Seth Murarilal was as he was rich. His big house was well stocked with gold and silver. And as for cash, his strong-boxes were full. But in spite of it all, the Seth and the members of his family had hardly enough to eat. Wasting money on good food or too much food would empty the coffers, said Murarilal. So a small meal was served everyday, not enough to fill everyone's stomach.
To the joy of everyone, a grandson was born to the Seth. When this news was conveyed to him, the Seth felt upset and angry. He spent a restless day but the night was even worse. He tossed from side to side.
His wife said, "We must celebrate the birth of our first grandson in a grand manner. Let friends and relatives know how a millionaire celebrates such joyous occasions."
"Celebrate the birth of our grandson? Whatever for? Has he come with handfuls of precious jewels that we should celebrate his coming? People are really fools to waste money on such silly things."
Needless to say, the Sethani was shocked and angry.
"Enough!" the wife cried. "Must you always talk of saving wealth? What is the use of all this wealth unless one can spend it on a happy occasion such as this?"
"Again the same term 'happy occasion'! What are you so happy about? Who is going to pay for the boy's food, may I ask? Only one path remains open to me and that is to go to distant lands and see how I can earn more."
The Seth arose earlier than usual and made preparations for his journey.
He said to his daughter-in-law, "With the birth of a child in the house, I have to see how to increase my income. I have decided to visit distant lands and try my luck. But the Sethani is very much against it. What is your opinion? You're intelligent girl. Tell me what you think of my intended journey."
The daughter-in-law replied, "I have no right to advise you. Moreover, I know that once you have made up your mind, you aren't likely to change it. So what is the use of giving my opinion? I think you should start your journey as early as possible. There is just one wish which I want you to grant me. Allow me to cook the food for your journey. No one should comment on it."
"That you are free to do," said the Seth, happy that she had agreed.
The daughter-in-law made churma or broken wheat cakes with plenty of butter and sugar. Then she filled the chhagal or water carrier with sweetened water. These she gave to the Seth without any comment. The Seth at last set off.
On and on he walked. He had never walked so much in all his life and after a few miles, his feet felt heavy and ached. His breathing also became difficult. Fortunately there was a palm tree nearby and the Seth thankfully sat down under it with a sigh of relief. He was hungry and thirsty. He thought a long time whether to eat then or not. He finally decided to eat.
He was extremely thirsty, so he opened the chhagal and tilted it to drink. He took a gulp. The water was sweet! This meant that his daughter-in-law, whom he had thought so intelligent, was quite silly. She had put sugar in his water.
The Seth decided not to drink another drop of the offending water. He opened the packet of churma. He was happy to see that they looked very appetizing. He broke off a piece from one and hungrily put it into his mouth. But the next moment he spat it out as though it was poison. The churma was full of butter and sugar. Good God, who had ever heard of such a waste!
"That girl is going to ruin us. Why has she behaved thus? What enmity does she bear us? I won't touch a morsel of that food. It is better to die of hunger than eat the churma."
The Seth's anger grew. He tore the churma into shreds and threw them to the crows that came cawing loudly. Then he took the chhagal and poured the water into a hole that he spotted at the foot of the tree.
Hardly had he finished pouring the water when a big black snake slithered out of the hole, its hood flattened and its lidless eyes watching the Seth. A cold shiver ran down the Seth's spine.
The next moment he ran as fast as his legs could carry him. After running some distance he had to stop as his lungs were bursting. He turned around and in a flash he was off again. The snake was following him at a fast speed! Before he could save himself, he tripped and fell. The next moment the snake was on him.
The Seth gave a small cry, prayed to his favourite saint and waited for the worst. He lay on the ground, just as he had fallen, his eyes tightly closed.
"Get up, Sethji," said a voice. "I have come to grant you a boon."
The Seth Opened one eye; what he saw made him sit up and rub his eyes. Standing before him was a handsome young man. The snake was nowhere to be seen.
"Who are you?" asked the Seth, feeling bolder with the snake out of sight.
"I'm the son of Sesh Nag, the great snake. I live in the hole neat that palm tree. I was very thirsty; indeed, I would have died of thirst if you hadn't poured that sweet water into my hole. It saved my life. You are my saviour. Ask any boon and it shall be granted."
"Boon? What boon can I ask for? My only interest in life to earn money and to save it. but I don't love money that isn't the result of my hard work. No, I don't want any boon."
"That can't be," replied the young man. "I must reward you and I will not let you go until you have asked me for something."
An idea struck him and he said, "Listen, my daughter-in-law is an intelligent girl. We'll go home and ask her. You can give whatever she asks for."
On reaching home, the Seth called his daughter-in-law and scolded her for her inexcusable waste. The he related all that had taken place and said, "If you hadn't sweetened the water, this young man wouldn't have bothered me."
Before the girl could reply, the Sethani said, "Here is a chance to get a lot of wealth. Tell the young man that you want a lot of wealth."
"What a silly idea!" replied the Seth.
"I have a proposal to make," said the daughter-in-law, but I will make it only if I am sure that you will accept it."
"Yes, yes, I will accept whatever you say."
"Ask the young ma to grant you a boon that you may remain the master of your wealth."
The Seth laughed aloud. "What sort of boon is this?" he asked. "Am I not the master of my wealth?"
"No, you are not the master of your wealth. It is just the other way round. Your wealth is your master. What is the use of your wealth if you can't spend it when needed? Your wealth remains locked up in your strong-boxes and is of no use to you or to any other human being. If you have to ask for a boon at all, ask that you become the master of your wealth."
"What meaningless nonsense!" grumbled the Seth.
"I have granted many boons," the young man was saying, "but never has anyone asked for such a strange boon. It's the best I've heard so far."
"All right," he said to the young man, "grant me the boon that I remain the master of my wealth."
"Bee it so," said the young man and vanished.
As the days went by a change came over the Seth. The Seth was no longer greedy for wealth; nor did he waste all his time and energy in trying to earn it.
He gave his bunch of keys to the Sethani, saying, "Keep these and see to it that everybody in the house gets what he wants."
Soon there came a day when he called his family together and said, "Famine has struck the land. My stores are full of grain. I have ordered that it be distributed to the poor. Don't turn away anyone who may come to beg at these doors."
So by the granting of a seemingly meaningless boon, the miserly Seth turned into a kind ad generous man. |
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