“The Three Snake-Leaves”
There once was a poor man whose son
decided to go out into the world and try to make a living. The son joined the king’s army and marched to
war. In the battle many men were killed
and some started to flee, but the son rallied them and led them to
victory. The king was most impressed
with this and gave the boy position and wealth.
The king had a beautiful daughter, but she
said she would take no man unless he vowed to be buried with her if she died
because you wouldn’t want to outlive your love.
She would also vow to be buried with him if he died first.
But the guy loved her so much he made the
vow and they were married. They lived
together for a time, but then she grew ill and died. When she was buried, he was locked in her
tomb with some bread and wine, knowing that when those ran out he’d starve.
Some days later, he saw a white snake going
towards the body. He took his sword and
cut it into three pieces. Then a second
snake came in, but left when it saw the dead one. It returned with some leaves and brought the
dead snake back to life. The two then
left.
The man picked up the leaves and put them
on the mouth and eyes of his dead wife.
She soon came back to life. They
pounded on the door until a guard heard them and the king was sent for. The door was opened and all were happy they
were both alive.
The man gave the leaves to a servant to
watch over.
But not all was great, for the wife no
longer loved her husband.
He decided to cross the sea and visit his
father. She went with him, but fell in
with the evil ship captain. One day
while the man slept, the captain and the wife picked him up and threw him
overboard. She explained that when they
returned home she would play up the heroics of the captain and the king would
be okay with them getting married.
But the servant with the leaves saw all of
this and lowered a boat and found the body.
He revived him and the two rowed for home, arriving before the princess
and the captain.
At first the king didn’t believe the tale,
but told them to hide themselves and he would see what his daughter said when
she returned. A few days later the ship
arrived and she told her story. But the
king called for her husband to come out.
The princess begged for mercy, but she and
the captain were put in a boat full of holes and left at sea where they soon
drowned.
#
The old “You brought me back to life, but
I no longer love you,” line.
Normally, as I read the stories and type
up the overview, I’ll come up with snarky points to make or questions. But I didn’t really come up with any for this
one. So, better luck next time?
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