Sages Daughter and a Mouse
(From the Hitopadesha)
Once, a childless sage found a
she-mouse dropped by a kite. Believing it was a divine sign, he transformed her
into a girl. His wife, seeing her as a blessing, raised her as their own. Soon
the Girl grew into a beautiful maiden. By the age of sixteen, the Sage’s wife
decided to get her daughter married.
The Sage liked the idea and
suggested that the Sun God would make the best match for their daughter. The
Sage prayed to the Sun God to appear. When the Sun God appeared, the Sage asked
him to marry his daughter. But the Girl refused the idea and said, “Sorry! I
can’t marry the Sun God as he is burning hot. I will be reduced to ashes in his
warmth and light”. The Sage got disappointed to hear this from the Girl.
The Sage asked the Sun God if he
could suggest a groom for his daughter. The Sun God said, “The Lord of Clouds
could make a good match for her, as he is the only one, who can easily stop the
rays of the Sun”. The Sage then prayed to the Lord of Clouds to appear and
asked him to marry his daughter. But the Girl once again rejected the proposal
and said, “I don’t want to marry a dark person like him. Besides this, I am
terrified of the thunder he generates”. The Sage was disheartened once again
and asked the Lord of Clouds if he could suggest a possible groom. The Lord of
Clouds said, “Wind God can make a possible match for her as he can easily blow
me away”.
The Sage then prayed to the Wind
God to appear and asked him to marry his daughter. The Daughter declined the
idea and said, “I can’t marry a frail person like the Wind God who is always
stirring”. Once again, the sage got sad and asked the Wind God to give some
suggestion. The Wind God replied, “Lord of Mountain is solid and can stop the
hard blows of wind easily. He can make a suitable match for your daughter”.
As per the kind suggestion made by
the Wind God, the Sage went to the Lord of Mountain and asked him to marry his
daughter. But the Girl once again declined the proposal and said, “I can’t
marry the Lord of Mountain because he is too cold-hearted”. She asked the Sage
to find a softer groom for her. The Sage took Mountain Lord’s suggestion for
the same. The Mountain Lord replied, “A mouse will make a perfect match for her
as he is soft and can easily make holes in the mountain”.
The daughter approved the idea of
marrying a he-mouse. Moreover, she was pleased with this proposal. The Sage
said, “This is destiny.
No comments:
Post a Comment