My dear Maithree Kutti P.R.Ramachander

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Mooku Poi(I lost my nose)

“ Once upon a time, Kutti”, told the thatha, “there was a mama owning coconut gardens. Have you seen a coconut tree, Kutti? It is tall like a pillar.” Maithree Kutti asked, ”If it is a pillar why do you call it a tree?” Thatha continued,” If you ask too many questions, I will not be able to even start the story and so keep quiet. At the end of the pillar like tree, there would be leaves and Coconuts. You, Know Kutti, Mummy buys them from Albertson’s and Appa breaks them with gloves in his hand. There is sweet water inside.” Kutti replied.” Only when you are there, I am able to drink it, Thatha, It is very nice.””Ok, OK “, continued the Thatha, “ Two thieves in the village decided to steal the coconuts from the tree”. Kutti did not leave” Why, Thatha, when you can get them in Albertson, why steal them?”Thatha was not pleased, He was feeling sleepy, “Hey, Kutti, I told you, you should not ask questions. Anyway in Albertson’s, you have to pay money for getting them. If you steal, you need not”. Kutti seemed to understand.

Thatha continued.” Mama heard the thieves talking about stealing the coconuts and so he decided to climb up the tree and wait for them. Along with him he took a jar of salt, a tin of Chilly Powder and a knife.” Maithree started screaming.”Thatha Chilly powder is not nice. The other day I touched it and it burnt my hands. Mummy also chided me. Why did the Mama take the Chilly powder?”

Thatha was not pleased with the questions of Maithree but he had no option. Maithree Kutti displeased will start crying. So he patiently explained,”Kutti, the Mama wanted to punish the thieves, OK.After dinner mama climbed on the tree and hid himself among the coconuts. The two thieves came when it was dark.” Maithree suddenly asked” Why, Thatha, how can they see when it is dark? Please, Thatha, make them steal in the evening.” Thatha continued,”Hey, silly Kutti, be a dear. If they go in the evening, they would be caught by the Coppers and put in jail. So they reached below the tree and thief Kittu told to thief Ramu, You climb the tree and pick up good coconuts and throw. I will wait here and see if anybody is coming. So Ramu climbed and Kittu was waiting below the tree. When Ramu reached the top of the tree, Mama cut his nose, applied lot of salt and sprinkled some chilly powder.” “Ouch”, told Maithree Kutti, “Thatha that is bad, if you cut the nose it will pain. Please ask the Mama not to do it.” Thatha continued, “Kutti, stealing is bad and they should be punished. If you ask, one more question, I will stop the story. So Ramu lost his nose and due to salt and Chilly powder his nose was burning. He came down quickly from the tree. Kittu who was waiting below the tree asked Ramu, “Where are the coconuts? Ramu replied”Mokku Poi, Mooku Poi.” What is that Thatha,“asked Maithree Kutti. Thatha replied,”Kutti, it means I lost my nose in the language of the village. Kittu could not understand nor he could see , like you. So he also climbed the tree and reached the top of the tree. Mama, who was waiting there, cut his nose also, applied lot of salt and sprinkled some chilli powder on it. Kittu also came down the tree. He was also screaming, ”Mooku Poi, Mooku Poi” when he met Ramu. Both Ramu and Kittu were telling every one in the village next day, “Mooku Poi, Mooku Poi”.

So the story is over for today, Kutti. The eggplant has flowered and the Okra has borne fruit and so my little Kutti would go to sleep.

By that time Kutti was fast asleep. She was muttering, Mooku Poi, Mooku Poi, in her sleep.

The Story of Tenali Raman and the cat

Long long ago there was a man called Tenali Raman. He was minister to a great king called Krishna Deva Raya. He was supposed to be very clever.

Once in that city there was lot of problems due to rats. Rats were everywhere. They were eating all sorts of books and papers. They also used to make holes in wooden shelves and also eat rice. Sometimes they even nibbled the ears of little clever girls. Everybody knows that Cats Kill rats. But there were so many rats in the city but very few cats. So the king asked every house in the city to grow cats. But cats need milk to drink. Most of the houses did not have cows. So the king gave cows to every house and asked them to grow them too. All people were happy and used to give cats lot of milk to drink.

Tenali Raman was a lazy man and liked to drink milk. So the first day he boiled the milk and poured it in a pan. He gave the piping hot milk to the cat. The cat, which was hungry came and sipped the milk from the pan. Since the milk was hot it burnt its mouth. The cat ran away. The next day and the next Tenali Raman did the same thing. After a few days he stopped giving milk to the cat and started drinking it himself.

Tenali Raman’s cat was lean and hungry and all other cats were stout and happy. One day the king wanted to see all the cats given by him and give prize to the fat cat. He was very angry with Tenali Raman for not growing his cat properly. Then Tenali Raman told the king that he was not lucky since his cat did not drink any milk. The king wanted to put Tenali Raman in Jail for telling a lie and wanted him to prove what he said.

Then Tenali Raman brought the pan of milk and his cat. The cat on seeing the milk ran away. It thought that it was being given again hot milk. The king pitied Tenali Raman and let him away. The clever Tenali Raman lived happily forever drinking lots and lots of milk.

The Fox and the Heaven

In the forests of Palakkad there were several foxes. One fox was a mischievous fox like Maithree Kutti. One day the fox was jumping and running. It did not see a knife left by a hunter in the forest and fell on it. The knife cut the tail of the fox. It pained a lot. It was the only fox in Palakkad forest without a tail.

So that night when all the foxes were busy in hunting for food, the clever fox closed its eyes and started shouting “Swargam Kanarathe”(meaning I am able to see heaven). All other foxes thought that the clever was lying but one other fox also wanted to see heaven. So it also fell on the knife and cut its tail. It pained a lot. The new fox, which has cut its tail, closed its eyes but did not see any heaven. So it went to the clever fox and asked” I am not able to see Swargam”. Then the clever fox told the new fox” Don’t be a fool. Nobody can see heaven. If you also say like me Swargam Kanarathe, then another fox will cut its tail like us.”

So both the tailless foxes stood that night in a line closed their eyes and shouted “swargam Kanarthe”. This time five new foxes cut their tails. They also joined the next night in shouting”Swargam Kanarthe”. Slowly all the foxes in Palakkad forest lost their tails.

The clever fox, which was the only fox without a tail, now was very, very happy.

Subba Sastry and Sugar

There was a very rich man in Tenali. But the rich man was a great miser. Do you know, what a miser is. He will not spend money for anything. Even if Chamattu Kuttis like Maithree wants a sweet, he wont give. One day some ants entered his sugar bowl. The rich man was very upset. His wife told him that if he dries the sugar in sun, the ants would run away. So the rich man took a big paper and spread the sugar with ants on that paper and kept it in his portico. But he was afraid that the crows or Subba Sastry his friend would eat the sugar away. So he was watching the sugar carefully.

Subba Sastry who liked sweets in any form saw the rich man and the sugar. So he told his son to come after five minutes to the portico of rich man and shout, “ Our Cow is dead, our cow is dead”

Subba Sastry went to the Rich mans portico and asked him “How are you?” The rich man replied that he was not Ok and he was sad. Why asked Subba Sastry. Rich man replied that he is loosing lot of things.Subba Sastry told the rich man that it was bad and asked him what he was drying. Then the rich man replied that some water fell in the mud in his garden and he was drying the mud.

At this time Subba Sastry’s son came running to the portico. He was shouting “Our Cow is dead, our cow is dead”. Then Subba Sastry took one hand full of sugar and put it in the mouth of his son. Then he took another handful and put it in his own mouth. He was shouting “One handful of mud in your mouth and another handful of mud in my mouth.”. The rich man started shouting , “It is not mud , it is sugar”. But Subba Sastry insisted, “No , No , It is mud and tastes like mud.” He went on doing this till all sugar is eaten. The rich man became very sad.

Thiruvazhuthan and the king There was a king In Cochin long long ago. He had a foolish servant and his name was Thiruvazhuthan. The king used to call him Thiru.

One day the king wanted some buttermilk and he called Thiruvazhuthan and asked him to get some buttermilk from the market. Thiru told the king” You know sir, I am a fool .se tell me how buttermilk will look like”

The king was stumped but replied” The buttermilk will be white and once you leave it will run.” What the king meant was that once buttermilk is poured in the floor it will run.

Thiru started searching for the buttermilk and at last saw a crane flying near the pond. With lot of difficulty he managed to catch the crane and put it in a pot. He closed the pot and took it to the king. The king who did not have much belief in Thiru wanted to see the buttermilk. But Thiru was insisting that it would run. The king was not at all following the words of Thiru. He made him open the pot and the crane flew away. Then Thiru told the king “Did I not tell, it will run. You also please see that it is white.” The king was very angry and did not speak to Thiru.

Some more days passed and the king wanted an ash gourd. He called and ordered Thiru to bring an ash gourd. As usual Thiru asked, “How will I be able to identify an ash gourd?”. The king patiently replied , “It is very easy, it will have white powder all over it and it will be on the roof.”. he king was correct because in olden days the ash gourd used to be allowed to grow on the roof of the houses of people. Thiru started his search vigorously. He located an old man repairing his roof. Before climbing on the roof the old man had painted his house white. The paint was all over his body. Thirus men caught hold of the old man and put him in a bag. They carried the old man on his head to the house of the king.

Thiru went and told the king that he has brought a big ash gourd but it was shouting. The king was terribly surprised and came running. Then he saw the old man who was shouting and crying. The king let off the old man and beat Thiru for a long time.

Some more time passed. This time the king wanted a priest to be brought to his house. He called Thiru and asked him o bring a priest. Thiru asked him” How would he look like?” The king replied that he would be big and there will be several disciples surrounding him and chanting. Thiru told the king that he understood him completely. He went in search of the priest. He located a dead buffalo . Around the buffalo there were lot of crows making lot of sound. He made the servants carry the dead buffalo to the king’s house. He went and told the king that the priest has arrived. The king wanted the priest to be comfortable. He wanted him to apply oil all over his body and then take bath. He sent with Thiru lot of oil. After some time Thiru came running and told the king,” I have applied the oil but some more oil is required to apply to his horns”. The king was surprised and came running to see the priest with horns and what he saw was a dead buffalo. The king dismissed Thiru from his service.

Thiruvazhuthan and the queen The queen took pity on Thiru and took him with her. She patiently explained everything to him. One day the queen wanted oil. She called Thiru and asked him to bring oil from the shop. Thiru went to the vegetable shop and asked for oil. People laughed at him. But one good man showed him the shop where oil is available. Maithree, in India during those days, you have to carry a pot or a vessel to buy oil. The shop owner asked Thiru for the vessel. Thiru told him” have forgotten the vessel. Anyway , I put all my things in the shirt Pocket. You pour the oil in my pocket. The shop owner laughed and asked his servants to pour the oil in the shirt pocket of Thiru.

Thiru was very proud this time and went to the queen and told her that he has brought the oil. What the queen saw was Thiru drenched in oil. She was a good lady. She told him that from the next time onwards he should take another four servants with him and bring the purchase on their head. Thiru vigorously nodded is head.

Te next day the queen wanted a needle to stitch a gown. She asked Thiru to bring one . Thiru took four people with him to carry the needle back. He went to the shop and asked for a needle. What they showed was too small and could not be carried back by four people. So Thiru wanted a bigger needle. They showed him a shop selling books. This shop had a bigger needle to stitch a book. Even this was small. That shop owner took him to the wholesale market where a needle to stitch gunny bags was available. Thiru wanted a still bigger needle. All of them said it is not available. Thiru wanted to obey the queen. So he made the four people to cut a big tree . In the tree Thiru made a hole. He kept the big needle used to stitch bags in this hole. He asked the four servants to carry the tree. The queen was watching Thiru and the servants carrying the tree from her terrace. She came running down. The servants who were finding the tree difficult to carry put it down in front of her. But the needle was nowhere to be seen. The queen also dismissed Thiru from her house.

The Son in law

Do you know Maithree Kutti, Who is a son in law. No, Thatha replied Maithree. He is the boy who marries daughters. Maithree did not understand. Should I understand that Thatha, she asked. No , not necessarily now. Anyway, The daughters when they grow big like your mummy , live with their husbands in a different house , some times in a different place.

There was one Chuppa Thatha in Palakkad. Do you know where Palakkad is , Maithree Kutti. Yes, I know, it is the town where my other Thatha lives. Ok, You are cute , Maithree and know everything. This Chuppa Thatha was very ill. His daughter was married to a deaf man in another village. What is “deaf “Thatha, asked , Maithree. Deaf persons cannot hear whatever , you say Maithree.If you go on stopping me every time, I will not be even able to begin the story , Maithree.But Thatha , you only told me that I have to understand whatever , you say. This deaf man’s name was Ramu. Ramu's wife that is Chuppa Thatha's daughter wanted Ramu to visit her father and enquire about his health. Ramu agreed. Ramu's wife told him. Stop , Thatha, You said deaf people couldn’t hear. That is right, continued the exasperated Thatha. Ramu's wife wrote in a paper and showed him. Before you go to see my father , you should buy some fruits. Maithree again could not understand. Why should he, Thatha., Oh, Kutti, if you go on asking like this when we will go to sleep. Anyway, sick people eat lot of fruit , so when you go to meet sick people , you have to take some fruit. Ramu's wife also told him that as soon as he meets, Chuppa Thatha , he has to ask him , how he is. Then he will reply , I am OK. Then you ask him which doctor is treating him. He will reply DR. Narayanan is treating him .Then you have to tell him, , he is a very good doctor. You then tell him how is the treatment. He will see it is very good. Then you tell him that is very good news and also tell him he will soon visit him again.

Ramu nodded his head and went to his Father-in –law’s village. As soon as he got down he started searching for a cheap fruit. Apples were very costly and so was oranges. Ramu asked for any cheap fruit. The shopkeeper suggested Banana. Ramu asked for the price but found it very costly. He went from shop to shop in search of fruits. At last he noticed an old woman selling chilies, which were ripe. They were red and the woman was prepared to sell them very cheap. Kutti, no body buys ripe chilly fruits. They get spoiled.

Ramu thus went to his Chuppa Thatha’s house with a bag of ripe red chilly fruits. There were many children in the house. He gave each one. one fruit and then went to the room of the sick Chuppa Thatha. By that time the children had eaten the fruit and were crying miserably. Kutti , nodded, I will also cry , Thatha.

Chuppa Thatha was very angry because all the children in the house were crying. Ramu gave Chuppa Thatha a big bag of ripe red Chilly fruits and asked him “How are you”.Chuppa Thatha replied” Don’t you see, I am miserable”.

Ramu then told “ That is very good, which doctor is treating you”

Chuppa Thatha replied “I am only waiting to go to Yama, the God of death”

Maithree chimed” Is there a doctor like that , Thatha?”

Thatha replied “Hush , little one, there is no doctor like that but Chuppa Thatha was telling him he is very angry. But Ramu was a fool and he could not hear also”

Ramu then said” He is a very good doctor and you please go to him”

Chuppa Thatha was very very upset and shouted”Hey fool,Get out of here and do not come again.”

Ramu then thanked Chuppa Thatha for his good words and told him” I am happy you like me , I will come again to see you soon.”

Maithree kutti, all people cannot do all things. Like Ramu you should never pretend and tell lies. It will cause sadness to all. Maithree Kutti vigorously nodded her head .

Tenaliraman and the horse

The king wanted all his people to grow horses . Maithree could not understand. Dogs, Yes. Cats , Yes. But why at all horses. She has seen them in cowboy films on the TV. And so natural question was why?

Thatha had to go back to old history. During those times , Maithree, wars between kings were being fought. But then why, popped the question from Thatha’s own Kutti. All kings wanted to rule over others so that they become richer and so they fought wars. Does it mean, Thatha that Tenali's king was bad, interjected Kutti. No, Darling but he was afraid of other kings and he needed more horses. So, Kutti, he called all his people and gave them one horse each to bring up. He also gave them lot of straw so that the horses can eat. All people were happy except Tenaliraman. He shut his horse in a room and daily at 9 AM sharp give it very little straw . The rest o the straw he gave to his cows. Maithree Kutti , was very angry. Is it not bad, Thatha shouted , Maithree.. Thatha agreed but told her that this was indeed bad.

After one more year, the king wanted to see all his horses. All of them brought their horses. They were indeed very good. But King noticed that Tenaliraman had not brought his horse. He asked him why he has not brought his horse. Tenaliraman replied that his horse was very strong and he could not bring it. The king was surprised. He said , I will send my police to your house tomorrow at 9 AM. Tenali nodded his head. Maithree Kutti was jumping. Thatha , that means Tenaliraman would be punished by the king, is it not, Thatha.

Next day the police inspector went to Tenali Raman’s house. He had a beard, which was very long. Tenali Raman took him to the room where the house was kept locked. He asked him to see through the window. The inspector peeped in through the narrow window. Naturally his beard entered the room first. The horse thought that it was straw being given at the regular time. It Caught hold of the beard of the inspector and started pulling. The inspector was crying in pain. But the horse was not leaving because , it knew that this was the only straw for the day. The inspector lost his beard and ran to the king.

He told the king that Tenaliraman's horse was very strong.

That is cheating , Thatha , cried , Kutti. That is true , darling, but then some times people do get deceived by clever people.

The Four Friends

Once up on a time in a village lived four friends, Rama, Krishna, Subbu and Mohan. All of them were very poor. One day a sage visited their village and told them to go to a place called Mahapuram so that they can earn all the money that they want. He told them that when they get sufficient money they should return back home. Avarice is bad, Children , he told them. The mummies of Rama, Krishna, Subbu and Mohan gave them food to eat on their way to Mahapuram. The friends started their long walk. They told each other stories and took rest on their way. After one month they reached a place Copper coin town. It was written there, take all you want and go away. Rama told his friends, I will take copper coins and go home. There I will earn sufficiently using these coins and be happy. All the other three friends laughed at him. They told him, now it is copper coin town, the next will surely be silver coin town. But Rama who was satisfied took sufficient copper coins and went back home.

The other three friends continued their walk to Mahapuram. The walk was difficult. Food was less and the journey was hard. Their legs were paining. At last after another month they reached Silver coin town. It was written there, take as many silver coins you want and leave. Krishna told his other two friends that , he was returning back. He told them, now that I am tired I cannot take as many silver coins as Rama took. Even if I take, I will suffer a lot. The other two friends laughed at him and told. Surely the next would be Gold coin town. By coming with us , you can be very rich and need not work again. But Krishna , did not agree and he returned back. By the time he returned home, he had to spend more money and when he reached home , he was only as rich as Rama who was really happy.

Subbu and Mohan continued their journey. They were telling each other, how rich they are going to be when they reach Gold coin town. It took a long time and they were tired. There was very little food. They suffered a lot but walked further. At last after 2 months they reached the Gold Coin town. Subbu said he is returning but Mohan told that he was going ahead to the Platinum diamond town. Subbu told his fried not to be a fool. Even at that point they can only carry very little money and by the time they reach home , they would have similar money like their friends. But Mohan went further.

He walked for months. His food was over. His clothes were torn. He was very very tired. And at last he reached the Platinum Diamond town. But there was one man standing there who looked very much like Mohan. On his head a wheel was moving. He was crying. But when he saw Mohan , he laughed. “Another fool like me has come” said he. The wheel suddenly moved to the head of Mohan. The other man told him. I also came in search of money like you. I was not happy with whatever I got. Now because you have come, I am free to go. Pray somebody likes you comes soon to help you. The other man ran away.

Kutti. This story tells you that you have to make efforts for what you want but you should not have greed.

Fox and the Cream Biscuit

Do you know , Maithree Kutti , that the fox is an intelligent animal ?. Maithree was really curious. Have you talked to them Thatha , she asked. Why , Kutti, asked the Thatha. Maithree chimed, the other day you were telling Mummy that you talked to Ramu and that he is a fool. Oh,that was different Maithree. These are old stories when fox and all animals used to talk. But , they have stopped talking now. Anyway, for your sleep today , I will tell you a story about a clever fox.

Once there was a very clever fox. It was one day very hungry and wanted to eat biscuits. It was particular that the biscuits must be sweet. What are biscuits , Thatha, are they same as cookies, asked Maithree. Thatha nodded his head and continued. When it was searching for biscuits, one crow saw a biscuit in the hands of the foolish Ramu , you told about Maithree. The crow flew near Ramu and Ramu dropped the biscuit in the ground. The crow took the biscuits in its beak and flew to the nearest tree. Poor foolish Ramu was crying. The fox saw all this and went near the tree. Then it started talking to the crow.

Sister crow, sister crow, you are so beautiful . The other day , I heard the lion king say to me that you are more beautiful than the peacock. That is a lie , Thatha screamed , Maithree. Crows are not at all beautiful but the peacock in the zoo is very beautiful. You are right, Kutti but thee fox was telling a lie. When somebody tells a lie praising you , it is called flattery. But the crow believed the fox and nodded its head. The fox then said to the crow. The lion king also told that you sing very nicely. But I have never heard you sing , sister crow. The crow was very pleased and started singing “ka, Kaa,Ka….”. Then the biscuit fell from its mouth and the fox got the biscuit, which fell down.

The next day, the fox wanted a cake to eat. Ramu at that time was eating the cake. The crow flew near him and then he dropped the cake on the floor. The crow took the cake and sat on the same tree. The fox wanted to fool the crow again. He again went near the crow. It called the crow and said. Sister crow, yesterday your song was so nice . I actually wanted to hear the song but a rabbit was going near by . So I ran away to catch the rabbit. Please sing a song for me today also, sister. The crow now knew that the fox was telling a lie. It flew with the cake to its nest and kept it there safely. Then it came back near the fox and started singing in a loud voice “Kha , Kha, Kha…”. The fox could not bear the sound and ran away. So Kutti, you cannot fool every one every time.

The Three brothers

Rama , Krishna and Mohan were three brothers. They were all poor. They were working in a factory. They went to the local temple. They prayed to the God , please make us rich. Then suddenly God spoke to them. Each of you go the Golden River and pour three drops of holy water taken from the temple tank. Then the golden river would become Gold and you will become rich. But you must go alone , said the God. If the water is not holy , you will be turned in to stones.

Next day Rama started with one very big bottle of temple water. The Golden River was far away and there was no road to go there. So Rama started walking with a big pot of water. After some times, he became thirsty and started drinking the temple water. Then a dog ran up to him and told,. Please Ramu I am much more thirsty than you. If you do not give water to me I will die. But Rama laughed at the dog and told. It does not matter to me. Golden River is far off. If I give you some water, this bottle will have less water and , I will not be able to become rich. Then he walked further and after one more day, He again became thirsty. He opened the bottle to drink some water. At that time a very poor man came and cried before Rama. Please , Rama , give me some . water. I have not drunk any water for days. But Rama did not give him water and started walking towards the Golden River. Then after one more day, he was able to see the golden river from where he was standing. There was some water left in the bottle. He thought that he will drink some and our the three drops in the river. There was a small baby lying on the road. It was crying for some water. But Rama did not give it any water and after drinking some more water went near the river. When he poured the water from the bottle in the river , the Golden River spoke to him. Rama, you are pouring bad water in to me. You will become a stone. Rama then cried and asked. How can it be bad water. I have taken it from the temple tank. Then the river replied. But you did not give it to the thirsty dog, the old man and the poor crying baby. So this water has become unholy.Rama was turned in to stone.

Krishna and Mohan waited for some more time. Then Krishna told Mohan. Some thing must have happened to Rama. This time I will go to the Golden River with temple water. He also met the thirsty dog, the pitiable old man and the crying baby. He did not give them any water but drank it himself. When he poured the remaining water in the river , he was also turned in to stone.

Mohan was a very small boy. After a few days, he also started walking towards the Golden River with a bottle of water. Since he was small he could carry only a small bottle. After few days when he was about to drink the water, the thirsty dog came and asked him. Please give me some water to drink. Otherwise I will die. Mohan was a nice and kind boy. He said to the dog. Sure, but please do not drink more. I need some water to pour in the river. His bottle became half empty. But he knew that he needed only three drops to pour in the river. He then started walking with half a bottle of water towards the Golden River. Then after 2 more days of walking, he became very thirsty. He thought that he will drink some water from the bottle. When he was about to drink, the old man came crying. He told him, little child , please give me some water. Mohan drank a few drops and gave it to the old man. Grandpa, I want three drops of water to put in the river , so please do not drink more. But the old man almost drank the entire water. There was about 20 drops of water left in the bottle. But Mohan was a very good boy. He took the bottle with him and started walking towards the river. Then after one more day he could see the river. He then stopped for drinking a few drops of water. Then came the crying baby. It cried, please Mohan give me little water. Then Mohan told the baby, please take a few drops , because that is what is left. The baby drank away all the water. Mohan did not shout against the baby. He went near the river. Sat near it. This time I have not got the holy water but I will come again. Then tears came to his eyes, thinking about his brothers. Three drops of his tears fell in the river. Then the Golden River became really gold. He heard the voice of God. You are very kind, Mohan. Your tears for your brothers are the only holy water I needed. They are much more holier than the water from the temple tank. God then gave him back Rama and Krishna. He told them that they should be as good as Mohan. All of them lived happily afterwards.

The Tailor and his wife

Once upon a time, started , Thatha. Stop, Thatha , you are boring us by this “once upon a time”, chided Maithree Kutti. But , Kutti, my stories have always to begin with , once upon a time. If you do not want , I will not tell stories to you. Maithree Kutti, said , OK , Thatha, I am giving you special permission to tell stories with, “Once upon a time.”

So , Thatha continued, Once upon a time, there lived in a village a tailor. He and his wife lived in a small house in a big street. One day the tailor closed his shop early and went home for lunch. He called his wife and asked her to close the main door . But she was angry on the tailor because , he was not taking her to the mall. She said , I wont close the door, you only close it. Then the tailor shouted at his wife, you close the door. They quarreled for a long time and then the tailor told his wife, OK , whoever among us speaks first will have to close the door. The wife also agreed to this condition. Both of them did not want to speak, first. So they went on sitting there with out doing any thing. The wife got bored and went for a walk. The tailor was sitting idle. Suddenly a street dog entered the house. Street dog was a new term for , Maithree. What is it Thatha. Is it a dog like our uncle has. Thatha then explained to her that in India many dogs did not belong to anybody and will be roaming round the streets. Nobody gave them food and so they used to steal food from wherever it was available. So this street dog came to Tailors house and ate all the food prepared by his wife . It also climbed up on the kitchen shelf and ate all food. The tailor kept silent , because if he shouts at the dog , he has to close the door. After some time the local barber came to his house. He asked the Tailor do you want a haircut or shaving off your head. Tailor did not reply him. Then the barber shaved of his hair completely. We call it Mottai in Tamil. Then the barber asked for his charges. Tailor kept quiet. Then the barber got angry and painted the head of tailor black. Then also the Tailor kept quiet, because if he speaks first , he has to close the door.

The wife of the tailor returned to her house after some time. She saw the kitchen the dining table and her husband. Then she started shouting and crying. Then the Tailor jumped with happiness and told her. You have spoken first and so you should shut the door.

Were they not fools, Maithree kutti.

The fox who married a girl There was once a very poor girl. She was very , very pretty. There was a fox who was in the forest. The fox wanted to marry the girl. It dressed itself like a man and went to the father of the girl. Mama, wont you give your daughter in marriage to me. The girls father was pleased and said , yes. The girl’s father gave the girl in marriage. But he never knew that his daughters husband was a fox. The fox was enjoying its stay in the girls house. There was lot of good food and several feasis. After a few days the girls father asked the fox to take his daughter to his home. The fox was not having any house. But it had to agree. So it took the girl with it and they started walking. After some time, the girl asked the fox”amman, Amman Uracha?”. This means uncle ,uncle, whether your place has come. Then the fox replied. No, No Innum Oru Aru Kadakka Venum meaning , no, no , we have to crossone more river. They walked still further. The girl again asked “ammam, Amman, Uracha”. Then the fox replied”No, No, Innum Oru Aru Kadakka venum.” . Like this a few days went by. By this time the girl understood that her husband was a fox and it did not have any home. She told her husband, we will go to my home, where we can be happy.The fox agreed and they returned home. The girl secretly told her father about the fox. That day the father got the help from his friends and drove away the fox.

Elephants don’t forget

There was a bad Tailor in a village long ago. He used to play pranks with people. In that village there was a very good elephant. You know Maithree, elephants are very big animals. Though they are huge, they are caring. If you give then Bananas they will take it from your hands. They also place their trunk on your head and bless you. The elephants love to take bath in cold water. They would go inside the tak , swim and also enjoy pouring water all over themselves.

The Mahout( he is the care taker of elephants) used to take the elephant daily to its bath. On the way was the tailors shop. One day the tailor offered a banana fruit to the elephant. From that day, the elephant used to bless the tailor daily. Then the tailor thought of playing tricks with the elephant. The next day when the elephant blessed him, he took the needle he was stitching and drove it in side the trunk of the elephant. The elephant was very angry . But it kept quiet. From that day, the elephant stopped blessing the tailor. After a few more days, the tailor forgot the entire thing. It was Deepavali. You know Maithree, on Deepavali days, all people get new clothes stitched. So the Tailors shop was full of clothes. The elephant that day while returning from its bath in the tank, stored lot of muddy water in its trunk. When it came near the Tailors shop it introduced its trunk inside the shop and poured all the muddy water inside the shop. All the new clothes were spoiled. The villagers got very angry with the tailor for spoiling all their clothes and beat him Thus the elephant punished the tailor.

The wise merchant and the cheating donkey

There was a wise merchant. He used to carry all his goods to the market on the back of a donkey. He loved his donkey and used to take good care of the donkey. But the donkey was very lazy. On the way from the village to the market there was a dry river. But once in a while the river used to fill up. The donkey and the merchant used to get down in the water and cross it. The merchant was one day taking salt to the market. The donkey knew this and without his knowledge slowly bent its legs while walking in the water. Because of this the bag of salt was drenched and salt got dissolved in water. The load of the donkey came down and the merchant lost lot of money. So the next day, instead of salt the merchant loaded cotton on the back of donkey. Do you know , Maithree when cotton gets wet , it becomes heavy. The donkey did not know this. It played the same trick that day also. Then all the cotton got wet and became very heavy. The donkey thus got punished because of the wise merchant.