The Magic Shoes and Staff

I came across this tale in my research about fairytale shoes. The story is called The Magic Shoes and Staff. It begins with three nobel brothers living with their wives in luxury until a drought came. The brothers, in a fit of selfishness, ditched their wives to find a better place. They disregarded their wives and left.

Once the brothers went away, one of the wives found out she was pregnant. The three women were delighted and raised him together -- the aunts doted on the baby who was named Putraka. Later, we find out that the baby's father knew his wife was expecting when he abandoned her making his cruelty that much worse.

Putraka was a lovely child and grew to be a healthy boy despite the drought. The God Siva was impressed with the way the women took care of Putraka and blessed them with the gift of one hundred thousand gold pieces every morning under Putraka's pillow. Siva told the women in a dream what to expect and also told them Putraka would one day become a king. So, not only did Putraka grow in health, but he grew in fortune.

Eventually Putraka began to long to know his father. Putraka vowed to bring his father home when he was grown. In the meantime, Putraka did what he could to help people -- he was incredibly generous and kind. Putraka even helped get canals built to help prevent future droughts. The drought subsided and the earth healed. There was now plenty growing to sustain the community.

Because Putraka was so kind and everyone loved him so, he was chosen to be king when the old king passed away. While king, Putraka made sure to meet travellers with the hope that they would share his story far and wide -- perhaps tales of Putraka's success would make their way to his father and uncles. Putraka even paid these travellers to carry messages and attempt to find the wayward brothers.

Putraka's plan worked. Eventually the brothers heard of Putraka and, upon hearing who his mother was, realized who Putraka was to them. They quickly returned home with greed on their minds. When the brothers returned, their wives were overjoyed to see them and refrained from punishing them. Putraka showered his father and uncles with expensive gifts and everything they could want -- the men were more than happy to accept Putraka's generosity and kindness.

As it often is with selfish people, their greediness began to wear thin. The wives were quickly tired of the men's attitude. The women were wise to see how awful these men were because the brothers soon became jealous of all Putraka had and plotted to kill him... Putraka's father wanted to be king. The brothers hired an assassin and charged him with the murder and disposal of the king, but Putraka being wise and spiritual was still watched over by Siva.

When the assassin and his accomplices approached Putraka to murder him, Siva froze them and saved Putraka. When Putraka finally noticed the assassins, he saw they were immobilized and knew he was still favored by the god. Eventually the assassins were released from the spell and fell prostrate before Putraka and confessed everything.

Putraka's heart was broken -- he had tried so hard to build a relationship with his father. Putraka even began to doubt his ability to rule since he was obviously such a poor judge of character. He didn't want to go home and face the cruel men who had so mistreated him. So, Putraka decided to run away.

Whilst in the forest, Putraka came across two men arguing over a collection of items. There was a bowl, a staff, and a pair of shoes. Putraka broke up their fight and asked after the items. The men told him the items were magical and a gift from their father. The bowl creates food when asked, the staff grants wishes when one uses the staff to write the wish in the dirt, and the shoes could make the wearer fly.

Putraka, for the first time in his life, wanted something that didn't belong to him and decided to take them. He set about tricking the men by encouraging them to race instead of grapple. When the men ran off to get to the beginning of the race, Putraka grabbed the items (immediately putting on the shoes) and flew away.

Putraka spent time travelling all over and even met a kindly old woman who took him in. One day, whilst exploring, Putraka heard of a beautiful girl locked in a tower. Putraka used the shoes to fly up and meet her. They fell in love and Putraka rescued her from the tower. Together, they flew off to start a new life.

It is surprising that a character who was so blessed could do something so underhanded. However, there's a certain believability that even a wise and gifted person could make a selfish choice -- no one is perfect, afterall.