The Boy who Killed the Monster

Once upon a time, there lived two children in a faraway village. Both their parents had died when they were still very young. While the elder sister worked the field, the brother tended to a herd of sheep, their only wealth.

Everyday, the brother took the herd down to the riverside for grazing. There was no bridge across the huge river. One could hardly see anything on the other side of the river.

One day, when the brother was playing in the sand by the riverbank, he heard a mysterious voice from the other side of the river. “One on that side of the water, can I come there?”

Surprised, the brother sprung up and looked towards the other side. He saw a faint figure of a man. Scared, he did not reply and went home, driving his herd. He heard the same voice the next day, the day after and every day.

“Who would possibly be there everyday?” he wondered. He did not tell his sister about it. After many days, he could no longer keep the secret. “Sister,” he said one early morning, as he was about to leave the house. “There is a man on the other side of the river, and he wants to know whether he could come here.”

“Why don’t you tell him to come,” she replied eagerly. “We will make him stay with us and work for us.” The boy thought it was a good idea. After letting the herd drink and graze, he walked to the riverbank and listened very carefully. A vague apparition of the man stood there.

“One on that side of the water, can I come there?” he asked. This time the boy called out, “My sister says you can come and stay with us.”

“I will be there with you tonight,” replied the voice.

Back at home, the brother and the sister waited eagerly for the man but there was no sign of him. And soon, they were asleep.

Around midnight, the two siblings were awakened by a cacophony of noise and people crying in the village. People yelled for help. The two of them were terrified. Just then, there was a knock on their door.

The two siblings prayed, fearing for their lives. They did not open the door. The knock went on for a few minutes, and the one outside spoke, “Open the door, I have come as you wished. Open the door or I will eat you both.”

They knew that they were going to be killed, and there was no question of escaping. The knocking went on. Suddenly, the brother got an idea. They kept the door bolt loose to open slowly. As soon as the monster entered the house, they climbed down the attic wall and ran as fast as they could.

They ran without looking back. They were breathless when an elderly monk, with a silver beard and kind eyes, stopped them along the way. “Why are you running, children? What’s the matter?” asked the monk.

They narrated the whole story.

“Please, help us,” they pleaded. “The monster will eat us!”

“Don’t worry, there is nothing to be afraid of. I will help the two of you,” assured the monk, pacifying them. Then the monk took out a long patang (sword) and handed it over to them.

“Take this patang and return home. The sword will be of great help.” Reassured, the two siblings returned home. When they entered the house, the ferocious looking monster was waiting for them in the attic. He stepped down the ladder and jumped at the boy. The boy took out the sword and cut the monsters into pieces.

The remains were buried deep underground. The brother warned the sister not to go near the place.

The next day, when the brother was away, the curious sister went to the garden and dug out the remains of the monster. To her surprise, the monster’s head spoke.

“Please take me home, hide me from your evil brother in the store room. When I get alright, I will drive your evil brother away and we will live a happy, married life.”

The innocent sister was convinced by the monster’s promise. The sister carefully joined the dismembered parts and took the monster home, fed him well and hid him in the store. When the brother returned home that evening, his sister pretended to be sick. “What’s the matter, sister? Are you alright?” he asked her, worried. “Is there anything that I can do for you? Please tell me.”

“There is nothing you can do but there is one thing that might cure me. That’s monkey’s milk. But there is no way you can get it.” The brother promised her that he could do anything for her if it helped her to get better. The brother went to look for monkey’s milk. When he was away, the sister fed the monster.

As the boy kept on walking in the woods, he found a group of monkeys. “Please, my sister is so sick and she needs your milk,” begged the boy.

“Sure,” replied the mother monkey. “Take this little baby, feed it and hide it safely. You might find it useful some day.”

The boy put the little monkey in a cage and went home with milk. He gave the milk to her sick sister.

When he was away, the sister fed the monster. The monster was getting better. That evening she pretended to be sick again.

The next day, her brother was sent to look for bear’s milk. He again managed to get the milk and returned home with a little bear in a cage. The sister fed the monster when her brother was away. The monster got much better. He was recovering fast now.

The sister pretended to be sick again one day. “Now what do you want? I will get it for you,” the worried brother asked her again.

“I am dying now, please get me some tiger’s milk,” the sister replied.

Again the boy returned with tiger’s milk and a little tiger cub.

When the brother was out tending sheep, the sister fed the monster. The monster healed completely. One evening, the sister, pretending to be in a jolly mood, playfully tied her brother’s hands with a rope. The brother was unaware and did not bother much. Then, the girl shouted, “Come here, kill this little devil.”

To his shock, the monster walked out of the store and caught hold of him. “Listen to me, before you kill me, I have a last wish,” begged the boy.

“What is it?” asked the monster. “Please bring down the three cages from the attic,” said the boy. The monster obliged. He brought down the three cages from the attic. “Now, open all at once,” the boy asked. When the monster and her sister opened the cages, the three animals jumped out of the cages. The tiger and the bear killed the monster while the monkey got hold of the sister.

The brother spared her life but she was banished far away into a thick forest. The boy became a king. Tiger, bear and monkey became his loyal protectors.

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