Four Pieces of Advice | A Folk Tale from Uttar Pradesh

A long time ago, a rich merchant lived with his five sons in Banda. Despite having tremendous wealth, the merchant was a miser of the highest order, so much so that he even ate little and expected the same of his family. He didn’t wear good clothes or allowed his family members to do so. He never spared a single penny for charity or liked having guests over.

One day, he summoned his five sons and gave them each a thousand bucks to start their business. Four of his sons set up their shops in Banda itself. However, the youngest son, Jai Kumar, decided to travel to a big city. After roaming around the city, he reached a house where a Brahmin was busy writing something on a piece of paper.

Jai Kumar requested the Brahmin to get him a glass of water. After drinking the water, he asked the Brahmin if he could show Jai what he was writing on the paper.

‘I’ve penned down four pieces of advice. Given how valuable they are, I can sell them to you for a thousand rupees,’ replied the Brahmin.

Jai Kumar bought the piece of paper for a thousand bucks. He then read the four sentences.

The first sentence read: Never walk or travel alone. The second sentence: Examine a bed before sitting on it. The third sentence: Stay awake in times of danger. The fourth sentence: When you bathe, do so in a secluded place. Jai Kumar got home and gave his father the paper he had bought for a thousand rupees. Upset about his son’s folly, the father chased him out of the house.

While walking away, Jai Kumar stumbled upon a mongoose near a pond. He recalled the first advice asking him not to travel by himself. He decided to carry the mongoose in his coat. Feeling tired, he stopped to rest under a huge tree. After having his lunch, he fell asleep under the tree with the mongoose by his side. A cobra spotted the sleeping Jai Kumar and approached him slowly. However, the mongoose attacked the cobra before it could bite the sleeping boy. Jai Kumar woke up from the noise. He used a stick to kill the venomous snake. He realized that the first advice had proved helpful.

At night, Jai Kumar sought shelter at a house. The young woman who lived there welcomed him in and treated him to a nice dinner. She then led him to a luxurious bed to sleep in. Just as he was about to lie down, he remembered the second advice. To his horror, he found a deep pitch with pointed iron spikes under the blanket.

Jai Kumar confronted the young woman for what she had done. He asked her to bring all the wealth she had robbed from the young men who halted at her place at night. The young lady gave him a thousand bucks. He was happy to get back the money he had spent on the paper.

After a while, when he got to a nearby city, he found a house where an old widow lived. The old lady let him stay at her place. When Jai Kumar asked why she looked so sad, she told him a story.

‘A demon lived in a princess’ body. The princess sought a new man every night. It is my son’s turn to go to the palace tonight,’ bemoaned the old woman.

Jai Kumar promised to go instead of her son. He then lit several lamps in the room and waited there with a sword. He now remembered the third piece of advice – staying awake all night. The bright light in the room dazzled the demon for a while as he could hardly see anything. Taking advantage of this, Jai Kumar slew the demon with one stroke of his sword. Happy to see the princess get freed from the demon’s clutches, the king rewarded Jai with luxurious gifts and a lot of money.

Jai Kumar decided to go back home. On his way, he camped near a river at night. In the morning, before going to take a bath in the river, he packed the gifts received from the king in a bundle so it would be easier to carry them. That’s when he recalled the fourth piece of advice – he needed to bathe at a secluded place. So, he avoided the crowd and went to an isolated place to take a bath.

After bathing, he walked away without picking up his bundle. However, along the way, he realized he had left the bundle by the river. He went back looking for it. Luckily, since it was a remote riverbank, no one had come to take a bath there. Jai Kumar was a happy man when he got back home, proud of himself for making more money than his brothers.