Long ago legend had spoken about a prince who had betrayed a beautiful princess who in her sorrow of deception cursed the young prince and his kingdom to a life of stones.
The Sultan often thought of this legend as a story that lulled children to sleep. He never thought that his grandmother’s tales were more reality than a myth. But part of the truth stood in front of the Sultan in the middle of nowhere on the Eastern Lake by the stone mountains.
Yet a layer of doubt still shaded the Sultan’s unbelieving eyes, and his mind entered a standstill, the prince meanwhile explained that his story had made way to the Sultan’s ears covered in a batter of rumors that were twisted in their very nature.
The Prince explained that it was he who had been betrayed by the beautiful lass who he thought was a beauty from the core of her soul. In truth, however, the lass was no beauty but a witch who had taken the body of someone else. The young prince, bound by a sincere duty to his throne was unwilling to yield his throne and kingdom to the witch.
In return, the enchantress cursed the prince and his lands and turned them all to stones. She left the prince half human to torture his soul further to an eternity. The Sultan quizzed the sad prince next, as to what could help him to secure revenge or save his land. This left the prince half surprised, and half grateful for the Sultan was in actual extending a helping hand to the prince.
As days bled into nights, the Sultan visited the prince on a regular note and became friends with him. Not only did the Sultan befriend the prince but he submerged himself and his loyal scholars into a deep study of finding a way to break the curse.
However, as four moons passed to the fisherman gaining fishes from the pond, it was found that the Prince recovered, as every fish turned to the stone. As though, each stone in the vein of the Prince transferred to the fishes that in turn turned to stoney ashes.
It now only came down to patience, as it was only the fisherman who could catch fishes from the lake and that too, a single catch per day. There was nothing more that the Sultan could do except wait now.
The fisherman was a wise person though whose wits begged him of extending his net into a bigger one so that one single catch could bring him more wishes than before. Although, this took more of the fisherman’s strength but he never gave up and soon the day came when the fishes finally absorbed the stone of the prince’s body and let him breathe properly as a human.
In return, the fisherman was graced with several rewards, most of all, his daughter was married to the prince and his son was appointed as the kingdom’s treasurer.
