Wednesday, May 21, 2014

THE BURR MEN

Once upon a time, there was a boy whose name was SOK and another boy SAO living in the same village. SAO was a malevolent boy who usually argued with every one when he played with them. His parents spoiled him so much that the villagers felt very angry and hated him. While SOK was a polite orphan, living with his poor old grandma. When playing with the village boys, SOK never had any argument with them. The villagers were so fond of SOK that they often gave cake and food to him. Thus that deed made SAO feel jealous and angry and he was even vicious. He always made trouble and hit the other children in the villagers. So the parents had arguments because of spoiling their children respectively.

When they grew up, SAO went to meet SOK and entreated, "Hey! Let's go to cut the bamboos to make lattices for your house, because it is decayed." "I don't have a sharp knife and rice, fish and meat as well," SOK replied."I do. You don't need to have them; you can go with nothing," SAO told SOK. "Grandma, brother SAO invited me to cut the bamboo trees for the lattice to repair our house," SOK told his grandma, "and he is responsible for food." "Don't go to that forest because it is quiet," Grandma dissuaded."Don't worry, grandma," Grandson replied, "our house is old and decayed. With the bamboo lattices, we can replace the old ones so that you won'step down and hurt your feet.""Ok, so you can go and grandson SAO, please take care of your younger brother," Grandma requested SAO. Then, they both left the grandma.

When they arrived in the bamboo forest, they cut the bamboo trees and stripped them into lattices. Then, they sat face to face having lunch. "SOK, your life is going to end right now," SAO thought. He took out the curved sharp knife and thrusted it into one of SOK's eyes, who was having meal. "Why did you thrust into my eye?" SOK cried with pain. "You not only eat my meal but also want to take my lattices," SAO answered. "When you persuaded me," SOK replied, "I told you 1 had nothing, but you guaranteed for every thing if 1 came with you. Now you can take the lattices if you want; please don't kill me.""You are very stubborn, please meditate for the Dhanna before you die," SAO shouted and then he took the knife and poked into the other one of SOK's eyes. The blood quickly shed on SOK's face. SOK was blind; he was regretful with his life and felt pity for his grandma, who was at home alone. "I'll throw you into the river for fish's prey," SAO said. After that SAO kicked SOK into the river which was flowing very fast.

SAO thought that SOK was dead so he collected all bamboo lattices and went back home. He went over to the grandma's house and told lie, "Grandma, SOK has been eaten by a tiger." SAO was happily walking nearby his home as usual and his deed of aggression was still the same. After grandma heard this news, she cried nearly dying. "Grandson, where are you? I am painful when not seeing you," Grandma sobbed.

Talking about SOK, he swam on the surface of the flowing water, meditating the Buddhist words "Puthor! Puthor" without stopping. At last he got to a hut of a hermit near the riverbank. The hermit was very magically powerful and had two big crocodiles sleeping under his hut. The two crocodiles could transform them selves to be human.

When the crocodiles were hungry, they rushed into the river and discovered a man swimming on the flowing water. The crocodiles thought, "We are very lucky today that we have the human flesh for eating one time. When the crocodiles swam nearer to the man, they heard the voice, "Puthor! Puthor! “They were suspicious and saw the man's eyes have no irises.” We should take them to our hermit; we should not eat this pitiful man,” thought the crocodiles. Then they swam to push SOK to the land. The crocodiles transformed themselves to be human and held SOK's hands towards the hermit. The hermit asked SOK why he arrived here.

SOK told the hermit all account of hIS true story. After listening to what had happene to SOK, the hennit felt extremely sympathetic. He said, “Oh! Grandson SAO, how malevolent you are! Well, don't worry. I’ll help cure your eyes and you will be able to see it again so that you can go to meet your grandma." The hermit made the medicine to apply SOK's eyes, and recited magic verses and blew on his eyes until he was recovered. The hennit took a handful of sand. Recited magically, and blew

the sand into SOK’s palm of right hand and, “ Hold this sand tightly in your hand without opening it, and when you get home, tell your grandma to lay down a mat and throw this sand onto it."

After giving some advice to SOK, the hermit ordered the crocodiles to take him to the place where he cut the bamboo trees. When SOK arrived home, he cried and went to salute his grandma. When Grandma saw her grandson, she rushed to hug him. "I was told that you were eaten by a tiger," She said while sobbing, "Oh! My grandson, 1 sobbed and mourned nearly to die of missing you." "Now you are alive; 1 am so happy," she added. "When 1 went to cut bamboo trees for the lattices," SOK told his grandma, "Brother SAO thrusted his knife into my eyes and pushed me into the water; fortunately, the crocodiles took me to the hermit." The old lady felt even more pitiful for SOK after hearing this.

Then SOK told his grandma to lay down the mat in the house. SOK opened his hand, pouring the sand onto the mat. Suddenly, the sand created a pile of silver and gold on the mat. Both the grandma and grandson were very happy and managed to buy stuff and clothes, built a new house and they became the most famous family in the village. As for SAO, when seeing SOK, he wondered himself, "I thrusted his eyes and kicked him into the water. Why he is not dead instead he is now alive, able to see, and even wealthier." When it was quiet, SAO went to meet SOK on his way and said, "When you and 1 went to cut the bamboo trees, the demon came to control me and forced me to thrust your eyes and kicked you into the water. 1 supposed you were dead, but why are you alive and even richer than the others?" "It is your gratitude that makes me rich;" SOK replied, "Otherwise, 1 may have been so poor. As you know when you pushed me into the water 1 floated on the water, and said the words Puthou Puthou without stopping." SOK went on telling SAO about what had happened to him to the end.

SAO, hearing what SOK had said, was very greedy. "I will do as SOK did," SAO thought. Later, SAO went to meet SOK again and persuaded, "Friend! I want to cut the bamboo trees at the same place. 1 am responsible for meal and other equipments and you only go without anything." "No, I'm afraid that you may kill me again," SOK replied. "I won't," SAO said, "previously the demon came to control me; 1 didn't know what 1 was doing. Please don't mind me." "I'll go with you because you were once grateful for me; 1 am rich because of you," SOK answered. Next morning SAO carried a bag of meal and all equipments as the previous time and walked together into the forest. After cutting many bamboo trees, they stripped them into lattices and then had meal. Because of his greed for wealth, SAO passed his knife to SOK and said, "Thrust it into my two eyes." SOK refused to thrust SAO but he forced SOK again and again. "Thrust me! Thrust me! Don't be scared," SAO ordered.

SOK, then, thrusted into SAO's both eyes. SAO was getting blind and painful in his eyes; but due to his greed for money, he asked SOK to push him into the flowing river. SAO tried to say Puthou Puthou without stopping in the aim of meeting the crocodiles. SAO was very painful in his eyes; however he floated himself on the flowing water ahead. Longer and longer, SAO was exhausted and drowned to death in the river. His flesh was rotting. Many fishes came to pick up his flesh for eating until it was all and there was the skull left , floating on the water.

Though there was no flesh but the skull, his soul was always with his skull, haunting people by expressing the voice Puthou Puthou until it arrived at a millionaire's port. While the daughter ofthe millionaire was swimming happily together with her menservants and women servants, they saw the skull floating near and haunting them by making the voice Puthou Puthou. They all stopped swimming and the millionaire's daughter ordered a manservant to go and pick it up to the land. The skull remained saying Puthou Puthou.

The daughter of the millionaire ordered her manservant to take the skull to her house. "Dad, I found a skull floating on the water saying Puthou Puthou," she told her father. After hearing his daughter, the millionaire rushed to see it and it was true as what his daughter had told, so he had it washed and brought it on the land. The skull was still saying Puthou Puthou without stopping. Every morning the millionaire always went to see the king at the royal hall and always met the royal officials. "I have a skull, which always says Puthou Puthou," the millionaire told them. Having heard this, the royal officials replied, "You are telling us a lie; skull could not speak. I don't believe you."

"It is true," the millionaire answered, "If you don't believe me, we can have a bet on this for 100 Damloengs of gold." Then, the royal officials accept the bet with the millionaire.

When the millionaire arrived home, he heard the skull shouting Puthou Puthou loudly and thought himself, "These royal officials are going to lose the bet." The millionaire took out

100-Damloeng gold and told his nephews to hurriedly take a basket with the skull to the royal hall. When they arrived at the gate of the royal palace, the skull sounded nothing. When the skull was taken into the hall, it was put in front ofthe four royal officials. "Don't wait any longer, why you don't say Puthou Puthou?" the millionaire ordered the skull. The skull said nothing: the word Puthou Puthou was not heard and therefore, the millionaire lost 100-Damloeng gold. "Oh! It is very noisy! It is very noisy with the voice of the skull," said the official ridiculously, and they clapped their hands and laughed all over the royal hall.

The millionaire was furious with the skull. He left the royal officials and came outside the wall. Suddenly, the skull said Puthou Puthou; the millionaire was even angrier. When he got home, he told his servants to break the skull with an ax and throw it back into the water. SAO's skull floated on the water down to a pagoda port. At that time, a monk was swimming at the port, seeing the skull haunting him with the voice Puthou Puthou. The monk took the skull to his building and burnt it into ashes. "It is nice to mix this ash with lacquer," he thought, "And apply on the temple pillars in order to send this merit to the person who had passed away. I'll use the remaining ash for coating the ox cart and wait until it becomes dry."

The monk wished to visit his relatives in the village; he told his students to yoke the oxen and rode off the ox cart. When they rode a bit further, the hubs of the cart wheels made sound as usual. But when they met the laymen and laywomen, it sounded as if it was cursing: Mechor Mechor (the thief), repeating very fast. Hearing this sound, the laymen and laywomen were furious with the monk and cursing the monk without saving his face. Then the monk ordered his students to go ahead faster.

Aftenvards, the monk met a group of officials. Again, the cart started another sound as if someone was cursing them in a repeated word "Chor Mday Neameun" (the officials' mothers are thieves). The officials were very angry with the monk. They chased the cart to hit the monk quickly. The monk was even more frightened and went offfaster and faster. "My cart has never made this sound so far," the monk thought, "It must be out of the ash of the skull."

When arriving at the pagoda, the monk broke offthe cart and burnt it all at the same place where he had burnt the skull. When SAO was alive, he liked making arguments and envying the others. That was why the place, where there were his remains, was grown by the burr, which has always stuck on the people's skirts or trousers up to now.

- The END -

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