Once upon a time there was a prince. One day, he came out of his palace riding on a smart black mare. She never brought him disappointments whenever he went for hunting. It had become a habit of the prince to take his bow and arrows and start for the forest as soon as the sun rose a little high.

One day he returned home before it was sunset. Thinking the mare to be thirsty, he turned her reins towards a streamlet which flowed by the palace. The red glow of the setting sun had changed the water to scarlet red and the reflection of the black mare was swayed about on the surging surface of the stream.

But what a sight did he see! Silver and golden locks of hair were floating on the surface of the stream. The Prince thought that handsome girls with silver and golden hair might be taking a bath somewhere upstream. He thought that the girls who had such locks of hair must be very beautiful. He picked up some of the locks and tucked them in his turban and jumped over his mare.

Soon the mare, raising clouds of dust, was galloping towards the palace. In the palace it was time for supper. The queen enquired about the whereabouts of the prince. All the maidservants said was that they had seen him coming towards the palace.

Every nook and corner was searched but the prince was not to be found. In the meantime one of the maidservants happened to go to the storeroom and there she saw the prince lying as if in great agony. The prince stopped her and said: “Maid- servant, give not me out or thou diest.”

But women and the wind cannot keep a secret. She quickly told the queen about the prince. Fearing something was wrong with the prince, the queen took a winnowing basket and husking and rebuking the maid, came up to the dark room shouting: “Thou silly girl, how hast thou swept this part of the floor.”

Then as if she had caught sight of the prince all of a sudden, she said “Well dear son, you are here. What has happened to you? Why are you so upset? Just tell me if anybody has insulted you, I shall get him beheaded. Or if anybody has jeered at you, I shall have his eyes taken out or if anybody has raised a finger at you, I shall have his finger cut. But do tell me what is the trouble?”

The prince took out the lock of hair he had tucked in his turban and showing it to the queen. He said “I’ll marry the girl having such hair. Thus, I stay here; refuse, I leave.”

The queen said “Dear son, it is not a difficult job. Don’t trouble yourself on such a small affair.”

“But I must have the girl having this type of hair,” said the prince.

“Yes, my dear little one, you will have her by all means,” assured the queen. But the next moment she felt giddy and stumbled down as she tried to walk.

Presently messengers were sent to search out those particular types of girls. Through an announcement all the young maidens were required to walk through the palace bare-headed. On the following day the pageant began. All the young unmarried girls passed the palace in a procession bare-headed. The prince watched the procession as it moved. But none of the required type could be found amongst them.

All of a sudden the prince discerned two young girls having silver and golden locks of hair, sitting in the royal enclosure. The prince pointed them out to the queen. She was stunned but supporting herself she said, “Oh your sisters, Sona and Rupa they are.”

The prince’s countenance fell. But he was obstinate. “Marry them I will, whosoever they may be. And if you don’t comply with my request, I shall be gone,’’ he said.

The king tried to bring him round, the maidens of the palace tried to dissuade him and the queen entreated him with hands folded in request, but the prince’s mind was made up. The prince was just mad with the idea. At last the preparations for the marriage had to be made. A grand pavilion of green bamboos was erected.

This news went from ear to ear and reached Sona and Rupa. They were amazed and their faces fell. They were mightily distressed that the prince should be so pampered. Now on the bank of a river there was a sandal tree which these princesses had watered and nursed since their early childhood. It was now fully grown with the princesses’ attainment of maidenhood. Here, when the date fixed for marriage arrived and all the preparations were complete, they sought refuge on the sandal tree to save their discomfiture.

The sandal tree was a source of comfort to them. When the time for the wedding rites approached, a search for the princesses was made. They were found sitting on the branches of the sandal tree.

Attendants went under the tree and requested them to come down but the princesses were firm. Then the King himself came and said: “Come down, come down ye daughters, my Sona-Rupa daughters, the hour for the marriage has come.”

Sona and Rupa answered: “We called you father dear. How shall we call you father-in-law? Go higher and higher O sandalwood tree…” The two sisters did not come down. The whole family assembled there and requested them repeatedly.

Lastly came the prince himself and said: “Come down, come down, my sisters O Sona and Rupa sisters, the hour for the marriage has come.”

The sisters responded: “We called you brother dear. How can we call you our husband, dear? Go higher and higher O sandalwood tree…” And all of a sudden the clouds thundered, the tree burst opened and within no time the two sisters were deep down the tree.

A Folktale sourced from Folk Tales of Madhya Pradesh by Shyam Parwar.

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