The ash pumpkin thief- story

The ash pumpkin thief

This is an old folktale in my motherland Sri Lanka. In Sri Lankan children gather together in one place around the grandpa’s house in the evening to hear stories. They are  meaningful  stories which are helpful to live in the society. This is my favourite story I heard from my grandpa.

Once upon a time, there lived a man called “Gamarala”. He had a chena. And also he cultivated vegetables and fruits in the chena. There was an ash pumpkin creeper in his chena. One day gamarala saw that it has an ash pumpkin. Gamarala treated the ash pumpkin creeper. He watered  the ash pumpkin creeper everyday.

     The ash pumpkin was bigger and bigger day by day.

    One night a thief entered gamarala’s chena. The thief stole the ash pumpkin.

Next morning Gmarala came to the chena. The thief had been stolen the ash pumpkin. Gamarala complained the head of the village. The village headman gathered the villagers. He rang a bell. And he told “that ash pumpkin thief has ash in his shoulder.”

The thief wiped out his shoulder. Everyone recognized the thief. The villagers caught the thief. The village headman punished the thief. The village headman walked the thief around the village.

The thief said “I never steal again.”

  

Chamudi Dhamsarani
Grade-08