Animal FARM
The rat, cow, pig and the hen were good friends. No one could severe
their bond. But the rat was not quite welcome in that farm. The other
three were there for some purpose, and the rat came from somewhere. All
the same they were good friends.
The friendship lasted a while, until some conversation broke out
among them.
The lady of the house was eagerly waiting for some parcel to arrive
in post. She rejoiced the day it came. The rat kept a close watch on
what the parcel is. He always did it. He did not let a single thing
remain in the house without his touch. He was placing his mark in almost
everything in that farmhouse.
As the lady unfastened the parcel, the rat felt the sight familiar.
He had seen it somewhere. He was shocked when he realized what it was: a
rat trap!
He could not wait to see his friends in the evening.
“Know what! They are going to set me up in a trap!”
“Oh that is really bad,” his friends almost chorused.
“So I think you guys can help me out.” The rat said in a dismal tone,
and turned to hen with a ray of hope.
“Well, what can I do? I’m helpless, right,” saying so, the hen moved
away. Actually he was not least concerned about the trap. Rat traps are
for rats, not for hens. So there is nothing to worry about it.
The rat turned to the pig.
“You know I am not in a position to do anything,” the pig too
followed hen, before waiting for a response from rat. May be his lady
wants to get rid of this ‘rat’ menace. Better stay away from this
creature.
The rat turned to the pig and said: “Sure you can do something about
this.”
“How can I? Sorry, but I can’t help you at this moment.”
They all thought a rat trap could not kill them. After all, a rat
trap is supposed to kill only a rat. They were yet to realize how the
rat trap was going to take a toll on their life.
The following night, the rat got caught in the trap. He made a
squeaky noise, for which the lady of the house woke up. She did not know
it was the result of her trap. So she wanted to come out to trace the
noise. Walking in sleep, the lady trampled on a snake. Now that creature
was quite venomous, and his bite was enough to make her faint.
Fortunately gods smiled at her: she was given life though had to stay
bedridden. Her husband’s first medicine was what everyone knew: chicken
soup. Chicken soup for the soul! He did not make much time to knife
through, so the hen did not make much noise.
The news travelled around the village, and the villagers came to see
the lady. Now this family lived from hand to mouth existence. Hosting
these goodwill guests was a concern. The householder’s eyes turned to
the pig. The creature was supposed to be handed over to the butcher
anyway. There is still much time to do that - the pig had to grow up a
lot more. But now all what he wanted was cash. That’s how the pig had to
sacrifice his life because of the rat trap.
As days passed, the lady showed signs of recovery. There dawned a day
when she looked healthy. But the following morning, her husband could
notice she had died a peaceful death. The venom had been working on her
body anyway, only the outcome got postponed.
He lamented a while, and realized he had to work on the funeral all
alone. That means more money. He was thinking of the cow. That’s all
left for him. But then he had all himself to feed now onwards. He can
survive on something. The husband made up his mind to sell the cow by
selling it to the butcher.
If the villagers knew this story, they would have made a maxim: “Help
your fellow mates the way you can. You never know where your destiny
lies.”
What’s more to write, Aravinda mused. Silently he thanked Ajahn
Brahmavamso for giving the story. Of course he loved the story, as it
gave insights on his life.
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