To Dye a Charkhab

Dangphu Dingphu... there lived a poor couple Thonglay Tashi and his wife Bugizom.

They had nothing that was worth keeping except for a charkhab. Charkhab is a rain gear woven from yak-hairs, also used as a blanket during cold winter months. Thonglay Tashi had waited a long time to dye his charkhab. And finally one morning, he went to the forest to collect dye shrubs.

Before leaving the house, however, he advised his wife to exchange some red dye for a ladle if a dye merchant arrived during his

absence.

Not long after Thonglay Tashi had left, a dye merchant arrived. Bugizom offered to exchange her ladle with the red dye but the

merchant refused. She showed him a bigger ladle, only to be refused again.

Since they had no other valuables, she gave their charkhab in exchange for his red dye. The merchant happily accepted it.

Soon Thonglay Tashi returned with a load of dye plants. As soon as he crossed the threshold, he asked his wife whether a dye merchant had come.

“A dye seller came and I bought the dye you wanted,” she replied.

“My wise old woman did a good job,” Thonglay Tashi said in joy.

“Now take out the charkhab and let me start dyeing.”

But, she replied, “I gave the charkhab to the dye merchant since he refused to accept the ladle.”

“My foolish old woman didn’t do a good job,” Thonglay Tashi said and immediately left the house in pursuit of the dye merchant.

On his way, Thonglay Tashi saw a woman, weaving beside a cave, and recognised her as the dye merchant’s wife. He went near her

unnoticed and sat beside her as if he was meditating. The woman saw him after some time and shouted, “Who are you? Why are you here? Did you come here from heaven above or hell below? Why are you

silent?”

Thonglay Tashi knew that she had lost a son a few years before and replied, “I have come from the hell where your son has broken the

horns of Shenje! He has sent me to get reparations from his parents.” Shenje is the Lord of Death.

“Our son is turning our heads down even from hell. What an expensive mistake! Did he fight with Shenje? Take whatever

reparations Shenje wants,” she cried and offered all her wealth. No sooner did Thonglay leave her house carrying a load of

valuables than the dye merchant arrived home.

His wife refused to speak to him that evening. He finally asked why she was so quiet.

“I’m mad at our late son’s temper. He has broken Shenje’s horns in the hell and the Lord has sent a man to get reparations. The man took all our money, belongings, valuables... whatever he could carry,” she explained, breaking down to tears.

The dye merchant immediately went out to find Shenje’s messenger. He saw a man carrying a load from a distance, and shouted, “Let me see how far and fast you can run before I catch you,” and began to chase him.

Thonglay Tashi ran as fast as he could when

he suddenly came across a man who was ploughing a field. “Run, run, run, a man is coming to kill you,” he shouted. The ploughman immediately ran away for his life while Thonglay Tashi took up the

plough.

The dye merchant arrived soon, panting, and asked for the direction the man had fled.

Thonglay Tashi showed the direction, and off the dye merchant went. After some time, he caught the ploughman and asked him to

return his belongings.

“I’m innocent,” he said and explained how a stranger had fooled him into running.

Meanwhile, Thonglay Tashi returned home with the ploughman’s two oxen and asked his wife, “Take the oxen to a place where the grass is the greenest and most luxuriant.”

Bugizom looked everywhere but wherever she looked she found that only cliffs were all covered with the greenest grass. So, she drove the animals to the top where the grass appeared greenest, and sadly the

oxen fell off the cliff and died.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***