The Prince and the Zombie (12 page)

The prince, on his guard, did not utter a word, and so the zombie began telling him a story that was still more compelling than the ones he had told before.

28

The Three Sisters

A
VERY LONG TIME AGO,
in a high and very remote valley, there lived three sisters, the daughters of a peasant. The eldest was called Serso Kye, “Born with Gold Teeth.” The middle one was called Ngulso Kye, “Born with Silver Teeth.” As to the youngest, she was named Dungso Kye, “Born with Pearl Teeth.” As often used to happen in the villages in the old days, hardly had the first baby girl been born when the mother became pregnant with the second. And the same thing happened after the birth of the second one—the mother immediately became pregnant with the third. This could have gone on for years if there had not been complications with the birth of the third daughter, Dungso Kye, as a result of which the mother died.

So the sisters grew up with their father, who had become a widower too young and who never recovered from the grief caused by the death of his beloved wife. When the eldest daughter reached marriage age, he suddenly died of heart failure. The whole village joined together in helping the three orphans to organize the funeral ceremony in accordance with tradition. As the family had only very modest resources, only a few monks were invited from the local monastery to watch over the deceased, a process that, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, lasted for three days and three nights. The prayers of the monks accompanied the father's spirit in the difficult journey through the
bardo
, an intermediate state in which the dead person wanders for a maximum of forty-nine days. The three orphans observed a mourning period of one year. They refrained from singing and dancing and did not participate in any festive events. But the people of the village were very considerate toward them and were a big help to them in getting through this difficult period.

One day they learned of the existence of a prince named Yunna Relpa, “He Whose Forehead Is Adorned with Turquoise.” He lived in a big castle on the mountain. The villagers gave out that he was a very handsome young man who was also intelligent and of good character—and that he was searching throughout the region for a wife.

The oldest of the three orphans, Serso Kye, decided to try her luck. One fine morning she set off into the mountains to try to meet and seduce Yunna Relpa. Traveling on the only road to the castle, she reached a place that was extremely narrow and dangerous. It had a high rock wall on one side and a sheer precipice on the other. There Serso Kye saw a man lying on the ground blocking the passage. She went right up to him and shouted, “Hey there, get up and let me pass!”

The man did not respond, and she gave him a kick to see if he was still alive. That was when the man replied to her in a sleepy voice, “Try to go around me if you can. If you can't, then climb over me and get by that way.”

Serso Kye was very impatient and quite angry with this sort of drunken lout who was blocking her way, so she did not think the matter over long. She climbed first onto and then over him, swearing in a vile manner all the while, and went swiftly on her way, without even looking back. The man then easily got to his feet. It was Prince Yunna Relpa disguised as a simple man of the people. He said to himself, “That girl is certainly not one with whom I have shared karma in the past, and she is certainly not the one to whom I now would want to make offerings of jewels and rich brocade gowns!”

After having been away for a long time, Serso Kye returned to the village without having had any success. Resentfully, she recounted to her sisters how she had not been able even to see Prince Yunna Relpa despite her assiduous efforts.

So then Ngulso Kye, the second sister, announced that now she also wanted to try her luck. One fine morning she set off for the mountains to try to meet and seduce Prince Yunna Relpa. Traveling on the only road that led to his castle, just like her elder sister before her, she reached a place that was extremely narrow and dangerous, with a high rock wall on one side and a sheer precipice on the other. There Ngulso Kye saw a man lying on the ground entirely blocking the passage. She went right up to him and shouted, “Hey there! Get up and let me pass by!”

Since the man did not move, she gave him a kick to see if he was still alive. It was at that point that the man replied in a sleepy voice, “Try to go around me if you can. If you can't, climb over me!”

Impatient and very angry at having this drunken fellow blocking her path, Ngulso Kye did not think the matter over long. She climbed over him, swearing in a vile manner all the while, and went swiftly on her way, not even favoring him with a backward glance. The man got easily to his feet. It was, of course, Prince Yunna Relpa disguised as a simple man of the people. He said to himself, “This girl and I have no karma in common! It's certainly not her to whom I am inclined to make offerings of jewels and rich brocade gowns.”

After a long while away, Ngulso Kye returned to the house. She too had been unsuccessful. She recounted to her sisters that she had not been able even to catch a glimpse of the prince in spite of having tried quite hard.

Dungso Kye, the youngest of the three sisters, highly intrigued by everything she had heard from her two sisters, decided to try her luck at just setting her eyes on the legendary prince, Yunna Relpa. One fine morning, in her turn, she left for the mountains. On the one road that led to the castle, she came upon the same extremely narrow and dangerous spot, with a high rock wall on one side and a sheer precipice on the other. There, just like her two sisters before her, Dungso Kye saw a man lying on the ground blocking the way. She went up to him and said, “Hey, there! Get up and let me pass by!”

When the man did not move, she bent over and shook him very gently to see if he was still alive. At that point, the man replied to her, saying, “Try to go around me if you can. If you can't, climb over me!”

Surprised, Dungso Kye thought for a moment about what she should do. Finally, she said, “I don't see how I could get by going around you, and, being a respectable girl, I would never climb over a man's body. So I'm going to wait patiently until you get up and then I'll be on my way.”

“Where are you going?” asked the man.

Dungso Kye politely replied:

“I'm going up the mountain to see the young prince Yunna Relpa, of whom I have heard tell. People say that his wealth and power are without equal as are both his outer and inner beauty. For that reason I would simply like to see him for myself just once. So I am on my way to the castle on the mountain.”

Of course the man lying on the ground was none other than Prince Yunna Relpa, whose wish was to marry a young woman of excellent character, a respectable girl with a good heart. In order not to be recognized, he had been disguising himself as a simple man of the people and subjecting the young women he met to this small trial. When he heard the response of the third young woman, he felt an immense joy, which for the moment he kept hidden. Without revealing his identity, he simply told her that he had gotten enough rest for now and had to be on his way. He quickly disappeared into the distance on his way back to the castle.

Glad that her path was no longer blocked, Dungso Kye continued her climb to the castle. All of a sudden she heard loud barking and saw in the distance a large dog with a terrifying appearance. She was very frightened, because she knew the dogs kept by the nomads were fierce guard dogs who allowed no one to approach either their masters' tents or their cattle. For that reason, Dungso Kye was quite relieved, when she got closer to the dog, to see that it was tied up. But at the same moment, she saw some torn-up clothing lying on the ground. She recognized with horror that these dust-laden clothes were those of the man who had lain blocking her path just a little while ago. She immediately assumed that the huge beast had attacked and probably killed the poor fellow. In shock and overcome by great sadness, she began to pray and recite mantras for the unfortunate victim in the hope this would help him attain a good reincarnation. As she continued on her way, she shed a great many tears for this unknown person.

When Dungso Kye finally arrived at the castle, she was still in tears. She ran across a sympathetic servant, who was really Prince Yunna Relpa again in a different disguise. Before returning to his castle, he had torn up the clothes he was wearing and thrown them away on the road so that he could dress up as a servant. When he saw Dungso Kye in such grief, he asked what had befallen her. Without recognizing him, she recounted the story of why she had left home and what strange and sad things had happened to her on her way. Once again, the prince was able to see clearly what a beautiful soul his karma had caused him to encounter—finally, after searching in vain for such a long time. He felt great happiness, but still hid his feelings, because the moment had not yet come to reveal to the young woman who he was.

In an attempt to draw Dungso Kye out of her deep grieving, he told her that, in a past life, this poor man had doubtless accumulated bad karma with the guard dog, as a result of which the dog was bound to kill him in this life. And indeed, these wise words from the mouth of a simple servant caused Dungso Kye to reflect a great deal, and she stopped crying.

“Tomorrow, the whole castle will be celebrating. Many guests will be invited from countries far and wide, and you will have a chance to catch a glimpse of the prince, who of course will be there,” the prince told her. Then he added, “If you like, I could find you some beautiful clothes and some jewelry so that you can mingle easily with the other guests.”

Naturally this was great news for Dungso Kye, because it meant that she could at least see the prince she had heard so much about. Thus she would be able to recount the whole story in detail to her two sisters, who had not had her good luck. She was very excited and could hardly sleep that night. The following day, the servant lent her a brocade gown and some lovely jewelry. Thus she was able to blend in with the crowd of guests.

All at once, the arrival of the young prince Yunna Relpa was announced, and a band of wind instruments played a great fanfare. He was received by the people with all due respect and devotion. His magnificent brocade clothes and his ornaments of gold set with diamonds and turquoises and corals and pearls sparkled in the sun as he seated himself on his throne. With a graceful gesture, he gave the signal to begin the presentation of dancing and singing. Then he looked on with pleasure as athletes engaged in various competitions, such as stone lifting, archery, spear throwing, horse racing, and many other athletic contests.

Dungso Kye had eyes only for the handsome prince, Yunna Relpa, whom she did not recognize at all. Nothing else could capture her interest, and without even realizing it, she fell head over heels in love with him. At the end of the day, before the crowd dispersed, the prince rose from the throne and quickly withdrew. He changed back into his servant's clothes so he could meet again with the very sweet and very beautiful Dungso Kye. He asked her if she had enjoyed the festivities and what had stood out 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 prince's 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.

“What good karma to have met such a sweet and beautiful woman as Dungso Kye,” sighed Prince Dechö Zangpo without thinking. Oh goodness—what had he said! Once more the sack on his back opened by itself and released its prisoner, Ngödrup Dorje. Gloating hugely, the zombie declared, “Here's the blow you deserve for talking back!” 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 “He Who Fulfills All Dreams” and place him before the great sage in the cave.

29

Hunting Down the Zombie Again