Grandparents' Bag of Stories

by Sudha Murty

  The prince smiled and said, ‘Don’t ask me these questions. Leave things as they are.’

  But she didn’t. The princess hounded him day and night.

  One day, the couple went for a picnic near the river. The princess went into the water and all of a sudden, was in a terrible mood. She turned to the prince with a determined look in her eyes and threatened, ‘Tell me who your parents are. Otherwise, I will drown myself.’

  The prince, tired of her questioning, said, ‘You don’t need to die and I cannot answer your questions.’

  He jumped into the water and drowned himself. The turban along with the red jewel disappeared somewhere under the water.

  The princess was shocked! She burst out crying. He had never told her who he was and her stubbornness had gotten in her own way. She felt stupid at her silly actions that had caused her to lose her husband. For the next few months, she neither ate nor slept properly.

  A friend who lived near the same river came to visit her one day and said, ‘Princess, I had a very interesting experience yesterday. I still don’t know for certain whether it was a dream or it was me being half asleep as I rested in my garden at home. It was quite warm outside in the evening when I saw a snake coming out of the river. It drew a big circle on the ground and transformed into a man. Many other snakes followed suit and took the form of humans. Then, some of them laid a carpet on the floor and finally, a king and a prince arrived with their entourage. The prince had a red stone on his majestic turban, but he looked very pale. I couldn’t see clearly, but he reminded me of your husband.

  ‘The men and women began talking to each other. One of the women said, “The prince had to stay on earth for some time as punishment because he lost his stone, but since he has returned from land, he is unhappy. In fact, he is downright miserable. Even his beloved sister Maya hasn’t been able to cheer him up!”

  ‘“Why doesn’t he go back there?” someone else suggested.

  ‘“He can’t go on his own. Someone has to pull him out from the circle.”

  ‘The discussion died down. They all danced and partied for some time, and then they changed back into snakes and returned to the river.’

  The dream made the princess realize that her husband was the prince of serpents who lived underwater. She decided to go with her friend to the same location the next day.

  Once the princess had reached that spot, she hid behind a bush and waited to see if the snakes would appear again.

  Soon enough, the snakes appeared with their king and prince, turned into men and women and the party began in a marked circle. The prince, her husband, stood all alone in one corner. He was near her. The princess saw her chance and pulled him out of the circle with a sudden jerk of her hand.

  The music stopped. The merry dance stopped. Everyone stared at her. The prince smiled at her with love.

  The princess bowed low to the king of the serpents, ‘Sire, please excuse me. I love my husband, and I know that it was wrong on my part to insist on learning about his background. He was unable to tell me the truth, but I know everything now. My husband loves me a lot and that is why he has been dejected since his return. Please, I urge you, allow us to live happily and in peace. As a mark of respect and love for your gesture, we will celebrate a festival in your honour for two days and feed you and your subjects milk. We will call you Naga Devata, and you will be equal to the status of a god.’

  ‘No!’ cried Maya. ‘You can’t take my brother to the land of humans.’

  ‘But he can always come to visit you!’ said the princess.

  The prince shook his head.

  ‘No, it is not allowed,’ said Maya. ‘If he goes back, he will lose the citizenship of our kingdom. My brother and I are very close, and we are always there for each other. I cannot let him go to your land forever!’

  The king, however, smiled and with a wave of his hand, he silenced Maya.

  He said to the princess, ‘My dear girl, I appreciate your courage and your true love for the prince. Had you failed in your attempt to get your husband back, you would have had a difficult life ahead. As an exception, I will allow my son to be the subject of both kingdoms, as long as he continues to serve wherever he is. He can visit us whenever he needs us. You have one husband, but I have many children. I will manage to run the kingdom. May God bless you!’

  The princess thanked the king profusely and turned to Maya, ‘You can come and visit your brother whenever you want. It will be wonderful to have you with us.’

  ‘I have much work to do here, but I will come and see my brother for two days every year,’ said Maya, smiling at her.

  Thus, the prince went back to land and stayed with the princess. Together, they led a long and a happy life.

  From that day, two days a year in the rainy season are dedicated to the worship of snakes. This festival is known as Naga Panchami, and it is a custom for sisters to visit their brothers’ homes during this time.

  A Handful of Grains

  The children were now getting used to a new life. They were learning to tackle the challenges life posed and were helping each other as the days progressed.

  The next morning, Anoushka’s chores included bringing flowers from the garden for Ajji. When she went to the garden, she saw a beautiful rose. Then her eyes fell on a jasmine flower, and then champaka flowers growing on a tree! She thought of climbing the tree but a few seconds later, she saw bakula flowers on the ground and gave up! She got confused about which flowers to pick and sat on the ground, staring at the beautiful choices of flowers around her.

  Twenty minutes later, Ajji walked into the garden looking for her. ‘Did you finish gathering the flowers?’ she asked.

  ‘I wanted to, but . . .’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘My hand started to hurt . . .’ Anoushka tried to make an excuse. ‘No, I meant my leg started to hurt!’

  ‘Really?’ grimaced Ajji, knowing full well that Anoushka was not suffering any pain at all. ‘Should I tell Kamlu Ajji to massage your leg?’

  ‘No, no,’ replied Anoushka quickly.

  ‘You don’t pick flowers with your leg. I know you are making excuses. Come now, you aren’t Champa.’

  ‘Who is Champa?’ asked Anoushka.

  ‘I’ll tell you all a quick story, but then you must gather the flowers, Anoushka. After that, I must go finish some other work,’ said Ajji.

  Anoushka nodded her head vigorously and called out to all the other children. She yelled, ‘Come, come. Ajji is telling us a story. You can help me gather the flowers while she is talking.’

  Champa was a little girl who lived in a village with her parents. She would spend most of her time playing with a little mouse called Mini. Her mother would often get upset at this. She would scold her, ‘Why are you wasting your time with a little mouse? After all, it is a small animal that is of no use.’

  Champa, however, would never listen. One day, while playing with Mini, her mother called out to her and said, ‘Champa, it is almost time for lunch. Bring me some dry wood from the backyard. I can only cook after you bring me the wood.’

  Champa was hungry, so she immediately went to the backyard to fetch some wood. But alas! The wood there was half wet. There was no dry wood at all!

  ‘Why is the wood wet even in this scorching summer?’ Champa wondered aloud.

  To her surprise, a log of wood spoke to her, ‘Oh Champa, I would have dried and been of some use to your family, but look at the grass around me! It hasn’t been cut or cleared in ages. That is why there’s always shade here and the sun’s rays don’t reach me at all!’

  Champa was surprised at the log’s words and she glanced down at the grass surrounding the wood. It was true!

  The moment she looked at the grass, the grass spoke, ‘Oh! What can I do? I don’t get the sun’s rays either, and that is why I am wet.’

  Champa looked up at the sky. The sun was not shining brightly, and said, ‘I wish I could send enough heat to reach the grass. Bu
t the clouds are blocking my rays.’

  Champa now understood what was going on. She looked at the cloud. ‘I wish I could move ahead and allow the sun’s rays through,’ said the clouds. ‘But the wind blows me this way.’

  She looked at the wind, who said, ‘I am sorry, but I’m helpless. Your king has built such a big palace that it has forced me to change my direction. Moreover, he has blocked the door right at the top of the palace. If he opens the door, I can pass.’

  In the far distance, Champa saw the king standing on a balcony in the palace. She could see the shadow of a door at the top. She looked at the king, who said, ‘I wish I could open that door, but the queen hasn’t given me permission to do so.’

  Champa looked at the queen. She was sitting near the door with a parrot nearby. The queen said, ‘That is my special room and I don’t have time to open the door because I am busy listening to the stories of this parrot, who has come from a distant land.’

  Champa looked at the parrot—the bird was so different and beautiful. Usually, parrots are green with red beaks. This parrot, however, was multicoloured. For a few seconds, she forgot herself and stared at the parrot. The parrot said, ‘I live in a land far, far away on a green tree that has plenty of flowers and fruits through the year. One branch of the tree is bent very close to the water in a lake. The lord of the lake scares me. He keeps threatening to drown the branch. So, I flew away in search of a home, and came here. I know countless stories and I have seen beautiful things. So I stay, tell stories and describe those things to the queen. Still, home is home and I miss it.’

  Champa thought of the land far, far away and the lake that the parrot had mentioned. Suddenly, the lake and its lord appeared in her vision. The lord said, ‘I am always in danger from an elephant who threatens to drink all my water and turn me dry every time he is upset. So I get frustrated and I am mean to the little bird that sits near me on the branch of the tree.’

  Champa’s thoughts turned to the elephant. He appeared in her mind, worried. He said, ‘I am a gentle vegetarian and I like to keep to myself most of the time. I like to spend time with my family and I don’t have any enemies. Though I have might, I don’t use it unless it is required. Unfortunately, there is a serpent that wants to bite me. He sits on my tail sometimes and I can’t get him off me no matter what I do. He hisses and intimidates me so much. I am not upset with the lake, but on some days, I just want to go into the lake and drown myself in its waters. I want to drink all the water and spray it on my whole body in the hope that the serpent will wash away. In my heart, I love the lake. It gives me cool water, especially during the summer. But I don’t know how else to try and get rid of the serpent.’

  Champa was surprised. Even the mighty elephant was scared of a serpent. The serpent then appeared in her thoughts and started to shed tears. He said, ‘I don’t want to harm anyone. I enjoy living far from civilization, but people want to kill me the moment they see me. Besides, I am a non-poisonous snake, but my size is huge. There is a mouse in a potter’s shop nearby and I would love to eat it and satiate my hunger, but she disappears so quickly. She is the only mouse I have seen in this area. I can eat other things, but eating a mouse is a feast. Every time I try to find her, the potter comes with a stick and tries to slaughter me. That’s when I get scared and find refuge on the elephant’s tail. A potter is no match to an elephant’s strength.’

  Champa then thought of the potter. He was speaking to his wife, ‘The serpent has ruined all the work that I did this month. Just the other day, I found him hiding under the pots. I tried to shoo him away, but he upset my pots and broke most of them. We cannot take the risk of letting a serpent roam around the house. We have a baby, after all, and I’m worried that the wily snake will cause harm. I will continue searching for him under the heaps of pots, where it is cooler, I’m sure he finds it comfortable to stay there and hide.’

  Suddenly, Champa noticed a mouse sitting in a corner of the house. The mouse whispered, ‘These people don’t know that the serpent comes to eat me. But I am smarter than the snake, so I go and hide under one of the pots in a tiny hole. The serpent looks for me everywhere and breaks many pots. Anyway, I come to this potter’s house only to find four grains of rice to eat. If I get that from elsewhere, I won’t ever need to go to the potter’s house again.’

  Hearing that, Champa turned and ran inside her house. She brought a handful of rice and gave it to Mini. In her mind, she spoke to the mouse sitting in the potter’s house, ‘I am giving some rice to Mini. She will give this to you. Eat four grains a day, but don’t trouble anyone any more. When the rice is finished, tell Mini and I will send you more.’

  The mouse was very happy and thanked Champa. Mini ran off to give the rice to the mouse.

  The serpent never saw the mouse after that, and so, he stopped going to the potter’s house. He went to another forest in search of another mouse. The potter was happy that his pots and his family were safe. The elephant, too, was happy to be left alone now that the serpent was gone. He thanked the lord of the lake and promised not to trouble him any more. The lord was happy and sent a message to the parrot, ‘Your family has been our companion for generations, so come back. Just don’t make your home on the branch that nearly touches the water. Instead, do it a little higher so that we can all coexist and live together.’

  The bird thanked the queen and decided to go back home to the tree. The queen wanted to give the parrot some jewellery, but he refused. ‘No, I don’t need jewels. You have taken care of me all these days and I have enjoyed my stay. I will take memories of our time together home with me. Goodbye. I will go now,’ he said, and flew away.

  With the bird’s departure, the queen had a lot of time to spare. She realized that she hadn’t opened the door at the top of the palace for a long time, which the king had been asking her to do for a while now. She opened the door and a strong gust of wind came through and pushed the clouds. The clouds floated away and the sun started shining brightly. The grass below got plenty of sunshine and soon became dry, as did the wood sitting on it.

  Champa’s mother came out of the house soon after and saw Champa standing in the backyard, doing nothing. She nudged her, ‘Hey Champa, I asked you to bring firewood. What are you doing here? Daydreaming?’

  ‘Mother, you don’t know where I have been! Do you know that four grains of rice can change the world? Please give me a handful of rice every week. My Mini should not suffer like the others.’

  Champa’s mother had no idea what her daughter was talking about, but like a mother does, she smiled and gave her a handful of rice.

  The Mouse That Became a Mouse

  The night was pitch dark and the children were sitting on the steps near the veranda. There was a coolness in the air, despite the summer setting in.

  Suddenly, Aditi yelled, ‘Are those fireflies? See how they twinkle and disappear!’

  Ajji lit a lamp nearby. ‘The light from the matchstick is stronger,’ she said.

  ‘But a candle’s is even stronger, Ajji!’ said Krishna.

  Raghu flashed the torch on his mobile phone. ‘Now that is more powerful than a candle,’ said Meenu.

  ‘Every light does its own duty,’ said Ajji. ‘You can’t enjoy the firefly during the day, and the same goes for moonlight. Every source of light has its own glow and purpose. Come, I will tell you a story about who is most powerful. Remember, you are your own person and you are powerful exactly the way you are.’

  Anoushka looked at her, confused.

  ‘Tell me,’ Ajji asked her. ‘Which light do you enjoy the most—the one from a firefly, a matchstick, a candle or a torch?’

  ‘The firefly, of course,’ said Anoushka. The others nodded their heads in agreement.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because it is natural and fascinating, Ajji,’ said Meenu.

  Ajji smiled.

  Once upon a time, there lived a sage in an ashram in the Himalayas. One day, while he was meditating, he heard someone ru
nning towards him. The noise disturbed his concentration and he opened his eyes to see a mouse sweating heavily and trembling with fear. The sage was compassionate. ‘What happened, little mouse? Why are you scared?’ he asked.

  ‘Sir, I’ve come to your ashram as I have heard of your great yogic powers. I am being chased by my eternal enemy, the cat.’

  ‘Don’t worry, you will be safe here,’ assured the sage.

  ‘But I can’t stay here forever. Will you do me a favour?’

  ‘Tell me, mouse.’

  ‘Please turn me into a cat. Then I won’t be scared of them and will lead a happy life.’

  The sage smiled. ‘That is not true, but I will fulfil your desire.’

  He blessed the mouse, and the mouse-turned-cat happily ran away.

  A few uneventful days passed. But then again, one day, the sage heard a noise that interrupted his meditation. When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was the same mouse-cat, sweating heavily and trembling with fear.

  ‘What is the matter?’ asked the sage.

  ‘Sir, I enjoyed my days as a cat for some time. But now, I am scared of the dog that chases me around. I didn’t know that dogs hated cats.’

  ‘What do you want?’

  ‘Please turn me into a dog. Then I won’t be scared of dogs and will lead a happy life.’

  The sage smiled. ‘That is not true, but I will fulfil your desire.’

  The cat now turned into a dog and happily ran away.

  Some more days passed before the sage heard someone running towards him again, breaking his meditation. He opened his eyes to see the mouse-cat-dog sweating heavily and trembling with fear.

  ‘What is the matter?’ asked the sage.

  ‘There is an animal called the lion—he is the king of the forest. He is huge and powerful. When he roars, everybody gets scared. He can eat anyone and I am only a small animal, after all,’ said the dog.