Once, a poor man was very generous. But his wife did not like it. One day, two men came to her house. The wife guessed that her husband had invited them to lunch. She cleaned a mortar and pestle, applied saffron paste to it and garlanded it. The men entered the hut and saw the mortar and pestle. “Are you worshipping a mortar and pestle?” asked one of the guests. The wife replied, “Well, my husband invites guests home. Then he hits them on their heads with the pestle, drawing as much blood as he can and offers it to the deity.” The terrified men ran out just as the husband came in. “What happened?” he asked his wife. “They wanted the pestle,” she said, “but I wouldn’t give it.” Picking up the pestle, he ran after them. The frightened men thought he was coming to bash their heads and ran faster.
The Mortar and Pestle
