how he could make as much use as possible of the son who had become a king. He wanted to go back at once alone, but the uncles were not going to allow that. They meant to get all they could out of Putraka too; and the three selfish men, who were now quite old, set off together for the land they had left so long ago.
What are you quarrelling about?" The men were greatly surprised to hear Putraka's voice, for they thought that they were quite alone. They stopped fighting for a minute or two, and one of them said: "We are fighting for three very precious things which were left behind him by our father." "What are those things?" asked Putraka. "A bowl, a stick and a pair of shoes," was the reply.
If you had been the lady who found Putraka in Patala's room, what would you have done? What could Putraka have done to guard against being discovered? After hesitating a long time, the lady made up her mind that she would only put some mark in the turban of Putraka, so that he could be known again, and let him escape that night at least.
Slowly the spell cast on them was broken, and they dropped their weapons, prostrated themselves, and clasped their hands in an appeal for mercy to the man they had meant to destroy. Putraka looked at them quietly and sadly. He felt no anger against them, only a great thankfulness for his escape.
Which of the people in this story do you like best? Do you think Putraka deserved all the happiness which came to him through stealing the wand, the shoes and the bowl? Can you suggest any way in which he could have atoned for the wrong he did to the brothers whose property he took? What is the chief lesson to be learnt from this story? The Jewelled Arrow.
"Why don't you run a race for them?" suggests Putraka; and, as the two blockheads start furiously off, he quietly picks up the bowl, ties on the shoes, and flies away! It is unnecessary to cite further illustrations. The tales here quoted are fair samples of the remarkable correspondence which holds good through all the various sections of Aryan folk-lore.
If Putraka had not had his shoes with him, how could he have escaped from the king's palace? Great indeed was the delight of Patala when her beloved Putraka once more flew in at her window; but she was still trembling with fear for him and begged him to go away back to his own land as quickly as possible. "I will not go without you," replied Putraka.
He rose from his throne, and stretching out his hand, he cried: "Let him be scourged and placed in close confinement!" Then Putraka with his staff wrote rapidly on the ground his wish that no one should be able to touch him, and stooping down slipped on his magic shoes.
Can you suggest anything else Putraka might have done in the matter? Just what the young king hoped came to pass. Wherever the Brahmans went they talked about the country they came from and the wonderful young king who ruled over it. Putraka's father and uncles, who were after all not so very far off, heard the stories about him, and asked the Brahmans many questions.
The first thing Putraka and Patala did after the rise of their own town, which they named Patali-Putra after themselves, was to get married in accordance with the rites of their religion; and for many, many years they reigned wisely over their people, who loved them and their children with all their hearts.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking