THE
THREE DANCING GOATS (A Folk-Tale) Anonymous
What is
Folk-Literature?
Folk literature records the beliefs of people as they appear in
popular custom, tradition, magic and ritual. The central figure in Indian
folk-tales is a hero or heroine who is usually poor & destitute at the
start but who, after a series of adventures attains his/her goal-viz. marriage
to a prince or princess and lives happily ever after.
The
theme of the story is that one who is good at heart and has faith patience and
ingenuity gets a good fortune sooner or later. It tells the tale of a poor
& hard-working youth who succeeded in marrying the beautiful daughter of
the landowner. His success was owing to partly the magic of the flute and a
stroke of luck. Mainly it was on account of his goodness of heart, faith,
patience. He was lucky enough to
come by three dancing goats. They brought comfort to his widowed mother and a
pretty rich wife for himself. Sindhu lived with his mother in a small hut. He had
a small plot of grazing land and two cows. There was severe drought. Poor Sindhu had to go to the market –town and sell his cows. On his way to town he met an old woman. She
was going to the market to sell her goats. • She offered to exchange her goats
with Sindhu’s cows. She told him that the goats will bring fortune to him
some day. She drew a flute from her
basket and began to play on it. The three goats began to dance to its tune. Sindhu was greatly amused. He believed
what the old woman said about them. He thought
the goats might not bring fortune, but he will certainly earn a few pennies by
entertaining the village-folk He accepted
the offer. Sindhu’s mother was unhappy at the bargain made by him. She felt he had
been cheated. Sindhu was satisfied with the bargain he had made. He believed in what the old woman had said
to him. Sindhu’s landlord’s daughter heard of three dancing goats. She
summoned him to her house to see the dancing goats. Sindhu played on the
flute and the goats danced merrily. The landlord’s daughter offered to buy
one of the goats. Sindhu told her that she should visit his widowed mother
and give a barrel of foodstuff in the exchange of one of his goats. She
accepted his offer and got the goat. The goat didn’t dance in the landlord’s
house. Sindhu was called again. She told Sindhu that village priest had
told her that the goat would not dance without a companion. She wanted Sindhu
to sell another
goat too. Sindhu agreed in exchange for the gold ring on
her finger and barrel of foodstuffs. The girl accepted the offer and got the
goat. But, again after few days Sindhu was called again. He was told that the two goats would not
dance without the third one. Sindhu played the flute and the goats started
dancing merrily. It was the power of the magical flute that made the goats
dance. He gave landlord’s daughter
the flute and the third goat. But in return, he wanted to know the meaning of
three different colored stones in the ring that she had given him. She was
bent upon having the flute and the goat. She told him the secret of the three
different colored stones on her ring. One day landowner announced his
intention of finding a bridegroom for his daughter. He declared whoever could name the three strands of hair hidden
among her black silken tresses
should
have her as his bride. Many young men from different parts of the country
came to try their luck. But, no one could make the right guess. Sindhu got
an opportunity to enter the landlord’s house as the servant of a rich suitor. He told the secret of the lady’s three strands of hair. He also showed the
ring of the three colored stones that the lady had given him in exchange for
his second goat. • In this way Sindhu got landlord’s daughter for his bride. Sindhu in the end said that it was the triumph of faith, love and patience.
Questions:
1.Where did the boy and mother live?
The boy and his mother lived in a little
bamboo hut.
2.Why did his mother want to get rid of the
cows?
His mother wanted to get rid of the cows
because they didn’t have food grain for their survival.
3.Why did the boy not want to sell his cows
to the butcher?
The boy didn’t want to sell his cows to the
butcher as he was kind-hearted person and he wouldn’t like to see the cows being
cut.
4.why did Sindhu accept the bargain after
seeing goat’s dance?
Sindhu accepted the bargain after seeing
goat’s dance as he wanted to earn money by entertaining village people showing
the dance of goats.
e)What sort
of advice did the old lady give to Sindhu?
The old lady suggested him that he would be a
fortunate sooner or later . He should be faithful and patience.
f)Why did the landlord’s daughter want to buy
a goat?
For entertainment.
g)What price did Sindhu ask for the goat?
Sindhu asked for a barrel of food stuff for
the price of goat.
h)Why was Sindhu attracted to the girl?
Sindhu was attracted to the girl for the sake
money and beauty.
i)What did the girl ask for along with the
third goat?
The girl asked for a flute along with the
third goat.
j) What were the colours of the three strands
of hair? What did these colours stand for?
The three strands of hair are pure white,
dark red and bright green where pure white stands for diamond, dark red stands
for ruby and bright green for emerald.
k) Why did Sindhu work on the landlord’s
farm?
Sindhu worked on the landlord’s farm for
survival.
l)Why was it a curious way of finding a bridegroom?
The way of finding a bridegroom is a curious
way as the landlord announced about his daughter’s marriage linking with the
secret of three strands of hair. The one who would be able to know the colour
of her hair would be the bridegroom of his daughter.
M) How was Sindhu able to enter into the
manor house?
Sindhu was able to enter into the Manor House
by taking the help of a passerby and knowing the secret of the three strands of
hair.
0)What two factors of a folk tale are missing
in this story?
Write a letter to your friend who lives in a
foreign country describing the marriage custom of your country.
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