The Tale of Two Snakes
Vishnu Sharma | India
A worried king's son, plagued by a snake in his stomach, marries a wise princess who saves him and finds hidden treasure.
A Bat, Thorn Bush, and Seagull started a business, but their ship sank, making the Bat hide, Seagull search, and Thorn Bush cling to fabric.
Jackdaw, a plain bird, found and adorned himself with peacock feathers, only to be exposed and ridiculed, returning to his ordinary state in shame.
Curious spider Anansi finds a magical rock that puts animals to sleep; he tricks them but is eventually outsmarted.
A sow refuses a wolf's offer to watch her piglets, seeing through the wolf's true intentions and protecting her young.
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A king's pond frightened the princes with a mistaken turtle monster, but the clever turtle escaped and swam back to safety.
A woman had a special Hen that laid one egg daily, so she tried feeding it more to get two eggs, but it stopped laying altogether.
Once upon a time, there was a king named Devashakti who was very worried about his son. His son was skinny and frail, getting more so each day.
Even the best doctors from far away lands couldn't make him better, because he had a snake living inside his tummy. No matter what they tried, nothing worked.
Feeling upset seeing his father sad and tired of feeling weak, the prince quietly left the castle one night and journeyed to another kingdom. He lived in a temple, surviving on food given to him by kind-hearted people.
The ruler of this new kingdom had two young daughters, who were very wise. Every morning, they would respectfully greet their father to ask for his blessing.
One daughter would say, "Dear father, we are so lucky to have you. You bring us all the happiness in the world." But the other daughter would say, "Father, it's true that we only receive the rewards of what we do ourselves."
The second daughter's words made the king angry. One day, he ordered his advisors to find someone, anyone, for her to marry. "She should learn the results of her own actions!" he said.
The advisors found the prince living in the temple and married him to the princess. She was a devout girl, treating her husband with respect and love. Happy with her new life, they set off to explore other parts of the kingdom, as they didn't want to make the temple their home.
One day, as they were traveling, the prince became tired and needed to rest under a tree. The princess went to buy some food from a market nearby. When she came back, she saw a snake slithering out from a nearby anthill and another snake emerging from her sleeping husband's mouth.
She overheard the snakes' conversation. The snake from the anthill asked the other, "Why do you keep making this handsome prince sick? You know, if he drinks a soup made of cumin seeds and mustard, you won't survive!" The other snake replied, "And why do you guard two pots of gold that you don't need? If someone pours hot water and oil over your anthill, you won't survive either!"
After their chat, the snakes retreated, but the princess had learned their secrets.
She quickly prepared a soup of cumin seeds and mustard for her husband. In no time at all, he started feeling better and stronger. Then, they poured hot water and oil on the anthill and found the two pots of gold the snake was hiding.
With the prince's health improving and two pots full of gold in their possession, they lived happily ever after.
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