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The Truth
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“Who the hell threw this
garbage in my fencing?” “How dare you throw it?”
“Why are you seeing me and shouting? Ask the person who threw it.”
“I know it should be only you and nobody else”
“You have dared to do such a thing, soiling my house” and she threw some
garbage inside the other fencing.
Mrs. Nirmala and Mrs. Durga were the ones who were fighting. This was a
routine thing for their neighbors. Every day they fought for something or
the other. Nobody knew the reason why they were fighting. Few days back it
was an interesting scene for the neighbors to listen to them fighting. But
as days passed by it became a routine and no one watched them fight. |
It all started off with the Mango tree. Both the ladies lived in a
government quarters. There was a huge Mango tree which had grown in the
middle of the fencing line of both the house. It all started off when Mrs.
Durga saw a mango on the tree and tried to pluck it. Mrs. Nirmala claimed
that the tree is theirs as they have lived for many years in that quarter
and that they have been enjoying the fruits for years now. Only if she
wills, she would give some fruits to her neighbors, so started the fight
from that day. They would abuse each other and sometimes do things like
throwing garbage in each other’s premises.
Mango season had soon arrived and the tree had bloomed into so many
beautiful white flowers. Mrs. Nirmala and Mrs. Durga waited for the
opportunity to get their hands on the mangoes. On the same tree there was
a crow which built its nest. Mrs. Durga’s little son befriended the crow
and everyday in the morning when he had his breakfast the crow would fly
down to his balcony, and he would feed the crow a little from whatever he
ate - from bread to idly and dosa.
The crow observed from its nest the two ladies fight every day. And it
used to wonder why they fought every day for no reason at all. The crow
used to discuss this with its mate, “why do human beings fight for no
reason?” But she never received any reply from her mate as he was as
clueless as her.
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The mango tree had huge delicious and succulent mangoes by the time the
crow laid three eggs. One night when the crow was fast asleep on her nest,
she heard Mrs. Durga talking to a man, who was dressed in shorts and had a
sickle in his hand. The crow tried to understand what she was up to.
“Climb up the tree without making any noise and pluck all the mangoes, put
it inside this sack and bring it slowly. Remember don’t make any noise.”
And the man nodded his head, like an obedient slave. He climbed the tree,
as the crow watched him near a mango. He plucked it slowly and started to
fill the sack. |
Suddenly the lights were
on in Mrs. Nirmala’s house and she
started abusing Mrs. Durga for what she was doing. She called her a thief.
While Mrs. Durga said that she was plucking mangoes of the tree and it was
her right as the roots are on her fence too. Their noise woke up the
neighborhood people. People started to jeer out of their windows and see
what the issue was this time between the two ladies.
Their husbands had to intervene and stop them from making a fool of
themselves. They said to each other no one will pluck the fruits
henceforth. The eggs soon hatched and the fruits from the tree ripened and
started falling down. Nobody could enjoy the delicious mangoes, other than
the squirrels, parrots, and few beggars who picked them from the roadside.
The crow saw the whole scene and said to her chicks “children learn to be
good, unlike humans”.
Contributing
Story Teller
Leena Bose, I am a creative writer. I have a triple masters
in Literature and Mass communication. I love to write and I started
writing at the age of 16. I am a freelancer for Women's Era, a Times group
magazine. I love challenges in life and also my profession. I am a
go-getter and believe in teamwork rather than be a one women army.
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