The Matchmaking Jackal Pt. 2

Originally by Reverend Lal Behari,

Retold and Adapted by Navin

The poor weaver from the last story has a date with destiny! He is due to marry a princess, but how will he pretend to be royalty?

As per the jackal’s directions, the weaver borrowed a suit of clothes from a neighbor.

Meanwhile, the jackal went to the king of its race. Since the jackal was good friends with the king jackal’s son, the king jackal granted its wish, which was 1000 jackal escorts. It then went to the king of the crows, and, due to some past favor, got 1000 crow escorts. The jackal, the 1000 jackals, the 1000 crows, and the weaver then made their way towards the city. When they were just about to get in sight of the city, the jackal commanded the party to stop. He told the weaver to wait, and asked the jackals to howl as loud as they could. He then asked the crows to caw as loudly as they could. They kept this racket up as the jackal went to the palace. Preparations for the day’s wedding were in full swing, but had suddenly halted. Everyone was awestruck by a booming uproar coming from the distance. When they saw the jackal, the king was informed, and he rushed down to meet it.

“What is that horrid noise?!! And where is my son-in-law and his retinue?!” inquired the king. The jackal told the king, “That noise, rocking the hills, is the sound of my king and his retinue marching towards the palace. I came ahead to warn you. I do not believe you will be able to host all of us,” replied the jackal. The king blanched. “How humiliating! If that entire group comes, I am sure to be ruined! Can you do anything?!” The jackal replied that it would do its best to convince its king to come alone, and not in state. It then ran out of the palace and to the group, who were waiting over the horizon. He thanked the crows and jackals for their help and sent them on their way. The weaver and the jackal then went to the palace. They were warmly welcomed, and soon enough, the weaver was married to the princess.

One night, as the princess and the weaver went to bed, the weaver lay looking at the ceiling. He said out loud, pointing at the beams on the ceiling, “That beam would make a capital loom, that one a good beam, and the last one a great sley.” The princess thought this was very odd and told her parents the next day. They asked the jackal about it. The jackal bluffed that 700 poor weaver families lived around its king’s palace, and that he was always thinking about their wellbeing. “He must have been in a philanthropic mood when he said that,” said the jackal.

The jackal decided that it would be safest to leave the palace, since the weaver could inadvertently give himself away. They took their leave and returned to the weaver’s hut with the princess. She was of course devastated when she discovered the deception, but soon got over it. In fact, the princess knew the secret of making gold from dirt, and soon, the weaver and the princess were unbelievably rich. They built a magnificent palace, planted acres and acres of betel leaves in all the land, and invited 700 weaver families to live around the palace. After this, they invited the princess’ parents for a visit, and they were very pleased. All’s well that ends well!