In the Thompson Motif Index, this is TMI Z49.12. Hermit must get cat to kill rats. Thompson found no other examples; I wish we knew what Raju's source was!
As you can see, this is a very simple and short story of unintended consequences. It would be fun to create a longer and more elaborate version with more repetitions to emphasize the chain that leads the hermit to go from his solitary life to living in a village.
Textual note: I have changed the word "cowboy" to "cowherd" since "cowboy" has the wrong connotations (especially for American readers).
A man in the East, where they do not require as much clothing as in colder climates, gave up all worldly concerns and retired to a wood, where he built a hut and lived in it. His only clothing was a piece of cloth which he wore round his waist.
But, as ill-luck would have it, rats were plentiful in the wood, so he had to keep a cat.
The cat required milk to keep it, so a cow had to be kept.
The cow required tending, so a cowherd was employed.
The boy required a house to live in, so a house was built for him.
To look after the house, a maid had to be engaged.
To provide company for the maid, a few more houses had to be built, and people invited to live in them. In this manner a little township sprang up.
The man said,
"The farther we seek to go from the world and its cares, the more they multiply!"
CHAIN: rats - cat - milk - cow - cowherd - house - maid - houses - people - town
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