The washerman was surprised. “Then what are you doing here?”
Raman nodded at the washerman. “You see, being a washerman has made me a hunchback. I am trying to cure it.”
The washerman was surprised. “Is this how you cure hunchbacks?”
“You can take me out and see for yourself.”
The washerman was earnest and he dug the hole and helped Raman out. He was surprised to see that Raman had a straight back.
Raman shrugged at the washerman “See, my back works perfectly fine now.”
The washerman naturally wanted to apply the cure for hunch back for himself. He requested Raman to bury him in the sand just like Raman had been.
Raman happily agreed to it. In fact Raman even offered to wash the clothes of the washerman and he took the clothes bundle that the washroom had with him and walked away from there.
Sometime later the washerman was shocked to see an elephant walk towards the river and he realized his predicament.
He was even more terrified when he saw that the elephant had two guards with it and all of them coming towards him.
He started shouting for help. “Help! I am buried in the sand! Don't come any further! Please do not come any further!”
The guards heard the voice and they realized that this was not Tenali Raman's voice and they ran forward. They were shocked to see a stranger buried in the same hole that they had buried Tenali Raman. “What are you doing here?” They demanded.
“I am curing my hunchback just like the washerman before me.”
Angrily realizing that they had been fooled by Raman, the guards dug the washerman out of the hole.
The washerman was very depressed on seeing that the cure had not worked for him.
The guards went to the king and told the King all that Tenali Raman had done.
The king understood that he had been hasty in ordering Tenali Raman’s death and he also realized that the guards had learnt that Tenali Raman could not be caught easily.
In the end the king found the whole incident very hilarious and he ordered Tenali Raman execution to be halted immediately.
Adapted from Indian Folk Stories
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