The Charmed Ring

A poor young man was once given a little money by his mother and sent to the market to begin a trade and make their fortune. But on his way, he came upon some cruel boys about to hurt a frightened dog. The young man could not bear it, so he gave away some of his coins to save the dog, and took it home with him.

The next day he set out again, and this time he found a poor cat being tormented. Again his heart softened, again he paid to set it free, and home came the cat. And on the third day, what should he find but men about to kill a small snake. He spent his very last coin to save it. Now he had no money left at all, only a dog, a cat, and a snake, and a mother who threw up her hands and asked how they were ever to eat.

But that snake was no ordinary snake. It was the son of the King of the Snakes, who lived in a shining kingdom deep underground. In thanks for saving his son, the Snake King gave the young man a magic ring. “Whatever you wish for,” he said, “the ring will grant it.” And so the young man wished, and at once there stood a beautiful palace, and he lived there happily, and his mother never went hungry again.

But word of the magic ring spread, and a greedy man crept in one night and stole it while the young man slept. In a blink, the palace vanished, and the young man woke on the bare ground, poor once more, with his mother weeping beside him.

His faithful dog and cat would not stand for it. Off they went together, following the thief’s trail over fields and hills, until a wide, rushing river barred the way. The dog waded in without a moment’s pause. The little cat climbed onto his back and stood there, stiff and unhappy and very brave, while the cold water rushed beneath them, and together they crossed to the far bank.

The thief’s house was shut up tight, every door barred and every window latched. But the clever cat found the one creature who came and went as it pleased: the thief’s own pet mouse. The cat caught it softly by the tail and offered it a bargain. Its freedom, for the ring. So the mouse slipped under the door, crept past the snoring thief, drew the ring out from under his pillow with its tiny paws, and carried it back.

Home the two friends hurried, the cat holding the ring in its mouth the whole long way and refusing to open it even to answer the dog. And when they placed the magic ring back in their master’s hand, the shining palace rose up around them once more.

The young man wept with joy, and from that day he treasured his loyal dog and cat above every jewel in his palace.