PARABLE OF THE INNOCENT RUSTIC

PARABLE OF THE INNOCENT RUSTIC
By
P.K.Routary
Once in India ruled a king having a beautiful daughter,
Worried were the king and queen to find a groom for her.
Gods were propitiated as priests and astrologers counseled,
The king saw a dream how to choose the groom who excelled.
Predicted the dream in his kingdom a competition he had to arrange,
The winner would have to marry the princess with half of the kingdom to manage.
Those who would lose would become slaves for their lives ever,
The contest was announced with terms and conditions, candidates came in number
The task in the challenge was to train a goat and tame in such a manner
That after two day’s training it would not eat even a blade of grass ever.
Who would succeed wins half the kingdom getting the princess as the queen,
Failure would bring him life of a slave without respite seen.
The greed for kingdom and need to marry attracted many young and wise,
The task looked simple and stupid ,only a goat’s nature to revise.
The lure for the kingdom and princess was such that princess and commoners flocked from far and wide
They fed the goat to its bellyful so that blade of grass it would not mind.
They come with smile and satisfaction of certain victory to fail miserably and becomes slaves soon
Some of them serving as the princess’ slave feeding her with fork and spoon.
None being victorious the king was disturbed lest his daughter remains aspinster,
But the dream’s prediction and the bidding of the god hardly he could alter.
The royal couple performed worships and offerings, to gods to again propitiate,
So that a suitable groom they would sanction everybody to appreciate.
After some days appeared a rustic looking blank and foolish
With wretched look and tattered clothes which nobody would relish.
He caught hold of the goat and thrashed its face when blade of grass it looked,
Dividend it paid ,the goat got afraid ,shun grass as far as could.
To everyone’s surprise , to end king’s anguish ,the rustic was crowned with success
But unlucky was I to the royal wedding could not get the access
My story is not over ,though you may think so ,without telling the moral,
Like the goat’s greed for grass our unruly senses strive for pleasure and possessions material
More our desires are fulfilled more the hankering grows ,
When not satiated come suffering and grief our sign of downfall shows.
So like the rustic thrashing the goat’s snout we should in time thrash our passions
So that our lust and greed to cause us grief indeed don’t grow out of proportions.