The Matchmaking Jackal Pt. 1

Originally by Reverend Lal Behari,

Retold and Adapted by Navin

Once upon a time, there was a poor weaver who lived by himself in a small hut, far from the city. The weaver’s ancestors had once been rich, and in fact royalty, but poor management and misfortune had resulted in all this splendor vanishing.

A jackal who knew of the weaver’s ancestors’ past felt compassion for the weaver and decided to help him. “O weaver,” he said, “I am going to make you the son-in-law of a king.” “What king would give his daughter’s hand to me?” laughed the weaver. “Just you wait and see,” said the jackal, and ran off.

He traveled to the city, where the king’s castle was. En route, the jackal plucked betel leaves from the royal garden. It lay down by the palace water tank and began to chew the leaves. Presently, the princess came down to the tank to bathe. She and her attendants were astonished! “O jackal, from where do you come?” she asked, “You are chewing betel leaves, when even some of the humans in our kingdom cannot afford to! You must be from a very wealthy place.” The jackal proceeded to tell her of the faraway country that he was from, where all animals chewed betel. He told the princess that in his country, betel was as plentiful as grass, and that the land flowed with milk and honey. “As for our king,” the crafty jackal said, “he is unimaginably wealthy and powerful. His palace makes yours seem like a hut.”

Hearing this, the princess ran to her mother and told her of the jackal. The queen summoned the jackal and heard its tale. “Surely such a king as this must have a powerful queen!” she cried. “Many fair princesses have tried to woo him, but he has rejected them all,” replied the jackal. The queen related this to her husband, and they thought over the matter. Finally, the king came to meet the jackal and told it that he wished to offer his daughter’s hand in marriage to the king of the jackal’s land. The jackal laughed, “HAHA! You have a great sense of humor!” “I am serious! Please convey my wish to your king!” cried the king. The jackal pretended to sober up and promised to do what it could. It left the city and relaxed for a few days in the surrounding areas, before returning to the palace. It sat in the same spot, again chewing betel.

When a guard saw this, he called the king, and the whole royal family assembled before the jackal. “Well?” asked the king. “His majesty has consented to the marriage!” announced the jackal. At this, there was a shout of joy. Arrangements were made for the wedding, and a date was chosen. After everything was in order, the jackal took its leave to escort its king to the city. It told the royals to prepare for a humongous retinue.

It returned to the weaver and told him all that had happened. “WHAT?!” cried the weaver, “They will find out who I am, and I will be executed for TREASON!”

“Not if you follow my directions carefully…” replied the jackal coolly.

FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS IN PART 2 NEXT MONTH!