Ashi Dunglidolma waited outside the gate.
Dangbo..o..o Dingbo..o..o.. there was a king who had three daughters. They were called ashi Yulidolma, or princess Turquoise Tara, ashi Sarlidolma or princess Golden Tara, and ashi Dunglidolma or princess Copper Tara. Each ashi was as beautiful as the others. The fame of their beauty and the wealth of their father’s kingdom had reached far and wide. There were many suitors who wished to marry them. The ashis were well aware of all their suitors but each of them secretly wanted to marry only sai Jangchu Dorji, a prince of the northern kingdom, for he was said to be not only the wealthiest but also the handsomest and the kindest and the gentlest of all the suitors.
Sai or prince Jangchu Dorji also wanted to marry one of the princesses but he wanted to find out which of them was the kindest and the humblest. He therefore disguised himself as a beggar and stood at the gates of the princesses’ palace, begging to be employed in the palace. When the king saw him he took pity on the poor beggar and made him the cowherd. Now, it was the custom that every day the ashis took turns to help to herd and milk the cows. So on the first day it was ashi Yulidolma who came to do the milking. It had rained during the night and it was muddy everywhere, so ashi Yulidolma told the cowherd to kneel down in the mud so that she could sit on his back while she milked the cows. In this way she did not dirty herself. Sai Jangchu Dorji did as he was told. When all the cows had been milked ashi Yulidolma made a symbolic offering of the milk to the gods and deities then to each of the kings of the four directions. Finally she secretly made an offering to sai Jangchu Dorji, sprinkling some milk in the air, saying, “Choy choyshi Sai Jangchu Dorji shayla stuchu shi (I make this offering, may it be pleasing to prince Jangchu Dorji)”. The milk that she sprinkled fell into the cowherd’s mouth. Sai Jangchu Dorji professed surprise and said, “Ashi, the milk you offered to sai Jangchu Dorji has come into my mouth. What should I do with it? Shall I swallow it or spit it out?”
“Spit it out,” was the scornful answer.
“The rich milk has made me thirsty, ashi Yulidolma. Please let me drink a cupful,” begged sai Jangchu Dorji.
“I will not waste milk on a dirty beggar,” was the reply.
Soon it was lunch time, and ashi Yulidolma sat on a high rock and ate her rice and meats and let Jangchu Dorji sit far away from her and eat his poor meal of kuli and chili paste.
As the midday sun got hot ashi Yulidolma fell asleep in the shade of a tree. Sai Jangchu Dorji watched her. Although she was unkind and rude he had to be sure whether they were destined to be together. So he took a turquoise ring off his finger and tossed it into the air singing, “Ashi Yulidolma, Yuyi zokey thee, tse gang thendi yodna ashi cha la zu shu, tse gang thendi med na boko na la log sho.(Princess Turquoise Tara, this turquoise ring I offer. If we are to share a common fate, may it fall in your hands. If not then let it come to me).” The turquoise ring fell into his own lap.
Ashi woke up and chided him, “What was that you were mumbling about?”
“Even a beggar has songs for his joys and songs for his sorrows,” came the quick reply.
As dusk fell and it was time to go home, sai Jangchu Dorji gathered the cattle and turned them homewards. Ashi Yulidolma made him carry her across the river because she did not want to get wet. So he carried the ashi on his back. With his left hand he held the ashi’s legs behind his back and with his other hand he held the stick with which he drove the cattle home. The ashi was repulsed at having to touch a beggar but she had to hang onto him tightly.
On the second day it was the second princess Sarlidolma’s turn to milk the cows and she was just like her older sister. Sai Jangchu Dorji knew that his fate was not tied with either ashi Yulidolma or ashi Sarlidolma.
On the third day it was the youngest princess ashi Dunglidolma’s turn. As on the other days the place was wet and muddy and sai Jangchu Dorji offered to kneel down so that she could sit on him and milk the cows. But she was shocked and refused saying, “No, no, I will not do such a thing.”
When she made the offerings and sai Jangchu Dorji’s share fell into his mouth he asked, “Ashi Dunglidolma, what should I do? Your offering to sai Jangchu Dorji has fallen into my mouth. Shall I swallow it or spit it out.”
“If it has fallen into your mouth it must be for a good reason. Swallow it by all means.”
Then when he asked for a cup of milk to drink she said, “Drink all you can. There is enough milk for you to drink.”
During lunch time she insisted that they sit together and share their meals. After their lunch, like her sisters ashi Dunglidolma also fell asleep in the shade of a tree. Sai Jangchu Dorji sat by her side and watched her. Then he took off his copper ring and as on the previous days, tossed it in the air, singing, “Ashi Dunglidolma, dungi zokey thee, tse gang thendi yodna ashi cha la zu shu, tse gang thendi med na boko na la log sho (Princess Copper Tara, this copper ring I offer. If we are to share a common fate, may it fall into your hand. If not let it return to me).” When the ashi woke up she was surprised to find a ring around her finger. Sai Jangchu Dorji of course denied any knowledge of it when she questioned him. “Perhaps it’s a good omen,” she thought to herself and decided to keep it on.
Then she asked him what he was singing and he replied, saying, “Even a beggar has his songs for his joys and songs for his sorrows,” but this was all he would say.
When they returned home in the evening sai Jangchu Dorji offered to carry her across the river but she said she preferred to hold his hand and cross the river. By the end of the third day sai Jangchu Dorji knew which princess he wanted to marry. But he had to be absolutely sure that ashi Dunglidolma was truly the right wife for him, so he had to test her further.
The king now decided that it was time for his daughters to get married so he invited all the suitors to come and seek their brides. He decreed that each of the suitors would have to perform a heroic feat before he could qualify to marry any of his daughters. The suitors came from the four directions and they performed wondrous and heroic feats. On the appointed day the suitors presented themselves bearing the testimonies of their feats. One of them had dragged a dragon out of the skies, its body still steaming with moisture while spitting out flames of fire. Another had tamed a chuzin or a sea serpent and now it slithered and crawled behind its master. The third one led the leader of the sinpos on a leash of thick leather after he had subdued the sinpos in the region.
The day before the ceremony at which each of the three princesses had to present a scarf to the prince of her choice, sai Jangchu Dorji took a new-born puppy and put it into ashi Dunglidolma’s bed. Then he woke her up and said, “You have just given birth to this freak. Now if you don’t choose me for your husband I shall tell everybody about this.”
The ashi had no choice but to agree. The next day as the first rays of the sun touched the palace rooftops the ceremony took place. Everybody was very pleased as ashi Yulidolma confidently walked up to the Eastern King and presented her scarf to him. Ashi Sarlidoma presented her scarf to the Western King. Poor ashi Dunglidolma held down her head and demurely handed her scarf to the poor and dirty man standing in the crowd. Everybody was shocked and repulsed! The king was so angry and humiliated that he immediately banished them from his kingdom.
Sai Jangchu Dorji and ashi Dunglidolma traveled for many days.
They crossed many valleys and climbed many mountains. One day they reached a big herd of cattle. Ashi Dunglidolma said, “I wonder whose cattle these are. Would it not be pleasant if we were the owners?”
“Perhaps it would,” came the languid reply.
Then he said that he would go to the herders’ camp to beg for some food. When he came back he brought hot and delicious food, saying how kind the herders were.
For the next few days they passed through fields of barley, wheat, and mustard and large herds of horses, sheep, and goats. Each time sai Jangchu Dorji would bring his wife good food from the kind herders. In fact all the animals belonged to him and his herders naturally gave the best to their prince. One day they reached a beautiful big dzong situated in a broad valley beside a silvery river that meandered through the entire valley. It was exquisitely beautiful. Ashi Dunglidolma thought, “This palace is even more grand than my father’s and the place more beautiful.”
Sai Jangchu Dorji as usual went into the dzong to beg for some food and ashi Dunglidolma waited outside the gate. As she waited for her husband she began talking to a man who said he was the sweeper of the palace. When she asked him who owned the dzong, the sweeper was surprised. “Don’t you know? This is sai Jangchu Dorji’s palace.”
Then ashi Dunglidolma asked, “Is sai Jangchu Dorji in his palace?”
“Did you not see him?” retorted the sweeper, even more surprised. “He just went into the dzong dressed as a beggar.”
Before ashi Dunglidolma could say anything more sai Jangchu Dorji came out of the gates and welcomed her to his palace. Then he explained to her that he had had to put her through the test because he wanted to be very sure that they were indeed destined to be king and queen. He added, “I wanted a queen who is kind and humble and you are truly the right queen for me.”
What followed in the next few days were lavish feasts and celebrations to commemorate the marriage of sai Jangchu Dorji to ashi Dunglidolma. Soon the news of the wedding was heard far and wide. When ashi Sarlidolma and ashi Yulidolma heard about it they came to extend their good wishes to the newly wed royal couple while their father, filled with remorse and shame, came to beg forgiveness for his ill treatment of them. Sai Jangchu Dorji and ashi Dunglidolma not only forgave him but showered him with precious gifts.