Metaphor - a Bed Time Story

 Like most parents, my parents (Biological) also told us bed time stories, but mostly in hot summer afternoons, :-) and most of these stories were related to Sanatana Dharma, and the stories were frequently repeated, and my three siblings would walk away the moment they would hear them coming, but I would sit and listen to them all over again, again, again, again, again, again and again, because every time I would understand the story from a new perspective, a new angle, some called that, I do drama or I tried to show my parents, that I was an obedient child of theirs:-) but the truth is every time it carried a new set information for me. ;-)

The reason people should pay attention when ever Ramayana, Maha Bharata or any story is told to them.

One such story was told innumerable times with out any explanations or meaning of that story, because that story was a metaphor.

The story:

Once upon a time, there was this town, and there was a King and the King had seven sons,

The sons were all grown up,

One day the King calls all his sons and tells them to fetch seven fish each,

So, the seven son's of the King go to fetch seven fish each,

When they are back with seven fish each,

The king asks them to dry the fish under the Sun,

The seven son's of the king place their respective seven fish under the Sun,

The next day the King asks them to see If they were dry, 

The son's return and inform the King that only six fish were dry but the seventh fish was not dry,

King asks his son's to go and ask the seventh fish why it was not dry,

So, the seven son's of the King ask their respective seventh fish , why it was not dry,

1) The seventh fish - Because the heap of grass was blocking the Sun,

They ask the heap of Grass why it was blocking the Sun,

2) The heap of grass - Because the Cow did not eat it,

They ask the Cow, why it did not eat the grass, 

3) The Cow - Because the calf did not suckle her milk,

They ask the calf, why it did not suckle the milk,

4) The Calf - Because the Cowherd did not let her loose, 

They ask the Cowherd, why he did not let the calf loose, 

5) The Cowherd - Because my wife did not serve me the food, 

They ask the wife why she did not serve the cowherd his food, 

6) The Wife - Because the child cried, 

They ask the child why it cried, 

7) The Child - The ant bit me, 

They ask the ant why it had bitten the child,

8)The Ant - Because the child put his finger in my Ant hole, and anyone who puts his finger in my golden Ant Hill, Won't I bite..

Each one of the 8 lines numbered are individual Metaphors, and collectively all of them are part of one greater metaphor, now you have to decipher it. :-) Simple.

SPIanala Aug 2022