The Legend of the Ayatal Tribe: The Consequence of being Lazy
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Oya and Buda just got married. They lived with their tribe in a beautiful mountain valley. One day, Oya invited her friends over for lunch. Buda told his wife, “Cut a grain of rice in half and cook it. Cooking half a grain of rice will give us a huge pot of cooked rice, and that is enough to feed everyone.” Then, he walked outside and thought to himself, “I want to treat my visitors to wild boar tonight.” And magically, a wild boar walked into his house. Buda thought again, “I have run out of firewood. I wish that a stack of firewood would appear in my house!” And magically, a stack of firewood appeared in his house.
All this was because God took special care of the Ayatal tribe. God once told the Ayatal people, “You do not need to hunt for meat or till the fields for food, just ask and your wish will be granted.” The Ayatal tribe led carefree lives for a very long time.
But they got lazy. Cutting a grain of rice in half felt like a difficult task. One day, Oya was preparing dinner. She thought, “Why do I have to cut a grain of rice in half? If cooking half a grain of rice gives me a pot of cooked rice, then I shall cook a few grains of uncut rice today, and I won’t have to cook for the next few days. This is such a clever idea, I am so smart!” So, Oya put many grains of rice into the pot and started cooking.
At night, Buda came home feeling hungry. Oya thought, “Why is the rice taking so long to cook?” She and Buda lifted the pot lid, and out flew a flock of sparrows. One of them told the couple, “You are so lazy, and do not deserve God’s gifts.” “From today onwards, you must learn to work hard in order to eat, and we will come and eat your crops as punishment.”
Since then, the Ayatal people started to work hard. They did not dare to be lazy, because they would starve if they stopped working.
