Himsuka

　　In the city of Oudh there was once a king who had three sons. His sons were all well educated， they were intelligent and clever.

　　One day the king called his sons to him in order to test them. He wanted to find out what they thought about punishing people who had done wrong.

　　“Suppose，” he said， “I entrust my honour and my life to a man， but he proves faithless. What punishment should be given to him？”

　　The eldest son said， “Such a man should be beheaded at once.”

　　The second son said， “I quite agree. Such a man should be put to death. No mercy should be shown to him.”

　　The third son was silent.

　　“Well， my boy，” the king said to him， “tell me what you think.”

　　“Sire，” said the Prince， “it is true that death is the punishment for such crime. But before the man is put to death it should be proved very clearly that he really is guilty.”

　　“Do you think，” replied the king， “that a man who was not guilty would be put to death？”

　　“Oh， yes，” replied the Prince， “it could happen. I shell tell you a story as an example.”

　　The young Prince then told the following story.

　　The King of Vidarbha once had a wonderful parrot. The parrot was named Himsuka and he lived in the palace as a pet. Himsuka was very clever. He could talk and he knew many languages. He was also very wise and the King often asked him for advice on important matters.

　　Himsuka was not kept in a cage. He was free to move about as he liked. One morning he flew out of the palace and went to the jungle. There he happened to meet his father.

　　“I am so glad to see you， my son，” said Himsuka's father. “And your mother would like to see you too. Won't you come and spend a few days with us at home？”

　　“I shall be very glad to come home，” answered Himsuka， “but first I must get permission from the King.”

　　Himsuka flew back to the palace and asked the King to allow him to go and visit his parents. At first the King was not willing to let him go. He was very fond of Himsuka and could not bear to be parted from him. But at last he agreed to let him go.

　　“You may go and spend a few days with your parents，” said the King， “but come back as soon as possible.”

　　“Oh， yes，” said Himsuka， “I shall be back in fifteen days.”

　　Himsuka then went to his father and away they both flew to their home. Himsuka's mother was very happy to see her beloved son after so many years.

　　Himsuka stayed with his parents for a fortnight and then said to them， “My beloved parents， I have had a very happy time with you， but now I have to go. The King is expecting me.”

　　The father and mother birds were very sorry that Himsuka had to leave so soon. But they had to let him go as he had promised to return to the King with in fifteen days.

　　“We would like to give you something to take to the King as a present，” said Himsuka's father， “but we do not know what we give you.”

　　The father and mother parrots tried hard to think of a suitable present. At last the father parrot said， “Ah， I know the best gift for the King. There is a tree on a mountain faraway. That tree bears the fruit of immortality. The person who eats the fruit will not die. He will always remain young. I shall go and get one of those fruits， and you can give it to the King.”

　　The father parrot flew away and after some time came back with the magic fruit， which was golden in colour. He gave the fruit to Himsuka to take to the King.

　　It was evening when Himsuka set out for the King's palace， carrying the fruit. Soon the sun set and there was darkness everywhere. Himsuka wanted to spend the night on a tree， but first he had to find a safe place for his precious gift. Luckily， he found the hole in the trunk of a tree. He put the fruit in the hole， sat on a branch near it， and soon fell asleep.

　　The hole， however， was the home of a poisonous snake. When the snake returned he at once saw the shining fruit. He wanted to find out whether this beautiful fruit was something that he could eat. So he took just a little bite. He did not like the taste of it， so he then left it alone. But the fruit had now become poisonous because some poison from the snake went into the fruit when he bit it.

　　The next morning Himsuka picked up the fruit and continued his journey. He reached the King's palace， met the king， and presented to him the fruit of immortality sent by his parents.

　　The King was so pleased with the magic fruit that he decided to hold a durbar before he ate it. His ministers and all the members of his family were there. The King took the fruit and was about to eat it.

　　“Wait， your Majesty，” said the chief minister. “Before you eat this fruit， it would be wise to try it on some animal. If the animal comes to no harm， then you may eat it.”

　　“That is very good suggestion，” said the King. He then cut the fruit and threw a piece of it to a crow.

　　The crow ate it， and died immediately.

　　“Your Majesty，” said the minister， “you have had a narrow escape. The fruit is poisonous. It is not the fruit of immortality. Now we can see that Himsuka wanted to poison you by giving you this fruit to eat.”

　　The King was very angry. He at once caught hold of Himsuka and killed him with his sword. He then ordered that the poisonous fruit should be taken outside the city and buried in a deep hole.

　　The fruit was buried but soon the seed began to grow， and it grew up into a tree. The tree bore lovely golden fruits.

　　“Those fruits are poisonous，” said the King， when he heard about the tree. “They are the fruits of death.”

　　The king then ordered his men to put a fence round the tree. He also told them to guard the tree so that no one could go and eat the poisonous fruit.

　　News of the fruit of death spread all over the city. The people were afraid even to go near the tree.

　　Now， in the city， there lived an old man and his wife. They were all-alone and were very poor. They lived on charity. They were now so old that they could not go out and beg. They often starved and they felt that life had become a burden to them.

　　So they decided to die. The best way to die， they thought， would be to eat the fruit of death.

　　One night， the old man went to the tree and crept through the fence without the guard seeing him. He picked two fruits off the tree. He took them home， and he and his wife ate one fruit each. They then lay down on their beds， hoping that they would soon die.

　　But the next morning they woke up as usual. To their surprise they were not dead. They were alive. And they also found that they had become young. They were full of strength and vigor.

　　The King heard of this miracle and went to see the couple. He was astonished to find that the old man and his wife had become young. The King now realized that the fruit Himsuka had brought to him really was the fruit of immortality. Now greatly repented his hasty action in killing his favorite pet.

　　“That is why，” continued the Prince， “I say an accused person should be punished only after a thorough enquiry to find out whether he really was guilty.”

　　The King was so pleased with his third son that he chose him to be the next king of Oudh.

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