Once upon a time, a prince got angry with his father, the King, and left the palace. Well, in those days, things like this happened quite often. But wait! The story does not actually start there.
This story goes back to the days when we were little children, just like everyone else. In those days, before children were taught to read, they were entertained with stories. An elder in the family—a parent, an older sibling, a grandfather, a grandmother, an uncle, or an aunt—would perform this duty from time to time. By the grace of God, I was blessed with many such elders: my parents, my uncle, my aunt, my maternal aunts, and above all, my grandfather.
The stories my grandfather told were truly unique. First, he belonged to an older era of storytelling, and second, being retired, he had the most free time to tell stories. Since I was the only child of that age among the listeners at the time, I had the best time of all.
Later, I read many of his stories in classic Urdu literature, passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. But this particular story is one I have never heard or read anywhere else. So, I thought I would take a little leap of faith and share it here. Either it will be something completely new for all of you, or someone might say, "Yes! We also heard this story from someone a long time ago." Now, relying on memory and imagination, I am writing this story down, so let us move forward.
Where were we? Ah, yes—a prince got angry with his father, the King, and left the palace. He took his horse from the stable and rode out past the royal grounds. Where was he going? He had no idea. His only thought was to get as far away from the palace as possible. He had barely turned the first corner when he felt someone else sitting behind him on the horse. He tried to look back, but the other rider leaped onto his shoulder. It was none other than his very dear pet monkey, Lashkara.
The prince was surprised to see him there so suddenly, but he was also happy. After all, two are better than one, and he would not feel lonely on the journey. This monkey was a gift to the King from a friendly king of another realm, and its special quality was that it could talk just like a human being. Yes, exactly like a human!
Lashkara the monkey jumped from the prince’s shoulder and sat right in front of him on the horse.
"Lashkara! Where did you pop up from?" the prince asked with a sad smile.
"My Prince! Wherever you go, I go," Lashkara replied, grinning showing all his teeth. "You forgot about me, but I saw you riding out of the palace from a tree in the royal garden, so I ran after you."
"Well, that's good then," said the prince. "I thought you would just suffer with me, whereas you could have stayed and eaten bananas in the royal garden. But now that you are here, at least my loneliness is cured."
"Yes, master! How could I leave you all alone?" the monkey chirped, grinning even wider, and the prince increased the horse's speed.
Riding over uneven paths, the prince’s horse eventually reached an unpaved dirt road. Fields and trees stretched out as far as the eye could see, and here and there, farmers could be seen working in their fields. After going a short distance, the monkey suddenly said:
"Exalted Prince! There is a problem."
"What is it, Lashkara?"
"I am hungry. I ran after you the moment I saw you, so I couldn't eat any bananas today."
"As soon as we see an inn, we will stop there. Have a little patience until then."
"No, no! I can't be patient."
"Then what? You won't find bananas around here."
"So what? Look over there! Someone is roasting lentils on a cart. Get me some lentils," the monkey suggested, pointing toward a steaming cart in the distance. The prince looked and saw a man roasting lentils. He rode his horse over, bought a small portion of roasted lentils for the monkey, handed it to him, and moved on.
Lashkara happily began eating the lentils. While eating, he picked up a single grain in his hand and turned to the prince:
"My Prince! You have a grain of lentil too, it's very delicious."
"No, my friend! I don't feel like it right now," the prince said half-heartedly.
"Well, I am not asking you to fill your stomach! I am only giving you a single grain."
"No, my friend!"
"Won't you even listen to this small request of mine?"
The prince looked at the monkey helplessly, took the grain of lentil from his hand, and put it in his mouth. Seeing this, the monkey began to laugh in his typical "Khe-khe" style, and the prince kept riding the horse forward.
Soon, the path led them into a town. Every short distance, street vendors could be seen selling various items. In one spot, a man was selling yogurt. Seeing him, Lashkara said to the prince:
"My Prince! I want to buy yogurt."
"Yogurt? What will you do with yogurt?"
"I just want it—a whole pot of yogurt."
"My friend! What will you do with yogurt, and where will we keep a clay pot on a horse?"
"I don't know! Either buy me the yogurt, or give me back my grain of lentil!" the monkey said crossly.
Now, where could the prince possibly get that single grain of lentil back? Having no other choice, he bought a pot of yogurt from the vendor and tied it behind him on the horse.
They had only walked a few steps further when they saw a rope seller. Lashkara called out again:
"My Prince! I want to buy a rope."
"A rope? What will you do with a rope now?"
"I just want it—a bundle of rope."
"My friend! What will you do with a rope, and where will we put it on the horse? We already have the pot of yogurt!"
"I don't know! Either buy me the rope, or give me back my grain of lentil!" the monkey said crossly again.
Now, where could the prince get that single grain of lentil back? Having no choice, he bought a bundle of rope from the seller and tied it behind him on the horse as well.
Walking a few more steps, they saw a drum player beating a drum. As soon as the monkey saw him, he shouted:
"My Prince! I want a drum too."
"A drum? Have you lost your mind?"
"I just want it—a big drum."
"What will you do with a drum now? And we already have a pot of yogurt and a bundle of rope on the horse, where will we keep this drum?"
"I don't know! Either buy me the drum, or give me back my grain of lentil!" the monkey said crossly once more.
Now, where could the prince get that single grain of lentil back? Having no choice, he bought a big drum from the drummer and loaded it onto the horse as well.
The sun was about to set, and just then, the prince saw an inn in the middle of the forest with smoke coming out of its chimney. The prince thanked God that they had not met any more street vendors before reaching the inn, otherwise the monkey's endless list of demands would never have stopped.
The prince tied the horse among a grove of trees outside the inn, put Lashkara on his shoulder, and knocked on the door of the inn. After knocking three or four times, a woman's voice was heard from inside:
"W-Who is it?"
"I am a traveler seeking shelter," the prince replied.
"What are you doing here? Don't you know humans don't come here?" The door opened, and the wrinkled, worried face of an old woman appeared.
"Dear mother! Evening is falling, where else can I go now? Can you tell me what the problem is?" the prince asked politely.
"The problem is that this inn belongs to a man-eating ogre, and he is about to return. He eats humans the moment he sees them! And on top of that, you have this black-faced creature with you—he loves eating those even more," the old woman said, pointing at Lashkara the monkey.
"Oh! So that's the matter. But can't you help us a little? It is only a matter of one night. I promise we will leave first thing in the morning. I can even give you some gold coins," the prince requested.
At the mention of gold coins, the old woman seemed to soften a bit and said:
"Gold coins? Where did you get gold coins from? Are you some kind of prince?"
"No, no! I am just a street performer. I make a living by showing tricks with this monkey. Kings get pleased and give gold coins, diamonds, jewels, and many other things as rewards," the prince quickly made up a story and pulled a few gold coins from his pocket, holding them out to the old woman.
"Hmm! It is very difficult, but there is an old room on the first floor of this inn. I can allow you to sleep there for tonight. I will also give you food before the ogre arrives, but remember—after the ogre comes, neither of you must make a sound. And yes! There is a hole in the floor of that upper room, right above the ogre's bed. I will place a vessel over it; do not move it from there under any circumstances."
Seeing the shine of the gold coins, the old woman agreed. The two of them picked up their things and went to spend the night in the old room on the first floor of the inn. Shortly after, the old woman brought them roasted meat and buttered naan, which they ate with great delight.
Tired from traveling all day, they both fell asleep as soon as they finished eating, drifting deep into the realm of sleep. Not much time had passed when they both woke up. It felt as if an earthquake had hit. While they were wondering what was happening, a thundering voice echoed:
"Fee-fi-fo-fum! I smell the blood of a human!"
They realized that the ogre had returned, and perhaps he had caught the human scent of the prince. Just then, they heard the inn door open, followed by the old woman's voice:
"Come in, son, come in! You are very late today. Where would a human scent come from here? My perfume ran out, so you must be smelling human scent from me. Come inside quickly! I have roasted special ram meat for you."
"Aunt! How many times have I told you to let me know before your perfume runs out? One of these days, you will end up getting killed by my hands," the ogre growled. As the inn door closed, the sound of his heavy footsteps could be heard again. The house shook with his steps as if an earthquake were happening.
For a while, they could hear the sounds of the ogre eating his food downstairs. Then, after a loud burp, the ogre announced he was going to sleep, and his thunderous snoring began to echo throughout the inn.
The prince breathed a sigh of relief that the ogre had not discovered their presence and was now asleep. But this peace did not last long. The monkey came up to his ear and whispered:
"Master! There is a big problem!"
"What happened now, Lashkara?" the prince asked helplessly.
"I... feel like laughing."
"What? Laughing? What is there to laugh about, and what kind of time is this to laugh?"
"I don't know! I just feel like laughing."
"Well then, my friend, go ahead and laugh! What can I do?"
"The thing is... I want to remove that vessel and laugh into that hole," the monkey said secretively.
"WHAT?!" the prince exclaimed in a hushed voice, sitting up straight.
"Lashkara! I know you are a monkey, but I never thought you could be this unreasonable."
"Well, Prince! Unreasonable or not, either give me permission to laugh into the hole, or give me back my grain of lentil!"
"What a strange trouble this is! Fine, go away and laugh into the hole," the prince said angrily, lying back down in bed and pulling the sheet over his face. The monkey quickly moved to the hole, removed the vessel placed over it, and peeked inside. Below, the ogre was sleeping on his bed, and his snoring was shaking the ceiling.
The monkey put his face over the hole and started his usual "Khe-khe" laugh. Fortunately for them, the ogre's loud snoring drowned out the monkey's laughter, and the ogre's sleep was not disturbed. Having satisfied his urge, Lashkara placed the vessel back over the hole, returned to the bed, and lay down. The prince breathed another sigh of relief.
Just as the prince was about to fall back asleep, the monkey came and sat on his chest once more.
"What is it now, Lashkara? Won't you let me sleep tonight?" The prince was completely helpless.
"I want to sleep, but there is a problem."
"What trouble has come upon us now?"
"The thing is... I need to urinate."
"What nonsense! If you need to go, do it in some corner. What can I do about it?"
"Not in a corner! I want to urinate into that hole."
"WHAT?!" The prince's eyes widened in anger and shock. "Is your complete plan to get me killed?"
"I don't know about that! Either let me urinate into the hole, or give me back my grain of lentil!" The monkey used his successful trick once again, and the prince covered his face with the sheet once more, praying for his safety.
The monkey went back to the hole, removed the vessel, and relieved himself. When the monkey's urine fell onto the ogre's body, he woke up in a panic. Looking up at the hole, he saw the monkey's glowing red eyes and grew confused and unsettled.
"Who are you?" the ogre asked in a thundering voice.
"Who are you?" the monkey asked back, mimicking his voice.
"I am an ogre!"
"I am the ogre's father!" the monkey said in a humorous tone.
"Oh yeah? Then shall we have a match?" the ogre asked.
"Let's have it!"
"Fine! Show me your mustache," said the ogre.
"You show yours first," the monkey retorted.
"Alright, here, look!" The ogre pulled out a hair from his mustache and held it up toward the hole. The monkey quickly went to the corner, untied the bundle of rope, and lowered the entire rope through the hole. Seeing such a huge mustache, the ogre was thoroughly shaken.
"N-Now... show... show your spit," the ogre said, swallowing hard.
"No, you show yours first," the monkey demanded. The ogre spat toward the ceiling. The entire ceiling and the monkey's face got wet with spit.
"Now you show yours!" the ogre roared.
The monkey quickly brought the pot of yogurt kept in the corner and dumped all the yogurt down through the hole. The ogre was covered in yogurt and trembled internally, thinking that so much spit could only belong to an extraordinarily huge monster. Still gathering his courage, he said:
"Al... alright... now beat your stomach!"
"You beat yours first and show me," the monkey growled back. The ogre began beating his stomach.
The sound of his stomach made the walls and doors of the inn shake. The prince, who was already awake, stood up in terror at the sound. As soon as the ogre stopped beating his stomach, the monkey brought the big drum from the corner and started beating it with all his strength: "Dhum-a-dhum dhum, dhum-a-dhum dhum!"
The terrifying sound of the drum completely shattered the ogre's courage. Such a thundering sound could only come from the stomach of a truly giant creature! The ogre leaped from his bed, ran out of the inn as fast as he could, and the sound of his footsteps faded away into the distance.
Silence prevailed for a while. Then, overjoyed, the prince picked up Lashkara in his arms and praised him. Just then, the old woman of the inn came upstairs. When she was told everything that had happened, she was also extremely happy. She thanked them and shared that the ogre had forcibly occupied her inn for a long time, and today, the monkey had accomplished a great feat by driving him away with his cleverness.
Right then, the monkey pulled out a paper packet from his pocket, put a single grain of lentil into his own mouth, and offered another grain to the prince. The prince let out a loud, sky-clearing laugh and put the grain of lentil into his mouth.
The End