The Man Who Wished to be Perfect
The Man Who Wished to be Perfect – Retold by Navin
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful kingdom. Everyone in the kingdom was happy, as the king ruled with a just and kind heart. However, he himself was very worried. Yet the queen had not borne a child. Both knew that they needed an heir that would carry on the kingdom and ensure its prosperity. One day, a strange old man with an evil look about him came to the kingdom. He told the king and queen that if the queen swallowed an herb he gave her, she would have twins, but that the royal couple had to give him one of the boys. They did not like this deal but agreed to fortify the kingdom’s future. In time, two beautiful princes were born to the queen. The grew up to be powerful hunters, archers, and sword fighters. Both were intelligent and handsome and were the apples of everyone in the kingdom’s eyes. All who knew the story of the princes hoped that the old man would not come to claim his prize. When the boys were 16 years of age, however, the man arrived at the palace. He cursed the family that if they did not fulfill their promise, both the boys, the king, the queen, and the entire kingdom would be turned to ashes.
The king and queen loved the boys equally. Both princes said, “I will go, and my brother can stay.” Neither wanted the other to have to leave, and both willing to sacrifice their life in the palace for the other. Finally, the older (by a few minutes) brother set off with the man. Before he left, he planted a tree in the garden. He told his family that if the tree was green, he was healthy. If it was diseased, he was ill. If it was withered, he was dead. 
It was to be an index of his life. Saying this, he bade farewell, and the old man led him into the forest. On the way, a baby hawk saw him pass. It said to its mother, “Please mother, that boy is so handsome and elegant, he must be a prince. Do let me join him!” The mother hawk gave permission, and the hawk perched on the prince’s shoulder. A puppy lying with its siblings and mother did the same, and the old man, prince, hawk, and puppy walked further into the forest. The boy lived with the mendicant in his hut of leaves far from the kingdom and spent his days hunting and gathering flowers for the man’s rituals. He was allowed to go where he pleased, but the man told him to never go north. One day, the prince shot at a deer, but it ran north. Not thinking of the direction, the prince followed it into a house, where a beautiful woman was waiting. “Play a game of dice with me!” she begged, and the prince, enchanted, obeyed. In the game, the boy lost his puppy, his hawk, and finally, himself! The woman, who was a Rakshasi (demon) transformed into her true self, and put the three into a hole, saving them for a meal.
Back home in the kingdom, the younger prince saw the tree dying. He grabbed his bow and rushed into the forest, eager to save his brother. On the way, the brothers of the hawk and puppy also requested his company, and the three went to find their siblings. The old man told the prince that his brother was being held by a Rakshasi and of where she dwelt. Following the false deer, they went into the Rakshasi’s house; she was in the form of the beautiful woman. The boy bet that if he won a game of dice, the Rakshasi should produce a boy, hawk, and puppy just like him and his friends. The Rakshasi greedily agreed, and she was aghast when the prince won. After the twin brother, hawk, and puppy were freed and reunited with the rescuers, they turned on the evil Rakshasi. She told them that if they did not kill her, she would save their lives from the old man. The brothers were surprised and agreed. The Rakshasi told them that the old man was a mad follower of Kali. Instead of being a true believer in the goddess Kali’s holy power, he thought that sacrificing 7 men would allow him to attain perfection. The demon told them the way to the old man’s temple of Kali. When the princes and the animals arrived there, they say 5 skulls, and a place for the 6th and 7th!!! The skulls were happy to see the princes and told them that when they came to the temple with the old man, he would ask them to bow. When they bowed, he would cut off their heads! The skulls told the princes how to outwit the man, and they went off gratefully.
When the man brought them to the temple, he asked the boys to bow to Kali. They told him, as the skulls had planned, that they did not know how to bow, as they were princes and bowed to no one. Could he show them how to? The man agreed and bowed. As soon as he did so, the first skull leapt into the air, and produced a sword. After attacking the evil man, the skull threw him into a deep chasm. After this, Kali appeared and returned life to all the skulls. They became the handsome princes they once were, thanked her, and returned to their kingdoms. Kali provided the twin princes with the perfection that the old man sought, as she hated his evil ways and wished to reward the boys. The princes returned to their mother and father, and the entire kingdom rejoiced.
Moral: Good will triumph. 😇
