Gholâm Badshah and His Son Ghool: A Tale of Pride and Wisdom

Adapted from Tales of India: Folktales from Bengal, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu

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The Reluctant Prince

In a kingdom of old India lived a king named Gholâm Badshah, who had an only son called Ghool. From his earliest years, the young prince had developed a passionate love for hunting. Even as he grew to manhood, he spent his days pursuing game in the forests, showing little interest in the responsibilities that awaited him.

King Gholâm watched his son’s single-minded devotion to hunting with increasing concern. One day, he summoned his ministers and declared, “It is time for my son to marry. Find him a suitable wife and help him settle into his royal duties.”

Despite the ministers’ efforts, Prince Ghool remained indifferent. He continued his hunting expeditions, ignoring his father’s nightly lectures upon his return from the chase.

“If you do not marry,” the king would warn, “people will say it is because no one will have you, and your reputation will suffer.”

“But I have no desire to marry,” the prince would reply, and the matter would rest until the following day.

The Blacksmith’s Daughter

One hot evening, Prince Ghool was returning home from hunting, weary and thirsty. He stopped to rest by a well where several young women were drawing water.

“May I drink from your vessel?” he asked one of the maidens.

“Oh,” she replied with unexpected boldness, “you’re the prince whom no one will marry!”

Her words stung Prince Ghool so deeply that he refused the water she offered and walked away in anger. “When I return to the palace,” he vowed to himself, “I shall announce my intention to marry—but my wife shall be this impertinent girl.”

Meeting an old woman on his path, he inquired, “Whose daughter is that outspoken girl at the well?”

“She is Alim the blacksmith’s daughter,” the woman answered.

“Whether she is a blacksmith’s daughter or a king’s,” thought the prince, “she is the one I shall marry.”

That evening, when his father again raised the subject of marriage, the king was delighted to learn that his son had finally agreed. He immediately called his ministers and instructed them to arrange the wedding and select an appropriate bride.

“Name the royal house with which you desire an alliance,” the ministers said, “and we will journey to that court at once to bring home a bride for the prince.”

“There is no need to look elsewhere,” Prince Ghool interrupted. “I have made my choice. I will marry Alim the blacksmith’s daughter.”

A Test of Wisdom

King Gholâm was outraged. “What?” he exclaimed. “Is my noble lineage to be joined with people of common birth?”

The clever ministers, however, calmed the king’s anger. “What harm can it do? This is merely a young man’s whim. Let him have the girl, and meanwhile we will search for another lady worthy of his rank.”

Reluctantly, the king consented and ordered his ministers to arrange the marriage. When they approached the blacksmith, the poor man was overwhelmed.

“Why does the king ask when he can simply command?” he said. “But in truth, though he asks for her, I am reluctant to part with my daughter.”

When this response was reported to the king, he insisted that the blacksmith surrender his daughter within two months. The daughter herself, however, feeling unprepared for royal life, begged her father to petition the king for more time. The king eventually agreed to postpone the marriage for one year.

“Alas,” the blacksmith’s daughter lamented, “I am only a humble craftsman’s child. How will I earn respect as the prince’s wife? Perhaps I should test the wisdom of the king’s counselors.”

She said to her father, “The watermelons in our garden are still small. I will make large jars of unbaked clay, paint and enamel them, and place a watermelon in each. When the fruits grow to fill the jars, I will challenge the king’s ministers to remove them without breaking the containers. Then we shall see if kings and their advisors are truly wiser than common folk.”

The girl carried out her plan. She crafted earthen jars from unbaked clay, painted them beautifully, and placed growing melons inside. When the melons had grown to fill the space completely, she sent two of the jars to the king with a letter requesting that his ministers extract the melons without damaging the vessels.

The king read the letter to his ministers and commanded them to demonstrate their wisdom. For several days, they examined the jars, feeling the melons through the narrow necks, but they failed to realize that the jars were made of unbaked clay, which they could have discovered by simply tapping them. Finally, the king returned the jars to the blacksmith’s daughter with the message: “There are no such wise people in my entire kingdom.”

The Wedding Preparations

The girl was delighted by this admission. “Now I begin to understand what kings and their courtiers truly are,” she said. She requested an audience with the king, and when she entered the royal presence, she wrapped a wet cloth around the jars until the clay softened. She then stretched the necks, removed the melons, and restored the jars to their original shape.

Handing the jars back to the embarrassed ministers, she said, “A person is known by their words, and a vessel by its sound. By testing you as one tests a clay vessel, I have found you lacking in wisdom. When the year is complete, I will obey the king’s command.”

As the wedding day approached, the blacksmith, concerned about his limited resources, petitioned the king to keep the guest list small. The king replied, “Four hundred people will attend from the court, and I will cover their expenses,” sending a sum of money to assist with the preparations.

When the day arrived and the guests assembled, the blacksmith found the king’s contribution insufficient. “There are too many people here,” he worried, and approached a nobleman for advice. The nobleman suggested that he keep the money as his daughter’s dowry and return it with her to the king. Meanwhile, the nobleman spoke with the court attendees, who all agreed to help entertain the remaining guests, and the celebration proceeded smoothly.

After the festivities concluded, Prince Ghool and his bride were united in marriage. The royal party returned to the palace, and the bride, along with her dowry, was escorted to her new apartments.

The Prince’s Revenge

A few days after the wedding, Prince Ghool rose early one morning, took a whip, and lashed his new wife mercilessly. “This is what I owe you,” he declared, “for your taunt at the well.” The girl endured the beating in stunned silence. Every few days, the prince repeated this cruel treatment, personally baring his wife’s shoulders and abusing her.

One morning, as he prepared for another beating, she finally spoke up: “What honor do you gain by beating a poor craftsman’s daughter? If you are truly a man, go and marry a king’s daughter. Win her if you can, and beat her if you dare—but remember, I am only a blacksmith’s child.”

This challenge so enraged the prince that he dropped his whip and vowed never to return home until he had married a princess.

The Chess-Playing Princess

In a neighboring kingdom lived a beautiful princess who was rumored to be mute. Prince Ghool decided she would be his next bride. He selected a trusted servant and his finest horse, loaded several mules with precious gifts, and set out for her father’s court.

After many days of travel, he reached the kingdom. The local people informed him that the princess was not truly mute but chose not to speak, and that every suitor who approached her had to play chess with her under severe penalties for losing.

Undeterred by these warnings and confident in his abilities, Prince Ghool sent his servant to announce his arrival and to request the princess’s hand in marriage.

“Your master must understand the conditions,” the princess replied. “He must compete with me in three games of chess. If he loses the first, he forfeits his horse; if the second, his head will be at my mercy; and if the third, I may, if I choose, make him a groom in my stables.”

The prince immediately accepted these terms, and the news was proclaimed throughout the city by the beating of a great drum. “Ah,” sighed the citizens when they heard the familiar sound, “another prince with ‘blind wisdom’ has come to challenge the princess, and like all before him, he will lose!”

When Prince Ghool arrived at the palace, he found the princess seated on a luxurious carpet with a chess board before her. He lost the first game, then the second, and finally the third. “Begone, presumptuous fool,” she commanded. “Take your place with your predecessors—you are fit only to groom my horses!” So the unfortunate prince was led away to tend one of her royal steeds.

The Clever Rescue

After some time had passed, the blacksmith’s daughter began to wonder about her husband’s prolonged absence. She resolved to find him and discover his fate. Disguising herself as a young nobleman, she looked remarkably handsome as she rode her beautiful horse. After traveling many miles, she came to a wide, deep river. While waiting for the ferry, she noticed a rat being swept away by the current.

“For God’s sake,” cried the drowning rat, “save me! Help me, and I will help you in return!”

The blacksmith’s daughter thought to herself, “No rat could possibly help me, but I will save it nonetheless.” She lowered her lance to the water, and the rat climbed up to safety. She placed the dripping creature on her saddle.

“Where are you going?” asked the rat.

“To the kingdom of the chess-playing princess,” she replied.

“Then I will accompany you,” said the rat, “for I know the way, and I can help you.”

They traveled together, and upon reaching the city, the blacksmith’s daughter sent a message to the princess, announcing that a young nobleman had arrived who wished to play chess for her hand.

The princess agreed, and the same conditions were established. As the blacksmith’s daughter played, the rat sat on her shoulder, whispering moves in her ear. She won the first game, and the second, and the third.

The princess, who had maintained her silence until now, finally spoke: “You have won, and I am your wife. But tell me, how did you, a woman, manage to defeat me when so many brave princes have failed?”

“It was not I who defeated you,” admitted the blacksmith’s daughter, “but this clever rat, who guided my moves.”

She then revealed the entire story of her husband, Prince Ghool, and how he had been reduced to a stable groom. The princess was furious when she heard this account and ordered Prince Ghool to be brought before her.

“You are a wicked and cruel man,” she declared, “and you do not deserve such a loyal wife as the blacksmith’s daughter. But since she has won me fairly, I will marry you both. You shall be my husband, she shall be your principal wife, and we shall all live together in harmony.”

So Prince Ghool married both the princess and the blacksmith’s daughter, and they lived happily ever after. The prince never again mistreated his first wife, for he had learned a valuable lesson about wisdom, humility, and the true nature of nobility.

This tale from India reminds us that true wisdom is not determined by birth or status, but by character and intelligence. It also teaches that kindness to all creatures, even the smallest, may bring unexpected rewards.