Nepali Folk Tales – Do As They Do

Be careful on how you act around your children. 

---

Once in a hilly area, there lived an old man. His wife was dead so all he had was his only son. He took great care of him and pampered him in every way feasible. More than anything, he ensured his son was smart in practical things – especially money and property. As soon as the son married a girl from the same village, the old man retreated from his practical duties and started to live totally dependent on his son and daughter-in-law.

As years passed, the old man’s health deteriorated. Soon he couldn’t even go up and down the stairs without support. Around the same time, his daughter-in-law gave birth to a son. The old man’s condition however continued to deteriorate. He couldn’t even go to the toilet by himself.

A few more years passed.

One day the old man’s son had a thought, ‘All this old man does now is eat. He can’t even walk. What’s the point of him being alive if he can’t even do the toilet stuff himself! How long will he live? Why hasn’t death taken him yet?’

This thought of death gave him an idea –

‘What if I pushed him off a cliff? We will have a good time and this old man will get to Swarga quicker’.

He went to his wife and shared this idea. She was sick of looking after the old man so she agreed without hesitation.

The next day, he placed his father in a doko (Nepali basket made from bamboo) and went to a cliff nearby. The old man’s grandson followed his father. The old man could neither hear nor see properly so he had no idea what his son was about to do to him. He thought he was being taken to a temple, so he remained quiet. 

When they reached the cliff and the son was just about to push the doko, the young boy yelled- 

‘Father! Father! Hold on!’

The father looked behind to see his son running towards him. He wasn’t amused. 

‘What the hell are you doing here? Get back,’ said the father, angered. 

‘Are you supposed to throw the doko away too?’ he asked. 

‘Why?’

‘I just wanted to make sure you weren’t making a mistake. If you throw the doko, how am I supposed to throw you away?’

‘What do you mean throw me away?’ the young boy’s father asked, surprised. 

‘You throw your father, I throw mine. Isn’t this how it works?’ the young boy replied with innocence. 

This made his father realize the mistake. He brought the old man home and treated him with great respect thenon. His young son treated him similarly. 

---

 

Tags: folk tales nepalilifelife lessonsnepali folk talesnepali folk tales in english