The Ruby Prince – A Tale from Punjab

Long ago in the kingdom of Punjab, there lived a king and queen who were beloved by their people but sorrowful in their private chambers. For many years, they had longed for a child, but the gods had not blessed them with an heir to the throne.

One day, as the queen walked through the royal gardens, she came upon an ancient yogini sitting beneath a banyan tree. The holy woman’s eyes, though clouded with age, seemed to see directly into the queen’s heart.

“Your Majesty carries a great sadness,” the yogini said. “I sense the emptiness you wish to fill.”

The queen, surprised by the stranger’s insight, knelt before her. “Wise one, it is true. For twenty years I have prayed for a child, but my prayers remain unanswered.”

The yogini nodded slowly. “Not all prayers are answered in the way we expect. I can help you, but you must follow my instructions precisely.”

She handed the queen a small ruby that glowed with an inner fire. “Take this gem home. Place it in a silver box filled with purest milk. In nine days, open the box, and your wish will be granted. But remember this warning: until your child reaches the age of sixteen, he must never touch the ground, or great misfortune will follow.”

The queen thanked the yogini and hurried back to the palace. She did exactly as instructed, placing the ruby in a silver box filled with milk. For nine days, she waited with growing anticipation. On the morning of the tenth day, with hands trembling, she opened the box.

To her amazement, the milk had vanished, and in its place lay a beautiful baby boy, his skin glowing with the same reddish hue as the ruby. The queen’s joyous cries brought the king running, and when he saw the miraculous child, tears of happiness streamed down his face.

Remembering the yogini’s warning, the royal couple ensured their son never touched the ground. They named him Lal Badshah – the Ruby Prince. Nurses carried him everywhere, and as he grew, specially crafted shoes with thick soles kept him from direct contact with the earth. When he learned to walk, he did so on carpets that servants unrolled before his every step.

Prince Lal grew into a kind and intelligent young man, beloved by all who knew him. Though curious about the strange restriction that governed his life, he respected his parents’ insistence that he never touch the ground.

As his sixteenth birthday approached, excitement filled the kingdom. Soon the peculiar precaution would no longer be necessary, and the prince could finally experience the simple pleasure of walking freely upon the earth.

On the eve of his birthday, Prince Lal sat with his closest friend, the chief minister’s son, on a balcony overlooking the royal gardens.

“Tomorrow,” said the prince, “I will finally feel grass beneath my feet and walk without servants rushing ahead of me with carpets.”

His friend smiled. “Sixteen years of such caution seems excessive. Surely nothing would happen if you touched the ground now, just hours before your birthday.”

The prince hesitated. “My parents have their reasons.”

“What reasons?” his friend pressed. “Have they ever explained? Perhaps it was merely a superstition of your childhood that they forgot to abandon.”

These words planted a seed of doubt in the prince’s mind. Indeed, his parents had never fully explained the restriction, only insisting it was for his protection.

“Perhaps you’re right,” Prince Lal said finally. “It seems foolish to wait until morning when midnight is but a few hours away.”

When the palace grew quiet and the moon rose high, the prince slipped from his chambers and made his way to the garden. Standing at the edge of a marble pathway, he stared at the soft earth before him. With a deep breath, he stepped forward, allowing his feet to touch the ground for the first time.

In that instant, a strange sensation coursed through his body. The world around him blurred, and he felt himself changing, shrinking, transforming. Where the prince had stood moments before, there now rested a magnificent ruby, glowing in the moonlight.

When morning came and the prince was nowhere to be found, the palace erupted in panic. Servants searched every corner of the grounds, but there was no sign of him. Only the chief minister’s son knew what had happened, having witnessed the transformation from a hidden alcove. Terrified of being blamed, he said nothing.

Meanwhile, a merchant passing through the garden spotted the gleaming ruby. Amazed by its size and brilliance, he quickly pocketed the gem and left the kingdom, planning to sell his newfound treasure in distant lands.

After many days of travel, the merchant reached the kingdom of Ratnadesa, ruled by a young and beautiful queen named Ratna Kumari. Known for her collection of precious gems, the queen eagerly received the merchant when she heard of his extraordinary ruby.

“Your Majesty,” the merchant said, bowing low, “I bring you the most magnificent ruby ever discovered. Its like has never been seen in any royal treasury.”

When the queen beheld the gem, she was indeed amazed by its beauty and the strange warmth it seemed to radiate. She paid the merchant handsomely and added the ruby to her collection, placing it on a velvet cushion in her private chambers.

That night, as the palace slept and moonlight streamed through the windows, a remarkable thing occurred. The ruby began to glow intensely, and in a flash of light, transformed into a handsome young man – Prince Lal.

Confused and disoriented, the prince found himself in unfamiliar surroundings. Before he could make sense of his situation, he heard footsteps approaching. Quickly, he transformed back into a ruby, just as Queen Ratna entered the room.

The queen, unable to sleep, had come to admire her new treasure. Finding nothing amiss, she soon returned to her chambers.

Night after night, this strange pattern continued. When alone in the moonlight, the ruby would transform into the prince, allowing him a few precious hours in human form before returning to his gemstone prison at the first sign of another’s presence.

One night, the queen, curious about strange sounds coming from her treasury, secretly observed the transformation. Instead of revealing herself, she watched as the handsome stranger paced the room, his face etched with sorrow.

The next night, she prepared a plan. When the ruby transformed, she entered the room and spoke gently, “Do not fear me. I have seen your transformation and wish to help you.”

Startled, Prince Lal tried to change back, but the queen’s kind eyes stopped him. Gradually, he shared his story – his miraculous birth, the warning never to touch the ground, and his fateful decision on the eve of his sixteenth birthday.

“There must be a way to break this enchantment,” Queen Ratna said thoughtfully. “Such magic always has a counter.”

For many days, the queen consulted with the wisest scholars and magicians in her kingdom. Finally, an ancient sage provided an answer.

“The prince was born of a ruby immersed in milk,” the sage explained. “To reverse the enchantment, he must bathe in milk under the full moon while wearing the shoes he was meant to wear on his sixteenth birthday.”

Queen Ratna sent messengers to Prince Lal’s kingdom, where his parents still mourned his disappearance. When they learned their son was alive, though transformed, they immediately sent the special shoes crafted for his birthday – made of the finest leather and embedded with protective gems.

On the night of the full moon, Queen Ratna prepared a large silver basin filled with milk. When the ruby transformed into Prince Lal, he put on the shoes and stepped into the basin. As moonlight touched the milk, it began to glow with the same inner fire as the ruby.

The prince felt a tingling sensation throughout his body as the enchantment began to lift. When he stepped out of the basin, he remained in human form, the curse broken at last.

Prince Lal returned to his kingdom, where his parents welcomed him with tears of joy. He brought with him Queen Ratna, whose wisdom and kindness had won his heart during his time in her palace. Their wedding united the two kingdoms, and together they ruled with compassion and understanding.

From that day forward, Prince Lal never took for granted the simple pleasure of walking upon the earth. He established a tradition that continues to this day in Punjab – on the birth of each royal child, a small ruby is placed in milk as a blessing, though none has ever transformed into a child again.

And the lesson of the Ruby Prince – to heed the wisdom of elders and respect the mysteries of the world – is still told throughout the land, a reminder that some boundaries exist for reasons beyond our understanding.

Adapted from “The Ruby Prince” in Flora Annie Steel’s “Tales of the Punjab” (1894), one of the most authentic collections of Punjabi folklore compiled during the British colonial era by an author who spent over twenty years living in the region.