An Apple of Gold

An apple of gold----part 1

We all are aware of the famous saying ‘An apple a day keeps doctor away’

But if this notion turns into ‘An apple a day keeps us young and ageless forever’

On hearing this we will definitely be spell bound!

Once upon a time there was an emperor who loved his countrymen and had a great respect for true power and people. The emperor’s name was Vikram. He was kind, just and maintained peace among his countrymen. He had four sons and one daughter. All his children were great warriors and learned. The king had a magnificent palace of one thousand rooms. But in that palace there was a forbidden area which was not accessible to trespassers. The earth was there blond and had a gold reflection on the things. There air too had a gold effect. It made one feel as if someone had sprinkled the tiny particles of gold all around. The story of gold does not end here. In fact this is the beginning due to the presence of a huge lustrous apple tree with all its opulent beauty and glory. One could not imagine its height for it was beyond calculation. Nobody dared to climb it since it was too high, as if it was touching the sky. The tree was loaded with apples. Those apples were not ordinary but of gold.

The tall and beautiful apple tree was a gift from Sun God to Vikram’s ancestors for their good deeds towards nation. Then it became a great bliss for Vikram too. The growth of one gold apple in a year meant great prosperity for the nation and further affluence for the emperor. However its loss hampered the progress and adversely affected the emperor’s health too.

Everything was running safe and smooth in the empire. The entire nation was health and wealth benefitted. Vikram too was enjoying opulence and receiving love and respect from his people. Suddenly it was noticed that the sun’s rays were becoming harsh on the skin. After a month animals started dying due to the scorching heat of the Sun.

The atmosphere was day by day getting dry and dull. Dry and thirsty cracks were the mood of the notion. The bliss soon turned into a disguise. The emperor started feeling old and unhealthy. Everyone was disgusted with the fatal transformation occurring in the country. The whole nation was distressed and grievances towards the ruler were a common conception.

Seeing the general unrest among the people Vikram was under relentless worry. One day when Vikram was sleeping he had a dream of Sun god, indicating the top stem of apple tree. Though the king was not in his good health but he woke up early in the morning and got a competition announced to climb on the apple tree. He also added that the winner will be rewarded handsomely. The news spread like fire in the jungle of the competition and the incentive and prize associated with it. There was a general notion amongst people that the apple tree must be the cause of grief of the whole nation. Many struggled to climb to the top of the tree. Some of them fainted as soon as they looked at the scale of the height to climb. Some got terrible injured while their attempt. The emperors worry and unrest kept increasing looking at the general failure of the people.

One day he surfed out for a visit to his countrymen’s condition to understand the pain and misery they were facing. He decided to distribute daily consummates and fresh water. He came across the actual situation that there was no food or water for even the young ones. People were fighting for one bowl of rice and chapattis. Even those were suffering who used to welcome their guests with lavish food and drinks. Seeing this painful situation the King suffered deep grief and tears started rolling down from the king’s eyes. After providing food and water to the general mass he returned to his palace.

On his way back home he saw a robust man at his back that was speedily climbing a mountain cliff with utmost ease. Vikram called upon him in the court. As soon as the man entered the palace every object started glowing. It was hard to have an eye contact with him due to the smoldering and sheen on his face. The king explained him the situation and asked for a resolution.

The man replied humbly- Almighty you are the nation’s father and we are your children. So your wish is our command. That night he climbed the tree and kept awake whole night. Unfortunately nothing happened that night but he did not lose hope. He kept a close watch on the movements and did not come down. During the midnight of the next day a sound was heard by the man. It was a sound of fluttering. The man carefully hid himself in one of the bushes of the tree. He raised his head and saw a horrible giant owl.

It had fiery eyes, was entirely black with a long tail. It one sight could create horror and fatal defeat for any other creature. However the man stood firm. He was justifying his assigned job by the emperor. He jumped off from the tree and held the birds feet tightly while the bird took a flight. He carried himself so intelligently that the bird could hardly see him. After around one hour the giant bird reached to a place where everything was black. He cautiously jumped off into the bushes. Water, plants, trees, mountains, valleys and a big fort all were black. Everything was black and dark except a well near by the river. The well was of scarlet red color. The man soon went to the well to quench his thirst. When he was about to drink water, a voice came out from the well-you are not allowed to drink water from here. He then held back and watchfully waited for the right action. As soon as he entered the fort he saw a pond of eaten apples and heard the sobs of a girl, who was weeping and cleaning the room. The girl anxiously said, ‘How have you reached this place? Please leave this situates immediately, your life will be endangered if she comes! My name is Pearl and I am a princess of Pirrare. Kali has abducted me and my fellow bird who used to be an innocent small bird she has converted him into a giant’ The man asked, ‘who is this woman?’ The girl replied, ‘This woman, who has eaten some gold apples and is now become a young and pretty lady. Her name is ‘Kali’, although she is one thousand years old; but she appears to be very beautiful and attractive. After a long wait of years and decades she has found from her sources a formula of being elegant and young.’

The man said dear lady, ‘I have here come to intrigue the cause of the lost apples from our king’s palace and which stands for not only our nation’s prosperity but also for our king’s well being.’ The lady exclaimed, ’Oh my God! You and your king are in a big trouble, since it is not possible to stop Kali from fetching and eating those apples. There is only one way to resolve the situation if you dare to kill her.’ Then the lady secretly whispered him about the mystery of killing Kali. At that time the Sun was setting off and the dawn was turning into dusk. Suddenly there was a loud voice coming behind the door of saying-’Pearl I am hungry, get my food on the table’ Kali, the lady of black was arrived thereafter. She entered and shouted on Pearl for she had not cooked the food yet.

On the other hand the man was eloped for operating his next activity. It was to kill Kali. The man entered a cave which was separated with a glass wall. In which, on the one side there were venomous snakes and on the other wild mongoose. He broke off the glass wall and all snakes were eaten up by the mongoose. Afterwards he saw sculpture of Kali in seven different colors and he had to choose the right one. If he succeeded to pick up the correct one that would drove kali to death otherwise it was the death penalty for him. That moment was a big challenge for him. He moved forward and picked up one sculpture out of seven.

The chosen sculpture was of red color. While seeing all the colors he was recalling the color of the owl’s eye besides he could remember the old lady’s picture hung on the wall. That lady had red eyes. He took his decision when all the three things were floating on his mind. Holding the sculpture he left the cave and started calling Pearl. As soon as she heard, she came running out of the fort. Kali hit hard on the man’s back and pulled Pearl on to the ground. She took out her sword and was going to stab the man. Pearl stood up, held the man’s hand and called his bird friend swiftly. The giant owl came closer to take them on its back and flew away. Later the man and the lady reached to their own destinations. Their arrival was a huge celebration for their people.