Once a man was condemned to death for a treacherous act against his kingdom. The prince was his close friend and was deeply affected. Prince made fervent appeals to the king to condone him but the king was unmoved. Prince didn’t give up. Finally the king relented and said “Solve this puzzle that has been troubling me for years and I will let your friend free. What do women want in life?”
The prince set out to meet philosophers, rishis and wise men but got no convincing answer. He was then directed to an old witch, living far off the seas and mountains, the oldest living woman who could hold the answer. Prince reached out to her after an arduous travel and put the question to her. She surprised the prince by saying that she knows the answer and asked him what he would pay her in return. Deeply committed to saving his friend, the prince replied that he was willing to give anything. The old witch, stinking and repulsive, asked if he could marry her. It was worse than dying for any young man, leave alone a prince. But the prince was undeterred in his loyalty to his friend and agreed to her proposal. The witch smiled and shared the secret that every woman wants to be in control of things around her!
The prince applied the secret on a few situations he had encountered with women and found it to be true. Happy that he got the code, he rushed back to his kingdom and presented the secret to the king. The king also realized from his vast experiences that this is a universal truth. Happy that the puzzle was resolved, he kept his promise and let go the Prince’s friend.
The prince however kept his word and met the witch again. He thanked her for her help in saving his friend and told her that he came back to marry her. Even the witch was moved and was in tears. She said that the prince could have easily forgotten her but still he honored his words. In appreciation of his gesture, she gave him a boon: While she is the most unattractive woman in the world, she could still turn most beautiful. Except under one condition. She could be the most beautiful in privacy with him while being an old witch in public or the reverse. The prince could choose.
It was the greatest dilemma anyone would fumble. But the prince was world wise. He applied the secret that she shared with him and told her that as a woman, she could choose when she wants to be beautiful, because a woman wants to be in control of things around her!! Upon hearing which, the old witch turned into an astonishingly beautiful princess and said with a chuckle: which woman does not want to look beautiful?!
As every story of a royal ends, the Prince and the Princess lived happily thereafter in their kingdom.
