(AI generated translation of छोटा सा जीव, बड़ा सबक आखिरी चैप्टर )

By Shikha Tailang, Bhopal

Vijay first thought that he should get rid of this rat today. Thinking this, he went to pick up the broom when two rats jumped right next to my feet and went out with a swoosh. I screamed out of fear. Vijay was also surprised.

The echo of this scream reached our landlord Santosh Tiwari. He called out from the upper floor and said – What happened Vargiya sahab! Why are you surprised? He immediately came out and answered Tiwari’s questions. Tiwari said, “Okay, so there is a problem with the rat!” and went to sleep.

Thinking about what to do, what not to do, etc., he somehow closed the door and tried to sleep.

Vijay had a leave ten days after this incident. By then he had made up his mind to get rid of this rat. So he asked the landlord for a long stool and climbed on it in the bedroom and while making a hissing sound, he swept the cardboard boxes kept in the loft two or three times. There was a very loud sound. In response to this, there were louder squeaking sounds. It seemed as if many rats were making those sounds out of fear. Then two big black tails were seen peeking out from between the cardboard boxes.

Vijay hit those tails with a broom and they disappeared behind the boxes. Now Vijay could not resist. He thought that whatever happens will be seen. After this, he threw the broom down and holding a cardboard box in his hands, said to me – hold it! I held that box.

After this, right behind that box, the rat and its family were seen in person. The rat, the female rat and four small mousekins. The eyes of those pink and slightly black children were not open. They were sleeping, unaware of all this commotion. The male rat and the female rat were standing surrounding them as if they were preparing to fight us.

Before they could take any action, a sound of laughter along with fear came out of Vijay’s mouth – Oh! So this is it! Our mouse Ram has settled his entire family behind the boxes. See how he has built his household behind the cardboard boxes. It has collected a lot of paper, cotton, etc. and has kept the mousekins in between them.

I said – Now I understand the whole matter. First, the mouse searched for a place. It made a place to live. Then it brought the female mouse. After this, they got married and then they had children. Truly, what a well-planned and systematic plan it had!

Vijay said – Even though this is a small creature! It troubles us. But it is telling us how one should organize one’s life. Look, we have got married but without finding a place to live! Look at the intelligence of this mouse. First it found a place to live and then marriage and then children! Truly, this mouse is teaching us such important lessons for life and we are trying to kill it. Shame on me that I picked up a broom to kill it.

Sometime after this incident, Vijay was transferred to Satna. We came to Satna with the lesson we learned from the rat in Raipur. After coming here, Vijay intensified his efforts to get a house. Within just six months, the circumstances were such that we bought a three-room flat in the main market. Our daughter Pratyaksha was born here.

Although Vijay’s salary is very low and since it is a private job, we also feel that it may get affected due to some reason, in such a situation, having our flat gives us a lot of peace that at least no one can snatch the roof over our heads from us. The price of this flat bought two decades ago has increased five times. In this way, it has become the biggest capital and the best investment of our life. We had never even dreamt that we could benefit so much from the lesson learned from a rat.

Even today, we believe that the flat was bought because of the rat, the inseparable vehicle of Lord Ganesha, and even if a rat ever enters it, we do not kill it. Neither do we treat it cruelly. We just catch him in a mousetrap and leave  far away from home.

(Fictional Story)