she doesn't know what she is saying." "Yes I do!" exclaimed little Darshini vociferously. The Great Prince was taken aback. He had been rather looking forward to some executions, there hadn't been any for quite a while. Then his frown turned to a smile and he clapped his hands. "Well, in that case, we shall leave the stars undisturbed in their heaven for now, and you shall have your little puppy." "Thank you, Sir," said little Darshini in a tremulous voice. "I shall have one brought to you by this evening!" The entourage clapped and cheered, and tears of joy welled in little Darshini's eyes. "But you must promise to look after him properly and take him for walks every day!" "I will, Sir!" The Great Prince beamed. "Then all is well." – And so little Darshini became the proud owner of a little puppy. She made sure he was well fed and took him for a walk every day, just as she had promised, except when it was pouring with rain when she thought neither the puppy nor His Royal Highness would mind. He grew up to be a strong, faithful dog, and, of course, she named him ... Prince!
Be polite and listen carefully," said the old man to his four daughters, "and don't speak unless you're spoken to!"
Their names were Anshula, Bakula, Chandhini and Darshini. By the grace of God, they had been born exactly three years apart so that all four shared the same birthday – that very day, the first of November – unique in all the land.
Anshula was sixteen, Bakula thirteen, Chandhini ten, and little Darshini just seven. Now they waited, dressed in splendid saris, Anshula in maroon, Bakula in ruby red, Chandhini in royal blue and finally, little Darshini in emerald green.Their mother was considerably younger than her husband and now stood, nervously adjusting their saris and combing their long
black hair. "He'll be here soon. Be sure to stand straight and smile!"
There was a knock on the door which made them all jump. The old man answered it to a messenger, who proclaimed, "The
Great Prince will be here within the quarter hour, he approaches the edge of town."
"Thank you," said the old man, handing the messenger a coin. He turned to his daughters. "You may sit until His Royal Highness arrives."
The daughters sat down on two long
Other books by yanmi's
More