Diamond Merchant and Fairies | Folktale of India

A very long time ago, a merchant called Bhima lived there. Bhima loved his wife a lot. Bhima would gift her the best of the best jewels. His wife, Charu, loved the way Bhima pampered her. He would travel far land, buy jewels, and sell them to rich people across the country. He was a very trusted merchant. He knew he could command any price for the best gems, but he reserved it only for his wife.

One fine day, while coming back home from a long trip in his horse cart. He saw an old woman frantically waving her hand at him. She needed help. Bhima stopped his cart near her and offered her food. She didn’t accept food. Instead, he asked him to take her to a nearby village in his cart. Bhima happily obliged to her wishes. The old woman climbed the cart and dozed off. Bhima smiled at her. When he reached the village, he turned back to wake the old woman. To his surprise, the old woman disappeared. And on the seat, there was a diamond pendant. Bhima picked the pendant and started looking around but in vain.

When he returned home, he narrated the whole tale to his wife. Charu, too, was confused, but she liked the pendant. Bhima gave her the diamond pendant, and Charu wore it.

‘Please don’t consider this diamond to be yours. I am only giving it to you for custody,’ said Bhima.

Charu understood her husband’s moral values and agreed to give it back to him whenever the owner arrived. A few days passed, but Bhima still searched for the lady wherever he travelled. But he didn’t find her.

One fine day, while Bhima and Charu were eating food, they heard a knock at the door. Bhima was surprised to see the old woman at the door. He welcomed her and told her that her pendant was safe.

Just then, another old woman arrived. Bhima was confused. Just then, another old woman. The three looked the same.

‘You can’t be normal humans,’ said Bhima.

Three old women transformed into fairies—pink, red, and white. Now, Bhima and Charu had a bigger challenge to outperform; they had to decide who was the valid owner of the pendant.

‘I will tie the pendant on the rope, and you will have to snatch it from the rope,’ said Bhima.

‘But in our snatching, the pendant can break,’ said the pink fairy.

Bhima said that there is a possibility.

Hearing this, the pink fairy backed out. Thus, Bhima understood that the pendant belonged to her. And he gave the pendant to her. The other two fairies accepted their mistake. Bhima and Charu lived happily ever after.

Moral of the story- Never back out of the challenges in life, just like Bhima in this story.

Happy reading!

Check out Nisha B Thakur's highly appreciated novel, The Unexpected Trail.