The Saint's Daughter

A long time ago, a saint lived with his wife on a riverbank. The couple was childless; they greatly wished for at least one child. One day, when the saint meditated, a bird dropped a female mouse on him. The saint decided to take the mouse home but first turned it into a girl.

"Who is this? Where have you brought her from?" the saint's wife asked, seeing the girl. 

The saint narrated the entire story to his wife. His wife was delighted. 

"You have given her life, so you're her father," she said. "Therefore, I am her mother. We are childless, so God has sent her to us."

The girl soon became a beautiful woman. When she was sixteen years old, the saint and his wife decided to marry her off. The saint summoned the Sun god and requested him to marry his daughter.

"Forgive me, but I cannot marry the Sun god because he is scorching," interjected the young woman.

The disappointed saint asked the Sun god to suggest a worthy groom for his daughter. 

"The Cloud god will be suitable for your daughter as he can protect her from the heat of my sunshine," said the Sun god.

The saint now requested the Cloud god to marry his daughter. 

"I will not marry this dark entity," protested the saint's daughter. "Besides, the roar of the clouds during thunder frightens me." 

The saint was again saddened and asked the Cloud god to suggest a worthy groom for his daughter. 

"The Wind god will be suitable for your daughter because he can easily blow me away," said the Cloud god.

The saint now requested the Wind god to marry his daughter. 

"I cannot marry such an unstable individual," objected the young woman, "who always flies here and there." 

The saint was worried and asked the Wind god to recommend a suitable match for his daughter. 

"The king of the mountains is solid and stable," replied the Wind god. "He can easily stop the wind from blowing. He will be the ideal groom for your daughter."

The saint went to the Mountain King and requested him to marry his daughter. 

"I cannot marry an entity who is so hard and cold," interrupted the saint's daughter. 

The young woman asked her father to find a more gentle individual, and the saint sought the mountain king's advice. 

"Marry your daughter to a mouse; he is gentle and can easily make a hole in any mountain," said the mountain king.

This time, the young woman liked the prospective groom. 

"How strange is fate!" exclaimed the saint. "You had come to me as a female mouse, and I had given you the form of a girl. Due to being born as a female mouse, you were destined to marry a male mouse." 

The saint turned the young woman back into a she-mouse.

Fate never changes.