The Silver Stick - The Golden Stick

　　Once upon a time， in the kingdom of Roopnagar， there lived a king who had only one son. The young Prince was daring and adventurous yet could be trusted with the affairs of the kingdom. This made the old king sure that after him the young prince would rule the kingdom in an honorable manner.

　　One day， the Prince expressed a desire to tour the countryside all by himself. The king was dismayed for how knew that dangers might befall a lone traveler. The queen tempted him to stay back with many rich gifts. But the Prince was adamant. Taking the best horse in the royal stables， a shining new armour and sword， he set off on his expedition.

　　He rode night and day， over mountains and valleys， streams and rivers， vast plains and meadows till he came to a thick forest. He rode on through the forest with no idea of where he was heading till with a start， he realized that he had lost his way.

　　He was bewildered at first and tried desperately to seek a way out. He rode hither and thither till all of a sudden， he espied a sky scraping tower. With all his enthusiasm regained， he made his way towards the tower and came upto a huge carved gate. This he reasoned was probably the entrance to a kingdom. But what a kingdom！ Everywhere there was only pin drop silence.

　　Gathering courage， the Prince entered the gates and walked on till he came to a city. There were many buildings both big and small but here too， total silence reigned. The usual chirping of birds， merry laughter of children， chatter of busy housewives and the grinding noise of wheat being crushed were all absent. The Prince felt a shiver go down his spine.

　　The door of one house was ajar. Quietly the Prince walked up and peeped in. In the courtyard a group of men were standing together. But something seemed very strange. The men were all standing erect and did not appear to move at all！

　　He entered the courtyard and tiptoed upto the men. Imagine his surprise when he saw that they were all statues of stone. He ran out and moved quickly through the city. Wherever he went there were animals， plants， men-all of stone. However， the city appeared to be very rich. Room after room was filled with gold coins and glittering jewels.

　　By now， the Prince had come up to what seemed to be the royal palace. In the great court room， the king， his Ministers and courtiers were all statues of stone.

　　Full of curiosity， the Prince made a quick dart towards the bed chambers. There was a smell of perfume wafting up from one room. Attracted， the Prince entered the room and gasped aloud at the fragrant blossoms of lotus and rose that filled it. In the middle of the room， was an enormous lotus and in its heart， there lay a beautiful girl， fast asleep. So lovely was she that a soft light radiated from her face.

　　The Prince was enchanted. At once he fell in love with the sleeping girl. He sat down beside her waiting for her to wake.

　　The days rolled on and the Prince began to grow a beard but neither did the flowers wilt nor did the girl awake. He was hungry and thirsty but would not leave his place. Again and again， he called the girl， even shook her but she was in a very deep sleep.

　　One day， as he sat there he suddenly noticed a tiny golden stick at the girl's head. Looking around， he found a tiny silver stick at her feet. He picked up the sticks and amused himself by playing with them. After sometime， he wished to replace the sticks but by mistake， put the silver stick at the head and the golden stick at the feet.

　　And lo， a great hum broke out over the kingdom. The girl smiled， stretched and sat up. Birds chirped， horse neighed； men talked-the city came alive once more. With great joy， the king of the land greeted the prince and asked， “O nobleman， who are you？”

　　The Prince then related how by chance he had stumbled on this kingdom and found everyone asleep. How he had waited for the beautiful girl to wake up only she did not till he changed the sticks at her head and feet.

　　Brimming over with happiness， the king said， “O Prince！ Once a demon had cursed us into stone status saying that only a very noble Prince would save us. So you did. We are eternally grateful to you. Ask for any gift that you may desire.”

　　The Prince only wished to marry the beautiful girl and this desire was soon granted. After a festive wedding， laden with riches， the prince and his bride started back to his kingdom.

　　Meanwhile， the old king was almost blind with grief for his son and the Queen had taken to her bed. How happy they were to see their son and his radiant bride. The Prince was soon crowned king and he ruled wisely and well ever after.

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