The ashes that made trees bloom short summary
Answers
An old childless couple lived in a village with their dog. They loved the dog very much and cared for it well. Once, when they were working in their fields, the dog that was playing nearby directed their attention to a particular spot. When the old man dug up the spot, they found immense wealth buried below. The couple gave the neighbors a feast, the poor some alms and bought themselves some more lands. They had become rich in a short span of time.
When the jealous neighbor heard the tale, he borrowed their dog for a day. After giving it a feast, the neighbor asked the dog to show him a treasure in his land. After a lot of sniffing, it stopped at a spot. The neighbor hastily dug up the spot to find just a lot of stinking dirt. Angrily, he beat the dog to death. When the owner went to ask for his dog, the neighbor told him what had happened and that he had buried him at the root of a pine tree.
That night, the dog appeared before the old man in a dream and told him to make a mortar out of the pine tree and use it for his grinding needs. The man did as he was told and as they told. Just as they were about to pound their rice on it, the rice turned to gold. Once again, the neighbor borrowed the mortar. But, their rice turned to filth. Annoyed at this, he broke it and burnt it.
Once again, the dog appeared in the old man’s dreams and told him to take the burnt ashes and sprinkle it on the withered trees. So, he went to the neighbor and collected the ashes and proceeded to do as he was instructed. Soon, all his trees were blooming. When the Prince of the land heard this, he sent for the old man to prove this and rewarded him handsomely when he did so. The neighbor hurried to collect the remaining ashes and went to the palace claiming that he too had the same power to revive withered trees. When the Prince asked him to do so, not a single tree flowered. Instead, the ashes started choking the Prince who became very angry. The soldiers beat him black and blue, and he returned home in a bad shape.
Answer:
Once there lived an old couple. They had a pet dog. They had no child. They loved the dog as if it were a baby. The dog was called Muko. The kind couple fed the dog with their own forks. In return, the dog also loved them much.
The old man was a farmer. Every morning Muko followed him to his fields. A heron walked in the footsteps of the old man to pick up worms. Like his master, the dog also never harmed the bird.
One day, the dog put his paws against the old man’s legs. He motioned with his head to some spot behind. To please his pet, the old man followed him. At a little distance from there, the dog stopped. It started scratching the ground. To help his pet, the old man struck his hoe in the earth. Now there was a pile of gold before him.
So the old couple became rich. They gave a feast to their friends and helped their poor neighbours. In the same village, there lived a wicked old man and his wife. They brought the dog into their garden. They set before him good food. But the dog was afraid. He neither ate nor moved.
They dragged the dog out of doors. They walked with him. When they reached a pine tree, the dog began to scratch the ground. The wicked couple was delighted. Both of them dug the ground. What they got was a dead kitten. The couple was very angry. They killed the dog. Then they flung him into the hole they had dug. They heaped the earth over his carcass.
The incident of the dog’s death reached the ears of its owner. He felt so sad as if he had lost his own son. He went to the place where his pet had been buried. He mourned for a long time. He called him many dear names as if he were alive. That night he saw his dog in his dreams. The dog asked him to cut the pine tree and make from it a mortar. He also asked him to make from that wood a mill.
The incident of the dog’s death reached the ears of its owner. He felt so sad as if he had lost his own son. He went to the place where his pet had been buried. He mourned for a long time. He called him many dear names as if he were alive. That night he saw his dog in his dreams. The dog asked him to cut the pine tree and make from it a mortar. He also asked him to make from that wood a mill.
The old man did as he was told. With much labour, he made a small bowl of the wood. Then he made a long handled hammer of wood. When the new year drew near, he decided to make some rice pastry. They put the boiled rice in the wooden mortar. The old man used the wooden hammer to pound the mass into dough. When the pastry was ready for baking, it turned into a mass of gold coins. The old woman took the hand-mill, and filling it with bean sauce began to grind. The gold dropped like rain. At this moment the envious neighbour peeped into the window. He decided to borrow the mill.
The old couple readily gave their mill to the neighbour. The man began to pound the rice and the woman began to grind. However, this time the pastry and sauce turned into worms. They broke the mill into pieces to use it as firewood.