Story 119: Orange Girl Folktales

Orange Girl

Author: Anonymous

To pick up the stars in the sky,
I need the wings of colorful clouds,
Looking for an orange girl?
Requires a heart of gold.

Once upon a time, there was such a ballad circulating along the banks of the Brahmaputra River, where pearls and jade bloomed. Many people have heard and sung it but have forgotten it. Only a little prince named Dawa treasured this song in the most sacred place in his heart. The little prince grew up and grew up, until he reached the age where he should get married. Kings from far and near wanted to betroth their princesses to him. Prince Kodawa always said repeatedly: “I don’t love any princess, I only love the beautiful and kind-hearted Orange Girl.”

In fact, what does Orange Girl look like? Where exactly does she live? These are just oral legends, and for Prince Dawa, this is also a mystery. In front of the palace, there is a sweet well, where half the residents of the city come to draw water.

Prince Dawa thought: There is gold in the old man’s mouth. As long as I go to the well and ask every day, I can always find out how to find Orange Girl. As a result, the prince appeared every day on the well platform made of white stone. He came earlier than everyone else to draw water and returned later than everyone else. At noon, I didn’t leave, taking a big piece of green oil tsampa with me as a snack. He always repeated the same question to every old man who carried water: “Old man, please tell me, is there an Orange Girl in the world? Where does she live?”

Prince Dawa waited and asked for seventy-seven forty-nine days, but no one could answer his questions. He got really angry and picked up a stone and threw it into the sky. Unexpectedly, the stone fell and smashed an old woman’s pitcher. This is a very old old woman, with hair as white as a conch, and no teeth as big as pearls in her mouth. This jug was half of her family property. Now it was broken. How could she not be sad?

Prince Dawa saw the old woman crying bitterly, so he quickly gave her a gold coin as compensation, and gave her half of the green oil tsampa rake he had eaten. The old woman was very grateful, clasped her hands together, and murmured a prayer: “Bodhisattva, this prince’s heart is really as kind as Miss Orange.”

When Prince Dawa heard about Orange Girl, he was as fond as if he had found a treasure as big as a sheep’s head. He quickly saluted the old woman again and asked: “Old mother, where does the Orange Girl you just mentioned live? Can you show me a way to see her?”

The old woman shook her head and said, “They say the snow mountain lion’s milk is sweet, but no one can get it; everyone says Orange Girl is beautiful, but no one can see it, because the place where she lives is too difficult to get around.”

The prince patted his chest and said, “Old mother, please tell me! Even if she lives on the moon, I dare to go to the colorful clouds to find her; even if she lives in the sea, I dare to go down to the Dragon Palace to find her.”

Seeing that the prince’s affection was as firm as diamond, the old woman gave detailed instructions on how to find Orange Girl.

The brave Prince Dawa traveled during the day and also at night. During the day, the golden sun keeps him company; at night, the silver moon lights up his lamp. He climbed to the snow peak next to the blue sky, conquered the brave snow lion, and rode it over the mountains and ridges. He jumped into the turbulent river, defeated the ferocious dragon, and dragged it across the rapids; he entered the vast forest, and many beasts rushed towards him.

He shoots those who are far away with golden arrows; he cuts those who are near with his precious sword. After walking for 7749 days on the arduous road, we finally saw a canyon with flowers in full bloom. Here, there are dense layers of orange trees, and thousands of golden oranges shine with strange brilliance. Exudes an alluring aroma.

The prince danced and sang, and ran into the orange forest in one breath. Many orange trees stretched out their green palms to hold his clothes; many oranges implored him with sweet voices:

“Prince! Prince! Take me away!”
“Prince! Prince! Take me away!”

There were smiling faces and sweet voices everywhere, making Prince Dawa dizzy and not knowing what to do. At this time, he remembered the old woman’s warning: “The orange girl lives on the tallest orange tree, hidden among the biggest and biggest oranges.” The prince searched three times from east to west, and then three times from west to east. I circled around and finally saw a very tall orange tree.

There was a very big orange hidden in the thick leaves. I didn’t say anything or raised my head. I just pursed my lips and smiled shyly. The prince reached out to pick, but the oranges ran from one branch to another, then jumped to another branch, and finally rose to the top of the high tree, hiding among several golden clouds.

This time, the prince was really anxious. He wanted to shoot with an arrow, but was afraid of hurting it; he wanted to shake the tree, but was afraid of damaging it, so he stood under the tree and sang:

Beautiful orange girl,
Live in high treetops;
Girl, if you are interested,
Please fall into my arms.

Sure enough, as soon as the prince finished singing the song, the oranges gently fell down and fell into his arms. The prince was so happy that he pressed his chest with both hands, turned around and ran towards his hometown.

The prince ran and ran. He passed through the forest in a blink of an eye, crossed the river in a jump, and crossed the snow-capped mountains in a blink of an eye. He came to the foot of the snow-capped mountains, sat by the moon-like lake, and rested against the dama flowers. Here, I am very close to my hometown, and I can see the golden dome of the palace rising above the clouds. He took out the golden orange from his arms.

The more he looked at it, the happier he became, and the more he touched it, the more he liked it. He forgot the old woman’s advice and couldn’t help peeling the orange. Suddenly, along with wonderful music and dazzling golden light, an extremely beautiful girl came out of the orange with a smile on her face. She wore a crystal green gemstone on her head and a dress woven with gold threads.

Her face was as red as an orange, and her figure was as graceful as an orange tree. She slowly landed on the grass, emitting a wonderful fragrance all over her body. The prince was so surprised that he didn’t even dare to breathe out, for fear of blowing this fairy-like woman to a distant place again. He quickly stepped forward, grabbed Orange Girl’s ribbon, and told her his feelings of admiration. Orange girl didn’t look back or answer, she just pursed her small mouth and smiled softly.

By the Moon Lake, the sun shines brightly across the lake, and the lake sings happily. Grandpa Snow Mountain, with his white hair, also smiles with a red face, because Prince Dawa and Miss Orange got married here. They came with many flowers and sang many love songs. Finally, the prince lay on the carpet-like grass, with his pillow on the girl’s lap, and fell into a sweet sleep.

There lived a witch in a cave on the cliff by the lake. When she saw the two of them loving each other like spring water and milk, she came up with a vicious idea to frame Orange Girl, who was as kind as White Tara. She turned into a woman, walked up to Orange Girl, stared at her three times, squinted her eyes three times, and said in a fuss: “Ah, tsk! The most beautiful Orange Girl in the world turns out to be much uglier than me. !”

Orange girl didn’t answer, just pursed her lips and smiled. The witch grabbed Orange Girl and asked her to take a photo by the lake to see who looked better. Orange girl kept saying, “No! I won’t wake up the prince like this.” The witch said, “Yes, I know you don’t dare to compete! Otherwise, wouldn’t it be the same if you let the prince sleep on the ground?” Orange girl asked. He picked up the prince’s head, moved it to the freshly picked flowers, and then placed it on his bright apron. They came to the lake, and two reflections were reflected in the water: the orange girl was like a golden peacock, and the witch was similar to a black crow.

The witch was defeated, but she refused to admit defeat and said: “You have gorgeous golden clothes, so of course you are better; if I put on your clothes, I will definitely be more beautiful than you.” The poor orange girl fell into the witch’s trick and He changed his clothes to the witch, and when he was taking a photo, he was pushed by the witch and fell into a very deep lake.

The witch jumped to the prince’s side in three steps and held the prince’s head in her arms. The prince felt as soft as sleeping on wool just now, but now he felt as uncomfortable as sleeping on horns, and he woke up quickly. He opened his eyes and took a closer look, and felt that Orange Girl had changed again, becoming uglier and darker, and he frowned slightly involuntarily.

The witch saw his thoughts and said quickly: “Noble prince! You slept here for three days, and I stayed motionless for three days. The sun in the snow-capped mountains tanned me, and the cool breeze on the lake blew me away. Oh!” Prince Dawa thought: “How kind-hearted Miss Orange is. Although she is uglier than before, I can’t dislike her.”

So, the prince and the witch held a grand wedding in the palace. Kings from far and near brought precious gifts, and residents and people from all over the city came to dance and carnival in front of the palace. Everyone who has seen this princess will not feel sorry for Prince Dawa, because there is really nothing about her that can compare with the beauty of the young and handsome prince.

Seven days later, the herdsman by the Moon Lake came and reported: “Your distinguished prince, please allow me to report the good news. A golden lotus suddenly grew out of the rippling moon lake!” The prince was very happy. Surprised, he quickly followed the wrangler to the lake. Sure enough, I saw a lovely lotus swaying alone on the lake, with dewdrops rolling on the petals, like endless tears. The prince was very fond of it and asked the herdsman to take it back and enshrine it in the Buddhist hall.

Wonderful lotus, lovely lotus, its fragrance fills the palace, and its golden brilliance can be seen from afar. Many people came to watch and praised him endlessly. Only the evil-hearted witch knew the origin of the lotus. She walked into the Buddhist temple in the middle of the night, crushed it to pieces, and scattered it in the back garden.

After another seven days, the old man who looked at the flowers came and reported: “Dear prince, please allow me to report a good omen. A tall peach tree has grown in the back garden, and the tree is full of sweet fruits.” The prince. I was even more surprised when I went to the back garden with my subjects and saw a tall peach tree full of huge fresh peaches. Their pink lips were slightly open, as if they had many things to say.

The prince was silent, thinking about the strange things that happened one after another. The witch said happily: “Prince, prince! Please give these fresh peaches to your subjects and people to taste, so that they will remember your merits!” Prince Dawa felt that her words were reasonable, so he gave them to his subjects and people, and everyone They came from all directions, one person at a time, and they were all eaten up in a short time.

In a small ravine opposite the royal city, there lived a very old woman. She tended the king’s sheep on the grassy slope from morning to night. When she arrived with her young son, the peaches had already been scattered. She searched in the grass for a long time before she found a very small peach. The mother and son regarded it as a treasure and happily took it back to the small stone house where they lived.

The mother asked her son to eat it, and the son asked his mother to taste it. The two of them pushed it back and forth, and finally put it into a sheepskin bag. From then on, strange things happened in the little stone house. Every time the old woman and the little boy came back from herding sheep, they would find that the house was well tidied, the butter tea was thick, and the mutton was cooked fragrantly. One day, the old grandmother asked her son to drive the sheep to the mountain.

She hid outside the stone wall and peeped. She saw a beautiful girl in gold clothes walking out of the sheepskin bag containing peaches, busying here and there in the room. The old man ran in, calling the fairy, and knelt in front of her.

The girl hurriedly helped the old man up and said, “Old grandma, I am not a fairy, I am the orange girl that everyone is familiar with.” Then, she shed sad tears and told the old man how she was framed by the witch. The old grandmother left her to live in a small stone house, and the family of three lived in harmony.

One day, Orange Girl was washing her hair outside the door, and was seen by the Witch from a distance. She screamed and fell to the ground pretending to faint. The palace invited many famous doctors and took many good medicines, but none of them had any effect, and he was about to die. One day, the prince went to see the witch. The witch pretended to cry, held the prince’s hand and said, “Prince, there is a recipe that can save my life. I wonder if you are willing to do it?” The prince said, “What? Prescription? Tell me quickly!” The witch said: “In the valley opposite, there is an old woman herding sheep. Her daughter is a witch. She brought my illness. Only by boiling her heart and liver into soup can I Bring the dead back to life.” Prince Dawa felt very unhappy after hearing this. He felt that Orange Girl was not only not beautiful in appearance, but also had a bad heart. How can a kind and pure woman eat other people’s hearts and minds?

In order not to make the concubine suspicious, the prince sent three warriors to take the heart of the old shepherd woman’s daughter. Immediately afterwards, he pulled out the fastest horse chasing the wind. “De Naga” and “De Naga” soon surpassed the three warriors. The first one came to the shepherd’s small stone house and heard A parrot screamed on the tree: “Girl! Girl! The heartless prince is here! The cruel prince is here!”

Prince Dawa was very angry and wanted to shoot the parrot to death with a golden arrow. Suddenly, a man walked out of the small stone house and said, “Prince, please don’t shoot the innocent bird. Let’s kill the poor orange girl. The witch is trying to eat my heart!” The prince turned around. When he came to take a look, he saw a pretty girl standing in front of him, wearing an emerald jade on her head and a gold-threaded dress. Her face was as fresh as an orange petal and her body was as gentle as an orange tree. Oh my God, if this isn’t the most beautiful orange girl in the world, who could she be? However, if this is the real Orange Girl, then who is the one in the palace?

The old sheepherder came and told the story of Miss Orange’s murder. Prince Dawa seemed to wake up from a nightmare. I vowed to kill that vicious witch. By chance, when the witch saw what had happened, she showed her true true form of evil, opened her mouth like a she-wolf, and ran straight from the palace to where Orange Girl lived! The prince opened his treasured bow and set the golden arrow, “Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!” One arrow after another, the witch was sent to hell.

At this time, a rainbow of seven colors rose from the snow-capped mountains, gorgeous flowers bloomed from the grass, and the low and simple stone house suddenly turned into a magnificent palace. The palace walls were covered with jasper-green orange trees, and the orange trees were covered with agates. Like bright red fruits, gentle breeze blows from the valley, and oranges touch oranges, making a sweet sound. The leaves flutter gently, exuding a refreshing fragrance.

Prince Dawa and Orange Girl, after this suffering, never separated again, loving each other until their hair turned gray for eternity.

Narrated; Nima Penduo, Chengguan Town, Shigatse
Collected July 7, 1979
Compiled in January 1980

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