The two wild ducks

A hunter once took his wife hunting with him in a forest, and there he killed two wild ducks. Both he and his wife were very happy and excited. The wife said, “I will make a most delicious meal from these two ducks.”

While they were on their way home, the head of the village saw them and asked, “Where are you going? I see you have two ducks. You have to sell them to me!”

Since he was the village head, what could they do? They couldn’t argue with him; otherwise, he would create such problems for them! After the village head bought the ducks for a large amount of money, the wife said to him, “Since these are most special ducks, I hope your cook knows how to cook them in a very special way.” Inwardly she was very sad and mad that they had met the village head.

The village head said, “You are saying these ducks are very special, but my wife died about a year ago and my cook does not cook well. Do you think you would be able to cook them for me? I will pay you.”

The woman said to herself, “If I say no, then we will be in trouble.” So she told the village head, “I will cook on the condition that you make everything ready for me, and also that your cook does not stay in the kitchen while I am preparing the duck. I don’t want him to learn from me. I want to be the only good cook.”

The village head said, “My cook will leave the ingredients for you and he will not stay in the kitchen.”

So the wife agreed. The village head took the ducks home and the husband and wife went to their own house. The husband was cursing his wife. He said, “Why did you agree? This is an insult to my pride. First of all, I had to give the ducks to him. Secondly, my wife now has to go and work at somebody else’s house like a servant.”

The wife said, “I am not acting like a servant. I am only doing him a favour. But don’t worry. You will eat the duck.”

The man said, “I do not think that he will give me any.”

The wife said, “I tell you, you will get the full amount.”

The husband said, “All right, let me see your capacity.”

The following day the wife went to the village head’s home and started cooking a most delicious meal. The cook was not there. The village head came in from time to time to watch.

He asked, “In an hour will I be able to eat?”

She said, “That is absolutely true.”

At one point the husband came to see if everything was going well. At that time the village head was upstairs. The wife asked her husband, “Did you see anybody on the street?”

The husband said, “Yes, I saw a soldier sleeping by the side of the road.”

The wife said, “When the village head comes back downstairs, tell him that a high-ranking officer is sleeping nearby. Say that if he invites that man to eat here, the officer will be so pleased that he will tell the king about him. He will say that this village head is a very nice man and the king will definitely give him a higher post. The king may even make him head of a city rather than just a village.”

In a few minutes, when the village head came downstairs, the husband said, “I came here to ask my wife if everything is going all right. On my way, I saw a high-ranking officer sleeping. He would be so pleased with you if you invited him to eat, especially since my wife is such an excellent cook. If he tells the king, the king may give you a very high post.”

The village head agreed. So the husband went and woke up the officer and invited him to eat. Then the husband went back home.

After the village head welcomed the officer, he went into the kitchen to ask the wife to bring the food. She told him, “I have been cooking here for such a long time. My clothes are now dirty and filthy and I didn’t bring an extra change of clothes. Do you not think it will look nicer if I serve the food in clean clothes? Then the officer will feel that your maid is clean and beautiful. Then in every way you will be able to please him.”

The village head said, “Then let me hurry to your house and bring you a change of clothes from your husband.”

As soon as he left, the wife went to the officer and started crying. “What is the matter?” asked the officer.

“I am not crying for myself, but for you,” she said.

“I am a great officer,” he said. “Nothing is going to happen to me.”

The wife said, “Do not be so sure. This man is physically very strong. Of course, you know your own capacity. But every year on this particular day, this man invites one or two guests. And what does he do?” Then the wife started crying again.

“Please tell me,” said the officer.

The wife said, “He takes out their eyes. Everybody has a hobby. This is his hobby!”

“Is this a joke?” asked the officer.

“No,” said the wife. “If I ask my husband, my husband will be able to tell you the names of all the people that he has done this to. When he becomes mad, he can easily handle three or four persons. If you feel that you are stronger than he is, then stay and fight. You are such a big officer.”

The officer asked, “Why do you work here?”

The wife said, “I don’t work here. Only today the servant has not come and because he is the village head, I had to help him. But you do not have to stay. It may hurt your pride to leave, but that would be the wise thing.”

The officer said, “Wisdom is always best. The best thing is to leave.”

The village head was just returning as the officer was leaving. “Have you eaten?” asked the village head.

The officer immediately began running away. The village head said, “He should at least take one of the ducks,” and he started running after him. He shouted at the officer, “Wait, wait, I will only take one.” The officer thought he meant that he would take only one eye instead of both, and he ran even faster.

While the village head was chasing the officer, the wife packed up both ducks and took them to her own house.

When the village head came back, after getting disgusted at having to chase the officer, to his surprise he saw that nothing was left. The wife said to him, “I am so sorry that the soldier ate everything. When I asked him to wait, he didn’t listen to me and ate everything himself. I am only a woman, so what could I do?”