Among the many tales and lore that echo throughout the enchanting hills of Northeast India, the story about the pig and the dog is a popular tale that embodies the essence of culture’s beliefs, values and wisdom. Traditional tales are more often than not woven with moral lessons and societal values and this tale is the perfect epitome of such.
Traditional tales are timeless stories that get even juicier with each narration. These tales present magical times and places where all the creatures lived in harmony and peace under the same blue sky- animals spoke and trees wept, angels descended from heaven and fairies lived among humans.
In this piece, we bring you a timeless classic that is both transcending and idiomatic!
A long time ago, there lived a farmer in a village who owned a dog and a pig as his pet animals. Both the animals shared the same roof with the farmer. However, the farmer got tired of his indulgent epicurean pets and wanted something more from them.
One fine morning, as the rooster crowed to announce the start of a new day, the farmer realized that he has a mountain of field works and thus decided to send the animals to tend to his fields.
The frustrated farmer announced, “Wake up and start marching to the field. You cannot just keep on relishing the food provided and slumber away to dream land every single day. You must earn your keep.”
The duo, flustered, set out to the fields. On reaching the field, the pig started to plow through the rich soil using his strong snout and turned over the soft earth. While the docile pig weeded the adamant grass and prepared the soil in order for his owner to plant the crops with ease, the insolent dog looked for a shade and made itself comfortable for a deep slumber under the trees.
With each passing hour, the sun climbed higher and the work grew more demanding. The diligent pig continued to work even harder, snouted the earth under the scorching heat and did all the manual labour.
The dog, as nonchalant as any creature can be, continued to find solace in slumber unburdened by worldly concerns reclining in the embrace of nature’s canopy.
As the day wore on and dusk befall, the pig decided to call it a day and head home contended and proud of its day’s work. The dog advised the pig to start marching towards the village before it.
The dog watched the oblivious pig leave its sight. No sooner than the pig left, dog began to rub all the footprints of the pig making sure that only its footprints remain in the vast field. The dog after successfully employing the artifices against the pig also began to march home.
The farmer enquired, “What have each of you done today?”
“This slothful dog slept the whole day and did not lift even a finger. I did all the works”, proudly claimed the pig.
The Dog countered, “That filthy pig is lying. It was me who did all the works.”
The farmer grew skeptic about it and declared that he will go and have a look the next day. At the break of dawn, the farmer strode purposefully towards the field.
And just like the dog had countered the previous day, he found no traces of the pig in the field. Only the footprints of the scheming dog remain. Disappointed in the pig, the farmer after reaching home called the poor pig out and declared, “You shall no longer be allowed inside the house. From now on you will be sleeping outside.”
Since then, the dog has become men’s best friend and is enjoying all the luxury of having to stay and sleep inside the house while the pigs are kept outside in a sty. The dogs are assumed to be loyal and intelligent and have developed a close bond with men over the years and have become a valued member of many households while the pigs are kept mainly as a livestock.
The idiom “The farmer’s pig and dog” is used to express certain situations when someone goes uncredited for their hard work while some other person gets all the glory either intentional or not.
We hope you enjoyed today’s tale!
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