In ancient times there was a king named Gunakama Deva at Bhaktapur. He was very wise. He was a pious, just and merciful king. To his people, he was like a father.
He had a daughter named Gunalaxmi. Once she cried for a long time. She did not stop crying until her father the king said that he would have her married to a fox.
Gunalaxmi grew up to be a most beautiful princess. One night the god Narayan appeared to her in a dream. He told her that he would come to marry her.
In the early hours of the following day, the god changed himself into a white fox and he arrived at the palace with some of his followers. The pack of foxes howled loud and long until the king awoke.
King Gunakama Deva was worried. He sent for the court astrologer and asked him why the foxes had come. The astrologer assured the king that it was not an ill omen; they had come to remind him of a promise made years ago.
Thereupon, the king called White Fox and said to him, "Oh, Fox, why have you come here?"
White Fox said: "Oh, king, please give me your daughter in marriage if you are a man of your word. If you are not, you can forget it."
"What a strange proposal!" exclaimed the king.
"How is it possible for a human being to marry a fox?"
White Fox replied, "There is nothing strange about it. Didn't you say that you would marry her to a fox? I have heard you."
The king remembered how he had said in jest while his daughter was a small child to marry her off to a fox to stop her from crying. And now White Fox has come and demanded the princess. He was alarmed. He went to the queen's chamber not knowing what to do. The queen was equally perplexed.
When Gunalaxmi learnt of her parent's predicament she went to them and said: "Why are you so sad? Please tell me."
Her parents told her why the foxes had come.
Then the princess said: "Please do not grieve. I have seen it all in a dream. Father, you are a man of honour. Honour your word and it will be all right. You do not need to worry. I'll have White Fox for my husband. Please give me in wedding to him today."
The king and the queen were both very sad but they took heart in the wisdom of their daughter. The minister was called in and asked to make the necessary preparation for the wedding. A public announcement of the wedding was also made.
Soon everything was ready. Music was heard in the courtyard. The priest arrived, and with pomp and pageantry witnessed by a large crowd of people, princess Gunalaxmi was married to White Fox at an auspicious hour the same day.
After the wedding, White Fox and the princess took leave of the king and queen and they went away in a carriage drawn by four foxes, followed by a large retinue carrying the trousseau and dowry.
The carriage came to a forest and before long a cave was reached. The men followed the carriage into the cave, and to their great astonishment they found a great palace made of precious stones and gold. The astonishment was even greater when lo and behold! White Fox changed himself into the god Narayan and he made the princess sit with him in a magnificent throne.
All the gods in heaven arrived to felicitate the divine couple. They soon lighted a sacred fire and the wedding was solemnised again with the chanting of sacred texts.
The ceremony was followed by a great feast. The men who had come with the princess were served in plates of gold, which they were asked to keep for themselves to carry home. After the feast, the men were sent back.
Upon their return to Bhaktapur, the men reported all that they had witnessed and it made both the king and queen very happy.
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