Once upon a time there was a King who had seven sons, and he made
up his mind that he would not let them marry unless they married
seven sisters, so he sent his Brahmin to seek a Rajah who had seven
daughters, and to bring him word. After a time the Brahmin succeeded,
and found a Rajah who had seven daughters; so arrangements were
speedily made for their marriage.
When the time came for the seven Princes to go and fetch their brides,
the youngest said to his father: "If we all go, who is to look after
the house, and all your property? Let me remain behind, and when my
brothers return with their wives, they can bring my bride also."
His father thought this a very wise suggestion, so they set out,
leaving the youngest brother at home.
After the wedding festivities were over, the seven brides were carried
along in doolies, with the six Princes for an escort, and they halted
for the night near a tank or pond in the forest, but did not know
that the place was full of tigers. At night the tigers formed a ring
round the camp, and said they would eat every one in it unless one
of the Princesses was given up to them.
None of the six Princes would give up his wife. At last they decided
to leave the seventh Princess to the tigers.
When the procession arrived at the Rajah's Palace, the youngest Prince
wondered why only six doolies had come, and asked what had become of
his bride; but nobody would give him an answer.
At last an old man told him what had happened, and the young Prince,
who was very angry and disappointed with his brothers, at once set
out to seek his bride.
On the way he met a rat and a jackal, and they said: "May we go with
you?" The Prince consented, and the three set out together, and walked
or rode till evening, when they were overcome with fatigue and sat
down to rest.
The Prince fell asleep, but the jackal said to the rat: "I am very
hungry, what shall we do for food? Do you eat the Prince's clothes,
and I will eat his horse."
No sooner did they agree than they carried out their plan. The rat
ate all the clothes worn by the Prince, and the jackal ate his horse,
so that when he awoke it was to find himself alone in the forest,
without either horse or clothes.
Just then a monkey came down from the tree, and asked him what was
the matter.
"I have told my troubles to two animals before, and do not wish to be
betrayed by a third," said the Prince; to which the monkey replied:
"A rat is a rat, and a jackal is a jackal, but I am a monkey; come
with me and I will help you out of your troubles."
Then they went to the Bazaar, where the monkey gave his friend the
Prince some money, and told him to buy himself clothes. When he
had bought the clothes, he gave him some more money and said to buy
himself a sword and ornaments, and lastly to buy himself a horse,
and the monkey advised that it should be a thin horse, fleet of limb.
Then the two mounted the horse and rode into the forest, where they
soon found the Princess sitting tied up in a den, with an old blind
tiger in charge of her. The blind tiger held two strings; one was
attached to the girl, and the other to a large tiger who had gone
out with the rest of the tigers, but who, at the slightest pull of
the string, was ready to return to give any assistance required of him.
The monkey whispered to the girl to try and free herself, and meantime,
he began to sweep the room, and busy himself, so that the old blind
tiger might think the girl was busy at her household work.
After a time the girl managed to get away, and she fled with the
Prince, until the monkey thought they were at a safe distance; then
he turned round and dealt several blows to the old blind tiger, who,
in her turn, pulled the string. A great big tiger at once came to
her assistance, and asked what had happened, but he was enraged to
find that the girl had gone, and beat the old tiger soundly, before
setting off in hot pursuit.
On the way he saw a man, who was in reality the monkey in disguise,
sitting beside a funeral pyre.
"What is this for?" asked the tiger.
"A certain tiger," said the monkey, "has killed his mother to-day,
and this is to burn her upon."
The tiger felt remorse, for he had not meant to kill the old tiger,
so he rushed back to the den, and this gave the fugitives time to
escape yet further; but when the tiger found his mother alive and
well, he was so angry that he dragged her out of the den by her feet
and threw her on the ground.
Then he ran back to where the monkey was sitting and found him still
busy with the funeral pyre, for he said that an old woman had been
dragged out by her feet that day, and she was even now being carried
to be burnt.
The tiger was filled with remorse at what he had done, and for a
second time ran back to the den. By this time both the Prince and
the Princess had escaped in safety, and the monkey joined them.
They were always good to him, but he pined for the woods and the
forests; yet, whenever he asked to be allowed to return, they would
not allow it. So one day he determined to make the Princess so angry
that she would herself turn him out. He awaited his opportunity,
and broke all the thread as she was spinning. The Princess threw
something heavy at his head, and he feigned to fall down dead.
Great were the lamentations over the faithful monkey, and he was
carried in solemn ceremony to be burnt, just as though he were a
Rajah's son; but the moment they laid him upon the fire, up he jumped,
and ran off.
The Princess scolded him for causing her such sorrow, but he explained
that since there was no other way of getting back into the forest
and regaining his liberty, he had thought this the best way. Then
they all came home, and let the monkey sport in the forest as before.