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Story 125: A Pair of Dice Folktales
Story 125: A Pair of Dice
Author: Anonymous
There are two families living in a deep mountain canyon. One family is very rich, with a flock of cattle and sheep, and many slaves; one family is so poor that even mice don’t want to stay in his house.
The poor family only has a lonely old couple, and they rely on the old man to collect firewood in the mountains in exchange for some tsampa. Once, it snowed heavily for three consecutive days. The old man ran over several mountains without cutting down a single piece of firewood. He felt so sad that he leaned against a cliff and began to cry, mumbling. He muttered: “Oh my god! Now the old woman and I will starve to death!”
Unexpectedly, at this moment, the cliff behind him opened like a door, and a beautiful fairy came out and said, “Old dad, don’t worry, I’ll give you a pair of dice. You can throw them three times and you’ll win.” I can grant you three wishes. Remember, if you ask for four wishes, my dice will not work!”
The old man took the dice, stumbled back to his little stone house, and told the old woman the happy news. The old woman was very happy and prayed: “Fairy! Our hut is about to collapse under the weight of the snow. Please give us a sheltered house!” The old man also said: “Please give us a piece of highland barley land, even if it is A small piece.” The old woman added: “It would be great to have two cows, so we can drink butter tea.”
As they spoke, their roof rose and turned into a strong and beautiful small house. The door There is a piece of highland barley land in front of us, and the golden highland barley is about to be harvested; two fat cows are tied to the edge of the highland barley field, and they scream “moo”, “moo” and “moo” happily!
The changes in the lives of the poor neighbors alarmed the rich man. The rich man came over and asked with a smile: “Good neighbor, where did your new houses, flowered cows, and highland barley fields come from?” The old couple couldn’t lie, so they told the truth. The rich man quickly changed into rags, carried a woodcutter on his back, and sat where the old man had sat, wailing bitterly: “Oh my God, the old woman and I will both starve to death now!” Sure enough, the fairy pushed away. Shimen also gave him a pair of dice.
The rich man was very happy and returned home with the dice in his hands. Before he could pray, his fat wife snatched the dice away and shouted: “I want gold, gold!” The rich man snatched the dice away and shouted: “I want to be a king, a king!”
The fat wife again He took the dice away, raised his hands in the air, and said, “I want to live forever and be as young as eighteen forever!” The couple fought over each other and fought in the room. By accident, the dice fell to the ground, and the two of them lost their voice. He yelled: “What the hell!” Sure enough, the dice turned into a line of smoke and disappeared without a trace. The couple looks at me and I look at you, not knowing who to blame because the fairy has long said that when you make the fourth wish, the first three wishes will all come true.
Narrated by: Shigatse CPPCC Minji Sonamdorji
Recorded on July 10, 1979
Compiled on March 5, 1982
PS: This story is very common in Tibet and can be told by people everywhere. Some said the person who gave the dice was a hermit, some said it was a divine lion, and some said it was a snow pig who cultivated immortality. But the ending is basically the same.
