The Three Dancing Goats

Characters:

• (Baba Trinco, the storyteller)
• Sindhu, a poor and hard-working young peasant
• Sindhu’s mother
• An old woman with three goats
• Sindhu’s landowner
• The landowner’s beautiful daughter
• A handsome young suitor

Summary of the Story

This story is an Indian folk tale. Baba Trinco tells the story. A poor and hard-working young peasant, Sindhu, who lives with his widowed mother, takes his two cows to sell in the market. On the way he meets an old woman with her three goats, who makes him exchange his cows with her goats. The goats are not the ordinary goats. They dance to the tune of a flute, and the old woman says that they will someday bring fortune to Sindhu. Sindhu believes the old woman and returns home joyfully with the three goats. Soon the beautiful daughter of Sindhu’s landowner hears about the dancing goats and wants to see them. When she sees them dancing, she likes them very much and offers to buy one of them. Sindhu sells one goat for a barrel of foodstuffs for her mother. When the landowner’s daughter cannot make her goat dance, she wants to buy another goat too to provide the first one a companion. So, Sindhu sells another goat for a gold ring and a barrel of foodstuffs. When the landowner’s daughter still cannot make the goats dance, Sindhu sells his third goat too and the magic flute that makes the goats dance. He sells them this time for a barrel of foodstuffs and the secret regarding the meaning of three different coloured stones set in the gold ring which the girl had given him. The secret is this: The landowner’s daughter has three strange strands of hair hidden among her black silken tresses. One is pure white, the colour of a diamond; one is dark red, the colour of a ruby; and one is bright green, the colour of an emerald. These three colours are the colours of the stones used in the ring. Now, when all the goats are gone, Sindhu’s mother is worried, but Sindhu believes in the old woman’s words that the goats will bring him luck. Then one day, it so happens that the landowner announces that whoever can name the three strands of hair hidden among his daughter’s black silken tresses will get to marry his daughter. Sindhu has been secretly loving the landowner’s daughter for some time now. He hesitates at first, but believing in the old woman’s words, soon decides to grasp the opportunity. Disguised as a servant of a handsome young suitor, he manages to enter the suitors’ hall. Many rich and handsome young men try to guess the answer but all fail. Sindhu, then, gives the right answer and marries the girl, and the pair lives happily ever after.  

One sentence summary:

The poor and hard-working youth succeeds in marrying the beautiful and rich girl, owing partly to the magic of the flute and a stroke of luck but, mainly, on account of his goodness of heart, faith, patience and ingenuity.

Theme: Triumph of faith, love and patience assisted by luck

(Source of the Story: Essays, Stories and One-Act Plays by R.K. Kaushik and S.C. Bhatia)