|
Their love was true and transcended
the class or economic structure of the kingdom. This did not please many of the status quo-ists and the king's ears were filled
with lies about the unholiness of such a love.
The
king, to set an example for future aspiring lovers, gave the vazeer the cruelest of punishments - the vazeer would be locked
inside a very tall tower until he starved to death.
This
punishment was particularly cruel because the prisoner could see other people of the kingdom living their natural lives while
the prisoner would be faced with the slowest death possible.
When
the prisoner was sentenced, the princess, with her influence, managed to see
the vazeer just before he was dragged off to the tower. There was little time and the vazeer whispered something into the
princess's ears.
One
would expect the vazeer to proclaim his eternal love for the princess. But what
the vazeer whispered was this, “Get a male beetle. On its antenna rub some of a female beetle's scent. Get the finest
of finest silk threads and tie it to the beetle's legs. Make the silk thread the length of the tower. Then tie a slightly
heavier thread to the end of the silk thread. Next, slowly increase the strength of the thread until it is strong enough to
bear my weight. Then tonight, set the beetle facing upwards at the bottom of the tower.”
The
princess did exactly that. A beetle was set at the bottom of the tower. The beetle, pulled by the scent of the female beetle ascended the tower.
The vazeer,
ever so carefully, pulled off the silk thread off the beetle's legs and ever so gently pulled the silk thread until he got
the thread of more strength. Eventually the vazeer got the heavy rope he had
been waiting for and escaped from the tower.
|
