When the old woman finds a snake in her pot by the river, she decides to bring it home and basically commit suicide by letting it bite her. Instead she discovers a lovely necklace, which she presents to the king. He locks it away until his wife wishes to wear it and then discovers it has turned into a baby boy. After many years the Prince marries a Princess who discovers that he has a curse and turns into a snake at night. When she uncovers this secret, he returns to the muddy waters of the river. He does visit her again and instructs her to put out bowls of water and sugar and demand from the Snake Queen that she wants her husband. Bravely she does this and her husband is returned to human form.For some reason I find this a little creepy. Perhaps because I don't like snakes very much but the story reminds me that lots of people have hidden secrets and uncovering them can cause great pain (the loss of her husband) but sometimes it is necessary to really know the truth to move foreward.
This Indian fairy tale is also sometimes called The Enchanted Snake. There is a slightly longer, and a little different version. HERE. As I was looking for other images of The Snake Prince it came to mind that its sort of just a different version of "kissing the frog" which is an enchanted princess under an evil spell. It does bring it to a more sinister level...a snake.
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