THE SPEAKING HORSE

Once there was a foolish king. He had a beautiful white horse. The king also had a friend. The friend was a pundit and he was very wise. Everyone listened to the pundit and they liked him. The king was angry. He wanted the people to listen to him and not listen to the pundit.

One day the king said to the pundit, ‘Everyone Says you are very wise.  I want you to teach my horse to speak. If you cannot do it, I will cut off your head. ’

The pundit went home. He was very sad. His daughter said to him, ” Why are you sad?” 

The pundit told her. ‘The king says I must teach his horse to speak. No one can teach a horse to speak. I cannot do it, and the king will cut off my head.’  

‘Don’ t be sad,’ said his daughter. ‘Go to the king tomorrow and say to him,“ I can teach your horse to speak, but i will take a long time. Give me your horse for seven years, and I will teach it to speak.” ’ 

‘ But I cannot teach it to speak,’ said the pundit. ‘After seven years the king will kill me.’ 

‘ Seven years is a long time,’ said his daughter. ‘ who knows what will happen before then?’ The pundit went to the king and said, ‘ I will teach your horse to speak, but it will take seven years.’ 

The king laughed and told the pundit to take the horse and keep it for seven years. 

And the wise daughter was right. Before seven years ended, the foolish king died, and the pundit kept the horse.

ANGEL INCARNATE

Henry was a clerk working in a Government Department in Colombo. When he received a transfer order to work in a remote outstation, he did not protest because he was a happy-go-lucky bachelor of 24 years of age in search of adventure. 

Henry booked accommodation in the house of a friend’s relative, a hop, step and a jump from the new office, and at the end of the month, he bade farewell to his parents and departed to his new station. When he got down from the bus at his destination he looked around to enjoy the beauties of nature of the country side. "How beautiful," he exclaimed expanding his chest and inhaling the delicious morning air. However, unlike the busy metropolis, there was not a soul to be seen even to make enquiries about the road he had to take to his boarding house. He saw a cottage nearby and approaching it, whom did he see? There seated on the steps was a girl, very beautiful so much so that he thought she was an angel incarnate. When he spoke to her she did not reply, but ran inside the house and came back with her mother. On his repeating the enquiry, the old lady gave him the necessary instructions saying that the road he had taken was the correct one. He thanked her, surveyed the girl again, and reluctantly went away. 

Thereafter When passing that .way Henry spoke to the girl on days she was out in the garden and to his annoyance she only smiled never spoke to him. Nevertheless, he could not remove her out of his mind. After spending sleepless nights thinking of her, Henry told himself, “Faint heart never won fair lady" and went to see the girl's father one day. The old man who has visited Henry 's office on business (he was the owner of two lorries transporting agricultural produce Colombo) welcomed Henry with open arms. They discussed various matters concerning the old man's business till the girl's mother prepared and brought two cups of tea for them. At last Henry told the old man that the purpose of his visit was to ask for the hand of his daughter in marriage. 

"Aiyo, mahathmaya," said the old man in a sad voice. "I think you don't know that my pretty daughter can neither hear nor speak. She is both stone deaf and dumb!" 

Henry’s chagrin knew no bounds. He wished that the earth would open up and devour him.