Jitan

Once upon a time, there was a young man. His name was Jitan. He and his mother lived in a thatched house in a corner of his village. He was a barber by profession.

Everyday he left his home in the morning with his box of instruments and returned late in the evening , that too without any income. In fact, he carried the box of his instruments only to please her mother, as she kept him reprimanding all the tme for wasting his time on useless things. She was worried to think about what would happen to him after she died. She knew that he took the box only to show her that he was going to earn something, but she was aware of the reality. But when he did not correct his ways, she too stopped saying anything.

Jitan was so talkative and so boastful that he could never concentrate on his profession. When he should have been doing his work, he would sit somewhere surrounded by his like- minded friends and kept telling lies about his bravery that he had never exhibited. When anybody came to him for having a haircut or having his bear shaped, he would start start boasting. To someone, he'd say that once when he was passing through a forest he came face to face with a tiger and had a fight with it. In the beginning, he played with it for some time, then holding it by its jaws tore it into two parts. To someone, he says that the king took his counsel on all important matters. To someone, he'd say that he was still unmarried because an ascetic had told him that the king of that country himself would come to him and offer him his daughter in marriage.

This way he passed his time surrounded by people like him. Those who wanted to have a haircut or a shave never come to him. They went to other barbers who were serious to their work and weren't boastful like him. His mother who was an old widow worked in the houses of her neighbours and somehow the vehicle of their family was going ahead. She was fed up with her son's behaviour. She wanted him to earn something and help her run the family, but he never listened to her. She told him that in place of boasting he should concentrate on his work, or one day he would fall into a big problem, but he was made of the clay that most people are not made of. He kept on with his boasting.

One day, his mother suddenly fell ill and passed away leaving him completely alone. Now that there was no one to feed him; he remained hungry. He went to his friends for help but they all mocked at him saying that they could not help a boastful person like him. One day in the hope of getting some help, he searched everywhere in his house in the hope of getting some valuables so that he could find something to sell it and start some work. But he couldn't find anything except a metal trunk full of ragged clothes and some old papers with strange pictures in them. For some time he kept looking at them, then thinking something, took the box outside and put it in the courtyard of his house. That night there was nothing to eat in the house; so, he decided to do something in the morning he lay down on the hard floor. In the morning, being awakened by some noise, he got out of his bed and standing near the door concentrated on the conversation going on out side in the street.

"Where did you get this box from? Tell me, or soon you will be beheaded. "

"Th...th...this is the h...house, M....My Lord... This is the house."

" Call him... ! Go... and call him here. "

After sometime, he heard a knock at the door. With his body shaking with fear, he somehow walked to the door and unfastened the bolt. As the door opened, two strong hands pulled him out and put him in front of their master.

" So it's you! "

"Take him to the king. He himself wants to look into this matter."

He was taken to the king and in no time produced before him. The king who was known far and wide for his wisdom asked him several questions before getting to the point. When he was sure that this man was not lying, he got the trunk brought and told him how the previous night his men caught two thieves who were running away with it.

"Is this your trunk? If it so tells us the truth, and we'll return it to you immediately, and also punish the thieves, " the king enquired of him.

Jitan knew that he himself had thrown the trunk in the courtyard of his house as it had nothing but some useless papers with some strange pictures in them and a rag. It was of no value for him.

"No Sir, it's not mine."

"These thieves are saying that they stole it from your house, " the king repeated.

"No Sir, they haven't stolen it from my house, as I myself threw it in the courtyard of my house. It's of no use to me. If they want it they may take it. away with them. "

"See here! When the trunk was opened, we found two precious stones in it.

"Precious stones in my trunk! " He could not believe his ears. "

"Yes, two large precious stones! "

The king told him about the price of these stones and expressed his wish to purchase them as they must have been in safe hands. When Jitan agreed to this, the king gave him a lot of wealth and kept the stones with him. In this way, Jitan became a rich man. Later on, he also married a beautiful princess and lived a happy life thereafter.