This story happened in Tibet a long time ago. Once upon a time there lived three young men. One, named Phuntsok, was the son of a chief, the second, Wangdu, came from a rich family, and the third, Topgyal, was a poor man. They were very friendly with each other and, when it was necessary to solve a problem, they said that one head was good, but three was still better.
One day Topgyal said to two friends:
“I heard that somewhere in the valley, not far from my house, there is a family, and in it a beautiful, smart and kind daughter grew up. Many went to ask for her hand in marriage, but the girl never opened her mouth. It's like she's deaf and dumb. Well, isn't it strange?
Phuntsok suggested:
- Well, let the three of us try our luck and see which of us is lucky. If one of us manages to marry her, then everyone else should help him. For example, if I marry her, then Wangdu will give me half of his cows, and Topgyal will go into my service forever. If Wangdu marries her, then I will give him half of my lands, and Topgyal will become his slave. And if you, Topgyal, the poorest of us, succeed, then
Wangdu will give you half of his wealth, and I will give half of his lands. Is it coming?
They shook hands and swore an oath in the same place that they would do as they promised.
The next day, Phuntsok, the chief's son, went to the valley with horses loaded with bales of jewelry - gold, silver, jewelry, beautifully embroidered clothes. He was surrounded by numerous servants, mounted on richly decorated horses. But despite all the gifts he brought and all the efforts he made, he could not impress the girl. She didn't show the slightest interest in him. He talked so much that his tongue dried out and saliva began to spray from his mouth, but the girl did not say anything to him. A few days later, Phuntsok, admitting defeat, returned home in disgrace.
Then Wangdu, the rich man's son, went to the girl, dressed in his best clothes. In addition, he took with him all kinds of gifts and numerous servants. He even brought dancers with him. But as they approached the valley, they began to sing and dance. Arriving at the place, Wangdu ordered his servants to line up and present gifts to the girl to the sounds of music and dancing. But she didn't even glance at the show he was putting on. Wangdu exhausted his supply of tender words and promises, but achieved nothing. The girl didn’t even open her mouth. So Wangdu also returned back in disgrace.
Finally it was Topgyal's turn. The poor guy had to set off on his journey without having anything with him that his two friends could boast of. He didn't even have any special gift for the girl, just a few barley cakes. Not much time passed before he saw a cave in the mountain. At its entrance stood an old woman with white hair, blue eyes and a single tooth shining like a pearl in her mouth. Topgyal, taking a step towards her, said respectfully:
- Grandma, can I help you with something? If so, then don't hesitate to tell me about it.
The old woman raised her head and looked at him and said:
“Young man, you seem to have a good heart.” I was weak from hunger. If you have something to eat, then kindly share it with me.
Topgyal handed her a bag of flatbread. She ate a little and then asked:
-Where are you going?
- To the valley, ask a girl to marry me.
- And who is this girl?
- The one who doesn’t like to talk.
The old woman was surprised:
- There it is! Well, isn’t it strange that you chose her! She did not talk to the chief's son and the rich man's son. Perhaps she is waiting for someone who will love her with all his heart. Go and try your luck. I wish you good luck.
When Topgyal was about to move on, the old woman added:
- Young man, you have a kind soul. I must warn you that the girl doesn’t want to talk because she remembers a lot of bad things. That's why she suffers so much and doesn't like to talk.
-What is she thinking about?
The old woman continued:
- Nobody knows how everything really happened. She said she remembers being a morning person. All day long she soared in the sky with her husband.
They sang their songs together and were happy. Then everything got even better: they had children who were early risers. But one day it started to rain, the water suddenly rose and flooded the entire valley. Three of their children were washed away. Trying to save them, she and her husband threw themselves into a raging stream and drowned.
Then they were born blackbirds. Day after day they sang and joyfully jumped from branch to branch. They gave birth to lovely children. They were very happy, and every day they flew to look for food for their babies.
One day they went in search of food, and a vile shepherd boy, playing with fire, set fire to the nest, and the little blackbirds were burned. She and her husband were beside themselves with grief and threw themselves into the flames. They were then reborn as tigers and had two small children. One day hunters came and shot them all with arrows. And then she was born a girl. And now as soon as she remembers what she experienced as a lark, a blackbird and a tigress, the girl immediately becomes sad and thinks that marriage is
a bitter fate, and happiness only leads to misfortune. That is why she is sad all the time, refuses to speak and does not pay attention to those who are looking for her hand.
Topgyal remembered the words of the old woman and, saying goodbye to her, continued on his way to the valley. The girl saw another young man coming and decided that he would also propose to her. In disgust, she slammed the door behind her, locking it. Topgyal pretended not to notice this and, slowly approaching, said affectionately:
“I’ve known for a long time that you live here.” I didn't come before because my family is poor. We are both victims of a cruel fate, so why did you hide at the sight of me?
And then he continued:
“Don’t you remember how we were early risers and spent all our days and nights together in joy?” And then suddenly our kids were washed away by the wave. Trying to save them, we also died.
The girl, standing inside the house, was amazed to hear these words. She opened the door and sat down at the spinning wheel, as if she were getting to work, but she didn’t say anything. Topgyal noticed that his words made an impression on her. And then he, going up to the spinning wheel, continued:
“Have you forgotten how we were later born as blackbirds, thinking that now we would be luckier?” But something happened that we did not expect at all. The shepherd boy set our nest on fire. Our children died in a fire, and we rushed after them into the flames. Our happiness has come to an end again.
The girl stopped spinning and listened carefully to his words. Topgyal continued his story:
“I’m sure you haven’t forgotten how we were reborn as tigers and had two children.” And this time we were no more lucky than before. We were all killed by the hunters on the mountain top. And now you are born into this family, and I am the son of a poor man and drag out my existence in agony at the foot of the mountain. I came all this way just to tell you what happened to me after we parted. But it seems that you forgot everything and even went so far as to slam the door in my face. I never expected this from you.
The young man was so upset that he began to cry.
The girl came out from behind the spinning wheel. Her eyes were full of tears. She grabbed Topgyal's hands and said:
“From now on, we will never be separated again.” All this time, no matter who came to me - the son of a leader or the son of a rich man - I did not utter a word. I was only waiting for you.
To the amazement of all the villagers, and especially Phuntsok and Wangdu, Topgyal married the girl soon after. The two friends, keeping their promise, gave the young couple half of their property. And Topgyal and the girl lived peacefully and happily from then on. And she was never again bothered by thoughts about the past.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru