Post by toweringniceguy on Jan 26, 2007 13:34:44 GMT 10
This happened a long long time ago. In a small village
in southern Orissa, there lived an old woodcutter.
One day, when he was going to the forest to cut wood,
he met the tiger. The woodcutter stopped in his tracks
on seeing the king of the jungle. But, strangely
enough, the tiger did not roar on seeing the
woodcutter. He remained silent. The woodcutter was
baffled. How was he to know that the tiger was blind?
The tiger had become old and was suffering from long
sight. No doctor in jungledom had been able to cure
him. Since he had lived in the jungle all his life, he
knew all the roads by heart. Like any other blind
person, he used his olfactory sense or the sense of
smell, to find his way.
The tiger initially missed the woodcutter. But he soon
smelt a human presence in the air around him.
"Who's that," he growled. "Just because I've grown
old, you think you can come here as and when you
please. I'm still capable of gouging your liver out,"
he threatened.
By now the woodcutter was shivering with fear. He
spoke in a humble tone: "No, Sir, you are the
undisputed king of the ungle. There was no wood at
home to cook food, so I came to the jungle. If you'll
permit me..."
His tone won the tiger's heart. "You sound like a good
man. You can take as much wood as you want. But, after
you are done, come over to my house. I want to talk to
you." The woodcutter promised he would.
While cutting wood, the woodcutter wondered what the
tiger wanted to talk to him about. Or, was it a trap?
Since he had promised, he decided to go.
But when he reached the tiger's lair, he realised his
fears were baseless. The tiger actually wanted to
talk.
He complained about his old age and his eyesight. He
said he could not go hunting anymore. "Look at me,
I've become a bag of bones without food," he cried.
The woodcutter asked if he could help him get some
food.
"If you could find some way to cure my eyes, that will
be of great help," replied the tiger.
"And don't think that I'll forget this favour. We
animals are more particular about returning favours
than humans can ever be."
The woodcutter agreed to help him. Like most old men
in the Kondh tribe, he knew a lot about plants and
their medicinal properties. He asked the tiger to
accompany him to the stream, where the medicinal plant
grew.
The tiger held on to the woodcutter's clothes as he
was led to the stream. The woodcutter found the
medicinal plant on the bank of the stream, crushed its
root with a stone and squeezed the juice into the
tiger's eyes.
And, after about an hour, the tiger was able to see.
He was thrilled. He hugged the woodcutter and even
licked his feet.
From that day, the woodcutter and the tiger became
great friends. So much so that they started living in
the same place.
Life was good. The tiger spotted prey with his renewed
eyesight, and brought back deer, rabbits and what not.
He always cut out a share for the woodcutter and had
the leftovers himself. There was no reason for the
woodcutter to work any more.
He would sleep all day and wait for the tiger to come
back in the evening. And, everyday he would make a
meat soup for dinner. The good food began to show on
him. He put on weight and began looking like a young
man.
One day, the two friends were chatting after dinner.
The tiger noticed that the woodcutter did not look old
anymore. "Who could say that you looked so old a few
months ago?"
"This is nothing. Soon I'll become strong enough to
beat you in a wrestling match," the woodcutter
boasted.
"When you become like me, I won't go hunting anymore.
I'll feed on you for some days. And, by the look of
it, I can feast for quite a long time," the tiger said
in jest.
The woodcutter turned pale.
"Good God, I'm mad to have trusted this animal. After
all, a creature with nails and horns is not to be
trusted," he thought. He decided to get rid of the
tiger.
One day, he came upon what he thought was a great
idea. He dug a deep hole on the path the tiger took
everyday and covered it with grass.
The poor tiger had not foreseen this change of heart
in the woodcutter. That day, when he returned home, he
fell right into the ditch. And try as he might, he
could not get out.
He realised that it was his friend's doing. "I was
just joking. How could you think that I would eat
you," he said.
"We animals are not vindictive by nature. If I have to
die, I'll die. But, you can benefit even from my
death. After I'm dead, cut my body into parts and bury
them separately. I'll prove useful to you even after
I'm gone."
The woodcutter heard his friend's words. But, he kept
silent. And the tiger slowly starved to death.
But, after the tiger's death, the woodcutter was
repentant. He had killed someone who had been a true
friend to him. Then he remembered the tiger's last
words and did as instructed. He cut the animal's body
into parts and buried them in different places. After
a few days, he went and dug up those places. He was
shocked by what he saw.
The tiger's head had turned into a huge pot, his torso
into a brass container, his legs had turned into
silver rods and his tail had turned into gold.
The woodcutter sold all the stuff and became rich. He
helped everyone who was poor in the village. Soon, he
forgot that he was once a poor woodcutter. But he
could never forget one person: his old friend, the
tiger.
And whenever he remembered him, his eyes would shine
with unshed tears.
in southern Orissa, there lived an old woodcutter.
One day, when he was going to the forest to cut wood,
he met the tiger. The woodcutter stopped in his tracks
on seeing the king of the jungle. But, strangely
enough, the tiger did not roar on seeing the
woodcutter. He remained silent. The woodcutter was
baffled. How was he to know that the tiger was blind?
The tiger had become old and was suffering from long
sight. No doctor in jungledom had been able to cure
him. Since he had lived in the jungle all his life, he
knew all the roads by heart. Like any other blind
person, he used his olfactory sense or the sense of
smell, to find his way.
The tiger initially missed the woodcutter. But he soon
smelt a human presence in the air around him.
"Who's that," he growled. "Just because I've grown
old, you think you can come here as and when you
please. I'm still capable of gouging your liver out,"
he threatened.
By now the woodcutter was shivering with fear. He
spoke in a humble tone: "No, Sir, you are the
undisputed king of the ungle. There was no wood at
home to cook food, so I came to the jungle. If you'll
permit me..."
His tone won the tiger's heart. "You sound like a good
man. You can take as much wood as you want. But, after
you are done, come over to my house. I want to talk to
you." The woodcutter promised he would.
While cutting wood, the woodcutter wondered what the
tiger wanted to talk to him about. Or, was it a trap?
Since he had promised, he decided to go.
But when he reached the tiger's lair, he realised his
fears were baseless. The tiger actually wanted to
talk.
He complained about his old age and his eyesight. He
said he could not go hunting anymore. "Look at me,
I've become a bag of bones without food," he cried.
The woodcutter asked if he could help him get some
food.
"If you could find some way to cure my eyes, that will
be of great help," replied the tiger.
"And don't think that I'll forget this favour. We
animals are more particular about returning favours
than humans can ever be."
The woodcutter agreed to help him. Like most old men
in the Kondh tribe, he knew a lot about plants and
their medicinal properties. He asked the tiger to
accompany him to the stream, where the medicinal plant
grew.
The tiger held on to the woodcutter's clothes as he
was led to the stream. The woodcutter found the
medicinal plant on the bank of the stream, crushed its
root with a stone and squeezed the juice into the
tiger's eyes.
And, after about an hour, the tiger was able to see.
He was thrilled. He hugged the woodcutter and even
licked his feet.
From that day, the woodcutter and the tiger became
great friends. So much so that they started living in
the same place.
Life was good. The tiger spotted prey with his renewed
eyesight, and brought back deer, rabbits and what not.
He always cut out a share for the woodcutter and had
the leftovers himself. There was no reason for the
woodcutter to work any more.
He would sleep all day and wait for the tiger to come
back in the evening. And, everyday he would make a
meat soup for dinner. The good food began to show on
him. He put on weight and began looking like a young
man.
One day, the two friends were chatting after dinner.
The tiger noticed that the woodcutter did not look old
anymore. "Who could say that you looked so old a few
months ago?"
"This is nothing. Soon I'll become strong enough to
beat you in a wrestling match," the woodcutter
boasted.
"When you become like me, I won't go hunting anymore.
I'll feed on you for some days. And, by the look of
it, I can feast for quite a long time," the tiger said
in jest.
The woodcutter turned pale.
"Good God, I'm mad to have trusted this animal. After
all, a creature with nails and horns is not to be
trusted," he thought. He decided to get rid of the
tiger.
One day, he came upon what he thought was a great
idea. He dug a deep hole on the path the tiger took
everyday and covered it with grass.
The poor tiger had not foreseen this change of heart
in the woodcutter. That day, when he returned home, he
fell right into the ditch. And try as he might, he
could not get out.
He realised that it was his friend's doing. "I was
just joking. How could you think that I would eat
you," he said.
"We animals are not vindictive by nature. If I have to
die, I'll die. But, you can benefit even from my
death. After I'm dead, cut my body into parts and bury
them separately. I'll prove useful to you even after
I'm gone."
The woodcutter heard his friend's words. But, he kept
silent. And the tiger slowly starved to death.
But, after the tiger's death, the woodcutter was
repentant. He had killed someone who had been a true
friend to him. Then he remembered the tiger's last
words and did as instructed. He cut the animal's body
into parts and buried them in different places. After
a few days, he went and dug up those places. He was
shocked by what he saw.
The tiger's head had turned into a huge pot, his torso
into a brass container, his legs had turned into
silver rods and his tail had turned into gold.
The woodcutter sold all the stuff and became rich. He
helped everyone who was poor in the village. Soon, he
forgot that he was once a poor woodcutter. But he
could never forget one person: his old friend, the
tiger.
And whenever he remembered him, his eyes would shine
with unshed tears.
Chand meri zameen phool mera watan
