Summary:
This is a typical Indian fork-tale. A hard working young peasant (Sindhu) was lucky enough to possess three dancing goats. The three dancing goats brought him all the desired and his widowed mother and a pretty wife also felt comfort.
The man lived with his mother in a little bamboo hut and they had a small plot of grazing land. They had a couple of cows. The mother asked him to sell the cows as there was not grain due to the drought. But he loved them very much so did not want to sell. While coming to the market, he met an old woman. She admired his love for the cows so wished to exchange the cow with her three dancing goats and promised to take well cared for the cows. Sindhu did not like the idea first but when the woman played a little bamboo flute and the three goats began to dance to the tune, he believed what the old woman said about them. They were lovely goats from the Himalayan region having long hair, long flapping ears and round noses. He hoped that he would be able to earn a few pennies everyday by entertaining the village folk.
But when Sindhu’s mother saw the goats, she thought her son had been cheated by the wicked market woman. But Sindhu convinced her that the goats would someday bring them luck. The daughter of Sindhu’s land-lord soon heard of the dancing goats and wanted to see their dancing. He played his flute at her house and the three dancing goat danced. The daughter asked the price to buy them but Sindhu agreed to give one in a barrel of foodstuffs to his widowed mother. The girl agreed and was delighted to own a dancing goat. But the single goat did not dance and she bought another one giving him a gold ring and a barrel of foodstuffs that time. But again the two goats did not dance so she asked for the third goat and the magic of the flute that made the goats dance. He agreed to give her but wanted to know the meaning of the three different colored stones set in the gold ring she gave him. She told the meaning and asked him to keep secret.
One day the land owner announced that whoever could name the three strands of hairs hidden among her black silken tresses can be the bride for his daughter. Many young men came to tell the secret but could not make the right guess. Sindhu heard about it but thought that the owner would not like him. So he thought to disguise. He went there wearing a special uniform. He looked very attracting in his gay attire. Nobody recognized him. He stood calmly by his master and declared the secret.
The novel lady had one hair pure white, the colour of a diamond; one dark red, the colour of a ruby; and one bright green, the colour of an emerald. These three strands of hair are hidden among her black silken tresses.
The land owner asked him to tell how he came to know that secret. He told the story from the very beginning. The landowner told her daughter that she was his bride since she had given him her ring. Other suitors cried that it was an error of destiny and a curse of God. But Sindhu replied that it was a triumph of faith, love and patience. Then the pair married and lived happily ever after.
Question-Answers:
a)Where did the boy and the mother live?
Ans. The boy and mother lived in a little bamboo hut.
b) Why did his mother want to get rid of their cows?
Ans. His mother wanted to get rid of their cows because they did not have grain ( food ) to feed them due to the drought.
Posted on December 2, 2019 by Teach for Life with Narayan
This is a typical Indian fork-tale. A hard working young peasant (Sindhu) was lucky enough to possess three dancing goats. The three dancing goats brought him all the desired and his widowed mother and a pretty wife also felt comfort.
The man lived with his mother in a little bamboo hut and they had a small plot of grazing land. They had a couple of cows. The mother asked him to sell the cows as there was not grain due to the drought. But he loved them very much so did not want to sell. While coming to the market, he met an old woman. She admired his love for the cows so wished to exchange the cow with her three dancing goats and promised to take well cared for the cows. Sindhu did not like the idea first but when the woman played a little bamboo flute and the three goats began to dance to the tune, he believed what the old woman said about them. They were lovely goats from the Himalayan region having long hair, long flapping ears and round noses. He hoped that he would be able to earn a few pennies everyday by entertaining the village folk.
But when Sindhu’s mother saw the goats, she thought her son had been cheated by the wicked market woman. But Sindhu convinced her that the goats would someday bring them luck. The daughter of Sindhu’s land-lord soon heard of the dancing goats and wanted to see their dancing. He played his flute at her house and the three dancing goat danced. The daughter asked the price to buy them but Sindhu agreed to give one in a barrel of foodstuffs to his widowed mother. The girl agreed and was delighted to own a dancing goat. But the single goat did not dance and she bought another one giving him a gold ring and a barrel of foodstuffs that time. But again the two goats did not dance so she asked for the third goat and the magic of the flute that made the goats dance. He agreed to give her but wanted to know the meaning of the three different colored stones set in the gold ring she gave him. She told the meaning and asked him to keep secret.
One day the land owner announced that whoever could name the three strands of hairs hidden among her black silken tresses can be the bride for his daughter. Many young men came to tell the secret but could not make the right guess. Sindhu heard about it but thought that the owner would not like him. So he thought to disguise. He went there wearing a special uniform. He looked very attracting in his gay attire. Nobody recognized him. He stood calmly by his master and declared the secret.
The novel lady had one hair pure white, the colour of a diamond; one dark red, the colour of a ruby; and one bright green, the colour of an emerald. These three strands of hair are hidden among her black silken tresses.
The land owner asked him to tell how he came to know that secret. He told the story from the very beginning. The landowner told her daughter that she was his bride since she had given him her ring. Other suitors cried that it was an error of destiny and a curse of God. But Sindhu replied that it was a triumph of faith, love and patience. Then the pair married and lived happily ever after.
Question-Answer
a)Where did the boy and the mother live?
Ans. The boy and mother lived in a little bamboo hut.
b) Why did his mother want to get rid of their cows?
Ans. His mother wanted to get rid of their cows because they did not have grain ( food ) to feed them due to the drought.
c) Why did the boy not want to sell his cow’s to the butcher?
Ans. He loved the cows very much. The thought of selling the cows they loved so much distressed him. He could not bear or see that the cows were being cut. So he did not want to sell his cows to the butcher. He wanted to beg the purchaser to take great care of them.
d) Why did Sindhu accept the bargain after seeing goat’s dance?
Ans. Sindhu was amused at the performance of the dancing goat. He believed that they might bring him a fortune and he would be able to earn money by entertaining the village folk. So he accepted the offer seeing goat’s dance.
e) What sort of advice did the old lady give to Sindhu?
Ans. The old lady adviced him to be content with what he had got.
f) Why did the landlord’s daughter want to buy a goat?
Ans. The landlord’s daughter wanted to buy a goat for her entertainment.
g) What price did Sindhu ask for the goat ?
Ans. Sindhu said that the goat could not be purchased with money. He asked a barrel of foodstuffs to his widowed mother for the goat.
h) Why was Sindhu attracted to the girl ?
Ans. Sindhu was attracted to the girl because she was beautiful.
i)What did the girl ask for along with the third goat?
Ans. The girl asked for the flute along with the third goat.
j)What were the colours of the three stands of hair? What did these colours stand for ?
Ans. See the fifth paragraph of the summary.
k)How was Sindhu able to enter into the Manor House ?
Ans. He was able to enter into the Manor House by disguising in livery.
l) Did the goats really bring luck to Sindhu? How?
Ans. The goats really brought luck to Sindhu by enabling him to marry the beautiful daughter of his boss in a mysterious way. The poor and hardworking youth succeeds in marrying the charming and rich girl. It is impossible otherwise.
m) What two factors of a folk–tale that are missing in the story?
Ans. The two factors of a folk-tale that are missing in the story are talking of animals and witch craft.
n) Describe the various ways of Marriage in Nepal or write an essay on ‘ Marriage in Nepal’.
Ans. Marriage is the legal relationship between a husband and wife. Nowadays, there are different forms of marriage like arranged marriage, love marriage, temple marriage, court marriage, etc. Anyway, it is a legal freedom for a boy and a girl for sexual intercourse and living together.
In Nepal, we find arranged marriage in most of the cases. The parents find husband for their daughter or wife for their son. The relatives or any other persons who know both boy’s and girl’s family work as a matchmaker. The decision of marriage is taken by considering the equality of caste, education and family status and prestige, physicality of the girl and boy, etc. The bride, bridegroom, their relatives, and guests assemble at the bride’s house. They decide the day of marriage. This is the favorable day chosen by the astrologer. The bride and bridegroom dress in richly decorated clothes and the bride’s sari is usually red. She wears much good jewelers. The bride’s father offers his daughter to the groom. Then the bridegroom makes offering before a sacred fire pit and sacramental part of the rites begin. Each item of ritual is accompanied by hymns. Sometimes, there is Nepali Baza and dance. The bridegroom takes the bride’s hands and asks her to be his wife. The priest ties their garment together. When the ceremony ends, they come to bridegroom’s house. Eating delicious food and meat is common in all types of marriage.
This is what actually takes place in Hindu marriage. But in love marriage and marriage of the people who belong to different cast and religious marry in different way. In love marriage the boy and girl elope somewhere for a while and return to the boy’s house. There are many ways of marriage in Nepal.
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