Once upon a time, there lived a man who was so wild that the Governor of the province sent him away to make his fortune and improve himself. Reaching a forest, he saw a dead horse. He took its head and was about to go on, when he saw some evil spirits coming there. Carrying the horse’s head, he quickly climbed up a tree to save himself. The spirits wore clothes made of bark and sat down under the same tree to eat and drink. The horse’s head fell from the man’s hands onto the spirits. Terrified, they ran away. The man came down next morning, tired and hungry. Everything had vanished, except a small golden jar of wine. He was thirsty, so he took a sip of wine. Immediately, food was laid out for him! ‘This is a magical jar!’ he thought, ‘It will fulfil all my wishes!’ He set off happily on his journey.
The Traveller’s Treasures
He met a man holding a fine sword. “This sword will go after anyone who takes anything from me and fetch it back!” the man boasted. The traveller told him about the magical jar and offered to exchange it. The man gave him the sword and walked away with the jar. The traveller told the sword to fetch his jar. It killed the man and brought back the jar! In the same way, the traveller got a hammer. If it was struck nine times on the ground, an iron wall, nine pillars high, would rise to protect you! He walked along and found a man, carrying a goatskin sack. “If you shake it, rain will fall,” said the man. “The more you shake it, the heavier the rainfall!” The traveller took the sack and then he got back his golden jar, killing him too. Having got four treasures, he decided to return home.
The traveller returned home and showed all his treasures to his mother. He had decided to punish the Governor for unjustly exiling him. At night, he went stealthily to the palace and, nearing it, he struck the hammer nine times on the ground.
A huge iron wall came up all around him and his mother. When the Governor awoke, he saw the wall and realised that the wild man must be back. “I will show him which of us is the stronger!” he declared. He ordered his men to burn fire all around the wall to heat up the iron! The iron grew hot and the traveller’s mother was worried. “My son, we shall die inside these walls!” she cried. But the traveller laughed. “No, we won’t, mother!” he said as he took out the goatskin sack that he had saved up for just such a moment!
The traveller shook the goatskin sack and it began to rain! As he shook it harder, the rainfall became steadily heavier, pouring down on the fire and on the men who were lighting them. The fire that had been lit around the iron wall was doused by the rain! Realising the power of the sack, the traveller began to shake it really hard for a long time. The place filled up with water and the sea began to come in. People were running away, leaving the iron wall and the mansion of the Governor. Before the Governor got away, the rising tide of the sea had swept him away and his mansion! The Governor was no more. No one called the traveller a wild man any more. In future, all the people called him the Wonderful Man who had defeated the cruel and unjust Governor and freed the province!
