Color Beneath The Color
In a certain village lived an old widow. Among her pets was a white fowl. It was a robust and handsome bird. Whoever saw it, appreciated it. One evening the fowl was not to be seen. The widow searched for it in the neighborhood, but in vain. She passed a sleepless night. The fowl, in one of its happy moods, had reached the other end of the village. Sundar who owned a roost of fowls saw it and felt the temptation to add it to his stock. But many in the village knew the widow's pet. In order to deceive all, he bathed the fowl in yellow and shut it in his henhouse. The fowl passed the night as Sundar's prisoner. In the morning, as soon as Sundar opened the henhouse for his own fowls to come out, it also leaped out and ran away at great speed. Sundar chased it and once lay his hands on it, but flapping the wings and screeching aloud, it slipped away. In its nervous flight, it entered the compound of Gopal. Immediately he took hold of it and fastened it to a pillar. He planned to sell it in the market in the afternoon. Lest its owner should claim it, he bathed it in white. The fowl which was originally white looked white again. The widow had resumed her search for the fowl. She was accompanied by a few of her well-wishers. The party, in the process of their inquiry, soon reached Gopal's house and the widow exclaimed. "There, there is my poor fowl!" But Gopal protested. They quarreled loudly. That attracted a passer-by who was none other than the landlord.
"What is your dispute?" he demanded to know. "I find my lost fowl in the possession of this fellow," complained the widow. "What is the color of your fowl?" asked Gopal, hiding a derisive smile. "White, of course!" asserted the widow. Looking at the landlord, Gopal said, "Sir, this fowl, which is mine, is yellow by its true color. I bathed it in white for fun!" "Can you prove it?" asked the landlord. Gopal washed the fowl and it looked yellow. Gopal laughed, having succeeded in giving the lie to the widow. Just then Sundar reached the spot and laid his claim to the fowl. "This is mine. My fowl was the only yellow fowl in the village," he claimed. The landlord looked at the widow and said, "Now you know that this fowl is not yours, for this is not white. This is either Sundar's or Gopal's!" "This is mine," said the widow firmly and, while Sundar tried to stop her, she washed the fowl once more and it looked white! The landlord now looked angrily at Sundar and Gopal. "You culprits! Both of you claimed the fowl to be yellow. Now we know its true color. It belongs to this woman. One of you had colored it yellow, to hide its whiteness. The other colored it white to hide its yellowness. You must pay a fine of fifty rupees each!" No amount of entreatment softened the landlord.
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