The story of Pabitra Sundari - Part 3
By NLRC Staff
Leaving Pabi behind and promising her that he would return back to her, King NLB was now on his way back to his palace. Soon he reached the outskirts of his castle and quickly headed towards the main gate. To his surprise, he was stopped by the guards at the gate. "Who are you?" the guards asked and taking him as a beggar said, "What is a beggar even trying to do here at the castle?"
Amazed to see that he was stopped by his own guards, King NLB said, "I am King NLB, the king of the Kingdom of Pabitra Sundari. Did you not recognize me?"
Not believing his story, the guards looked at each other and start laughing, "Yeah right! Our king dresses like a beggar and travels without any guards. Now, go away from here before we arrest you."
King NLB was shocked. He looked at himself; his clothes and appearance indeed did not present him as a king. There was no one to support his claim and explain things to the guards. He stepped away from the gate and started thinking about what he could do to enter the castle even if he did not look like a king. "Let's see, I cannot buy new clothes because I have no money with me. No one knows I am the king; so, what should I do?" he began to wonder. "Oh, yes, I have an idea," he thought of something, "why don't I go to that secret place that I had used to sneak out of the palace disguising myself as a commoner? I can just use that place and enter the palace the same way I had sneaked out."
Happy that he had figured out a way to get back to the palace, King NLB rushed to the place, only to find out that a new building had been built right there and to find out that the path he had used to sneak out no longer existed. "Now, what do I do? I cannot even enter my own castle," he ran out of ideas.
"I am too tired to think of anything else now," he said to himself, "I need to rest for today." King NLB went to the nearby inns in the hope of finding a place to spend the night but because he had no money, no one would let him in. With nowhere to go, he found shelter in a shed near one of the houses. "Well, at least I have a place to put my head down," he thought and lay down on a patch of hay in the shed. As he closed his eyes, it took no time for him to fall asleep.
"Run! Run!" King NLB woke up to the sound of people screaming. "Run, the king's elephant has gone berserk. Run for your lives or it will destroy everything!" people shouted as they tried to run away to save their lives as the elephant went on a rampage.
As King NLB woke up, he recognized the elephant that was out of control. It was BirGaja, his personal elephant that he used to ride. BirGaja was a very big and strong elephant and it could not be tamed by anyone else other than King NLB himself. King NLB came out of the shed and headed towards the rampaging elephant. As it saw him, it started charging towards him. As it was about to charge him, King NLB raised his hand, which made it to slow down a little. King NLB then put his hand on BirGaja's trunk.
As soon as he touched BirGaja, it recognized him. BirGaja stopped and simply kneeled down and started to greet his master, King NLB. King NLB signaled it to return to the castle and BirGaja promptly followed his orders. King NLB then went back to sleep in the shed.
As dawn broke, the news of a man stopping the king's elephant had spread all over and it was now the talk of the town. The news was such a big deal that it had reached the castle within minutes. The minister wanted to meet the person who was not only able to stop the king's elephant but also was able to make it return back to the palace. "I must meet this man, whoever he is," the minister said, "he needs to be rewarded for his deed, which no other person has been able to do so far."
"Guards, find this man and take me to where he is, I need to meet him," the minister ordered his soldiers.
Ready with the troops, the minister jumped on a horse and left the palace to meet the man. As he arrived the shed where King NLB was sleeping, the minister announced, "You, the man who stopped our king's elephant, please come out. I, the minister of the Kingdom of Pabitra Sundari, have come to meet you."
Hearing the minister's call, King NLB, still sleepy, came out of the shed yawning. The moment the minister saw King NLB's face, he got off his horse and fell to his knees and started crying. "Forgive me, my lord," the minister, who had recognized King NLB right way, was very apologetic that he had not called the king with respect.
Seeing the minister on his knees, all the soldiers, who had come with him, also dropped down to their knees.
Still sleepy, King NLB said, "Hey, why are you guys on the floor on this cold morning?"
"My lord, forgive me," the minister, who was still crying, begged, "I did not know it was you and I said all those things to you. I am ashamed of myself."
"Hey, hey, get up," said King NLB and everyone stood up. "Don't worry about it. I was not the least bit offended," the king tried to make them feel comfortable, "so, don't worry about it."
"My lord, why are you here and why are you looking like this and what has happened to you?" the minister was shocked to see the king sleeping in the shed. The minister could not bear seeing the king in such as a state, so, before King NLB could answer his question, he said, "No, no, let's not talk about it now. First let's head back to the castle and then we will talk about it. This place is not right for you; this place is not safe for you."
"Ok, let's do that, but before we go, bring me my BirGaja," King NLB said, "I want to go back to the palace with him. It's been really long since I was with BirGaja. He must have been very lonely."
"Yes, my lord, we will bring him here at once," the minister said. He then ordered his soldiers to get BirGaja right away and within minutes got BirGaja ready for the king. King NLB got on the elephant and soon headed towards the palace in a way befitting the king of the Kingdom of Pabitra Sundari. As he approached the gate, he noticed the guards who had mocked him and not let him in the previous day. The guards were looking at the king really scared because of how they have behaved towards him earlier. King NLB called those guards and advised, "You guys are good guards, but you should always be respectful to everyone no matter how they look, okay?"
"Yes, my lord," the guards were happy that the king had not taken their actions seriously.
"Okay, now back to your posts and keep on doing the good job," King NLB told them as he entered the palace. Inside the palace, he talked to his minister about his trip and the things that had happened to him while he was away from the palace.
"Minister, I have finally found a wife," King NLB told his minister. "Once I take care of all the tasks that have piled up in my absence," he shared his plan, "I want to go to her and ask for her hand."
"Yes, my lord, I am so happy for you and for all of us, the people of the Kingdom of Pabitra Sundari," the minister said.
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