Posts from the ‘Stories’ Category

The Four Friends

This story is about four friends, an elephant, a monkey, a peacock and a rabbit. This story is known all over Bhutan. In the beginning, the four friends were not friends. They were arguing who had the right to a fruit tree were they all enjoyed to eat fruit. This argument stopped when a man overruled them and claimed ownership of the fruit tree.
The four friends were wondering what to do to get the fruit they all loved to eat. They wanted to help each other so they became friends.
“ I will plant a seed in the ground,” the peacock said.
“I will water it,” the rabbit said.
“I will fertilise it,” said the monkey.
“I will protect it,” said the elephant.
The seed grew and grew until it became a tree. On the tree came the lovely fruit. 
Now the four friends had a problem. They could see the fruits but they could not reach them. So they made a tower by climbing on each other’s backs; first the elephant, then the monkey, the rabbit, and finally the peacock. Through their friendship and cooperation the four were able to share their favourite fruit. In Bhutan’s national language, Dzongkha, the story is called Thuenpa puen shi, which means cooperation, relation, four.

Sonam Choden, 14, from Thimphu

The Bat and the Weasel

Once a bat was flying in the sky in search of food. As it neared a tree an owl spotted it from his nest, attacked it, and poked it hard with his beak.
The bat was badly hurt in this attack. Its wings were so badly injured that it was unable to fly anymore, so it fell to the ground and lay there, helplessly groaning in pain.
Just then a weasel passed that way. Seeing the bat, he caught it, saying: “Ahh, you are a bird and I am your enemy, so consider yourself dead now!”
In spite of being very scared the bat cleverly said: “Look at me carefully, Sir. I am not a bird but a rat, so, kindly let me go”.
“Indeed you are only a rat,” said the weasel looking at it carefully and he walked away, and the bat began to hop slowly towards its home. It had covered only a short distance when the bat was caught by another weasel. It gripped the bat in its paws and said: 
“You are a rat and I am going to kill you.” 
Using his brain once again, the bat replied: “I am a bird, Sir, can a rat ever have wings?”
Looking at it closely the weasel nodded and freed the bat. The clever bat reached its home safely.
Moral: Your wisdom is your best friend.

Leki Wangdi, Class VI, from Kurther

The Huntsman and The Deer

Long ago Jetsun Milarepa was meditating in a place on the border between Nepal and Tibet. One day he heard a dog barking at a distance and after that a great noise disturbed him. So he went to meditate on a huge rock. Just before that he had seen a long, black, many-spotted deer running towards him. He felt pity for the deer and sang very softly: 
“Listen to me, poor little thing. You look very afraid and confused thinking that you will be caught, but don’t worry you’re safe here so you can rest here quietly.” 
After hearing Milarepa’s voice the deer was no longer afraid. The deer came very close to Milarepa and licked his clothes and then lay down beside him.

Milarepa tames a wild dog
Then, a thought struck Milarepa’s mind. He thought that the deer might be haunted by the dangerous dog which he had just heard barking. As he was wondering the dog, a red bitch with a black tail and a collar round her neck, ran towards him. She looked savage and dangerous to him with sharp claws which could tear apart any prey and her growl was like thunder. Once more Milarepa sang in his melodic voice to the dog: 
“Listen to me, you dog with a wolf’s face. You think that whatever you see is your enemy, which makes you angry. You must try to control your anger. Sit beside me and rest for a while.” 
On hearing this the dog completely lost its anger. She wagged her tail and licked Milarepa’s clothes affectionately. She sat beside Milarepa very calmly. Jetsun Milarepa then thought that a hunter might be after the two animals.

A hunter shoots at Milarepa
Suddenly a man appeared looking proud and brutal. He gazed at Milarepa with dislike. He had a turban and carried a bow and arrows. When he saw the bitch and deer beside Milarepa he shouted in anger that he had bewitched the two animals. He said:
“You yogis are wandering here and there. You go high up in the mountain to meditate but instead you kill animals and you come down the shores of the lake to catch fish. You fight with people in the cities. You may have the power to subdue my bitch and deer, but now let’s see if you can protect yourself from my arrow.”
The hunter shot the arrow at Milarepa but he missed. Milarepa thought that if the animals had listened to what he had said, the man would obviously understand his words, so he sang:
“You need not hurry to shoot me. You have a human body, but a demon’s face. You want pleasure from life but because you have committed sins, you will never be happy. Instead you should try to control your mind.”

The hunter changes his behavior
The hunter was confused and he wondered, usually a deer are easily frightened and a bitch is wild and savage. Looking at them now, he could see them lying next to each other like brothers. He had never missed a shot in his entire life but today he was not able to hit the man. He thought that Milarepa was probably a black magician or a powerful saint so the hunter tried to find out how he lived.
The hunter went to Milarepa’s cave and found nothing but some inedible herbs. Milarepa sang to him and told him about the teachings of the three gurus Tilopa, Naropa and Marpa and about his way of living. The hunter was filled with great faith for the yogi and bowed down in front of Milarepa. He offered his bow and arrows but Milarepa refused to take them. The hunter therefore committed his life to the Dharma (The Buddha’s teachings) and lived the life of a monk.

Priscilla Chhetri, 14, from Phuntsholing

The Three Stupid Friends

Once, somewhere in the midst of a thick forest there lived three friends. They were a fox, a deer, and a monkey. Although they were good friends they were jealous of each other too. The fox envied the beauty of the deer, the deer felt jealous of the monkey’s swiftness, and the monkey was jealous of the fox’s craftiness. They always looked forward to an opportunity to fight with each other.
One pleasant day they started walking out of their forest. The day indeed was growing very hot under the blaze of the sun but they kept on walking. On the way they saw a man approaching them with a bag on his back. They hid in a nearby bush. The man then sat under a tree and began to take a nap keeping the luggage beside him.

Boots for the deer
They seized the opportunity to steal the bag from the man. They ran back to their forest and began to search the luggage. They found a pair of boots and a bell inside it. The fox acted wisely and distributed the things. He gave the boots to the deer. He told the deer that if he put on the boots he would run very swiftly. The deer was extremely happy with the distribution made by the fox as he had always envied the monkey for its swiftness. He thought that he was successful in pursuing his dream of being swift as the monkey. So he ran in the direction of the nearby village carrying the boots with him.

A bell for the monkey
Next, the fox gave the bell to the monkey. He advised the monkey that if he rang the bell very loudly under a tree where his friends were plucking fruits his friends would throw him many fruits, and so he would have enough fruits to devour. The monkey too thought that it was a kind distribution of the wily fox. He ran off into the forest to find out where his friends were plucking fruits. The fox had kept for him self the empty bag. He went back to his home laughing thinking about  what his friends would do when they met again later.

The deer gets a surprise
The deer reached the outskirts of the village. He waited there until dusk and then set out for the fields of a wealthy farmer. He put on his boots and entered the farmland without any fear. He began to eat the crops without any tension, thinking that he had the boots which would make him run swiftly before the men. As he was eating the farmer saw him and began to shoot at him. A little time had passed and by then the man had already reached near him. Thinking that he had the boots he continued to eat the crops. Now, as the farmer drew nearer, he tried to flee away, but to his utter dismay, he could not run swiftly but instead he slipped and fell down right in front of the farmer. The man began to beat him mercilessly with a thick wooden staff. After a long time beating him, the man left him there to die. The deer rose slowly from there in sheer anger and walked slowly in agonizing pain back to his home. He wanted to take revenge on the fox.

The monkeys’s bell gets him into trouble
In another part of the jungle the monkey saw his friends on a big mango tree. Thinking that his friends would throw him many mangoes and that he would fill his stomach without any work, he began to ring the bell very loudly while sitting under the tree. But what happened was different. His friends, who were alarmed by the shrill sound of the bell, fell from the tree to the ground and cried in pain. They rushed at him, and beat him untill he was numb. After some time he rose to take revenge against the fox.

The monkey and deer take revenge on the sneaky fox
Some days after, they met at their meeting place. Without any words of the previous incidences, the deer and the monkey took the fox to a house. The people had left to go to the field. They introduced a game and pretended to the fox that he would to be their lord and vowed to serve him. They made the fox sit near the window and tied him with the bag to a ladder that was lying horizontally.  They began to play their roles of the lord and servants. Just then the people of the house entered. The deer and the monkey quickly got out of the window as they had planned. As the fox also tried to get out of the window the ladder got stuck. The people caught him and beat him mercilessly.
The fox regretted the deeds he had done to his friends.
He apologized for his misdeeds, and they forgave him. They laughed for being stupid and for envying each other’s gift from god, and they lived as good friends, never again cheating each other.

Sangay Tshering from Gaselo Middle Secondary School

The Exchanger

Once there lived a man called Ap Chethey. He was a very poor man but he owned a small piece of land. He used to eat by begging for food from the other peasants. One day when he was digging his small piece of land to grow vegetables, he saw a bag of gold. He was very happy and went to sell it to the rich people. On his way he saw a man with a yak.
“Oh, where are you going?” asked the stranger, “today you look like in quite a happy mood.” 
Ap Chethey replied:
“I am going to sell this gold. If you want to exchange it for the yak, it is better.” 
Ap Chethey exchanged the gold for the yak.

A man wants the yak
Next day again Ap Chethey continued on his journey. Suddenly on the way another man came with a bull. The man wanted him to exchange his bull for the yak. So Ap Chethey exchanged the yak for the bull. Ap Chethey then met with a young man grazing a sheep on the road side. Ap Chethey asked:
“Will you exchange the bull for the sheep?” The owner of the sheep accepted.

Ap Chethey ends up with a flute
On his way home he saw some hens roaming near a house. He began to think that if he exchanged the good sheep with a hen, it would be easier to feed as well as to manage. Then he shouted:
“Owner! Please get out of the house for a minute.” A woman got out of the house. Ap Chethey asked her about exchanging their animals.
He took the hen and continued his journey. Again, he met with a man. This one was playing a flute. Ap Chethey commanded him to play flute again and again. Then he asked him what the advantages of playing the flute were. The man said:
“It plays us a tune when we are bored and we get delicious food and money from people who are in crowds or on festivals.” 
Then Ap Chethey exchanged the hen for the flute.

Ap Chethey is running home
He continued on his journey. He saw a crowd of people preparing to do a ritual. He got happy and started playing at his flute in the house. Many men came and beat him mercilessly and ordered him to go out. It was because in this house, a man had died.
On his way again he saw another crowd of people, so he began to cry and went into the middle of the crowd. However, once again some men came and beat him saying:
“You are disturbing our festival.”
At last, when he was near his home he saw some men eating lunch. They were people from his village. They shouted:
“Come to eat lunch!” But he ran to his home thinking:
“They might beat me.”

Thongley from Ura in Bumthang

Greed Punishes Itself


Once upon a time there was a man who lived in Lobesa. He was very mean and greedy and no one liked him. Though he had plenty of wealth, he did not help people when they came to him. He had no kind feelings for them. He had a keen interest in collecting old coins and currencies of different countries. He collected as much as he could and never gave a single penny to anyone. One day, he felt very ill. He thought that the time had come for him to leave this world. So he decided to put the money he had collected under a pile of stones and then have the pile cemented over for safety. After a few days he died.

A sound comes from the pile of stones
After some years the people of that place heard a hissing sound coming out of the stone. Curious! They broke the cemented pile to find out what was making the sound. When they broke up the cemented pile, they saw a snake that was trying to get out of it but soon it died.
The monk of that place found the Holy Scriptures and explained to the people that the snake was the old man who was very greedy during his life time. He had kept the money in this cemented stone pile because he did not want to part with it. Due to his greediness he had become a snake, and he was imprisoned within the stone pile.

Srijang Gurung, 15, from Sarpang Village

The Three Princesses


A long time back in the past, a King had three daughters. They were known by the name Yulidolma, Sarleidolma and Dunglidolma. They were very beautiful and their father was very rich, so many men wished to marry them, but the three Princesses always wanted to marry Sai Jangchub, a Prince of a northern country who was known to be very kind, rich and handsome. He had also heard about the three Princesses and has a desire to marry one of them who possessed the quality of a Queen. So he decided to test them. He disguised himself as a poor beggar and sought for alms. The King felt pity for him and appointed him as the cow herder.

One Princess milks the cows
It was customary for all the three Princesses to take turns to milk the cows, and it was Ashi Yulidolma’s turn to milk the cows. When she found the place so muddy after the rain of the previous night, she angrily asked the cow herder to kneel down on the muddy area and milk the cows. After milking, she made offerings to the Gods and Deities and secretly she made offerings to Sai Jangshub in the North. A milk drop got in to the mouth of the cow herder, and he asked Ashi what he could do with the milk drop, that got into his mouth. He asked whether he should swallow it or spit it out. The answer was to spit it out. As he asked for a cup of milk since he was very thirsty, she refused, feeling dirty.

The cow herder throws the ring in the air
During lunch time she had delicious food and he, being a cow herder, had to eat stale bread. The Princess rudely turned her face away and ate her lunch. After lunch while she took a small nap, the Prince took out a silver ring and uttered words, asking the ring to indicate what was in their fate. He said if the ring fell on her, then she would be his Queen, if not the ring would come back to him self. As he expected when he tossed the ring high in the air, it came back to him, which showed she was not his future Queen.

The ring finds the right finger
The next day it was the turn of the second daughter Ashi Sarleidolma, whom he expected to be better but she was even worse than her elder sister. She was very rude and cunning. The golden ring, which he tossed up in the air fell on him which signified she was not to be his Queen, and on the third day it was the turn of the youngest princess Ashi Dunglidolma. He knelt down to let her milk the cows, but to his surprise Ashi kindly refused to sit on him and milk them, instead she sat on a stool. When she made offerings some milk drops got into his mouth. The Princess not only asked him to sallow the milk, she also gave him an additional cup of milk to drink. At lunchtime she shared her lunch with him. While she took a short nap, he tossed a copper ring into the air, to his surprise the ring fell on her hand. The Prince had found his real Queen.

The King expels his daughter
When the Princess woke up she was surprised to see a ring on her hand. Sai Jangchub asked her to keep it as it may be a sign of good luck. The cow herder learned that the King had announced all the suitors should come and seek their brides. It was declared that each of the suitors should perform heroic feasts in order to be chosen by his daughters. The cow herder took a newborn puppy to Ashi Dunglidolma’s bed early in the morning and asked her to choose him as her husband; if she did not do it he told her that he would tell all the people that she had given birth to a puppy. The two elder Ashies chosed their husbands who performed many heroic feasts but the youngest, Dunglidolma put her head down, and remembering the words of the cow herder she chose him as her husband instead of  any of the brave, handsome and rich Princes. The King became very angry and sent Dunglidolma and the cow herder out of his country as a punishment.

The Princess gets a surprise
The cow herder and his wife travelled for many miles. At one time she saw a huge flock of sheep and goats; out of curiosity she asked her husband whose property they were. He answered that they belonged to Sai Jangchub. She remarked he must be very rich. After many miles they came across a very big and beautiful palace, which was much bigger than her fathers. When they got near it the beggar went inside leaving her outside. She waited for him for a long time and as he did not return she asked a yard cleaner whether he knew to whom the palace belonged to. He answered kindly saying it belonged to Sai Langchub and to her surprise he explained that the cow herder was Sai Jangchub who had disguised himself to choose the right bride.

Wedding and forgiveness
Sai Jangchub, no longer in disguise, appeared in front of her well dressed and warmly welcomed her in to his palace, and the wedding was celebrated lavishly. The news of the wedding spread widely. Ashi’s father also heard the news and he was filled with remorse and shame, so he came to beg forgiveness for his ill treatment. Sai Jangchub and Ashi not only forgave him but also showered him with precious gifts, and they lived happily ever after!!!

Sherab Tshomo, Class X B

My Favourite Bhutanese Story

Once upon a time there lived two women in a village. One day they took their cattle to a hillside for grazing. They were very far from their village. They let their cows eat grass and they made thread on their spindle. When they were tired they relaxed. After a while they were hungry and took out their lunch packs and ate their food. The sun was about to set and it was getting dark. After they ate their meal, they prepared to collect their cattle so they could lead them back to the village. Suddenly a strange creature came from the jungle and grabbed one of the women and disappeared into the thick jungle.

Where are you?
The other woman was very frightened and shocked. She shouted after her, but her friend was nowhere to be seen. In sorrow she went back to her village with the cattle and told everyone what had happened to the other woman. The villagers were equally shocked, sad and frightened. That night a group of brave men from the village made fire torches out of bamboo sticks and went to look for the woman. The next day another group of men went to the same spot and called out:
“Where are you? Where are you?” but no answer came from the jungle. They heard only the sound of insects and birds.

A baby and woman in a cave
Years passed and the woman never returned and people forgot about her. Meanwhile, the woman was living with a strange animal called Migoe (Yeti). The Migoe and the woman lived in a very big cave in the jungle. The cave smelled of rotten meat and the woman felt suffocated and helpless at the same time. She wondered how she would spend her whole life with the strange creature. Out of fear of being killed she lied to the Migoe that she would spend her whole life with him. A baby was born to her. The baby looked strange because her body appeared half animal half human. One day the Migoe went out further in the jungle in search of food leaving the woman and the baby in the cave.

Why are you leaving the baby?
She thought it was the right time for her to run away from him and live in the village as a normal person. She left the baby inside the cave and ran as fast as she could. Suddenly she saw the Migoe running, screaming and shouting after her. The woman came to a river, which was big but luckily she saw a piece of timber and she climbed on to it and crossed the river. As she looked back she saw the Migoe holding the baby in his arms, shouting and screaming at her:
“Why are you going away? Why are you leaving the baby? Take her away!” At last the woman shouted back:
“I am going away and I will never come back”. 
The Migoe looked very angry and yelled:
“If you really want to go away, take your share of the baby” and he tore the baby into two halves!

The end
He threw one half across the river towards her and held one half in his hand and walked away towards the cave. Tears fell from the woman’s eyes as she walked back to her village. The woman arrived in another village, and not her own village. Everyone looked at the woman because she looked very strange and did not talk. She would not look at people and would hide her face from them. They asked her many questions but she could not answer, so nobody knew where she came from or how. She was sick and depressed. In the village there was an old man and woman who liked her very much and took care of her. They called in Lamas to cure her. At last the woman started to talk and learn their language. She decided to stay in this village. Sadly, after a few months she died.

Dechen Yangzom, Class 5 B, from Tshangkha, Trongsa