Tales once told:

Maids, seeds and flowers

Professor Sunanda MAHENDRA

I'm grateful to Paulo Coelho for allowing me to recreate this fairy tale, which was in one of his columns.

That prince was chosen to be the king in future. So the royal advisor reminded him of the need to get married. The prince smiled in agreement.

"I understand. But I have a problem."

"What's that?" Said the advisor.

"I have not been able to choose a suitable princess for marriage. So I think time will solve it."

"Time will solve some problems, but choosing the right queen consort has to be done quite soon."

"But I should know if the young maid loves me genuinely. She should prove she loves me from the bottom of her heart. The royal advisor pondered for a moment and said.

"First we make an announcement to all the maids to come to the palace. Then we can have them face a test."

"That sounds awkward." Said the prince.

"Don't you worry! I got a plan."

A messenger was sent around the kingdom proclaiming that the heir to the throne, the young prince, is desirous of seeing all the young maids on a specified day at a specified time."

Many pretty lovable maids couldn't wait to see the young prince physically.

Whoever knows whether the prince will like me and ask me to become the future queen of the kingdom, they were daydreaming.

The royal cook's daughter too heard the message.

She had seen and talked to the prince a few times. That was enough for her to grow fond of him. But that was not going to work. He is the prince, heir to the kingdom, and she is a poor girl, daughter of the royal cook.

"Don't be daft, girl. Remember your place," her mother said.

But she managed get permission somehow to stand for the contest. On the contest day, the advisor stood close to the prince. The prince stood up and welcomed all the maids.

"I welcome you all and thank you for responding to my message. All of you are quite pretty and charming, so I have to have a test for you."

The maids had no idea what this young heir was up to. They murmured to each other. The prince went on:

"I'm giving you some seeds. I need you to plant them and tend to a plant, which I can see in three months. I'm waiting for your plants in three months. That will do for me to choose my partner."

The pretty maids just could not fathom how heavy this practical joke was. But they filed one after another to get the seeds from the prince's own hands. The chance came to the poor young maid. She had a hearty smile with the prince and asked.

"Do you remember me?"

"Why not? I have not seen you for ages."

"I was writing some poems at home."

"Oh I didn't know that you are a poetess."

"I'm struggling hard to learn the skill of writing poems."

With this brief encounter she moved off allowing the next maid to come before the prince.

This episode ended with a grand feast hosted by the young prince.

Followed by the delight of meeting and owning a few plant seeds, the maids went to their respective homes.

They planted the seeds in various types of pots. The young daughter of the cook planted the seeds she got in a clay pot which she picked up from her kitchen. Days passed by. But to her wonder, no plant sprouted out. This made her worry. Her mother came to know of this.

"I can't do anything for that, girl," she said. Then she consulted some cultivators known to her. They too found it difficult to know exactly what had happened. Some of the cultivators who have mastered the art of knowing the nature of the seeds told her bluntly, "Perhaps the prince has given you some infertile seeds."

Tears poured down her cheeks. She said: "No, I don't think that such a thing would ever happen."

Gradually the day dawned for the maids to appear before the prince with their flower plants. The royal palace on this particular day was glamorous. The young maids adorned in colourful clothes, were seen dazzling with a variety of flowers in their hands.

The poor girl was amazed to see all these. But she wanted to meet the prince and tell him what actually happened. One by one they showed them flower plants to the prince. The chance came to the poor girl to appear before the prince. She was in tears.

"Why are you crying?" asked the prince.

"The seeds you gave me have not sprouted out a plant," she said sobbing.

The prince suddenly looked happy. She looked at the other girls with beautiful flower plants.

"I'm now announcing you my choice."

The audience went silent, everyone waiting to hear the lucky maid's name.

"She is my choice," prince said pointing at the poor maid, "She is the most honest maid among all of you.

By the way those seeds I gave you are all infertile."