A Bride Inside a Casket
The Deceptive Mendicant
On the outskirts of a certain town, an old temple stood, frequented by merchants and the affluent who came to worship the deity, bringing offerings of fruits, sweetmeats, and money.
A clever young man disguised as a mendicant occupied one of the empty rooms adjacent to the temple. He pretended to sit in meditation in full view of the visitors, never uttering a word. This quickly earned him a reputation as a genuine ascetic, and it became customary for the visitors to seek him out after visiting the deity. They would bow before him, offering him food and money. The false mendicant smiled benignly and patted them on their heads or backs as a gesture of blessing.
Fortune and Follies
His scheme flourished. With the money given to him by the visitors, he built a small double-storey house within the temple precinct and lived rather luxuriously. He had around half a dozen good-for-nothing individuals who had enrolled themselves as his disciples.
One day, a rich merchant arrived at the temple with his wife and daughter. While they sat in front of the deity, waiting for the priest to distribute flowers and prasad, the mendicant observed them from his apartment on the upper floor. The merchant’s daughter was extraordinarily beautiful, and the mendicant desired her as his wife. Consequently, he summoned the merchant to his presence and greeted him with flattering words.
The Price of Salvation
The merchant was surprised, for he knew the mendicant rarely spoke. However, his doubts were dispelled when the mendicant said, “Gentleman, I usually do not converse with mortals. It is out of sheer compassion for you that I chose to break my sacred vow. I possess the power to foresee the future, and I regret to inform you that a great misfortune awaits you.”
The merchant was taken aback. “My ship is at sea, laden with valuable merchandise, and all my wealth depends on its safe return,” he replied, trembling.
“Precisely,” continued the mendicant. “Your ship is about to encounter a violent typhoon. I am doing everything in my power to prevent disaster, but how long can I battle against an ill fate that you yourself have caused?”
A Disturbing Proposal
Desperate, the merchant fell at the mendicant’s feet. “I have heard of your great wisdom. Please, do something to eliminate the cause of my misfortune.”
“You alone have the power to do that. However, I can guide you. Listen carefully: Do not despair. The cause of your ill fortune is your daughter. No force on Earth or in Heaven can help you as long as she remains with you. You must part with her immediately,” said the mendicant.
Perplexed, the merchant asked, “But how can I do that?”
“It’s simple,” the mendicant replied. “Place her in a casket, close it, and float it on the river. Do this tonight and remember to place a lamp on the casket.”
The Merchant’s Dilemma
The merchant shook his head vehemently. “I cannot abandon my child like that. It would be worse than losing my ship!”
The mendicant smiled knowingly and assured him, “Do not worry. I can see your daughter’s future in the reflection of my fingernails. It is ordained that she will be rescued by a young man who will later marry her. There is no better bridegroom in all the land.”
Relieved, the merchant agreed to follow the mendicant’s advice and bowed respectfully before taking his leave.
A Night of Horror
Although the merchant had faith in his daughter’s bright future, it was a painful ordeal to administer a sedative, place her in a casket, and float it on the river with a lamp on top.
The mendicant, accompanied by his trusted disciples, waited on the riverbank from sunset. As darkness fell and jackals howled, they spotted a faint flicker in the water. The mendicant’s excitement grew as he instructed some disciples to swim out and retrieve the casket.
Suppressing his exhilaration, he thought of proposing to the merchant for his daughter’s hand in marriage once she was brought to him. However, his uncertainty lingered as to whether the merchant would agree or if the girl would accept him. Nonetheless, he was confident that both would be grateful for his role in saving them from calamity.
The Casket Unveiled
Upon bringing the casket to his bedchamber, the mendicant dismissed his disciples with a heart racing with anticipation and lifted the lid. But instead of beauty, he was met with a stinging slap across his face. Horrified, he tried to understand what had become of the girl, but as he moved closer, a sharp scratch blinded him.
As he covered his eyes, a savage bite tore a piece from his nose. He screamed and fled, not before the creature—a monkey—pinched his ear and gave him a hefty spanking before jumping out of the window and into a tree.
Unintended Consequences
The mendicant ran in panic, bewildered by how a beautiful girl had turned into a savage beast. “She must have been a witch,” he thought to himself and never returned to face his disciples again.
Ironically, one of the mendicant’s lies came true. The merchant’s daughter did find a remarkable suitor. Before the mendicant opened the casket, it had been spotted by the prince of the land, returning from a hunting trip. Intrigued by the flickering lamp, he brought the casket on board, opened it, and discovered the sleeping beauty inside. Having captured a ferocious monkey earlier, he swapped it for the girl and let the casket float away, ensuring a lamp was placed on it.
Eventually, the girl was presented to her father. The prince, learning of the girl’s fate and destiny to wed her rescuer, was eager to accept her as his wife, captivated by her unmatched beauty.
