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The Bird Said Four O’Clock by Ramkant Dixit
The Bird Said Four O’Clocks Story
It is a matter of old times. There was a king He was very intelligent and was eager to know every new thing. There was a Bakoli tree in the courtyard of his palace. Every night, as a rule, a bird would come and sit on that tree and say four different things for the four hours of the night. In the first half he says:
“Which mouth should I feed milk to?
“Which mouth should I feed milk to?”
As the second hour approached he said:
“Don’t look like I say this,
I don’t want to say this!”
When the third hour came he would say:
“Now we will take care of Karabu,
Now what about Karabu?”
When the fourth quarter began he would say:
“May all the bastards die,
May all the bastards die!”
The king would wake up every night and listen to four different things from the mouth of the bird at all four hours of the day. He wondered, what would the bird say? But he could not understand anything. The king’s worry increased. When he failed to understand its meaning, he felt defeated and called his priest. Told him the whole story and asked him the answers to the bird’s questions. Even the priest could not answer together. He asked for some time and went home worried. The four things asked by the king kept revolving in his head. He thought a lot, but could not think of any answer. Seeing her husband surprised, the bride asked, “Why do you look so upset? Tell me, what’s the matter?”
Brahmani said, “What should I tell! A very difficult problem has come before me. In the courtyard of the king’s palace, a bird comes there every night and says four different things as per the routine during the four hours. The king did not understand the meaning of those words of the bird, so he asked me their meaning. But I don’t even understand the riddles of birds. I am in a dilemma as to what answer I should give to the king.”
Brahmani said, “What does the bird say? Please tell me also.”
The Brahmin told all the four stories of the four hours. Hearing this the Brahmin said. “Wow, what a difficult thing this is! I can answer this. Don’t worry. Go, tell the king that I will tell him the meaning of what the bird said.”
The Brahmin went to the king’s palace and said, “Your Majesty, my wife can tell you the answers to the bird’s questions.”
Hearing the priest’s words, the king sent a palanquin to call his wife. Brahmani has come. The king and queen made him sit with respect. When night came, at first the bird said:
“Which mouth should I feed milk to?
Which mouth should I feed milk to?”
The king said, “Panditani, are you listening, what does the bird say?”
She said, “Yes, Maharaj! I am listening. He speaks in half.”
The king asked, “What is this half-talk?”
The Panditani replied, “King, listen, the whole thing is like this –
In Lanka, Ravana became twenty arms and ten heads,
Oh mother, she says, which mouth should I feed milk to?
Which mouth should I feed milk to?”
Ravana is born in Lanka, he has twenty arms and ten heads. His mother says from which mouth should I feed him milk?”
Raj said, “Very good! Absolutely right! You got the meaning right.”
When the second half came, the bird started saying:
I don’t want to say it like this,
I can’t say it like this.
The king said, ‘Panditani, what does this mean?’
Paditani explained, “Maharaj! Listen, the bird says:
“Ghar Jamb Nav Deep
Man without worries,
I don’t want to say it like this,
Don’t look like I say it like this!”
Search all directions, the entire earth, new regions, but you will not find a person without worries. Man is always worried about something or the other. Tell me, Maharaj! true or not ?”
The king said, “You are right.”
When the third quarter of the day arrived, the bird repeated its words as usual:
“Now we will take care of Karabu,
Now what about Karabu?”
The Brahmin said to the king, “Maharaj, let me tell you the meaning of this also. Listen:
Five-year-old girl gets married,
Karma sati bsurti, now we are of Karbu,
Now we will talk about Karabu.
If you tie a five-year-old girl around the neck of a sixty-year-old man, the poor girl will say in anger – ‘Now we are Karbu’s, now we are Karbu’s?’ That’s right, Maharaj!”
The king said, “Panditani, what you said also seemed right.”
When it was the fourth o’clock the bird opened its beak:
“May all the bastards die,
May all the bastards die!”
Then the king said to Brahmani, “Listen, Panditani, what the bird is saying, is it right?”
Brahmani smiled and said, “Maharaj! I have already said that the bird speaks in half. He talks about the death of all such Brahmins:
Whatever you do with the world, whatever you eat, whatever meat you eat,
Eat without snakes, all those snakes will die
May they all die.
Those Brahmins who keep company with prostitutes, consume liquor and meat, and eat food without taking a bath, it is right for all such Brahmins to die. When you speak, is what the bird says right or not?”
The king said, “Fifty-two tola, pav Ratti, all four of your words seemed correct. Blessed is your wisdom!”
The king and queen sent him off with respect, giving him fine clothes and jewelry. Now the respect for the priest also increased more than before in the royal court.
Folktales of Malwa
