THE COBRA'S PROMISE
“Sir, can I drink
water?” seven-year old Harsha asked me.
“Okay sweethearts, I will give you two minutes, all of you
drink water from your bottles,” I declared.
“Sir, I have not brought water,” said little Shristi wearing
a sad face.
“Sir, I also,” nine-year-old Ritesh’s hand went up.
“Well, my darlings, you were supposed to bring… Didn’t you
know that? I asked lovingly.
“Sorry sir,” both, Shristi and Ritesh murmured tamely.
“Don’t worry, Bunty will share with you Ritesh,” I
announced, “and, Sheeba will share with you Shristi.”
“Sir, see,” Bunty
began to complain, “Ritesh is finishing the entire bottle!”
“Ritesh beta, you
can not do that… Bunty had helped you by sharing his water… and, how can you
hurt him by finishing his entire bottle?” I reminded the little brat.
“Sir,” six-year-old Seema’s hand went up.
“Yes, dear,” I encouraged bubbly Seema to say what she
wanted to.
“Sir, that is not good manners,” Seema declared.
“You are right Seema beta;
that’s absolutely not good manners,” I agreed, “Bunty beta, don’t you agree?”
Bunty beta began
to nod his sweet head.
“Sir, our Miss has told us that sharing is a good value,”
eight-year-old Karishma stood up to tell, “But, she has also told us that we
should thank those who help us.”
“Correct,” I supported Karishma, “Children, don’t you agree
with Karishma?”
“YESSSS!!!!” the roof almost came down!
“But, sir, why did Bunty share with Ritesh?” ten-year-old
Rajas asked, “He shouldn’t have.”
“NO!!!!” The class disagreed, “Sharing is a good value.”
“Sir, “eight-year-old Darshan came running to me.
“Yes dear, what you want to tell,” I made him face the
class, “Now, ground well here, tell all of us what you want to tell… tell from
your heart, darling.”
“One day, in school, I shared my Lays packet with my friend
Jiten,” remembered Darshan, “But, he shamelessly started eating the full
packet; then, I gave him one big jaapad …
But, by then, the packet was khaali!”
The class had now turned into a comedy circus…
A ‘hundred
clowns’… all laughing, jumping,
running here and there…
they were telling each
other their great
‘sharing’ adventurers… and, how they had given
some big jaapads…
Hahahahahaha!!!!!
Now, I had a tough job in hand!
“Chalo, I will tell you a nice story, listen to me,” I
announced. But, the circus was still in progress. "It is the story of a COBRA…
HISSSSSS…. HISSSSSS,” I showed them the cobra’s angry head. By now, they were
glued to my story.
Long time ago, there
was a temple in a village. Every day, the people from the village would visit
this temple. On the way to this temple, there lived a cobra, quietly under a
huge Banyan tree. One day, when some village children were playing near the
tree, a small child stamped on the sleeping cobra and he bit the child. The
child died. Immediately, the news spread through the village and a sudden fear
gripped all the villagers.
“There is a poisonous cobra on the way to the temple and he
kills people,” the frightened villagers began to tell each other. So, they
stopped venturing out of their houses. The little children stopped playing out…
and, nobody dared to visit the temple.
When the temple was suddenly deserted, the Priest of the
temple became worried. When he learnt what had happened, he went near the Banyan
tree to talk to the snake.
“My friend, why did you kill that little child?” said the
Priest, “Now, see! The whole village is gripped with fear… No one is coming to
the temple. Please, promise me that you won’t bite, any one, any more!”
The cobra had great respect to the temple Priest
So, now, the news went around the village saying that the
Priest had used his powers to make the cobra docile… That, the poison had gone
out of the snake and no one needed to be scared.
From that day, people started coming out of their houses.
When they saw the cobra, quietly coiled-up under the Banyan tree, some of them
taunted him,” Look, how powerless he has now become… The Priest has taken away
his poison!”
Some started hurling abuses on him… Some started spitting on
him… Some bold children held the cobra by his tail and started dragging him all around…
some began to swing him in the air… and, they all had great fun doing that.
But, the cobra did not do anything. He kept his promise to
the Priest.
Some days later, the Priest was passing by the Banyan tree.
When he saw the bleeding and battered cobra, he was shocked. “What have you
done to yourself, my friend?” he cried out, “Look, at your condition… What has
happened to you?”
The cobra had no strength left in him to talk. “Sir, you had
asked me not to bite,” he managed to complain, “Now, see, what they have done
to me!”
On hearing this, the Priest turned very angry. “You fool,
Yes I did tell you ‘not to bite’…” he thundered, “But, did I ever tell you ‘not
to HISSSS?”
The jumping, yelling
and running had come to a standstill. It seemed, for a while, that this Priest
had made the little snakes docile…
“So, sweethearts, did you like the story?” the Priest asked.
“YESSSSSS”
“What is the moral of the story?”
“We should not give ‘big jaapads’…
Only do ‘HISSSSSS!!!!’…”
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pics.: Roopa Sushil
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