In the small hut, Moti can't sleep. Her hut seems to be sinking more and more into a vast lake formed by the greenery around it, like a tiny pebble sinking into water. It feels like, at any moment, the dense thicket will swallow her tiny little refuge.
But it wasn’t always like this. Moti’s age hasn’t been so little! Just the other day, during the full moon, she turned nine. She remembers everything. Like... right in front of her eyes, her parents turned into deer! Then, without a second thought, they disappeared into the faraway forest, leaving her behind. How much sorrow she felt that day! But Moti was no fool to sit there crying.
Her father used to collect plants from various places for the sorceress Bimbavati. Her mother would deliver them to Bimbavati’s palace. It was a long journey. Twice, her mother tied little Moti to her back with cloth and went to the palace. Moti still remembers the hardship of that difficult path. Though difficult, it wasn’t impossible, but the problem was that if the sorceress didn’t want you there, entering her palace was nearly impossible. One had to walk or ride a horse from one mountain to the next. The path was constantly tangled in vines and branches, and the chances of losing the way were quite high. Eventually, one had to reach the base of the blue mountain. After that, there was no path left, and without the sorceress’s help, moving forward was impossible! They were poor, where would they get a horse! So, they had to walk the whole way. The sorceress, however, would get word of it and send them a mat. Though it looked very ordinary, through magic, the yellowish mat could lift them to their destination. Moti’s mother would carry her on her back and walk up to the blue mountain's foot. There, the mat would float in the air, and Moti’s mother would sit with the joy of eight little puppies shivering with excitement. As soon as they sat down, the mat would whisk them away to Bimbavati’s palace.
Ah, those were such happy days! But trouble arose because of Moti’s father. Mangal, Moti’s father, was a very strong man, and he had always been quite stubborn. One day, in a fit of stubbornness, he started arguing with the sorceress. The problem began like this... In the east of the blue mountain, near a secret cave, a reddish-white flower bloomed every three or four years. The flower’s core contained a very poisonous substance, and the sorceress wanted that poison from Moti’s father. But he refused to bring it. The sorceress then said, “With my magic mirror, why worry? If I want, I can find ten men like Mangal...” — saying this, she looked into the mirror and said,
"Tell me, my mirror,
Where shall I go,
To find the dream my heart
longs to know?"
Oh! The moment she said that, the mirror became cloudy! Within moments, an image appeared in the mirror. Seeing the image in the mirror, Mangal realized it was the cave that held the poisonous flower. The sorceress reached into the mirror, and without a blink, she pulled out a bunch of that strange flower, like dipping a hand in a bowl of water! Then, she glared at Mangal. Mangal was a bit stunned for a while, but then he grabbed the sorceress’s hand with the flower. He wouldn’t let go. That’s when Bimbavati did something very strange. With her other hand, she tore off a small piece of the flower’s core and shoved it into Mangal’s mouth, then said,
"If my spell still holds,
A deer you'll stay,
Bound in the forest,
night and day!"
At that moment, Mangal started leaping around like a deer. Little Moti, only seven years old at the time, cried out and clung to her mother’s saree. But the sorceress had no mercy in her heart. She did the same to Moti's mother. Even after that, the sorceress was not appeased. Kneeling on the ground, with her hands pressed firmly on the earth, she muttered something in her mind. Instantly, everything around seemed to stir. The trees and plants rapidly grew and covered the area, shutting out all sunlight and creating a realm of darkness. Laughing, the sorceress looked at Moti's sorrowful face and said:
"From now on,
you're bound in the forest of magic,
Only the steed of birds
can break what's tragic!"
With that, she vanished in a gust of wind, taking the poisonous flower and magic mirror with her. From that day, Moti sat immersed in the sorrowful jungle.
- 2 -
Moti woke up to an odd sound of laughter, as if someone was laughing into the mouth of an empty pitcher. A hollow face hung over Moti's head; waking up, she was startled to see an old woman's face above her. The most striking feature was the nose, large and curved like a parrot's beak. The old woman had a strange smile, wearing a long blue tunic with strange designs embroidered on it.
"Hey, little girl,
I’ve come this far for you,
Will you come with me
to the quiet rice pudding pond?"
The question hung in the air as the old woman smiled. Moti didn’t know what to say! The old woman, noticing Moti’s confused face, magically waved her hand and brought forth a huge rice cake and handed it to Moti. Moti never refuses food. The cake was delicious, and its taste made her close her eyes with pleasure, her hunger fully satisfied. It seemed the old woman had been waiting for this, as soon as Moti finished eating, the old woman grabbed her left hand. Moti felt that the old woman didn’t mean her any harm. What did she have to lose? She had spent so many days alone in this dense jungle. There was no food at home, and the forest fruits were her only sustenance. She had learned from her father how to set traps for rabbits and jungle fowls and cook them on fire. That knowledge had helped her survive. Though it was hard, Moti had never come close to starving to death.
As the old woman led Moti out of the hut, the morning light was just breaking. The birds in every tree chirped loudly. The old woman took a small stick and placed it in her ear. She then pulled it out, closed her eyes, and muttered, “Grow long..." Suddenly, the small stick extended into a long staff. She held it firmly in her right hand and struck it into the jungle. “Divide,” she commanded, and the jungle parted, creating a clear path for them to walk through. As they walked, the sun reflected off the leaves, and the path was filled with the tangled roots of trees.
Moti felt hungry again. Her little feet were getting tired, wanting to stop every now and then. The old woman, noticing this, kindly asked, “Would you like to eat fish?”
Moti grinned and shook her head. The old woman led her to a pond, muttered some incantations, and struck the water with her large staff. Immediately, fish leaped out of the water and floated in the air, unable to return to the water. Moti and the old woman quickly gathered the fish and placed them on the shore. The old woman struck the water again, and the remaining fish returned to the water, alive and breathing.
The old woman then gathered some wood and started a fire, roasting the fish. They ate contentedly, while around them, a group of cats began to gather, attracted by the fishbones. The cats joined them in the feast, and before long, about thirty cats had become their companions.
- 3 -
As the sun reached its peak, they left the deep forest and emerged into the open fields. The old woman did something extraordinary. She drew a picture on the ground, creating a design for a cart, and with her staff, she muttered some words. She struck the drawing with her staff, saying, “Cat-cart!” Immediately, a real cart appeared from the air, and the cats jumped onto it, attaching themselves to the cart.
At the old woman’s signal, Moti climbed into the cart, and they started rolling. The cart had a roof made of leaves, just like the drawing. To keep Moti cool, the largest cat climbed onto the cart’s roof and started waving its thick white tail to fan Moti, which amused her greatly.
- 4 -
As the day wore on, the shadows of the trees grew long and swayed in the breeze like ghostly figures. But Moti wasn’t afraid; she was a brave girl. She knew they had reached very close to Bimbavati’s grand palace. She also realized that the old woman had taken a different route, one that her mother hadn’t used. Suddenly, the cat-cart screeched to a halt with a loud "Meow!" Moti fell into the old woman’s arms. When she looked up with questioning eyes, the old woman simply said,
"In the rice pudding pond,
I’ll take a dive,
Vanishing there,
so happy, so alive!"
Nothing makes sense to Moti, of course!
Not far away lies a waterbody, and in the sky, a round moon has risen. Under that silver light, the old woman wades into the waist-deep water with Moti. The water is strangely white as if the moon's milk has been poured into the pond until it's full. Moti watches in amazement. Every cat sits in a perfect circle along the edge of the pond, each keeping an equal distance from the other. The old woman splashes the milky-white water with her staff splish-splash sending droplets onto the cats' fur. What a wonder! One by one, the cats transform into boys all around Moti's age.
The old woman raises her staff, mutters under her breath for a moment, then, standing in neck-deep water, calls out loud:
"If I truly hold magic in hand,
None shall defy
my whispered command...
What cruel misfortune
led you to roam,
Cats in exile, far from home —
From this hour,
be human once more,
Walk the world as you did before!"
In front of Moti’s dazed eyes, a spectacle unfolds! The boys, upon regaining their human forms, seem at a loss at first, unsure of what to do. Then they remember their homes, their parents' faces. And so, they all head back to their homes, with the fireflies along the pond guiding them on their way.
The old woman pulls Moti out of the water by the hand. She is stunned to see that their shadows do not fall on the ground; they have completely disappeared! The old woman smiles with her toothless face and says:
"For just one hour,
Invisible we stay —
Silent shadows,
Hidden away."
- 5 -
Meanwhile, in front of Bimbavati’s palace, animals and birds of all kinds are wandering through the green maze. All of them are the victims of Bimbavati’s powerful magic, their souls imprisoned in her magic mirror. With the pollen of a poisonous flower, Bimbavati has turned them all into her slaves. To her, it is a game. Once someone enters that maze, they will never find a way out.
But Bimbavati does not know that her end is near. Her childhood friend, Matowara, is coming with Moti to take her revenge. She, too, is a sorceress, and they both learned magic from the same guru. As a good student, she became the guru’s favorite, and after completing her training, she received the magical mirror. But one day, Bimbavati deceived her and took the mirror, turning her into an old woman. Now, the sorceress is coming to get her revenge.
- 6 -
Meanwhile, Prince Swarupkumar is arriving on the winged horse, ready to end Bimbavati’s reign. The people of the kingdom have repeatedly complained to his father, King Swapankumar, about the sorceress’s magic, which is turning many men and women into creatures. Therefore, the king himself has sent his son, Swarupkumar, to put an end to it.
But what is Bimbavati doing at that moment? On the night of the full moon, Bimbavati is playing her favorite game. With her supernatural shadow-sword, she is cutting off the heads of illusory magic-beetles. These magic beetles, made from moonlight powder, vanish into the air without even a blink, and within that brief moment, Bimbavati is decapitating them with her shadow-sword. It's truly an astonishing sight!
- 7 -
While Bimbavati is absent-mindedly absorbed in moonlight on the rooftop, Swarupkumar leaps onto the roof unexpectedly. The faint sound of his landing alerts Bimbavati. The shadow-sword is raised in her hand, its power coming from the moonlight; it is impossible to see it with the naked eye, making it no easy task to face this sword.
However, at that moment, a cry from the garden below captures the sorceress’s full attention. It is the call of a winged horse! She desperately needs the fat of that horse. To achieve immortality, Bimbavati has been planning a ritual that requires the fat of a pure-bred winged horse. But until now, she has been unable to obtain it. In her greed, Bimbavati becomes careless, and in that moment, Swarupkumar cleverly twists her hand and snatches away her shadow-sword. Enraged, Bimbavati becomes disoriented! But she is too focused on the horse to pay any attention to Swarupkumar. The sorceress rushes down, her long robe billowing in the wind. But as she descends, she is further astonished!
After passing through the vast labyrinth, in the green courtyard in front of the palace, little Moti is standing still under a tree. Matowara is nowhere to be seen. An hour has passed, and during this time, the invisible bodies of Moti and his companions have easily evaded the eyes of the guards. As the hour passes, Moti becomes visible. At that moment, Moti's eyes are filled with tears. She is surrounded by countless deer, but she doesn’t know which ones are her parents. Helpless, Moti wants to cry out loud! And just then, Bimbavati arrives. Seeing this sight, she forgets her own peril and bursts into cruel laughter.
Meanwhile, Bimbavati’s old friend, Matowara, has taken the magic mirror from a secret chamber. As soon as she holds the mirror, she regains her true form. No longer a decrepit old woman, she is now a youthful beauty. She walks over to Swarupkumar and says, "That girl’s parents have been turned into deer for almost two years due to Bimbavati’s magic. Only with the fat of the winged horse can they be freed from the curse. Will you not give that little girl what she needs, Prince?"
Swarupkumar listens attentively to the beautiful girl’s sorrowful words. Without thinking twice, he immediately uses the shadow-sword to slice off a piece of fat from the winged horse’s body. Matowara, busy tending to the bloodied horse, is tearful, with tears rolling down her cheeks. Bimbavati, ignoring everything else, leaps onto the piece of fat from the horse. But by that time, the shadow-sword in Swarupkumar’s hand has touched Bimbavati’s neck. The sorceress never imagined that such a thing could happen.
Swarupkumar speaks in a serious tone, “There is no escape. What was the deal between you and that girl, sorceress?”
The sorceress, frowning, replies, “Why this affection, Prince? Who is that girl to you?”
Swarupkumar answers, “She is my subject, my sister. Turn them back into humans now, listen to me. Or else…”
“Alright... alright, I won’t, I won’t, I said!” mutters Bimbavati, and in a whisper, she chants some spell, throwing a red powder towards the deer. A few moments pass, and gradually, in the half-light and shadow under the tree, the deer regain their human forms. Moti watches in amazement as her mother and father slowly approach her... but their eyes are filled with confusion.
In an instant, Matowara uses magic to restore the fat to the bloodied wound of the winged horse. The horse, now healed, roars loudly, shaking the air with its strength. Meanwhile, Moti returns to her parents’ embrace. The little girl’s face reflects perfect peace.
- 8 -
Moti and her parents, with tears in their eyes, thank Matowara. Swarupkumar, too, expresses his gratitude to Matowara for her wise counsel and help. Then, Matowara traps her cunning friend, Bimbavati, in the magic mirror. Matowara becomes the ruler of Bimbavati’s vast palace. The shadow-sword, however, remains in the prince's hand, and Matowara agrees to this.
Moti’s family bids farewell. Swarupkumar mounts his powerful winged horse. Under the moon’s magnificent pearl-colored light, the entire world rejoices in an extraordinary joy led by Matowara.