The Wonderful Ring

The Wonderful Ring

Long ago there was a king who had two sons. The elder was thoughtful and calm, while the younger was kind, merry, and rather too careless. When their father died, the brothers inherited his treasures.

But the younger prince very quickly began to spend his share. One day he gave a feast for half the city; another day he bought a costly thing he did not want the next morning; then he gave money to everyone who asked. At last his elder brother said, “Brother, this cannot go on forever. Let us divide what remains fairly. Each of us must take responsibility for his own share.”

And so they did.

But very little time passed before the younger prince was nearly left with nothing again. He had only a small ornament that his wife had kept as their last valuable possession.

“Take it,” she said. “But promise me that this time you will spend the money wisely.”

The prince sold the ornament and received four gold coins. He put them in his pocket and set off on the road.

“I will return only when I have learned to earn for myself and not waste what I have,” he said.

The prince had not gone far from the city when he saw a man with a cat.

“How much for her?” he asked.

“One gold coin.”

The prince looked at the cat. She sat quietly, but watched him so wisely that it seemed she understood everything.

“Agreed,” he said, and gave away one coin.

Farther along the road he met a man with a dog.

“And how much for the dog?”

“One gold coin.”

“I will take him.”

A few hours later the prince saw a seller with a parrot.

“This bird costs one gold coin,” said the man.

“Then he will come with me.”

The prince had one coin left.

Toward evening he came upon a travelling wise man. Beside him, in a woven basket, lay a snake.

“How much for the snake?” asked the prince.

The wise man was surprised.

“What do you want with a snake?”

“I do not know. But she looks at me as though she is asking for help.”

“One gold coin.”

The prince gave away his last coin.

There he stood in the middle of the road, without money but with a cat, a dog, a parrot, and a snake.

“Well, friends,” he said, “now all of us will have to work.”

The prince found jobs carrying water, helping in the market, and unloading carts. The work was hard. His hands grew tired and his back ached. But for the first time in his life, he understood how much labour stands behind every coin.

One evening the snake slid up to him and said softly, “You saved me when you could have spent your last coin on yourself. Come with me to my father. He will wish to thank you.”

The prince was not afraid, and he followed her.

They came to a great stone hill. In it opened a narrow gate beyond which a hall glittered underground. There lived the snake’s father, an old and powerful ruler of the underworld.

“Tell me what you desire,” he said. “Gold? Jewels? Servants?”

Before they entered, the snake had whispered to the prince, “Ask only for the ring on his hand.”

So the prince answered, “Thank you, I need nothing.”

The old ruler was astonished.

“Nothing?”

“Unless it is the little ring, as a keepsake.”

The ruler’s face grew stern.

“You ask for the dearest thing I own. But I gave my word to reward you. Take it.”

The prince took the simple-looking ring and left with the snake.

“Have I made a mistake?” he asked. “Would a bag of gold have been better?”

The snake laughed.

“A bag of gold will one day be empty. This ring grants wishes. Only use it wisely.”

She explained that he must choose a clean place, lay the ring in its centre, and ask for what was truly needed.

Before long the prince grew hungry. He stopped beside the road and said, “Ring, if you can, give all of us supper.”

Suddenly bread, rice, fruit, sweets, and a bowl of water for the animals appeared before him.

“What a marvel!” cried the parrot.

The cat purred, the dog wagged his tail, and the prince only shook his head.

“Now I understand why your father did not wish to part with it.”

The next day they came to a great city by the sea. In the square a herald announced, “The king seeks a master who can build a beautiful palace in the middle of the sea before dawn. Whoever succeeds will receive a great reward.”

The old proclamation had also contained a harsh threat for anyone who failed. But the prince thought, “If I have a magic ring, I can try without needless danger.”

He went to the king.

“I will build the palace.”

“Are you certain?” the king asked.

“I am.”

That night the prince placed the ring upon a clean cloth and said, “Ring, build a golden palace in the middle of the sea, with steps to the shore. Make it bright, comfortable, and safe.”

At dawn the sea flashed with sunlit sparks. And among the waves stood a wondrous palace. Its towers shone, its windows glittered, and broad steps descended straight to the water.

The king kept his promise and offered the prince half the kingdom.

“Thank you,” he replied, “but the palace is enough for me. I want to learn to live well with what I already have.”

The king’s daughter came to see the wonder. She and the prince talked for a long time, laughed, and walked through the golden halls. In time they decided to marry, not because of a reward, but because they truly liked one another.

So they settled in the palace in the middle of the sea. The dog went with the prince on his travels, the cat loved to nap on the sunny steps, and the parrot entertained everyone with his conversation.

One day the princess said, “This palace is golden. What if my hair were golden too?”

The prince laughed. “You are lovely without gold.”

But she insisted. So the ring granted the wish, and the princess’s hair shone with warm golden light.

One day while she was combing it, two golden hairs fell from the comb. The princess wrapped them in a green leaf and set it on the water.

The waves carried the leaf far away, to another shore. There a washerman found it, saw the golden hairs, and brought them to his king.

The king’s son heard of the wonderful golden-haired girl and was seized by a wish to find her.

“I want to see the owner of this hair,” he said.

A cunning old adviser was sent in search. She had a beautiful boat made and sailed to the place from which she thought the leaf had come.

At last she reached the golden palace.

The prince was away on a journey. The princess, the cat, and the parrot were left in the palace.

“Oh, dear niece!” cried the stranger as soon as she saw the princess. “Do you not recognise me? I am your distant aunt!”

The princess had never heard of such a relative, but the old woman spoke so convincingly that they let her into the palace.

For several days she behaved gently, told stories, and pretended to be a caring guest. Then she began to ask, “How do you live here alone when your husband travels? What if something happens? Who will help you?”

The princess carelessly told her about the magic ring.

“Then your husband should leave the ring with you,” the old woman advised. “It will be safer.”

The next morning, before setting off, the prince gave the ring to his wife.

That was exactly what the old woman had waited for.

“Come, I will show you my boat,” she said.

The princess went down to the sea. As soon as she stepped into the boat, the rowers bent to their oars.

“Wait! I do not want to go anywhere!” cried the princess.

But the cunning adviser took the ring and ordered them to sail on.

In the distant city, the princess said firmly, “I will not let anyone decide for me. I have a husband and a home. I will return to them.”

She asked for a little time, hoping to think of a way back.

Meanwhile the prince returned to the palace in the sea and did not find his wife.

“She was taken by that woman in the boat,” said the parrot.

The prince was deeply sad.

“Without the ring, I can do nothing.”

“Not quite nothing,” purred the cat. “You have friends.”

The parrot rose into the sky and flew to search for the princess. He circled over seas and cities for a long time, until at last he saw the familiar golden shine of her hair.

“We have come for you,” he whispered as he settled by her window.

“But the old woman has the ring. She never lets it out of her hand.”

The cat, who had reached the city on a merchant boat, immediately made a plan.

That night the princess scattered a few grains of rice beside the wall. Drawn by the smell, a little mouse came running. The cat leaped in front of her but did not catch her.

“Do not be afraid,” said the cat. “We need only your help.”

The mouse agreed. She crept quietly into the old woman’s room, woke her with a rustling sound, and in her sleep the woman let the ring slip from her hand.

The parrot snatched it at once in his beak.

“Got it!”

He flew back to the prince as swiftly as he could.

When the ring was again in the prince’s hand, he did not ask for gold or revenge.

He said only, “Ring, bring my wife home, if she herself wishes it.”

At that moment the princess stood in the golden palace.

They embraced, while the cat, dog, and parrot made such a happy clamour that even the waves seemed to laugh with them.

Later the prince thought long about everything that had happened.

Once he had believed that the greatest happiness was to own treasures. Then he thought that a magic ring could solve every problem. But now he understood that the most valuable things are not those that can be summoned with one wish.

Without kindness, he would never have saved the snake.

Without work, he would not have learned to value money.

Without faithful friends, he would not have won the ring back.

And without trust and respect, he could not have been happy at home.

From then on the prince used the magic ring very rarely. He helped people after storms, repaired broken bridges, and brought water where it was needed, but he never again wished for riches simply for the sake of riches.

And the cat, dog, and parrot lived in the golden palace as true friends of honour.

They say that wonderful ring kept its power for a long time. But the greater wonder was this: at last its owner had learned how to wish wisely.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨