The Jade Story Book: Stories from the Orient

Once upon a time there was a Rajah who had seven daughters. They were all good, beautiful and clever girls, but especially so was the youngest, whose name was Balna. The Rajah’s wife died when they were very little children, so these seven Princesses grew up without having a loving mother to watch over and care for them.

As soon as they were old enough, the Rajah’s daughters took turns every day to cook their father’s dinner, while he was busily engaged with his ministers in directing the affairs of his country.

About this time the Prime Minister died, leaving a widow and one daughter, and every day, when the Princesses were getting the Rajah’s dinner ready, the widow and her daughter would come and beg for some fire from the hearth. Balna would say to her sisters: “Let us send that woman away; whydoes she want our fire, when she has her own house? If we continue to allow her to come here, we shall some day be sorry for it.”

But the other sisters rebuked her, and so the widow continued to take some fire from the hearth, but while no one was looking, she would throw some mud into the dishes which were being prepared for the Rajah’s dinner.

One of the reasons that the daughters always prepared the food for their father was that there should be no danger of his being poisoned by his enemies, so when he found the mud mixed with his dinner he thought it was because they were careless; he knew they would not do such a thing on purpose. He loved them all very much, and hadn’t the heart to reprove them, even though his meals were spoiled for several days.

This happened so often that it puzzled him, and so he made up his mind one day to hide, and watch his daughters cooking; so, going into the room next to the kitchen, he saw everything through a hole in the wall.

His daughters carefully washed the rice and prepared the curry, and when these were ready, they put each dish on the fire. Very soon the widow came to the door, and begged for a few sticks from the fire with which to cook her own dinner. Balna was angry with her, as usual, and said: “Why don’t you keep fuel in your own house, instead of coming here every day and taking ours? Sisters, don’t give her any more wood; let her use her own.”

But the others said: “The poor woman is doing us no harm, so let her take a little wood and fire.” Balna replied, “Perhaps some day she will do us harm, and then we shall all be sorry for it.”

Then the Rajah saw the Prime Minister’s widow go to the hearth, and as she took the wood, throw some mud into each of the dishes.

This made him very angry, and he ordered that the woman be brought before him.

This was done, but the widow spoke to him so very cleverly, saying that she had done this thing only that she might gain an audience with him, and so cunningly did she speak that she actually pleased him well with her words, and instead of punishing her, the Rajah married her; so she and her daughter came to the palace to live.

The new Ranee hated the seven poor Princesses, and wanted to get rid of them, so that her daughter might have all their riches. She was very unkind to them, and made them as miserable as she could, giving them only bread to eat and water to drink, and very little of either.