Page 24 - English Reader - 7

Days went by, but the queen remained in a swoon. She grew paler and weaker and there seemed

no sign of her waking up. The king announced a huge reward for anyone who would cure her. Many
people came to treat her, from holy men to magicians, from fortune-tellers to salesmen, but none
succeeded.
When the Brahmin came to know through the prison

guards, what had happened, he told them that he was
the only man in the kingdom who had the remedy for
the snake’s poison. Normally the guards would have just
laughed at him, but it had been announced that anyone
who had a remedy for snake-poison was to be brought
before the king.

The guards led him to the queen’s chambers where the
grieving king gave him permission to try his hand at
curing her.

The Brahmin lifted the curtains of the queen’s bed
and laid his warm hand on her cold forehead. He sat
quietly for a few minutes and then to the king’s utter
surprise, the queen slowly opened her eyes and sat up!

“The queen is awake! The queen is awake! cried
everyone in wonder. Sobbing with gratitude, the
king thanked the Brahmin profusely and
wanted to know all about
the nature of his
medication.

The Brahmin told the king the whole story about how he had rescued the animals and the goldsmith
and narrated how each had repaid him. When the king heard of the goldsmith’s traitorous behaviour,
he was very angry and threw the goldsmith into jail.

After that, the king and queen loaded a cart with gold and silver coins and had two soldiers escort
him home.

His family got surprised when they saw him dressed in princely robes, entering the house loaded
with riches.
With his newly acquired riches, the Brahmin and his family never had to worry about money again
and lived in peace and happiness. But the Brahmin never forgot his animal friends.

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