The Prince and the Zombie (8 page)

The twenty-first day, as the prince, with his burden on his back, was crossing in silence the great barren plain, Ngödrup Dorje began speaking to him in a very sweet and soothing voice:

“In this desolate region, there are no people and you will not find a place to rest, not even a place the size of a prairie-dog dropping. So to make this long journey a little more pleasant, I propose two solutions. Either you, a living being, will tell me a story, or I, who am a dead being, will tell you one.”

The prince was completely on the alert and did not breathe a word. Thus the zombie began telling him of the beggar's further adventures.

16

Justice Is Served

W
ELL, THEN,
the family of the young man's in-laws and everyone in the village were terrified by what had happened to the beautiful young woman. No one could calm the monkey down or think of a way to change it back into a woman. The young man let three long months go by in order to punish his wife. Finally he disguised himself as a great spiritual master, burned one of the giant bird's feathers to get the bird to return, and had himself carried on its back above his parents-in-law's village. Everyone in the region thought they were seeing a miracle. At the sight of the young man being carried about in the sky, they thought that the Buddha himself had descended from the heavens. The people prostrated to this phenomenon and recited a great number of mantras.

The false master had himself put down on the roof of the house of his parents-in-law and was received with extreme devotion by the family, who did not recognize him at all. Honored by this high-level visit and full of hope that they might receive some precious help for their daughter, the family showed this grand master the monkey shut up in the cage and related what had transpired. The false master played his role to the hilt, and after a long silence he said: “Hmm! I see that your daughter has an extremely worthy husband to whom she has caused great harm. She stole some special objects from him. If you do not do what is necessary for these things to be returned to him at once, you will all also be transformed into monkeys!”

These words had a powerful effect on the family, who were terrified. The parents-in-law pondered hard trying to remember what their daughter had had with her when she had returned home.

“We didn't see anything in her hands but a stick and a sack,” they said.

Happy to hear this news, the former beggar disguised as a great master asked that these objects be brought to him, and said, “Yes, indeed, it seems to me these are the things in question. Now you can stop worrying—I can help you. Let me have the monkey. I will take her with me and change her back into a human being!”

Overjoyed, the family accepted this proposal and let him take the monkey away with him. When they had reached a sufficient distance from the village, the false master touched the monkey with the yellow flower, and it became once again the young woman he had married.

Beside herself with happiness, the young woman threw herself down at the great master's feet, wept tears of joy, and thanked him from the bottom of her heart. As she was doing this, the former beggar removed his disguise so as to reveal to her his true identity. When the young woman again got to her feet, how great was her amazement and shame to find herself thus standing before the husband she had so coldly abused! With great remorse, she begged a thousand pardons.

He was concerned now to learn the whereabouts of their daughter. Trembling from head to toe, his wife told him that in the course of their voyage on the stick, the little one had slipped from her mother's hands. She had tumbled into space and perished on the spot. Infinitely saddened by this irreparable loss and very angry with his wife, who was responsible for the death of their daughter, he had the magic stick beat her. In spite of that, his wife said to him, “My dear one, I regret very much what has happened and I ask you to forgive me. I beg of you, take me with you again. It is no longer possible for me to stay in my parents' home, where I would only live in pain and suffering.”

The young man answered her thus:

“I took you with me at your own request, because you wanted to live a free and adventurous life. You robbed me, you deceived me, and you left me of your own free will to go back to your parents. I can only conclude that you prefer suffering to happiness. Count on me no longer. I want nothing to do with you!”

At this moment, the zombie made a long, well-calculated pause, and, caught up in the story, the prince lost his attention for a moment and cried out: “What a stupid woman! She has no idea what she—” He broke off sharply but too late.

Yet once more the sack opened to allow its prisoner, Ngödrup Dorje, to escape. Gloating hugely, the zombie said, “There you have the humiliating blow you deserve for talking back!” and he disappeared in a puff of wind.

Dechö Zangpo was left all alone in this desolate place with an immense feeling of remorse and failure. But neither his anger nor his tears could change the situation in the least. In the end he regained his composure, took a firm hold on his courage, and decided to continue with the mission he had been given by the guru Gömpo Ludrup. With the firmest possible resolve never to let his vigilance lapse again, he went back again to capture “He Who Fulfills All Dreams.”

17

Hunting Down the Zombie Again

S
O IT WAS
that the determined prince Dechö Zangpo traveled across the entire kingdom again until he reached the place called Silwaytsal, where the dead dwelled. Forcing aside the numerous dead beings who crowded around him, by touching their heads with the cone-shaped red object, he finally caught a glimpse of the object of his hunt, the zombie Ngödrup Dorje. The zombie was gold on the top, silver on the bottom, and had a mane of pure turquoise. As soon as he was seen, the zombie fled into the top of a sandalwood tree, saying, “I am not the right one! I am not the right one!” But once again, being very sure of himself, he finally came down from the tree and ended up in the prince's magic sack, which the prince tied up securely with his magic rope.

The twenty-fourth day, when the prince was once again in the process of crossing the great barren plain, Ngödrup Dorje began speaking to him in a very sweet and soothing voice:

“In this desolate region, there are no people and you know very well you will not find a place to rest, not even a place the size of a prairie-dog dropping. So to make this long journey a little more pleasant, I propose two solutions. Either you, a living being, will tell me a story, or I, who am a dead being, will tell you one.”

The prince, sorely tried but more than ever on his guard, did not answer a word, and the zombie resumed where he had left off telling him the story of the beggar.

18

The Beggar Is Reunited with His Friends

R
ID OF HIS
perfidious wife, the young man set off again on his journey across the high Tibetan plateau. One day, he felt an irresistible desire to see once again the three friends he had left behind in different villages after their respective weddings.

So it was that he came first to the region where he had parted from the son of the king. From a distance he saw a flock of sheep with their shepherd, and he decided to have a chat with the man in the hope of getting some information about his friend. As he was speaking with the shepherd, he discovered with surprise that this herdsman himself was no one else but the king's son. His complexion had been darkened by the sun and his body, formerly so strong and resilient, had become feeble and sickly because of the bad food he was being given. He had changed so much that the young beggar had not even recognized him!

The beggar learned that at the beginning of his marriage, the king's son had lacked for nothing and had lived a happy life in the bosom of a good family. But as time went on, the family had shown him less and less respect, had given him terrible food, and had taken away his royal raiment, exchanging it for a herdsman's clothes. At last they had cast him out of the house and made him stay outdoors with his herd.

It was with great joy and indescribable happiness that the shepherd, who had had to endure so much suffering in the meantime, laid eyes on the beggar again. The beggar promised he would find a strategy to help him. He warned him, above all, not to mention anything about their meeting to anyone and not to be surprised by anything that happened.

In order to provide his starving friend with some decent nourishment, the young beggar took out his magic sack and drew out of it a feast of eighteen courses, each one more succulent than the last. The two ate their fill and fell asleep together, surrounded by the sheep. That night the shepherd had the impression that the sky was more illuminated than usual by all the stars and by the thousand buddhas who were smiling down on him from up there.

Very early the following morning, the two separated and proceeded as though their meeting had never occurred. When the beggar arrived at the village, he put on his hat, and invisible to all eyes, he entered the house of his friend's in-laws. As he had done with his own wife, he touched his friend's wife with the red flower, which transformed her instantly into a monkey. She was terrified and began jumping about in every direction. She broke everything in the house that she touched and injured everyone who crossed her path. The family was shocked and did not know what to do. They could find no solution but to shut her up in a cage for her own safety and the safety of everyone else.

The beggar, still invisible thanks to the magic hat, left the house and, by burning another feather, summoned his friend the mother bird to his aid. Disguised as a great spiritual master, the young man mounted on the bird's back and flew over the village. Everyone thought that the Buddha himself had descended from the sky. They burned sticks of incense, prayed fervently, and prostrated on the ground. The bird alit on the roof of the house of the shepherd's in-laws, and the false master climbed down into the house, where he was received with great deference. The family did not recognize him at all.

Honored by this dignitary's visit and full of hope for his precious aid, the family showed the great spiritual master the monkey shut up in its cage and told him what had transpired. The false master played his role with skill. After a long silence, he said:

“Hmm! I see that your daughter has an extremely worthy husband to whom your whole family has caused great harm. That is why the local deities have punished your daughter and have changed her into a monkey. If you do not ask your son-in-law's forgiveness and do not accord him his legitimate, respected place in the family as before, you are all in peril of being turned into monkeys sooner or later.”

This had a major effect. The family was terrified and summoned the shepherd. They returned to him his royal garments of old and asked his forgiveness. They pledged to honor him and treat him as they had at the beginning of the marriage.

Then the false master kept his word, and secretly, using the yellow flower, he transformed the monkey back into a woman. She was very happy to have regained her original form and promised to love and honor her husband. Delighted at having been able to help his friend, the beggar took his leave and resumed his travels. Though it was difficult to for them to say goodbye, the two friends were glad their strong friendship had remained intact.