No. 244
The Prince who received the Turtle Shell
In a certain country there was a son of a King. After this son had become big to a certain extent, for the purpose of teaching him he sent him near a teacher; but as time was going on, the teacher, ascertaining that he could not teach this one, gave notice to His Majesty the King. Thereupon the King having summoned the Prince near him, sent him to stay unoccupied (nikan) in the royal house.
During the time while he was thus, the other Princes, having finished learning the sciences and having again arrived near the King, began to show him, one by one, their dexterity. Some of them began to make jests about this ignorant Prince. Thereupon this Prince being much ashamed, and his father the King also not concealing it, his Prince, putting on his ornaments and decorating himself with his sword, bow, etc., having entered a forest wilderness went away.
When he had gone in this manner for a considerable distance through the midst of the forest wilderness, he saw a house of a cow-herd. The Prince went to this cow-herd’s house, and having told him of his hunger, asked for a little food.
The cow-herd’s wife, having thought that she must take the Prince’s costly ornaments, gave the Prince to eat, drink, and sit, and [permitted him] to stay; and having told him to unfasten his clothes and go to sleep, handed over to him a bed also.
Thereupon having thought, “This woman is a most kind person,” the Prince having taken off his ornaments, gave them together with his weapons to the cow-herd’s wife. The Prince having been sleeping, after his eyes were opened, when he asked for the ornaments from the cow-herd’s wife, without giving them she told the Prince to dwell there.
Well then, a certain goddess who saw that this young Prince in this manner was causing the cattle to graze, having shown great compassion towards him, one day approached near him and said thus, “I will give thee a turtle shell and a spell. By the power of the spell thou canst do the thing thou thinkest. Having got inside the turtle shell thou canst stay there. If not in that way, thou canst become a Prince decorated with beautiful ornaments. But without saying the spell just now, thou art to say it when thou hast become twenty-five years of age,” she said.