Chandamama 1973 01

SUPERB

BOOKS

forChandamama Readers THE NECTAR OFTHEGODS The story of Soumani, thelittlegirl,

who visited the Kingdom of the Gods.

WrittenbyMathuramBoothalingam

and lavishlyillustrated:Price Rs.4.00

SONSOFPANDU

MathuramBoothalingamrelatesin

lovelywordsthemain storyof the

greatIndianepic,Mahabharata.A

storythatwillalwayscndurt:Price Rs. 5.25

Order direct from:

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CHANDAMAM*

Vol.3No.7January1973

TheWisdomofTruth 6

TheClever Scholar 9

Jackand the Beanstalk 12

Outwitted 17

OurCover Story 20

RobinHood 21

Mahabharata 27

TheStrawOx 34

FromRags to Riches 40

FattyVinayak 43

Seemanthini 47

TheSpeaking Grapes 51

TheThief 57

Photo Caption Contest 60

Ulyssesgoes toWar 61

SHORT STORY CONTEST

Wecertainlyreceiveda largenumber ofentries,

andas eachentrymustbeconsideredby apanel of

judges,italltakestimes.So,itwill not be possible toannouncetheresultsuntiltheFebruaryissue.

«»«

Printedby B.V.ReddiaiThe Prasad Process Private Ltd., and Published

t>yB.ViswanaihaReddi TorChandamamaPublications,2&i,ArcotRoad, Madras- 2f>.Controlling Editor:'Chakrapani

'

The

Wisdom

of Truth

ThecityofSatyaporewas

ruledbyamonarch

appro-priately named Satyanath

becausehebelievedinTruth, aboveallelse.Thoughhehad fabulouswealth,hewaskind and charitable and gavefreely toall.Sohissubjectsadored himand remained truetohis ideals.

This kinghad a novel idea to banishpoverty andpenury fromhisland.Everydayhe bought the produce of the land from thosewhoassembled be-forethepalacegates,andhad somethingtosell.Thisway, theking believed, povertycould bebanishedandfull employ-ment guaranteedtothepeople. Hishopeswerenotinvain

becauseeventhosewhohad sufferedinbusinesssoldtheir

goodstohimandrecouped

theirlosses.

A

certainpoorbrahminliving

inafaroffvillageheardabout

the king'snewscheme. Hetoo wantedtoselltheking some-thingand get alotof wealth inexchange.But hewas poor and had nothingtosellexcept hispoverty.Sohesetoff for the capitalcarryinghismeagre belongings consistingof a torn waistcloth,araggedblanket andatatteredbedroll.The palaceguardsreportedtothe king that apoorbrahmin had cometosellsomething.The kingaskedthebrahminwhat he had tosell.Thereupon the

brahminsaid,"Sir,Ihave cometosellyoumypoverty. Takeitandgivemesome money."

Thekingwassurprisedto hear thesewords, buthe could notchangehiscustom of buy-ingwhateverwasofferedfor

sale.Ifhe refusedtobuy what

thebrahminhadofferedfor

sale,thenhiswordwould

be-comefalseandhewouldbe

discredited.Sothekingsaid, " Verywell,Oh!brahmin, what

pricedoyouaskforyour

poverty?" "

A

thousandgoldpieces,

Sir,"saidthebrahmin.

Withoutaword,theking

receivedthebrahmin'sdirty bundleand paid over a thous-and goldpieces. Thebrahmin

returnedhome,happythat

atlasthewas no longer poor. That night,thekinghad a strangedream.Inithe saw a beautifuldamselleavinghis house.Soheaskedherwho

shewas.Shereplied,"Oh!

King,1amLakshmi,Goddess of Wealth,1have nomoreto

dohere,sinceyoubought

poverty.ThereforeIam

leav-ing."Thekingsaid," Very

well,Ican'tstopyou. You

arefreetodo what youwill."

SoLakshmi left.Thenthe

kingsaw anotherbeautiful maidenfollowing Lakshmi." Heasked herwhoshewas and

replied,"IamtheGoddess of

Virtue.AfterLakshmt's

depar-turewhatshall1dohere?"

Sothekinggaveherleave todepart. ThentheGoddess ofWisdom,and thenFamealso left.

At the end, the king perceived aloneGoddess of greatlustre followingtheothers.Sohe stopped herand asked her who' she was.Shesaid,"Oh!King,

IamtheGoddessofTruth. Whenalltheothersaregone, whyshouldItarry here,alone?

Thenthekingreplied,"I

allowedalltheotherstoleave hopingthatyou alone ofallof

themwillstay inmyland.For,

Icandowithouttheothers, butTruthImust always have."

TheGoddesswaspleased

withhiswords and elected to staybehind.Thentheking saw allthe other Goddesses, Wealth, Virtue,WisdomandFame

turn-ingbacktohiskingdom. The kingwasagreeablysurprised and asked themwhytheyhad allcomeback. They proclai-medinunison.

"

We

thoughtTruth wouldaccompanyus. But she chose to stay with you.Where thereisnoTruth,wehave no business."

Thekingwoke upfromhis dreamandpondered overthe

vision.Truth,heknewwas

themostpreciouspossession ofmankind.

The

Clever

Scholar

InthecityofBaiarampur, therelivedafarmercalled Walchand.Hehadtwo sons, Krishanand Sundar.Krishan lookedafterthefieldsand was afarmerlikehisfather.But Sundarwaseagertogather knowledge and he went outin searchof agood teacher.

Hesearchedfarand wide but didnotfinda suitable teacher. Oneday.ashewaswalking

down avillage street, he

swoonedinthestreetbecause he waswornout by hungerand

thestrainofwalkingsofar

inthehotsun.Thehouse

beforewhichhefellbelonged toascholarcalledRishikesh whoonseeingthestateof poorSundarhadhimcarried

inside.Sundar soon recovered

andquietlyacquainted the

scholarofthereasonforhis

travel. Rishikeshwasstruck

bythekeennessof theyouth and accepted him as one ofhis

pupils.Sundar stayed there for

threeyearsandbecamewell versedinallthebranchesof knowledge.Oneday Rishikesh saidtohim," Sundar,I've taughtyouallthatIknow.

Now

youhaveyettolearn

onlyone thing.That youwill

knowfromthetribesmanwho

lives inyonder mountains.He

willteachyouallaboutstealing, trackingand so on."

ThenSundarbowedbefore hismentorandwenttothe tribesmanfromwhomhe learnt allabout thieving and tracking

downthieves. Aftersometime

hebecame adeptatthevarious artsandbiddinggood-byeto

histeacher,wendedhisway home.Onthewayhe stopped torest beforeabrahmin's housewhoinvitedhimtolunch. HereSundar relatedallthathe hadlearntfromhisteachers. His hostlookedathim keenly and thensaid," Well, you say you'velearntalot. MayI

testyourknowledge? "Sundar noddedhisheadinagreement. The brahminsaid,MCanyou tellmewhopassedbythis house alittlewhileago?

Sundar got up and went into

thestreet.Thenhebeganto

trackthesignsonthestreet. After a while hecamebackto thebrahminand said,*'I

believeabout four people passed

bythiswayashort whileago. Theymust either be soldiers or Government officials.Before themanothermancarryinga bag of coal onhisheadwent thisway.Heseemstohave stolensomething."

Thebrahmin wasamazedat theknowledgedisplayedby Sundar.Sohesaid," True, four soldierswere herealittle

whileago.TheQueenhad

dropped her ruby necklace near thetempleandsomeonehas pinchedit.Thesolidersare hunting for thethief.Thatis

whytheywereconductinga housetohousesearch.You say that the thiefpassed before myhouse.Ifyoucancatch

thethief,you'llgetafatreward

from the king." Sundarlistenedtoallthis verycarefullyandthenwent out.Hefollowed the signson

theroadandat lastcametoa

goldsmith'shouse.Thenhe returnedtothe brahmin's house and informed thelatterthathe hadfoundtheculprit.The surprisedbrahminrantothe soldiersand brought them back. Thenheasked Sundarhowhe had found out thethief.

Sundarreplied,"Fromthe fourpairsof footprintsdeeply outlinedinthemud,Ipresumed

thaitheybelongedtowearers ofarmy shoes.ThenIsawa

solitarypairof footprintsjust

barelyvisibleatthecornerof

thestreetahead.Closetothe

impression,Isawafew pieces ofcoalscatteredaround.I

alsonoticedthatthese

foot-printswereslightlyerased, then

reformedagain. FromthisI

deducedthatwhoeverwent aheadhadstoppedfrequently tolookback.Onlyamanin fearof thesoldierswoulddo

that.Besides,anhonestman

neverwalks along the edge of theroad."

Having saidthisSundarled the soldiers straighttothehouss of the goldsmith.Thesoldiers

were rather doubtful of

Sundar'sinformationasthey had searchedthishouseearlier

onandhadfoundnothing.

Sundar went inside and brush-ing asidethestartledgoldsmith,

uncovereda bagofcoal.

Along with the pieces of coal,

theglitteringnecklaceofthe

Queenalsopoppedout.The goldsmithhad hiddenitinhis bagof coalthinkingthatno onewouldeversearchthere. ButSundarprovedotherwise byhiscleverness.

Thekingwas happy to hear the newsof the recovery of the necklace.Herewarded Sundar handsomely and appointedhim tohiscourtinapositionof responsibility.

children are a great comfort in your old age— and they help you reach

ilfaster,loo.

'jm.at themany things nobody evertelliyou about middle ageisthat

it'ssuch a nice change from being young. whenwf.jay (hat amanhasno sense of humor, whatwe reallymean

isthathe hasn't the same sense ofhumorwe have. thereisno sadder sight than a young pessimist, except an old optimist.

thattheybelongedtowearers ofarmy shoes.ThenIsawa

solitarypairof footprintsjust

barelyvisibleatthecornerof

thestreetahead.Closetothe

impression,Isawafew pieces ofcoalscatteredaround.I

alsonoticedthaithese

foot-printswereslightlyerased,then

reformedagain. Fromthis1

deducedthatwhoever went

aheadhadstoppedfrequently tolook back.Onlyamanin fearof thesoldierswoulddo

that.Besides,anhonestman

neverwalks along the edge of theroad."

Having saidthisSundarled the soldiersstraighttothehousr of the goldsmith.Thesoldiers

were rather doubtful of

Sundar'sinformationasthey had searchedthishouseearlier

onandhadfoundnothing.

Sundar went inside and brush-ing aside thestartledgoldsmith,

uncovereda bag ofcoal.

Along with the pieces of coal,

theglitteringnecklaceofthe

Queenalsopoppedout.The goldsmithhad hiddenitinhis bagofcoalthinkingthatno onewouldeversearchthere. ButSundarprovedotherwise byhiscleverness.

Thekingwashappy to hear the newsof the recovery of the necklace.HerewardedSundar handsomely and appointed him tohiscourtinapositionof responsibility.

agreatcomfort in your oldage—and [hey help you teach

Ione of themanythingsnobody evercelt*you about middle ageitthat

lsuch a nicechangefrom being young.

thereisdo ladder light than ayoung peuimitt. except an old optimist. 11

no da do

awoke, he foundto his

amaze-mentthat ahuge beanstalk had

grown outsidehiswindow. It seemedtostretchupandup andhowever hard Jack looked hecould notseewhereitwent tosohedecided toclimb to the top.Handoverhand he clim-bed, gettinghigherand higher,

untilatlasthefoundhimself

atthetopandon the edge of a pleasantgrassyplain.

Jackwalked across the plain

untilhecametoalargestone

castleatthetopof ahill.By

now, he wasfeelingveryhungry hestrodeuptothecastle iorand knocked loudly.The

dooropened slowlyanda

womanappeared. "Runfor

Handoverhand he climbed,untilatlast hefoundhimself at thetop.

yourlife,lad,"shesaid."My husbandisagiantandifhe has heardyourknockinghewill

comeandeatyou." Jack, however, was very

hun-grysohesaid,"Firstgiveme

something toeat,forIhave not eatenforalongtime."

Thegiant's wife,warning Jack

tobe as quiet ashe could,led himintothe kitchen.There she gavehimalarge bowi of soup, buthehad hardly eatenitwhen

adeeprumblingsound echoed through thecastle.Itwas the footstepsof thegiant.Quickly, thewomanshut Jackina cup-board, just as the giant entered thekitchen. Hesatdown,

sniffedforamomentandthen

saidwithavoicelikethunder, "Fee,fi,fo,fum.Ismellthe blood ofanEnglishman."

"I'm sureyou can'tmydear", saidthewoman."Itmust be thedeer thatIamroastingfor your dinner."

The giant grunted and seemed

satisfiedandaftereatinghis

dinnerheorderedhiswifeto

fetchhismoneybags. When

hiswifereturned the giant star-tedtocounthisgold,but the dinnerhadmadehimsleepy and he soonfellasleep,snoring soloudlythateverypieceof chinainthekitchenrattled.

Jack had watched everything throughthecupboardkeyhole andnowhewas sure that the giantwasfastasleep,sohe creptoutofhishidingplace. Hepickedup themoneybags from the table and ran out of

thecastledoor, across the plain

anddownthebeanstalk. His motherwasoverjoyedtosee him for she was sure that after herscoldingthedaybefore, Jackhad runawayfromhome.

Shewasevenmorepleased

whenheshowed her the bags of gold.

Alas,thedaycamewhen

nearlyallthegoldhadbeen spent,thenverymuchagainst hismother'swill,forshewas sureJackwouldcometosome harm, theboy decided to pay thegiantanothervisit.Upand upheclimbeduntilatlasthe reachedthetopof the

bean-stalkand stood oncemoreon

the grassyplain.

Heknockedonthecastle

door and again the oldwoman answereditand told him to go

away,buthewouldnotgo

untilshehad givenhim

some-thingtoeat. Justthen,the giant returnedtothe castleand thegiant'swifequicklyhid Jackina basket oflinen. The giant'svoicerangout, "Fee,

hesaw thewomanreturnwith abrownhenandas*soonas shehadsetitdownonthe tableitbegantolaygolden

eggs.Soon, the giantfellasleep

and Jack slipped out of thelinen basket,snatchedupthehen and ran out of thecastle.

Now

Jackandhismother

couldliveincomfortagain, buttheboywas notsatisfied and before long he decided he must pay anothervisittothe

castle,althoughhismothertried

hard topersuadehimtostay athome.

Onceagainhe climbedtothe verytopof thebeanstalkand went to thecastleon thehill. Justasbeforethegiantcame

stridingintothekitchenwhile

Jackwasthereandbellowed atthetop ofhisvoice," Fee,

fi,fo,fum,Ismell theblood ofan Englishman."This time Jackwashidingintheoven andthewomanassuredher husbandthatwhathesmelt was the sheep she was roasting forhissupper,onaspitin front of thefire.

After dinner, the giant called forhisharp andwhenhe had

set itdownon the tableit

imme-diatelybegantoplaysoftand

soothing melodies.These soon sent the giant to sleep and while

hissnoresrattledallthepots and pans and shook the china. Jack crept out of theovenand

liftedtheharp off thetable.

Thistime,however,hewas inforasurprise. Justashe ranthroughthekitchendoor theharpcalledout,"Master, master,wakewithspeed.Save meinmyhour of need."

Thegiantawokeand witha greatroarhe chasedafterJack andhisharp.Jack ran asfast ashecouldandallthetime the giantwasshoutingand bel-lowingathimtocomeback. Jack reached the beanstalkand

begantoclimbdown,hand

overhand.Behindhimcame

thegiant.

When Jack reached the

ground he rushed into the house foran axe.Thenhe went back tothebeanstalkand with one mighty swipe cutitcleanintwo, bringingthegiantcrashingto theground,where helayquite dead.

Now

thathehadcutthe beanstalkdown, Jack could no longervisitthecastle,buthe

stillhadthebrownhenthat

laidgoldeneggsand the harp which played beautiful melodies, so he andhismother were able

to live incomfort fortherest

OUTWITTED

The landSmallmount was

ruledby a Kingcalled Chitrasen. Thoughhe was young, hewas extremely cleverand never took hasty decisions.

Smallmount was bounded on thewestbyanothercountry calledBigmount. Parakrama, the Kingofthislandhadlong desired to invade and annexhis neighbour'sterritory. But as long as Chitrasen's father was

alive,he could donothing,so

hebidedhistime.Whenyoung Chitrasenbecame king on the

death ofhis old father,

Parakramarevivedhisdesigns for the conquest of Smallmount. Hethoughthistaskwould be easybecause Chitrasen was only

a striplingwithlittleexperience

inwagingfrontierwars.So he calledhisministers together and outlinedhisplansforthe invasion.Theministersfellin withhisproposal, butfirst wan-tedtotesttheyoungking's mettle. Itwas wise toknow theenemybeforeengaging him

inbattle. Thekingthought

thisagoodideaand aletter

wasdraftedtobesentto

Chitrasen.Thekingandthe ministersthoughttheywould findoutallaboutChitrasen's courageandwisdomfromhis reply totheir letter.

Induecourse,Chitrasen receivedhispowerful neigh-bour's missivewhich instructed him to send,'Some intelligence tothelandofBigmountor

else'!Theyoung king andhis ministerswere not alittle asto-nishedatthestrangerequest. The ministers realized that the requestwasnoordinaryone

butthatsomesinistermotive

laybehindit. Chitrasenwas

baffledtotheextreme. Just

thenMadiyugi,aministerin thecourtstoodupandsaid,

"Sire,givemebut threemonths

timeandIshallsolvethe riddle

ofthisletter." Chitrasenassentedand wrote backtoParakramathathe would sendwhatwas requested

inthreemonths. Threemonthswerenearly overandadayremainedto complete the period.

Madiyugicametothepalace bearingalargesackonhis shouldersand said to the king, "Sire, the intelligencethat Parakrama wantedisrighthere, insidethissack.Letussend

ittohimatonce." Everyone wondered what was inthe sack,butnoone dared ask.Even the king wassilent.

Thenthesackwas sent off to Bigmount.

Parakramawassurprisedto receivethesackandinthe assembledcourt,orderedthat itbeopened. Whenthesack was opened, they found a small-neckedmudjar.Inside the jar was a big water melon which hugged thesidestightly.The tendrilof themelonsprouted through the narrowmouthand swungto theground.

Thejarwasnewandsmooth and roundallover.Nota crack anywhere! Inside,theking found aletterwhich the chief ministerread out loudly.

"Asrequested byKing Para-krama,wehave enclosed

'intel-ligence'insidethis jar.Please

takeoutthemelonwithout breakingthevessel."

Theking finished readingthis and looked aroundat his

cour-tiers.Theypondered over the

riddleof themelon inside the jar andwonderedhowanyone couldhave placeditthere.

In-telligencecouldbehadonly

whentheytook themelon out of the jar without damaging the latter.

Asno suggestions were forth coming,Parakramaturnedto hisministers andsaid,"Itseems thatChitrasenisnot as foolish

aswethought.

We

must be

carefulindealingw,thhim." ThenParakrama wrote back toChitrasen."Thankyou for yourthoughtfulgift. Ishall always treasure your friendship more than anythingelse."

Chitrasenwasdelightedto receivesuchaniceletterfrom hisformidable neighbour.Then hecalledMadiyugiandsaid,

"Oh!Madiyugi!The

intelli-genceyou sendParakrama has saved us from an invasion. Tell menow,what did you send him tochangehim so?"

Madiyugibowedlowbefore

thekingandsaid, "Your

Majesty! Isentveryordinary things. hourmonthsago,I grewsomewater melons.When thetreebegan to yieldfruit,I fedonebud intoanearthern

vessel.Thefruitbegantogrew

insidethe jarandfilleditup. Then1cut off thetendril,closed themouthand sentitto Para-kramawiththemessagethat

'intelligence' wasinsidethe

vesselanditwas uptohim to takeitoutwithoutbreaking the jar."

KingChitrasenlaughedat theclevernessofhisminister whohad outwitted King Para-kramaofBigmounta.dhad savedSmallmountfrom disas-ter.

THE

STORY

OF

THE COVER

THE DEA

TH OF

MOBY

DICK

THAR SHE BLOWS!

Thiswasthe familiarcry thatwouldringout

fromthelook-out

man

aboard

thewhalingshipsof old.And

thatwasthe crywhichCaptain

Ahabgaveas hepointeda

tremblingfingerfromthemastof hisship, thePequod.Exciteddeck handsfollowed the directionof theircaptain'sfingerandsaw

MobyDick,thedreadedkiller

whale, blowing defiance atthem. Thechallengewasacceptedanda boatwaslowered, with the one-leggedCaptainAhabincommand.

Onlyonemansurvivedthe

terriblefightwiththewhale, whichalso died."Moby Dick"is astory wellworthreading.

CAN

FISHSEECOLOURS?

Therearemany thousandsof differentkindsof fish intheseasandrivers oftheworldand nobodyknowsifthey areallcolourblind.Perhapsmany

fish,likeanimals,see thingsina sort ofmonocolour,othersmaybe able

toseesome colours but notall.However,scientistsareconstantly experimentinginthismatter.

MAHABHARATA

The story so jar Having passedtwelveyears

ofexileintheforests,the

Pandavaprinces disguised themselvesandenteredinto menial service of Virata, King of theMatsyas,topasstheir year of concealment.

The Pandava Princes safely passthrough thisyearof

concealment in spite of

Duryodhana'seffortstofind them.At lastan incident happenedwhichledtotheir discovery.Susanna,Kingof theTrigartas and Duryodhana combinetheirforcesinorder toinvadeMatsyaand drive offtheherdsofcattlefor

whichthekingdom was famed. King Virataleadshisarmy againstSusanna,anditfalls onhisson,PrinceVttara,to fighttheKuruarmy,ledby Duryodhana. But Prince Vttara hasno heart for warfare, and intheend,Arjuna inthe guiseofBrihannala,actsas Vttara'scharioteer,andattacks theKuru army,

Dronahearsthesoundof Arjuna^sconchandadvises Duryodhanatotakepartof thearmy andfleeto Hastina-pura*Arjunagiveschaseto

hisbitterfoe.

TheKauravastriedtofoil Arjuna'sattemptto pursue the

Arjunadiverts his chariot towards Kripacharya

fleeingDuryodhana. They,

attac-kedhimfiercelyand he turned

hisattentiontowardsthem. With Uttaraskillfullydriving thechariot,Arjuna launched a

blisteringattackon

Kama

who

triedinvain to stem the

swee-pingtideof arrows.Soonthe

latterhadtoretreat. The

Kauravasnowbanded together under the generalship of

Kripa-charyaand swept towards

Arjuna, but the Pandava warrior

afterafuriousonslaught routed

them completely.Kripacharya alsofellback.

Thenitwas Drona's turn to attackArjuna. Forabrief

secondArjunapausedinhis attackbecausehe didwantto

wound his former teacher. Drona,noticinghishesitation quicklynotchedanarrow and sentitacross.Recovering

him-self,Arjuna blocked the arrow

with abarb ofhisownand soon rainedashower of arrowson Dronawhounabletostand uptothe fusilladefellback.

Aswathama, cametoaidhis fatherbutwasultimately de-feated.ThenDushasana and

Kama

returned to thefray,but once again theyfellback against thepointedattackof Arjuna. Then Bhishmadroveupinhis chariotandaveritablebattle royalensued between the two. Thick andfastflewthearrows

untilatlast,bleedingand

un-conscious,Bhishmaslumpedin hischariot.

Inthemeanwhile

Duryo-dhanahadturnedbackand

seeingtheplightofBhishma, chargedatArjuna.Again the mightybowtwangedand asteel tippedarrow pierced the breast plateof Duryodhana. Frighte-nedbythisclosebrushwith death,Duryodhanaturnedhis chariotround and droveaway madly from thebattlefield.At

thisArjuna laughed mockingly. Stung byhismockinglaughter,

Duryodhanaagainflung him-selfinto the battle and the other Kauravas renewedtheirattack onArjuna. Finally,Arjuna

fittedabarbknownas

Samno-kastratohisbowand shotit athisenemies. Thearrow strucktheKauravahostlike aboltof lightning and theyfell tothe groundsenseless.Arjuna turned toUttara andsaid,"Oh! Prince,goandcollecttheir

silkensashes and helmets.Have

you forgotten your boast to the

ladiesof the boudoir thatyou

willbringback the clothes of the Kauravas to adornthe sta-tuesathome?Takethe sashes and helmets ofKama,

Duryo-dhana.Aswathamaandthe

others,butdonottouchthat grandoldman,Bhishma."

Uttaradidashewasbid andcameback with the head-gear and sashes of the Kaurava

leaders. At that moment,

Bhishma liftedhisheadand saw what was happening. He proppedhimselfup and

resu-medthebattlewithArjuna.

But the Pandavabowmankilled hishorsesandsethim afoot.

WhenDuryodhana

recove-redfromhisfaint,he saw the

chariotofArjuna speedingaway "Don'tlethim escape, block the chariot," heshoutedathis

soldiers.

ThenBhishmasaid,"You foughtagainsthimforalong while.Whydidn'tyou capture

him then?When wewerein

thatdeadfainthecouldhave

killedusalleasily.Hemerely

lookawayyourhelmetsand sashes.Admityou are defeated andlethimdriveawaythe flocksof sheepandcattle."

Reluctantly the Kauravas ad-mittedtheirdefeatatthehands ofArjuna and began to retrace

their steps.ThePandava warrior

inpassing shottwomorearrows whichfellatthefeetofDrona andBhishma tomarkhis

The newsof victory isbrought

toKingVirata

shaftfromArjuna'sbowsplit

Duryodhana'scrownintotwo. Then Arjuna turned to Uttara

andsaid,"Our workisdone.

Wehave got back ourflocks, and the enemies are on the run.

Nowlet'sgo backtothe palace

butfirstwemusthidethese

weaponsinthetree." Uttarahidtheweaponsin aholeinthetreeandcame back.Arjuna once again took

the reinsof the chariotand then turnedtoUttaraandsaid, "Don'ttellyour fatherabout thePandavas.Make himthink thatyou defeated the enemies singlehanded."

But Uttara protested against this."No,sir,Ican'tdothat,"

hesaid,"Iwillspeak thetruth.

For now,I'lldoasyoutellme. Letmepassonthe news of the victory tothe palace,and then

wecangoin."

Thegladnews was sent ahead andUttaraand Arjuna

follo-wedinitswake. Meanwhile King Virata after defeating Sus-arnawasbackinthepalace. Hesent forhisson Uttaraand

wastoldthatthelatterhad

gonetothebattlefieldina

chariotdrivenbyBrahannala, thedanseuse.

Hearingthisthekingfelt worried."

How

canmytimid

sonhope toovercomethe

mightyKauravas?"he won-dered aloud. But Yudhishthira consoledhim." Don't worry, Sire,"hesaid,*'Aslongas Brahannalaiswithhim,he willcertainlyreturn victorious." Thensomesoldiersbrought thegladtidingsofUttara's victoryover theKauravas. Yudhishthira turned to the king

you, Sire?Iwasright. Aslong asBrahannataiswithhim, victory willalwaysbehis. There can be no doubt about that."

Viratafelta surge of annoy-anceatthesewords.

A

mere danseuseresponsibleforhis son'svictory.Impossible!

However, hestifledhisanger andorderedthecitytobe

gailydecoratedtomarkhis

son's grand achievement.

ThenheinvitedYudhishthira tothrow dice withhim.The twobegantorollthedice.

Then theking addressed

Yudhishthira, MHave you

noticedhowbravemysonis?

Hehas defeatedeven the mighty heroes of the Kauravas!"

Yudhishthiraintentonthe dicerepliedcalmly,"Itold you once, before,Sire.Aslong

as Brahannala drives his

chariot,victorywillalways behis."

Now

atthesewords, Virata's anger rose uncontrollably. " Listen, you stupid old fellow,"heshoutedat

Yudhi-shthira," Every time1speak of

myson'svictory. Youinsist that Brahannala was the cause. Ifyourepeatthatagain,I'll notberesponsibleforwhat

happens.But Yudhishthira

clicking the dice replied absent mindedly, " Eventhe gods

cannot winoverBhishma,

Drona, KripaandKama. But Brahannalacandefeatthem Shehasthatpower.

There-fore,Iamnotsurprisedthat

your sonwon." Atthesewords,tossedso carelesslyby Yudhishthira rage blinded the eyesofKingVirata. Quick as thought he picked up theheavy dice and flung them atYudhishthirawithallhis strength.Theystruck Yudhi-shthira'sfacewithathwack andbloodbegantodribble fromhisnose.Draupadi

hold a golden chalice underhis beardsothatthebloodmay

notspillon the ground.

A

messengerranintotell thekingof thearrivalof Uttara andBrahannala." Send them

in,"said thehappyking.

Yudhishthira stopped the

messenger andsaid," Send only Uttara.Let Brahannala go to herchamber. Ifshesawmy bleedingface,yourking'slife would beindanger."

A

littlelater,Uttaracamein

andbowedbeforehisfather.

sawthewoundon

Yudhish-thira'sfaceandaskedinan

anguishedvoice,"

Who

has donethisfouldeed?"

King Viratareplied,"Ihit him with thedice.Each time, Ipraisedyour victory, he would sayitwasalldue to

Brahan-nala.Igotangryandflung

the diceathim." Uttarabecamehighly agi-tatedatthese words.Hecried out,"Oh!Fatherwhathave youdone?Youhave insulted a venerableoldbrahmin.

Apo-logisetohim for your conduct."

KingVirata,sensingthat somethingwaswrongbegged Yudhishthira to forgive him.

Yudhishthirareplied,"Sire,

Iamnotangrywithyou.

Should even adrop ofmyblood fallon the ground, greatharm

wilJcometoyour land.Iwas. only worried about that."By

now, the bleeding fromhisnose had stopped.

ThenUttara ushered Brahan-nalaintohisfather'spresence. Viratalookedatherand said loudly," Uttara, you aretruly abraveson,worthyofme.

Who

canmatch your courage

andskill?Buttellme,how

didyou defeatKama,Bhishma, DronaandAswathama?Even

themightyDuryodhana, a

peerlesswarriorwas defeated by

you! What a magnificent

victory thatwas." But Uttara replied solemnly, " Father,youmisunderstand. Ihad nothing todowithmy victoryover theKauravas.

A

godcametomyrescue.When

Iwas runningawayfrom the

battle-field,thisgodstopped

me, askedmetobehis

chario-teer,andwithhisskilland

bravery,routedtheenemies completely."

THE

STRAW

OX

Once upona time, therelived anoldmanandoldwoman. Theyweresopoorthatthey hadbarelyenoughmoneyto

keepthemalive.Theoldman

worked as a pitch burner and theoldwomanapunflaxinto thread,buthowever hard they worked, they never seemed to haveanymoneyto spare.

Oneday,theoldladysaid toherhusband, "Make mea strawoxandthencoverit with pitch."

Theoldmanthoughtthis was a very strange idea which hiswifehad got into her head. "What doyou want astraw ox for?" he asked."Itisof no usetoanyone."

"JustdoasIsayand you

willsee,"repliedtheoldwoman

mysteriously. Grumbling and mutteringto himself,theoldmanwent off

andsettowork.Whenhe

hadfinished,hehadmadea

very strange-looking beast, indeed. Itwas straw inside and coveredwithpitchoutside.

Next morning, the old

womantook her strange ox out tothefield.Thenshesatdown behind a hillock, to watch what happened.Asshesatthere, sheworkedatherspinning, butthesunwashotand the daywaspleasantandinno

timeat all,theoldwomanhad

dozedoff. Then, out of the darkwoods nearby,cameabig,brownbear. Thebearstoppedwhenhesaw thestrawox.Hewalkedall thewayround the oxandthen

said,"

Who

areyou?Speak

andtellme." "Iamathreeyearoldox andIam madeof straw and smearedalloverwithtar," repliedthe ox.

*'Aha,"saidthebear."I could justdowithsomeof that strawand tar to patchupmy raggedfur,whichhasbeen caughtandtornonbrambles and thorns."

" Certainly," saidtheox. "Takesomestrawand tar from me."Thebearreached out a

Theold lody said toher husband, "Mokemea straw oxandcoverit withpitch."

pawtotakesometar,but the minutehispawtouchedthe ox,itstuckfasttothetar. The morethebear tugged, the harder

itstuck.Heput outhisother pawtohelp,butthatstuck, too.Thentheox draggedhim back to the house.

After a time, the oldwoman woke upandlookedaround. Therewasno sign of theox

anywhere, so she hurriedhome. There she found her ox, with a bear stuck toit.Atonce she calledouttoherhusband, "Comequickly,theoxhas caught a bear."

Theoldmanranoutand therehesaw the bear.Ithad pulleditselffreefrom the ox, only to find thatitsfrontpaws, coveredintar,hadstuckto

thesideofthelittlewooden cottage.Theoldmanpulled

thebearawayfromthewall,

tieditupandthrewitinto

thecellar.

Next morning, the old

womansetoffintothefield again,withherstrawoxand herspinning. Againtheday was hot and she dozed. This time,a wolfcamerunning out oftheforestandhe,too, stopped tolookatthe ox.

"Who

areyou?Tellme," growled the wolf.

"Iama three year old ox,"

itreplied."Jamstuffedwith

strawand covered with tar."

" Covered withtarareyou?" saidthewolf." In that case giveme someofyourtar,so thatwhenthedogschaseme

theirteethandclawswil]not

ripmysides." " Help yourself," replied the strawox,sothewolf reached outhispawtotakealarge lumpoftar,buthe,too, stuck fasttothesideof the ox and was dragged back to the house. Whenthe oldwomanawoke, the ox hadgone, so she rushed back to the house and thereit

was,thewolf stuckfirmlyto

itssides.She calledher

pulledthewolffree,tieditup andthrewitintothecellar, with the bear.

Nextday,theoxcaughta foxinthesamewayasbefore and the dayafter that,itcaught a hare.Theyjoinedthebear and the wolfinthecellar.

Thatnight,the oldmanwent

downtothecellar,carrying a

large knife.Hesatdownand

began to sharpen theknife. "Tellme,oldman,"said

thebear.*'

Why

areyou

sharpening that knife?"

"Ishall killyou and take off your skin, foritwillmakeme afinefurcoat,"repliedthe oldman.

" Oh, please don'tkillme," imploredthebear."Ifyou letmego,Iwillbringyou a lotofhoney.Itwilltaste deliciouson your breadandit

willsweetenyour drinks." Theoldmanletthe beargo inreturn for his promise of the honey.Thenhesatdownand continued to sharpenhis knife.

Theoldmanran outand there he saw the bear stuck to theside ofthe cottage.

"Whatareyousharpening your knifefor,oldman?"asked thewolf.

"Ishall killyou and take off your skin tomakemeafinefur cap for Winter," replied the old man.

Thewolf trembled withfear.

"Donotkillme, oldman," he

said."Ifyouletmego,itwill

beworth your while, forIwill bringyou a whole herd of sheep" The oldmanwas pleased with

this,soheletthewolf gofree.

Nextitwas the turn of thefox.

Heputouthis littlesnoutand

said, "Dear,kind,oldman,

pleasetellmewhyyouare sharpening your knife so busily" "Littlefoxeshave nice skins thatmakeprettycollarsand scarves,"saidtheoldman.

"Pleasedon'ttakeawaymy skin,"pleadedthefox. "If youletmego,Iwillbringyou inreturn,fine,fathensand ducks."

Theoldmanletthefoxgo andnowonly the hareremained, tremblinginthecorner."Do notsharpen your knife for me," saidthelittlehare.

"Butlittlehareshavenice,

softskins,whichmakewarm

glovesand mittens for Winter", repliedthe oldman.

"I couldbringyou cabbages

and cauliflowers andnice,juicy vegetablesforyourcooking pot,"saidthehare.

Theoldmanletthe hare go, too,and then he went upstairs towherehiswifewaswaiting and they both went to bed.

Nextmorning,justbefore dawn, the two old people were awakened by a scratching and snufflingatthedoor. When theyopeneditand went outside, therestoodthebear. Inits

pawsitcarrieda potof honey, whichitgavetotheoldman and then went scamperingoff.

Thewolf was there, too, dri-vinga flockof sheep into the yardand the fox had brought

thefine,fatducksandhens,

justashehad promised.The oldmanshutthesheepand hensandduckssafelyinthe yardand thenhenoticedthe

littlehare. Ithadbrought

cabbagesand cauliflowersand plentyof other vegetables.

Theoldmanandhiswife rejoicedatthe wonderful things theyhad,fornowtheycould liveincomfort for therestof theirlives.

Someof the sheep they sold

foragoodprice,so that they

hadasmuchmoneyasthey needed. Sometheykept,so thattheyhadmeatand wool.

The hens and ducks gave them eggsandsomeof the vegetables theyplantedinthe garden,so theywere never again short of food orwarmclothingand there wasnothingmorethatthey needed.

Asforthe straw-covered ox,

ithad doneitsjobanditstood inthesununtil it felltopieces.

The bear gave them a pot ofhoney.

From

Rags

to

Riches

Inacertaincitytherelived apeasantcalledRatan.He workedfor a locallandlordwho hadverykindlyprovidedhim a smallhut closetothecattle watershed.There helivedand providedforhisfamilywith thepittancehereceivedfrom thelandlord.

Oneday Ratan toldhis wife, "Lookhere,Itryhardenough, but1neverseem to be able to

saveeventenpaise.Ifonly

Ihad ten paise, thenI'llincrease

ittoathousand rupees." Justthenthelandlordwas passingbyand heard the boast ofRatan.Hedecidedtotest Ratan'sboast,soquietly,he dropped a ten paisebitnear the troughandwalkedoff.Next morningwhilesweepingthe ground near the trough Ratan's wifefound the coin and carried

ittriumphantly to her husband. "Hereyou are,"Shesaid.

" Thetenpaiseyou'regoing toturn into a thousand rupees. Pray,howwillyoudoit?" Ratan quickly pocketed the coin andsaidsimply," Waitand

see."Thenhewentto-his

masterandsaid,"Sir,hereis the tenpaisebityou must have dropped near the water trough yesterday."

Howeverthelandlord re-turnedittoRatan saying that

itwasnothisandsurely belongedtothelatter.

ThenRatanwenttoapawn

shopandtold thebroker,

'"Givemealoanof a Rupee.

Asinterest,I'llgiveyou a ten

paise.Intheevening1shall

return the capital."Thepawn brokergavehimarupee

took the ten paise.Then

Ratanwenttoanotherpawn

brokerandgivinghimthe

rupee,borrowedtenrupees.

These tenrupees were

ex-changed for hundred rupeesat another shop.Toallof them,

he promisedtoreturnthe

capitalby the evening. Thenagainhehastenedto yetanother loan shop and said tothe broker, "Ihavemeasured outallmygrainandwillreceive themoneyforitonlynext

week.Sopleasegivemea

thousand rupees and take these hundredrupeesasinterest."

awn and fhen

Nowthebrokerknewwho Ratanwas,havingseenhim ofteninthecompanyofthe landlord.Sowithoutaword hecountedoutthethousand rupeesinreturn for the hundred he received asinterest.

Rataninturnvisitedallthe shopshehadborrowedfrom and bynightfallhadsettledall hissmallerdebts.Thatnight heshowedhismoneytohis

wifeandsaid," Here, seeall

thismoney!allduetomy cleverness."Thenherelated howhehadcomebythe amount.

Next daymorning he went to anearbyvillagewhichwas famousforthequalityofits corn.Duringharvest time, manybusinessmen would crowd

thevillagemarketand compete

withone anotherinbuying up

allthecorn.When Ratan

arrived,thecropshadbeen

harvestedand the grains were

readytobesold.Hewent

from farmer to farmer and said he wouldbuy upallthecorn, andtobackuphiswords, paid eachonesubstantialamounts asadvance.Thenews ofthis bargain spreadallover the vill-age and eventually reached the ears of the regular buyerswho hadcometo thevillagetobuy the corn.

Theyallflocked toRatan and

aftera great deal of bargaining

boughtallhiscornatdouble thepricehehad already paid. ThusRatanmadea clean pro-fitof a thousandrupees.

Thefollowing day, he cleared hisdebtsand with the balance ofmoney,boughthimselfa smallplotof land suitable for cultivation. Hebegantotill thelandhimselfand soon

be-cameasprosperousashis

FATTY

VINAYAK

FattyVinayakwaslyingin

thesun when his master

Damodar,spottedhim.

Now

Damodarwas arichmanof the

villageand rode a lovely white

horse.That day, he had a jar ofoiltobbig tocarryonhis horse.Soasking Fattyto takeithome, he canteredoff. Fatty loped along behind the

steed.Hecouldnottakehis

eyesoffthehorse. Whata splendidanimal,hethought. Howbeautifullyitcanters!Oh!,

wouldn'titbefuntoridea horse justlikethat!

So he askedhismasterhow muchthe horsecost.Damodar

repliedseriouslythathehad

gotitforfivehundred rupees.

IfFattyVinayakhadthat

amountofmoneyon him, he wouldsellthehorse to him.

Fattybegantochewover

this.Hethought,"Ah!

My

masterwillpaymetwenty-five paiseforcarryingthisjar.

ThenI'llbuytwo eggs.Out of these eggsI'llget acock and

ahen.Whenthehenlays

eggs,I'llgetmorehensand

therefore moreeggs. More

eggsmeanhens,andmorehens mean moreeggs.So,I'llhave lotsof eggs tosellandI'llsell themallfor ahundred rupees!" ThenI'llbuysheepfor(his

moneyandsoonthere'llbea flockofsheep.I'llsellthe flocksforfivehundredrupees

1ft *~5tr

—

andbuy that lovely white horse. ThenI'llgalloplikethe wind." Lostinhisday dream, Fatty heldouthishandsandflicked hiswriststoimitate a horseman holdingthereins.Thejar slippedfromhisfingersand crashedonthegroundwitha

bignoiseandall theoil

dribbled out. Damodarstoppedhishorse on hearing the crash.Hastily Fattyexplainedthatitwasn't

his faultat all.Thinkingabout

thehorsehadbroughtiton. Then he relatedhisday dream. Damodarbecamefuriousand

said," That jar ofoilcostme

tenrupees.You'llworkfor

mewithoutpayuntilyou repay metenrupeesworth of service." FattyVinayak meekly picked uptheemptyjarand followed

hismasterhome.Damodar

hasadogwhich suffered from

anopensore.Alldaylong

fliesbuzzedaroundit.Fatty

was ordered to putsomesalve onthewoundanddriveoff theflies.

SoFattyswishedhisstick around,and yelping withfear, thedog scuttledawaywith the bumblingboyinpursuit.Soon

thestreetmongrelsjoinedin

andallranamerryrace,far beyondthevillage.In the resultingconfusion,Damodar's dogslippedawayand doubled backtothehouse.Unaware

ofthis,FattyVinayak ranon

and getting very angryatnot findinghismaster'sdogbanged

hisstickontheheadofa

whitemongrelwhichfelldown

senseless.Thenhe stuffed the

stilllivingdoginabagand

wenttohismaster.Buton theway,thewhitemongrel suffocated to death.

Damodarwassurprisedto seethedeaddogand did not knowwhat tomakeof Fatty's foolishness. Sohesaid,"Look here,youidiot,thisisnotmy dog.Thisissomebodyelse's

anditsdeadalright.

We

must

buryitsecretly. 1*11gooffand

digaholeinthegardento buryit.Wrapthisdogupin ablanketand bringittome."

Vinayak wrappedupthe

dead animalinablanketand tookittothegarden.But whenheunrolledtheblanket, therewasnodoginit,forthe simplereason thatithadfallen outontheway.His master scoldedhimandsaid,"You

fatfool,thedogmusthave

droppedontheroad.Go,

findit."

FattyVinayaksearchedfor thedead dog high and low but withoutany luck.Atlasthe

turned into his master'shouse and sawtheirown dogsleeping peacefullyon the ground." So thereyou are! Tryingtoescape, wereyou,notanymore,not you!" said Vinayak.Thenhe draggedthepoor creature

to-wardsthegarden,Damodar

fairlyshoutedwithragewhen

hesawhisownpetand angrily enquiredabout the missing dog. Vinayak happily declared that thiswas indeed the'dead dog!', somehowithadsurvivedits

fatalinjury.Damodar,now

besidehimselfwithragesaid, "Youdumbclot,thatismy dog, not a dead one.So goat onceand find that other dog." Vinayakretracedhissteps

andwentintothevillage. There hesawknotsof people standingroundthedeaddog and discussing the mystery of

its death. Fatty Vinayak

shouted with joywhenhe saw thedead dog.

"Sohereyouare!

My

masteriswaitingtoburyyou inthegarden.Comealong,"

hesaid,and begantolift

it-Then everyone crowded

round asking questions and the

wholestory was out.So

Damodarhad to pay the owner ofthedeadanimalforhis

loss.But he was so ashamed

and angryatbeing found out, thathe dismissed Vinayak from hisservicewiththesewords. "Why,you wretch,"Damodar

spluttered,"getawayfrommy

sight.Iwas a fooltoemploy

you."

Vinayak replied, " But1can't

leave.Imustworkforthe

tenrupeesyouhavelost be-causeofme.WhenIfinish

mywork,Tiltakethetwenty five paise from,you, then I'llleave."

Damodarquicklyduginto hispocketandtakingouta twenty-fivepaisebit.gaveit

toVinayak. " Hereisyourmoney,you

fatfool. Don't you dareshow

yourfacearoundmyhouse

again.Youunderstand.

Now

beoff." FattyVinayak returnedhome richerinfoolishnessand wealth.

SEEMANTHINI

Longagotherewas a king

I calledChitravarma. Hehad

eightsonsand a daughter.He was very fond ofhisdaughter and christened her Seemanthini. Shegrewtobeabeautiful woman.

Whenheshowed her horos-copetothecourtastrologers, theyproclaimedinominous, tones,"She'llbecomeawidow

soonafterherwedding."The

kingbecame downcastatthis predictionandkeptthenews fromhisdaughter.But some-howshegotwindofit.On theadviceof hermother she fastedonMondaysand wor-shippedLord Siva everyday of the weektoward off theevilin theprediction.

Someyearslater,theking celebratedherweddingwith

Chandrangada, Prince of

Nishadapur.Thekingwas so fondofhisdaughterthathe persuadedthenewlywedded coupletostaywithhimat the palace.

OnedayChandrangadawent

outonariverpicnic. When

theboatreachedmid-river,a strong gale aroseand thefrail craftcapsized,drowningall mira-culously,Chandrangada was rescuedbysomemermaidswho

tookhimtotheirunderwater

palace.Nagvarma,King of the under-sea kingdom received Chandrangadahospitably be-cause thelatterwas the son-in-law ofhisfriend,Chitravarma.

InthemeanwhileSeemanthini grievedtohearof her husband's untimelyendintheriver.She gaveupalljoysinlifeand be-gantospend her timeinprayer. Aftersometime, Chandran-gadawishedtoreturntohis

land.At once Nagvarma, King

of the UnderseaKingdom arran-gedapassagethrough theriver forthesafereturnof the prince tothelandofthemortals. Seemanthiniwasoverjoyedto toseeherhusbandaliveagain andthoughtthatherfasting andconstantprayertoLord Sivahad yieldedfruit.

ThenSeemanthiniwentto Nishadapurwithherhusband. There alsoshe didnotforget

herdailyritualof prayerand fastingon auspicious days.On eachMondayof the week, she invitedmarriedcouplestothe

palaceandgavethemmany

gifts. Her fame as a virtuous

womanspreadfarand wide. In the land of Vidarbha, there weretwo youngbrahmins, SomavanthandSumedh. As thecustominthose far-off days, thetwoyoungmenfinished

theirperiodofbachelorhood

and earned permission oftheir parentstoenter thenext stage of the householder.Theparents were poor and therefore could notarrange fortheirmarriage.

Yousee, inthosedaysmenhad

parentsbefore theofferof marri-agecouldbefinalised,not asit

isnowadays.Sotheparents

senttheirsonstothekingto

seekfinancialassistanceinthe

matter. Thekingheardtheirplaint

andadvisedthemtogoto

Seemanthini,atNishadapur. "ButSire,"protested, Soma-vanth,"Seemanthiniwillgive

giftsonlytothosewhoare

husband andwife.

We

aretwo bachelorsandwe'llneverbe admitted to her presence."

"Then,"laughedtheking, H go as husband and wife."

Now

theking meant bythis nomorethana jokeandhe neverforamomentbelieved

thatthe twoyoungmenwouli takehimathisword,

But they tooktheking's wordsseriously.So Somavanth donned the garb of a lovelymaidenandposingas husband andwife,theywent to Nishadapuron aMonday,stood inthequeue ofsuchcouples and tooktheirgiftsofmoney andclothesfromSeertianthini

herself.

No

one guessedthat

they were not husband and wife buttwo charlatans out to de-ceivethegoodandvirtuous lady,Seemanthini.

Somavanthcame homeand tookoffhisdisguise,but dis-coveredtohishorrorthathe hadindeedbecomeawoman. uld

Heranto hisparents and they tooweredumbfoundedatthis transformation.Thentheyall wenttotheKing of Vidarbha and lamented before him."Oh!

King,seewhatyourwords

have caused.

Now

whatisto happen to me," wailed Soma-vanth.

Thekingwas struqk byguilt thathisinnocent adviceshould have caused such a great havoc intheyoung man'slife. So

heretiredfrom the .court and

spenthistimemeditating before

Parvathi,-theDivineMother.

She appeared tohimina vision anddemandedtoknowwhat had happened.Thentheking

relatedthemishapcausedby

hiswords and requested her to changeSomavanthbackinto aman.

ThenGoddessParvathi

rep-lied,"Oh, King, what you ask

isclearlyimpossible.

Seeman-thiniisavirtuousand chaste

woman.When Somavanthand Sumedhappeared before her as husbandandwife,shethought theywereindeedwhatthey claimedtobeand accordingly

gavethemgifts. Herchaste

thoughtthusmadepermanent what was a base deception on thepartof thebrashyoung men. This cannot be undone. Soletthemlivehappilyas husband andwife.'*

Thus Somavanth became Somavathiandindue course marriedSumedh.

A

chasteand virtuouswifecanmoveeven mountainsandseas.

Seeman-thiniwithherdevotionand

steadfastness toherhusbandis the brightestexample of chastity winning overall.

WHY

ISTHE LION CALLED KING OF THE BEASTS? Perhaps becauseitdoeslook'kingly'withitsmagnificent mane,however,itisnotalwaysacourageousbeast.Lions have been knownto runaway froma giraffe or azebrawhen

theyfightback.TheKingofBeasts,so-called,isnot the

largestofthecatfamily

—

thisdescriptionbelongstothe

tiger.Lionsliveasafamilygroupcalleda pride.They hunt

THE

SPEAKING

GRAPES

Thisisa fairystoryfrom Hungary. It isa great favourite withthechildren of that countryanditsfull

title is:"Thespeaking grapes,

thesmilingappleandthe

tinkling apricot."

Once uponatime therewas aking,whohadthreelovely daughters.Theywere very fond of him, because hewas always sokindandthoughtful.

Itgavehim the greatest plea-suretosee that theywerehappy

The king askedthem what they wouldlike hir tobringthem bock from the market.

andwhenheplanned atripto thebigmarketinanearby town,he asked them what they wouldlikehimtobringback forthem.

"Bestofall,Iwouldlikea newgoldendress,father,"said

theeldestof thedaughters.

"1wouldlikeanewsilver

dress,please,father,"saidthe

second eldest daughter. "Very well," agreed the king. Thenhe turnedtotheyoungest ofhisdaughters."Whatwould youlikemetobringback for you?" he askedher.

"Well,father," shesaid, "the thingsIwouldlikemost of allaresomespeaking grapes,a

smilingappleandatinkling apricot."

Olfwent the kinginthe royal coachandatthemarkethe quicklyboughtthedressesof

goldandsilver,but search as

he might, he could notfindany speaking grapes, a smiling apple or a tinkling apricot.Thismade him very sad, becausehis youn-gestdaughterwashisfavourite. "Perhaps sheknowswhereI cangetthem forher,"he thought."I willwillinglymake another journeytomorrow."

Onthewaybacktothe palace,the royal coachbecame stuckfastinsomethickmud andalthoughthehorseswere

the bestinthewholekingdom, theyhadnotthestrengthto pullitout.Morehorseswere

sent tohelp,butnoamountof

pullingwouldfreethecoach from themud.Thekingwas indespair,whenapig arrived on the scene.

"YourMajesty,letmemarry your youngest daughter and1

willpullyourcoach outof the mud," grunted thepig.

Theking was willing totry anythingtogetoutof such a fixand,withoutthinkingof

whathewaspromising,he

agreed.

Whereupon, with one push of hisnose,thepigmovedthe coach andallthe horses out of themud.

Off tothepalacewentthe king,nowveryworriedabout hispromise.Hereallydid not

wanthisprettiestand youngest

daughter married to apig,so hearrangedtohaveapoor countrygirldressedina beauti-fulwhitegown.Whenthepig arrived,pulling awheelbarrow behind him, the king seated the countrygirlinit.

Thepiglookedatthegirl, then atthe king. "Your majesty,you are cheating me", hegruntedangrily. "Thisis not yourdaughter."So saying, he tipped herout of the wheel-barrow.

Seeingthatcheatingwas of nouse,thekingbroughtout hisyoungestdaughter,dressed

inrags,hoping that shewould not please thepig,butthepig grunted with joy, pickedup the girland placed herinthe

wheel-barrow. Aspigand

wheel-barrowwentaway,theking wepttothinkoftheterrible fatehehadbroughttohis daughter.

Afteralongjourney,the wheel barrow stoppedinfront of adirtypig-sty. "Getout of the wheel barrow,girl,"the pig grunted.

She did as shewas told with

tearsstreamingdownherface.

"Grumph,grumph!"grunted thepig again."Gointo your new home."

Withalittleshudderthe

young princess crawled into the sty.Thefloorwasnone too

cleanandinone cornerwas a heap of straw."Thereisyour bedforthenight,mydear," saidthepig."Ifyou are hungry, youmayeatsomeofmyfood. For supperthiseveningIam havingearsof corn,cabbage leavesand potato peelings.You

willfindthem verytasty." "No,thank you,"sobbed the

girl."Idonotfeelveryhungry

atthemoment." "Thenmakeyourself com-fortableand sleep," grunte'd the pig. "Youwillfeelbetterin themorning." Withthat,he wentout,closingthepig-sty doorbehindhim. Tiredand unhappy, the poor princesslay

downon the bed of straw and criedherselftosleep.

wakinguntilthenextdayat

noon. Whensheopenedher

eyes,shewasamazedtofind

herselfina wonderfulbedroom

inafairypalace.Thebed she

wasinwas of whitesilk,with richpurple curtains withgolden

fringes. Asshewoke,maids

appeared carrying beautiful

dresses.Wonderingifthiswas

allpartof a dream, she chose one of the dresses.Whenshe had putiton,themaids took hertobreakfastina largehall, whereahandsome youngman was waiting forher.

"Iamyourhusband,"he smiled, "and everything here belongs to you."

"How

can that be?" gasped theprincess. "All1havein thisworld are a pig for a hus-band and part of a pig-sty to sleepin"

"1willtellyouallaboutit

later," promisedtheyoung

man."Firstyou must eat." After breakfast,he took her intoawonderful garden. She

stilldidnotknowwhether or

notthiswas a dream, butif it were, she did not want towake up. Whentheyoungman

spoketohersheanswered

lightlyandjokingly,perhaps

hoping to forget the awful truth that shehad just been married to apig.

Aftera while theycametoan orchard. Astheywentinto it,pasta hugevine-bush,the bunches of grapes hangingon thebranches began to speak.

"Ourbeautifulqueen,"they

said, "pleaseplucksomeof

us."

Whileshestoodin amaze-ment, appleson a nearby tree smileddownather.

A

little fartheron,golden apricots tink-leda pretty tune on the branches of anothertree.

"Yousee,mydear," explai-ned the young man," here you havewhat you wished for

—

and what your father could notfind.

Iwas once ayoungking,but Iwas bewitched intoapigand Ihadtoremain sountilagirl wishedforspeakinggrapes,a smilingappleandatinkling apricot.Youhave rescuedme from being a pig by breaking the wickedmagicspellandnow

1amable toaskyouifyouwill takemeasyourhusband."

Theprincesswas enchanted. Sheknewthenthatitwasno dream. Insteadofa wheel-barrow,shemadethejourney back to the palaceinaglittering coach,joyfullytocarrythe news to her father and totell

THE

THIEF

Longagointhecityof Brindavan,therelivedathief

calledMathura.Hewas proud

ofhisprofessionbecausehis ancestorshadexcelledinit.

But he was sad because he had no son to carry onthe

tradi-tionallife.Aftersometime,

he adoptedhisnephewKrishna

whowasabrightladand

provedanadeptpupilofhis uncle.

Dailythetwo of them went

ontheirthievingroundsand

achieved considerable successin

theirefforts.Oneday,they

decidedtorob thehouse of the

localmayor whowas therichest

personinthecity.

Nowthismayorandhiswife weregreatdevoteesofLord Krishna,thechiefdietyof

Brindavan.Theyprayed every-dayastheywereachildless coupleandbelievedthattheir devotiontoGodwouldbless them with a son.

OnthenightthatMathura and Krishna had selected to rob hishouse themayorhad gone out to discuss with thevillage eldersmattersofimportance. Obviously,hewouldreturn homelateinthe nightandthis suited the two thieves verywell.

Theyhidinthebackyardof hishouseand bidedtheirtime. ButKrishnafeltveryhungry and informedhisuncle that he wouldstealonlyifhehada morseloffood.SoMathura

said," Right youare.

Go

into

thepantryand grab what food you can.I'llgoupstairsand

takewhatjewelsthereare.

Thenweshallmeetatthebase

of thetamarindtree." Accordingly, Krishnastole intothehousenoiselesslyand madeabeelineforthepantry. There hesaw round sweet cakes andajarfullofmilkwhich themayor's wife had prepared forher husband.Thelittlelad

fellupon thefoodlikea

famished wolfandinno time had polishedoffeverycrumb. Inthe nextroom, the mayor's wifesnoredonnoisilyunaware

ofwhat was taking placeinthe pantry.

AsKrishna lickedhisfingers andsmackedhislipsafter drinkingthe jarfullofmilk, therewas a loud knocking on

thedoor.Themayorhad

returned! Quickly, Krishna wipedhisfingersandsought aboutformeansofescape.

Buttherewasnoneandso

hurriedlyhe clamberedupthe loftinthepantryandhid himself.

The mayorenteredand told hiswifehewasravenously hungry. Soshewent into the pantryandthenextmoment ananguishedshriekrentthe air.Themayordashedinto thepantryandsawhiswife standinginthemiddleof the roomand wringing herhands indespair.

Assoon as she saw him, she

said," All the sweet cakes that

Ihadpreparedforyouare missing.Even the milkIkept foryouisgone.Oh!What

shallIdo?"

The mayorrebukedher angrilyandsaid," That's atall storyalright.Youwerehungry and soyouateupallthefood." Hiswifeprotestedandsaid betweentears," Pleasedon't blamemelikethat.Iswear to

youthatIwould neverdoa thinglikethat.You knowI

always eatafteryou'vefinished. To-day,Imust havesleptmore than the usual, and perhaps our Lord Krishnacameand ateup everything."The husband pooh-poohed such nonsense anddeclareditwas a load of rubbishtosuggest that theGod of Brindavanhadcometotheir dwellingandfeastedhimself upon the sweet cakes. Clearly, hiswifewaslyingshehad gobbledup everything and he

knewhowtotreatsuchliars.

So he tookup a thick cudgel andpreparedtobelabourher withit.

Krishnaintheloftcould notbeartoseeagoodwomen treatedthusand so hejumped

infrontofthequarrelling couple. "Lookhere,man," he said"Whydo you beat your wife?Itwas1whopolishedoflT yourcakesandjarofmilk.

Dropyourstick."Thenhe ran

offasfastashe could. Themayorwassostartled atthissuddenapparitionthat heshooklikeamanstricken

byague. Inthemeanwhile, Mathurawhowastiredof waiting forKrishna called out, loudly,Hey, Krishna, boy, here, Krishna. Atthesametime, Krishnashoutingoutloudly thathe wascomingdashed out through the open door.Then thetwo of them vanished into the darkness.

Themayor'swiferecovered

herwitsfirstandshoutedat

herhusband,"

Why

doyou standand gape so? Can't you see we'vehad a thief here.

Go

and catchhim."Themayor shookhishead,andswinging hiscudgelran out into thestreet, shouting,"thief,thief." But Mathuraand Krishna werefar from the scene oftheircrime.

When Krishnarecited the

incidentofthesweetcakes, Mathuralaughed longand loud andsaidhisnephewwasa cleverscoundrel indeed.

Asfor themayorhe returned

homeanangrymanandhis

wifehadtocookamealfor himalloveragain,because Krishnahad eatenupallthe food.

when awux-liquoudgentleman returned borne late

triedtounlockhisfrontdoor,hitwifeshouted from an up "lathaiyou. Fred?"

"Yes."he replied shakily. "1 can't get the door open." "Do you wantmetothrowdowna key?" she asked. "No." thehuh replied, "but could you throwme downa

PHOTO

CAPTION

CONTEST

Hereisyouropportunity towin a cashprize

!

Winningcaptions willbe announcedinthe

March

issue

•These two photographs are somewhat relatedCanyou think of suitable

captions ?Could besinglewords, orseveralwords,butthetwo

captions mustbe related to each other. *Prizeof Hi.20willbeawarded Tor the best double caption.Remember,

entriesmust be received by the 31st January.

*Your entryshouldbe writtenonapostcard, givingyourfullname

and address, together with age and sent toi Photo Caption Contest, ChandamamaMagazine, Madras-26,

Result ofPhoto Caption ContestinNovemberIssue

Theprfi«I*awardedto

MUiM. A.PramSudha,

10Batavant Ranade Colony.

Silakwadl,Belgaum.

Winning entry—'Questioning Glance "—'Answering Stance'

ULYSSES

GOES

TO

WAR

Long,long-ago, the island of Ithaca,offtheWestcoastof Greece,wasruledbyaIcing

calledUlysses.

Ithacawasaverypleasant

islandfortheSummerswere

long andwarmand during the Winter therewere onlyafew coldweeks. Wild flowers,

violets,roses,liliesandmany

others,bloomedinthefields

andmeadows,whileflocks of sheepandherdsofgoats and wild deerroamedthe

hill-sides.Fruitgrewonalmost

everytreeand vine andthe seaaround the island wasfull

offish.

U

lysses, whosewifewas

called Penelope, had one

sonwhosenamewas

Tele-machus,buthewasonlya babywhenwar suddenlycame

toGreece. Faracrossthesealaythe cityof Troy, which wasruled byarichkingcalledPriam. Hisyoungestson,Paris,had

been tovisitMenelaus, one of theGreek kings,and while he was stayingatthe palace Paris

hadfalleninlovewith the wife

ofkingMenelaus.Hername

wasHelenandshewasthe

mostbeautifulwomaninthe world. Paris loved her so dearly thathecould notbear tosail

returnedhomehe took her with him.

ThenewsthatHelenhad

beencarriedofftoTroyby Parissoonspreadtoallthe otherGreek kings and princes anditwas taken by them asa greatpersona!insulttoKing Menelaus.

King Agamemnon,whom

theylooked uponastheir

leader,orderedallthe kings

and princes of Greece andthe islandsaroundtogatherall

theirshipsand soldiers together

andtoprepare for war against Troy.

OntheislandofIthaca, Ulysses,whohad heard about thewarwithTroy,didnot wanttoleavehisbeloved island andhisbeautifulwife andlittle son sowhentwo princescame toIthacatoaskUlyssesto jointheminthe war he decided

totrickthembypretending

he was mad. iWhenthe princesreached the palaceof Ithaca, a servant told themthatUlysseshadgone

down tothe beach with

aplough,twooxenanda

bagofsalt.Wonderingwhat

theking was doing, the princes wentdowntothe seashore to seeforthemselvesandthere theyfoundUlysses,ploughing

thesandandsowing grains of

saltinit,justasifhewere

ploughingandsowingafield with corn.

Althoughitseemed as though

thekinghadlosthiswits,the

two princes could not besure. TheyknewthatUlysseswas acleverandcunningman,so theydecided totesthim.

Theywent back to the palace and fetchedhisbaby son.Then theylaidthe childon the sand,

rightinthepaththatUlysses

would take as he ploughed the nextfurrow.

WhenUlysses turned his

plough,hesawhissonlying on the sand before him and he knewthatifhe continued, the oxenwouldkilltheboy.

Justashereachedhisson, heturnedtheoxenandthe plough aside and the two

prin-cesknewforcertain that

Ulysseswas only pretending to bemad.Theytoldhimthat howevermuchhedislikedthe ideaof leaving Ithaca andhis familybehind,hemustobey theordersofKing Agamemnon,

lordofallthekingsand

princesofGreece,andcome

andfightinthe war.

Ulyssesknewhecould not

disobey KingAgamemnon,

blackships,theirbowsand

sternspaintedredand

sum-monedhissoldiers.Each soldier mannedan oar andaftersaying asad farewelltohiswifeand son,theKing of Ithaca boar-dedhisboatand thefleetrowed away.Theysoonmetupwith theothersandnowtheGreek

fleetnumbered over a thousand

shipsandmanythousandsof soldiers.

Althoughthefleetwasso largetheGreekleadersknew thattheycouldnottakethe cityofTroy without the help

of another prince, named

Achilles,forithad been

prophe-siedthatwithoutAchilles,the war against Troywould never bewon.

Achilleswas the son of a king calledPeleusandathisbirth hismother,whowas the god-dessof thesea,had beentold that hersonwould be a brave andmightywarrior,buthe would dieinbattlewhenhe was quiteyoung.

Hismotherwhodidnot want hersontodieyoung,sent Achillesfaraway,tothe island of Scyros, where, dressedasa

girlhelivedwith theKingof

Scyros's daughters. TheGreek leaderswhowere

certain,because of the prophecy,

that they could never takeTroy withoutthehelpofAchilles, alteredcourse for the islandof Scyros.

Justas hereachedhit son,Ulysses turnedtheoxen and ploughaside. 63

Achillesdrew the sword

fromitssheath.

Oncethere,theKing of Scyros Ulyssesdressedasapedlar

invitedtheleadersof theGreek

fleettohispalace, but although

Ulysseslookedeverywhere for

Achilles,he did notfindhim so

hethoughtupaplan thatwould revealthe boy.

and pretended he had just arri-vedfrom afarcountry.When theking's daughters heard thata foreign trader had landed onthe island they flocked to see whatexcitingthingshehad

brought with him, forthemto buy. Oneof thegirlschose a gold brooch, another bought

apairofglitteringglass

ear-ringsand a third bought aroll

of cloth tomakeadress. Rightatthebottomof the pedlar'spack Ulysses had pla-ced afinebronzesword with a goldenhilt. WhenAchilles, disguised asagirl,sawthis,he reacheddownand drawing the swordfromitssheath he

whir-led itroundhishead."Ah!At

last,"criedUlysses. "Now

Iknowwhoyouare.Youare

Achilles,theson ofKingPeleus.

Comewithusandyouwill become the greatest ofallGreek warriors."

Achilles'motherweptwhen herson returned and she heard

thathewas preparing forbattle "Stay here withme," shesaid, "andyouwillhave a longand peacefullife.Ifyou go to war youwillgaingreatfame as a warrior, butyouwilldieyoung".

Achilles, however, had

tobecomeawarrior,sohis

father,whowas too oldtogo

towarhimself,gave himfifty shipsandhismother,realising thatshecould not persuadehim

tostay,gavehimasuitof

wonderfularmourand a heavy spear thatonly Achilles himself couldlift.

Then, withhis fleetof ships

andhis soldiers,theyoungman

sailedtomeettherestof the Greekfleet,theproudestand

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