The Faithful Shepherd-Folktales From Bengal

There once lived a prince whose friend was a shepherd.They spent a great deal of time together,playing and romping about.Then ,one day came whereby the prince had to leave to study and be trained.The two friends bade each other farewell. The years flew by,the shepherd never made another friend.He waited for the prince return.One day the shepherd heard that the prince had come back and is to be married to Princess Kanakmala.

The shepherd was happy.At last he can meet his friend.He waited as usual for his friends visit.Many months passed, but the prince did not turn up. The shepherd than decided that he would pay a visit to his best friend.While the shepherd was gathering flowers to take to his friend,the prince was being crowned at the palace. When the shepherd arrived, there were many people waiting outside to see the newly crowned king and queen. After some time ,the King out. The shepherd quickly stepped forward and call out .But the king walked past the shepherd without even glancing at him .

The shepherd rushed towards the king calling My friend, but the guards held the shepherd back.The shepherd went away quietly with tears in his eyes. That night,the king could not sleep.He was troubled by his conscience. The king had ignored the shepherd thinking that the shepherd had come to take advantage of a childhood friendship.He felt that he should not encourage the shepherd. But now,he felt that he should not have sent him away and felt bad on the way the guards had treated his friend.But he managed to justify himself and quieten his conscience.

When the king woke up the next day morning,he found his body covered with millions and millions of needles.He cried out in pain and called out Kanakmala .Kanakmala started plucking out the needles one by one.But soon she realized that it was a hopeless task.Very soon, the entire kingdom came to know about the kings plight.People came in hundreds and tried in vain to pull out the needles .But Kanakmala didnt give up hope.She pulled out the needles one by one until her hands started to bleed. The king advised Kanakmala to take a dip in the river.When Kanakmala refused the king insisted.

So Kanakmala did as was advised. When she reached the river,a young girl approached her.She wanted to be the Queens maid as she has no one .The queen agreed as she needed help to pluck the needles on the kings body.The maid agreed.Kanakmala had just got into the river when she heard an arrogant voice.It was the maid.She had changed into Kanakmalas clothing and ornaments. When Kanakmala ordered the girl to disrobe herself the girl only laughed.As Kanakmala was a bride she usually wore a veil.Only three persons could have recognized her.One ,her husband and the other two, the old king and the queen.As the old king and queen have gone away on a pilgrimage and her husbands eyes sewn with needles, no one else can identify her as the queen.

The queen than had no choice but to follow the girl as she wanted to be near her husband.But on reaching the palace the impostor locked the door to the kings room.She didnt allow Kanakmala to pull out the needles from his body instead the impostor made Kanakmala work hard all day long.That evening ,Kanakmala went to the river and cried her heart out.Suddenly,she heard a man singing.It was a funny song,
If I had a hundred needles
I would buy a crown
If I had a thousand needles
I would buy a town

Kanakmala pricked her ears and wondered who was singing.She searched for the owner of the voice as the song keep repeating.It was none other than the shepherd.Kanakmala offered him a billion needles .if he is willing to pluck himself from the kings body then he can have it.The shepherd silently followed Kanakmala.Kanakmala took him to the side window of the palace. She asked him to get through the window as the kings room is locked. The shepherd then began to climb a nearby tree and entered the kings room .Inside the room ,the shepherd took out a thread from his pocket and began to chant.The next moment ,the thread swung out and threading itself through the eyes of the needles and pulled them all out at one stroke.

The king awoke and saw it was none other then his friend.The king embraced the shepherd .The shepherd was happy and asked whether the king still remembered him.The king was ashamed of himself and asked whether the shepherd had cursed him with needles in his body.But the shepherd denied.It was the kings own conscience which punished the king .Anyways the king was happy that the incident had brought the shepherd to him.

Meanwhile the courtiers were puzzled to find the kings door locked.They managed to open the door and entered the room .Hearing the noise in the room,the impostor queen came running in.The king was shocked to see someone else in Kanakmalas clothing.He immediately demanded where was Kanakmala .Trembling all over,the impostor went to fetch Kanakmala.The king and the shepherd followed her.The wicked impostor was banished from the kingdom and the king and queen lived happily ever after ,with the faithful shepherd to serve them .