The Three Dancing Goats

 The Three Dancing Goats

This is a typical Indian fork-tale. A hard-working young peasant (Sindhu) was lucky enough to possess three dancing goats. The three dancing goats brought him all the desired and his widowed mother and a pretty wife also felt comfort.

The man lived with his mother in a little bamboo hut and they had a small plot of grazing land. They had a couple of cows. The mother asked him to sell the cows as there was not grain due to the drought. But he loved them very much so did not want to sell. While coming to the market, he met an old woman. She admired his love for the cows so wished to exchange the cow with her three dancing goats and promised to take well cared for the cows. Sindhu did not like the idea first but when the woman played a little bamboo flute and the three goats began to dance to the tune, he believed what the old woman said about them. They were lovely goats from the Himalayan region having long hair, long flapping ears and round noses. He hoped that he would be able to earn a few pennies everyday by entertaining the village folk.

But when Sindhu’s mother saw the goats, she thought her son had been cheated by the wicked market woman. But Sindhu convinced her that the goats would someday bring them luck. The daughter of Sindhu’s land-lord soon heard of the dancing goats and wanted to see their dancing. He played his flute at her house and the three-dancing goat danced. The daughter asked the price to buy them but Sindhu agreed to give one in a barrel of foodstuffs to his widowed mother. The girl agreed and was delighted to own a dancing goat. But the single goat did not dance and she bought another one giving him a gold ring and a barrel of foodstuffs that time. But again the two goats did not dance so she asked for the third goat and the magic of the flute that made the goats dance. He agreed to give her but wanted to know the meaning of the three different colored stones set in the gold ring she gave him. She told the meaning and asked him to keep secret.

One day the land owner announced that whoever could name the three strands of hairs hidden among her black silken tresses can be the bride for his daughter. Many young men came to tell the secret but could not make the right guess. Sindhu heard about it but thought that the owner would not like him. So he thought to disguise. He went there wearing a special uniform. He looked very attracting in his gay attire. Nobody recognized him. He stood calmly by his master and declared the secret.

The novel lady had one hair pure white, the colour of a diamond; one dark red, the colour of a ruby; and one bright green, the colour of an emerald. These three strands of hair are hidden among her black silken tresses.

The land owner asked him to tell how he came to know that secret. He told the story from the very beginning. The landowner told her daughter that she was his bride since she had given him her ring. Other suitors cried that it was an error of destiny and a curse of God. But Sindhu replied that it was a triumph of faith, love and patience. Then the pair married and lived happily ever after.

Question-Answer

a)Where did the boy and the mother live?

Ans. The boy and mother lived in a little bamboo hut.

b) Why did his mother want to get rid of their cows?

Ans. His mother wanted to get rid of  their cows because they did not have grain ( food ) to feed them due to the drought.

c) Why did the boy not want to sell his cow’s to the butcher?

Ans. He loved the cows very much. The thought of selling the cows they loved so much distressed him. He could not bear or see that the cows were being cut. So he did not want to sell his cows to the butcher. He wanted to beg the purchaser to take great care of them.

d) Why did Sindhu accept the bargain after seeing goat’s dance?

Ans. Sindhu was amused at the performance of the dancing goat. He believed that they might bring him a fortune and he would be able to earn money by entertaining the village folk. So he accepted the offer seeing goat’s dance.

e) What sort of advice did the old lady give to Sindhu?

Ans. The old lady advised him to be content with what he had got.

f) Why did the landlord’s daughter want to buy a goat?

Ans. The landlord’s daughter wanted to buy a goat for her entertainment.

g) What price did Sindhu ask for the goat?

Ans. Sindhu said that the goat could not be purchased with money. He asked a barrel of foodstuffs to his widowed mother for the goat.

h) Why was Sindhu attracted to the girl ?

Ans. Sindhu was attracted to the girl because she was beautiful.

i)What did the girl ask for along with the third goat?

Ans. The girl asked for the flute along with the third goat.

j) What were the colors of the three stands of hair?

OR

What did these colors stand for?

Ans. The novel lady had one hair pure white, the colour of a diamond; one dark red, the colour of a ruby; and one bright green, the colour of an emerald. These three strands of hair are hidden among her black silken tresses.

k) How was Sidhus able to enter into the Manor House?

Ans. He was able to enter into the Manor House by disguising in livery.

l) Did the goats really bring luck to Sindhu? How?

Ans. The goats really brought luck to Sindhu by enabling him to marry the beautiful daughter of his boss in a mysterious way. The poor and hardworking youth succeeds in marrying the charming and rich girl. It is impossible otherwise.

m) What two factors of a folk–tale that are missing in the story?

Ans. The two factors of a folk-tale that are missing in the story are talking of animals and witch craft.

n) Describe the various ways of Marriage in Nepal or write an essay on ‘ Marriage in Nepal’. 

Ans. Marriage is the legal relationship between a husband and wife. Nowadays, there are different forms of marriage like arranged marriage, love marriage and court marriage are popular in Nepali society. 

Arranged marriage is popular among Hindu culture in Nepal and the Hindus’ believe that the marriages are made in heaven. Once the son or daughter reaches at the age of marriage, the parents look for the groom or bride through relatives or people they know, they can be called middle man or we call “Lami” in Nepali. Once the groom or bride is found then the parents go to the astrologers/priests to consult and check and confirm whether the bride and the groom are made for each other. For this purpose, both the bride and the groom's star signs are matched. The middle person or the lami, who acts as a messenger for both the families is involved in all arrangement of the wedding. Weddings start with the determination of the precise dated set by the astrologers. They can be held only during certain auspicious seasons which fall from the April through June and January through February. Weddings embrace the rich cultural tradition stretching over several days. The ceremony starts with after having engagement (when the bride and groom exchange ring and garland).First the groom will go to the bride’s with his family, friends and relatives (who are called Janti in Nepali) and the wedding ceremony will start; the Swayambar follows where the bride and the groom exchange their rings and garland made of Doobo (Doobo is a certain type of grass which does not dry thus indicating the relationship will never break or dry).

The groom wear Nepali national dress called “ Daura Suruwal with Topi” or Coat and pant as well and the bride wear heavy gold jewelries and red sari and blouse and a sparkling “ghoomto” covers her face. The most touching scene is observed during kanyadaan, when the bride's parents perform the ritual of handling the responsibility of their daughter to the groom. Therefore, the bride become exclusively his and have to wear “sindoor and pote” as long as she is married and pray for her husband's long life. At last, the laughter fades and shedding of tears begin as the farewell ritual starts. The wedding is followed by a grand reception. String of decorative light, melodious music and delicious food and drinks emphasize the high spirits of the groom's family and thus leave memories imprinted in the hearts of the guests and the bride will return to home with his wife then the marriage ceremony completed.

Love marriage is becoming more popular in Nepal these days as there are not options of choosing the life partner in arranged marriage, the new generation have started to choose their life partner them self and if the parents of the both families are agree with their choice then they will arrange the wedding according to the Arranged marriage and if any of the family is not agree then they leave the family and get married themselves and start new family, later on, the parents will call them to return since the parents cannot leave their children for long time so, they accept whatever mistake the children made as the children are always children in the eyes of parents and the children also may ask for apologies for being obedient with parents and will return to parents.

Some of the couples when they are happy with each other’s and even their parents are agreed to get married then they just will go to the court and get marriage certificate. The boy and girl after being matured go to District Administration Office and get married and they accept themselves as husband and wife.