The Ivory City and Its Fairy Princess | Parikatha Podcast

Once there was a young prince who was practising archery with the son of his father’s chief minister. During their practice, the prince aimed at a bird sitting on the sill of an open window. He released the arrow without knowing that someone was standing inside the room. The arrow missed the bird and grazed the wife of a merchant who happened to be near the window. The woman fainted, and when her husband found her lying on the floor, he believed that she had been killed. He raised an alarm, and the neighbours and servants quickly gathered.When the woman recovered, she told them that two young men had passed the house carrying bows and arrows. She believed that one of them had deliberately aimed at her. The merchant immediately went to the king and complained.

The king was deeply angered by what he believed to be a cruel attack. He ordered that all the men of the city should pass before the merchant’s house so that the woman could identify the culprit. The next day the entire procession passed the house, and among the crowd were the king’s son and the minister’s son.The woman recognised them immediately. The king was horrified to discover that his own son was involved. He initially wanted both young men to be executed, but the minister pleaded that the facts should first be considered. The prince explained that he had been shooting at a bird and had never intended to hurt anyone.

After a long discussion, the king decided that the prince should be banished rather than executed. Soldiers escorted him out of the kingdom. But before they had travelled very far, the minister’s son caught up with them. He had brought horses, provisions and bags of gold, and he was determined to share his friend’s fate.

A Friend Who Would Not Leave

The prince tried to persuade his friend to return home. He reminded him that exile could bring hardship, uncertainty and even death. But the minister’s son refused to listen. They had grown up together, he said, and he could not be happy while his friend suffered alone. The two young men therefore continued their journey together.

After travelling for some time, they reached a village and decided to spend the night beneath a large tree. While the minister’s son went to find food, the prince wandered towards a little stream. Following the stream, he discovered a beautiful lake covered with lotus flowers and other water plants.The prince knelt beside the water and took some in his hand. Before drinking, he happened to look into his palm. To his astonishment, he saw the reflection of a beautiful fairy. He looked around but could not see anyone.

He took another handful of water, and once again the beautiful face appeared in its reflection. This time he looked across the lake and saw the fairy herself sitting on the opposite bank. The moment he saw her, he fell deeply in love and fainted.

The Fairy of the Ivory City

When the minister’s son returned, he found his friend lying beside the lake. He was frightened that something terrible had happened, but after sprinkling water on the prince’s face, he managed to revive him. The prince told him what he had seen. He described the fairy and the mysterious ivory box she had shown him before he lost consciousness. He begged his friend to help him find her and make her his wife.

The minister’s son understood the clues. The fairy was Princess Gulizar, the princess of the Ivory City. The lotus petals and the ivory box had revealed her identity and the place where she lived. He promised the prince that he would help him reach the Ivory City and arrange his marriage with the princess.

The Robbers’ Tower

On their journey, the two friends encountered two men who invited them to spend the night at their home. The minister’s son was suspicious, but the prince was tired and accepted the invitation. The invitation turned out to be a trap. The two travellers were taken to a fortified tower belonging to a family of robbers. They were locked inside a room while the robbers prepared to take their possessions. The minister’s son searched for a way out and discovered that a woman living in the tower was willing to help them escape.

She showed them a secret doorway leading outside. The opening was extremely narrow, but the minister’s son used a magical charm to make their horses thin enough to pass through it. Once they were safely outside, the horses were restored to their original size. The robbers discovered the escape and fired arrows after them. One of the arrows killed the woman who had helped them, but the prince and his friend managed to escape and continued their journey towards the Ivory City.

Entering the Ivory City

At last, the travellers reached the famous Ivory City. They found a small hut belonging to an old woman and persuaded her to give them shelter. The minister’s son carefully concealed their true purpose and began asking apparently simple questions about the city. The old woman confirmed that they were indeed in the Ivory City. She also revealed that the king had a queen and a daughter named Gulizar.

The prince could hardly contain his excitement. The old woman had a daughter who served at the palace and visited the princess regularly. The minister’s son devised a clever plan. He asked the old woman not to mention the two travellers when she went to the palace, hoping that this instruction would make her more likely to speak about them. His plan worked. The princess soon learned that two young travellers had arrived in the city. She began sending messages through the old woman and eventually used a magical swing that could carry a person wherever they wished to go.

The Prince Meets Princess Gulizar

After several days, the prince and the minister’s son used the enchanted swing to reach the palace grounds. There they saw Princess Gulizar waiting for them.The prince and Gulizar were overjoyed to meet at last. The prince visited her at the palace every day and returned to the hut each evening. Gulizar, however, was afraid that something might happen to him while he was away. She wanted him to remain with her permanently. The prince refused to abandon his friend. He reminded Gulizar that the minister’s son had left his own home and country for him and had risked everything so that the prince could reach the Ivory City. For the prince, love did not erase loyalty.

The Poisoned Pilaf

Gulizar eventually decided that the minister’s son was standing between her and the life she wanted with the prince. She instructed a servant to prepare pilaf containing poison and sent it to the minister’s son as a royal gift.

But the minister’s son was observant. When he opened the container beside a stream, he noticed that the grass beneath the lid had turned yellow. He suspected that the food had been poisoned and tested a small portion on some crows. The birds died immediately. He realised that his life had been in danger. When the prince returned, his friend told him what had happened. Rather than allowing the situation to destroy their friendship, the minister’s son devised a plan that would expose Gulizar’s actions and ultimately bring the prince and princess together.

The Fakir’s Clever Plan

The two friends disguised themselves as a fakir and his disciple. The prince then carried out his friend’s instructions and created a story that would convince the king that the fakir possessed supernatural knowledge. The plan involved the princess’s pearl necklace. The prince took the necklace to a goldsmith, who summoned the police. The prince then led them to the disguised minister’s son.

When the king arrived, the minister’s son told an extraordinary tale. He claimed that a creature disguised as the princess had appeared at the graveyard and that, while trying to drive the creature away, he had struck it with a shovel. The necklace, he said, had fallen from the creature as it fled. There was one detail that made the story believable: the princess had a mark on her back from the heated shovel used by the prince.

The king ordered that the princess be examined, and the mark was discovered. He was convinced that the fakir had uncovered something supernatural and ordered the princess to be taken to the graveyard.

Escape from the Ivory City

The princess was placed in a cage near the graveyard. Once they were alone, the prince and the minister’s son abandoned their disguises and revealed the truth. They released Gulizar, treated the injury on her back and explained what had happened. The minister’s son also showed her the poisoned food she had sent him. Gulizar realised how much she had wronged the man who had helped the prince reach her. She wept and acknowledged that the minister’s son had been her greatest helper and friend. The three then left the Ivory City together.

A Royal Welcome

The minister’s son wrote to his father and explained everything that had happened. The letter eventually reached the king of the prince’s homeland, who learned of the prince’s journey, his friendship with the minister’s son and his meeting with Princess Gulizar. The king of the Ivory City was also informed of the events. He was eager to make peace and welcome the travellers properly. He invited the prince and the minister’s son to the palace and agreed to the marriage of the prince and Gulizar.

The wedding soon took place. After several weeks, the king gave the newly married couple horses, elephants, jewels and rich cloths and sent them towards their homeland. The minister’s son also intervened on behalf of several officials who had fallen out of favour, helping secure their pardon.

The Journey Home

On the journey home, the prince, his bride Gulizar and the minister’s son passed the tower of the robbers who had once captured them. With the help of the soldiers travelling with them, they destroyed the tower and seized the treasure that the robbers had accumulated over the years. After many days of travel, the travellers finally reached the prince’s homeland. The king was delighted to see his son return with a beautiful bride and great wealth. The prince was welcomed back into the city, and in time he succeeded his father to the throne.

The prince ruled his kingdom for many years in peace and happiness. And so the long journey that had begun with an unfortunate arrow ended with a kingdom restored, a friendship preserved and a fairy princess finding her place beside the prince she had once met beside a magical lake.