Page 46 - English Class 06

The king said, “I will marry my

daughter to him.”
Who can interfere with a king’s

command? At once, the boy was
called and the marriage garlands
were exchanged between him and
the princess.

At this point, I came up close to
my wise Grannie and asked her

eagerly, “What then?”
In the bottom of my heart,

there was a devout wish to
substitute myself for that fortunate
wood-gatherer of seven years old.
The night was rainy. The earthen

lamp by my bedside was burning low.
My grandmother’s voice droned on as
she told the story. And all these things
served to create in a corner of my heart the belief that I had been gathering sticks in the

dawn of some indefinite time in the kingdom of some unknown king and in a moment
garlands had been exchanged between me and the princess, beautiful as the Goddess of
Grace. She had a gold band on her hair and gold earrings in her ears. She had a necklace and
bracelets of gold and a golden waist-chain round her waist and a pair of golden anklets

tinkled above her feet.

With joy and delight, I asked Grannie, “What then?”
Grannie went on, “Then the princess took her little husband substitute : artificial
away in great distress and built a large palace with seven wings fortunate : having good fortune
drone : making a dull sound
and began to cherish her husband with great care.”
I jumped up and down in my bed and clutched at the bolster more tightly than ever and

said, “What then?”
Grannie continued, “The little boy went to school and learnt many lessons from his

teachers and as he grew up”, his class-fellows began to ask him, “Who is that beautiful lady
who lives with you in the palace with the seven wings?” The Brahman’s son was eager to
know who she was. He could only remember how one day he had been gathering sticks and
a great disturbance arose. But, all that was so long ago that he had no clear recollection.

English-6 46