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Once in a certain village there lived a poor farmer who had only a hen and a field of corn. One day the hen began laying eggs, and the farmer was overjoyed. He took a few of the eggs for his supper and left the rest for the hen to hatch. Baby chicks soon pecked out, as the farmer looked on happily.

Someone else was also watching from the nearby woods, his eyes wide with interest, his great mouth watering. The hungry jackal remained hidden in the trees.

It was the rainy season and time to plant the corn. Clouds massed in the sky. Torrents of rain fell on the dusty earth. From early morning until late at night, the farmer toiled in his field, planting the corn, thinking only of his hen and chickens at home alone.

One day when the farmer was at work in his field, the jackal ran from the woods straight to the farmer's chicken coop, where he seized one of his chickens. That evening the farmer returned home too tired to count his chickens, as he usually did. Instead, he ate his simple meal and went to sleep.

The next day, after the farmer had gone to work in his field, the cunning jackal leaped from the woods and grabbed another chicken. Day after day, the jackal stole from the farmer, and the farmer, coming home late in the evening, was too tired to notice that his chickens were disappearing.

One evening, the farmer realized there was far less noise com- ing from his chicken coop than ever before. He went to have a look. You can imagine his surprise when he discovered only four chickens where once there had been twelve. "And they are the scrawniest!" exclaimed the farmer. "This must be the jackal's work." The next morning the farmer stayed home and lay in wait for the jackal. As usual, the jackal, thinking the farmer was at work in his field, jumped from behind a bush and grabbed another chicken. This time the farmer was ready for him. He pounced on the jackal and held his leg, quickly fastening a rope around the animal's neck. He was about to hang him, when the jackal cried out, "Spare me! I will help you some day."

Reluctantly, the farmer gave in to the jackal's pleas and put the rope away. But he made the animal promise never to steal from him again.

Soon after, a terrible thing happened to the farmer. A rich landlord in the village tried to take away his field. The landlord came before the panchayat, offering bribes and false proof that the field belonged to him. When the jackal heard the landlord's wicked plan, he thought, "Now is the time to help the farmer."

Immediately he dug a tunnel from his lair to the place of the panchayat. Just as the old men were about to pronounce judgment in favor of the landlord, the jackal spoke from within the tunnel, his deep voice echoing. "I am the goddess of Earth," the jackal intoned. "You have angered me by taking what is not yours. Restore the field to the farmer."

The elders of the panchayat were terrified, the landlord quickly gave up his claim, and the field was returned to the farmer. The jackal, satisfied with his work, was feeling very hungry. He emerged from the tunnel and, without thinking, ran straight to the farmer's coop. He was about to pounce on another chicken when the farmer came home.

"Ah ha!" the farmer shouted. "You won't get off this time."He held the jackal to the ground, saying, "You'll steal no more chickens from me."

"My friend, did you not hear the voice from within the earth?" the jackal pleaded. "It was mine. It was I who saved your land, and I can do even more. Would you like the princess for your wife?"The farmer laughed out loud at the jackal's silliness.

"The princess for my wife, a castle over my head, and fields as far as the eye can see!" the farmer joked. But he let the jackal go, warning that the next time would be his last.

"You won't be sorry," called the jackal, as he headed for the palace. The jackal went straight before the king and proposed a marriage between the princess and a prince from a far-off land. "The prince's wealth is enormous," the jackal boasted."The marriage procession will stretch for miles. ""Let it be,"said the king, agreeing to the marriage.

The next day the jackal went to the farmer and told him he had to get ready for his wedding and to arrange for a bandmaster. The farmer just threw back his head and laughed, but the jackal insisted. "Such silliness!" said the farmer, going off to dress in his finest white shirt and his gayest rungi chungi topi.

Soon all was ready, and the farmer, the bandmaster, and the jackal all set off for the king's palace. They walked and walked until they came to a river that was flowing on the outskirts of the city. Along the banks of the river, bamboo bushes grew. Without saying a word, the jackal set fire to the bushes. The crackling of their burning echoed far and wide.

The jackal then ordered the bandmaster to blow on his narsinga. The sound was like an elephant trumpeting. The people in the city, hearing the hustle and bustle from the other side of the river, believed a marriage procession was coming toward them.

At sundown, the farmer, the bandmaster, and the jackal reached the palace and went before the king. "Where is the marriage proces- sion that stretches for miles?" demanded the king. "Have you lied to me?" The jackal bowed low and spoke with respect.

"Your majesty, we did bring a marriage procession that had no end, but as we were crossing the river, a sudden flood came up and all of our people were carried away. Only the bridegroom, the bandmaster, and I somehow managed to swim across."

"We heard the shrill notes of the narsinga in the distance,"the king replied, "and the crackling of the badai. Then he said, "We are very sorry for what has happened to your people. Now I am ready to give my daughter to your prince and half of my kingdom as well."

So on a fortunate day, the marriage ceremony took place, the princess pleased with her hearty prince, who smiled to himself at how such silliness had changed his luck. The farmer and the princess lived happily together with the jackal close beside, enjoying a fresh, plump chicken every day.

[1]panchayat-a traditional court attended by five elders of the community
[2]rungi chungi topi-a colorfully striped cap
[3]narsinga-a long trumpet-like instrument
[4]badai-fireworks