Hollow tree ghost

There was a spook in the forest! That is what everyone said. But Sonu was doubtful.

Illustration by Sreejith R. Kumar

Rino was a lazy woodcutter who lived in a village. Everyday, he dragged himself into the forest and whiled away his time dozing under the trees. He aspired for affluence but was not prepared to work for it. One day, while strolling through the forest, he thought,” I must do something to get rich.” Lost in thought, he stumbled over an uprooted tree.

An idea struck Rino. He cut off the branches and hollowed out the tree. Then he made a large opening at the bottom and two holes at the top. He entered the hollow. There was no way of knowing that there was a person inside the tree.

Ghostly intervention

Rino stood awaiting his prey. Two travellers came by and they decided to rest under the tree. They sat down and unpacked their lunch. Rino was hungry as he had not eaten since morning. He spoke in a deep voice from inside the tree. “I am the ghost of this tree. Give me some food or I will kill you.” The travellers were shocked and trembled with fear. Leaving their food and bags, they ran away. Rino hastened towards their belongings and was overwhelmed to see the bags full of money. He went home, hid the bags and had a splendid lunch.

These incidents began to happen more frequently. Soon, life became comfortable for Rino because of the money he collected. The news of the ghost in the forest spread to the villages and people stopped taking the route through the forest. But the new route was almost four times longer than the previous one. The villagers tried to find a solution to drive away the ghost.

Sonu, a wise boy who lived in the village, did not believe in ghosts. He knew that no tree could speak and walk. He decided to help the villagers. Equipped with a packet of chilly powder and some food, he set out. He walked briskly and reached deep into the forest. After searching diligently he found the mysterious tree. He approached it and sat down. Rino was thrilled to see his new victim. He shouted, “Give me all your valuables and food. Otherwise I will kill you.”

Sonu looked carefully in the direction of the voice and found two eyes peeping through the tree. He stood up and threw chilly powder into the eyes. Rino yelled in pain and jumped up and down in anguish. His eyes seemed to have been set ablaze. He fell to the ground and cried for help. “I will return everyone’s valuables, but please help me. I don’t want to be blind.”

Sonu felt sorry for him and washed Rino’s face. After washing his face several times, Rino felt better.

He said, “Friend, I am ashamed of my behaviour. Please forgive me.”

Sonu replied, “You have to return everything to the villagers.”

“Definitely. But will they forgive me?”

Sonu was silent as he knew that the villagers were annoyed because of their loss. He thought for a while and said, “Tomorrow morning bring the stolen goods and keep it near the tree.” Rino agreed and left. Sonu returned to his village and told people that he had met the ghost who wanted to repent for his evil deeds. The villagers were thrilled to see Sonu’s courage. The village head said, “Tomorrow we will go into the forest.” The villagers agreed. The next day, when they arrived at the spot they found their belongings there. Sonu saw Rino standing behind a banyan tree with folded hands and tearful eyes. He was happy that Rino had realised what he had done.