The Jealous Stepmother and the Enchanted Bird
Description
In old Baltistan, there once lived an elderly man and an elderly woman named Basino. Both were widowed, and each had a son and a daughter. One day, carrying their children-Basino her daughter on her back and her son in her arms, and the man his daughter on his back and his son in his arms - met on the road and asked each other where they were heading. Basino said: "I am looking for a husband for myself. The man replied: I am looking for a wife for myself. Realizing they could fulfill each other's needs, the elderly man suggested: Let's marry each other, and I will take care of your children as well." They married and began living together. However, as much as Basino loved her own children, she despised her stepchildren. While her own children lived in comfort, her stepchildren were burdened with endless chores. One day, there was a polo match attended by the king and other dignitaries. Basino dressed her own children in fine clothes and took them to watch the match, leaving her step-children at home to do chores. When her husband returned from work, she pretended to be busy with work herself. This charade continued every time. One day, while working, the stepchildren began to cry, lamenting that everyone else got to watch the polo match while they were always left with chores. One day, while herding goats in the pastures, the stepchildren discovered a mysterious hole from which a light was shining and someone was reciting the Holy Quran. When they approached, a voice from below asked: "Why didn't you go to watch the polo match? The children explained their plight. The voice, which was their deceased mother's, reassured them, saying: I will handle the chores. You go and watch the match." She gave them beautiful clothes and golden shoes, instructing them to return before the match ended and change back into their old clothes. For some time, the children enjoyed watching the polo matches. However, one day, as they hurried back, one of the girl's golden shoes fell off and was left behind. The king found the shoe and declared that he would marry the girl whom the shoe fitted perfectly. Many girls in the village tried on the shoe, including Basino's daughter, but it didn't fit any of them. Finally, the stepdaughter tried it on, and it fitted perfectly. The king married her and took her to live in the palace. One day, the king's new bride visited her old home with the king. Basino and her daughter were there and Basino pinched her own daughter, who cried out. The king's bride asked what was wrong, and Basino replied: "Your sister is asking to wear your dress. The bride handed over her dress. Basino pinched her daughter again and she cried out once more. The bride asked again, and Basino replied: She wants to wear your scarf. The bride gave her scarf. This continued until Basino asked for the bride's shoes. When she finally asked for her face, the bride refused, saying: The dress, scarf, and shoes were fine, but how can I give my face?" In a fit of rage, Basino threw hot water on the bride's face, causing her skin to peel off. Basino then applied this skin to her daughter and sent her to the king. The real bride, now disfigured, transformed into a bird and flew away. She perched on a chinar tree near the palace and kept asking the king's servant about the polo match: "Did our king win the match?" The servant, hard of hearing, told her to come closer. The bird then perched on his shoulder, and he captured it. The king had an-nounced a reward of 100 dinars for anyone who could catch the bird. The servant brought the bird to the king, who placed it in a cage and looked after it lovingly. The bird kept repeating: "I am in the cage, the king is on the ground. The king went hunting one day, and the false queen, knowing the bird was her stepsister, killed it and cooked it. The bird, even while being cooked, kept saying: I am in the pot, the king is on the ground. When the king returned, he asked her why the bird was killed. The false queen lied, saying there was nothing else to cook. The king, although saddened, ate the bird. Afterwards, he could hear the bird's voice from his stomach: I am in the stomach, the king is on the ground. The king's peace was completely disturbed by this, so in frustration, he called his min-isters and said: I'm going to the desi washroom locally called chaksa, you all stay down here with sticks and wait." The desi washroom had multiple holes at different sides. The king, being foolish, sat over one of the holes without covering the rest, intending to relieve himself so the bird would come out from inside him. When the bird began to come out, the ministers poked upwards with their sticks. The bird exited from another hole, and the stick hit the king, breaking his leg. The bird, now sitting on an apricot tree, sang: "Nothing of mine is broken, but the king's leg is broken. Nothing of mine is broken, but the king's leg is broken. Realizing the truth, the king punished the false queen and reunited with his true bride, who had returned to her human form." The stepchildren were freed from their hardships, and they all lived happily ever after.
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2.7.7.2
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