Once upon a time, there lived a widow who was very old to work in the fields. She hardly had anything to eat and even lived in a poorly built shack. She led a pitiable life without anyone to support her.
On a very rainy night, a king happened to travel through her village. Not finding a suitable place to halt at night, the king had no choice but to stay in the old lady’s hut. The king tied his horse outside the hut.
In the middle of the night, a tiger showed up outside the woman’s shack. It ate the horse and slept where the horse had been tied. Meanwhile, inside the hut, the widow was narrating her story to the king. She told him that she wasn’t afraid of wild animals like tigers, but rather used to get upset because of Chachurut. When it rained heavily, her hut leaked and she shivered in the cold wind.
Listening to their conversation, the tiger was surprised to learn that the old widow wasn’t scared of him, but of Chachurut. He wanted to know how powerful Chachurut would be.
The king’s men got up early before dawn. It was still pitch-dark outside. In the darkness, the soldiers accidentally saddled and bridled the tiger. Riding the tiger, the king began whipping it hard when the poor animal began walking toward the forest. He whipped it even harder in his desperation to get to the palace soon. To avoid getting whipped, the tiger ran toward a narrow cave. The king fell off the tiger’s back. For its part, the tiger got stuck inside the cave.
The king could only see the tiger’s tail. Annoyed, he began tugging at its tail. Finally, the tail came off the tiger’s body and that was all the king could get his hands on. Disappointed, he got back to his palace with the tiger’s tail.
After the king left, the tiger came out of the cave. Scared of Chachurut, the tiger, who was already in great pain after losing its tail, ran to the nearby stream. It sat in the running water to ease its pain.
A crab in the river got the scent of the tiger’s blood and bit the poor animal. The crab’s fangs hurt the tiger, getting stuck in its wound. The tiger died a few days later due to the unbearable pain. The old widow was finally safe from the tiger that had come to devour her.
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 Tribal Folk Tales of Tripura by D.K. Tyagi.