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Nandi Sootra
The king was once again astonished at the sharp intelligence of Rohak and remained silent. The villagers returned happy.
8. The Well - Once again, finding an opportune moment, the king sent a message to the villagers - "The water of the well in your village is very cool and sweet. Send that well to me otherwise you will be punished."
This impossible demand of the king once again terrorised the villagers. But they had the support of Rohak in solving such problems. He was asked the solution. After being tutored by Rohak /they went to the king and said - "Sir- ! As per your instructions we went to our village-well and tried to persuade it to come to you in the city. But it is very shy and apprehensive; not only this, it is very sceptic as well. It is not even ready to believe us that you have called it. We humbly submit that you should send some city-well to our village to persuade that village-well. We are confident that thevillage-well will believe the statement of a kin and at once accompany it here." The king silently smiled. He understood that all this was inspired by the astute wisdom of Rohak.
Thus, with every test the king's attraction for Rohak increased and he also started enjoying these games of intellect.
9. The Patch of Forest - After allowing a few days to pass the king sent another order - "Shift the patch of forest on the east side of your village to the west side."
As ever, the villagers took refuge with Rohak. He said - "This is a child's play. Ours is a tiny village. Let us collect all our possessions and shift the village itself to the east of the patch of forest. As a result the patch of forest will automatically be on the west of the village." After establishing the new village the king was informed that his order has been complied with. The king came and inspected. He silently praised Rohak and returned.
10. Kheer (a dessert cooked with rice and milk) - One day the king suddenly called the chief of the acrobats and said - "Cook some Kheer without a fire and send it for me."
The acrobats once again sought Rohak's help. He said - "First of all submerge some rice in water. After some time transfer them in a deep cooking vessel filled with milk. Make a heap of lime and place this covered vessel in a hollow made in this heap. Now sprinkle water over the lime. The heat produced by the exothermic reaction of water and lime will be enough to cook the rice."
The villagers followed the instructions given by Rohak and cooked Kheer. It was sent to the king, who became very pleased to eat the tasty dessert. When he heard about the process of cooking his attraction for Rohak's wisdom increased.
11. Atig - The next time the king called Rohak himself and said - "The boy who wishes to obey my order should come to me exactly following my instructions. While coming he should stick to these rules - he should neither come during the bright fortnight nor the dark one; he should neither come during the night nor the day; he should neither come in the sun nor the shade; he should neither comeby the aerial rout nor the land one; he should neither come on the path nor away from it; and he should neither come after taking a bath nor without taking one. But come he has to."
Hearing these impossible rules there was a pin drop silence in the assembly. Every one was thinking that, what to say of a child, it was impossible even for an experienced adult to observe these rules and come to the king. But Rohak was not Aagam- 44 -NandiSootra
59 - Compiled by- Deepratnasagar
