The Junior Classics, Volume 1: Fairy and wonder tales
General
The Junior Classics, Volume 1: Fairy and wonder tales
Children's literature
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 Prudhan’s daughter went
home and said to her mother, “I do not wonder the seven Princesses will
not eat the 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 Raja that she had a very bad headache.
The Raja 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 Raja 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, and as they were crying
they saw 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 stepmother 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!”
And her daughter said, “I will watch.”
Next day, while the Princesses were eating the cream cake, who should
come by but their stepmother’s daughter. Balna saw her first, and said,
“See, sisters, there comes that girl again. Let us sit round the edge
of the tank and not allow her to see it, for if we give her some of our
cake, she will go and tell her mother; and that will be very
unfortunate for us.”
The other sisters, however, thought Balna unnecessarily suspicious, and
instead of following her advice, they gave the Prudhan’s daughter some
of the cake, and she went home and told her mother all about it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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