The Second Night: Somadatta, The Bandit & The Well of Gold

As dusk fell over Chandravati for the second night, the persistent matchmaker slipped through the sandstone archways, placing a scented sandalwood parchment into Prabhavati's hands.

Draped in radiant saffron silk with sparkling gold ornaments, Prabhavati read the letter by the glowing oil lamps, her resolve melting under romantic flattery.

With quiet, cautious steps, she took her brass lantern and approached the heavy carved door of the mansion.

From his high golden perch, Shuka bowed with dazzling courtly elegance, his voice sweeter than sugarcane juice.

Prabhavati paused on the threshold, smiling at the polite bird.

Shuka tilted his head, his ruby beak glinting in the lantern glow:

"Hear the mystery, noble lady!" began Shuka. In ancient Kanchipura, wealthy merchant Somadatta was walking home through a lonely forest highway at midnight, carrying five hundred heavy gold dinars in his leather satchel.

As shadows deepened beneath the gnarled banyans, the snapping of dry twigs warned him of imminent danger.

With a bloodthirsty snarl, the ruthless bandit Vajradanshtra leaped from the darkness, brandishing a razor-sharp steel talwar sword right at the merchant's neck!

Seeing the cold steel pressed against his skin, Somadatta knew fighting was suicide. *'When force cannot win, feed the enemy's greed!'*

Somadatta bowed with utmost hospitality, smiling warmly as if meeting an old business partner.

He pointed to an ancient, pitch-black stone well covered in thick green moss.

While the thief inspected the deep well, Somadatta secretly slipped his real velvet bag of gold into a hollow tree trunk, wrapping a giant river boulder inside his silk merchant cloth!

Together they pushed the wrapped boulder over the stone rim. **KABLOOSH!** A tremendous splash echoed from the dark water forty feet below!

Blinded by lust for five hundred gold dinars, the bandit put down his sword, discarded his leather cuirass, and tied a rope ladder to climb down into the icy abyss!

At the freezing bottom, the bandit splashed in the dark, his greedy hands frantically grabbing the bundle—only to find a colossal, cold, moss-covered river stone!

At the well mouth, Somadatta immediately untied the rope ladder, hauled it up, and peered down with a beaming grin!

Somadatta retrieved his real gold from the hollow tree, strapped on the bandit's discarded sword, and walked merrily toward the city gates under the starlit sky.

Shuka concluded his tale with a grand flutter of his emerald wings, looking down at Prabhavati.

Prabhavati clapped her hands in delight, laughing at the greedy bandit trapped at the bottom of the mossy well.

Shuka struck with the pivotal moral riddle:

Prabhavati sat on the bolsters, debating the philosophy of desire and danger with passionate intellect.

As she argued, the eastern horizon burst into radiant gold! The temple conches sounded across Chandravati. The second night had vanished in the blink of an eye!

The streets filled with morning merchants. Smiling with deep admiration, Prabhavati handed Shuka a fresh sweet almond and retreated to her chambers to rest—her honour and lineage preserved for the second night!