As
the girls were getting
ready for bed Ms Clare could sense that something wasn't right. Suzie
and Ronnie, who were usually inseperable, were not even making eye
contact. Ms Clare took Suzie aside. "Suzie, is everything ok?"
"Ms Clare, its Ronnie!
She met this girl at the park today, and they started playing together.
Well I liked this new girl until she whispered something in Ronnie's
ear. She refuses to tell me what it is! I am not talking to her until
she does. I don't care if it was a secret." as Suzie stomped off to bed.
Ms Clare, who have never
seen her girls like this, thought she might be able to help them out.
She grabbed her book and began to read the snake prince.
The
Snake Prince
retelling by Sonal Patni
email me
There once was an old
lady who was very poor. She was so weakened from her hunger that she
did not have the strength to work. One day she went to bake some bread
and found there was enough for one more loaf. She wondered what she was
to do now. The lady grabbed her flour pot, covered it with a cloth, and
went to the river to take a bath.
When she went to pick up
her pot she found a snake sitting under the cloth. She quickly covered
him with the cloth and rushed home. She locked her door and closed all
the windows. As she walked over to the pot she though, ‘I finally have
something to rid me of these worries-the sweet bite of this snake!’
To her surprise there was
no longer a snake in the pot, but rather a beautiful gem necklace. She
became so overwhelmed that she had to sit down. After this, she decided
to give the necklace to the king. Amazed by its beauty, the king
rewarded her with hundreds of silver pieces. The queen too loved this
necklace and vowed to wear it on special occasions.
The queen thought that a
neighbor’s baby shower would be the perfect occasion to wear her
present. She asked the dear king to get it for her. The king started to
yell aloud which stirred up a frenzy at the palace. “Look in the chest!”
The queen was quite
frightened by this yelling and wondered if the necklace still lay
there. There was no necklace, but rather a little baby boy. The couple
had always dreamed of being blessed with a son, and now mysteriously
had one!
Through the years they
raised the prince into a fine young man. The prince, now of age to wed
had fallen in love with the neighbors daughter. There was a great
celebration when the two announced their engagement.
Before the wedding
however, the daughter’s mother grew uneasy, and pulled her aside. “Now
my dear, you know I only want the best for you, but I have heard a lot
of mysterious tales about how the prince came to be. You have to make
sure that you know who he is sweetie. Listen, you must not speak to
him. Being the gentleman that he is, the young prince will become
worried and ask you what’s wrong. To this, you will ask him to tell you
the secret of his birth. That is all I ask of you darling.”
The daughter, who wanted
to make her mother happy, agreed.
She did as her mother
said, but the prince refused to answer. He told her that she would
repent asking him, but she didn’t care. This became a sad marriage as
the secret tormented them. The couple were taking a walk along that
same river when the princess asked him that dreaded question again. The
prince stopped and spoke “I am the sun of a king in a far country, and
by enchantment I was turned into a snake.”
Upon speaking these words
the prince disappeared and slithered into the river. The girl began
weeping and fell to the ground. A lot time passed, and the girl
continued to long after her prince. She locked herself in her room and
vowed to never leave it.
One morning she woke to
find snake sitting on the corner of her bed. The snake spoke to
her “ Its your prince back to visit you. My dear have you not repented
like a warned?”
“Yes! What can I do to
get you back my prince.”
“You must place cauldrons
full of milk and sugar in the corners of your room. Snakes will be
drawn to it, and so will the Queen of Snakes. You must not be
frightened of her and ask her to release me.” With that the snake
slithered out the door.
The next night she sat
and waited. As the snakes filled her room she became scared. She built
up the courage and finally boasted “Queen of Snakes, give me back my
husband.” The queen turned and rose face to face with the princess. The
princess repeated her request again. The Queen of Snakes, impressed by
the princess’s strength told her that he would return tomorrow. The
princess was so overwhelmed by this reponse that she fainted.
When she woke the next
morning she found her prince sitting on the corner of her bed. She was
so happy that she began to cry and threw her arm around him. They
rejoiced and lived happily ever after.
Bibliography:
Story Title: The Snake
Prince
Story Websource: http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/347.htm
Book Title: Andrew Lang’s
Fairy Books
Author: Andrew Lang
Year: 1907
Image:
Title: Indian
Service
Story Websource:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~eazvg/claire-vikas/wedding/weddingday.shtm
Artist: Unknown
Author’s Note:
Since the original story
was long, I had to make a few changes. I was not able to talk about how
the princess lived by the river and all the events that led up to the
prince telling her his secret. The characters are the same, and so is
the basic story. This story reflects the mystically themes found in a
lot of Asian literature. In India especially snakes are considered very
mystical. In fact there are several famous movies where a snake is the
main character. They adorn some of the Hindu Gods, and find their way
into several stories. It is for this reason that I chose this story.
Tying this tale into karma, we see how the princess is punished for
harassing the prince, and rewarded for being true to herself. It was
after all her mother that convinced her to make the prince’s life hell
until she got her way-extremely greedy!
Storybook