what is the theme of The Envious Neighbour
Answers
Answer:
I hope I have been able to prove to you that there are two sides to every story. If I don’t have you convinced yet, maybe this story will be just what you need.
My final villain story is about an envious neighbor. In the story everybody knows, this neighbor’s envy causes him to do some pretty evil things but that’s not exactly how the true story went. Let’s get started.
There once was an old couple who didn’t have any children. Because of this, they cared for their little dog like he was their child and the dog was very loving in return.
One day, while the man and the dog were working in their garden, the dog came across something special. The man went to where the dog was barking and started digging. He struck against a box and when he pulled it out, he found that the box was full of gold!
The man and the woman were so pleased that from then on, they gave the dog all the best foods and treated him like a prince.
The original story says that the envious neighbor heard of the dog's abilities and became very jealous but really, the old couple BRAGGED all day every day about this dog every chance they got. They never stopped talking about how the dog made them rich! They were just asking for people to be jealous and they never talked about anything other than their dog and their wealth.
So, naturally, the neighbor did get jealous and he wanted to see if the dog’s power would bring him the same riches. It took some convincing but finally the old couple let the neighbor borrow the dog for a while to see if there was any gold in his garden.
The next morning, the neighbor went out to his garden with the dog and when the dog began scratching at a spot, the neighbor was certain he had found more gold. However, after digging up what he thought was going to be treasure, he only found old, smelly bones. The dog was excited about this find and began chewing on one of the bones which eventually made him sick and he ended up passing away shortly after. The original story says that the neighbor killed the dog out of anger, but it was really just an accident that the dog brought upon himself.
The neighbor felt awful and he knew he had to tell the old couple what had happened and when he did, the man went to get his dog so that he could bury him under the tree where the dog found the gold. The old couple mourned their loss day after day and were very sad. Sometimes when people are sad they look to blame someone for their heartbreak and that’s exactly what the old couple did. They blamed the neighbor.
One night, while the old man was asleep, he dreamt that the dog told him to cut down the tree and build a mortar out of the wood. The man hesitated to do so at first but when he told his wife about the dream, she said they had to obey what the dog said. So, the man cut down the tree and built the mortar.
When it came time for the old couple to use the mortar to pound their grains, they found that the mortar turned the grains into gold pieces! Once again, the dog had made them rich and, once again, the neighbor wanted to become rich as well. He asked to borrow the mortar and when the old couple let him, he immediately went to test it.
The neighbor’s result was different than the old couple’s though. Instead of gold, the mortar turned his grains into smelly berries. The neighbor was confused so he kept pounding and accidentally pounded so hard that the mortar flew out of his hands and it broke as it landed in a fire that he had made nearby in order to keep himself warm. It was an honest mistake and the neighbor felt horrible. He went to tell the old couple and they were, once again, heartbroken and convinced that the neighbor did this on purpose.
Once more, the dog appeared in a dream and told the old man to take the ashes of the mortar and throw them down onto the Duke when his procession arrived in the town.
The old man did exactly as he was told. He went to the top of a tree and waited for the procession. When they came down the street below him, he threw the ashes down and the ashes turned into beautiful white flowers. The Duke was so pleased that he order the old man to his castle in order to give him rich presents.
The neighbor, once again, heard of the riches that the old man had received and figured he’d try once again to get some riches as well. He took what remained of the ashes from the mortar and went to where the Duke was. He threw the ashes down at the Duke and his procession, but instead of the ashes turning into flowers, they stayed ashes and went directly into the Duke’s eyes. He cried out in pain and ordered that the neighbor be put into prison.
The neighbor obviously didn’t mean for the ashes to be thrown into the Duke’s eyes. He was simply trying to receive some riches so that he and his wife wouldn’t be poor anymore. But that didn’t matter to the Duke, and the neighbor stayed in prison for a long time.
Answer:
COVET ALL, LOSE ALL
JEALOUSY DESTROYS YOU
KINDNESS CAN'T BE BOUGHT WITH RICHES
LOYALTY
ALWAYS BE KIND
Explanation:
This is a JAPANESE FOLK TALE. Above mentioned are some common theme and moral of the lesson. The jealous old couple ruined what they had bcz of their greed. Here, the dog shows its loyalty to the GOOD old couple consistently! It helps them bcz of their true and kind nature while the greedy neighbours only wished for treasure,riches and nothing more. They even killed the dog in anger and later burned the motar too! Finally collecting its incense they went to the king but it didn't revive the withered tree and blocked the king's eyes and almost got beaten to death. Finally, the good old couple reproved them for their greed and shared their own riches with them. Thus they lived a virtuous life from then on.