Folktales from India: The False Fakir

A Folktale from Nother India

“Once upon a time a fakir came to sit outside the walls of the king of a north Indian city. He did not look like the usual fakir. He was young, not old, and he was clean and good-looking. His clothes were faded but at least they were not so ragged that they looked as if they would fall off any time.

Day after day, the fakir sat in meditation under the huge, spreading banyan tree. everyone soon heard about him and came to gape at him, some because he was holy, some because he was good-looking, and some because they liked to look at anything new. The fakir paid no attention to any of them, and he did not eat the food or drink the water they brought to him. Nor did he touch the money they brought as an offering to him.

But the fakir was not the man he seemed to be. He had robbed many people by pretending to be holy. And he was very revengeful if he did not get his way.

One day, the king came to see the holy man and begged him to come and live on the palace grounds. ‘No one will disturb you,’ the king said. ‘You can play and meditate in peace.’ The fakir agreed on the condition he would bring a few disciples with him. The king hoped that if the fakir was pleased with him he would ask him to pray to the gods to bless the king with a son. The king already had a daughter, a pretty and charming girl, but he wanted a son as well.

One day, the young and pretty princess heard about the fakir and longed to see him. It was so dull in the zenana, with so little to do all day, except try on new clothes and jewels, and gossip with her maids. She wondered if the fakir would be able to give her a glimpse of the prince she was to marry. She had not been allowed to see him, but she had heard that he was very good-looking.

One night when her attendants were asleep, the princess crept out and went to the prayer room in the garden that the king had built for the fakir. When the fakir saw this beautiful girl, he completely forgot himself and pulled her to him, saying that he had fallen in love with her and would never let her go. Terrified, the girl struggled and ran away.

The fakir was furious at not being allowed to have his way. He ran after her and hurled a knife at her. It hit her on the calf of her right leg, but despite the pain, she kept running till she was back in the palace. She then went to her room, pulled out the knife, washed the wound, and put some healing ointment on it. Then she pretended to be asleep, as she heard some of her attendants stirring.

The next day, when the king came to visit the fakir, he found him in a very bad mood. No matter how much the king pleaded, the fakir refused to talk to him. At last, he said, ‘You have been good to me, so I will repay you. I must warn you that there is a very evil spirit in your land.’

The king was terrified when he heard this. ‘I shall search for this spirit and destroy it,’ he said. ‘At least, I shall tell my servants and courtiers to do so.’

‘Good,’ said the fakir. ‘The evil spirit I speak of goes around disguised as a very beautiful girl’.

The king felt very depressed when he heard this. ‘But there must be many beautiful women in this kingdom,’ he said. ‘how will we find her’?

‘She has a scar from a knife wound on one of her legs,’ said the fakir.

‘Good heavens!’ said the king. ‘How can I possibly ask the women to show me their legs? There will be a riot if I give any such order.’

‘Don´t explain the order,’ said the fakir. ‘Just ask any woman with a scar on her leg to come see you.’

When the princess heard about this order, she went to the king at once to save the other women the embarrassment. She was horrified when she heard the fakir tell the king that she was not the king’s real daughter. The real daughter had been taken away at birth. The girl was an impostor, an evil spirit, and must be destroyed at once.

The fakir ordered a large box to be made, and the girl put it in it and thrown in the river. When the box had gone some distance, the fakir had planned, he would tell his disciples to fetch it and he would kill the girl who had refused him.

As the box was bobbing down the river, the prince of a neighboring kingdom who was out hunting saw it and ordered his countries to bring it to him. When they opened it, they were stunned to see a beautiful girl in it.

The princess told the prince her story. He knew her father, who was an old friend of his father´s. So he promised to take him back to the palace. But she burst into tears and said the fakir would kill her if he realized she had escaped from his revenge. The prince thought for a while and then told the courtiers to fetch a bad-tempered old monkey which was kept in his father´s palace. When the monkey was brought, they put it in the box. Then they left the box near the palace grounds.

The fakir had told his disciples to fetch the box from the river, but they had fallen asleep and forgotten their errand. When they finally remembered and set off in fear, they were very relieved to see that someone had saved them from the trouble of lugging that heavy box from the river.

The fakir had told them to bring it to his prayer room. When they brought it, he ordered them out and said they were not to disturb him, no matter what they heard.

When they left, the fakir smiled a cruel smile. He was happy that he was going to get his revenge. But when he opened the box, a furious monkey jumped out and attacked him. The disciples heard screams but they had been told not to enter the room, and they knew what a temper the fakir had.

Suddenly they saw a monkey bounding out of the room. When they looked in and saw what was left of the fakir, they ran away.

And of course, the prince and the princess fell in love and were married, and lived happily together.