Story....

When I was a young child, I love reading about folk tales and stories. I was never bright in my studies but I just love to read. It is a habit I unearthed in my early days. I love folk tales, local stories and fairy tale stories from Han Christian Andersen collections. One of the early magazines which I was able to read from the old Indian uncle book stand were "SHOOT", " Movie News" and even " National Geographic". I remembered running to the school library so that I could spend time reading books and magazines but I never could get a good grade for my maths, science and so on. Allow me to narrate to you a story from Cambodia and I will let you draw the conclusion of the story yourself.

The story starts with a young beautiful couple who was newly wed and so much in love with one another. They took a walk at the lake side park when the Prince saw the beautiful young lady and was immediately captivated by her. The Prince then ordered his men to take the young lady to his place and shoved the young man aside. The Prince then took the young lady to the side and told the young lady, " If you do not come with me, I will have the young man killed immediately. The young man pleaded with the Prince, "Please , Your Highness. Please do not take my wife away. We have only been married a few days ago and I love her." The Prince sneered at him and shoved him aside. He then beckoned the young woman to follow him and uttered, " Do as I say or the man dies!". The young woman was now in tears and gazed lovingly towards her husband and to the Prince. She then followed the Prince and all the while turning her head to gaze at her beloved husband. The Prince, the young woman and his soldiers then went off to the Palace leaving the young man at the lake side. The young man thought to himself, " What shall I do? What shall I do? I know, I will go to the Palace and plead with the King. " So, he went to the Palace and being a commoner, it was difficult to get an audience with the King. However, with his sheer determination, he managed to get an audience with the King at his court yard and he presented his case to the King. " Your Highness, your son , the Prince, had taken my young wife away from me this evening. Please, Your Highness, could you please asked the Prince to return my wife to me?", said the young man. " Silence! You imbecile! My son would not do such a thing. You commoner! How dare you accuse my son of such things! Are you not afraid to be beheaded? Now, off with you! Guards! Take him out and throw him out on the streets!" The wise priest quickly stepped in and said, " Your Highness, I believe that a commoner such as this would not have the courage to come to your palatial precinct just to bring to you such an accusation. Anyway, My Lord, I have a portion of truth here and whoever drinks it will reveal the truth in 10 minutes time and we will have the ultimate truth." "Alright! Give this portion to the commoner and my son, the Prince." The wise priest added, " As either of them is going to face death, let us give them a few minutes in solitude to spent with each other." He then drew out a long bamboo and there were two rings attached to a wooden barrel in the centre. Each person was to carry one end so that there is a wedge between them. So, the young man took the full weight of the bamboo and barrel as they were led in a room. The young lady confessed that she was threatened by the Prince that if she were to tell the truth , they would kill the young man. So, affectionately, they confessed their love for one another and professed their undying love for one another.

Then it was the turn of the Prince. He immediately let the young lady bore the entire weight of the bamboo and wooden barrel. He was a proud Prince and again, warned the young lady that should she say that she was taken against her will, he would have the young man and his entire family killed immediately. The young lady shooked her head and understood her predicament. As they were led into the King's court, suddenly, the barrel burst opened. A young boy came out from the barrel and he had taken notes of the conversations and hands over the notes to the wise priest who read the transcript aloud. The priest then told the King , " Your Highness, Your son, the Prince is not telling the truth. The young man is the young lady's husband."

At this point, everyone was amazed and was relieved at the revelation. They were seen nodding their heads in approval of the young boy's deeds and the wisdom of the priest. However, to the horror of everyone in the Palace, the King shouted " This is all a lie! You are all traitors. You are all plotting against royalty!" The King then ordered the priest, his advisors , the young boy and the young man to be killed for treason and seeing this happening, the young lady was so devastated and distraught that she took out her sharp hairpin and stabbed herself to death.

This is where the story ends. I shall leave it to you to draw your own conclusions and discussions. Life can be a tragedy or joy at times. It depends solely on your interpretations!~