Once upon a time, there lived a man named Egal Sheeda. One day, his bull went into the neighbour’s fields and ate his crops. The
neighbour came and complained to Egal Sheeda. Egal Sheeda promised him that it wouldn’t happen again and he would take care of the bull and not let it enter the fields again. But the next day, the bull went again into the neighbour’s fields and ate his crops. So, the neighbour was furious and came shouting at Egal Sheeda and said, “You promised that your bull would not enter into my fields. But today he has again eaten my crops.” Egal Sheeda said, “It is not possible to control the bull. So, the only solution I can think of is that you can slaughter my bull.” The neighbour slaughtered the bull and brought the meat to Egal Sheeda. Egal Sheeda took the beef to the market to sell it. In the evening, he came back home after selling the beef.
The Neighbours’ Greed
Egal Sheeda, then, told his neighbour that he had sold the beef of the bull and got a lot of money. The neighbour was astonished. He was greedy and decided to slaughter his bulls and sell the beef in the market and get lot of money like Egal Sheeda. So, he as well as the other neighbours slaughtered their bulls and went to the market. But that day, there were no customers for the beef. They thought that Egal Sheeda had cheated them. They wanted to punish him. They decided to put him in a sack and throw him into the river so that he might die. So, all of them went to his house, grabbed him and put him in a sack. The moment they were about to throw him into the river, it was time for them to pray to God. So, all the neighbours left the sack by the riverside and went to pray.
During this time, a farmer who was passing by saw the sack lying near the river. He went close and looked inside the sack. He was astonished to see a man inside the sack. The farmer asked him, “What are you doing in that sack?” Egal Sheeda replied, “People are going to throw me into the river, so that I may bring gold to the town.” The farmer wanted gold for himself and be a rich man, so he said, “Let me bring the gold from the river.” Egal Sheeda’s trick worked and he agreed. So, Egal Sheeda came out of the sack and put the farmer inside it. He, then, took the farmer’s sheep and cattle and went away. By now, the neighbours had finished their prayer and came to the river. Thinking that Egal Sheeda was still in the sack, they threw it into the river.
Happily, the neighbours came back home. They were shocked to see Egal Sheeda with so many cattle and sheep, sitting at his home. Surprisingly, they asked him, “How did you come out of the river? Where did you come from? And where did you get these sheep and cattle from?” Egal Sheeda replied that after being thrown into the river, he found a lot of gold lying on the river-bed. He brought that gold out and bought all the sheep and cattle after selling the gold. The foolish neighbours also wanted to get rich like him. So, they asked him to put all of them into sacks and throw them into the river. So, Egal Sheeda put them in sacks and threw them into the river. They all died and he inherited all their property and became richer.
