Baluram, the barber, was carrying a secret in his head. But that secret had made his tummy big. Finding this unbearable, Baluram shouted the secret into a tree hollow. Baluram’s tummy shrunk back to its normal size, and the secret was safe. (Read the previous story)
Let's see what happens next.
Baluram’s
neighbor, Lallu, was a drummer. His band had been invited to give a performance
in the palace the next day. Unfortunately, Lallu’s old drum was broken. Baluram
advised his friend to make a new drum.
Lallu needed
wood to make the barrel. The next day, he went to the forest in search of wood.
On the outskirts of the city, he found an old tree which was hollow.
He cut the
wood neatly, so that the hollow could serve as the barrel. He got the drum ready
just in time for the royal performance.
Lallu went
straight to the palace where other members of his band had already assembled.
The King arrived. He looked old and tired. His tummy was huge. He sat on the throne and signaled the band to
begin.
The show
began with drumming.
“Dum, dum,
dum,” came the sound, loud and clear from the new drum.
Then all of
a sudden, a strange sound started coming out of the drum:
“Our king has a horn on his head,
The king has a horn on his head,
A horn, the king has, our king has …
A horn on his head.”
Shell-shocked
Lallu abruptly stopped beating the drum.
There was another
person in the audience who was shaking with fear. Baluram realised that his
friend Lallu had made a new drum out of the same tree where he had shouted his
secret!
The audience
went quiet. They dared not even to breathe. They were sure the king was upset.
The king
slowly stood up. He took off his turban and ran his hand on the small horn growing
out of his head.
People
watched their king with mixed feeling of fear and fascination. They noticed
their king also looked slimmer. His tummy had shrunk! He looked much younger!
The horn on the head was so cute!!
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