How the Dog came to live with Man

There was a time when all living creatures in the world could live together in peace. A time when everyone in the world could talk to one another in one common language. During this time, there was a famous village fair where all the animals of the world came to trade. Known far and wide as the Great “Iew Luri Lura” (The Luri Lura Fair), this gathering of animals is a great sight to behold. The beasts, the birds, and all the critters of the wild adorned the fair with their colours, cries, and their exotic merchandise. The greatness of the fair is still talked about to this day.

According to the law, all the animals attending the fair should bring an item of trade with them. Anyone who failed to meet this requirement cannot enter the venue. Animals of all ages, shapes, and sizes had to strictly abide by this rule. The second rule was that no humans should be allowed inside the fair as the animals considered him an enemy for hunting their kin. Since the beginning, all animals had agreed to put the tiger in charge as the chief administrator of the fair. So far, things have gone smoothly without any trouble. Until the arrival of the dog.

The dog is a very cheerful animal but not as wealthy as the others. Though he had no good items to sell at the fair, he is determined to visit the fair at any cost. It was his childhood dream. So he set out to search for something, anything to sell. On the outskirts of the forest, the dog picked up a strange delicious smell. He followed it until he came across a kind man in a nearby town. After hearing his story, the man took pity on the poor dog. He also explained to the dog that the delicious smell that brought the dog to his home was his food – ‘Tung Rymbai (fermented beans), a famous Khasi recipe.

After the two shared a meal, the man then offered the dog a jar of the aromatic fermented beans to take with him to the fair. The dog, naturally, was very grateful. He thanked the man wholeheartedly for both the meal and the jar of beans and vowed to help him in the future. So he packed the jar of fermented beans – a delicious treat but a very peculiar item that not many animals know about and set out to the fair with high hopes. Once he reached the fair, he opened his item of sale for everyone to see and hopefully, buy. Little did he know that the beans smell quite horrible to the other animals. The moment he opened the lid of the jar, the entire fair caught a whiff of the strong smell and chaos ensued.

Disgusted and angry, the animals took to searching for the source of the pungent smell. They found that it came from the jar near the dog. The poor dog doesn’t even know what he did. He asked them what had happened but instead got yelled at by animals surrounding him. The mob of angry animals angrily shouted, “You think this Iew Luri Lura is a joke? You came to this honourable place and disgraced us with your disgusting sale. You think you can bring your own waste to us and call it an item of trade?”

At this point, all the animals in the fair were ganging up on the poor clueless dog, mocking and jeering at him. During the commotion, one of the stags kicked the jar to the floor and in excitement, stomped his feet at the beans that fell to the ground. Taking the cue of the stag, all the animals at the fair took turns trampling on the dog’s beans with contempt. The beans smelled nothing wrong to the dog and he was genuinely sad that they had referred to his only

sellable item as waste. With tears in his eyes, he begged that he be brought to a fair judgement by the honourable tiger himself, stating that perhaps only the king is wise enough to hear his story; and fair enough to compensate him for his loss and insults.

Upon arrival at the court, the tiger, however, sided with the other animals who wanted his punishment. He stated that the odour from the basket did smell like a dog’s waste. “The dog should not be allowed inside the fair again for this heinous crime”, he said. He also decreed that the dog should be hunted and killed if seen near the fair again. The court was immediately adjourned and the dog left the place with his soul utterly crushed. Before he did so, he cursed all of those who trampled on his beans and vowed to take revenge. In return, the animals laughed as the dog didn't look like someone capable of doing so.

Determined to teach the animals a lesson, the dog went back to the man who gave him the jar of fermented beans. Once he reached there, he recounted his sad tale to the man who also took offense to the animals stomping the fermented beans in disdain. The dog then asked the man to be his master and that he will help them hunt whoever insulted him at the fair. He also begged the man to take him under his care and in return, he promised to serve him well. The man agreed since he knows that the dog can be a valuable helper considering the dog’s well-known loyalty. So the two set out to hunt the animals of the forests.

Since then, man became a very successful hunter with the help of the dog. Hunting was very easy because all the dog had to do was to follow the strong unique smell of the fermented beans still stuck to the animal’s hooves and feet. The animals regretted their foolish actions against the dog ever since for they had to carry the unfading scent everywhere they went. The dog, satisfied with the turn of events, decided to live with the man to this day.