Once upon a time, there was a happy land over which a King ruled with his kind wife. They had a son whom they named Sunshine. Unfortunately, the Queen died and later the King married another lady and had a son whom they named Moonshine. The boys loved each other. But as they grew up, the Queen began to feel miserable that her son, Moonshine, would never be a king, as Sunshine was older. She fell ill and the King asked her what he could do to make her happy and well again. “Only the fried heart of one of the King’s sons can make me feel well again,” said the Queen. “But Sunshine is the heir and Moonshine is my own son. So, how can I have either of them killed?” The King was so much in love with her, that he told her she would have Sunshine’s heart the next day
The Hermit
Moonshine overheard the conversation between his parents and ran to tell Sunshine that they were going to kill him! Sunshine decided to leave home immediately, and Moonshine said he would go with him too. After walking for many days, they reached a dry river bed. Moonshine was so exhausted that he fell down and couldn’t get up. Sunshine went to look for some water but he returned to find that Moonshine had died! He wept as he placed his body in a pit and covered it with stones. He found a hermit in a cave and told him about his brother. The hermit gave him some herbs to bring the boy back to life. “Then both of you must come and live with me as my sons,” he added. Moonshine was revived and the boys began to live in the cave with the hermit as his sons.
In that kingdom, there was a pair of crocodiles living at the source of the river. They wouldn’t let the water flow down unless a man born in the Year of the Tiger was offered to them as food! But some of the people brought their cows to graze near the cave and told the King that they had seen a man who was born in the Year of the Tiger living with the hermit. The King sent his soldiers and they brought Sunshine to the palace, in spite of the hermit’s protests and tears. The princess fell in love with him and said, “If he is thrown to the crocodiles, you must throw me also to them!” When they were about to be thrown in, Sunshine tried to stop her, but the princess was adamant. The crocodiles, hearing them, were moved and let them go. Sunshine returned to the hermit and the princess to the palace.
The hermit, who had been grieving, was delighted to see Sunshine return. The King, too, was so happy that he said he must visit the hermit and his son, whose goodness had saved his daughter and his kingdom. He carried gifts for them and asked, “Are you really the hermit’s son?” Then Sunshine told him about his father, the King, and how he and his brother had left home. The King was so impressed that he gave both his daughters in marriage to the brothers. He sent them to their father’s palace with attendants and with rich gifts and jewels. Their father and mother had been grieving and feeling very guilty at what they had planned to do. When they saw their sons returning with their beautiful brides, there was great joy and celebration in the kingdom. The hermit was treated with great honour and courtesy for looking after their sons.
