Golden Lotus

Once upon a time there, lived
a man called Ratan. He had
a wife named Radhika who was
very fond of gold. She bad-
gered her husband constantly
about procuring more gold until
he felt so disgusted that he
decided to commit suicide.

He threw a rope over a
branch and attempted to hang
himself. But the branch broke
under his weight and he fell
down with a big bang. Suddenly
a fairy appeared out of the
broken branch and spoke to
Ratan.

"1 know why you tried to
hang yourself. Here are three
magic pills. Eat one each day
after you finish your dinner.
You will get a lot of gold."

Ratan took the magic pills
and came home. After his
dinner he swallowed one and
straightaway fell into a deep
slumber. In his sleep he dreamt



that he had gone to a green
valley in the midst of which
was a clear pond. A water-
sprite guarded the pool which
contained a solitary golden
lotus. The sprite commanded
him to take the flower and go
home.

At this point in his dream
Ratan suddenly woke up and
found a golden lotus lying near
his outstretched hand.

When he related his dream
and gave the golden lotus to his
wife, the greedy woman said,
"Fie on you. There must have
been some more golden lotuses
there. Go and fetch me more."

Poor Ratan swallowed ano-
ther pill and fell asleep. Again
in his dream he went to the pool
and brought back another
golden lotus.

His wife was not satisfied with
just one more. She began to
upbraid him for not bringing



back many more. Soon hus-
band and wife fell to quarrelling
bitterly and the noise of their
bickering attracted a huge
crowd. The matter went to the
ears of the king of the land.

He summoned Ratan to his
presence and accused him of
disturbing the peace. Then
Ratan related all that had hap-
pened to him; from the moment
of his attempted suicide to the
procurement of the golden
lotus..

The king was sceptical of
Ratan's account but decided to
verify for himself the truth of
the matter.

That night he swallowed the
third pill and fell into a deep



sleep. As with Ratan, he too
dreamt that he had gone to a
green valley in the bosom of
which nestled a clear pool of
water. A comely nymph guar-
ded the pool in which floated
a lone golden lotus. The king
was attracted to the maiden
and tried to clasp her hand.
But she exclaimed, "Oh! King,
before you touch me, look at
the pool once."

The king looked at the pool
and was startled to see the
waters slowly turning blood red.
Suddenly a number of water-
snakes surfaced and began to
spread their venom all round.
The nymph said, "Oh! King,
those who ignore me and look



at the pool will see only the
golden lotus. But those who
stare at me will see this snake-
headed demon who lives in
these waters. Unless he dies
I can never become yours."

The king asked how he could
kill the demon.

The nymph replied, "Sprinkle
the blood taken from your
heart over these snakes, and the
demon will be destroyed."

The king drew his sword,
pierced his heart and fell down.

Early in the morning the king
woke up and saw to his great



surprise and joy the nymph of
his dream sitting on his bed.
All round his bed were arranged
a great many golden lotuses
shining brightly.

The king rubbed his eyes and
asked wonderingly, "Has my
dream come true?"

The damsel replied, "Yes,
Sire."

And so the king married her
and lived happily ever after-
wards. But he did not forget to
reward Ratan who became a
trusted official of the court.