Once a king asked his daughter, "What is the sweetest thing in the world?" The eldest daughter immediately answered , "Sugar." The second daughter exclaimed, "No, it's honey!" The youngest daughter remained silent. The king asked her, "What do you say?" She hesitated a bit and then said, "Salt." Her sister s laughed. The king angrily said, "Are you making fun of me?" The girl replied, "Not at all, father. Think carefully. You'll see that my answer is true. Both the father and the daughter were adamant. A big quarrel began. The two elder daughters took their father's side. All three criticized the young girl. At last, the king become so angry that he expelled her from his palace. He said, "You are a naughty girl. You have no place in my house. Go away immediately!"

The poor girl wandered away into the forest. She built a cottage and lived there. Some hermits living nearby loved and helped her. A few months later, a prince came to hunt in the forest. A furious strom began and he lost his way. He could not find his companions. While roaming here and there, he suddenly caught sight of the young princess's cottage. She offered him food and shelter for the night. He fell in Love with her and took her away to his kingdom nearby.

Soon the two were married.

The prince knew who she really was. He invited her father to the grand marriage feast. The king did not know that the bride was his daughter. He and two other kings were served dinner in a special room. There were fine food items, but the young princess had told the cooks not to put any salt in any of them. All the three kings began to complain as soon as they had tasted the food. One king exclaimed, "O prince, all these dishes look so fine, but they are spoiled because your cooks have forgotten to put salt in them." The bride's father remembered what his youngest daughter had said. He said, "Oh, my fellow kings! Salt is indeed the sweetest thing on earth. My youngest daughter told me so. I became angry with her and drove her out my palace. I now understand what she meant.

How I wish to see her again and beg her forgiveness!"

"The bride now removed her veil from her face. She went to her father and hug him. properly salted dishes were served then . Everybody was happy."

"HAPPY ENDING"