_PUNCHKIN._
Once upon a time there was a Rajah[25] who had seven beautiful
daughters. They were all good girls; but the youngest, named
Balna,[26] was more clever than the rest. The Rajah's wife died when
they were quite little children, so these seven poor Princesses were
left with no mother to take care of them.
[25] King.
[26] The Little One.
The Rajah's daughters took it by turns to cook their father's dinner
every day,[27] whilst he was absent deliberating with his ministers on
the affairs of the nation.
[27] See Notes at the end.
About this time the Purdan[28] died, leaving a widow and one daughter;
and every day, every day, when the seven Princesses were preparing
their father's dinner, the Purdan's widow and daughter would come and
beg for a little fire from the hearth. Then Balna used to say to her
sisters, "Send that woman away; send her away. Let her get the fire
at her own house. What does she want with ours? If we allow her to
come here, we shall suffer for it some day." But the other sisters
would answer, "Be quiet, Balna; why must you always be quarreling with
this poor woman? Let her take some fire if she likes." Then the
Purdan's widow used to go to the hearth and take a few sticks from it;
and, whilst no one was looking, she would quickly throw some mud into
the midst of the dishes which were being prepared for the Rajah's
dinner.
[28] Or, more correctly, _Prudhan_, Prime Minister.
Now the Rajah was very fond of his daughters. Ever since their
mother's death they had cooked his dinner with their own hands, in
order to avoid the danger of his being poisoned by his enemies. So,
when he found the mud mixed up with his dinner, he thought it must
arise from their carelessness, as it appeared improbable that any one
should have put mud there on purpose; but being very kind, he did not
like to reprove them for it, although this spoiling of the currie was
repeated many successive days.
At last, one day, he determined to hide and watch his daughters
cooking, and see how it all happened; so he went into the next room,
and watched them through a hole in the wall.
There he saw his seven daughters carefully washing the rice and
preparing the currie, and as each dish was completed, they put it by
the fire ready to be cooked. Next he noticed the Purdan's widow come
to the door, and beg for a few sticks from the fire to cook her dinner
with. Balna turned to her, angrily, and said, "Why don't you keep fuel
in your own house, and not come here every day and take ours?
Sisters, don't give this woman any more; let her buy it for herself."
Then the eldest sister answered, "Balna, let the poor woman take the
wood and the fire; she does us no harm." But Balna replied, "If you
let her come here so often, maybe she will do us some harm, and make
us sorry for it, some day."
The Rajah then saw the Purdan's widow go to the place where all his
dinner was nicely prepared, and, as she took the wood, she threw a
little mud into each of the dishes.
At this he was very angry, and sent to have the woman seized and
brought before him. But when the widow came, she told him that she had
played this trick because she wanted to gain an audience with him; and
she spoke so cleverly, and pleased him so well with her cunning words,
that instead of punishing her, the Rajah married her, and made her his
Ranee,[29] and she and her daughter came to live in the palace.
[29] Queen.
The new Ranee hated the seven poor Princesses, and wanted to get them,
if possible, out of the way, in order that her daughter might have all
their riches and live in the palace as Princess in their place; and
instead of being grateful to them for their kindness to her, she did
all she could to make them miserable. She gave them nothing but bread
to eat, and very little of that, and very little water to drink; so
these seven poor little Princesses, who had been accustomed to have
everything comfortable about them, and good food and good clothes all
their lives long, were very miserable and unhappy; and they used to go
out every day and sit by their dead mother's tomb and cry; and used to
say,
"Oh mother, mother, cannot you see your poor children, how unhappy we
are, and how we are starved by our cruel step-mother?"
One day, whilst they were sobbing and crying, lo and behold! a
beautiful pomelo tree[30] grew up out of the grave, covered with fresh
ripe pomeloes, and the children satisfied their hunger by eating some
of the fruit; and every day after this, instead of trying to eat the
nasty dinner their step-mother provided for them, they used to go out
to their mother's grave and eat the pomeloes which grew there on the
beautiful tree.
[30] _Citrus decumana_--the Shaddock of the West Indies.
Then the Ranee said to her daughter, "I cannot tell how it is: every
day those seven girls say they don't want any dinner, and won't eat
any; and yet they never grow thin nor look ill; they look better than
you do. I cannot tell how it is;" and she bade her watch the seven
Princesses and see if any one gave them anything to eat.
So next day, when the Princesses went to their mother's grave, and
were eating the beautiful pomeloes, the Purdan's daughter followed
them and saw them gathering the fruit.
Then Balna said to her sisters, "Do you see that girl watching us? Let
us drive her away or hide the pomeloes, else she will go and tell her
mother all about it, and that will be very bad for us."
But the other sisters said, "Oh no, do not be unkind, Balna. The girl
would never be so cruel as to tell her mother. Let us rather invite
her to come and have some of the fruit;" and calling her to them, they
gave her one of the pomeloes.
No sooner had she eaten it, however, than the Purdan's daughter went
home and said to her mother, "I do not wonder the seven Princesses
will not eat the nasty dinner you prepare for them, for by their
mother's grave there grows a beautiful pomelo tree, and they go there
every day and eat the pomeloes. I ate one, and it was the nicest I
have ever tasted."
The cruel Ranee was much vexed at hearing this, and all next day she
stayed in her room, and told the Rajah that she had a very bad
headache. The Rajah at hearing this was deeply grieved, and said to
his wife, "What can I do for you?" She answered, "There is only one
thing that will make my headache well. By your dead wife's tomb there
grows a fine pomelo tree; you must bring that here, and boil it, root
and branch, and put a little of the water in which it has been boiled
on my forehead, and that will cure my headache." So the Rajah sent his
servants, and had the beautiful pomelo tree pulled up by the roots,
and did as the Ranee desired; and when some of the water in which it
had been boiled was put on her forehead, she said her headache was
gone and she felt quite well.
Next day, when the seven Princesses went as usual to the grave of
their mother, the pomelo tree had disappeared. Then they all began to
cry very bitterly.
Now there was by the Ranee's tomb a small tank,[31] and as they were
crying they saw that the tank was filled with a rich cream-like
substance, which quickly hardened into a thick white cake. At seeing
this all the Princesses were very glad, and they ate some of the cake,
and liked it; and next day the same thing happened, and so it went on
for many days. Every morning the Princesses went to their mother's
grave, and found the little tank filled with the nourishing cream-like
cake. Then the cruel step-mother said to her daughter: "I cannot tell
how it is: I have had the pomelo tree which used to grow by the
Ranee's grave destroyed, and yet the Princesses grow no thinner nor
look more sad, though they never eat the dinner I give them. I cannot
tell how it is!"
[31] Reservoir for water.