The Clever Princess

The Clever Princess

King Veerasimha Varma ruled over a rich kingdom. He had an intelligent wife and peace - loving people. But the king and the queen did not have a child. They prayed for years for a child and then Neeti was born. King Veerasimha was overjoyed at the birth of his daughter, and gave a grand feast to all his subjects. He also built a large palace for Neeti. The palace had many rooms and a lovely garden. The king found teachers for the princess.

The teachers taught her how to read, write and count. They aught her how to rule a kingdom. They also trained her how to protect herself in times of need. Soon, Neeti became a brave and intelligent girl.

The queen did not want Neeti to live alone in her own palace. She said to the king, "Neeti is so young! You know that the wicked demons live just outside our state. If they come to know about her staying alone in the palace, they might kidnap her".

The king laughed, He said, "Oh, don't worry. I have instructed two guards to protect each palace door. They lock all the doors and windows at night". "Alas! the king did not know that the demons were already keeping an eye on his beloved daughter.

On Neeti's tenth birthday, the king again arranged for a lavish feast for all his subjects and two of the palace guards ate a bit too much. Soon, they were fast asleep. They forgot to close the door that they were guarding. That night, one of the demons saw the lights in the palace.

He knew that a gate must have been left open by the guards. Stealthily, he came to the palace after everyone had gone to sleep. He found the open door. Quietly, he entered the palace. He then tiptoed to Neeti's room and put her in a sack.

The demon left the palace as quietly as he had come in.

Although extremely tired, Neeti soon realized that she was being kidnapped. She planned to remain calm.

The demon stopped at another demon's house. He wanted to boast to his friend. He went in and said, "Look what I have! I have a princess in a sack outside! She would have eaten the finest food in the world. She will make for a tasty meal!"

Hearing this, Neeti was very scared!

The second demon became Jealous. He thought, "Let me fool him and get the princess for myself."

He said to the first demon, "Really! What a coincidence! I was coming to tell you that I have managed to capture a queen. If you think that a princess is going to be tasty because she has eaten fine food, imagine how tasty a queen would be! She would have eaten fine food for much longer that the princess! I have left the sack in the dark forest, under the largest banyan tree. If you want to eat the queen, just go get the sack."

The first demon was tempted to eat the queen instead of the princess. He left his sack at his friend's garden shed and started walking towards the dark forest. The second demon was very happy now. The thought of eating the soft, supple princess made him hungry. He hurried to the kitchen to chop vegetables and prepare spices for his meal.

In the meantime, the brave princess bit the sack with her teeth and made a hole. She put her finger through the hole and tore through the sack. When the hole was big enough for her to pass through, she got out. She picked up a lot of pebbles and filled the sack. She tore one corner of her long, flowing skirt and tied the hole with it. Then she ran as fast as she could towards her palace.

The palace guards, by this time, had woken up to find the princess missing. They had spread to all parts of the kingdom, looking for her. One of them saw the princess running towards them on a gravelly road. He raced his horse to reach the princess. The guards soon took her back to her anxious parents.

When the second demon had completed his preparation for the meal, he came to the garden shed to take a look at the princess. When he opened the sack, what did he find! A lot of pebbles! He was red with anger. He thought that the first demon had fooled him. So, he rushed to the first demon's house. The two demons started fighting and soon they killed each other.

When the queen heard how Neeti had saved herself, she said to the king, "Our daughter is cleverer and braver than we are! Oh! how proud I am of my daughter."

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