THE CROW, THE
JACKAL AND THE RED CRAB
(A Folk tale of Jong-U-Shen
as retold by D. R. Michael Buam)
There was a crow; of course a
clever crow, because stupid crows are unheard of in the books that we read
(please keep me informed if I have missed a stupid crow somewhere). No, we
shouldn’t dare call them stupid, since the story of the ‘clever crow’ got
published! There, you see, the significance of a precedent! Of course, the
crows are fallible to flattery; but you know that already. That is another
precedent.
Well, after agreeing on the IQ of
the crow, let us get down to the topic. This crow was allegedly the same crow
that was ‘foxed’ by the jackal into singing like a gay ‘jay’ so that it dropped
the food from its jaws into the open greedy jaws of the jackal. You must have
heard of this rumour too. I heard that it did get published in some textbooks.
Anyway, there were several
adventures between the jackal and the crow such that their relationship
deteriorated into a ‘mouse’ and ‘cat’ relationship instead of the regular
jackal and crow relationship.
In this context, you will
understand the following events that I relate as happened to them.
One day, the crow was basking in
the sun on the topmost branch of an Oroxylum tree overlooking a small bog
filled with the delicious (to humans) species of swamp colocasia plants growing
beside a stream. These plants grow wild and gregariously at that, such that
they look like a mono-cultivated crop – very misleading. But it is not uncommon
to see orderliness in the wild. As opposed to humans, who avoid talking to
their hated enemy, the jackal can’t resist talking to the crow. Maybe, animals
still love their enemies, like Jesus told humans to do so and animals have
copied the advice. I did ask my dog for confirmation and he just barked at me.
I am not sure whether he meant “yes” or it meant “give me a bone” because it
sounded like “I want a bone”. So, let me give him a bone so that I can continue
with what we started.
Well, the jackal couldn’t resist
taunting the crow. You must all have known by now, that, pure love or pure
hatred calls for absolute attention and obsession. Not knowing all the facts we
stated in the previous paragraph (of course, this was written after the event
and so there was no way the jackal could have read about it and be forewarned).
So, the jackal walks up to the Oroxylum tree and asks the crow, “What are you
doing my beloved enemy?” The crow looked down and screamed at the jackal, “Why
have you stepped on the King’s crops? Don’t you know that I have been appointed
to guard the King’s crops? Step back at once or I will have the soldiers on
you!”
The jackal did indeed jump back
in astonishment but quickly recovered his composure and enquired, “What crops
are you guarding? I don’t see anything worth to a King.”
The crow smiled a fake benevolent
smile at the jackal and replied, “Have you never seen a sugarcane plantation in
all your cunning life? Be clever for once and recognize the plants that
surround you here and now!”
The jackal looked around at the colocasia
plants but couldn’t say what they were. Now we must take into account here that
the jackal has limited knowledge of botany. The clever crow is aware of this.
The jackal is more into zoology with specialization into smaller mammals like
rabbits and flightless birds like pheasants. He is of course the master in the
subject of domestic poultry of the human habitat and has on several occasions
received gun salutes, spear throws, sling shots and arrow shots from the humans
for his endeavours to capture and digest the subject of domesticated animals in
human habitat. Needless to say, some of his brethren were ultimately absorbed
into the digestive system of humans despite their foul smell.
I think I am prey to the habit of
digression. But that is my weakness and you will all indulge a person to at
least one thing or the other. Let me get back to the events then. Yes, we were
talking of the jackal’s knowledge of botany. I must digress again or you will
not understand the import of botany or zoology on this important event. You
see, this jackal was, to speak in local sense, a hill jackal. In the hills, you
won’t see a sugarcane plantation.
Of
course, you will occasionally see a sugarcane plant or a cluster of them in a
human habitat. But in the plains, especially in the alluvial plains of the then
undivided Bengal
,
the sugarcane plantations are a forest in themselves. This jackal of the hills had
been told about large sugarcane plantations from his cousins living in the
plains because they frequently hunt and hide there. He too did tell them about
the areca nut and betel leaf cultivations in the hills where he lived.
In the light of this, the jackal
looked once again at the colocasia plants growing beside the stream and seemed
to understand what the crow was referring to. He had heard that sugarcane was
very sweet to taste and therefore having never seen it in his life, he wanted
to taste it. He asked the crow, “Please sister crow, let me get a taste of the
sugarcane. I have never got this opportunity before.” The crow deliberately
refused at first and only after the jackal had entreated for the umpteenth time
did she relent. The jackal took a bite of one stalk of the colocasia consuming
the whole plant in his ignorance.
He had visions of sweetness but
it never came to him. Maybe the Creator didn’t equip him with taste buds for
sweetness. Maybe the carnivore’s taste of sweetness is completely different
from an omnivore’s or a herbivore’s. These are simply my allusions and you
should not be distracted by them. Another botanical fact which the jackal never
knew so far was that, all Colocasia species contained an irritant which can cause
intense irritation and discomfort to the lips, mouth and throat when consumed.
The main culprit causing the discomfort is the microscopic needle-like raphides
of calcium oxalate monohydrate and aided by another small ruffian we suspect to
be a protease. If eaten raw or half-cooked, these microscopic needles pierce
the tissues of the lips, mouth and throat and cause a severe irritation of the
throat that would leave you in a situation similar to a person who is bound
hand and foot face-wards to a pillar and having a sudden and severe itch on his
bum having no way to scratch the itch.
Well, you can leave your visions
of the itching bum and come back to the visions of the jackal. This preceding
fact was already known to humans from their earlier experiences or through
accident (no satisfying record exists to prove any) and so they found a way to safely
consume the edible colocasia leaves and corms by boiling them long enough and
adding something tangy to go with it. The crow knew this through her aerial acquaintance
with humans. This knowledge did come at a cost because she did survive the
missiles of catapults aimed at her. Though she did lose some feathers in the
process, her head and life were intact. Now, she used that knowledge to settle
a score with her beloved enemy.
I think you can imagine what
happened to the jackal a few minutes after eating and swallowing a few
mouthfuls of his ‘sugarcane’. You see, if he also had kept his English
dictionary close at hand, he would have immediately seen through the crow’s
bluff. The colocasia plants did not even resemble a cane. They were just
herbaceous and weak plants without anything hard on them (on the outside of
course), you would need a microscope to see those microscopic needles. But
then, he must have learned his lesson since his last visit to the town. He had
bought a “Dressed Chicken” from a store only to discover later, on unpacking
the package, that it had been completely undressed. So, we’ll give him the
benefit of doubt.
Within a few minutes, the itches
began to show and the jackal immediately understood that the crow had gotten
the better of him this time. His throat itched and irritated him so much that
he couldn’t even exclaim the curses and expletives he so much wanted to hurl shamelessly
at the crow, who was currently enjoying the misery of the jackal. You can try
imagining the laughter of a crow. It is something like this: “Caw! Caw! Caw!” Yes,
yes. You can tell me that the expression is similar but here you will have to
add a sneer to it and imagine the famous Bollywood villain of the silver
screen, Late Amrish Puri doing it. Yes, that’s it. You are getting it.
The jackal drank the water from
the stream and gargled his throat in the hope of easing the discomfort. He
howled in anger at the crow but it only enhanced the evil pleasure of the crow.
Well, I won’t dwell longer on the jackal’s suffering and call it a day.
It was several days later that
the jackal chanced on the crow and asked her by which road she would go to the
market the next day. The crow replied that she would take the old road to the
market. So the jackal waited in hiding for the crow along the old road the next
day hoping to catch her unawares and have his revenge on the crow. He had in
fact kept the utensils and firewood ready beside the stream in order to cook
the crow alive and savour his revenge. The crow had already suspected him and
instead went to the market using the new road.
It happened again the next market
day. The crow having told the jackal that she would take the new road to the
market had instead taken the old road this time. So, next time, the jackal had
smarted and waited in hiding for the crow to come along the new road to the
market. She had told him that she would take the old road again. He did not
have long to wait and pounced on her as soon as she passed by him while he was
hiding behind a broomstick bush by the road.
The fire was burning under the
pot of water which the jackal had put on the makeshift fireplace beside the
stream. The crow was held captive after he had tied her with a string made of a
lilaceous plant. The crow glanced furtively at all directions in the hope of
finding a means to escape. She saw a crab in the water and pleaded with it to
help her escape.
The jackal was busy with keeping
the fire burning, pushing and shoving the logs and blowing air from his lungs
to keep the fire steady and stronger. When the water had boiled, he turned his
attention to the crow and gloated with glee in front of the crow before taking
it from its tethering. “So, you thought I will never catch you, is it? See! I
have the last laugh! I will cook you alive and eat you - feathers, entrails and
all! This will be my complete revenge on all the insults I suffered from you.
No, no use of shouting for help! No one will be able to free you from my
clutches! You see, once I have my prey in my grips, no power can stop me!”
The crow did not get any help
from heaven but it did get help from a small creature of the water. The crab
had surreptitiously walked sideways (as is the custom of crabs – of course it
walked crabwise) out of the water and reached the foot of the jackal who was
holding the crow in his hands while gloating over her. The crab then bit the
jackal hard on his little toe that it nearly snapped into pieces. The sudden
pain and shock made the jackal jump with a howl and spread his hands apart
letting the crow free. The crow flew away and perched herself beyond reach on a
tree.
(The original version of the
story as told to me was that the crab, using its larger claw, had actually
pinched the jackal by the balls that it hurt beyond description. Any male will
understand what this attack means – in terms of pain, while the rest will enjoy
the comic effect of the action. I stated that the crab clawed him on the toe only
to appear more respectable. But I have already given myself away. Guilty as
charged.)
So, the jackal after recovering
from the initial shock and pain searched for his attacker and sadly for the
crab who was not quick enough to rush back to his hideout was pounced upon by
the jackal.
The jackal, as was his habit (or
his weakness) was prone to give a speech before his actions. So he said to the
crab, “So you want to join the list of my enemies, do you? Well, I will show
you how I treat my enemies once I have them in my grip. You deprived me of my
revenge and my meal! I will get that crow one way or the other. However, for
the time being, you will satisfy my hunger for food and revenge.” With that he
put the crab into the boiling pot of water.
The crow had watched all this
from a safe distance. But as soon as the jackal put the crab into the pot of
boiling water, she flew down and thought hard how to save her rescuer. She picked
a heavy rock from the ground and carried it high over the point where the pot
was placed. She then dropped it on the pot and it overturned pouring the
boiling water and the crab into the stream. The crab was not yet dead but
almost so. Its shell was already turning bright red from being cooked (Prawns
and crabs turn bright red in colour when they are cooked). As soon as it
touched the cold water of the stream, it made a supreme effort and rushed to the
nearest hiding placed in a crevice beneath a huge rock in the stream. The
jackal rushed in vain to catch it. The crow and the crab had the last laugh on
him.
The crow went off to live in
another forest having had enough of the jackal. The jackal returned every day
to hunt for the crab in the stream but it was in vain. The crab gave up its
water abode and settled on the hill beside the stream. The jackal didn’t know
this and without the crow in sight he had no enemy to wage war on and so
continued to overturn the rocks and push pointed sticks through the crevices
under the large rocks in the stream hoping to catch his new-found beloved enemy.
We are more familiar with the
freshwater crab that now and then finds its way into our diet. It is also a
spoilsport during our fishing of the freshwater snakehead fishes (Hee-shlaa). So, with this legend, our
ancestors have tried to explain the existence of the local land crab, which is
an uncommon species even in those times. They still survive today because they
are not usually part of our diet. There are many species of land crabs around
the world. In the Khasi Hills, we come across a smaller species which is just 2
to 3 centimetres across. But the hero of our story is about 8 to 10 centimetres
long or maybe more (I am yet to find a larger species) and it is bright red in
colour, unlike the freshwater crab we find here, which is dark brown in colour.
But when this freshwater crab is cooked, boiled or fried, it turns red in
colour which gives rise to the notion that the local red crab was the one that
escaped the boiling pot of the jackal.
It was this brave crab that we
come across on the jungle path in the southern slope of Jaintia hills. It is
truly a brave creature because whenever you come across it, it stands its
ground and bares its claws at you. I do not talk crab but the attitude it shows
reflects that it doesn’t take crap either. It ignores the fact that you can
kill it by just stepping on it. But I guess, it does not matter to a faithful
warrior who stands for righteousness. You can dominate the body but not the
spirit. Yes, dear friend, keep baring those claws and bite the villains’s foot
(or balls, if present). I will cheer you on that. Live long my fellow-living
being, I will not eat you, yet…
-----------------------
Copyleft 2013, D. R. Michael Buam.
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