THE BED
by Maive Stokes · from Indian Fairy Tales
Adapted Version
Once, Tom did not know how to work. Tom and Lily had no money. They were sad. Lily was very sad. "We have no money," she said. Tom said, "I will find work. I can work."
Tom went to the trees. He had an axe. "Can I cut you?" he asked a tree. The tree did not answer. Tom was sad. He asked many trees. They did not answer. He asked for three days. No tree answered. Tom was very sad. He did not give up.
On the fourth day, a tree said, "Yes!" A kind tree said, "Cut me down, Tom." Tom was happy. He cut the tree down. He carried the tree home on his head.
Tom took the tree into a room. "Bring me food," he told Lily. "Do not come in for one week." Tom worked alone. He made a beautiful bed. He worked for seven days and seven nights. The bed was very beautiful. It had four legs.
Tom took the bed to the King. "I must speak to the King," he said. The King saw the bed. "It is beautiful!" "I made it," said Tom. "I will sell it." The King liked the bed very much. "I will buy it," said the King.
The King paid Tom lots of coins. "Watch tonight," said Tom. "Stay awake." The King lay on the bed. He listened. He stayed awake all night. He listened carefully.
First Leg spoke. "I saw snakes, King. They want to scare you. Shake your shoe." The King listened. He shook his shoe. A snake fell out. The King was safe. He was not scared. He was careful.
Second Leg spoke. "The wind told me. An old palace will fall. Fix it." The King listened. He fixed the old palace. He sent workers to fix it. They worked fast.
Third Leg spoke. "I saw a bad lady. She stole a bag. She blamed others." The King listened. He found the bad lady. He asked her questions. She told the truth.
Fourth Leg spoke. "Thieves have the princess! They have the gold. Hurry, King!" The King listened. He went to the thieves. He saved his daughter. He got his gold back. The princess was safe. The gold was safe.
The King sent the bad lady away. He called Tom. "Thank you for your bed. You helped me. I will give you more money." The King gave Tom a bag of money.
Tom took the money home. Lily was happy. "My husband worked," she said. "He is clever!" Tom found his special skill. He helped the king. Now everyone is happy. Tom and Lily lived happily with money.
Original Story
THE BED
To notes I N a country there was a grain merchant’s son, whose
father and mother loved him so dearly that they
did not let him do anything but play and amuse
himself while they worked for him. They never taught him
any trade, or anything at all; for they never reflected that
they might die, and that then he would have to work for
himself. When he was old enough to be married, they
found a wife for him, and married him to her. Then they
all lived happily together for some years till the father and
mother both died.
Their son and his wife lived for a while on the pice his
father and mother had left him. But the wife grew sadder
and sadder every day, for the pice grew fewer and fewer.
She thought, “What shall we do when they are all gone?
My husband knows no trade, and can do no work.” One
day when she was looking very sorrowful, her husband asked
her, “What is the matter? Why are you so unhappy?”
“We have hardly any pice left,” she answered, “and what
shall we do when we have eaten the few we have? You
know no trade, and can do no work.” “Never mind,” said
her husband, “I can do some work.”
So one day when there were hardly any pice left, he took
an axe, and said to his wife, “I am going out to-day to
work. Give me my dinner to take with me, and I will eat [ Pg 202] it out of doors.” She gave him some food, wondering what
work he had; but she did not ask him.
He went to a jungle, where he stayed all day, and where he
ate his dinner. All day long he wandered from tree to tree,
saying to each, “May I cut you down?” But not a tree
in the jungle gave him any answer: so he cut none down,
and went home in the evening. His wife did not ask where
he had been, or what he had done, and he said nothing to her.
The next day he again asked her for food to take with
him to eat out of doors, “for,” he said, “I am going to work
all day.” She did not like to ask him any questions, but
gave him the food. And he took his axe, and went out to
a jungle which was on a different side to the one he had
been to yesterday. In this jungle also he went to every tree,
and said to it, “May I cut you down?” No tree answered
him; so he ate his dinner and came home.
The next day he went to a third jungle on the third side.
There, too, he asked each tree, “May I cut you down?”
But none gave him any answer. He came home therefore
very sorrowful.
On the fourth day he went to a jungle on the fourth side.
All day long he went from tree to tree, asking each, “May
I cut you down?” None answered. At last, towards evening,
he went and stood under a mango-tree. “May I cut
you down?” he said to it. “Yes, cut me down,” answered
the tree. God loved the merchant’s son and wished him to
grow a great man, so he ordered the mango-tree to let itself
be cut down.
Now the grain merchant’s son was happy, for he was quite
sure he could make a bed, if he only had some wood; so he
hewed down the mango-tree, put it on his head, and carried
it home. His wife saw him coming, and said to herself,
“He is bringing home a tree! What can he be going to
do with a tree?”
[ Pg 203] Next morning he took the tree into one of the rooms of
his house. He told his wife to put food and water to last him
for a week in this room, and to make a fire in it. Then he
went up to the room, and said to her, “You are not to come
in here for a whole week. You are not to come near me till
I call you.” Then he went into the room and shut the door.
The whole week long his wife wondered what he could be
doing all alone in that room. “I cannot see into it,” she said
to herself, “and I dare not open the door. I wonder what
he is about.”
By the end of the week the grain merchant’s son had carved
a most beautiful bed out of the mango-tree. Such a beautiful
bed had never been seen. Then he called his wife, and
when she came he told her to open the door, and when she
opened it he said, “See what a beautiful bed I have made.”
“Did you make that bed?” she said. “Oh, what a beautiful
bed it is! I never saw such a lovely bed!”
He rested that day, and on the day following he took the
bed to the king’s palace, and sat down with it before the
palace gate. The king’s servants all came to look at the bed.
“What a bed it is!” they said. “Did any one ever see such
a bed! It is a beautiful bed. Is it yours?” they asked the
merchant’s son. “Is it for sale? Who made it? Did you
make it?” But he said, “I will not answer any of your
questions. I will not speak to any of you. I will only
speak to the king.” So the servants went to the king and
said to him, “There is a man at your gate with a most
beautiful bed. But he will not speak to any of us, and says
he will only speak to you.” “Very good,” said the king;
“bring him to me.”
When the grain merchant’s son came before the king with
his bed, the king asked him, “Is your bed for sale?” “Yes,”
he said. “What a beautiful bed it is!” said the king. “Who
made it?” “I did,” he said. “I made it myself.” “How [ Pg 204] much do you want for it?” said the king. “One thousand
rupees,” answered the merchant’s son. “That is a great
deal for the bed,” said the king. “I will not take less,” said
the merchant’s son. “Good,” said the king, “I will give you
the thousand rupees.” So he took the bed, and the merchant’s
son said to him, “The first night you pass on it, do not go to
sleep. Take care to keep awake, and you will hear and see
something.” Then he took the rupees home to his wife,
who was frightened when she saw them. “Are those your
rupees?” she said. “Where did you find such a quantity
of rupees?” “The king gave them to me for my bed,” he
said. “I am not a thief; I did not steal them.” Then she
was happy.
That night the king lay down on his bed, and at ten
o’clock he heard one of the bed’s legs say to the other legs,
“Listen, you three. I am going out to see the king’s country.
Do you all stand firm while I am away, and take care not to
let the king fall.” “Good,” the three legs answered; “go
and eat the air, and we will all stand fast, so that the king
does not fall while you are away.”
Then the king saw the leg leave the bed, and go out of
his room door. The leg went out to a great plain, and there
it saw two snakes quarrelling together. One snake said,
“I will bite the king.” The other said, “I will bite him.”
The first said, “No, you won’t; I will climb on to his bed
and bite him.” “That you will never do,” said the second.
“You cannot climb on to his bed; but I will get into his
shoe, and then when he puts it on to-morrow morning, I
will bite his foot.”
The bed-leg came back and told the other legs what it
had seen and heard. “If the king will shake his shoe
before he puts it on to-morrow morning,” it said, “he will
see a snake drop out of it.” The king heard all that was
said.
[ Pg 205] “Now,” said the second bed-leg, “I will go out and eat
the air of the king’s country. Do you all stand firm while
I am away.” “Go,” the others answered; “we will take
care the king does not fall.” The second bed-leg then went
out, and went to another plain on which stood a very old
palace belonging to the king, and the wind told it the palace
was so ruinous that it would fall and kill the king the first
time he went into it: the king had never once had it repaired.
So it came back and told the three other legs all about the
palace and what the wind had said. “If I were the king,”
said the second bed-leg, “I would have that palace pulled
down. It is quite ready to fall; and the first time the king
goes into it, it will fall on him and kill him.” The king
lay, and listened to everything. As it happened, he had
forgotten all about his old palace, and had not gone near it
for a long time.
Then the third bed-leg said, “Now I will go out and
see all the fun I can. Stand firm, you three, while I am
away.” He went to a jungle-plain on which lived a yogí.
Now there was a sarai [5] not far off in which lived a woman,
the wife of a sepoy, whose husband had gone a year ago to
another country, leaving her in the sarai. She was so fond
of the yogí, that she used to come and talk to him every
night. That very day her husband came back to her, and
therefore it was later than usual when she got to the yogí;
so he was very vexed with her. “How late you are to-night,”
he said. “It is not my fault,” she answered. “My husband
came home to-day after having been away a year, and he
kept me.” “Which of us do you love best?” asked the
yogí; “your husband or me?” “I love you best,” said
the woman. “Then,” said the yogí, “go home and cut
off your husband’s head, and bring it here for me to see.” [ Pg 206] The sepoy’s wife went straight to the sarai, cut off her
husband’s head, and brought it to the yogí. “What a
wicked woman you are to do such a thing at my bidding!”
he said. “Go away at once. You are a wicked woman,
and I do not want to see you.” She took the head home,
set it again on the body and began to cry. All the people
in the sarai came to see what was the matter. “Thieves
have been here,” she said, “and have killed my husband,
and cut off his head,” and then she cried again. The third
bed-leg now went back to the palace, and told the others all
it had seen and heard. The king lay still and listened.
The fourth bed-leg next went out to see all it could, and
it came to a plain on which were seven thieves, who had
just been into the king’s palace, and had carried off his
daughter on her bed fast asleep; and there she lay still
sleeping. They had, too, been into the king’s treasury and
had taken all his rupees. The fourth bed-leg came quickly
back to the palace, and said to the other three legs, “Now,
if the king were wise he would get up instantly and go to
the plain. For some thieves are there with his daughter
and all his rupees which they have just stolen out of his
palace. If he only made haste and went at once, he would
get them again.”
The king got up that minute, and called his servants and
some sepoys, and set off to the plain. He shook his shoe
before he put it on, and out tumbled the snake (the other
had quietly gone into the jungle, and not come to the palace);
so he saw that the first bed-leg had spoken the truth.
When he reached the plain he found his daughter and his
rupees, and brought them back to his palace. The princess
slept all the time, and did not know what had happened to
her. The king saw the fourth leg had told the truth. The
thieves he could not catch, for they all ran away when they
saw him coming with his sepoys.
[ Pg 207] The king sent men to the old palace to pull it down.
They found it was just going to fall, and would have fallen
on any one who had entered it, and crushed him. So the
second bed-leg had told the truth.
When the king was sitting in his court-house he heard
how during the night thieves had gone into the sarai and
killed a sepoy there and cut off his head. Then he sent for
the sepoy’s wife, and asked her who had killed her husband.
“Thieves,” she said. The king was very angry, for he was
sure the third bed-leg had told the truth as the other three
legs had done. So he ordered the man to be buried; and
bade his servants make a great wooden pile on the plain,
and take the woman and burn her on it. They were not to
leave her as long as she was alive, but to wait till she was
dead.
He next sent for the grain merchant’s son, and said to
him, “Had it not been for your bed, I should this morning
have been bitten by a snake; and, perhaps, killed by my
old palace falling on me, as I did not know it was ready to
fall, and so might have gone into it. My daughter would
certainly have been stolen from me; and a wicked woman
been still alive. So now, to-morrow, bring as many carts as
you like, and I will give you as a present as many rupees
as you can take away on them in half a day.”
Early the next morning the merchant’s son brought his
cart and took away on them as many rupees as he could in
half a day. His wife was delighted when she saw the money,
and said, “My husband only worked for one week, and
yet he earned all these rupees!” And they lived always
happily.
Told by Múniyá, February 23rd, 1879.
FOOTNOTE: [5] That is, a resting-place for travellers, composed of a number of
small houses in a walled enclosure.
[5] That is, a resting-place for travellers, composed of a number of
small houses in a walled enclosure.
[5] That is, a resting-place for travellers, composed of a number of
small houses in a walled enclosure.
[ Pg 208]
Story DNA
Moral
Even those who seem idle or incapable can possess unique talents that, when discovered and applied, can lead to great fortune and benefit others.
Plot Summary
A pampered grain merchant's son, left penniless after his parents' death, struggles to find work. After a divine intervention allows him to cut down a mango tree, he carves a magnificent bed and sells it to the king. The bed's magical legs reveal four hidden dangers and secrets to the king: a snake plot, a collapsing palace, a wicked woman's crime, and the theft of his daughter and treasure. The king, acting on this secret knowledge, averts disaster, recovers his stolen goods, and punishes the wicked, richly rewarding the merchant's son for his ingenious creation.
Themes
Emotional Arc
suffering to triumph
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Collected in 1879, reflecting traditional Indian folklore and social structures, including the role of kings, soldiers, and the concept of divine intervention.
Plot Beats (14)
- A pampered merchant's son and his wife face poverty after his parents' death because he has no skills.
- His wife's sadness prompts him to declare he can work, despite her doubts.
- He goes to the jungle for three days, asking trees for permission to cut them, but none respond.
- On the fourth day, a mango tree, by divine command, grants him permission to be cut down.
- He brings the tree home and, after instructing his wife to leave him undisturbed for a week, carves a beautiful bed.
- He takes the bed to the king's palace, refusing to speak to anyone but the king.
- The king buys the bed for a thousand rupees, and the merchant's son advises him to stay awake on the first night.
- The first bed leg leaves, discovers two snakes planning to bite the king, and advises shaking his shoe.
- The second bed leg leaves, learns from the wind that an old palace is about to collapse, and advises its demolition.
- The third bed leg leaves, witnesses a woman behead her husband at a yogi's command, then falsely accuse thieves.
- The fourth bed leg leaves, finds thieves with the king's daughter and treasure, and urges immediate action.
- The king, having heard all, acts on the advice: shaking his shoe, recovering his daughter and treasure, and ordering the palace demolished.
- The king exposes the wicked woman and orders her execution.
- The king rewards the merchant's son with as many rupees as he can carry in half a day, ensuring their lasting prosperity.
Characters
The Grain Merchant's Son ★ protagonist
None explicitly mentioned, likely of average build for a young man from a merchant family in India.
Attire: Simple, functional clothing suitable for a young man of his station, later carrying an axe and then a bed.
Naïve, initially lazy, resourceful, observant, honest.
Image Prompt & Upload
A young man in his late teens with sun-streaked brown hair and a determined expression. He wears a simple linen shirt with rolled sleeves, a leather vest, and sturdy wool trousers. He stands with a confident posture, holding a heavy burlap sack of grain over one shoulder. His hands are calloused, and he gazes directly forward with bright, observant eyes. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Grain Merchant's Son's Wife ◆ supporting
None explicitly mentioned.
Attire: Traditional Indian attire (sari or similar) appropriate for a merchant's wife.
Worried, practical, supportive, curious, delighted.
Image Prompt & Upload
A young woman in her early twenties with warm, olive-toned skin and long, dark brown hair neatly braided and pinned up. She wears a simple but well-made dress of undyed linen with a fitted bodice and long sleeves, covered by a clean, faded blue apron. Her expression is gentle and patient, with kind, dark eyes. She stands in a relaxed posture, holding a small, woven basket of golden wheat ears against her hip. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The King ◆ supporting
None explicitly mentioned.
Attire: Royal attire, likely rich fabrics and jewels, appropriate for an Indian monarch.
Curious, discerning, just, generous, decisive.
Image Prompt & Upload
A middle-aged king with a neatly trimmed salt-and-pepper beard, wearing a golden crown adorned with red and blue gems. He is dressed in a deep blue velvet robe with white ermine fur trim over a white tunic, and a red sash at his waist. He holds a tall golden scepter in his right hand and stands with a dignified, upright posture, his expression calm and benevolent. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The First Bed-Leg ○ minor
One of four legs of a carved wooden bed.
Observant, prophetic, helpful.
Image Prompt & Upload
A small, gnarled gnome-like creature carved from dark, aged wood, with visible grain and knots. He has a long, crooked nose, deep-set eyes like polished acorns, and a wispy beard of wood shavings. He wears a simple tunic of burlap and rough-spun trousers, both patched and stained with earth. He leans slightly, as if supporting an unseen weight, one hand resting on his hip. His expression is weary but patient. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Second Bed-Leg ○ minor
One of four legs of a carved wooden bed.
Observant, prophetic, helpful.
Image Prompt & Upload
A small, humble wooden bed leg with a simple carved face showing a neutral expression. It has two thin, stick-like arms and stands upright on a single foot. The wood is light brown, slightly worn and scuffed. It wears a tiny, faded blue cloth cap and a small patchwork vest. Its posture is straight and still, like a quiet servant waiting. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Third Bed-Leg ○ minor
One of four legs of a carved wooden bed.
Observant, prophetic, helpful.
Image Prompt & Upload
A small, cheerful wooden bed leg character with carved spiral details, standing upright on its flat foot end. It has two simple knot-hole eyes and a curved smile, with a single twig-like arm raised in a friendly wave. Its surface shows a light oak wood grain. Simple, curious expression, standing at attention. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Fourth Bed-Leg ○ minor
One of four legs of a carved wooden bed.
Observant, prophetic, helpful, urgent.
Image Prompt & Upload
A small carved wooden figure, the height of a child's forearm, with a simple smiling face painted on its rounded top. It wears a tiny, knitted blue nightcap with a white pom-pom. It stands upright on its single, sturdy leg, its posture slightly leaning as if listening. Its surface has the smooth, polished grain of old pine. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Sepoy's Wife ⚔ antagonist
None explicitly mentioned.
Attire: Simple attire suitable for a woman living in a sarai.
Disloyal, cruel, deceitful, wicked.
Image Prompt & Upload
A middle-aged woman with a stern, severe expression, her dark eyes sharp and calculating. She has a long braid of black hair streaked with grey, pulled tightly back. Her posture is rigid and proud. She wears a deep crimson sari with a gold border, the fabric heavy and ornate. A thin, cruel smile touches her lips. One hand rests on her hip, the other holds a gleaming, ceremonial dagger pointed downward. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Locations
Grain Merchant's Son's House
A house where the grain merchant's son and his wife live. One room is used by the son to carve the bed, where he requests food and water for a week and a fire, forbidding his wife to enter.
Mood: Initially comfortable, then anxious, finally industrious and mysterious during the carving, then joyful.
The son carves the magical bed, transforming from idle to productive.
Image Prompt & Upload
A solitary timber-framed house at dusk, nestled within an overgrown garden of wheat stalks and wildflowers. The sky is a deep indigo, with the last embers of sunset painting the clouds in muted purple and gold. Warm, flickering firelight spills from a single, small window on the ground floor, casting long, dancing shadows across the untidy path. The house appears ancient, with a steeply pitched thatched roof and walls of dark, weathered wood. A heavy oak door, firmly shut, is the main entrance. Wisps of smoke curl from a stone chimney into the cool, still air. The atmosphere is quiet, isolated, and slightly mysterious, with the surrounding grain field rustling softly in the evening breeze. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration
Jungle
A wild, forested area where the merchant's son goes to find wood. He visits three different jungles before finding a talking mango tree in a fourth.
Mood: Initially frustrating and silent, then magical and cooperative.
The merchant's son attempts to find a tree to cut down, eventually finding the magical mango tree.
Image Prompt & Upload
Deep within a mystical jungle at golden hour, towering ancient trees form a dense canopy pierced by shafts of warm, amber sunlight. Lush emerald foliage, thick vines, and giant ferns carpet the forest floor, with vibrant orchids clinging to moss-covered trunks. In a small clearing stands a magnificent, gnarled mango tree, its heavy branches dripping with ripe, golden-yellow mangoes that seem to glow with an inner light. The air is thick with humid mist, and fireflies begin to blink in the deepening shadows. The scene is rich with deep greens, warm golds, and earthy browns, evoking a sense of ancient magic and hidden life. No border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
King's Palace
The grand residence of the king, where the merchant's son sells his bed. Later, the king sleeps on the bed in his palace.
Mood: Regal and authoritative during the sale, then mysterious and revealing during the night.
The merchant's son sells the bed to the king, and the king discovers the bed's magical properties.
Image Prompt & Upload
Grand palace interior at dusk, vaulted ceilings with gold leaf detailing, tall stained-glass windows casting long blue and amber shadows across polished marble floors. A massive canopied bed stands centrally, draped in deep burgundy velvet with intricate gold embroidery, surrounded by towering stone columns and flickering candlelight from wrought-iron sconces. Distant windows reveal a twilight sky over manicured palace gardens, warm glow from hearth fire reflecting on polished wood paneling and gilded tapestries. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
Plain (with Thieves and Princess)
An open, flat area where seven thieves have taken the king's daughter and his rupees. The princess lies asleep on her bed.
Mood: Tense and urgent, as the king must act quickly to recover his daughter and treasure.
The king, guided by the bed-leg, recovers his daughter and treasure from the thieves.
Image Prompt & Upload
A vast, moonlit plain under a starry sky, bathed in soft silvery light. In the center, an ornate bed with rumpled silk sheets and a velvet canopy sits empty amidst scattered golden coins and jewels. The grass is short and dry, with a few distant, twisted trees. A faint mist clings to the ground, and the air is still and quiet. The scene is serene yet mysterious, with a gentle glow highlighting the abandoned treasure and sleeping place. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration
Sarai (Travellers' Resting-Place)
A walled enclosure with small houses, serving as a resting place for travelers. A sepoy's wife lives here.
Mood: Sinister and tragic, as a terrible crime occurs here.
The third bed-leg reveals the sepoy's wife's treachery and murder of her husband.
Image Prompt & Upload
A walled enclosure at dusk, bathed in the warm glow of lanterns hanging from wooden eaves. Small, sturdy houses with thatched roofs line a central dusty path, their whitewashed walls glowing amber in the fading light. A few gnarled trees provide deep shadows against the ochre-colored outer wall. The air is still and clear, with a soft blue twilight sky overhead. A sense of quiet refuge and timeless hospitality permeates the scene. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration
