Komal PokharelÂ
Once upon a time, there was a village called Gangapur. There lived a woman with her only son Hari. Hari was very obedient and laborious. He used to help his villagers. On daily basis, we went to a nearby town for work and earned money to run his family.
One day, Hari was very tired. On his way home from the town, he took rest near a pond and soon fell asleep. When he got up, he saw a very beautiful fairy standing near him. Her hair was shining like gold, and she was wearing lots of golden ornaments. She was staring at him, and smiling. Hari was very surprised.
“Who are you?” Hari asked.
“I am a fairy,” she replied.
“Where did you come from?” he asked.
The fairy replied, “From Fairyland.”
“But why did you come?”
“My friend Princess has been captured by some wicked men. I have come to find her. Would you help me free her from those wicked men’s clutches?”
Hari replied, “Yes, I would. But how can I do that?”
The fairy replied, “Princess is being taken to a cave near a big palm tree inside the forest. I will show you the cave. But be careful; there are many people. You go to the cave, fool those people and bring Princess. I shall be waiting for you outside.”
Hari listened to all the things but he was not able to figure out how many people there were, and how it was possible to bring Princess back. The fairy and he were worried how Princess could be brought back.
While they were discussing a plan, a saint who was going past them, saw their worried faces. “My dear little boy,” he said, “what’s wrong with you and your friend? Why are you so worried? Is there anything I can do to help you? If you think it right, do share your problem with me. I will try to help you.”
On listening to this, Hari briefed the saint about Princess. The saint thought for a while and said, “Don’t worry. I can help you. Listen to me carefully. I have a magic stick. It can hypnotize anyone. For this, you need to soak the stick in honey for two hours. But be careful, it will be very heavy after soaking. After your work is over, keep the stick upon this tree; otherwise it will harm you.”
Saying this, the saint gave the stick to Hari. Hari asked the saint, “If the stick can hypnotize other people, it can hypnotize me as well. So how can I save myself from getting hypnotized?”
“Your concern is valid. To save yourself from getting hypnotized you need to put sandalwood paste on your body before using the stick.”
The fairy and Hari thanked the saint for this favor and went to Hari’s home to prepare the stick. But there was no honey. They did not have sandalwood either. Hari went to his neighbor and borrowed some honey. He also borrowed some sandalwood. They did as the saint had told them.
Hari and the fairy went to the cave without making any noise. Hari showed the stick to all of the wicked men. Soon all of them got hypnotized. He told them to sleep and they did the same. Now, he hid the stick and went to the room Princess was kept in. He opened the lock and told Princess to come with him. They ran away from the cave.
The fairy was waiting outside for them. On meeting, they flew away from there. Hari kept the stick upon the tree as told by the saint.
Princess and the fairy were very thankful to Hari. They promised that they would help him when he needed. Hari was happy for them.
Komal Pokharel is a young writer, hailing from Biratnagar. At present, she is in the Gujarat state of India, pursuing higher education.