The Story of the Loyal Mongoose…

Hi!! I was inspired to write today's story because of my mom, who used to tell these tales to me and my sister when we were little kids. We used to gasp in awe and laugh with joy at the funny acts that the characters would do. This story is about a mongoose, and his loyalty to the family he lived with. Let's get on with it, then…

Disclaimer: Some or most of the story is based off my imagination…

In a small village, not far from here, lived a family. It was a small family. There was a Brahmin and his wife. They had a small baby, not more than two years old, who would crawl and gurgle throughout the day. They had a pet mongoose, with brown, stubby legs and a long body, with sharp teeth and blue eyes, that were hypnotizing. A cow stood outside their small, wooden hut, with a rope tied to its neck. They lived a happy life in the bustling village. Life went smoothly. But, one day, a hair-raising, spine-chilling, blood-curdling incident occurred.

On an ordinary day, when the sun shone and the wind blew, the baby of the house wriggled out of the house, and into the garden where the cow laid, sleepy. The baby gurgled and pinched the nose of the cow. "MOOO!!" mooed the cow. It stood up and started to shake its body. Black houseflies buzzed off the snow-white skin of the cow. It stared at the baby with its pitch-black eyes. Staring back, the baby started wailing. The cow got so scared, that it also started wailing!! The racket caused by the cow and the baby was enough to upset the whole village! Men with giant pitchforks came running to the cow, and ladies took off their chappals and started to throw them at the baby and the cow. After hearing the commotion, the mother and the father came running to shelter the baby.

They tried to assure the residents that everything was okay. They rushed into their home with the baby and shut the door. They could hear the cows screams of agony, and as the residents cut the rope off the cow's neck and drag the cow out of the garden, the baby shouted from inside the house. He tried scampering up to the window. His mom helped him up. They watched the villagers beat up the cow, and reduce it to ashes. Its body was burnt and put in a small river. The cow was never heard from again.

That family never owned a cow ever again. They bought their milk, butter and cream from the local vendor, AlooRam, who lived two houses from theirs. One day, the lady of the house walked into the kitchen to look for some milk to give her child. There was no milk in the pot. She checked in the underground pots. It was finished. There was no more milk in her home!! She went to tell her husband, "Ri?! I'm going to AlooRam's to get some milk. We don't have anymore! Watch the baby!!" Her husband, who was mending a small crack in the wall replied, " Go fast and come back!! I can't watch the baby forever!!!" So, the Brahmin's wife went to AlooRam's hut.

A few minutes later, the Brahmin heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Nobody replied. He asked again, this time with a louder voice, "Who is it?!" He went to open the door. When he went to open the door, he saw his friend, GobiRam. GobiRam was his best friend since his school days. "Hey, GobiRam!! How have you been?!" asked the Brahmin. "Arrey, yaar! Not too good. Come, I'll tell you what happened on a walk!" GobiRam was pleading the Brahmin to come with him. The Brahmin was in deep thinking. He didn't know what to do! He couldn't leave his baby on his own, but he couldn't leave his friend alone too! Finally, he decided, "I guess the mongoose could protect the baby!! Come, let's go!!" He walked off with GobiRam. The baby was left alone with the mongoose. The baby slowly fell asleep. Dozing off in his cot, the baby was only left under the protection of the mongoose.

The mother of the baby, who had gone to AlooRam's to get milk, returned after around twenty minutes. She reached the porch and saw a horrifying sight!!! The mongoose was standing near her feet, with blood spewing from his mouth. He growled at his owner. She screamed, "AAAAHHHH!!!!! THE MONGOOSE KILLED MY BABY!!!!!!!!!" and dropped her freshly-bought pot of milk right down on the head of the brown mongoose. The mongoose clutched its head in pain, and fell on the floor, lying dead. The mother ran inside and saw the baby's body. It was lying in the cot, slumbering in peace. The mother was confused. She thought that her baby was dead. Suddenly, she saw a green cobra, slit in two pieces, with a pool of blood surrounding the body of the dead snake. She realised that the poor mongoose had saved her baby and killed the snake who had come to harm the baby.

Her husband came running rapidly. He saw the same sight as his wife. "You fool!!! Why did you kill the mongoose??!?! He tried to save our baby!!!" He held the body of the mongoose, and tried to revive it, but to no avail. The mongoose had lost his life. The wife lived to regret her choices for a long time. They never had another pet ever again. They remembered the loyalty of the Mongoose for years to come.

So, one needs to 'think before they act.'

Moral: A moment of patience in a moment of anger can save you from a thousand moments of regret.

Thanks for reading the Story of the Loyal Mongoose!!! Please follow to receive emails on my posts!!!!