A Book Of Children's Stories In Bengali
(Sukumar Ray)
The King for One Year.I
In a far away country, many years ago, there lived a king. One day his only son was playing near a pond. Suddenly, the little boy fell in the water and had almost drowned. One of the king?s slaves jumped in the water and saved the child.
The king was overjoyed with relief. He was so happy that he set the slave free and presented him with a merchant ship full of riches. The merchant of the ship told the slave, ?Cross the vast stretch of ocean and go to a foreign land. The money that you earn by selling these goods will be yours. May Good Luck smile upon you'.
The slave bid his master goodbye and set sail for the trade. Sadly however a different fate awaited him A strong wind began to toss the ship in the middle of the sea. The wind was so strong that it broke the ship into many thousand pieces. Whatever remained of the fateful vessel sank with all men and goods on board.
The slave had very trying time trying to swim in the rough waters of the sea. At last he managed to reach an island. He surveyed his new surroundings. The ship or its crew were nowhere in sight.
Loneliness and disappointment took over as he squatted on the sand of the beach. He sat there till sundown and then he decided to explore the island. Big trees bordered a large field which surrounded a beautiful city. He noticed men holding torches coming out of the gates of the city. On seeing him, they exclaimed, ?Welcome Maharaj(King)! Long live Maharaj!?
The inmates of this curious place behaved as if he was their king! They requested him to mount the royal carriage escorted him to the palace. As the servants of the palace brought out the royal robes and ornaments and soon he had dressed up just like a king. His smallest desires were immediately obeyed.
?Is this a dream? ?, he wondered. But he gradually realized that whatever happened was real. Then he called the people and asked, ' What is the matter? Why are you calling me Maharaj? Why are you treating me with so much respect?'
Nandita Datta
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