Panchatantra

Prince and Snakes

There was a prince who was suffering from a strange disease. The doctors had diagnosed that a snake was living in his stomach. The snake ate whatever the prince ate and hence the prince was very lean and thin. He went to many renowned physicians, sages and enchanters but noboy could succeed in taking the snake out.

The prince was so depressed by his condition that he left his palace and went on to live in an isolated temple in a faraway country.

The king of that country had two daughters. The younger daughter had a mind of her own and she always opposed some established social norms. One day, the king got very angry with his daughtger and asked her to be married off to the poorest person. He sent his soldiers to search for the most poor person around.

snake inside prince

Prince gets Married

The soldiers went looking for a very poor person and they found the poor prince living in the isolated temple. Thus, the poor prince and the princess were married. But the princess was very courageous. She said that she will work hard and will try to find her lost luck.

Both of them went to a faraway place to begin a new life. They started working as farm laborer in a village. One day, when the prince was sleeping; the snake from inside his stomach had popped out its head to take some fresh air. At the same time, another snake from the nearby anthill saw the first snake. Both the snakes started to quarrel.

Treasure in anthill

The first snake said that there was a treasure inside the anthill and anybody could kill the snake by pouring hot oil in the anthill. The second snake said that the prince can easily get rid of the snake by taking a concoction made of jaggery and mustard. Meanwhile, the princess was hearing all those talks.

She prepared a concoction of jaggery and mustard and cured her husband. After that, she poured hot oil in the anthill and found a huge treasure. Thus, the lady luck smiled on them again.

The moral of the story is, "There is always light at the end of the tunnel."