HOW HORSEGRAM BECAME FLAT

One day a poor barber went into his field of brown peas. He picked the peas and put them into a big bag. He saw a big green grasshopper in the garden.

 “It’s eating my peas!” he said. He ran and caught it by the tail. The grasshopper flew up into the sky but the barber held on to its tail. It went right upto heaven with him. There the barber met the gods.

                “We have no barber here,” said the King of the Gods, sadly. “Look at our long hair and dirty beards. What shall we do?”

                “I’ll cut your hair,” the barber said.

                The ing of the gods was very pleased. “ Cut my hair and shave my beard,” he said, “I’ll give you a measure of gold!” The barber cut the hair of thirty seven gods. Each one gave him a measure of gold. He put all the gold in his bag.

                The barber was ready to leave. He took hold of the grasshopper’s tail.

                “Goodbye,” said the gods. “Please come again.”

                The grasshopper flew down from heaven with him.

                The barber came home with his bag of gold. He was a rich man now. His wife was very pleased.

                “Where did you get all this money?” the barber’s brothers asked him. The barber told them all. They then told the story to their uncles and cousins. They were barbers too. They held a meeting.

                “Let’s all go to heaven and shave the gods,” they said.

                They all went to the garden and picked peas. Soon the grasshopper came down. The first barber ran up and took hold of its tail. The grasshopper flew up and the barber went up with it. A second barber took hold of the first barber’s legs. A third barber took hold of the second barber legs. In this way, fifty-one barbers went up.

                Near the gate to heaven, a young barber asked, “Do you get a measure of gold for a haircut and shave?”

                “Yes!” the first barber said.

                “How big is the measure?” asked the young barber.

                “This big!” replied the first barber. And he stretched out his hand to show him how big.

                Down fell all the barbers on the peas in the field! The round peas became flat and they became horsegram.  That is how horsegram became flat!

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GATHERED FROM MY OLD TEXT BOOK