Mind Is a Mirror
Once upon a time there lived three brothers. Their father had died a long time ago, and their mother now lay on her deathbed. She called her two elder sons and said, ‘Vijay, Anand, look after your youngest brother, Ashok. See to it that he comes to no harm.’ Vijay and Anand promised to do so and she died peacefully.
The Promise and the Change
From that day on, Ashok did not lack anything and lived like a prince under the loving care of his elder brothers. Vijay and Anand got married but their wives disapproved of Ashok’s idle ways. One day they tactfully spoke to their husbands about this, suggesting that Ashok should go out and earn his livelihood. This sounded reasonable to Vijay and Anand. But they did not discuss this with Ashok, instead, each built a house and began to live separately. Ashok was left alone in his parental home.
A Fateful Dream
As he had not learned any trade, Ashok struggled to earn a living, often starving. One day he had a peculiar dream in which his mother appeared and gifted him the power of reading other people’s minds, assuring him that this skill would change his fortune. Inspired by the dream, Ashok presented himself at the royal court and was appointed as a guard at the palace gates.
The Power Unveiled
One day a foreign lord visited the king’s court. Ashok, sensing his sinister intentions, sounded a warning. The warning led to the exposure of an assassination plot. Impressed, the king appointed Ashok as his personal bodyguard.
Rise to Royalty
One day, Ashok, reading the mind of a maid, discovered a second plot against the king’s life. Following his clue, the king found clear proof of the maid’s duplicity. Surprised, the king asked Ashok how he had figured it out. In response, Ashok revealed his gift of mind-reading, bequeathed to him by his mother.
The Marriage Proposal
Later, the king asked Ashok about his daughter’s refusal to marry the prince of a neighboring territory. Ashok revealed that the princess wished to marry a man of her choice, and that man was none other than Ashok himself. Reading truth in Ashok’s words and the princess’s face, the king, although initially angered, conceded to his daughter’s wish and agreed to marry her off to Ashok. Consequently, Ashok married the princess and later became the king, living happily thereafter.
