A long time ago, there were three brothers named Tanyen, Zhoshu, and Penhun. While the eldest brother, Tanyen, worked hard all day for a living, the other two brothers lazed around all day. With the little money Tanyen made, the trio struggled to lead a normal life.
One day, Tanyen decided to go out of their village to become rich. However, the two brothers didn’t want him to leave. In fact, they decided to leave themselves so they could somehow get a fortune.
The second brother, Zhoshu, decided to go first and try his luck. He left his village and began walking until he got to the neighboring village by late evening. Hungry and tired, he knocked at the door of the hut where an old woman lived.
Zhoshu requested the old woman to let him stay at her place for the night. The old men allowed him under the condition that he remove all stars from the pool. He found her request puzzling because the stars were mere reflections of the sky. Disappointed, Zhoshu went back home. Now, it was Penhun’s turn to try his luck. Out on his own after a long time, it took him ages to get to the old lady’s shack. When he pleaded with her to allow him to stay at her place for the night, she put forth the same condition. Again, aware of the fact that the stars were nothing but reflections of the stars in the night sky, Penhun headed back home.
Having seen his brothers come back empty-handed, it was now up to Tanyen to turn their dwindling fortunes around. He got to the old woman’s shanty after a long walk. When he sought her permission for an overnight stay, the lady asked him to remove the stars from the pool of water.
Tanyen humbly requested her to give him a bucket. He waded into the pool and began throwing out all water from the pool. He worked hard all night emptying the pool.
In the morning, Tanyen showed the lady the dry pool and told her that he had removed all the stars from the pool of water. Pleased, the old woman took him to a big farm. She gave him the farm as a reward for his industry and intelligence. Tanyen thanked her and went back home happily.
At home, Tanyen told his brothers that he had made a fortune overnight. When his brothers asked him how he had pulled it off, he told them about his exploits from the night before. Hearing it, his brothers decided to work hard, too. The three brothers lived happily thereafter.
Kalai is passionate about reading and reinterpreting folk tales from all over the country. Write to her at kalai.muse@gmail.com to know more about her.
Folk tale adopted and abridged from Naga Journal.