Jaleshwari Shrestha
Many years ago, Mahesh, a boy of around twelve years of age, lived in a village called Lapsiphedi. Both of his parents had died. So, getting a lot of love from his grandmother, he had rather been pampered. Since the grandmother did most of the work, Mahesh did not care much about doing his work himself.
The grandmother had grown quite old. She slowly grew weaker, and one day in winter, she died.
Only after the grandmother died, Mahesh came to know how much his grandmother struggled for him. He did not know how to cook. There was nothing at home to eat. It was his grandmother who would earn and bring food. After her demise, Mahesh did not think of earning; so, the kitchen was bare. He never wanted to work. So, he started staying without food. Hungry to his bone, he started picking vegetables and fruits, including the sprouts, from the neighbours’ farms. The neighbours were annoyed, but their scolding would not bring Mahesh to track.
One hot afternoon, the villagers tied Mahesh on a big, dry tree. The hungry Mahesh was deeply hurt. The hot sun scorched him from above. When he was thirsty, they did not even give him water. He started crying.
Seeing this condition of Mahesh, his grandmother, who was watching him from the sky, felt quite sour. She invoked the Forest Goddess. The Goddess appeared and asked, “Why did you remember me? Are you in any type of problem?”
“Goddess Mother! My grandson Mahesh is dying of hunger and thirst on the earth. I could not tolerate; so, I invoked you. Since I raised him with a lot of love, he doesn’t know how to work. So, do please give him knowledge, and release him from this peril.”
“May it be so! By some means, I shall change his laziness into activeness,” said the Goddess.
Then, the Goddess went to the place where Mahesh was crying. She asked Mahesh, “Why are you crying?”
“I am extremely hungry,” said Mahesh.
“I have a magic bag with me. Whatever you wish shall come into the bag instantly. You can eat whatever you like. But the bag cannot give you water. You need to walk to the river yourself. But …”
“What but, Mother?”
“You need to give both of your hands in order to posses this bag. Ready?”
On hearing the Goddess’ works, Mahesh’s face lit up. He thought, he would not need his hands as he was getting things without working. He could think nothing beyond that, and so, he instantly said, “I am ready!”
The Goddess released Mahesh from the bondage. Then she took out both of his hands from the shoulders without making him feel any pain. She hanged the wish-bag on a branch of the tree and said, “Take it, Mahesh. Come in front of this bag, open your mouth and wish whatever you want. It shall immediately come of the bag, and you can eat. You don’t need to stay hungry anymore.” Having said this, the Goddess disappeared.
Mahesh was extremely happy. He thanked the Forest Goddess for gifting him with such a bag at a time when he was almost dying of hunger. First of all, he wanted to have rice pudding; so he went near the bag and opened his mouth. Pudding fell into his mouth. Every time he opened his mouth, ounces of pudding fell into it. He ate to his fill, and felt deeply asleep.
The next morning, when he woke up, the first thing he did was he looked at the bag. The bag was still hanging, as it did the previous day. He thought what he liked next, and chocolate popped up in his mind. Once, his uncle had bought him a delicious chocolate while they had visited the market. He remembered the same chocolate, went near the bag and opened his mouth. Cadbury chocolate fell into his mouth, piece by piece. He ate them all, till he was done with. Then, the fall of the chocolate stopped. After some time, he remembered jeri-swari he had once had in the market. Once again, he went near the bag and opened his mouth. Jeri-swari fell, till his belly filled. He did not, however, stop. He wished for cake, sweets and fruits and many other such things. He ate so much that his belly almost burst. He was extremely thirsty too. He remembered water, and opened his mouth. But no water would fall from the bag. He instantly remembered what the Forest Goddess had said.
As he had eaten too much, he found it difficult to stand. He tried to stand by pressing one hand against the ground, but he had no hands. For the first time, he felt bad for losing hands. However, he struggled on, and finally stood up, and ran towards the river. There too, he could not drink well in the absence of hands. Like animals, he gulped water with his mouth. He drank water with a great difficulty. When he returned to the tree, he had no interest in eating anything more. As he had eaten too much during the day, his stomach was upset. Due to indigestion, he had loose-motion all through the night. The body dehydrated for want to water. His mouth and throat remained dried. He could not sleep well.
At dawn, a cool breeze fanned him to sleep. Bees came and started gathering on the same tree. One of them bit him. He wanted to shoo the pee away, but could not, as he had no hands. Many bees bit him, one after another, and he started crying. He remembered the Forest Goddess, and prayed to Her. She appeared and asked, “Why did you call me, Mahesh? Why are you crying?”
“Mother! Do give my hands back,” said Mahesh.
“Why, Mahesh? You get things to eat without having to work. Aren’t you happy and content?” the Goddess asked.
“I cannot even drink water easily, Mother. When the body itches, rubbing it against the tree is not as pleasing as scratching with a hand. I cannot even shoo away an insect that comes near. If anyone steals away this bag, I cannot snatch the bag back from him. Eating without work, I have stopped enjoying the taste. Do have mercy on me, Mother. Give my hands back!”
“After I give your hands back, you need to give the bag back to me. You are lazy. You have no habit of working. After you lose the bag, who will feed you?” asked the Goddess.
“I will work for myself now. I will struggle as my grandmother did. Give my hands back,” pleaded Mahesh.
“Well said, Mahesh! That’s a very good determination. I will give your hands back,” said the Goddess, and touched his two shoulders. Then she took the bag out of the branch and said, “Here I go!”
“My hands?” said Mahesh in a miserable voice.
“They are with you.”
Mahesh did not know when the hands had returned to him. They had, in fact, come when the Goddess had touched his shoulders. Mahesh was extremely happy on getting his hands back.
He ran to the river and drank water with his hands till his thirst was completely quenched. Then he went home and looked if there was anything to eat. He found four or five cobs of maize. He removed the seeds from the cob, made fire in the fireplace with difficulty and roasted them. Half of them were uncooked, while half were overcooked. However, he ate it all, as he was quite hungry. He found the taste extremely pleasing, and said to himself, “Ah! The fruit of one’s own work is very, very sweet!”
***
[Jaleshwari Shrestha is a senior Nepali writer. She writes both for adults and children. Some of her famous works are Labhaka Baaphharu, Phul Phulaune Gamala, Marriage Anniversary ra Anya Katha Niyati Chakra, a novel, and a few other works for kids. Pinki and the Butterflies is a collection of her stories in English translation for kids.]