The Prince and the Three Wise Lessons

This story is an adoption of "A Lac of Rupees for a Piece of Advice" Indian folk tale.

Once, a young man grew tired of his poor life. His parents were blind and had nothing, so he decided to leave home and find work in another kingdom. After traveling far, he met a kind merchant who helped him get a job with the king—caring for a golden temple for a good salary.

Years later, his wife came looking for him. When they met, the young man wrote down three pieces of advice on paper and said, "Take this to the king. Ask him for a lac of rupees (a large amount of money) for these words of wisdom."

The three pieces of advice were:

1. If you travel to a strange place at night, never close your eyes in sleep—stay alert!
2. When visiting a rich sister, she welcomes you with joy. But if you visit her when poor, she may turn you away.
3. Always do your own work with courage and without fear.

The king's son bought the paper for a lac of rupees and showed it to his father. The king became so angry at these words that he banished his own son from the kingdom!

The prince set out alone. On his journey, a stranger invited him to stay, but the prince remembered the first advice—he stayed awake! When the stranger came to kill him during the night, the prince opened his eyes and stopped him. The stranger felt ashamed and told the prince a sad story of a man who killed his own dog by mistake, losing everything because he didn't think carefully.

The next day, the prince remembered the second advice. He couldn't visit his married sister looking poor, so he dressed as a wandering holy man. The king of that land was so impressed that he asked the "holy man" to cure his sick wife. The prince helped her get well, and the grateful king wanted to make him his son-in-law!

Soon after, the prince heard of a princess whose husbands always died on their first night. He offered to marry her instead of the potter's son who was supposed to. On their wedding night, two magical demons came out of the princess's nose to kill him! But the prince was ready with his sword and fought them bravely, defeating both. This showed him the third advice was true—doing his own work with courage saves the day.

The morning came, and the king was overjoyed! His daughter was finally safe, and the brave groom was actually a prince. The king happily made him his heir to the throne.

After a year, the prince returned home to his own kingdom. On the way, he stopped to see his sister-in-law, who welcomed him warmly with gifts and honored him. When he arrived home, his parents rejoiced to see him healthy and happy. He told them the whole story of how the three pieces of advice had saved his life again and again.

When the old king heard what his son had endured, he felt terrible for banishing him. He welcomed his son back with open arms, and they ruled together in peace and happiness.