This is a popular story in India. It is usually told at the time of Diwali
I am a regular listener of Child’s Play. The presenter, Woody Anna Dresner asked me about Diwali which is when I told her this story. My thanks to her for editing it and for the superb audio production and for allowing me to post it here.
Transcript
The Old Woman, the Dead Snake, and Lakshmi
(as told by Pranav Lal, his mother, and her grandfather)
Once upon a time, there lived an old woman who was very poor. Her son did no work and was exceptionally lazy. Diwali came around. In frustration, the old woman asked her son to do something. “Get out and do something, even if it is finding something that has fallen on the roadside.” The boy left and returned with a dead snake. The old woman was even more frustrated. She took the snake to her terrace and left it there.
Meanwhile, the queen was bathing in the river. She took off her clothes and jewels and had her bath. One of the jewels was a shiny necklace that was very valuable and that the queen liked very much. A kite saw something shiny on the ground, picked it up, and flew away with it.
The queen returned to find the necklace gone. A massive search was organized throughout the kingdom. The king offered a reward for anyone who could find the necklace.
The kite flew over the old woman’s hut, where she saw the dead snake. The snake represented food, so she dropped the necklace and took it.
The old woman was cleaning her hut as a part of Diwali preparation. She found the necklace and took it to the king.
“Well woman, ask for your reward,” he said.
“Diwali is coming,” said the woman. “On Diwali night, my hut should be the only one where an oil lamp is lit.”
“Are you sure, woman? I could give you a palace with many servants.”
“Yes, your majesty, I am sure.”
On Diwali night, the kingdom was dark. The only light was in the old woman’s hut. The goddess Lakshmi was panicking. There was no light anywhere. She was wandering the kingdom in search of shelter and hospitality. She finally found a light.
Back in the hut, Poverty, who had been the old woman’s companion for several generations, was feeling suffocated due to the light. “Let me out!” it shrieked.
“Oh no,” said the woman. “You have been my constant companion, and I won’t let you go!”
“I cannot stay here even for a minute more. I can’t stand the light!” cried Poverty.
“In that case,” said the old woman, “you have to promise that for the next seven generations you will stay away from me.”
“OK OK, anything!” gasped Poverty.
And out went poverty and in came Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity.
The woman was rich for the rest of her life, and for the next seven generations.
The Old Woman, the Dead Snake, and Lakshmi