Near the cave was a kingdom. There was a king in the kingdom. The king's city was watered by a huge lake. It so happened that every year an offering had to be made to the Snake God who lived in the lake. If this offering was not made the snake god who lived in the lake would get angry and make sure that no water was left in the big lake.
The people in the kingdom were required to sacrifice a human who was born in the year of the tiger to the Snake God.
But it so happened that it had gone too far and there were no people left in the kingdom who were born in the year of the tiger.
In the kingdom, the king looked at his subjects and decided to look around for other options. That was when he came to know that in the mountains nearby there was a hermit who had two sons and of whom the older son was born in the year of the tiger.
Then the people from the kingdom knocked on the door of the cave.
The hermit opened the door and the hermit was asked about whether he had any sons.
The hermit denied it saying that he was a hermit and could not have any song. After saying this the hermit shut the door rudely on the soldiers of the king.
Then, the hermit cleverly hid both his sons inside huge casks and waited.
The soldiers on whom the door had been shut were furious with the behaviour of the hermit and they broke the door down.
They came inside the cave and looked around the cave inch by inch, but could not find anyone else there.
In anger they started beating the old hermit.
The two boys could not stand this and they came out of their hiding place.
The soldiers of the king tied the older son and took him to the king.
The hermit and the younger Dawa were very sad after Nyema was gone but they did not know what to do.
Adapted from the Tibetan Folk Stories
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