THE RICH MOUSE

In an old monastery, there once lived a monk. His name was Tamrachooda.

Every morning he took his bag and went out begging for alms. He ate whatever he got as alms and kept the leftovers in his bag. At night, he hung his bag on a peg in his room and went to sleep peacefully.

Every night, many mice came out of their holes and ran about the room. But none could reach the bag. And so, none could get anything to eat.

So one day, all the mice got together and went to Hiranyaka, their king. "Tamrachooda, the monk, hangs his bag of alms very high on a peg" they all complained in chorus and added, "No matter how high we jump, we cannot reach that bag. So we do not get anything to eat. You are strong and mighty. If you help us, we all can have a grand feast every night."

That night, Hiranyaka led all the mice to the monastery. They all entered Tamrachooda's room and Hiranyaka looked at the bag which was hanging high from the peg. With one jump, he reached the bag and pulled it down. He scattered all the food on the floor for the mice to feast on.  After the mice had filled their stomachs, Hiranyaka also ate some food.

Now this became a daily routine for Hiranayaka and the mice. Tamrachooda was soon fed up of the mice.

One day, a monk came to meet Tamrachooda in his monastery.

At night, both the friends lay down talking with each other. While they were talking, Tamrachooda kept banging a big stick on the floor. Bang... bang...

Tamrachooda's friend was surprised. He said, "Friend, you are not paying attention to what I am saying. Why do you keep banging that stick?"

Tamrachooda said, "What else can I do, friend? Every night a big mouse comes here along with many other mice. With one jump he reaches my bag hanging on the peg and pulls it down. He then scatters the food on the floor. Then all the mice feast on the food. i am fed up of these mice. So I keep on banging this stick on the floor to scare them away."

Tamrachooda's friend looked at the peg and said, "How can a mouse reach a peg so high? I don't believe this!"

"Well, tonight you can see it for yourself," said Tamrachooda.

Both friends stopped talking and pretended to sleep quietly. After sometime, they heard a faint sound. Both of them opened their eyes.

The mice had arrived! They were led by their king Hiranyaka. With one jump he pulled the bag down from the high peg!

"Did you see that?" asked Tamrachooda to his friend. The moment the mice heard Tamrachooda's voice, they scampered away with fright.

Tamrachooda's friend said, "Do you know where this mouse lives?"

"No", said Tamrachooda.

The friend said, "Some have the power of beauty, while others have the power of authority. There are some who enjoy the power of money. I am sure this mouse is very rich. It is the power of his wealth that makes him jump so high. Tomorrow morning, we will find out where he lives".

The next morning, Tamrachooda and his friend took a spade and set out in search of Hiranyaka's hole. They dug here and there... and everywhere.. A few mice ran out of their holes. Suddenly a big cat came there. She pounced on many mice and killed them. Some, however, managed to save their lives. They scampered hurriedly into the first hole they came across.

After digging for some time, the two monks, at last, came to Hiranyaka's hole. As soon as they began to dig. hiranyaka came out of the hole and ran fast to save his life. As they continued to dig further, they found an invaluable treasure!

Tamrachooda was stunned. But now Hiranyaka, the king of mice had lost all his wealth!

Tamrachooda's friend said, "Now this mouse will not be able to jump high enough to reach the peg."

"Well, you can never say. This mouse is no fool. Just wait till midnight..." said Tamrachooda.

That night both the monks lay down, pretending to be fast asleep.

Throughout the day, the mice had to run helter-skelter to save their lives and so they were very hungry. Both the monks were waiting for the mice to come into the room. "Why haven't the mice come?" they wondered.
But suddenly, Hiranyaka and his mice arrived there.

Tamrachooda became eager and impatient to know what would happen next.