Short Story: The Child of a Ruler with Horns

By Dhruv Chauhan

Once upon a time, there was a king named Amrendra. His kingdom was prosperous, majestic and regal, yet Amrendra was very unhappy. He was childless.

A few years and many rituals later, he was finally blessed with a son. He was very happy to hear the news at first, but when he saw his son he was shocked. The prince was born with horns on his head.

After a few months, when the royal barber came to cut the hair of the prince, the king said, “Don’t tell anyone about my son’s horns. If you do, then you will be put behind bars.” The barber agreed and went home.

After a few hours, the barber experienced a stomach ache. His mother asked, “What happened? I think that you are hiding something from me, tell me.”  The barber said, “The king has told me to not tell the thing to anyone.” His mother said, “Then go and say the thing in the hollow of a tree.” The barber liked this idea and went into a forest to find a tree with a hollow. He shouted in it, “The child of the ruler has horns on his head.” Then, he felt better.

After a few months, some drummers came to the same forest. They found some excellent quality wood for making drums for a festival. Unfortunately, they chose the same tree.

In the festival, when the drummers struck the drum the sound came, “The child of the ruler has horns on his head….” Then the king became very angry. He called the barber and scolded him, “I told you not to disclose the truth. Now, you will be put behind the bars.” The barber then narrated the whole story to the king. The kind ruler eventually forgave him.