The Little Egg or Artuite
Once upon a time the hen and the wildcat were good friends and they used to live together peacefully. One day, they passed through under the raised floor of a certain house where chicken was being cooked. As the house-owners were having their meal, they dropped the chicken bones through the hole in the floor. The wildcat picked up the bones and ate them and they were so tasty. From that time onward, the wildcat wanted to kill the hen and eat her.
One night the wildcat said to the hen, “In which coop will you sleep tonight?” The hen replied, “I shall sleep in the oval coop.” The wildcat searched for the hen at the oval coop that night. But he could not find the hen because the latter slept in the round coop. The next night, the hen told the wildcat that she would sleep in the round coop. At midnight, the wildcat searched for the hen in the round coop. But the hen slept in the oval coop. On the following night, the hen said that she would sleep in the oval coop. The cat now realized the game of the hen and went straight to the round coop. He found her and ate her up.
After some time Artuite came to know about the tragic death of his mother. He mustered all his courage and decided to avenge the death of his mother. He started rolling towards the house of the wildcat. On the way, a group of red ants met him and asked, “Artuite, where are you going?” Artuite replied, “To avenge the death of my mother and to destroy the fencing of the wildcat.” The ants then said, “Wait, we are also following you.” Artuite rolled on followed by a group of ants. After sometime, chicken-drop stopped them and asked, “Artuite, where are you going?” “To avenge the death of my mother and to destroy the wildcat’s fencing”, replied Artuite. “Then I shall join you’, said the chicken-drop. Artuite went on rolling, followed by the ants and the chicken-drop. Before they went too far, Tlaihnat (a very sharp bamboo blade) stopped them and asked, “Artuite, where are you going?” “To avenge the death of my mother and to destroy the wild cat’s fencing”, replied Artuite. “I am also joining you”, said Tlaihnat. Soon Artuite and his party met Mankhawng (a trap for animals in which the victim is killed by a falling beam or log). Mankhawng said to them, “I am also joining you”. Lastly a swarm of bees also followed Artuite and his party. Now Artuite commanded a very powerful band of warriors and felt quite confident.
When they reached the house of the wildcat, the cat had gone out to look for food. They lost no time in taking their positions. Artuite was a good strategist. Each of them took positions at strategic places. Artuite hid himself inside the ash in the hearth, the ants at the mouth of bamboo tube, the chicken-drop at the handle of the broom, Tlaihnat on the wall, Mankhawng at the exit of the door and the swarm of bees under the blanket on the bed.
Soon the wildcat returned home, weary and tired. As he was so hungry, he began to prepare the evening meal. The moment he scratched the ashes in the hearth to make a fire Artuite exploded all of a sudden and splashed all over the wildcat’s face. Knowing not what to do, the cat went to get water for a wash. Just then a group of red ants at the mouth of the bamboo tube began to attack him. In order to get rid of the ants, he took the broom on the floor and his fingers were stained by the chicken-drop. To remove the smelly chicken-drop, he wiped his hand on the bamboo wall and Tlaihnat on the wall cut his fingers. Out of despair, he went up to the bed to hide himself under the blanket. Then the bees under the blanket began to sting him all over his body. The cat felt so helpless. He thought that it would be safe if he could run out of the house. As he was trying to exit through the door, he was immediately trapped under Mankhawng and died. In this way, the death of the hen was at last avenged.
The innocent when provoked is no less. Do not provoke the innocent goes the Hmar proverb.
~ Hmar Folk Tales by Dr. Lal Dena, Scholar Publishing House, New Delhi, 1995