Tuhuri and the She-goat

Once in a certain village lived a mother- less child named Tuhuri. Her father was kind to her, but her stepmother treated her cruelly and barely gave her enough to eat.

Tuhuri seemed never to complain. The young girl had a she-goat which her dying mother had passed on to her for a dowry. Every day Tuhuri took the goat deep into the forest, away from the eyes and ears of the villagers. There she fed it the crusts of dry bread her stepmother had thrown to her and poured out her grief. The she-goat listened, tears of sympathy flowing.

It happened that the she-goat had the power to produce food. Whenever she and Tuhuri were alone in the woods, the goat shook her body and tasty delicacies fell to the ground. The girl ate hungrily whatever had fallen, thanking her god for rewarding her with such a good friend. The stepmother saw that despite the stale crusts of bread Tuhuri was given, the girl remained healthy and strong. But her own children, who ate only the finest food, appeared skinny and pale. "How can this be?" the stepmother wondered. One day she bade her daughter follow Tuhuri to watch her carefully.

The stepmother's daughter went to Tuhuri and sweetly asked, "Won't you take me into the forest with you?" The kindhearted Tuhuri, suspecting nothing, agreed.

The two went deep into the forest. Then Tuhuri stopped and fed the she-goat some crusts of dry bread. When she asked the goat to conjure up some delicacies, the animal refused. Tuhuri began to cry and beg for food, her pleas so piteous the goat finally gave in. Reluctantly, the animal shook its body and several tasty morsels fell to the ground. The stepsister was amazed. Never had she seen such a wonder. She ate a few of the delicious tidbits and hid the rest in her clothing.

Tuhuri begged the girl not to tell her mother what she had just seen. The cunning stepsister assured her she wouldn't.

Dusk was fast approaching, and they hurried home. When they reached the hut, the stepsister went straight to her mother and, showing her the delicious delicacies, told her everything. The step- mother's eyes blazed with anger. She stamped her foot and shrieked, "I will kill that goat!" And she began to hatch a plan to destroy the animal.

The stepmother knew that since the goat was Tuhuri's only possession, the girl's father would not let her kill it that easily. She had to think of a way to deceive him. Suddenly she pretended to fall ill. Tossing and turning on her bed, she cried out as though in great pain. Her worried husband rushed to her side, asking what was the matter. "My stomach pains me so," the deceitful woman wailed.

The husband ran quickly to a neighbor, calling, "Dai! My wife has a great pain in her stomach. What must I do?"The neighbor, who had been secretly bribed by the wife, told the husband he must fry the liver of a she-goat in pure ghee, then feed it to his beloved. "Only this will make her well," the neighbor said.

Immediately the husband decided to kill the goat and make an offering to the angry god who was tormenting his wife. As soon as Tuhuri heard of her father's plan, she ran, in tears, to tell the goat. The unfortunate she-goat comforted her, saying, "Take heart and listen. When they give you my bones, carry them to the edge of the cornfield and bury them there. Soon after, the she-goat was killed.

The weeping girl tookits bones to the cornfield and buried them in the corner, her tears wetting the newly-turned soil.

The days went by, and Tuhuri's stepmother continued to torment her. Whenever she could slip away, Tuhuri ran to the place where the goat was buried. There she sat weeping, her fresh tears falling to the ground.

After a time, Tuhuri noticed something strange happening. In the corner of the field where the bones were buried, shoots of pure gold were sprouting. Tuhuri could not believe her eyes. Feeling hungry, she plucked a few of the shoots and took them to the market to trade for food.

The shopkeepers were amazed when they saw Tuhuri bringing shoots of pure gold to the market. Day after day she brought them, and rumors began to fly from one corner of the village to the other. The stepmother, hearing the talk, began to watch the girl more closely. One day she followed her to the cornfield and discovered her secret. The next day the stepmother went alone to the spot where the shoots were growing and tried to pull one up. But she could not budge it.

News of the golden shoots reached the king, who set off to see for himself, trailing soldiers and courtiers behind him. When they reached the cornfield, the king saw the golden shoots growing in abundance. He had heard they were difficult to extract, so he or- dered his strongest men to try it. But the shoots wouldn't budge.

The king then ordered his men to look for Tuhuri. They searched throughout the village, and finally found her sitting by the side of a stream, washing her stepmother's clothing. Quickly they brought her before the king.

The king saw at once that the girl had a kind and generous spirit and hoped in his heart they would marry. He spoke gently to her. "Kind maiden, won't you pull a shoot from the cornfield?"

Moved by the king's quiet ways, Tuhuri plucked a shoot as though it were as light as a dry stalk. She held it out to him, and the king accepted it. Then he asked her to marry. Tuhuri went to join him at the head of his caravan.

The sun rose in the sky, shining brilliantly on the king and his new queen. Tuhuri smiled at her good fortune, but in her heart she carried the sad memory of the she-goat all of her days.

[1]dai-elderly brother

[2]ghee-butter