Bellows for the Bullocks

                                                                         Summary

This is a popular folk tale of Haryana. It is a story of a simple peasant who has been created by the thugs and he teaches them a lesson. 

Once there was a peasant. He had a small piece of land and he was hardworking and wise. After a lot of hard work and saving, he was able to save fifty rupees. He decided to buy a bullock with a prospect to make a pair of bullocks with any other poor peasant’s bullock so that both the peasants might be able to do farming in a proper way.   

The peasant visited annual cattle fair. As he had only fifty rupees so it was difficult to buy a good bullock. He looked an old bullock. It was of a good breed. So, he decided to buy that.

After buying the bullock the peasant stated towards his village. The evening fell. He decided to spend a night in the house of a farmer. But that was the house of a thug. The thug had four sons. All were perfect in the act of cheating. They sensed that a simple peasant had come into their trap and could be cheated easily.

They allowed the peasant to stay in their house. They also offered to buy the bullock. Peasant thought to make a profit. He became ready to sell the bullock. He demanded one hundred and twenty-five rupees for his bullock. But the sons of the thug said that it was too much. One of the sons suggested that they should have a Panch for a judicious purchase. The peasant looked at the old thug who was sitting in a corner. He was pretending aloof of this bargain. The peasant approached the old thug to be a Panch. It was an actual plan of the thugs and a simple peasant could not see that.

After testing the peasant the old thug announced that the bullock of the peasant was two and half a rupee. The peasant had no option but to accept the money and he left for his village. He was very sad. He was a man of self-respect. He could not tolerate that he was befooled by the thugs. He decided to take revenge. He made a plan.

Next morning he disguised himself. He put on the clothes of his wife. He was looking like a beautiful woman and went into the house of the thugs. All the sons wanted to marry that woman. They entered in a quarrel to win her. The peasant who was in the guise of a woman demanded different things. The sons rushed to bring that.

When the sons were gone, the peasant took off his guise and gave the old thug a sound beating. He wanted to teach him a lesson. He took five hundred rupees and went away. The sons of thug came back. They were very angry and sad to see the plight of their father but were helpless.      

            The peasant felt that his thirst for revenge had not quenched. He put the guise of a Hakeem and went near the Thug’s house. The thug sent his sons to call Hakeem for his treatment. Hakeem checked the patient and sent the sons in four directions to bring some herbs. As the sons went away the peasant took off his guise and gave the thug another round of pounding. The thug offered two hundred rupees to save his life. The peasant took the money and went.

             The peasant wanted to teach a lesson to the thugs that they would never think to cheat a simple man in the future. He made a plan. He engaged a cowherd to say in front of the thug’s house if the bullock was worth two and a half rupee. The cowherd boy was robust and became ready at once. He did exactly the same. The old thug heard and felt that the peasant was back.  He made his sons chase him. As the sons went to catch him the peasant was again in the house of thugs.

            The old thug begged for his life. He promised that he and his sons would not cheat anyone in the future. The peasant went away. Since that day they gave up the bad habit. And the peasant did not keep all the money for himself. He spent that to renovate the community well and ghats of ponds in his village.