June 15. Story of the Day: Uncle Rat's Cap

Provided from the Marathi by Shrimati Jayashreedevi Shirole, via Suniti Namjoshi (more of her contributions). As you can see from the video at the bottom of this post, the story is alive and well in India. In the video title the king is mockingly called "Raja Bhikari," "The King Who Begs" (bhiksha are the alms you might give to a beggar) -- you'll see why at the end of the story, and after reading the English version, you'll be able to follow along with the video in the Marathi language.

I do not have a folktale type classification number for this, although there are other stories that include a series-of-professions. The ambitious rat in this story might remind you of the rat in the Punjabi story, The Rat's Wedding.

Want more? Click here for previous Stories-of-the-Day.

UNCLE RAT'S CAP

(screenshot from the Raja Bhikari video)

One day Uncle Rat found a piece of cloth. He took it to the dhobi [washerman] and said, “Please wash it for me.”

“Won’t,” said the dhobi. “Shan’t,” said the dhobi. “I have better things to do than washing your rag.”

“Well,” said the Rat.
“I’ll go to the police and tell on you. 
They’ll send four men who‘ll beat you blue. 
And then you’ll wish you had washed my rag.”

So the dhobi washed Uncle Rat’s rag.

Then the Rat took his rag to the dyer and said, “Please dye it for me.”

“Won’t,” said the dyer. “Can’t,” said the dyer.

And Uncle Rat said,
“I’ll go to the police and tell on you. 
They’ll send four men who’ll beat you blue. 
And then you’ll wish you had dyed my rag.”

So the dyer dyed Uncle Rat’s rag.

Uncle Rat went to the tailor next, and said, “Please make a cap for me.”

“Shan’t,” said the tailor, to which Uncle Rat replied,
“I’ll go to the police and tell on you. 
They’ll send four men who’ll beat you blue. 
And then you’ll wish you had made my cap.”

The tailor made Uncle Rat’s cap.

The Rat now wanted a tassel for it, so he went to the tassel maker and asked him to make a tassel for it.

“No,” said the tassel maker.

Uncle Rat said,
“I’ll go to the police and tell on you. 
They’ll send four men who’ll beat you blue. 
And you’ll wish you had fixed a tassel on my cap.”

So the tassel maker made a tassel for Uncle Rat’s cap.

Uncle Rat now had a splendid cap. He put it on, and sat in a doorway watching the King go by.

The King happened to see the cap. He told his courtiers to fetch it for him.

There wasn’t much the Rat could do, but he sang as loudly as he could,
“The King is a beggar 
And has run away with my beautiful cap.
The King is a beggar.
The King is a beggar
And has run away with my beautiful cap.”

The King felt silly when he heard this, so he returned the cap.

Uncle Rat put it on and now he sang more loudly than ever,
“The King is a coward 
And given me back my beautiful cap.
The King is a coward.
The King is a coward
And has given me back my beautiful cap.”

In this version, the rat goes to a dhobi, then a tailor, and then a woman who makes him a tassel (there is no dyer in this version). He then goes banging his drum into the presence of King Bhikari and makes fun of him: that drum is definitely a good accompaniment to the little rat's personality!