In a village lived an old man and an old woman. They had two grandsons. The sons and daughters-in-law had passed away when the boys were still little, so it was their grandparents who raised them. The grandsons were strong and hardworking; they worked in the jhum fields. The old couple would spend the whole day sitting and waiting eagerly for their grandsons to return with food.
One day, while working together, the grandsons became very tired. They searched the forest for food but found nothing. Then they climbed a tree and spotted a pigeon’s nest with four eggs. One by one, they ate all four eggs. In the evening, after returning home, they told their grandmother, “You know, today we ate pigeon eggs! Four of them. They were really tasty!”
Hearing that, the old woman grew angry and replied sharply, “If they were so tasty, then why didn’t you bring one for your old grandma, my dears? It’s been so long since I’ve even seen an egg.” Furious, she went and told the old man everything, shouting in frustration.
The next day, when the two boys went off to the jhum field, the old couple sat together and thought,
“Our grandsons never share anything good with us. Then why should we? Let’s just slaughter the pig we’ve been raising and eat it ourselves.”
No sooner said than done—they killed the household pig and cooked it. Not a single piece of meat did they give to the grandsons. When the boys came home and asked for food, they were chased away with harsh words.
Heartbroken, the two brothers left the village. They wandered in search of a place to sleep and food to eat, but night fell with no success. Finally, they decided to spend the night in the forest.
Having eaten nothing all day, the brothers—like the day before—began searching for bird eggs in the trees. They found nothing, until at the top of a giant tree, they discovered a vulture’s nest. The vulture was out hunting.
The elder brother climbed the tree and, starving, devoured all the eggs he found in the nest, leaving only one egg for his younger brother. As he was climbing down with the last egg, his foot got stuck in a branch. The egg slipped from his hand, fell to the ground, and cracked open.
Just as the elder brother climbed down from the tree, he slowly began to transform into a vulture. The younger brother, witnessing this horrifying change, burst into tears out of fear and sadness. But the elder brother said gently,
“Don’t cry, brother. I’ve turned into a vulture now. I can no longer live among humans. I must stay here in the forest with the wild creatures. But let me at least find you a place to stay before I go.”
With that, the vulture-brother took flight, and the younger brother followed him on foot.
After a long walk, they arrived in front of a poor widow’s jhum field. The elder brother said,
“The owner of this field will arrive shortly. Stay with her, little brother.”
Then, the vulture flapped its wings and disappeared into the forest, leaving the younger brother alone.
Tears still in his eyes, the boy plucked a pumpkin growing near the field, ate it, and spread some grass beneath a tree to sleep.
That night, he had a strange and vivid dream. In it, an old man appeared and said to him,
“Dig beneath the bamboo grove beside this jhum field—you will find a treasure of great value. This treasure will help you for the rest of your life. Go now, child, and start digging.”
In the morning, the boy dug into the earth and discovered a magnificent golden ring. But this was no ordinary ring—it could speak like a human.
“There’s nothing in this world I cannot do. Command me, master,” it said.
Overjoyed, the boy slipped the ring onto his finger and returned to sit near the jhum field.
Soon, the owner of the field—the widow—arrived. The boy approached her and went home with her. He called her “Mother” and promised,
“I’ll take care of your field, do all the work you need—everything. Just let me stay with you.”
The boy’s days were passing happily with the jhum field and his new mother. Thanks to the power of the ring, he had even built a gairing (a small stilt house) near the field.
As time went by, harvest season arrived. One day, the widow said to him,
“See if you can perform a Bala Kamadir ritual—it helps bring a good crop. I’m a poor woman; I can’t afford to feed the village priest, so he refuses to offer prayers in my field.”
The boy used the help of the ring to gather all the elaborate ritual items and invited the priest to perform the ceremony in the field.
Then, one by one, he carried out the harvesting, storing, and everything else with great care. He even made a beautiful fruit basket (langga) for his old mother. The widow carried that basket as she roamed around the village.
When the village headman’s wife saw the basket, she was charmed.
“Oh my! Where did you get such a beautiful langga, old lady?” she asked.
The widow replied,
“My adopted son made it. Want me to ask him to make one for you too?”
Hearing that, the headman’s wife was delighted and invited the widow and her son to a feast at her house.
And so, with the help of his magical ring, the poor old woman and the boy gradually became well-regarded and respected throughout the village.
Meanwhile, in the village headman’s house, there lived a beautiful girl—around the same age as the boy. The old widow had taken quite a liking to her. It was her heartfelt wish that this very girl would one day become the bride of her adopted son.
With that desire in mind, she one day secretly took the girl for a walk through the jhum field, hoping she would notice the boy. Her plan worked perfectly.
At first glance, the girl fell for the boy. She later went to her father, the headman, and declared that she wished to marry him.
But the headman was not one to give in so easily. He wanted to test the boy’s strength and capability before giving his daughter away.
So the next morning, he made an announcement:
“Whoever can kill a pig with a single blow and cook for the whole village with one hand—he shall marry my daughter.”
With that, he tied up the largest and strongest pig from his farm at the post, ready to see who would rise to the challenge.
One by one, all the young men of the village gathered. But none could complete the task. After all, who could defeat such a massive pig alone? And cooking with only one hand? That seemed utterly impossible.
As everyone began to give up and head back, the headman scoffed and said mockingly,
“Oh dear! Seems there isn’t a single strong young man in this whole village. I suppose I’ll have to look to another village now.”
Hearing this, the adopted boy—the younger brother of the vulture spirit—felt a rush of anger rise within him.
Without wasting another moment, he called upon the power of his magical ring.
With a single blow, he brought the powerful pig down.
Using just one hand, he skinned it, cleaned it thoroughly, and then cooked a delicious meal with that same hand.
He served the food to everyone present, fulfilling the challenge with ease and grace.
Seeing this, the headman was overjoyed. At long last, a worthy husband had been found for his daughter. Without delay, he summoned the village priest and arranged for the couple to be married.
A grand ceremony was held, and the priest sprinkled holy water over them in blessing.
From that day forward, the young jhum farmer—once cast out of his home—lived happily with his adoptive mother, always keeping the secret magical ring close.
Whenever life threw challenges his way, the enchanted ring came to his aid, never failing him.
And deep within his heart, he still bows his head in gratitude to the old man from his dream—offering silent thanks for the gift that changed his life forever.