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Friday, 2 November 2012

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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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