most for her. With dreamy eyes, she told him that it had been the most wonderful day of her life, because she had been able to look upon the handsome and charming prince in all his splendor. The princeâs heart bounded in his breast, and he finally revealed himself to her, asking her on the spot for her hand in marriage. Wonderstruck and amazed at this incredible chain of events, Dungso Kye began again to cry, but this time for boundless happiness and joy.
âWhat good karma to have met such a sweet and beautiful woman as Dungso Kye,â sighed Prince Dechö Zangpo without thinking. Oh goodnessâwhat had he said! Once more the sack on his back opened by itself and released its prisoner, Ngödrup Dorje. Gloating hugely, the zombie declared, âHereâs the blow you deserve for talking back!â and he disappeared in a puff of wind.
His heart heavy, Dechö Zangpo remained all alone in that desolate place with a great feeling of remorse and failure. But in spite of everything, he showed great patience with himself. Showing enormous resilience and great determination, he decided once and for all to carry out the mission that the guru Gömpo Ludrup had laid upon him. He pledged firmly not to let the cunning zombie escape again, and he turned his steps toward Silwaytsal, resolved to capture âHe Who Fulfills All Dreamsâ and place him before the great sage in the cave.
29
Hunting Down the Zombie Again
O NCE AGAIN, Prince Dechö Zangpo crossed the whole breadth of the kingdom until he reached India and the place where the dead dwelled. Eager to get the job done, he kept forcing them to move aside by using the red cone-shaped object, looking around for that distinctive body that was gold on top, silver on the bottom, and had a mane of pure turquoise. He spotted it easilyâthe zombie in question had taken refuge in the top of a sandalwood tree. The prince took out his ax and touched the trunk of the tree lightly with it. He threatened the zombie, saying, âCome down to the ground; otherwise Iâm going to cut down this sandalwood tree!â
Ngödrup Dorje, sure of not remaining a prisoner for very long, replied, âYou poor prince, you are going to tire yourself out. Wait, I will be the one to make the effort. I will come down to where you are.â
Thus the prince caught the sly zombie without difficulty and once more put it in the magic sack, which he securely fastened.
On the forty-ninth day, the prince was in the process of crossing the great barren plain that had seen him so many times before, when Ngödrup Dorje began speaking to him in a spellbinding voice:
âIn this desolate region, there are no people and you will not find a place to rest, not even a spot the size of a prairie-dog dropping. So to make this long journey a little more pleasant, I propose two solutions. Either you, who are a living being, tell me a story, or I, who am a dead being, will tell you one.â
The prince remained silent, and then the zombie began telling him another beautiful and incredible story.
30
The King of Pearls
O NCE IN A certain country there lived a king and queen who regularly had themselves entertained by their court fool. The fool was known as the King of Pearls, because every time he laughed he vomited a great number of exquisite pearls. With the intention of accumulating the greatest possible number of pearls, the king invited to his court many entertainers who were able to make the fool laugh. Now, one day at one of these events, though everyone else was laughing to the point of tears, the fool himself was not able to laugh. This made the king very angry, because he attributed this failure to some bad intention on the part of the King of Pearls. So he began thinking how to punish him.
What had really happened was that the previous evening, when the poor fool had come home, he caught his wife in the midst of deceiving him with another man. That put him in
âWhat good karma to have met such a sweet and beautiful woman as Dungso Kye,â sighed Prince Dechö Zangpo without thinking. Oh goodnessâwhat had he said! Once more the sack on his back opened by itself and released its prisoner, Ngödrup Dorje. Gloating hugely, the zombie declared, âHereâs the blow you deserve for talking back!â and he disappeared in a puff of wind.
His heart heavy, Dechö Zangpo remained all alone in that desolate place with a great feeling of remorse and failure. But in spite of everything, he showed great patience with himself. Showing enormous resilience and great determination, he decided once and for all to carry out the mission that the guru Gömpo Ludrup had laid upon him. He pledged firmly not to let the cunning zombie escape again, and he turned his steps toward Silwaytsal, resolved to capture âHe Who Fulfills All Dreamsâ and place him before the great sage in the cave.
29
Hunting Down the Zombie Again
O NCE AGAIN, Prince Dechö Zangpo crossed the whole breadth of the kingdom until he reached India and the place where the dead dwelled. Eager to get the job done, he kept forcing them to move aside by using the red cone-shaped object, looking around for that distinctive body that was gold on top, silver on the bottom, and had a mane of pure turquoise. He spotted it easilyâthe zombie in question had taken refuge in the top of a sandalwood tree. The prince took out his ax and touched the trunk of the tree lightly with it. He threatened the zombie, saying, âCome down to the ground; otherwise Iâm going to cut down this sandalwood tree!â
Ngödrup Dorje, sure of not remaining a prisoner for very long, replied, âYou poor prince, you are going to tire yourself out. Wait, I will be the one to make the effort. I will come down to where you are.â
Thus the prince caught the sly zombie without difficulty and once more put it in the magic sack, which he securely fastened.
On the forty-ninth day, the prince was in the process of crossing the great barren plain that had seen him so many times before, when Ngödrup Dorje began speaking to him in a spellbinding voice:
âIn this desolate region, there are no people and you will not find a place to rest, not even a spot the size of a prairie-dog dropping. So to make this long journey a little more pleasant, I propose two solutions. Either you, who are a living being, tell me a story, or I, who am a dead being, will tell you one.â
The prince remained silent, and then the zombie began telling him another beautiful and incredible story.
30
The King of Pearls
O NCE IN A certain country there lived a king and queen who regularly had themselves entertained by their court fool. The fool was known as the King of Pearls, because every time he laughed he vomited a great number of exquisite pearls. With the intention of accumulating the greatest possible number of pearls, the king invited to his court many entertainers who were able to make the fool laugh. Now, one day at one of these events, though everyone else was laughing to the point of tears, the fool himself was not able to laugh. This made the king very angry, because he attributed this failure to some bad intention on the part of the King of Pearls. So he began thinking how to punish him.
What had really happened was that the previous evening, when the poor fool had come home, he caught his wife in the midst of deceiving him with another man. That put him in
Similar Books
