Folktales are a story-telling tradition that have been handed down from generation to generation and are not necessarily true.
A long time ago, a rich man and a poor man had a field in common. They always sowed it with the same seed at the same time of the year.
One year, as was their practice, the rich man and the poor man sowed their field with the same seed. However, God prospered the poor man’s hard work and made the seed grow. The rich man was surprised to find that his seeds had not sprouted.
A quarrel
Angry, he shouted at the poor man saying, “Look, my seed has prospered and not yours.”
The poor man was shocked and protested feebly, “Oh no! It is my seed that has grown.”
The rich man was adamant. “This is my seed that has sprouted.”
The more the poor man protested, the more the rich man was adamant. Finally, he said, “If you do not believe me, then let us find out tomorrow. Come to this field at the crack of dawn and we will ask God to be our judge.” The poor man could only agree.
Trickery
That night, the rich man dug a deep trench in the poor man’s portion of the field and told his son to hide in the ground. “Tomorrow morning, when I come here and ask aloud ‘Whose field is this’, you must say it is mine,” He said. The son willingly agreed. The rich man covered his son with straw and went home.
Early the next morning, many people from the village gathered at the field to witness God’s decision. The rich man went close to the hole in which he had buried his son and said, “Oh God, please find a solution to our dilemma. Please let us who this land belongs to.”
Immediately, the son shouted from his hiding place, “It is the rich man’s land. Indeed, it is the rich man’s land.”
Justice served
But, unknown to the rich man and his son, God himself was in the crowd of people who had gathered. Angry with the unjust behaviour of the rich man and his son God said, “Do not listen to that voice. That is the rich man’s son whom he has buried in the ground. I tell you, this is the poor man’s land.”
All the people there were surprised. They were astounded by the callousness of the rich man. Then God said to the rich man, “As a punishment, your son will stay beneath the earth all the days of his life, as long as the sun is in the sky.”
The rich man’s son was transformed into a mole and spent the rest of his life below the earth’s surface, fleeing with the rising of the sun. Ever since, moles are known to hide from the sun.
Published - September 16, 2024 07:29 pm IST
