THE GOLDEN VIOLIN

The golden violin

In a remote island found in the middle of the ocean, far from other shores, there lived a young prince. His parents the king and queen were getting old and wished that the prince gets  prepared to reign over the island.

The prince was handsome. He had gentle behaviour, was courteous, kind hearted and compassionate. He won the hearts of every inhabitant of the island, His most enjoyable moments were those he spent in nature, listening to the songs of the birds, streaming of rivers and whispering of leaves. In the backyard of his castle, he had kept a pair of colourful birds, which chirped all day long and fish of different shades and sizes.

His favourite pastime was music and he spent hours playing his music instrument, a golden violin. This violin was a family treasure, bequeathed to him by his grandfather, who had reigned for many years over the island. The prince cherished this gift more than anything else.   

The prince was in a deep state of melancholy. He was downhearted. Every morning, when he woke up and saw the images of decrepitude and desolation over the island, he felt dismal sadness.  His island was once the most beautiful in the world. It had vast expanses of forests, majestic trees, flowery fields, mountains covered in greenery, pristine beaches and rivers with clear water. The ocean had an emerald tint and was a haven for  fish, dolphins and other aquatic creatures.

Now the island was in a battered state. The flowering fields and the forests had disappeared. The ocean had turned greyish. Fish and dolphins had escape dto more salutary waters. The weather was getting hotter and hotter and everything was drying up. Fields were getting scorched. The sea was rising and threatened to submerge the island gradually.

The prince was desperate. He reflected for hours on how to save his island. At night, he used to scrutinise the stars, as if imploring them for help. He wondered whether there could be any super power in the universe to  guide him.

One night, while he was playing his golden violin near the beach, he was dazzled by an immense brightness in the sky. It resembled an inflamed circle. He found a strange object landing on the ground with hardly any sound. He walked towards the object and as he reached closer, he could see a splendid golden chariot. All this was awe inspiring.

The doors opened by gliding noiselessly. The prince was both curious and somewhat terrified. A tall silhouette came out of the chariot. It was a human like figure of immense beauty, with a captivating smile and heavenly gracefulness. On his shoulder, stood an imposing eagle like bird and in his arm, a green and brown coloured snake was wrapped.

The prince was mesmerised. He could hardly speak. He inaudibly muttered, “Who are you?”

The figure said, “ I come from very far. I travel around and I heard your call for help. I observed you for many days and sensed your profound sorrow. How can I support you and bring back your peace of mind ? ”

The prince was awestruck. The melodious voice of this strange visitor was fascinating. He was almost hypnotised. He mustered  courage and said, “Dear visitor, I do not know who you are. But your voice is so soothing. I shall tell you of the reasons of my grief. I am very distressed because I do not know how to save my island, which once was the most magnificent place on our planet. It is now in a state of desolation. There are no fishes left in the ocean. Many animals have been wiped out. The scenic forests have been damaged. There is no rain and everything is going dry. We cannot grow enough food. The ocean is rising and threatens to cover the island. New diseases are inflicting suffering and misery among the people.”

He went on, “We need help. We want to save our island. We have to give a safe future to the children.”

The mysterious visitor said “ I am prepared to help you.  I have special powers, which I can use to rehabilitate the original environment of your island. This will take five nights. But, I have some conditions.  You should not reveal my presence to anyone. This should be a secret between you and me. My second condition is that after I complete my task, I will hand over to you some rules which you and your people should comply with. My third condition is that you will compensate me with a reward of my choice. ”

The prince was hesitant. He remained silent for a while and pondered on whether this visitor could really achieve such a great task. But he thought that there were no other alternatives. He finally agreed to the three conditions and promised to grant any reward that the visitor will ask for.

He went back to his castle. The next morning, when he woke up, he peeped through the window and was amazed to see thousands of trees in the forests. He could hear the flow of the rivers. 

On the second day, he went out to the plains and could see flourishing green plants. On the third day, he walked to the sea, which was swarming with fish and the water was limpid and sparkling. On the fourth day, in the garden there was bountiful of multi-coloured flowers, butterflies and birds. On the fifth day, the dry, brownish coloured mountains were covered with greenery and looked refreshing. 

The prince was fascinated and thrilled. For the first time after many months, glimpses of joy appeared on his face. The visitor had kept his word, he thought and it is now my turn to honour my promise. He immediately headed towards the golden chariot.

On seeing the visitor, he exclaimed, “It is extraordinary, phenomenal. You have accomplished such a gigantic task in five days. We are forever grateful to you. I know that you will never reveal your identity or where you come from. But I will always remember you as a saviour, our guardian from the sky.  I have now to keep my promise and give you your reward. I shall not sway from my promise. Please tell me what you wish to receive.”

The visitor  said “ I had told you that one of my conditions was that you and your people should obey some rules if you want to save your island from devastation. These rules I am handing to you today. There are five sacred rules.

The first is you and your people should respect the laws of nature. There should be no negligent acts which would disrupt the cycle of nature. The second rule is that each one of you should always protect and respect nature by acting as responsible persons and. Third, you should avoid destroying species of plants and animals. Fourth, you should take every step to avoid spoiling, contaminating or poisoning air, water and other natural resources that are essential for life. Fifth, you should ensure that everything that you destroy such as trees, birds and fish are replaced in adequate quantity. It is by observing these rules that you will bestow a clean and safe world to your children. 

The prince was full of gratitude and deference to the visitor. He thanked him for the rules and pledged to respect them consistently. He then asked the visitor, “ Please tell me now the reward which you want. I will ask my servants to bring all the gold that we possess from my castle. ”

The visitor replied, “ I do not want any gold or wealth. There is no price for fresh air, water and nature.   I want you to  give me a pair of your birds, which will fill my land with music, a pair of your butterflies which will bring colour in my world and a pair of fish which will bring life to the waters in my country.”

The prince offered him his birds and fish as well as the butterflies. He then took the golden violin, bent his knees and said to the visitor,” Please do not feel offended. I want to present to you this golden violin, which is most precious to me and my family. This is a testimony of our gratitude.”  

The visitor smiled and took the violin. While the prince was still on his knees, the golden chariot and the visitor vanished in the sky.