Adventures Of Mamariha
In a certain village lived a poor young man named Mamariha. He labored in the fields of the landlord for a living, but he labored hard indeed. One day, at the end of a year, the landlord told him, "Mamariha, I am very happy with your work. Here is your reward." The landlord handed over three coins to Mamariha. Now, this was an extra income which delighted the poor man. He at once set out on a journey. For long he had cherished the desire for having a glimpse of the wide world. On the way, by the side of a hill, he found a young man who looked as sad as one could look. "What's the matter with you, brother?" asked Mamariha. The story the young man told was amazing. One day, while working in the fields of a wealthy man, he stumbled upon a pouch. "This is a beautiful pouch, but I wish I had some food instead of this!" he told himself. Lo and behold, there was laid before him some delicious dishes and some no less delicious drinks! He put them to proper use and understood that the pouch had magic in it.
It was capable of giving him food and drink whenever he needed them. His master came to know about his prize possession and desired to take it over. The young man escaped with his pouch, but only to be robbed of it by a gang of bandits. "Don't feel sad, my friend, take this coin. This is earned with sweat. If you use it in the right way, it should bring you happiness," said Mamariha handing out one of his three coins to the young man. The grateful young man followed Mamariha. The two had not gone far when they came across another young man who too looked very sad. His story was no less strange. He had found a pouch out of which a number of goblins would jump and do any work for you! But he too had lost it to robbers! Mamariha gave him a coin and advised him to invest it in some useful work. This young man too followed him. Before long they met with a third young man. He had chanced upon a pair of magic boots. With them, he could walk on waters. Alas, he had lost them to robbers! Mamariha gave him his last coin. By and then they had come to a crossroads. "Let us part company here. We will meet again if that is written in our destiny," said Mamariha and they took to different roads. The road Mamariha took passed through a forest. At one place he heard some shouts and shrieks. He hid behind a bush and observed that four rowdies were fighting with one another. Soon it became clear to him that they were the gang of robbers now quarreling over the ownership of those stolen pouches and boots.
From their angry exchanges, he also understood that the horse they possessed was a magic horse, capable of flying over treetops. Mamariha sprang out of the bush. The four fighting bandits were surprised. "Listen, boys," said Mamariha in a grave tone. "I ask you to deposit the items here. Then you move away in four directions. When I whistle, come back racing. Whoever will pick up an item, it will become his. If you disobey me, the items will vanish!" "We will do as you say," said the bandits, sure that Mamariha was a supernatural being. Who otherwise could order them about in this manner? When the bandits had gone far enough, Mamariha collected the three items, unfastened their magic horse, and whistled while riding the horse. The four bandits came running only to dash against one another and to see Mamariha flying away, riding their horse. "You fool, you agreed to his suggestion first," one bandit accused another. "Not I, but you," retorted the other. Soon all four were locked in a fight once again. Mamariha threw a glance at them and laughed and flew away. He descended on a lonely spot at the foot of a hill so that no one observed the magic powers of his horse.
He heard an announcement made by the king. It said that whoever can uproot a gigantic tree behind the palace and unearth a treasure buried under it, will get any reward he wished. Mamariha had heard that the king had a beautiful daughter. He walked up to the king and said, "Will you let me marry your daughter if I can do the feat?" "Why not!" said the king goggling his eyes and surveying him. "And what about half of the kingdom?" asked Mamariha. "Granted!" growled the king. "And what about your head if you cannot perform the feat by tomorrow morning? Will it be ours?" he asked. "Granted," answered Mamariha. He waited for the darkness to fall. Then he brought out the second pouch and ordered the goblins to come out and do the needful. By morning the tree had been uprooted and the buried treasure discovered. "How wonderful! Can we see your pouch?" asked the king. Mamariha had no hesitation in handing over his property to his would-be father-in-law. "And what more do you have?" the king asked with curiosity. Mamariha showed him the other pouch and his magic boots and spoke to him about his horse too. There was no harm, he thought, in telling his bride's father about the wealth he possessed. Once the king had them, he smiled and drove Mamariha out of his city. Poor Mamariha! He felt so dejected! He walked on and on till he reached the river bank. He felt both hungry and thirsty.
He plucked some red berries and ate them. Then he leaned towards the river for drinking water. But what did he see? His reflection on the glass-clear water showed that he had grown a pair of horns! He, however, did not lose patience. He drank the water to his heart's content and, to his joy, found that the horns had disappeared. He gathered some more berries and walked back to the city now disguised as a forest dweller. "The most delicious berries one can ever dream of!" he shouted in front of the palace. The princess peeped from her window on the upper floor. Her maids came running and bought the whole lot of berries Mamariha had. The princess ate them and so did her maids and the queen. "Delicious!" they exclaimed. The king, who had stepped into the queen's apartment, threw a couple of the rare berries into his mouth. Suddenly they saw their reflections on the large mirror in the queen's room. They had become a horned royalty! Oh, shame! What to do? The physicians pleaded helplessness before this unheard of disease. The fellow who had sold the berries was not to be found. Mamariha was there of course, but he had shed his disguise. "Announce that whoever can make our horns vanish will wed the princess and get half of the kingdom!" the king told his minister. "My lord, who will believe you? You had promised the same prizes to Mamariha the young man who uprooted the tree," said the minister. The king became the very image of repentance. Meanwhile an official of his located Mamariha and told him about the plight of the royal family.
Mamariha had meanwhile fetched a jarful of water from the river. He proceeded to the palace, poured a little of it into a cup and recited some prayers, and handed over the cup to the princess. The princess drank the water. Her horns vanished. She clapped her hands in joy and told the king, "Father, I will marry this young man and no one else." "So be it, but..." he remorsefully felt his own horns and looked at the horns on the queen's head. "My lord, my magic will not work on you unless you return to me my properties and promise to give me half of your kingdom before a gathering of your subjects." The king was obliged to fulfill the conditions. Mamariha treated them all to the water and their horns vanished. He was married to the princess and was given half the kingdom. Soon he found out the three men whose property the pouches and the boots were. Each of them had grown wealthy investing the coins he had given them. Mamariha offered them their magic items. But they said, "You outwitted the bandits and got them. They are yours!" So, Mamariha reigned for long and did many wonderful things with the help of those pouches and the boots. Once in a while, he rode his flying horse, with the princess seated behind him. His subjects came out of their houses and applauded the feat, looking upward.
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