Tales from India by Bali Rai

Author:Bali Rai
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141373256
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2017-06-15T04:00:00+00:00

The Farmer and the Giant

One afternoon, a farmer called Lal Ram was digging a hole. Suddenly his spade hit something solid with a loud thud. Peering down, Lal spotted an earthen jar. He knelt to pull the jar from the ground, and saw that it had been sealed. Curious, he gave it a shake, but heard nothing inside. He set it aside and continued his task.

Later, as he was lying in bed, he began to wonder about the jar again. Perhaps it held something magical, he thought. Or, better still, something very precious? Lal got dressed and went out to his yard, where the jar sat by a well. Lal picked it up and studied it carefully. It was made of brown clay and someone had taken great care to seal the opening. Taking a knife, he began to prise it open.

Suddenly, a cloud of white smoke escaped the jar and rose upwards into the humid air. The smoke swirled in a cyclone, faster and faster until Lal saw a flash of green light. He fell backwards, landing on his behind, and gasped. Standing before him was a giant …

‘MASTER!!!!’ the giant bellowed. ‘You have released me and now I am your slave!’

Lal scrambled away in shock. The giant wore an evil grin and clothes made of fine silk. On his head was a scarlet turban, and his ears were heavy with golden rings.

‘Don’t hurt me, oh mighty demon!’ Lal cried.

‘I WILL NOT HURT YOU!’ the giant replied. ‘I MUST SERVE YOU!’

Lal was confused. ‘You will serve me?’ he asked.

‘YES!’ the giant replied. ‘ASK ME TO COMPLETE ANY TASK AND I WILL OBEY!’

Lal stood and dusted off his clothes. He edged closer to the giant, amazed and more curious than ever.

‘What if I ask you to lower your voice?’ he asked.

‘Done,’ said the giant. ‘What else?’

‘Draw me a bucket of water from the well,’ said Lal.

Within seconds, the giant did as asked.

‘Can it be true?’ asked Lal. ‘Have I really been so fortunate?’

The giant began to laugh. ‘You have,’ he eventually said. ‘But you must agree to one condition.’

Lal nodded. ‘What is it?’ he asked.

‘You must keep me busy,’ the giant explained. ‘When I am busy, I do not get hungry.’

‘What happens if you get hungry?’ asked Lal.

‘Then I eat people,’ the giant told him.

Lal shuddered at the thought but did not run. He had a large farm and there were many tasks the giant might do.

‘I understand,’ said Lal. ‘Now, let me get some sleep and we’ll continue in the morning.’

But the giant shook his head.

‘No,’ he replied. ‘You must keep me busy at all times …’

‘But it’s dark,’ said Lal, ‘and I’m tired.’

‘YOU MUST KEEP ME BUSY!’ the giant hollered.

Lal sighed and asked the giant to tidy his yard. The giant lunged to the left in a flash, and then to the right. All around Lal, his yard grew tidier and within minutes the giant had finished.

‘Done,’ said the giant. ‘Another task …’

Lal groaned. ‘Fetch me ten more buckets of water,’ he said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.