Donkey Skin

Once upon a time, somewhere beyond nine mountains and nine rivers, there lived a mighty king who was brave in war and treated his subjects with kindness. He lived with his family in a luxurious palace.

The king’s stables were his greatest pride. He had horses both large and small, white and black, spirited and tame. But one thing was exceedingly curious: the most honoured place in the stables was reserved for a big-eared shaggy donkey. Only a few insiders knew why this was so … Every morning the donkey would shake his body and out would fall a heap of gold coins.

One day, the king’s dear wife fell very ill and none of the doctors could do anything to help her. It was not long before she died. The whole kingdom cried at the loss of their beloved queen. Left behind were the grieving king and their lovely daughter.

Although the king was terribly lonely, he refused to remarry. He didn’t believe there could be anyone wiser or more wonderful than his queen. But as the years passed and the king grew older, he began fretting that the kingdom had no heir (for only males could be heirs in those days). So he decided to marry-off his only daughter (that’s how it was done).

Princes from far and wide flocked to the palace. The king chose the most noble and richest from among them. But it was widely known that this particular prince was a brute who was cruel to the people. The princess was frightened of him and did not agree with her father’s choice.

“I cannot marry such a man!” she said, sobbing on her lady-in-waiting’s shoulder.

The old woman was very clever and would do anything in the world…