Once upon a. time, there lived a Rajah who had a charming daughter. There was also another Rajah in the same territory, the father of a handsome prince. Both the young prince and the pretty princess used to attend the same school. On their way to the Patshala, they used to indulge in all sorts of mischievous pranks. On the way school, there was a Jamboo tree, loaded with good and luscious fruit. The prince, as well as the princess, were in no way backwards in following their schoolmates high up the tree. But there was one rule, and it was strictly observed. While the princess was the first to arrive at the tree, it was she who should go up the tree and pluck the fruit, which should be gathered together by the prince from the ground below the tree. If the prince came in first, he had to throw down the fruit, which was collected by the princess standing on the ground.

Well, it so happened once that the princess was the first to arrive at the tree when returning from school. She got up the tree. The prince, who arrived late, had to stand at the foot of the tree. The princess asked the prince what sort of fruit he would like to have.

“Do you want the hot or the cold fruit?” It was a puzzle, and the prince could not understand what she meant. The fruit which was on the tree was of the same sort. Some were ripe, some were green. But nothing hot nor cold was to be found on that tree. The prince could not solve the riddle. Come on, said the princess, “Don’t you be standing there like a fool.”

The princess plucked some fruit, rubbed it nicely between her palms and threw it down. “This is the hot variety,” she said. “Go on. Eat it up.” The prince could not eat the fruit as it. was covered with sand without blowing it away. Then some fruit was thrown down, fresh from the stem, without rubbing it. That was cold fruit, which the prince swallowed without wiping or blowing on it.

The school children dispersed as the game was over. But the prince, still puzzled, would not let the princess go home without her giving him a full explanation of the incident.

What was the significance of the words hot and cold?” He asked. The princess laughed at his stupidity and told the prince that she had taken him for a man with some brains.

Well, here is the explanation, you dullard, she said. Two sorts of fruit were dropped. The first sort, the hot one, which I had rubbed together in my palms, could not be enjoyed by you without blowing away the sand which would have soiled your mouth. The second sort, which you swallowed immediately after picking it up, was the cold variety because you could put it into your mouth without blowing on it. Now, I hope, the princess cried, you understand the significance of the words hot and cold!

The prince saw red. His face flushed at being made a fool by the clever princess. He looked at her. The sparkling eyes, the pouting lips and the mischievous look, all captivated the prince. Princess! said he, “I am going to marry you. I am determined to do so, just to simply to get your cleverness down a peg or two. Immediately after marriage, I am going to confine you in a. fortress deep down in the forest, where you will not be able to see anybody except your own maidservants. That will teach you a lesson. Alone and solitary, you will have plenty of time to grow “hot and cold ” as the fancy seizes you”, he said assertively

“Agreed “! said the Princess, who was considerably ruffled. But on one condition! Mind! You will have to come and acknowledge me as your wedded wife and treat me with the respect I am due when you are slapped on your face by your own son born out of our wedlock, with your own shoes. The prince took up the challenge, as he was certain that there was clearly no possibility of that ever happening

The prince and the princess took leave of each other and went to their respective places. Their parents had already put their heads together about the union of the two families and hurried up the marriage. It was celebrated with all the éclat befitting such an auspicious occasion, and the princess, in course of time, came to live in the palace of the prince

But the prince had not forgotten his vow nor the ridicule he was subjected by the princess. He had quietly managed to have a fortress ready, deep in the jungles, where he took his wife and her maids and locked them in. The fortress was well supplied and was also well guarded. There was no marital kiss.

The prince used to go and visit his wife, now and then, just to satisfy himself that his wife, the princess, had no communication whatsoever with the outside world. Several years passed, and on account of the cruelty practised on his first and only wife, he was shunned and avoided by society entirely.

He therefore organised a circus and went all over the country to detract his attention and in due time it came to the town where the princess was held captive. She was well confined, no doubt, but one way or another, all outside news was conveyed to the inmates of the prison.

The princess, knowing of her husband in the guise of a circus proprietor, put on her cap of wisdom and considered the ways and means to join her husband. The princess had a mongoose given to her by her mother, which she got to burrow a hole through the fortress walls. Since the princess made no effort, for a good many years, to escape, the discipline had become somewhat lax. Upon escaping, she disguised herself thoroughly and went to the circus, where she offered her services as an acrobat. Her well-developed figure, her charm, her horsemanship, all these made her to be chosen on the spot. The prince, under whose superintendence she worked, fell under her smiles. Even her poor dress, her menial position, could not conceal the graceful beauty of her form. The disconsolate prince was the most smitten. These glances rendered him thoroughly uncomfortable and unsettled, harassing his imagination, vexing his conscience and confusing his principles and prejudices in harsh and hopeless discord.

He offered his hand to her. “I am already married,” the Princess replied, but she had no objection to living in his society, provided his signet ring was given to her as a present. After spending some time in his company, the princess quietly stole back to her prison, where, in the course of time, she gave birth to a son.

The prince lost his reason, in fact, at the disappearance of his in amorala. His condition was pitiable. He was pretty sure that the circus lady had a sincere love for him. Thus, to forget his troubles, the prince had taken to a wandering life, going from country to country with his circus. The acrobat lady had appeared to the prince as a drop of water does to he long expectant and thirsty Chatak bird.

He went to the fortress to see how his wife was doing. The princess kept her son concealed when the prince came there. After his meals, the prince sat outside in the verandah. She took the shoes of her husband, gave them to her son, and asked him to use those shoes on her husband’s face. The little urchin took the whole thing as a joke and gave a beating to the prince with the shoes.

The prince wondered how a male child came into the fortress, caught hold of him and began cursing at him. Beating a man with a shoe is considered the greatest affront in Indian Society.

The princess came running, and it came out that the child was her son. The Prince was puzzled at how, despite her confinement, she was able to conceive. The princess, protruding in the glory of her innocence, put before the prince the signet ring and informed him that she was the lady who had joined his circus as an acrobat some four years back. The Prince, now, proud of his wife, whose cleverness and intellect had surmounted all difficulties and who had managed to fulfil her vow, promised a grand procession to his palace, welcoming her back, and they continued to live happily to the end of their days.

A Folktale sourced from Folk Lore Notes Vol II Konkan Compiled by A.M.T Jackson

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