Suren: The Clever Young Adviser

Kosala was a famous kingdom in North India over 2 600 years ago. It’s capital, Savatthi, was a highly developed farming metropolis. It was surrounded by wide stretches of villages comprising clusters tụ lại) of farmhouses. The magnificent (lộng lẫy) royal palace of the rich and powerful kingdom stood on the fringes (rìa, lề) of vast agricultural fields and large plots of farms.

In one such farm lived an old and kind farmer named Amarith. He had a pet dog called Roney as his closet companion. Amarith loved Roney very dearly and looked after him with great affection and kindness.

Likewise, Roney was very fond of his kind master and behaved just like the old saying, “Dog is Man’s best friend”. He would always wag (ve vẫy)his tail vigorously(manh mẽ) and jump up merrily (vui ve) when Amarith returned home in the evening after working in the farm the whole day.

Amarith would cheerfully smile and give Roney a big hug and gently pat his head as well as chat with him in a playful manner. He welcomed his daily banter (đùa giỡn) as a fun-filled relaxation especially after a long and hard day’s work under the blazing sun.

One Vass (monsoon (gió mùa, mùa mưa) season) it rained heavily without stopping. The rains kept hammering (ầm ầm) the city throughout the day and night through the night. Flashes of lightning blazed the dark scary sky. This was followed by ear-shattering thunder that sent shivers (run sợ) down the spine (xương sống) of the people of Savatthi.

The monsoon rains were so heavy that many houses in the outlying villages were destroyed by the continuous downpour (mưa rào). Amarith’s house too collapsed (đổ sập) in the middle of the night. It was rather old and unable to withstand the incessant monsoon rains.

A wall of bricks and the heavy ridge pole supporting the roof fell over Amarith while he was asleep. The sharp (mãnh vỡ) edge(cạnh)of the ridge pole struck him on the head. Amarith was killed instantly.

Roney who slept in the verandah (hiên )escaped without any injury. As soon as Roney heard the roof of the house collapse and Amarith’s loud groan that followed immediately, he dashed (lao tới) into his master’s bedroom. He wanted to make sure that his master was safe and well.

But to his horror (khiếp sợ), Roney found his master buried under the rubble of bricks and the huge ridge pole. Blood kept oozing (rỉ ra) from the gaping cut that appeared across his master’s head.

Roney tried to drag his master out from the rubble (gạnh vun)by bulling him by the shirt with all his might. But it was simply impossible to move him even just an inch. As he looked sadly at his beloved master remain motionless like a log of wood, it dawned on him that Amarith was dead.

Roney was completely heart broken. He wept until he had no more strength. Like a truly faithful dog, he was so overwhelmed (tràn ngập) with grief that fainted (kiệt sức) beside his master.

Fortunately, the rains abated (giam bớt) the following day. The sun came out by mid-day and began to shine brightly once again. Its rays pierced through the sky and drove away the gloomy (tối tăm) atmosphere that had enveloped Savathi. The people of Savathi were greatly relieved (nhẹ nhõm) to have sunny weather at last after such a harrowing night.

For poor Roney who managed to recover from his faint spell, there was of course no joy. With the death of his beloved master there was no one for him to love. Neither was there anyone to provide (chu cấp) him food and offer him shelter (nơi trú). He was terribly hungry and went out from one house to another in search of something to eat. Everywhere he went people shooed him away with sticks and stones.

Most of the families had suffered terrible personal losses as a result of the unusually heavy monsoon rains. The farmers in the neighborhood were struggling to get over their own hardships and suffering. They just had no sympathy (đồng cảm) for Roney at this terrible time of grave sorrow they all had to cope with.

Roney had nothing to eat the whole day. His pangs (đau cào) of hunger became unbearable. The next morning, he decided to try this luck in the city. He thought that perhaps the more affluent (giàu có) families living there would feel pity towards him and offer some food that they could spare.(thức an thừa)

As Roney proceeded towards the city in search of food, he passed by the royal palace. Just then, he sniffed(hít) the aroma (hương )of food in the air. The strong scent (mùi hương )of food came from the direction of the royal palace. Being thoroughly famished (đói đến chết) he could not help but follow the scent of food with great expectation to relieve his hunger pangs.

The aroma finally led Roney to the royal kitchen. He thought to himself that surely the food prepared for the royal family would be out of this world. He could not stop imagining the exotic dishes that were being prepared for the royal family. He decided that it would be worth the rick risk (đánh liều) to try and get even a single bite of at least one of the delicious dishes that was being cooked in the royal kitchen.

As Roney approached the back of the palace kitchen, he chanced upon a golden opportunity. The back door to the kitchen was ajar (hé mở). Anxiously (nóng lòng), he poked his head through the opening. To his great delight, he saw rows of a variety of dishes placed on the kitchen table just ready to be served to the royal family. He spied (dò la, phát hiện) some meat dishes amongst the rich array of royal dishes.

Roney’s yearning (khát khao )to have at least a mouthful of the food that was on the kitchen table was too much for him to restrain (kiềm chees). His mouth began to water. Saliva dripped from both sides of his watering mouth. The famished Roney gently pushed open the kitchen door a litter wider. He looked around to see if the royal cook or anyone else was present inside the royal kitchen.

As good fortune would have it, no one was in sight. He stealthily (lén lút )walked towards the array (dãy) of mouth-watering dishes laid on the kitchen counter. As Roney approached the wide spread of dishes, he noticed a big rump of roast pork placed on a large shiny silver platter that was ready to be served to the royal for dinner.

Just as Roney was about to bury his teeth into the roast pork, the royal cook rushed to the kitchen. He quickly grabbed the kitchen broom, ran towards Roney and beat him as hard as he could. The pain from the royal cook’s blows with the kitchen broom was unbearable for Roney. He howled in great agony (khổ sở). He had no choice but to bolt (chạy lao đi) at once from the royal kitchen for dear life.

At the very moment this was happening to Roney, a billy goat named Bunty had strayed (di lạc) into the royal elephant stable (chuồng). The hungry goat began to feed upon the Kussa grass which the mahout (quản tượng ) had painstakingly (cần cù) )gathered (thug om) from the forest fringe (bìa) for the elephants. On seeing Bunty relishing (thưởn thức) the Kussa grass, the angry mahout took hold of an iron rod and began to beat him violently (dữ dội).

The blows suffered by Bunty from the iron rod were so severe that he fled (trốn) bleeting bleeding (chảy máu) in acute pain from the royal elephant stable. He ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. As Bunty scooted from the scene in great haste (vội vàng), he accidentally bumped (va đụng) head-on into Roney who was running away from the royal cook’s blows from the opposite direction. As a result, both Roney and Bunty fell over and lay dazed (choáng váng) on the ground for a while.

Roney explained his bright scheme (kế hoạch) with great excitement (kích thích), “Bunty, my friend. I have a superb (tuyệt vời) plan for us to obtain (có được) food easily with hardly any effort. All we have to do is to cooperate and work together as sincere trusted friends. That is to say, we should form a good partnership to help each other. Through such a mutually beneficial relationship, I could help you to get your favourite food and you could similarly find food for me. In this way both of us will never ever be hungry.”

Bunty was all ears. He urged Roney to reveal his plan and relieve (làm bớt) him of any further suspense (chờ đợi hồi hộp) . Roney gave an agreeable smile and proceeded to explain the details of his master plan: “Here’s what I have in mind for us, my friend. Now, listen very carefully and tell me whether you are game to carry it out or not.”

The mahout would not mind me being in the royal stable thinking that no dog would eat Kussa grass. When he is busy with his chores (việc vặt hang nagyf = domesticate) at some distance from the royal elephant stable or is away on some errand, I could quietly remove a bundle of the Kussa grass for you. You can then relish the juicy (béo bỏ) Kussa grass leisurely in your own sweet time. Since it is only one bundle, the mahout would not notice that a bundle of Kussa grass has been removed from the royal stable.

In the same way, the royal cook would not object to your presence in the kitchen thinking that no goat would want to eat meat, but only green grass and leaves. So when he is out of sight (tầm nhìn), you could take away some chunks (khúc)of meat he has prepared for the royal family.”

Bunty concurred (đồng ý) that Royal’s plan was brilliant and well worth trying out. He agreed to go to the royal kitchen straightaway and quietly remove some delicious food for him to enjoy.

Just as Roney had anticipated, the royal cook did not object to Bunty’s presence inside the royal kitchen. Instead, he greeted him with a smile and went about his daily chores in the royal kitchen without bothering about him. As soon as the royal cook was not around, Bunty grabbed some sausages that were on the table and quietly vanished from the kitchen by the back door. He then proceeded to the Cola tree with the sausages.

In the meantime, Roney had headed for the royal elephant stable. The mahout was busy tidying up the place. He took a liking to Roney the very moment he saw him. He waved to him in a friendly gesture to come closer.

Roney wagged (tinh nghịch) his tail and walked towards the mahout confidently. As soon as he reached the mahout, the latter patted him affectionately and remarked, “It is great to have a friendly dog like you around. As a matter of fact, you can be a big help. You could guard (canh giữ) the royal stable by making sure that pesky (khó chịu) goats and cows do not enter the barn and eat up the Kussa grass stored there, that are meant to feed the royal elephants.”

Roney played up to the friendly sentiments of the mahout and responded with an affectionate trusting smile. He wagged his tail more vigorously and began to lick (liếm) the hand and face of the mahout. The mahout was naturally delighted with Roney’s cheerful behaviour and requested him to remain in the royal stable as long as he wished.

A little while later, when the mahout left the royal stable to throw away the elephant dung (phân thú vật) do the far end of the royal courtyard, Roney calculated that his was an excellent opportunity for him to remove some Kussa grass. So he quickly dragged away a bundle of Kussa grass from the royal elephant stable for his new-found friend and partner, Bunty.

When the two animals met under the huge Cola tree, the exchanged the food that they had obtained from the royal palace. In this way, both the animals were able to enjoy a hearty (thịnh soạn) meal. From that day onwards, Roney and Bunty never had to go hungry as they were able to easily secure food from the royal palace located nearby.

The close understanding and friendly co-operation between the two animals went on smoothly without a hitch (trở ngại) for some time. Both Roney and Bunty were able to enjoy sumptuous meals daily. However, one morning, as he stood from the balcony (ban công) of the palace and gazed (nhìn thấy) over the palace compound, King Vikram happened to notice the strange sight (cảnh) of Bunty and Roney living in an unbelievably harmonious manner.

King Vikram was naturally intrigued (tò mò) by the unusual friendship struck between the dog and the billy goat. “Normally dogs would bark (sủa) at the very sight of a goat. Many even chase after goats and cows. But what I before me is a very strange relationship between the dog and billy goat. I must find out the secret behind this very unique happening”, the King thought himself.

From that day onwards, King Vikram began to observe closely the behaviour of the two animals from his balcony. One afternoon, as he looked out over the palace compound, the King discovered the secret to the most unusual friendship.

The King saw Roney dragging a bundle of Kussa grass from the royal elephant stable. Soon, he noticed Bunty remove some roast chicken from the royal kitchen. The animals then happily exchanged the food with each other under the Cola tree. The King pondered deeply, “This unusual friendship would serve as a good test to see whether the five advisers in my service who are drawing handsome salaries are really worth their salt.”

Early the next morning, King Vikram summoned his five advisers to the royal court. He stressed that dogs and goats normally do not get along well. However, surprisingly, he had witnessed (chứng kiến) a dog and a billy goat living together in perfect harmony as close buddies, under the huge Cola tree across the palace ground.

King Vikram then ordered them to explain the reason for this mysterious (bí ấn) friendship. In a stern (nghiêm khắc)voice, he warned them, “you have till nightfall (chập tối) to figure out this strange relationship or else you will all lose your jobs and also be ordered to leave the royal palace.”

As soon as the five advisers took leave of King Vikram they quickly adjourned (hội họp) to the senior-most adviser, Badrinath’s room. They huddled (túm tụm lại ) together to figure out how best to unravel the secret of the strange friendship.

All of the advisers fretted at the thought that they would be sacked (sa thải) and forced (ép buộc) out into the streets. It was clear that none of them could come up with the answer to the strange relationship. Then one of the elder advisers proposed (đề xuất) that they first go and have a look at the two animals. The rest of the advisers promptly agreed to his suggestion.

When the five anxious (nôn nóng) advisers arrived at the huge Cola tree, all of them were amazed at the affection between the dog and the billy goat that flowed so freely like a well-spring of love. They just could not believe their eyes. For they had never seen, or for that matter, ever heard of such a unique relationship between a dog and a billy goat.

Badrinath, then advised that the way to unravel (sáng tỏ) the mystery was for them all to get close up to the two animals so that they could gather some useful clues (manh mối ). But as soon as they walked a few steps closer, Roney sensed their unwelcome presence. He stood up at once and began to fiercely (dữ tợn) bark at them. At that point, Bunty sprang (nhảy) to his feet and charged at the intruders (không mời mà đến) with the fierce intention to butt (xông, húc) them.

The five advisers bolted ( vội chạy) from the scene in mortal fear of being bitten by Roney and brutally butted by Bunty. When the five returned to the royal palace, they sat down once again to figure out the answer to the extraordinary (lạ thường )friendship between the two animals they had witnessed.

This time around, Badrinath suggested that an excellent way to solve the mystery was for them to refer to the Sacred Holy Books. He insisted that the religious books contained answers to worldly matters aside from addressing human problems and challenges in life. He was adamant (kiên uyết) that the sacred scriptures (thánh kinh) would definitely provide the correct answer to the mystery they were tasked to solve.

All the advisers except young Suren concurred (đồng tình) with Badrinath’s suggestion. He murmured to himself, “What foolish men are these elder advisers. Surely, the Sacred Holy Books do not deal with such matters as the stranger friendship between a dog and a billy goat. In any case, it will take several hours before they could read up all the sacred texts and find the answer, even if it was there. By then it will be past the time limit and all of us would be sacked by His Majesty, the King.”

So, while the elder advisers carefully went through the Sacred Holy Books, young Suren adjourned to his cottage. He sat at the steps and pondered deeply on how best to seek the answer to the test King Vikram had put to them.

Suren thought to himself, “There must be an alternative (sự lựa chọn) way to solve the mystery. I am sure that his Majesty must have known the answer already when he summoned us for the test. That is why he betrayed (tiết lộ) a secret when he spoke about the uncanny friendship of the two animals. Furthermore, he had clearly stated that he was testing us to whether we deserved our jobs. Therefore, he must have already known the answer himself.”

After reflecting deeply on the matter, Suren decided that the best way to solve the mystery was to find out whether King Vikram was engaged (thu hút) in any unusual activity of late. Thinking thus, he went up to the Mukya Mantri, (Prime Minister) Lokasena, and inquired whether King Vikram had been doing anything unusual of late.

Lokasena who was fully aware of the King’s daily rountine, thought for a moment. He then disclosed (lộ ra) that the King had recently been spending quite a bit of his free time at the palace compound overlooking the royal courtyard for a while.

Suren thanked Lokasena profusely for the piece of information and headed straight to the palace balcony. From there he surveyed (quan sát chăm chú) carefully the open space beyond the palace grounds.

As he stood and watched, Suren soon saw Roney taking away Kussa grass from the royal elephant stable while Bunty removed some meat from the royal kitchen. He watched the two animals exchange their respective loot and enjoy a hearty meal. Suren exclaimed (thốt lên) to himself in jubilation (vui mừng), “Bravo (hoan hô)! I now have the answer to the mysterious friendship!”

Suren was naturally filled with excitement. However, being the youngest, he thought it best to keep silent, or else the senior advisers, especially the cunning (xảo trá), Badrinath, would hijack (giành lấy/cướp lấy) his answer to the puzzle and claim this as his very own discovery.

On the other hand, Suren knew that if he did not reveal the answer to the mystery, all the advisers would lose their jobs. He told himself, “I am young and can earn a living elsewhere without difficulty. But the rest of the advisers are old and also mentally not very alert (minh mẫn). They will face great hardship (gian khổ) in finding employment (việc làm) elsewhere. I do not want them to suffer the terrible fate of being sacked from their jobs and asked to leave the royal palace.”

As he contemplated (trầm ngâm) as to what best he should do, Suren fell upon a brilliant idea. He decided to provide Badrinath the answer. But this was to be in the form of a poem which neither he nor other advisers would be able to understand readily. He was, however, confident that this would be good enough an answer to the mystery because His Majesty already knew the answer himself.

So Suren wrote the answer in the form of a poem and handed it to Badrinath to read out to King Vikram when they have an audience (tiếp kién) that young Suren had an answer to the mystery as they had all failed to obtain even a clue to it in the Sacred Holy Books.

Just before the sun was about to set, King Vikram summoned his five advisers to the royal court. He requested the Elder Brahmin, Badrinath, to explain the mysterious friendship. The Elder adviser, Badrinath, paid his respects to the King and read out the poem thus:

“In the royal stable and royal kitchen, food is available. Both are very hungry. Both tried to get some food, but suffered a thorough beating. Now, as partners both are exchanging food. Hence both enjoy sumptuous meals daily.”

To the delight of the advisers, King Vikram congratulated them for solving the mystery in such a poetic fashion. He was so impressed that he rewarded them with an increase in their monthly wages. Suren could not help laughing to himself. He knew fully well that the elder advisers had no idea of what was conveyed through the poem. He was happy for them though as they could continue to remain in the King’s service.

As for Roney and Bunty, the compassionate King Vikram ordered that they be brought to the royal court. The King advised Roney and Bunty sternly that it is wrong to take anything that does not belong to oneself. He stressed to them, “To put it plainly, this is stealing which is punishable according to the law”.

In response, Roney pleaded to King Vikram the severe plight of starvation (cơn đói) that he and Bunty had undergone (chịu đựng). The understanding and kind-hearted King commanded that henceforth (từ nay trở đi) the two animals were to be looked after in the palace. The wise King Vikram was keen to show to his subjects how to live in harmony and peace, just like Roney and Bunty.

Suren continued to demonstrate (chứng minh được) his intelligence as he grew up and became renowned as the Clever Young Adviser of Kosala. As the years passed, he became a highly respected Principal Adviser to the royal court of the Kingdom of Kosala. In addition, he was appointed the Royal Tutor for members of the royal family.

Understand and Reflection Time.

Parents, caregivers and teachers are urged (khuyến cáo) to encourage (khích lệ) the child to interact (hợp tác qua lại) and improve their communication skills, thinking, comprehension and imagination. They are urged to make a deliberate effort to spend a little time to discuss with her or him the questions listed below:

Why did Roney have no food to eat?

What happened to him when he went to find food?

What happened to Bunty’s search for grass?

How did Roney and Bunty become such good friends?

What was the test King Vikram put to his advisers?

How did the elder Brahmin advisers try to solve the mystery of the strange friendship between the billy goat and the dog?

How did Suren solve the mystery?

What lessons in life did you learn from this moral story?

How do you intend to follow the moral lessons in the story?