by Victor Karunairajan
A short story inspired by the Town musicians of Bremen
(June 19, Toronto, Sri Lanka Guardian)The farmer was very proud of his faithful workers who were loyal to him to the ultimate degree. They were all four-footed; the donkey who carried a great deal of burden from the farm to the market and then back to the farm. There were the dog, cat and the rooster and they have all served the farm family faithfully for many years.
But unlike the lot of the donkey, dog, cat and rooster of the town of Bremen in Germany, the farmer was not the ungrateful type to get rid of them when they became old. He made them his much respected senior members of his farm family.
The donkey was assigned the task of being the warden of the barn where there were a couple of other donkeys, some cows and a few heads of goats. The dog was allowed to sleep the entire day so that he could be the night watchman lying on the rug near the front entrance to the house. The mere presence of the cat sleeping near the hearth kept the rats away.
The rooster, who too slept the day in the barn, had a little perch on a tree at the back of the house for the night. It was his duty to keep his eyes open for any strange movements in the night and raise the alarm should it be warranted. All four in a way were on night duty, but not the heavy type. This allowed the farm family to sleep peacefully all through the night.
But one night, strange things happened on the farm. A party of robbers who had eyed possession of the farm for sometime finally decided their time had come to seize it. They were sure since all was so quiet on the farm, it was just a piece of cake they could snatch away especially since the farm family, they knew were out in the city, celebrating the country’s national day.
Although they were quite superstitious about ghosts and devils, it was not a new moon night so they decided that time was most opportune for their evil act. There were four of them and each took a different path towards the house. For a few minutes everything was working to plan but suddenly in all unison there was a deadly scream as if an army of ghosts had descended on them from nowhere.
They fled to a nearby field and hid themselves amidst the tall jute ready for harvest and jingling in the gentle wind of the night. The robbers were so frightened they thought the ghosts had surrounded them. Nowhere to go, they thought their end had come and soon they would be devoured by the ghosts. In sheer shiver and shudder one of them said how a ghost that was near the barn kicked him.
Another said the ghost at the door bit him on his leg and the third related he was scratched by an evil looking devil near the hearth. The fourth recounted a frightening shriek from a tree in the backyard and that was when all four reacted with a scream of their own.
Very soon, the eastern sky turned into a multi-coloured spectacle and when there was enough light, the robbers took to their heels. Till today, they believe the farm house was haunted as much as the field of jute that stopped jingling when the wind stopped.
When people covet that which does not belong to them they may end up by being defeated by their own delusions. Should it be any surprise if donkeys kick, dogs bite, cats scratch and any rooster proudly announces cock-a-doodle-do? It is wiser and indeed proper to stay away from that which does not belong to us.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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