বুড়া বুড়ির কচু লাগানি

Once upon a time, in a certain land, there lived an old man and an old woman as a couple.

They had gone to plant taro (kachu) in their field.

At that moment, a pack of foxes saw them and asked,

Oh elder, elder, what are you doing?

We are planting taro, dear children, replied the old woman.

Oh, do not plant it this way, do not plant it this way! Let us give you some wise advice, said the foxes.

If you listen to our advice, your taro plants will bear large corms overnight, and you will be able to boil and eat them tastefully by tomorrow.

Alas, dear children! We do not have any children and you are like our own children, please tell us step-by-step what needs to be done, said the old couple.

Listen, some cooked taro roots (mukhi), some cooked rice balls (batar chipa), water from the river, piece of dry fish, and wrap them beautifully in a piece of unbleached cotton cloth (markin). Then, dig a deep hole in the soil and bury it securely, instructed the foxes.

Oh, but we did not bring those things with us from home, dear children, the old man said.

Give us a little time to get those items from our house, and they left

So, the couple went back to their house, prepared everything carefully, and brought exactly what the foxes had requested.

After they brought the items, the foxes gave them guidance, and the couple began planting according to that method.

They used small dy fish, river water, and rice balled wrapped in a cloth they plant in the hole.

By the time they finished the work, night had fallen, so they returned home and went to sleep.

During the night, those clever foxes came back, dug up all the buried small fish, and took them away.

Furthermore, they greedily ate all the taro roots, rice balls, fish on the top, and drunk water. Then, they brought bitter wild taro from the deep forest and planted them in the holes instead, leaving them there.

Waking up early the next morning, the old man and old woman saw that their taro plants had grown incredibly large and long.

The words spoken by our dear children have turned out to be so true! In just one night, all the taro has grown as long as fully matured wild plants!

The old man took a sickle, cut some stalks of the taro, handed them to the old woman, and said, 'I am going to catch some fish

The old man took a small fishing basket (achu) and a basket (khalei) and went down to the swampy field to catch fish.

He cast his net several times, but the fish remained far away

Those frogs began jumping inside the basket, making fun of the old man. Eventually, after a long time, he managed to catch a few real fish.

He handed them over to the old woman and said, 'Keep these and coke with taro vegetables, I am going to wash myself and return quickly.'

Meanwhile, the old woman, filled with joy, boiled the wild taro beautifully, but she could not wait to eat. She usually does not before her husband.

She served the old man first after that she eats.

She can not wait, her mouth is watering. she took some fish and ate quickly.

She then set aside the old man's rice separately and covered it with a bamboo net, before going to take a nap.

The old man returned after washing, performed his prayers, and sat down to eat, only to see that there was only one tiny piece of fish left in the bowl.

He asked, 'Old woman, oh old woman! Why is there only one single piece of fish left here?'

The old woman falsely replied from her bed, 'The cat must have eaten it!'

The old man stood up and hit the cat with a stick.

The cat cried out in pain, 'Meow! The old woman ate it herself, yet I am being beaten!'

The old woman quickly changed her story and said, 'If not the cat, then the dog must have eaten it.'

The dog barked, 'Woof, woof! You only get mad when you give it to me; I didn't eat anything, where would I even find it?'

The old woman's guilt caught up with her, and her heart sank. Unable to argue further, she sat down silently.

At that exact moment, the severe throat irritation from the wild taro began to torment the old woman.

As the old man ate, he scratched his throat so violently that he was on the verge of choking to death.

The old man finally realized what had happened!

Ah! Those baby foxes tricked us so badly!

Saying this, the old woman quickly fried a dried piece of fish (hidamas) and gave it to the old man, but it did not soothe them. They fried another, and she kept eating until they had consumed a whole pound of dried fish, yet the unbearable itch would not subside.

Then, the old woman had an idea. She took some old sour Tamarind that was in the house, diluted it with water, and gave it to the old man. The old man's throat felt a bit relieved.

The old woman also drank the Tamarind water, and the severe throat itching finally calmed down a little.

Then they decided to play a trick of their own. The old woman told the old man, 'Old man, pretend to be dead. Wrap yourself in a white cloth (futi), lie perfectly still, and keep a strong wooden stick hidden beside you. I will start wailing loudly! That will surely bring the foxes back.'

'Once they come, we will teach them a good lesson!' Thinking this, the old man lay completely still like a corpse, and the old woman began to cry and sing a sorrowful mourning song:

My dear husband has passed away. There is no one left to comfort me in my tears!

As she wailed dramatically, those foxes finally arrived at the house.

They asked, 'Elder, elder, what happened?'

Alas, dear children, your grandpa has passed away and left for the heavenly abode.

'What! What are you saying? We saw him completely healthy just a moment ago; how could he pass away so suddenly?'

Saying this, the foxes gathered around the old man, hugged him, and began to wail out of false sympathy:

Our dear grandpa has passed away. There is no one left to comfort us in our tears! they sang the sad song, 'our grandpa died, no one is there to love us'

Right at that moment, the old man whipped out the wooden stick he had hidden, jumped up, and began to thrash them mercilessly (dam dam barani).

The old woman also grabbed a heavy hammer and started beating them as well.

The foxes began to scream, 'Oh mother! Oh father! Oh grandpa! Oh grandma! We are dying! We promise we will never pull such a prank again!'

Their house dog also rushed in and began biting the escaping foxes savagely.

We admit our mistake! Even if we committed a sin, please forgive us! We will never do this again! shouting this, the foxes ran for their lives.

The foxes fled in sheer terror. Some of them ran towards the rocky mountains and hid deep inside the safety of the dark caves.