In a certain country there are a King and a Queen, it is said. There is an only Prince of the Queen’s.
The King was stricken by a very great scarcity (sāyak). Well then, the Queen and the King and the Prince devoured (plundered) all the things and pansalas (monks’ residences) that were in the city. Having devoured them, on the day when they were finished the King said at the hand of the Queen, “To-morrow I must behead our Prince.” So the Queen, having tied a little cooked rice in a packet and given it into the hand of the Prince, said, “Go thou away to any place thou wantest.”
After that, the Prince taking the packet of cooked rice and having gone on and on, and eaten the packet of cooked rice sitting upon a rock, looked about, saying, “Where is a smoke rising?” When he looked a smoke was visible.
After that, having descended from the rock, as he was going away he met with some goats; in the party of goats there was a large she-goat. When the Prince was going near the she-goat, the she-goat expectorated.
The Prince, taking the piece of spittle and wrapping it in his handkerchief, went to the house of a widow woman. Having gone there and given the handkerchief into the hand of the widow-mother, he said, “Mother, having placed this handkerchief in the very bottommost pot,[16] put it away.” After that, the woman having placed the handkerchief in the very bottommost pot, put it away.
After seven days went by, having taken out the handkerchief, at the time when he looked [in the pot] three Princesses and four young rats were there, and filled the pot. Afterwards he took the three Princesses out of the pot. Having taken them out, placing the three Princesses in that very house, the Prince, marrying them, remained there.
While he was living in that very way, news reached the King, the Prince’s father, that this Prince is living with (lit., near) the widow-mother. Afterwards the King came there on horse-back, together with the army. Having come, he said to the Prince, “Can you pluck and give me the Blue-lotus flower which is in the Great Sea?” Then the Prince said, “I can.”
Owing to it, the widow woman was weeping at the Prince’s saying he can. The three Princesses asked, “What, mother, are you weeping for?”
Then the widow-mother says, “Anē! Now then, my son will die when he has gone into the Great Sea.”
Then the three Princesses say, “Anē! What do you weep at that for? Bring a little sand from an untrodden place.” The widow woman brought a little sand from an untrodden place.