The Faraway Sky - Part One

During the times of old, the sky was very near to the earth. 

In fact, the sky was so close that people could chip the pieces of sky with their own hands. The sky was delicious and people would taste different things from different parts of the sky. The people would eat the pieces of the sky whenever they were hungry. This way the people of earth did not have to work at all because food was always available to them.

The king of the times, King Oba would give parties to his people. Whenever this used to happen, King Oba’s people would cut the pieces of the sky and cut the pieces into different and wonderful pieces and serve the pieces of the sky as food to the people in the kingdom.

But as time went on, the people forgot to be thankful to the sky for what it provided to them. The people did not have to work for their food and so they took the food for granted and did not respect it.

Sometimes, it so happened that people would even cut off larger portions of the sky than they needed. The people would throw the remaining pieces away.

The sky saw this for some time. After that, the sky became very angry. 

Suddenly one day, the sky became very dark.

The frightened people were terrified and came out of their houses hesitatingly to see what the problem was.

“King Oba!” The sky thundered angrily.

The people trembled as the sky continued. “If you continue to take more than what you need and waste the portions of the sky, you will have no more portions of the sky to eat.” 

The people were shocked as the sky finished angrily. “Do not waste food after this time.”

Adapted from Nigerian Folktales

The Story of Old Dschang, the Gardener - Part Five

 

When Sir We’s son came back to his village, he found that Wang had disappeared.

A few years later, Sir We’s son was walking across a meadow, he saw the plaw-boy who had taken him to Old Dschang’s house.

The plow boy was thrilled to see Sir We’s son. “My mistress wanted me to give this to you.”

The plow boy removed ten ounces of gold gave it to Sir We’s son.

“Where is Old Dschang?” Sir We’s son asked eagerly.

The plow boy smiled. “As of now, Old Dschang and Wang are drinking tea in the inn."

Sir We’s son eagerly followed the plow-boy to see his brother-in-law again.

However, when Sir We’s son reached the inn, the entire place was empty.

Sir We’s son turned and he was surprised to find that the plow-boy who had brought him there was also missing.

Since that time no one had heard of Old Dschang.

Adapted from Chinese Folktales

The Story of Old Dschang, the Gardener - Part Four

Old Dschang mounted his dragon. Old Dschang’s wife rode on a phoenix and then they all left for the Mountain of the Fairies.

Sir We’s son remained in the castle while Old Dschang, his wife, came back after sunset.

Soon Sir We’s son had to leave and go back to his own home. 

Old Dschang gave Sir We’s son eighty ounces of gold and a straw hat.

The old straw hat was special. 

Old Dschang looked grave. “If you ever need any more money, go to the old Wang’s drug shop in your city. Show him this straw hat and he will give you ten million pieces of copper.”

After that the plow-boy who had brought Sir We’s son to this castle took the man back.

When Sir We’s son had told everyone what had happened, everyone thought that Old Dschang was a saint or that Sir We’s son had had a magical vision.

The money that Old Dschang gave Sir We’s son lasted for nearly six years.

After the money was over, Sir We’s son went to Wang’s drug shop.

Wang asked to look at the straw hat. At that time a young girl from the inner room came to look at the straw hat. “I have woven this hat for Dschang. If it has a red thread inside it, this is the very same hat that I wove for Dschang.”

Turned out there was a red thread in the hat.

Wang gave ten million pieces of copper to Sir We’s son.

After that Sir We’s son went to look for Old Dschang and found that no had heard of Old Dschang anymore.

It came to be believed that Old Dschang was really a saint.

Adapted From Chinese Folktales

The Story of Old Dschang, the Gardener - Part Three

Many years passed after this. 

Sir We had no news of his daughter of Old Dschang.

But Sir We and his wife were longing to see their daughter. So they sent their son to make enquiries. The son walked for a long time and finally came across a plow-boy. “Do you know about Old Dschang and his wife?”

The plow-boy came near the son. “The village where Old Dschang and his wife live is not far from here. I will take you there.”

After that they crossed a hill, came to a brook and crossed it and crossed another hill. There was a valley there. In the middle between the green trees there were houses and towers.

That was where Old Dschang had his house.

There were plenty of servants taking care of the palace in the valley. One of the servants led Sir We’s son inside the palace.

There Sir We’s son saw a dignified man in a flowing turban with silk and red slippers come to the palace. The man seemed youthful. 

Sir We’s son looked closely at the man and realized that this was Old Dschang.

Old Dschang smiled at Sir We’s son. “Your sister is combing her hair and she will come here to welcome you.”

Sir We’s son was finally shown to a huge room where the beams were made of sandalwood, the doors were made of tortoise-shell and the windows had blue jade and the curtains were made of string of pearls. The steps leading to his sister’s room were made of green nephrite.

The sister had a magnificently rich dress and looked beautiful.

The sister was however not very cordial to the brother and carelessly asked about the well being of the family and general and then prepared a room for the brother to live in.

That very evening, the sister and Old Dschang left the brother alone in the castle, because they were to go for an excursion to the Mountain of the Fairies.

Adapted from Chinese Folktales

The Story of Old Dschang, the Gardener - Part Two

The next day Sir We was shocked. 

Old Dschang came to his house and he gave the exact quantity of gold and jewels that Sir We had asked.

When Sir We saw this, he was shocked. So was his wife.

However, Sir We’s daughter encouraged her parents. “You have promised to marry me to Old Dschang if he gives all this. He has done what was asked of him. Father should not go back on his word now. He should marry me to the old man.”

Sir We realized that he had no choice and he married his daughter to Old Dschang.

After his wedding, Old Dschang still worked as a gardener. His wife helped in all the work - including fetching the water and also building the kitchen fire by herself.

A few days later Sir We’s relative came to see him. “It is bad that you have married your daughter to such an old wrinkled man. It is best if you ask them to leave this part of the country and settle elsewhere.”

Sir We arranged a banquet and called Old Dschang and his daughter to it. After everyone had eaten their food, Sir We told Old Dschang what he had in mind.

Old Dschang looked surprised. “I thought you would want your daughter near you. That was the reason I stayed here. However, if you want us to leave, we will leave the place immediately.

The next day, Old Dschang gave a straw hat to wear and seated her on a donkey and Old Dschang walked next to her and they left the place.

Adapted from Chinese Folktales

The Story of Old Dschang, the Gardener - Part One

 

There was one an old man who was called Old Dschang. He worked as a gardener. 

Old Dschang’s neighbour was Sir We. Sir We was a very powerful man in the country. Once Sir We decided to get his daughter married.

As soon as Old Dschang heard this, he was very happy. He invited the old match-maker to his house and asked her to recommend him as a husband for Sir We’s daughter.

The old woman scorned at the old man and walked away without replying.

The next day Old Dschang invited the match-maker to his house again and gave her dinner. He again asked the old woman to recommend him as a husband for Sir We’s daughter.

“She is young! You are too old. Such a marriage is wrong.”

Old Dschang sighed. “Just tell her parents about my wishes. If they do not wish to proceed any further than I will never bring it up again.”

The old match-maker woman had taken money from Old Dschang and she knew that she did not have any other choice.

The old woman knew that Sir We was going to be furious with her, but she still went to Sir We’s house and told him about Old Dschang.

Sir We was very angry. 

So the old woman told Sir We about how she had come here.

Sir We angrily scowled. “Tell that old man that if he brings me two white jade stones and four hundred ounces of gold, I will give him my daughter in marriage.”

Sir We was sure that old Dschang could do no such and it was just to mock the old man that Sir We imposed such a condition.

After that the old matchmaker went to old Dschang and told her what had happened.

Adapted from Chinese Folktales

The Woodcutter and the Badger - Part Three

The next day, the woodcutter started early. 

But today as he climbed the mountain, he found a lot of woodcutters following him. Each of them carried a gourd. Some of the woodcutters in the village had overheard about the waterfall which flowed with sake.

So all the woodcutters followed this man to get some wonderful sake.

All of them came to the exact spot and even found the waterfall.

However, the other woodcutters were angry.

The waterfall tasted like water and nothing more. 

“You have fooled us!” The other woodcutters yelled angrily. “We followed you for no reason.”

The woodcutter who had also filled his own gourd looked calm and turned to the other others. “I did not ask you to come with me.” The other woodcutters bristled as the woodcutter continued. “Besides, for me, this tastes as sweet as sake. Exactly like it did yesterday.”

The other woodcutters were angry and walked away and to them it seemed like the waters laughed at them.

However, the first woodcutter heard the melodious song from the waterfall. 

“Sake for him who is kind,

Water for those who seek self,

Sake for him who is kind.”

The woodcutter also filled the sake in his gourd and took it home often.

Since that day, the waterfall has always provided sake for the kind woodcutter and his family. no one else.

Adapted from Japanese Folktales

The Woodcutter and the Badger - Part Two

“What do you mean?” The woodcutter stammered.

The badger shook his head. “You cannot kill me if you try.” The badger nodded at the woodcutter. “You have proved to be a kind man. So I will show you kindness in return.” The badger waved behind the woodcutter. “There is a pine tree there. Beneath that you will find a flat white stone. Bring it here.”

The woodcutter nodded and turned to find the stone.

He was stunned because on the flat, white stone was the best feast that the woodcutter had ever seen in his life.

There was rice, sake and fish and other good food laid down there.

The woodcutter wished that he could take the food to his parents because he was sure that they would enjoy it.

The woodcutter turned to see the badger and the badger nodded at him. “If you eat this food here, your parents would find the same feast in their house.”

The woodcutter happily sat down to eat the food.

The woodcutter wanted to thank the badger who had been so kind to him.

But when the woodcutter turned to look at the badger, the badger was missing.

In the place where the badger had been there was a waterfall. 

The waters in the fall sang a wonderful song and it was not water, but sake which flowed therein.

The woodcutter ate his food and filled his gourd with all the sake he could find to take it back to his parents.

When he reached home, he told his parents his story.

His parents were thrilled because they too had eaten a feast today because good food had appeared out of nowhere in their house too.

His parents drank the rich sake and were very happy.

Adapted from Japanese Folktales

The Woodcutter and the Badger - Part One

Long ago there was a woodcutter. The woodcutter worked twice as hard as the other woodcutters, because he wanted to give his parents all the good things. But the woodcutter had always made enough money to buy rice and bread for his parents. 

Sake was an alcoholic drink that the woodcutter could not afford to take for his parents.

One day early in the morning the woodcutter climbed a steep mountain to find the best wood. None of the other woodcutters accompanied this woodcutter because it was very difficult to climb this mountain.

The woodcutter worked alone at the top of the mountain and soon he had a good pile of logs.

By afternoon, the woodcutter was tired. He rested under a tree. There the woodcutter saw a badger. 

The woodcutter wanted to kill the badger and take it back home for his parents to eat. However, the more the woodcutter saw the badger, the less he wanted to kill the animal. He did not have the heart to kill a sleeping creature that was much smaller than him.

The woodcutter sighed and shook his head. ‘I will earn more money to buy some meat for my parents. I will not kill this badger.’

The woodcutter made his decision and got up.

The badger turned to him and it almost seemed like the badger had divined his thoughts. “You have made a wise decision.”

The woodcutter was stunned to hear the badger speak and he dropped his axe in fear.

The badger was not yet done. “I am more useful to you alive than dead.”

Adapted from Japanese Folktales

King Vikramasimha and his Minister Anantaguna - Part Four

 

King Vikramasimha was able to join forces with another king and together the two kings were able to defeat the five relatives who had first driven away King Vikramasimha.

The king came back to rule his kingdom and he was thrilled.

Then he turned to the courtesan. “It is all because of your help that I was able to get my kingdom. Today you can ask me anything that you want and I will give it to you.”

Kumudika nodded at the king. “Your majesty, I love a man by the name of Sridhara. Sridhara is in the prison of Ujjayini. The king of Ujjayini has thrown Sridhara in prison for a very small fault which could have been overlooked. But the king threw Sridhara in prison and refused to let him go.” Kumudika looked unhappy. “In fact that was the reason that I helped you. As soon as I saw you I realized that you were a king. So that made you the only man who could handle the king of Ujjayini.” Kumudiki shook her head in despair. “When I saw that you were about to die, I realized that you could not help me with Sridhara’s release. That was the reason that I decided to kill myself.”

King Vikramasimha was shocked when he heard this. He turned to his wise minister and realized that his minister was right. The minister had warned the king that he should not trust anyone who was good to him without expecting anything in return.

Though King Vikramasimha helped the courtesan by getting Sridhara out of prison, the king had learnt an invaluable lesson about people that day.

Adapted from Katha Sarith Sagara

King Vikramasimha and his Minister Anantaguna - Part Three

Kumudika came to the king’s quarters and saw the king whom she thought was dead and the minister Anantaguna who was pretending to be heartbroken.

Kumudika was miserable and nodded. “Now that the king is dead, I have no point in my living anymore. So I will also kill myself when the last rites of the king are performed.

The minister stared at the courtesan, lost for words.

The king woke up weakly. “My dear, you care for me so deeply. I did not die. I am merely weak because of the lack of food.”

Kumudika was stunned. 

After wiping the tears of joy, she ordered a huge feast for the king.

After all that, Kumudika left the king and minister alone.

“Kumudika is devoted to me, Anantaguna. You have to believe me now.”

The minister frowned and shook his head. “No matter what I see now, I do not believe the courtesan, your majesty.”

The king was about to retort when the minister turned serious. “Instead of arguing about this, your majesty, we can use the services of the courtesan. She is a very rich and powerful woman. She can finance your army. With her help you can raise an army and fight your relatives who attacked you.” The minister nodded at the king. “Why don’t you ask the courtesan whether she can help you raise an army?”

The king realized that this was a good idea and went to Kumudika and told her his identity. The king finally asked Kumudika her help to fight his enemies because of whom he had run away from the battle.

Kumudika agreed to this and happily helped the king raise an army to fight his enemies.

Adapted from Katha Sarith Sagar

King Vikramasimha and his Minister Anantaguna - Part Two

 

The king was disguised, so Kumudika could not easily identify who the man was. But the minute Kumudika saw the king in her home, she realized that the man had to be a king. 

“Your majesty!” Kumudika told the surprised man. “I know you are a king and I welcome you to my abode.”

Beyond that Kumudika did not ask any questions about the identity of the man.

Over the next few days, Kumudika also took great care of the hospitality of the king and his minister. Kumudika provided the king with everything that she had and the king lived a luxurious life in her house.

After some days, the king nodded at his minister. “I think this courtesan is attached to me, Anantaguna.”

The clever minister however shook his head. “Your majesty, you take too many things at face value. Please do not blindly trust this woman. You do not know why she is being so hospitable to us. Until you know the reason you have to be on your guard.”

However, the king did not pay heed to his minister’s words. “I am sure that Kumudika would even lay down her life for me.”

The minister refused to accept the king’s words, so the king set about to prove his words.

For the next few days, the king ate less and less and soon he became thin and emancipated. Within a few days, the king became so weak that he was bedridden.

Sometime later, the king could not even move from the bed and it was even thought that the king was dead.

Thinking that the king was dead, the attendants of the king took the king’s body to perform his last rites.

Kumudika came to know about this.

Adapted from Katha Sarith Sagar

King Vikramasimha and his Minister Anantaguna - Part One

 

The kingdom of Pratishthana was ruled by King Vikramasimha. His wife was Queen Sasirekha.

Unfortunately for King Vikramsimha, five of his relatives from the neighbouring kingdom ganged up against him and attacked him.

King Vikramasimha had a very clever minister called Anantaguna. When the five relatives had together attacked Vikramasimha, Anantaguna wanted to reconcile. The minister probably was well aware that fighting at that time would not be favourable to the king.

But Vikramasimha did not listen to his minister. Vikramasimha went to war.

The five relatives together beat back the king’s smaller forces in battle.

At that time, Anantaguna again rode to his king.

“King! Please listen to me. Our forces are smaller and if you keep this up, our enemies will rout us. So get off your elephant and mount a horse now. Let us leave this battle now and go to another place. You can conquer your enemies at some future time, when you are stronger.”

This time king Vikramasimha heeded to the words of his wise minister.

King Vikramasimha rode away from the place and came to the kingdom of Ujjayini.

The king disguised himself to make sure that no one could recognize him in the new kingdom.

The kingdom of Ujjayini had a courtesan called Kumudika. Kumudika was a very well known and wealthy courtesan in the kingdom of Ujjaiyini.

The disguised Vikramasimha came to Kumudika’s house in the kingdom of Ujjayini.

Adapted From the Katha Sarith Sagara