Panchatantra – The Mouse Bride – {Ep.250}

Today’s story is from the Panchatantra. It’s about a mouse and her adoptive parents who are searching for the perfect husband – both on the Earth and above it!

Welcome to “Stories From India”. This is a podcast that will take you on a journey through the rich mythology, folklore and history of the Indian subcontinent. I am Narada Muni, the celestial storyteller and the original “time lord”. With my ability to travel through space and time, I can bring you fascinating stories from the past, the present, and the future. From the epic tales of the Mahabharata and Ramayana to the folktales of the Panchatantra to stories of Akbar-Birbal and Tenali Raman, I have a story for every occasion.

The purpose of the stories is neither to pass judgment nor to indoctrinate. My goal is only to share these stories with people who may not have heard them before and to make them more entertaining for those who have.

Today’s Story

In this episode, we’re doing a story from the Panchatantra. It’s a rather well known story so you may have heard it before. But without further ado, let’s dive in…. To a pond. At least that’s what the main character in today’s story seemed to be doing – diving into a pond.

This main character was a baby mouse. Minnie Mouse. But before you ask, her sudden and thrilling drop into the water wasn’t the culmination of a water park ride. Minnie didn’t have much choice in the matter, but she did prefer the 1000 foot plunge over the clutches of a hawk with a mean beak and agonizingly sharp talons. Because that is exactly what had preceded the 1000 foot plunge. Minnie mouse was an ordinary field mouse. She had started her day doing ordinary field mice things – you know, scampering around the field, looking for food here and there and not realizing that above her there was a hawk who was also flying around, looking for food here and there. Before she could realize what was going on, the hawk had grabbed her in her talons and carried her off. 

Luckily for Minnie mouse, the hawk flew over a pond. And this hawk’s hawkeyes spotted something in the water. Not just one but two fish, and judging by the parallax and the cosine of the angle, the distance between the fish was exactly equal to the distance between the hawk’s two talons. This could be it! The snatch of a lifetime. He’d enter the birds’ version of the Guinness book of World Records. No other raptor had ever caught two creatures in one swoop. Who cares about the mouse now? The wise thing would have been to grab the mouse in its beak, and then grab the fish. But the hawk wasn’t the brightest. In fact you might say it was bird-brained. He let go of the mouse and dived straight for the fish. Well the fish just happened to see a worm and they dove deep into the pond just then. So the poor hawk lost his mouse, and as he hit the water, he wet his claws, but didn’t wet his beak. Proving once again that a mouse in hand is worth two Machchli in the pond, using the Hindi word for Fish.

Back to Minnie Mouse as she plummeted a thousand feet. Unlike Wile. E. Coyote aerodynamics were largely in Minnie’s favor. She was helped by her low weight, air resistance, and the fact that she spread her limbs out, increasing her cross-section. She didn’t come down with a splash into the pond. Instead she landed plop into the hands of a Rishi, who had coincidentally been praying in this very pond. It’s common practice for people saying prayers to hold up a bit of water, and it’s this water that Minnie landed in.

I’m going to call the Rishi, or sage, or wise man Pitaji. Pitaji had a very predictable reaction – he  was surprised. Not least because the weather report said it might be raining cats and dogs, but there was no mention of mice.

Pitaji and Minnie looked at each other. For a while neither said a word. And then Pitaji asked if she was okay. “I’m trained in all kinds of First Aid, including mouth to mouse resuscitation”.

Minnie squeaked out – “Thank you kind sir, for rescuing me, but I’m okay. No need for any kind of CPR”

Pitaji should have been surprised that she understood him, and even more surprised that he could understand her response. But he wasn’t. You see, he had taken “Rodent Languages 101” back at Rishi University. So he really had no trouble at all understanding her squeaks.

At that point, if Pitaji had released Minnie back into the field there would be no story here. But he didn’t. He took her home. Pitaji, and his wife Mataji, took good care of Minnie. It’s debatable if Minnie wanted that care, but hey she seemed to go along with it.

Minnie didn’t even object when Pitaji transformed her into a normal human girl. He had taken Transmogrification 101 as well, at Rishi University. 

Despite Minnie’s Murine origin, she had a completely normal human childhood. Except for an unnatural fondness for Mouserella cheese, and Mice Cream.

Pitaji and Mataji were excellent parents – despite and maybe because they had no prior experience at raising a child. Minnie grew to be a brilliant woman who learned everything there was to learn – she had knowledge, wisdom, sound judgment. And in terms of appearance she was immaculate! Always squeaky clean – no one could have guessed that Minnie had been a mouse scampering among garbage and such before her.

When Minnie got to a suitable age, it was time for her to marry. So Pitaji and Mataji decided. And again Minnie didn’t object. But there was one other thing all three of them agreed on – that Minnie’s husband needed to be the  most extraordinary person ever! She was exceptional and all that, so her husband needed to be the best.

Mataji suggested the merchant in the village. He was the richest, most respected man. And he was self-made as well. That made him perfect for the part. Or as close to perfect as possible.

So the very next day, Pitaji and Minnie went to visit the merchant. He received them well, and when Pitaji stated the reason for the visit, he didn’t even bat an eyelid. I guess that’s what you might expect from a captain of industry. You can’t surprise them. The merchant received the proposal with the same calm demeanor as if he had just heard that his offshore investments had made him an extra million rupees.

“I’m sure she’ll be the perfect wife, but there’s a snag,”

“Are you already married?” Pitaji asked

“Yes, but that’s not the problem. This is a male-dominated medieval India society – and monogamy certainly isn’t expected of men at least. The real problem is that I’m not the most exceptional person”

Pitaji and Minnie were surprised. But they learned that the Merchant was sort of governed by the King – a chap who could bend the merchant’s will whenever and however he wanted. He could seize the merchant’s property, or make him pay extra in taxes, wiping out all his profits. Yeah, so remarkable though he was, the merchant was not nearly as remarkable as the King.

“Well, that settles it. My daughter deserves nothing but the best. I’m going to take her to the King – he’ll have to accept her as his queen”

The two of them made their way to the Kingdom. Being a very well educated and well-respected Rishi opens all kinds of doors. Pitaji may not have heard of the King, but the King had heard of Pitaji. The King paused mid-sentence when he was about to read out the long-awaited verdict at a trial that had gripped his kingdom. Instead he adjourned the court, canceled that afternoon’s trade negotiations with his neighbors, all so that he could talk to Pitaji and Minnie.

Pitaji laid it all out. And pitched it strong for Minnie. The King was impressed. And the fact that Pitaji would become his father-in-law was just the cherry on top. There was just one teeny tiny problem. He couldn’t in good conscience marry Minnie when she wanted the most exceptional, the most remarkable, the most powerful husband of all.

“But you’re the most powerful King in the known world.” Pitaji pointed out. “At least according to your autobiography, which I happened to pickup and read on the way here”

“Ah yes. I may be the most powerful King, sure. But I’m not really all that remarkable. Have you considered the Sun?”

“Oh I thought that was just a big ball of gas burning millions of miles away” Minnie exclaimed

“Nah, the Sun is a person definitely. But how is he more remarkable?”

“I can’t control his movements,” the King explained. “That automatically makes him more powerful. Besides, the Sun is responsible for all life on Earth. The heat, the light, the photosynthesis which helps make food, wind, tides, you name it”

That made sense. So Pitaji and Minnie thanked the King and went to have a chat with the Sun. Fortunately, they didn’t need rocket science to have that conversation. Pitaji had learned a few rituals back in Rishi University. He’d also heard other ways that humans had interacted with the Sun God, notably that of Kunti from the Mahabharata. He set up a ritual fire, chanted some shlokas and boom, just like that the Sun God appeared before them. He was so radiant and wonderful, Minnie began to think this might be it. Surely, no one was more powerful than the Sun!

“Pitaji, I can clearly see that Minnie is indeed the best of the best! But I fear I am not quite at the same level. You think I’m all powerful, but I’m not. Something as simple as a cloud can block my view and I’m powerless to do anything about it”

“But lord, you drive the water cycle”

“I play a role in it, but so do clouds, Oceans, trees, rivers. If one cloud decides to block my view of a specific part of the Earth, I can’t really do anything about it, except sink into the west and try rising from the East to see if I have better luck the next day”

They thanked the Sun and moved on.

I give you exactly one guess of what the cloud said next. And you’ll probably get it right. Cloud was more than happy to marry Minnie, but didn’t feel that he was worthy. Because he was just knocked around by the Wind. It was the wind that decided where the cloud should be at any time. When the wind blew him north, he had to go north whether he liked it or not.

It wasn’t very different with the Wind, when Pitaji and Minnie did another elaborate ritual to talk to him. He too, was happy to marry Minnie though he cautioned her that he too had a nomadic life. By now Pitaji and Minnie were waiting for the inevitable reveal just like it had happened with the last four suitors. Instead the Wind brought out his horoscope for Pitaji to match with Minnie’s. He also asked if there was a limit on the number of guests he had to invite. And not to worry about transportation costs, the Wind would ferry everyone to the venue. They could even have a destination wedding!

Pitaji asked “Listen, I hate to ask you. But is there anything or anyone that makes you feel powerless?”

“What do you mean? I am my own master. I can go where I please, knock over anyone, do anything I want”

“Are you, really?” and Pitaji fixed him with a hard stare

And then the Wind suddenly burst out “Oh, who am I kidding? I am not all-powerful. It’s the mountain. No matter how many times I’ve tried to knock him over, he hasn’t budged an inch. Last time I kept blowing at him for hours. And at the end he told me he’d had the most refreshing nap ever, and asked me if I could do it again every night. I was so angry I might have caused a cyclone or two”

Well that settled it. They must go to the mountain and Minnie could marry him. The Mountain too was happy to meet Pitaji and Minnie and readily agreed to marry her. He agreed he was more powerful than the Wind. He didn’t worry about the Clouds or the Sun. And he had nothing he felt powerless about…. Unless…. Well never mind. He said.

But no, Pitaji and Minnie both wanted to know what was on the Mountain’s mind.

“It’s a small thorn in my side and I’m probably just making a mountain out of a molehill, but I have a little pest problem.”

The Mountain went on to explain that at his very base, there was a burrow that he was powerless to do anything about. There was a mouse King who had built his colony right there at the base of the mountain. The Mountain had tried to crush out those holes but he found he couldn’t. And he couldn’t stop the colony from growing or doing anything more about it.

So that was it then. Pitaji and Minnie decided to go to the Mouse King. They found out his name was Elon Mouse-k. And he was at his Boring Company headquarters. Boring as in drilling a hole into solid rock. 

“Mice to meet you,” Elon Mouse-k cheerfully greeted the father-daughter pair. He offered them tea and Minnie’s favorite Mouserella cheese as Pitaji explained the situation.

Elon Mouse-k said he was happy to marry Minnie! And to preempt any questions – he did not feel powerless about anyone or anything else. He was a master of everything he surveyed. If he wanted food, he calmly went to the grain silo where the villagers had stacked up grain for him and his colony. He built tunnels and homes where he pleased. He wasn’t afraid of anything or anyone. The only person he was worried about was actually Minnie.

“Good answer,” piped up Minnie. 

Elon Mouse-k explained that Minnie was 5 feet 6 inches tall with feet that were larger than his entire body. It might be tragically funny but what if she stepped on him by accident?

Pitaji was pleased – this was a problem he could fix. He looked at Minnie for the last time, and remembered all his memories with the daughter he had raised. But all that was the past. Now it was time to unlock her future. He carried out the spell to reverse her transformation from all those years ago. Minnie was turned back into a mouse.

Minnie and Elon Mouse-k lived happily. Not ever after, because mice have an incredibly short lifespan compared to humans. But they were happy.

You smart listeners probably guessed all along that it was coming full circle back to this.

That’s all for now

Some notes on the show

There are two other stories that resemble this one in the progression of increasingly powerful identities. One is the Fisherman and his Wife from the collection of the Brothers Grimm. The other is a Japanese folktale about a stonecutter. In both cases the search for more and more power comes back full circle though in the first case, the fisherman’s wife isn’t happy about it. The Stonecutter similar to today’s story does become content with the outcome.

The Panchatantra are a series of dozens of stories organized into just 5 stories really. Each of the 5 stories is a story that never ends. Because at the conclusion of any particular narration, one of the characters narrates a new story. This keeps going several levels deep.

They were written by a Scholar – Vishnu Sharma, who wanted to help a King out, by teaching his lazy children some life lessons.

Check out this link for previous Panchatantra stories.

That’s all for now. 

Next Time

In the next episode, we’ll go back to Chandrakanta. We’ll see what happens next in all the intricate spy game

Feedback

Thank you all for the comments on Social Media and on Spotify’s Q&A! I can’t directly reply to the questions there, but I’ll address them here on this show.

Kaira, Vishruth, Prasanna, Hiranmayee, Aniv, Rajul, and indeed all you listeners – hope you had a wonderful Holi as well

Jenn, Priyanka – thank you for the support.

Hiranmayee – it’s taking a little time to figure out the merchandise, I appreciate your patience and I hope for an update soon.

Prasanna – glad you liked the Telugu folk tale from last week.

Shalu – now that you mention it, you’re absolutely right! There was a Sheikh Chili story that began almost identically. Where it differed was that the protagonist went on to encounter some thieves.
I’ll have to do a bit of time traveling to know which one came first.

Rajul – Yes, I did at one point start working on a Chanakya story, and I’ll pick that back up soon.

Raj Banga – yes absolutely. Anachronisms are a key part of this show.

If you have any other comments or suggestions or if there are particular stories you’d like to hear, please do let me know by leaving a comment or a review on the site sfipodcast.com, or reply to the questions on Spotify Q&A. You can also find me on Instagram and Facebook. You can listen to the show on all podcast apps, and that now includes Youtube. If you want to send me an email it’s stories.from.india.podcast@gmail.com.

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A big thank you to each of you for your continued support and your feedback.

The music is from Purple Planet.

Thanks for listening and I’ll see you next time!