Three Riddles

Once upon a time there lived
an idle youth named Ananth.
He did nothing but roam all
day long in the forests eating
berries and wild fruits. One
day he picked up a peanut from
the ground and thought that he
would plant this peanut in his
own garden. More peanuts
would grow and he would sell
them for profit. He would even
need a ship to export all the
peanuts abroad. For that he
would have to apply to the
King.

Thinking thus -.he went
through the forest, but as ill
luck would have it an ogre who
lived there, suddenly emerged
from a tree and stopped him.
The ogre growled menacingly
and asked, " Man, where are
you going?"



Ananth who was not afraid
of the ogre, replied, " Well, I
have to export some important
things abroad. I am going to
the k ing to ask for the loan
of a ship."

The ogre said, " Man, do
you see that castle yonder?
Well, that's mine. Three days
later, I'll come to the king's
castle and set you three riddles.
If you solve them you can have
my castle and all the money in
it. If you fail, I'll gobble you
up. What do you say?"

Ananth agreed to this and
went his way.

Soon he stood before the
king and repeated his request.
The very boldness of the request
impressed the king and he
thought Ananth was a rich man
who went about in disguise, so



shabby were his clothes. So
he asked Ananth, " Fellow,
you look so poor from your
dress. How can I believe you
are a rich man?"

Ananth replied, " Sire, never
mind what 1 wear today. To-
morrow I'll come back in all
my finery."

The king cpuld not be satis-
fied with this reply. He wanted
to test him further. So he
requested Ananth to stay in
the palace that night. Secretly
he gave orders for a hard bed,
and a rough mattress to be
brought into the guest room.
Next he ordered his royal spy
to watch Ananth while the
latter slept.

Next morning the spy re-
ported to the king. " Sire, this
young man hardly slept. He
kept tossing this way and that
on the bed."

The next day, Ananth was
made to sleep on a very com-
fortable satin and soft bed.
The spy reported to the king
the next morning, " Sire, the
young man slept like a top."

The k ing was now certain
that Ananth was an eccentric
rich young man. On an im-
pulse he married off his only
daughter Shalini to Ananth.

Now what had really hap-



pened was that on the first
night Ananth had lost his
peanut on which he was going
to build his fortune. So he
had kept awake the whole night
searching for it. The next night
he had slept soundly worn out
by the previous day's exertions.
The k ing naturally thought that
Ananth was a wealthy ac-
customed to youth luxuries.

Soon after the marriage was
over, Ananth remembered the
cgre's threat and began to worry
about what he would do if the
latter turned up at the castle
with the riddles.

Noticing his restlessness, the
princess asked what ailed him
but he did not reply to her.
At last the princess called her old




nurse aside and wept her heart
out at the strange conduct of
Ananth. The old woman pro-
mised to help her and went and
stood before Ananth.

" What ails you, my young
master, that you do not speak
to the princess, your wife?"

Then Ananth frankly told
her what troubled him.

At once the old woman said,
" Is that all? 1 knew a thousand
riddles and more. Let the ogre
come. We'll take care of him."

Then she bade Ananth re-
main in a dark room. She
bolted the door from inside and
waited for the arrival of the
ogre.

After three days, at the mid-



night, the ogre came to the
palace and knocked on the door
behind which stood a trembling
Ananth.

" Are you there, man?" asked
the ogre.

" Yes, I am in this room,
speak out your riddles. If I
can't answer you, break open
the door and eat me."

So the ogre began : " My
grandmother covered herself
with forty blankets. What does
that mean?"

The old woman whispered
into Ananth's ears, and he said,
" Oh! you mean the flowers of
the plantain tree."

The ogre admitted that was
the right answer. So again he



asked, " Horns it has, but no
bullock it be, a howdah it
carries on its back, but no
elephant it be, so what is it?"

Again the old nurse whispered
into Ananth's ears, and he
answered clearly, " It is a
snail."

The ogre was annoyed that
his riddles were being solved so
easily. So finally he thundered,
" The last riddle for you. I
have no mouth, But I answer
well. No one can see me, but
everyone can hear what I say.
So who am I?"

Prompted by the old woman,
Ananth declared triumphantly,
" Echo."

At once, the ogre split into
two and died. All that he
possessed went to Ananth.

Then Ananth remembered the
ogre's castle and told the k ing
that he would go back home to
his palace. The k ing who was
still sceptical about his son-in-



linn" :




law's real condition accom-
panied the young couple to
their new home. What was
his pleasant surprise to discover
that Ananth's castle contained
treasures which were not to be
found in all his kingdom. All
his doubts vanished and he was
proud of his son-in-law who
was certainly the richest man
on earth.