অকনেইতাপী বারো হেইনিংপী

In a certain land, there lived a husband and a wife.

The wife was extremely lazy, always curling up idly in the corner of the house.

However, the woman who lived next door was extremely skilled and industrious.

The way that neighboring woman wove cloth and spun thread was admired by all the village folk.

She wove various types of traditional sarees, shawls, ritual cloths, and beautiful carpets.

The lazy wife's husband watched this neighbor's industriousness and success every day.

One day, he told his wife, 'Listen, look at our neighbor, how beautifully she weaves cloth! And look at you—if a good guest comes, there is not even a mat to sit on!'

If a visitor comes, we cannot even offer a proper cloth, and if someone wants to stay overnight, there isn't a single good mat to spread.

One cannot pass life like this! You should go back to your father's house with your children.

Hearing this, the lazy wife grew deeply afraid in her heart.

She was scared and said to her husband, 'You're calling me lazy. After raising so many children, where do I find the time to do other things?'

Well, if you fetch the cotton, I shall show you myself what kind of work I can do.

Seeing that his wife agreed to spin thread, the husband felt deeply delighted and reassured.

Meanwhile, the neighboring woman was listening to all this conversation between the couple.

She then called her husband and said in secret, ‘Listen, listen!’ The husband said, ‘What’s the matter?’

The wife then said, 'The handle of my spinning wheel is broken. Bring a cane from the forest and fix my spinning wheel first.'

The husband said, 'We don't even have thread in the house yet, and you are already fussing about fixing the wheel! What is the real matter?'

The wife said angrily, 'That can be seen later, first fix the cotton-carding bow and the wheel's cord, I shall see to the spinning myself.'

Then the lazy wife's husband brought a bundle of raw cotton from the Kuki tribes in the forest.

They would have to make one sester of cotton thread as a price and give it to that kuki cotton merchant, keeping the rest for themselves.

In traditional terms, the thread that blooms perfectly and flawlessly is called 'Bung' thread.

And the thread that is half-baked or rough is called ordinary thread.

From the finest portions, red thread is derived to weave beautiful garments.

Using that red thread, industrious women weave beautiful and sturdy traditional garments (langou).

The thread brought by the lazy wife's husband contained the fine quality 'Bung' thread.

Bringing that thread to his wife, he said, 'Now weave as much as you can, and prove your worth by outdoing our neighbor.'

If you finish this thread, I shall bring even more for you.

The lazy wife then made excuses, 'You tell me to weave, but I have no bow, no spindles, no spinning wheel, how am I supposed to spin!'

Even my cotton-carding bow is broken, and there is no proper setup to spin in this broken house.

The very next day, the husband went through the trouble of gathering the bow, the wheel, and all spinning tools for her.

Then, to save herself from hard work, the moment her husband left, the lazy wife began tossing the bundles of thread through the window into the industrious neighbor's yard.

The industrious woman gathered those thrown threads, sorted the fine ones from the rough ones, and neatly organized them.

After a few days, the husband asked his lazy wife, 'Oh, why is it taking so long to cook the rice?'

The wife fabricated, 'Oh my, my days are spent making threads from cotton, I don't have time to cook rice. Once I start cooking, it will be over in a moment!'

In truth, she had thrown all the thread into the neighbor's house and kept only a single tiny spindle in her own home.

The husband thought to himself that his wife must be weaving lots of beautiful traditional cloths (phuti).

One day, the husband came home and asked, 'Where did that pile of thread go?'

The wife replied, 'I have finished spinning all the thread! But the we lack of some tools.'

The husband said, 'Well, then what weaving tools do you need?'

The wife made excuses, 'Spindles, shuttles, bobbins, cords, beams—not a single weaving tool is in the house, how can I weave!'

The husband then gathered all tools and, placed them before her, and asked, 'Now tell me, when will you start the shawl?'

The wife lied again, 'Listen, last night there was a scratching sound in Paddy Granary, thinking mice would destroy the thread, I locked everything in a basket and hid it.'

Saying this, she quickly climbed up onto the Paddy Granary (Baron).

The husband asked, 'Let me see how many balls of yarn you have made.'

The wife then repeatedly pulled out her single remaining spindle from the basket to trick him, saying, 'Look here is one, look here is another, look here is more!'

Meanwhile, next door, the industrious woman wove various beautiful shawls and garments with that thread and stored them in her chest.

Another day, the husband said to his lazy wife, 'Let's start knitting together, you and I.'

The wife said, 'There are threads, shuttles, and bobbins, I am a single person managing everything, does thread spin itself!'

The neighboring industrious woman was listening to all these clever lies of the lazy wife from behind the wall.

She then called out to the lazy wife's husband, 'Brother, oh brother! Come over to my place for a moment.'

Hearing this, the lazy wife got scared and said to her husband, 'Oh, I hid it in the Paddy Granary for fear of cockroaches and rats. I'll see to it myself.'

The husband said, 'Very well, go and check.'

Leaving her husband standing in the room, the wife quickly entered the Paddy Granary.

The husband did not see the wife enter the Paddy Granary.

Spin, spin, my weaving shuttle...

Ringworm infected girl scarchd me.

Spin, spin, my weaving shuttle...

Ringworm infected girl scarchd me.

Saying this, she suddenly descended, spinning continuously in tight circles within the Paddy Granary.

Hearing the thud, the husband thought his wife must truly be working hard spinning and weaving.

He came over and said, 'Go and see what that sound was coming from the Paddy Granary!'

Upon seeing her husband, she climbed up onto the grain bin!

She came inside the Paddy Granary, put her hands on her head, 'Alas my fate! All my hard work is ruined!' saying this, she sat flat on the floor.

The husband then quickly climbed a staircase of the Paddy Granary and began observing his wife's strange behavior from inside.

He saw his wife sitting on the floor, pretending and weeping.

The husband asked, 'Why are you crying like this? What happened to you?'

The wife wept, 'Why shouldn't I cry! I spun the thread with such effort, arranged the spindles neatly, and wicked mice came and chewed up all my thread!'

Now I have only one single spindle left, how can I weave a shawl with this tiny bit of thread!

Hearing this, the husband became deeply disheartened and came down from the granary stairs.

The industrious neighbor then called out again, 'Brother, oh brother! Come and see with your own eyes now.' The husband then went to her house.

The neighbor offered him a beautiful low wooden stool (pira) to sit on.

She pulled out the stack of woven shawls from her chest and said, 'Look brother, look at how many beautiful shawls I wove with the thread your wife threw away!'

Meanwhile, realizing her deceit was caught, the lazy wife packed her torn clothes and cotton into a bundle, preparing to flee to her father's house.

The lazy wife's husband sat staring at the neighbor's stack of woven garments, completely stunned in amazement.

The neighbor said, 'Brother, do not be sad at all; I wove these with your thread, take whichever pieces you like, and leave the rest for me as payment for my labor.'

For after all, you went through the trouble of bringing this cotton from the forest.

The husband, overwhelmed with gratitude, said, 'Oh dear child, my kind sister! Do not show me any more unmerited favor.'

I shall rather bring that Kuki trader here and award him half of this labor as a reward.

The neighbor then gifted him a traditional ritual cloth, a fine shawl, and a bedsheet, saying, 'No brother, please take these home with care.'

And the remaining portion I shall share with the Kuki trader myself.

The husband returned to his own house with those beautifully woven cloths, feeling deeply ashamed.

He found his lazy wife in the corner hurriedly tying her bundle to flee to her father's house.

He exploded in fury, 'Oh lazy and wicked woman! I have uncovered all of your deceit!'

Saying this, he sprang forward, grabbed his wife by her hair, and as punishment before society, shaved off a quarter of her head, smeared lime and ink on her face, and banished her from the house forever.