A mosquito dressed up in her bangles, her finest silk sari and a long braid, and went around looking for a husband. She searched everywhere, until a young bull asked her, “Hey, sweetie! Where are you going?” “I’m looking for a good husband, that’s what.”
“Why not marry me?”
“What can you do?” asked the mosquito.
“They plough the fields with me all day. At night they tie me up; then I eat straw, sleep and make dung.”
“You won’t do at all,” said the mosquito and continued her search.
Four hoes appeared and asked, “Miss Mosquito! Hey, Beautiful! Where are you going?”
“I’m looking for a good man to marry.”
“Marry me!” said one of the hoes.
“What can you do?”
“I work hard. I dig up soil, cut grass and everything in sight. In the evening they throw me in a corner; I go to sleep and get up in the morning.”
“You’re not what I want either.”
Another day passed, and this time a group of rats appeared; among them was a lame rat who asked the mosquito, “Where are you going, lovely mosquito?” “I’m looking for a husband.” “Marry me, marry me,” said the lame rat. “What can you do?” asked the mosquito. “I can earn a good living. I’ll bring you whatever you want – cooking oil, water, clothes – everything. Besides, I’ve seen the whole world.” “Then you’re the right man for me. I’ll marry you.”
They married and lived a happy family life, but soon troubles arose. When they fought with each other, the mosquito cried and got angry with her rat husband. One day he asked for water and she brought it, but when he drank it – you know how rats drink by inhaling quickly – well, she was sucked right up into his nose! She went in there and died!
She was dead, and nothing could be done. The other rats cried for a while and then collected sticks and made a bier and carried the bones to the ocean. Got to follow all the rituals, you know. When the bier was put in the river, the water became dirty, at the very spot where a wild elephant used to drink.
When the elephant came to drink and saw the water, it said, “You’re normally clear; what happened, Mr River?” “Haven’t you heard?” said the river. “The mosquito, Mrs Rat, died; they collected the bones, put them in the water and now I’m all dirty.”
When it heard this, the elephant broke off one of its tusks in sympathy and lay under a date palm to sleep. The tree asked, “Oh, brother elephant, why are you coming here with a broken and bloody tusk?” “Haven’t you heard? The mosquito, Mrs Rat, died; they collected the bones; put them in the water; the water became dirty; so I broke off one of my tusks.” “Then I’ll drop all my leaves,” said the tree and it did.
Next a crow came and sat on the tree, as it always did, and said, “You’re completely leafless! Where am I going to sit?” “Haven’t you heard? The mosquito, Mrs Rat, died; they collected the bones; put them in the water; the water became dirty; the elephant broke off its tusk; so I dropped all my leaves.” “In that case, I’ll pluck out my eye.” And till this day you can see that the crow has a damaged eye.
The crow always sat on a certain wall and when it did, the wall asked, “Why is your eye dripping with blood?” “Haven’t you heard? The mosquito, Mrs Rat, died; they collected the bones; put them in the water; the water became dirty; the elephant broke off its tusk; the tree dropped its leaves; so I plucked out my eye.” “Then, I’ll fall down,” said the wall and it did.
Now, a farmer’s wife used to walk that way, carrying her husband’s lunch in a bundle on her head; when she saw the wall in a heap, she said, “You have stood here so long, wall! Why have you collapsed?” “Haven’t you heard? The mosquito, Mrs Rat, died; they collected the bones; put them in the water; the water became dirty; the elephant broke off its tusk; the tree dropped its leaves; the crow plucked out its eye; so I collapsed.” “Then I’ll throw this food on the ground and run away. So what if he doesn’t get his food, after all that has happened!” she said and threw the food away.
Back home, when her husband asked about the food, she replied, “So much has happened,” and told him the long story. When he heard all that, the man said, “I’m not going to plough anymore,” and broke his plough. Then his son asked, “Why have you come home so early today, father?” “Haven’t you heard? The mosquito, Mrs Rat, died; they collected the bones; put them in the water; the water became dirty; the elephant broke off its tusk; the tree dropped its leaves; the crow plucked out its eye; the wall collapsed; your mother threw away the food; so I broke my plough.” “In that case, I’m not going to school!” said the boy and broke his slate.
However, he went to school anyway, just for fun. When his teacher saw him and asked why he had come without his slate, the boy told him the whole story about the mosquito. “Then I’m going to burn down this school; I’ve got no work here,” said the teacher. So he burned down the school and ran out of town. That’s the end of the story.
Storyteller: Vijayalakshmi (stories 8-10, 12-15, 18-19, 21-24) Panaiyakkottai, Thanjavur District
Illustration: Amrapali Das
