A Tale of A Mule
Once, there lived an honest merchant. He was a successful merchant too. He sailed too far off places and sold his goods which fetched him a lot of revenues. Every time he returned home, he had brought excellent valuable gifts to his wife.
But his wife was a mean woman! She was a sorceress. Not knowing this, the merchant was kind to her. One day, his ship was caught in a storm. After a long and hard battle in the swollen sea, it wrecked at last. But luckily the merchant and others swam safely to nearby land.
They spent five months over there. They ate fruits, fish, coconut and hunting down the mountain goats. There was a stream that provided sweet water to them. Thus, the stranded passengers pulled on.
One day, they spotted a ship sailing away. They waved and shouted frantically. Meanwhile, one of them had lit the fire. A Sailor on-board noticed the smoke drifting up. At once, he rushed up to the captain and indicated. The ship crew saw all of them. It rescued all of them and took them to their origin. Feeling glad, the merchant went home.
But he had a shock that was waiting for him over there! Thinking that he had died, his wife had married another man! But on seeing her first husband - the merchant, she cast a spell on him that turned the ill-fated merchant into a dog!
The dog wandered off day and night. He hardly got any food to eat. Since there was nothing he could do, he kept drifting from one place to another. One day, the dog strayed into a farmhouse.
On seeing the dog, the farmer tossed some meat pieces and bones to it. To his surprise, the dog ate only the meat pieces and left the bones untouched. It annoyed the farmer!
He picked up a stone and was about to hurt it when his young and beautiful daughter came over there. At once, she stopped her father “Look father, it does not look like an ordinary dog.”
“What makes you say that?” snapped the farmer.
“Look at it,” went on his daughter, “No ordinary dog would leave a bone! Even a puppy would not want to spare a bone to its own mother. Then, why this dog alone seems to be an exception to this habitual practice? I have a feeling that it is under a spell. Someone might have cast a spell on someone. Hence that person had turned into a dog now!”
The farmer regarded the dog for some time. He seemed convinced about it “Okay, you know some black magic and how to remove a spell. Don’t you? Remove the spell and we will know who the fateful person is!” he suggested.
The girl snapped her fingers at the dog. Feeling the friendly atmosphere, the dog went to her. She brushed it for a while, then rushed in and brought a bowl. Inside, there was some magical water! She sprinkled the water on the dog. The next moment, the spell was removed and the dog regained its original form as a man. It was the merchant!
He narrated to them what had happened. “What a cruel woman my wife is? I want to teach her a lesson,” he said. After a brief stay over there, he thanked the two and collected a bowl full of magical water from the girl which could turn one into a mule for 20 years, and went home!
On seeing the merchant who had gained his human form, his wife was startled. Before she could react, the merchant swung into action. He picked up the bowl and removed the cover and tossed the content on his wife!
She gave a piercing scream! Then a cloud of white smoke appeared where she was standing! From the smoke emerged a mule! She was then turned into a mule!
Having paid her back in her own coin, the merchant took a stick and beat the mule that ran away helter-skelter. Meanwhile, her second husband came out. He saw what had happened. The next moment, he took to heels!
The merchant chased the two wily people! After that, he lived happily.