Little Prince No-father
[The Power of Truth]
A long time ago, the King of Benares went on a picnic in the forest. The beautiful flowers,
trees and fruits made him very happy. Mesmerised by the beauty of nature, he went deep
into the forest. Before long, he realised he was lost and separated from his companions.
Then he heard the sweet voice of a young woman singing. To avoid being stranded in the
forest, the king followed the sound of the lovely voice. When he finally came upon the singer,
he discovered that she was a beautiful fair young maiden who was collecting firewood. He
fell in love with her immediately. They became very friendly and intimate, and the king
even fathered her child.
Later, he explained how he had gotten lost in the forest, and convinced her that he was
indeed the King of Benares. She gave him directions back to his palace, and the king gave
her his valuable signet ring. “If you give birth to a baby girl, sell this ring and use the money
to bring her up well. If our child turns out to be a baby boy, bring him to me along with
this
ring for recognition,” instructed the king. Saying that, he departed for Benares.
Months later, the fair maiden gave birth to a cute little baby boy. As she was a simple shy
woman, she was afraid to take her little one to the fancy court in Benares, but she kept the
king’s signet ring.
Time passed and the baby grew up. When he played with the other children in the village,
they teased and mistreated him. They even picked fights with him, all because his mother
was not married. “No-father! No-father! Your name should be No-father!” they yelled at him.
Of course, all this made the little boy ashamed. He felt very hurt and sad. He would often
run home crying to his mother. One day, he told her the nickname the other children gave
him. “Don’t be ashamed, my son. You are not just an ordinary little boy. Your father is the
King of Benares!” said his mother gently.
The little boy was very surprised. “Do you have any proof of this?” he asked his mother. So
she told him all about his father, his gift of a signet ring to her and his instructions that if
she had a baby boy she should bring him to Benares, along with the ring as proof. “Let’s
go then, mother, let’s go look for my father,” said the little boy. She agreed, and the next
day they set off for Benares.
When they arrived at the king’s palace, the gatekeeper told the king that a woman and her
little son wanted to see him. The mother and son were taken into the royal assembly hall,
which was packed with the king’s ministers and advisers. The woman reminded the king of
their time together in the forest. Finally she said: “Your Majesty, here is your son.”
Ashamed in front of all the ladies and gentlemen of his court, the king denied even though
deep in his heart he knew the woman spoke the truth. “He is not my son!” he said. Then
the lovely young mother showed the signet ring as proof.
Again, the king fearing humiliation denied the truth. “This is not my ring!”
The poor woman thought: “I have no witness and no evidence to prove what I say. I have
only my faith in the power of truth.” So she replied to the king: “If I throw this little boy
up into the air, and if he truly is your son, may he remain in the air without falling. If he
is not your son, may he fall to the ground and die!”
Suddenly, she grabbed the boy by his foot and threw him up into the air. Lo and behold,
the boy sat in the cross-legged position, suspended in mid-air, without falling. Everyone
was astonished! Suspended in the air, the little boy spoke to the mighty king. “My lord, I
am indeed your own flesh and blood. You take care of many people who are not related to
you. You even keep and feed countless elephants, horses and other animals. And yet, you
are not concerned about looking after and raising me, your own son. Please do take care
of me and my mother.”
The king was humbled by the truth of the little boy’s powerful words. Overcoming his pride,
the king held out his arms and said: “Come to me my son, and I will take good care of you.”
Amazed by such a miracle, all the others in the court put out their arms. They too asked
the levitating little boy to come to them. But he floated directly in mid-air into his father’s
arms. With his son seated on his lap, the king announced that he would be the crown prince,
and his mother the queen.
In this way, the king and his people learned the power of truth, and Benares became
famous as a place of justice. When the king passed away, the grown-up crown prince wanted
to show the people that all deserve respect, regardless of birth. He had himself crowned
under the official name, “King No-father!” and went on to rule the kingdom in a generous
and righteous way.
The moral is
✏
The truth is always stronger than a lie.
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