A daughter was once born to a farmer and his wife. From the day of the child’s birth, a dog came daily and laid down in front of the house. When the child would not cease crying, her mother would jokingly say: “Stop, or I shall give you away to the dog.”
And the farmer would say: “Not yet. I will give her away to the dog when she is grownup. I will marry the two of them.”
With time, the girl grew up. One day, the farmer one day was furious. He was upset with his daughter over some matter and in a fit of temper, he told the dog: “Here, take my daughter’s hand. Marry her, and take her away.” the girl was shocked and started crying. She was, however, married to the dog as told by her father.
The mother now regretted her words, which had suggested this idea to her husband in the first place. Before her daughter left with her husband, the farmer’s wife, and said to her: “Here, my child, take this handful of seeds. As you go, quietly plant them along the road, so that I may know where to find you.”
As the girl went along with her husband to a far away place, she scattered the seeds, along the way. At last, she arrived at a field in which was a small baoli, or well. At the entrance of this baoli, she sat down, and told the dog she was thirsty.
“Don’t worry, go and drink the water from the well,” said the dog.
As she climbed down the steps of the well, the dog followed her. In one spot, they saw a ladder leading to the bottom of the well. On her husband’s insistence, the new bride climbed down to the bottom of the well.
Do you know what they found there? To the woman’s surprise, the bottom of the well was not some dry, scary and dinghy place. Instead, they came to a fine house with lovely gardens and flowers, and servants ready to receive them. These belonged to the dog, who was in reality a human. He would assume the shape of a dog when he left the well.
Some months passed, and the farmer began to regret his decision to marry his daughter off to a dog. He wanted to visit his daughter. He expressed his desire to his wife, who told him to follow the track of any freshly sprung-up little plants he might see. The seeds that their daughter had planted may have grown into these plants by now.
He followed his wife’s advice, and the young plants offered clues about the direction, in which her daughter might have gone. Finally, he found a cluster of small trees that led to the baoli. As he climbed down the steps, he too saw the ladder that went to the bottom. He descended to the bottom of well, by it, and found the dog, his daughter’s husband, had become a Raja.
His daughter was delighted upon his visit, and she welcomed him with great love and affection. When the farmer was walking around the palace with his daughter, he noticed a hose a little farther away, surrounded by a beautiful garden. The house was made of gold.
“Whose house is this?” he asked her.
“It is for you and mother, my father.”
So he went in and found everything was in great condition, except that in one of the walls was a great crack. He asked his daughter the reason behind the crack, who pointed him to her husband, Raja, who had joined them by now.
“That crack,” explained the Raja, “was caused when you first drank water at the well. It will remain there until you undo the wrong you did to your daughter. In your fit of rage, you gave her away to a dog. Even though you did not then know who I really was, marrying off your daughter to a dog is wrong. To undo the wrong you must serve as my cowherd for twelve years. Once you have paid your debt you owe to your daughter, the crack in the wall will close.”
The farmer stayed with his daughter for a few more days. Then, he went to his wife and told her all that had transpired. The farmer’s wife was at first apprehensive about leaving her home and going to an unknown place. She was also not sure if it was a good idea to live with her married daughter. It was not common back in the day, you see.
But the farmer convinced his wife and after a few days, the old couple returned to the baoli, climbed down the steps of the well, and reached their daughter’s home.
As was he expected to do ; the farmer became the keeper of the Raja’s cows for twelve years. After this time had passed, the crack in the wall of the house healed on its own.
But the farmer decided to continue taking care of the cows. He loved them immensely, and they showered their love and affection in return. And whenever a naughty calf would try to do any mischief, he would lovingly
scold them, “behave or I will marry you off to an ox.” On hearing this, his wife, daughter and the Raja would all smile.
This story is based on the tale that was published in the book
SIMLA VILLAGE TALES OR, FOLK TALES FROM THE HIMALAYAS
BY ALICE ELIZABETH DRACOTT. This story has been rewritten by gaathastory for language and context.