The Reward

One day a farmer went to his field to work and came across a huge pumpkin that grew in his field. He was delighted at the huge size of it and decided to present it to the king. So he carried the pumpkin and started towards the king’s palace. 

  

All the villagers who saw the pumpkin praised him for growing such a large fruit. When the farmer presented the pumpkin, the king was delighted and congratulated him for his hard work.

            Then he called his treasurer and said, ‘give this poor farmer a thousand gold coins, he deserves this for his labor’. The poor farmer became rich.

            The poor farmer became rich. This news reached a rich villager, who was also a big miser. ‘A thousand coins for just a mere pumpkin’ he thought. Then he took a diamond necklace from his chest and said, ‘I wonder how many coins the king will give me if I present him this necklace.’ He thought, the king might give him a cart-load of coins for the expensive gift. So dreaming his fortune, he set out for the king’s palace with the diamond necklace.

            The king admired the shining diamonds and said, ‘you must be very rich to possess this’. The rich miser nodded. The king looked around for his ministers and said, ‘he doesn’t need any coins, but I think I have a surprise for him.’ Then he pointed at the huge pumpkin that lay there and said’ yes, I want you to take that home and admire the work behind it’.

            The villager was shocked. He quietly lifted the pumpkin and slowly walked out of the palace repenting for his greed and folly.

            He felt the king had taught him a lesson.

The Old ‘‘Panta (Cold Rice Soaked in Water)’’ Lady

            Once there was an old lady who was very fond of cold rice and so she ate cold rice everyday for breakfast.

  

Cooked rice soaked in water overnight is called cold rice or ‘panta’ in Bangladesh, and is a popular food in breakfast for the rural people. The people in the village called the old lady ‘panta lady’.

            One day, the old lady woke up to find that someone had been in her kitchen and finished with the pot of cold rice. Furious at not having panta for breakfast, the old lady spent a troubled day. The next day, too, she found her rice pot empty and unable to bear it any longer, she set out for the king’s palace to complain about the rice thief.

            On her way, she passed by a tree bearing ripe wood apples. One of the fruit spoke out, ‘old lady, where are you going in such a hurry?’ The old lady answered, ‘I am going to tell the king about a rice thief who is stealing my rice for breakfast’. Then the fruit spoke,’ on your way back home, you could pick one fruit, perhaps it can be of some help to you’. ‘Very well’ answered the old lady’ and resumed her journey.

            Pretty soon she came across a cow grazing. The cow lifted her head and asked where she was going. The old lady told her about the rice thief and where she was going. Then the cow said, ‘I will save some cow dung, on your way back home you can take it, it could be of some help to you’. The old lady thanked her and started to walk. On her way towards the palace, she had to cross a brook, and a fish called ‘shingy’ lifted her head and said, ‘old lady where are you going? Again she told the fish where she was going and why. Then the fish said, ‘I will be waiting for you, perhaps you could pick me up on your way back home. I could be of some help to you’. The old lady thanked the fish and started to walk.

            When she reached the king’s palace at the end of the day, she was disappointed to learn that the king had left for hunting with his men and would not be back for several days. She decided not to wait and so started to walk back home.

            As she passed by the brook, she picked up the fish and put it inside a bag. Then she neared the meadow where the cow was grazing. The cow gave her the cow dung, which she wrapped in a banana leaf. When she came near the wood apple tree, she picked a fruit and thanked the free and started to walk.

On reaching her house, she put the cow dung on the door steps, the fish inside the rice pot and the wood apple in the earthen hearth. Then she put some hot charcoal in the hearth and went to sleep.

          

          Late that night, the thief came, and went near the rice pot as usual. As soon as he put his hand inside the pot, the fish stung his hand with its sharp fins. Groaning with pain, he ran towards the blazing hearth to warm his hand when the roasted wood apple burst out, sending pieces of hot chunks over his face and body. All this noise awoke the old lady and when she saw the thief, she let out a loud cry. The thief, frightened out of his wit’s end, ran towards the door and stepping on the cow dung, slipped and fell with a loud bump. But he managed to get up and run never to steal the old lady’s rice. Thus the old panta lady got rid of the thief.

The Noble Cow

Once a tiger went hungry for days and so he decided to go outside the jungle and catch animals there. He hid behind some hills and waited patiently. The day was nearing to an end. As he was about to return to his den, he heard the jingling

Of bells and spotted a herd of cows heading towards the village. He also noticed a cow walking far behind the herd and as soon as the cow came closer, the tiger sprang on her. ‘Oh please, lord tiger’ pleaded the cow, ‘allow me to go home and feed my baby, I promise to come back and then you can eat me’. ‘What!’ exclaimed the hungry tiger, ‘let you go now after I am starving for days,? never. I can not let my meal go thus’. ‘Please my lord’ cried the cow, ‘have mercy on my child. I will leave him with my friends and I promise to come back’. The tiger thought for a moment and then said, ‘very well, I will wait for you here, but don’t be late’. The cow did not even let the tiger finish, she ran as fast as she could.

            When she reached home, she nursed her young one and cried, ‘drink, my little one, drink, drink, for you won’t see me any more’. Then she took her calf to her friends and said, ‘my dear sisters, please take care of my baby in my absence’. Her friends told her not to go back. But she said that she must keep her promising.

            Meanwhile it was getting dark and the hungry tiger was getting impatient. ‘I must not have let her go, she will never come back’. he muttered. He was about to give up hope when he heard the jingle of bells and saw the cow coming.

            A she stood in front of the tiger, she said, ‘here I am, lord tiger, you can eat me now’. The tiger could not believe his eyes, ‘eat you, never’ he said, how can I eat a noble cow like you. You kept your promise even though your life was in danger, I will set you free’. The tiger turned his back and headed for the jungle.