Friday Scoop of Tales – Part 1

Once upon a time, a boy was born to the queen of Egypt. All the fairies came together to shower their blessings on the newborn prince. However, one of them refused to bless the child foretelling that the boy has a short lifespan and is fated to die by one of these –a crocodile, a serpent, or a dog. Upon hearing this, the king and the queen decided to keep their beloved son protected inside a castle situated on the top of a mountain.

The boy began to grow up in the heavily guarded castle. One day, the young prince saw a pup playing from his window. Having spent a lonely childhood, it was only natural for him to desire a playmate. He immediately set his mind to get a dog for himself and told his parents about his wish. Like all parents, the king and the queen wanted nothing more than their child’s happiness and found it difficult to decline the prince’s request. They got him a pup and trained him well to protect their only son. The prince and the dog grew up to be great friends.

Things were going well for the young prince, but now that he was already 20 and had never set his foot outside the castle, he began to yearn for a glimpse of the outside world. He was aware of the prophecy, but he trusted his dog to protect him from any kind of harm that might befall him beyond the castle walls. Again, he went to his parents and convinced them to let him travel around the world.

The king and the queen made all the necessary arrangements for their son’s journey into the outside world. The prince and the dog were shipped to the other shore of the Nile where a lovely horse awaited them. He mounted the horse and traveled everywhere along with the dog, his trusted friend.

One pleasant day, the prince who was all grown up now saw a beautiful princess, and both of them fell in love with each other. He expressed his desire to marry her but also told her about the prophecy. The princess loved him so much that even the foretelling couldn’t budge her from her decision to get married to the prince. It was her solemn belief that her love had the power to change the destiny of the person she was about to marry. The two lovers were united in a marriage ceremony held at the princess’s palace.

The married couple was living their life happily until one day the prince heard about his father being extremely sick. Along with his wife, he traveled back to his homeland to look after his dear father. One night, the princess woke up upon hearing a strange sound. She saw a serpent coiled up near the wall. Not wasting another second, she arranged for a bowl of milk and put it before the snake. As soon as the creature fell for the bait, she got it killed and saved her husband’s life.

The next morning, the sick king took his last breath and the prince was crowned to be the ruler of Egypt. Once, the newly crowned king went for hunting in the forest where he tripped over a log. He realized it was, in fact, a crocodile and not a wooden trunk when he heard it speak: “If you think you can defeat your fate, you are mistaken. I will kill you no matter where you run away. The only way for you to save yourself is to dig a hole in the sand that would remain filled with water for a year. Remember, the water should not dissolve, or you would be dead.”

He returned and narrated the entire incident to his wife. She took it upon herself once again to battle against her husband’s destiny. In the dead of night, she set out in search of a four-leaf herb that could store water in a pit for a year. Riding through the desert and overcoming the heat, storm, and thirst she reached a mountain on top of which the plant grew enclosed by a bottomless chasm. But she had come prepared. She climbed the mountain crossing the abyss with the help of a rope despite the sandstorm that almost blinded her eyes. As soon as she reached the top, she plucked the herb and rode back to the castle.

She reached just in time to save her husband from his destiny. He had dug a pit beside a river and was about to fill it with water when she tossed the herb into the hole. The herb prevented the water from seeping in, and the crocodile retreated. However, all was still not well for the couple.

Suddenly, the prince’s childhood friend (the dog) started to chase a wild duck that flew past him and ended up running into the legs of his master. It led to both of them falling into the river and almost downing as the tides unexpectedly began to rise high. However, the princess again came to their rescue and pulled both of them back to the shore through her rope.

The princess had fought against all the three dangers that would have led to her husband’s death. With her unconditional love and courage, she defeated the fate, and the couple lived happily ever after.