The son who excelled his father

PERUNTHACHAN WAS A renowned architect. He was famous for his skill in constructing temples, houses and tanks. In olden days, huge temples and palatial houses used to be constructed on a grand scale and the supervision of an efficient architect was considered necessary for planning them and carrying out the work. Every stage of work was done in his presence. There was a difference between the architects of those days and today. They used to work with the labourers, eat with them and live with them. Perunthachan too, whenever he took up a piece of work, lived with the labourers and worked with them. The carpenters, masons and others were happy to work with him.

One day the people of a village approached him to dig a big temple-tank. In the past, every temple had a big tank near it, in which the devotees took a dip before entering the temple to offer prayers. A temple committee had been formed to look after the construction of the tank and the job was entrusted to Perunthachan. He started the work of digging the tank with the help of his assistants, but then arose some difference of

opinion among the members of the committee. Some wanted it in the shape of a square, others in a rectangular form, some in oval shape and some others in the form of a circle. Perunthachan said, “All right, I shall dig a tank which will satisfy you all.”

When the tank was completed, strangely enough it had all the shapes, if seen from different angles, and all were satisfied and they congratulated Perunthachan. But Perunthachan's son, who always worked with him, raised a point. He said, "Father, you've constructed this tank for the use of devotees who want to bathe before going to the temple. Who will come to bathe in this tank when there is a river before they reach the tank? People will always prefer to bathe in the fresh water of a river rather than the stagnant water of a tank."

Perunthachan asked, "Are you mad my boy? The river is far away and those who come to worship in the temple are staying on this bank of the river." The son simply laughed and said, "The river is likely to flow touching the temple tank, father." "That is impossible," answered Perunthachan. "The river is far away." "That does not mean that it will not flow this side. The river can alter its course, or someone can change its course." Perunthachan was furious. He didn't like his son's reply. "Then do it!" he shouted.

The son took up the challenge. He, no doubt, had learnt work from his father. But he had improved upon his knowledge. He started thinking how best he could alter the course of the river without his father ever knowing it. He slipped away in the night and was at it until dawn. He chose a particular place from where he could change the course of the river, and lo! It started flowing, almost touching the temple tank. A person who wanted to come to the temple had to cross the river first. The father was very much impressed by the ingenuity of the son, but at the same time he felt that he had been outsmarted.

After a few days, the villagers again wanted the help of Perunthachan; this time to construct a bridge across the river, so that the people on the other side of the river could easily come to the temple without the aid of a boat. He built a nice bridge for them within record time. But just for the sake of some fun he installed a doll on one side of the bridge. Whenever a person came from the other side of the bridge, this doll would go down, fill its mouth with water, come up to its former position and spit at the passer-by. And sometimes Perunthachan would stand at a distance and enjoy the 'fun'. 

One day his son was coming along the bridge. The doll emptied a mouthful of water on his face. Perunthachan standing at a distance saw it and was very much amused. The son laughed and went away. The very next day another doll was seen at the other end of the bridge. This doll would go in front of anyone who started crossing the bridge. When Perunthachan's doll dipped down to fill its mouth with water and came up ready to spit at anyone, the second doll would give it such a slap on its face that its face would turn and the person walking along the bridge would go unscathed. Perunthachan saw the second doll and he knew that it was a trick played on him by his son. He had to accept defeat at his son's hands but he was happy that his son had excelled him.

The Jackal that was too clever

A JACKAL was wandering in search of food. He was extremely hungry, as he didn't get sufficient food for two days. Suddenly an idea struck him.

A farmer named Kelachar, had a large sugarcane field nearby. When the sugarcanes had grown to full size, he had fenced the field safely, and he himself was staying there in a raised hut to see that no one destroys or steals sugarcane from his field.

One day, he was sitting in his Machan when the clever jackal approached him. The jackal said, "Kelachar, something is going to happen this night. You know there is a big elephant staying in the forest. That elephant has an eye on your sugarcanes. So be alert with your bow and arrow." Kelachar was very perturbed. Due to his hard toil and the rich manure he put, his sugarcanes had grown up very well. If the elephant attacked it, all his efforts would go waste. So he had to be on his guard. Kelachar took his bow and arrow and cleaned them. He took his food early that night and lay in wait for the elephant.

From Kelachar's place, the jackal went straight to the hideout of the elephant. The elephant was crouching on the ground near a pond. The jackal stood at a respectable distance and spoke to the elephant; “You are my mighty uncle of the forest. But I know that now a days you are not getting enough food to fill you belly. The difficulty is because you are a vegetarian. And you eat only plants, and that too a selected few.”

"You are right, my friend," replied the elephant. "I can't eat all plants. And actually I have to go from forest to forest to get my food. It is a difficult task and on some days I have to go without food. Of course, this forest is better, but still..." the elephant sighed. "Uncle, I have come all the way to give a piece of good news to you. You will have feast for one full week." "Interesting! Tell me, tell me. What is it? Where is the feast?" asked the elephant. 

"You know that Kelachar has a big sugarcane field. You might have seen it. It is just at the foot of this hill. He is about to cut the sugarcanes tomorrow. They have grown to full-size and this is the proper time to eat them. No doubt he has fenced it, but that fence is nothing for you! So you can easily go there this midnight when Kelacher will be sleeping, and eat to your heart's content. Don't lose this opportunity."

  

"Thank you very much for giving me this information. I shall attack the field at the dead of night," said the elephant. "That will be ideal. When Kelachar sleeps he sleeps like a pig and you don't worry about any danger." Saying this, the jackal went down the hill.

He reached the boundary of the sugarcane field where there was a lonely tree. Kelachar was there. He went near him. "What are you doing here ?" the jackal enquired. "Nothing in particular. I was just seeing from which place I can shoot my arrow at the elephant," replied Kelachar. "I was about to tell you that," the jackal said. "Do you see a lonely tree at the boundary of the sugarcane field ? That is the ideal place for shooting your arrow. You can hide behind the tree. The elephant wouldn't see you." "You are right, my dear friend. That is the right place." Saying this, Kelachar went to his hut. 

The jackal went near the tree. In a hole near this tree a snake was staying. The jackal went near that hole and called it. It came out. "My dear brother," began the jackal, “You are facing a grave danger. Have you ever seen Kelachar?” “Yes, Yes. Isn't he the farmer who owns this sugarcane field?” "Well, he is going to destroy you, wipe you and your family out of this world. He has come to know that you are staying here, that you are very poisonous and in one bite you can kill anyone.”

"Is that so? Then what shall I do jackal brother? Please advise me. You are very resourceful. If I die, my wife and little ones will be put to trouble. The little ones are too young to look after themselves. And my wife will die if she hears of my death. Please show me a way out," implored the snake.

“The best way is to kill Kelachar before he kills you. So do one thing. At midnight he will come this way. Sometimes he stands near this tree to see whether his sugarcanes are safe on not. At that very moment, go and bite him ; not once, but four or five times. You are so poisonous that he will die immediately.” Saying this, the jackal bid him good-bye, wished him success and went home with great satisfaction. He was very happy. He was confident that his plan would work well. From the next day onwards he would have plenty to eat. The huge elephant’s flesh would be enough for him for a month, and that of Kelachar's for not less than a fortnight. At night the huge tusker entered the sugarcane fields. The fence was no obstacle for aim. Kelachar saw it from his observation point. He took his bow and arrow and aimed at the elephant.

He sent three arrows. He was an expert archer. All the three arrows struck the elephant at vulnerable points. Suddenly he felt an inscrutable pain on his ankle as if some insect had bitten him—not once but three or four times. He looked down and saw a snake gliding at fast speed on me ground. Immediately he trampled on it with all his might. The snake died at once. But suddenly Kelachar's bow and arrow fell down from his hands and he too fell dead. 

The jackal, seeing all this from a distance ventured to come near the dead body of Kelachar. Even though it was dark, he could see the bow lying by his side. On the bow, were some blood spots and so he decided to lick it first, before he started the grand feast. But while licking, his teeth touched the string of the bow and it broke. The string was so tightly tied to both ends of the bow that due to its impact there was sudden jerk and one end of the bow went deep inside the jackal's mouth cutting it into two. And that was the end of the cunning jackal too.

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