In days gone by the kingdom of Vijaypur was ruled by King Vishnuvardhan. His son, Crown Prince Shrivardhan, was a young man with a scholarly bent of mind, In the palace there were many old manuscripts. He loved to read them.
One day he came across an old diary of his great-grandfather. Among other things, it spoke about a magic tree in the forest. Such was the virtue of the tree that standing under it one could change one’s own form to any other form one
desired!
The diary gave hints about the location of the tree. Prince Shrivardhan became eager to find the tree. He wandered in
the forest for days together and at last found the tree. His joy knew no bounds.
The next day, while he was enjoying a stroll in his garden his eyes fell on the general’s wife. She looked sad.
“What’s the matter with you, aunty?” asked the prince.
“Well, as you know, my husband has been sent to Ranipur on the business of the state. My son was in the habit of eating with him. For the last two days, he has been refusing to eat!” said the general’s wife.
Shrivardhan was taken up by an idea. He galloped into the forest and stood under the magic tree and wished to assume the general’s form. His wish was fulfilled instantly.
Coming back to town he went to the general’s house and knocked on the door. The general’s son burst into cheers.at his sight. Both sat down to partake of food.
Just then the real general returned home. From afar he had observed that his servant was staring at him. Then the servant ran into the house and came out once again to look agape at him. The general thought that the servant had gone mad. But when he stepped into his house, he understood the cause of the servant’s bewilderment.
Inside sat another man, looking like himself, and putting his son to sleep. The general pounced upon the prince and began to thrash him.
The prince requested him to wait a minute and then told him everything. The general at first would not believe him.
But the prince led him to the magic tree and changed back into his own form. Only then the general accepted the truth and apologized to the prince.
A few days passed. One day the prince, disguised as a commoner, was walking through the town when he heard a couple quarrelling. The wife was telling the husband, “How much longer must we wait for our daughter’s wedding?”
“As soon as Ramdas is back, we will be in a position to perform the ceremony,” said the husband.
“O God! When will this Ramdas be back!” exclaimed the wife and broke down.
The prince took pity on her. If the return of some fellow named Ramdas was the only condition for their daughter’s
marriage, why did not he pose as Ramdas? He went to the tree and became Ramdas and returned to the couple’s house.
“Here he comes at last!” cried the couple. “Come on, give us back the money with interest, brother! Our daughter’s marriage cannot be delayed anymore!”
“Money? What money?” asked the prince with surprise.
At his question, the lady of the house turned to her husband and wailed, “I knew he will deceive us. You lent him all we had—ten thousand rupees! You believed him when he said that he will give you fifteen thousand on his return from his business trip. Now look, everything is gone!”
The couple’s young son came rushing with a stick and began to beat the prince. Some neighbours gathered and stopped the young man ‘and then led all of them to the minister. The prince wanted to talk to the minister in confidence. The minister conceded his request. The prince then disclosed who he really was. Like the general, the minister too could not believe him. Both went into the forest. Under the magic tree, the prince got back his own appearance. The minister was amazed.
Something unexpected happened after a few days. Part of the treasure was stolen from the palace though it was practically impossible for anyone to enter the rooms where the royal treasure was kept. That is why all were puzzled.
It was observed that the thief had tried to take away many things but had succeeded in taking only some of them. The
other things he had left at the door.
The prince suspected that the thief will strike again. In the evening he went into the forest and, under the magic tree,
changed into a dog. He lay behind a palace pillar at night. As he had anticipated, the burglar opened a secret passage and entered the palace. The prince was surprised. Because the keys for that passage were only with three persons, the king, the crown prince, and the general.
When the thief was about to sneak away, the prince, as the dog, charged at him. The thief threw a stone at him and ran away.
Outside the castle, his horse waited for him. The thief galloped away.
The prince, in the form of the dog he had become, pursued him. The thief went straight to the magic tree and changed into his real form. What the prince suspected was found to be true. He was none other than the general.
Once the general went away, the prince too changed into his true form and returned to the palace.
Back at the palace, he was surprised to hear that his father, the king, was missing! While all were anxious and excited, the king returned.
“My son,” he said, “I have decided to build a new palace elsewhere. I propose to clear a part of the forest and begin
construction there.”
“Why this sudden decision, my lord?” asked the prince.
“It is because of a dream,” said the king, but he did not elaborate.
An hour later he led a number of workers into the forest. The prince also got ready to accompany him.
“You need not come, my son!” said the king.
The prince was intrigued. He wanted to talk to the minister. But the minister was not seen anywhere.
He was beset with certain doubts. He followed the king’s party, stealthily. The king led the workers to the site of the
magic tree. “Cut this one first!” he ordered. Immediately the workers began hacking at it.
“Stop! Stop!” shouted the prince.
“Who asked you to follow us?” demanded the king angrily. Then he ordered his bodyguards! to take hold of the prince. “My son has gone mad!” he told them.
Meanwhile, the tree fell with a crashing sound. Lo and behold, as soon as the tree fell, the king changed into the minister.
“Arrest the minister!” shouted the prince. The bodyguards immediately executed his order, because, next to the
king’s and the crown prince’s commands were to be followed.
The minister confessed to having kidnapped the old king. He led them to a cave and the king was rescued.
Once the minister had known the secret of the magic tree, he had wanted to: pass himself as the real king. Once he had changed into the king’s form, he wanted to destroy the tree so that the prince or anybody else would not be able to take advantage of it. Little did he know that once the tree is gone, the magic too would go!
The prince then told the secret of the tree to his father. Said’ the king, “My son, I too had read that book. But I never
tried to locate the tree, for I knew that such things can be both a blessing and a curse!”
The general and the minister were thrown in jail.
