The Ruby Prince Tales

Once upon a time, an Indian religious man was walking on a dusty road when he saw a glowing stone on the ground. He bent down and picked it up. When he examined it in a bright place, he was amazed by its glow. He did not know what this stone was good for. He put it in his pocket and continued on his way. He came to the shop of an agricultural merchant on the side of the road.

He was hungry. He showed the merchant the red stone in his pocket. He wanted to know how much that stone was worth. The merchant was an honest man. He said, “I cannot pay you the value of that stone even if I give you all the goods in all my shops.”

The merchant told the Indian cleric to take this precious stone to the king. The Brahman went to the palace gate to show the King the red ruby stone. The King’s chief vizier refused to let him in. Brahman told him that he had brought a very precious ruby. So he was allowed to see the King. The King realized that this red and shining stone was a ruby. At that time Indians called rubies snake stones. The king asked the Brahman this:

“Dear teacher, how much money do you want to sell this stone?”

The Brahman said: “Your Majesty, I know the stone is precious, but tonight I am hungry and have no money to feed myself. I would be happy if you offer me dinner.”

The king said: “This stone of yours is very precious. I order you to be given a bag of gold from the treasury.”

The Brahman took a bag of gold and left the palace in joy. Then the king called the queen and said:

“My dear queen, this ruby is a very precious jewel, unique in the world. Please guard it carefully. Place it in a strong, safe chest in the royal apartments.”

The Queen took this precious jewel and locked it in a chest in her own room. In this way, she thought it was safe. Twelve years passed. One day, the King suddenly remembered that ruby stone. He wanted to see that precious jewel. He asked the Queen to bring it to him. The Queen went straight to her chamber and opened the chest there. There was no jewel or any stone in the chest. Instead, there was a handsome boy.

When the Queen saw this, she was astonished. She immediately closed and locked the lid of the chest. It was a shocking event. She thought about how to tell the King what had happened. The king was waiting in the throne room for the queen to arrive. He could not understand why the queen was late. He immediately sent a chamberlain to invite the queen to the throne room. The queen handed the chest to the attendant. She took the keys and went to the throne room where the king was.

He opened the chest there in front of the king. As soon as the chest was opened, a naked young man came out of it. Everyone was surprised. The king asked him who he was. “What happened to my ruby stone?” he said.

The young man said: “I am the ruby prince, and beyond that you know nothing.”

The king was very upset and did not want to keep him in the palace. But the king was a just ruler who wanted to give everyone their due. Before sending the Yakut prince away from the palace, he gave him a valuable noble horse, exquisite clothes and weapons.

When he said goodbye to the prince, he said: “Look, my dear prince! I am giving you a valuable horse and weapons so that you can defend yourself if you find yourself in a difficult situation. Now I am sending you out of the palace, Godspeed. May God help you. I send you off with my prayers and I hope you will be happy and successful. One day my kingdom will be proud of you. Just remember, you must always be on the side of truth and justice.”

The Yakut Prince saluted the King and left. He rode his horse towards the outskirts of the city. He dismounted near the city walls. In front of a house, he saw an old woman kneading dough in a trough. She was laughing as she mixed the flour, but as she kneaded the dough she began to cry.

The Ruby prince said to her, “Mother, you are laughing and crying at the same time, how is this?”

The woman said, “Tomorrow my son will die.” Then the woman continued to explain her problem. “There is a dragon in this town. Every day it kills and eats a young man. Tomorrow it will eat my son, that is why I am crying.”

Prince Yakut told the old woman that he would kill the dragon the next day. He also told her to put him up for the night. The old woman did not believe that he would succeed in killing the dragon. She did not want to host him in her house, even for one night. Prince Yakut wanted to go on his way and asked where to find the dragon.

The old woman said to the Prince: “From here you go along the river, after half an hour you will come across a large monumental fountain, on the right you will see large sycamores and mango trees laden with fruit. On the opposite side is a big cave. That’s where the dragon lives, damn it. The next youth comes to that fountain, the monster comes at noon and eats one of our youth every day.”

Prince Yakut said, “I am going to go and sleep under those plane trees, but I would be glad if you could wake me up early.” Then he set off immediately.

The prince came to an area of plane trees. Near the square, in front of an abandoned house, stood a huge mirror. The prince stopped in front of a huge plane tree. The tree had a very big trunk. Over the years a huge hollow had formed in the trunk of the tree. The prince thought he would spend the night there. He took his weapons with him. He tied his horse to a tree not far away. Then he went and fetched the mirror he had seen. He leaned it against the trunk of the sycamore. He was tired.

He immediately went into the hollow of the tree and as soon as he lay down, he fell into a deep sleep. The next morning, the old woman woke him up early. She brought him milk, fruit and hot bread for breakfast. The old woman asked what the mirror was for. Prince Yakut explained that the mirror would reflect back the fiery rays from the monster’s eyes and protect him.

The beast made a great noise as it came to the front of the cave around noon. The prince had his fiery arrows ready. One after another, the arrows pierced the beast’s forehead. Screaming and charging, the beast tripped over the tree branches and rocks the prince had lined up in front of the cave. As soon as it fell to the ground, the prince ran and cut off its head and arms with his sword. Then he took her and hung her on the castle gate. He cut off both ears and took them with him.

Those who saw the head of the beast hanging over the city gate went and reported it to the king. The king sent out an announcement through the criers, demanding to know who had killed the beast. The old woman informed the king that the prince had killed the beast and was now hosting him in his house. The king invited the prince to the palace and congratulated him. The king now asked his Grand Vizier what reward should be given to a hero who had accomplished such a remarkable deed.

The chief vizier said, “You will give him your daughter as a reward. You will also give him a large piece of land.”

The prince was immediately invited to the palace. He was soon married to the princess, the king’s beloved daughter. A pavilion was prepared in the palace where they would live together. So the newlyweds began to live happily together.

But the princess was a very curious person. She often asked Prince Yakut who he was and where he came from. Every time she asked, the prince told her that he could not answer these questions.

One day a banquet was held on the banks of a river. The prince’s feet were touching the water. His wife kept asking the same questions.

Princess: “If you love me, please tell me what race you are!” The prince said he could not answer. A little later, half-bodied in the water, the prince was again asked the same insistent questions. The princess believed that she could no longer hide the prince’s personality from his gaze and persistently continued her questions.

At one point the prince was completely submerged. Not far away, he appeared as a huge snake with a red star on its forehead and a glittering crown on its head. And soon he disappeared. The princess was deeply saddened by the loss of her beloved husband. She cried for days, feeling deep remorse. But the prince had disappeared. The princess spread news everywhere and promised rewards to anyone who could help her find her husband.

Months later, a young woman dancer came to tell the princess that she had news about the missing press.

Every evening there was a feast in the forest, just off the outskirts of the city. During this feast, he said, a huge snake came out of a hole and was transformed into a human by a brahmin’s prayer, at which time an interesting dance was performed and the dance was part of the magical ritual.

One night the dancing girl took the princess to the forest. Secretly, from behind a tree, the two of them watched together the joy of dance and music that was repeated every night. The dancing girl wanted to join in, but the princess would not let her. Then, when she returned to the palace, she asked the young dancer to teach her to dance.

The princess soon learned to dance very well. One evening she and the dancing girl went to the forest. The princess wore a sparkling pink silk dress. She wore a white veil on her head. Her dress was embroidered with gold glaze and decorated with embroidery.

When the music started, she glided through the trees and began to dance with her bare feet on the carpet on the ground. On her feet were small bells that made sweet sounds and gold anklets. Everyone watched this marvelous dance with bated breath. When the dance was over, the Ruby Prince came to the dancer and opened her veil.

The princess’s long hennaed hair fell over her shoulders and adorned her bare breasts. On her head was a glittering crown decorated with rubies, diamonds and emeralds.

The priest at the ceremony said: “You danced beautifully, Your Royal Highness. What shall we give you as a reward, we can offer you whatever you want.”

The Princess smiled and said, “I have prepared for this dance for days. You can only dance such a beautiful dance for someone you love very much. I want only one thing. You know for whom I am doing this dance. Just give me that one thing.”

That night the Ruby Prince and his wife started a very happy life again. The princess was happy to be reunited with her husband. She never asked him questions about his personality again. People can only have those they love with a certain amount of trust and devotion.