In a faraway forest there lived a greedy jackal. He was always eating. No matter how much he ate he always remained hungry. All the animals in the jungle hid their food from the jackal. They knew that if the jackal came to know about their food he would either steal or snatch it from them.
One day the jackal was very hungry. He could not find any food in the jungle so he decided to go to the adjacent village to find food. He walked to the village and hid behind the trees. He saw a few huts and children playing around them.
Suddenly a door opened and as old woman came out. She called out to one of the children. The jackal ran to hide behind the bushes to listen to what she said to the child. His name was Raju.
Raju’s grandmother had called Raju to tell him about the rice pudding she had made for him. She was taken by surprise when she saw a jackal run and hide behind the bushes. She told Raju about the pudding and asked him to be cautious while playing outside.
The jackal heard Raju and his grandmother’s talk about the rice pudding. His mouth watered with the thought of rice pudding. He hatched a plan to eat the rice pudding. He stayed behind the bushes to wait for the night to descend. At night he planned to go inside the hut and eat the pudding.
The jackal did not know that Raju’s grandmother had seen him hide behind the bushes. She was hatching her own plan to get rid of him. Afternoon changed into evening and she could still see the jackal hidden behind the bushes. She thought for sometime. Then she put a big pot of water on the stove. She then called Raju to come inside the hut as it was getting dark.
When the jackal saw the children going back home, he decided to go closer to Raju’s hut. He ran to the hut and hid under the window. He heard the old woman and the child talk.
“Grandma, why is there a hole in the kitchen ceiling?” asked Raju.
“To allow fresh air into the hut,” said Grandma.
“I hope no animal enters our hut,” said Raju.
“Nothing will happen. I will take care of it tomorrow morning,” said Grandma lovingly.
The jackal heard about the hole. He could not believe his ears. Now he did not have to struggle to find his way into the hut; he already had a perfect entrance ready. He climbed to the roof of the hut and saw a hole in the roof. He lay down on the roof and decided to wait till everyone went off to sleep. He started feeling hungry but he tried his best to stay calm. After waiting for a few hours he could hear people snoring inside the hut. He stood up and decided to jump into the hole.
And when he jumped down…. he fell into the pot of boiling water. The jackal gave a cry of pain and ran outside the hut. The grandmother and Raju both were awake now and saw the jackal running outside in pain. They both laughed. They had cleverly saved the pudding from the jackal.
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Very nice
Appreciable effort which helps the tradition of bedtime story telling survive.
The jackel climbed the roof to get in as the doors were locked. Then after he fell on the boiling water, he ran outside. But was the door not locked? May be he could open the door himself?