Asian trickster and fool tales

Asian tricksters come in various sizes and forms, animal and human; several popular human tricksters are included below. For a famous animal trickster, see Judge Rabbit and Tiger elsewhere on this site.

Birbal

One night when her husband was out visiting friends, Birbal’s wife went to sleep quite early. Hours later, she awoke when she heard a loud noise in the next room.

“Nothing much,” replied Birbal. “It was only my clothes. They fell down.”

Khwaja Nasruddin

Khwaja Nasruddin went to visit a friend who had just opened an inn. Above the door, a sign proudly proclaimed, “The Guest is Our Master.” As the two talked, the very first customer came in and sat down. He was a large, rough looking man who bellowed rudely to the owner.

“Satisfy me or you will be very sorry,” he ordered, holding up a small coin. “With this money, I want to eat, drink, and be entertained.”

The owner did not know what to do. Although he truly wanted to please his first customer, he knew the request was impossible. A plate of rice alone would cost more than that little coin. He opened his mouth to apologize, when suddenly Khwaja Nasruddin took the coin, crossed the street, and bought something at the market there. He returned holding it happily in his hand.

“There you are, enjoy yourself,” he said with a bow. Then he gave the man a small piece of watermelon. “Now you can eat the flesh, drink the juice, and spit the seeds for entertainment.”TOP

A-Chey

Long ago in Cambodia, a clever boy named A-Chey went to stay in the king’s palace. But his quick mind never took a rest and, soon, the king grew weary of the boy’s wit. He longed to trick him in return. So one day, the king called to all of his ministers.

“Tomorrow, we shall go to the palace pond,” he said. “Each of you must bring an egg hidden in your clothes. When I order, you will jump into the water, make sounds like chickens, and give me the eggs. But keep this plan a secret from A-Chey. I want him to be the fool at least once.”

Early the next morning, the king and his followers strolled to the palace pond. As they admired the white lotus flowers, the king ordered each man to lay an egg. One by one, they jumped into the water, flapped their arms and squawked, “Pak, pak, pak. ” Then, looking a bit bashful, they each held up an egg.

“A-Chey, now you must lay an egg,” commanded the king. “If you don’t, you will be severely punished.”

A-Chey thought quickly and dived in with a grin. “Ko kay ke ko, ko kay ke ko,” he crowed as he soon jumped out, his head held high.

“Sir, please excuse me,” said A-Chey. “But I don’t lay eggs. I greet the sun to start the day, for I am a great rooster. There are enough hens here, let them lay eggs. With all these hens, a king must have a rooster too, no?” TOP

Tenali Raman

One warm evening, Tenali Raman came home and saw three thieves hiding in the bushes, watching his house. He went inside as usual and up to his wife. He winked at her then shouted, “Wife, we must be careful. There are thieves in the city. Let’s put all our valuables in that big chest and hide it in the well tonight. Everything will be safe there.”

Although his wife was quite puzzled, she answered loudly, “What a good idea. We’ll do it right away.”

In no time, the old chest was filled, but not with jewels — with brick bits and heavy pots. Groaning and moaning, the couple pushed it out and into the well. They went back inside and soon the house grew dark and quiet. In the garden, the three thieves were most pleased.

“How easy they made it for us,” said one. “Now we can empty the well while they sleep, then remove the chest.”

Eagerly, the three took turns pulling up the well bucket and pouring the water nearby. From inside his house, Tenali Raman watched them empty bucket after bucket, all on his dry garden. The thieves worked for hours until at dawn they were ready to remove the chest.

Just then, Tenali Raman called out, “Thank you so much for watering my garden. Do pull up that chest of junk, if you wish. You have some time before the guards come to arrest you.”

Shocked and scared, the thieves raced from the garden, faster than bees. Tenali Rama watched with a grin then went to enjoy a good cup of chai. TOP

Si Kabayan

Si Kabayan once sat near a tree, weeping great tears. A friend came up and asked, “Why are you crying?”

Sheikh Chili

In India, the famous fool, Sheikh Chili, once went to visit his in-laws. At dinner, he worried so much about impressing his father-in-law that he hardly ate. Later, though, he awoke very, very hungry.

In the dark, he crept to the kitchen, searching for something to eat. But all he could find was a basket of eggs. Being rather desperate, he picked up two raw eggs. Yet since those eggs were not so appealing, he turned to look for more. Just then, he crashed right into a large pot. It fell with a bang that roused the entire household. As footsteps neared, the son-in-law held the two eggs, wondering where to hide them. At last, in desperation, he thrust the eggs, shells and all, into his mouth.

His mother-in-law came in first. She lit a lamp and looked around. When she saw the face of her son-in-law, she grew very worried, for his cheeks were incredibly swollen.

“Are you all right?” she asked anxiously. But he did not want to open his mouth and tell her the truth. So he just shook his head, pointed to his cheeks then rolled his eyes, communicating great pain. Soon, the whole family gathered round and everyone tried to give advice, although no one had ever seen such terrible swelling before.

“Call the doctor,” said the father-in-law at last, and someone rushed to fetch him.

“This is a very serious case indeed,” said the doctor. “He is badly infected. We must open these two boils at once or he may die.”

With a worried frown, he took out his tools and heated some needles. Silly Sheikh Chili simply stared at the doctor, waiting with dread, but too ashamed to admit the truth. After the doctor pierced both cheeks and removed the needles, egg yolk dripped through the holes.

“There, you see, now he will survive,” declared the doctor triumphantly. “Look at all the pus that has come out — dangerous, yellow pus. We could not have waited a moment longer.” Then the doctor gave instructions for the patient’s care and left. After too long a time, Sheikh Chili was finally left alone to rest. Slowly and painfully, he managed at last to swallow the eggshells still in his mouth. After that, he fell asleep, vowing never, ever to eat eggs again. TOP