SMALL STORIES

[pramanisa]

When Truth Dawned
 
Ryokan, the Zen teacher, was requested by his sister-in-law to come to her house and talk to her son.
“He does no work, squanders his father’s money in wild parties and is neglecting the estate,” she complained. “If he does not reform, we will be ruined.”
Ryokan went to his brother’s house and met his nephew who was genuinely pleased to see him. The two of them had spent many happy hours together before Ryokan had turned to Zen and entered the monastery. The young man knew why his uncle had come and braced himself for the scolding he was sure he would receive. But Ryokan said not a word in rebuke, the whole day. The next morning when it was time for him to go, he put on his garments and then said to his nephew: “Will you help me tie the thongs of my sandals? My hands shake and I cannot do it.”
His nephew helped him willingly.
“Thank you,” said Ryokan. “A man becomes older and feebler day by day. You remember how strong and robust I used to be?”
“ I do,” said his nephew, thoughtfully. “ I do indeed remember how you used to be.”
It was the moment of truth for him. He suddenly realized that his mother and all those who had looked after him had become old and that it was now his turn to look after them and to take on the responsibilities of the household and the community.
He gave up his dissolute life forever.
 

[pramanisa]

A Handful of Answers
 
A young student of Zen was going to the market to buy vegetables for the monastery where he was studying. On the way he met a student from another monastery.
“Where are you going?” asked the first student.
“Wherever my legs take me,” replied the other.
The first student pondered over the answer as he was sure it had some deep significance. When he returned to the monastery, he reported the conversation to his teacher, who said: “You should have asked him what he would do if he had no legs.”
The next day the student was thrilled to see the same boy coming towards him.
“Where are you going?” he asked and without waiting for a reply continued, “Wherever your legs take you, I suppose. Well, let me ask you . . .”
“You’re mistaken,” interrupted the other boy. “Today I’m going wherever the wind blows.”
This answer so confused the first boy that he could not think of anything to say.
When he reported the matter to his teacher, the old man said: “You should have asked him what he would do if there were no wind.”
Some days later the student saw the boy in the market again and rushed to confront him, confident that this time he would have the last word.
“Where are you going?” he asked. “Wherever your legs take you or wherever the wind blows? Well, let me ask you . . . . ”
“No, no,” interrupted the boy. “Today I’m going to buy vegetables.”

[pramanisa]

The Best Artist
 
A despotic sultan who was blind in one eye invited three artists to paint his picture.
“If you do a bad portrait, I will punish you,” he warned, “ but if you do a good one I will reward you. Now start!”
The first artist produced a picture that showed the sultan as he was: blind in one eye.
The sultan had him executed for showing disrespect to his monarch.
The second artist showed him with both eyes intact.
The sultan had him flogged for trying to flatter him.
The third artist drew him in profile, showing only his good eye.
The sultan, pleased, rewarded him with gold and honours.

 

[pramanisa]

Sleepless Night  

There was an old Iranian who was intensely proud of two things – his long, white beard that reached down to his chest, and his ability to sleep the moment his head touched the pillow.
One day, his 3-year-old grandson asked him how he arranged his beard when he slept: did it go under the blanket or did it remain above it?
The old man had never paid attention to this detail, and he confessed he didn’t remember whether his beard remained above or went under the blanket. He promised to find out.
It was very cold that night. The old man got into bed and pulled the blanket over himself. Then he suddenly remembered his grandson’s question.
He became acutely conscious that his beard was under the blanket. He lifted it from under the blanket, and placed it above it. This made him feel that something was not quite right. So he tucked the beard under the blanket again. But he soon felt it would be better if it were out. In and out went the beard; first under the blanket, then above it, then under once again. The old man spent a sleepless night.
The next morning the first thing he did was cut his beard to chin level, to the great joy of his daughter who, for several months, had been urging him to do just that.

[pramanisa]

The Sultan's Robe
 
In the last century, there lived a sultan who waged war tirelessly and finally made himself master of a largish desert.
"Surely I'm the greatest monarch in the world," he said to his vizier, one day. "What do the people say about me?"
"They're all praise for you, Your Excellency," said the vizier, "all except one man, Ali, a camel-driver by profession. He's always running you down."
"How dare he!" roared the Sultan. "Bring him here at once. I'll cut out his tongue!!"
When Ali was brought to the palace, he threw himself at the Sultan's feet.
"At last my dearest wish to see you has come true," he said, obsequiously. "I used to say nasty things about you so that I might be brought into your august presence."
"Why?" boomed the Sultan.
"So that I might recite the poem I have written in your honour, O Merciful One."
"Recite!"
Ali began to recite a poem his grandfather had taught him in his childhood. It proclaimed the greatness of Alexander, the Great but Ali deftly substituted the Sultan's name for Alexander's whenever the need arose.
The Sultan was flattered.
"Good poem," he said, when Ali had finished. "Describes me exactly. You deserve a reward. Choose from one of these magnificent saddles," and he indicated a pile of saddles, lying nearby.
Ali chose a donkey's saddle, and thanking the Sultan, bowed himself out of the palace.
The people from his village who were sure he would be executed, and were waiting for news about it, outside the gate, were astounded to see him.
"The Sultan let you go?" they asked, bemused.
"And why not?" he asked. "I recited a poem in his honour and he rewarded me with one of his best robes."
"The sultan gave you his robe!" They gasped. "Where is it?"
He showed them the donkey's saddle.

[pramanisa]

Change of Mind

There was a sickly young girl who always seemed to be at death’s door. Her neighbour was a widow, bent with age. Whenever she caught sight of the girl she would shake her head sadly and say: “Oh God, why do you torment that poor child...if you want a life take this old woman!”
One evening a bull in the village, put its head into a large black pot to get at some grain at the bottom, and then couldn’t get its head out. Frightened and confused, it ran hither and thither, unable to see where it was going because its eyes were covered by the pot.
Meanwhile, the old woman we mentioned, was visiting her neighbour. She came out and as usual began shaking her head and saying that if God wanted a life he should take hers. Suddenly she became aware that a powerfully-built beast, apparently headless, was rushing at her.
“Yama has come for me!” she thought and was filled with terror.
“Mercy, my Lord, mercy!” she screeched, falling to her knees in front of the advancing bull. “Spare me. There’s a sickly girl next door. Take her instead!”

[pramanisa]

The Gift
 
Gopal Bhand was once taken to court by a man who claimed that he owned the land on which Gopal's house stood.
Gopal had the documents to prove that he owned the land but he knew that the judge who was to try the case was corrupt and could be bought. Gopal decided to take a gift for the judge.
At the hearing, the complainant stated his case and then taking out a fat wallet from one pocket transferred it to another in a slow and deliberate manner. The judge understood. He looked at Gopal as if to ask him if he could match the offer.
In answer, Gopal patted his own pocket. The judge was pleased to see that it was bulging. He could make out the outlines of two large objects in it and he felt sure they were gold ornaments.
He gave a verdict in Gopal's favour and called him to his chambers. Gopal went round to the judge's chambers and began to thank him for deciding the case in his favour. But the judge cut him short with an impatient gesture of his hand.
"The gift," he snapped. "Give me whatever you have brought for me!"
Gopal took out two large stones from his pocket and gave them to him.

[pramanisa]

Treble Trouble
 
Speaking without thinking can treble your troubles as this ancient story demonstrates.
A man was caught stealing a bag of onions and taken before a judge.
The judge gave him a choice of three punishments: eat the onions he had stolen at one sitting; submit to a hundred lashes of the whip or pay a fine.
The man said he would eat the onions. He began confidently enough but after eating a few, his eyes began to burn, his nose started running and his mouth felt as if it were on fire.
“I can’t eat the onions,” he said. “Give me the lashes instead.”
But after he had received a few strokes he began to turn and twist to avoid the whip.
“I can’t bear it!” he screamed, finally. “I’ll pay the fine.”
So he paid the fine and was let off, but he became the laughing-stock of the city for having taken three punishments for the same crime.

[pramanisa]

War of Words
 
A king sent a message to the ruler of a neighbouring country. The message read: "Send me a blue diamond as large as a pigeon's egg or else..."
The king on getting the message wrote back:
"We don't have such a diamond and if we had..."
The first king got very angry and declared war on his neighbour. The fighting went on for several months till a third king arranged a meeting between the two warring rulers. So they met and the first king said to the other: "What did you mean when you said, 'Send me a blue diamond as large as a pigeon's egg or else...'?"
"Why," he replied, "I meant a blue diamond as large as a pigeon's egg or else... some other diamond. I love diamonds. But what did you mean when you said, 'We don't have such a diamond and if we had-'?"
"It is easy to guess my meaning," said the other man. "What I wanted to say was, if we had such a diamond we would have gladly sent it to you."
The Kings pledged to write more clearly in future communications and embraced and made peace.

[pramanisa]

The Fear of God
 
There were two brothers who were always up to some mischief. If
somebody had been locked up in his house or if somebody's dog had been painted green, one always knew who the culprits were — the brothers.
One day the boys' mother asked a priest to talk to her sons and put the fear of God in them so that they would mend their ways. The priest asked her to send her sons to him one at a time.
When the younger boy, a lad of thirteen, came, he made him sit and asked him:
"Where is God?"
The boy did not answer.
The priest asked again, in a louder voice: "Where is God?"
The boy remained silent. But when the priest asked the same question a third time, the boy jumped up and ran away.
He went straight to his brother.
"We are in big trouble!" he gasped.
"What's wrong?" asked the older boy, warily, wondering which of their sins had caught up with them.
"God is missing," said the youngster, "and they think we have something to do with it!"

[pramanisa]

Five Men in a Cart 
 
Guru Gampar had told his four disciples that they were never to do anything without his permission.
One day while they were on their way to a distant town, Guru Gampar fell asleep in the bullock cart they were travelling in. His head rolled from side to side and suddenly his turban slipped from his head and fell on to the road. But as their guru had told them never to do anything without his permission, none of the disciples made a move to get down and pick it up. When the guru woke up and was told about the loss of his turban he was furious.
"Next time anything falls off pick it up at once!" he thundered. Some time later the bullock dropped its dung and the four foolish disciples leaped down and picked it up. Guru Gampar was horrified. He made a list of the things that could fall off from a moving cart. "Pick up any of these things if they fall," he told them, handing them the list. "Don't pick up anything that is not mentioned here."
Just then the cart lurched violently and Guru Gampar was thrown headlong into a ditch.
Guru Gampar yelled to his disciples to pull him out.
"We can't, guruji," said his disciples, sadly. "Your name is not on the list you gave us." Guru Gampar pleaded with them to pull him out, but in vain.
"We know you are testing us, guruji," they told him. "But you can rest assured that we will never disobey you. You told us not pick up anything that was not mentioned in your list and we will not do so."
"Give me the list!" yelled Guru Gampar. They threw him the list and the pen and the guru hastily scrawled his name on it. Then and then only did the obedient disciples pull their beloved guru out of the ditch and put him back into the cart!

[pramanisa]

Madho, the Milkman
 
We've all heard of milkmen adding water to milk. Madho was one such man. His customers knew but were helpless. There was no other milkman in the locality.
One day as Madho was about to start on his rounds in the morning, there was a flash of light and a godly being stood before him.
Madho cowered in fright.
"Why do you add water to milk, Madho?" asked the god.
"I...I..." stammered Madho.
"Speak up!" said the god.
"I-I do it to increase the quantity of milk so that I can make more money, Lord," said Madho.
The god waved his hand and a can of milk identical to the one Madho was carrying appeared before him.
"Behold!" said the deity, "I have given you another can of milk. You now have double the quantity of milk you got from your cows, this morning."
Madho thanked the god profusely and picking up the can, started walking. He took a few steps and stopped.
"Yes?" asked the god. "Is there anything more you want?"
"I was wondering," said Madho, "If you could..."
"Yes! You want another can of milk?" asked the god, kindly.
"No...No!" protested Madho. "I'm not that greedy... just give me another can of water.

[pramanisa]

An Old Joke
 
An elderly man went to a doctor with multiple complaints.
"I see spots before my eyes," he said.
"It's due to old age," said the doctor.
"No food agrees with me," said the man.
"That too is due to old age," said the doctor. "The digestive system becomes weaker as we grow older."
"My back is giving trouble," persisted the man. "Sometimes the pain becomes unbearable."
"Old age," said the doctor.
This was too much for the man.
"Why do you go on saying 'old age, old age'," he screamed. "If you cannot cure me, say so. I'll go elsewhere."
"See how easily you lost you temper," said the doctor. "That is another characteristic of old age."

[pramanisa]

Master of the Game
 
An old man who lived in a small side street in the city of Mumbai had to put up with the nuisance of having boys play cricket outside his house, at night.
One evening when the boys were particularly noisy he went out to talk to them.
He explained that he was a pensioner who was happiest when he could see or hear boys playing his favourite game, cricket. He said he would give them 25 rupees each week to play in the street at night.
The boys were thrilled.
They were being paid to do something they enjoyed!
At the end of the first week they knocked at the old man's house and asked to be paid.
He did so.
The second week when they asked for payment he said he had run out of money and sent them away with only 15 rupees.
The third week the man said he had not yet received his pension and gave them only 10 rupees.
The boys were very disappointed but there was not much they could do about it.
The fourth week the man said he could not afford to pay them 25 rupees as he had promised, but would give them 5 rupees each week without fail.
This was too much for the boys.
"You expect us to play seven days a week for a measly 5 rupees!" they yelled. "Go to blazes."
They stormed away and never played on the street again.

[pramanisa]

The Servant's Ruse
 
A man was expecting a visit from an acquaintance. He gave two ripe mangoes to his servant and asked him to slice them and serve the fruit when the man came.
The servant gave in to temptation and ate a slice. It was so sweet he could not resist eating another one. Then the madness of gluttony seized him and he devoured all the remaining pieces.
Suddenly he saw the man his master was expecting coming towards the house. He thought fast. He grabbed a rusty knife and rushing to his master told him he couldn't cut the mangoes as the knife was blunt.
"I'll sharpen it," said his master and going to a stone in the garden began to rub the cutting edge of the knife against it.
Leaving him to the task the servant ran out to meet the man who was coming.
"Beware! Beware!" he said when he reached him. "Don't come to our house. My master has gone mad. He's planning to cut both your ears."
"Cut my ears!" exclaimed the man, turning pale. "Why?!"
"There he is sharpening the knife," said the servant. The man saw that his host did indeed have a knife in his hands and was sharpening it with what looked to him like a maniacal fury. He did not wait to find out why his host wanted his ears. He turned around and started walking away as fast as he could.
The servant rushed back to his master and told him that the man he had invited was running away with the mangoes.
"What!" said his master. "The greedy fellow! Has he taken both the mangoes?!"
"Yes," said the servant.
The man ran after the acquaintance shouting:
"Give me one! Give me one at least!"
The other man thought he was asking for one of his ears and ran for his life!