Long, long ago, there lived an old woman named Rongnu who had seven daughters and several grandchildren. Whenever her grandchildren visited, she used to give them delicious snacks to eat.
On one such visit, the fig trees in the nearby woods were laden with fruit. Wishing to please her grandchildren, Rongnu went into the woods and came back with a basket brimming with ripe figs.
On her way home, she encountered a squirrel that pretended to be lame. The squirrel requested Rongnu to carry it in her basket. Unaware of the squirrel’s intentions, Rongnu seated the animal on top of the basket brimming with ripe figs.
The squirrel ate the figs non-stop until Rongnu got to the village outskirts. It then jumped off the basket and ran into the bushes.
Rongnu’s grandkids, who had been eagerly waiting for her return, removed the banana leaves from the basket to take a look at the figs their grandma had supposedly brought for them. To their shock, the basket contained only a handful of figs. An incensed Rongnu couldn’t forgive the evil squirrel.
Disappointed at the sight of her unhappy grandchildren, Rongnu went back to the forest the next day. The same squirrel acted lame and convinced a gullible Rongnu to carry it in her basket. Rongnu did so. Once again, before she got home, the squirrel ate all the ripe figs and escaped into the forest.
Rongnu then decided to seek a bear’s help to kill the evil squirrel. As usual, she filled her basket with ripe figs and looked for the squirrel. The bear chased the squirrel, but failed to kill it. Unfortunately, this time, a rabbit ate most of the figs in the basket.
Now, Rongnu decided to take a jackal’s help to finish the squirrel off. Once again, she stuffed her basket with figs, but the jackal failed to catch the squirrel. To compound Rongnu’s woes, the squirrel managed to eat most of the figs. Once again, a disappointed Rongnu started looking for an animal that could help her.
Finally, she found a grasshopper that promised to kill the squirrel with its bow and arrow. Both of them walked into the woods. Rongnu collected the figs and went back home. Once again, the evil squirrel acted lame and tried to get into the basket. At this point, the grasshopper killed the squirrel with one shot on its head. Rongnu could finally bring home a decent quantity of figs, and her grandchildren feasted on them. Rongnu shared the ripe figs with her neighbors, too. Everyone had a great time eating them.
Pleased, Rongnu decided to thank the grasshopper and arranged a delicious feast along with three big jars of rice beer. The grasshopper blessed Rongnu with a long, happy life. To this day, when people see a grasshopper perched on a paddy life, they consider it a blessing for a rich harvest.
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 Manipur Animation Workshop.