There once was an orphan boy. He lived in a small house with a relative who didn’t care much about him. There was a coconut tree near his house. The boy went there daily, climbed it, and enjoyed the coconuts. That’s all there was to his life.
One day while he was on the top of the tree, a rakshasi (female man-eating being) came and shouted –
‘Hey, kid! Give me a coconut.’
The boy was angry at her rude demand.
‘Why do you want other people’s stuff? Is it yours?’ he yelled back.
‘If you don’t give me a coconut I will eat that soft meat of yours,’ she threatened.
The boy looked at her carefully. Seeing her body and teeth, he got scared. He said he would give some and dropped one in the ground. The rakshasi wasn’t amused at the behavior.
‘Give it to me in my hands,’ she shouted.
The boy decided to do as she said. He came down and was about to hand a coconut over to her when… She grabbed him and put him in a sack. She took him with her to her home.
‘Help, help,’ the boy cried from inside.
‘Hold on, it’s momentary. The pain will vanish once you get into my belly,’ she said with an evil laugh and walked on.
On the way, however, the rakshasi had to poop. She kept the boy nearby and went into the forest. Seizing the opportunity, the boy carefully got out of the sack, filled it with rocks, and returned to the coconut tree. The rakshasi came back and lifted the sack. Surprised at it being heavier, she opened it – to find only rocks!
Fuming with anger, she decided to return back to the coconut tree. Just as she was about to reach there, she spotted the boy. So, she went back to her home and returned the next day in a different attire. Appearing as a different person.
She asked for a coconut just like before. The boy replied –
‘I won’t give anything to anyone! How can I afford to give everyone a coconut!’
This triggered the rakshasi. She climbed the tree, forcefully grabbed the boy, placed him in her sack, and took him.
On the way, she had to pee. She kept the sack just like the other day and went nearby. The boy seized this opportunity and carefully got out of the sack. This time around, however, he filled the sack with some wet mud and returned to the coconut tree. The rakshasi returned, carried the sack, and walked towards her home.
As she was about to get there, she noticed that her back was wet.
‘This rascal has urinated,’ she said and opened the sack. She was surprised to find nothing but wet mud there.
‘Next time I won’t stop anywhere,’ she said.
The boy climbed the tree early the next morning. A few hours later, he spotted the rakshasi coming towards him. He got scared and hurried down. In doing so, he fell badly and couldn’t get up in time. The rakshasi took this opportunity to put him in her sack. This time she successfully brought him home.
There was rakshasi’s daughter in the house too.
‘Fry him,’ the rakshasi said and instructed her on how to cook a human properly. She then went outside for another catch.
The young rakshasi took the boy out of the sack and prepared to cut him to pieces. The boy was scared but didn’t lose his calm. He could sense that the girl was stupid. He took this opportunity to lure her into giving him her clothes. He wore them and forcefully placed the girl inside a dhinki and beat her to small pieces. He prepared her just as the rakshasi had taught earlier.
In the evening the rakshasi returned.
‘Is the meat ready?’ she asked the girl.
The boy imitated the girl’s voice and said – ‘Yes, it’s ready mother.’
‘Bring it, I wanna taste it,’ she said.
The boy covered his face and brought the meat. The rakshasi was pleased with the sight.
‘Finally, after so many days of struggle! This boy seemed so tasty,’ she said and began eating.
Just as she was done, the boy took off the clothes and shouted –
‘How was your daughter’s meat?’
He ran out of the house in a jiffy. The rakshasi looked on.
The rakshasi hasn’t come out of her house since…
DISCUSSION:
This tale is about a boy who has had to face a lot of hardships in life. His only solace too is intruded. His life is threatened, yet he somehow manages to save himself. Every single time. He doesn’t give up. He keeps on trying. Finally, he uses his intelligence to deal with the solution once and for all.
The thing to learn from this is –
Be brave. Don’t give up. Don’t lose hope and your awareness. It usually requires only one intelligent move – at the right time in the right place – to deal with a problem and ward it off forever.
