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THE
GHOST THAT ENTERED THE JAR
Many years ago, there lived a ghost in a certain village. He always
wandered hither and thither in search of food.
One day, while he was in his way looking for food he saw a farmer's wife.
The ghost then came to like, her very greatly, and when night came, he
transformed himself into the farmer that no one could say that he was not
the same man. Then he went to like with her.
When the farmer once returned home from his farm work, he saw that ghost
reposing in his bed. He then became very angry and at once dashed to drive
him out. But the ghost pretending to be the woman's husband said "Where
are you from? This house is mine, this woman is my wife and I am her
married husband, I do not know why you come here and show such a temper.
Tell me what you want? "
The farmer strongly opposed this and said "No, it is I who is her true
husband. " He uttered exactly the word which the ghost did. Thus the
quarrel about possessing the woman ran high between the farmer and the
ghost. As for the woman, she was awfully perplexed. She did not know for certain
who her real husband was, for they two were exactly alike.
Unable to settle this unhappy matter, they two decided to go to the court.
But as the lower court could not find any just way to settle the matter
for them, they went to the supreme court. In this second court, there were
many expert judges. After hearing the case, they took notice of their
appearances. As thy observed them from head to foot, they found out the
difference.
Man's eyes and the ghost's are not alike. The ghost's had no iris while
man's had, from these different features, the judges know before long who
of the two, was the woman's true husband.
But how could they separate the two from each other? And how could other
find out the ghost? Here was the skilful way of the judges: they then had
a small jar brought in and put it in front of them. When this was done,
one among the judges declared "One of you who can get into this jar, is
the real husband of this woman, and we shall at once offer her to that man
who can do this."
On hearing this, the man was very sad. He knew that he could not enter the
jar at all. He therefore stood speechless. As to the ghost, he became very
glad. He thought that the woman would be his wife forever. Without delay,
he made his body very small and went up to the jar. Bowing his head to
touch the open mouth of the jar and straightening his feet in the air, the
ghost entered the jar very easily. As soon as the ghost entered the jar, it was firmly closed with a lid. The
judges then lifted it up and showed it to the public, saying "Here is a
ghost and not a man, man cannot get into a jar while the ghost can, now we
have found out the truth, this man is the true husband of this woman. " The judges then sent the man and his wife to their home. But the ghost
shut up in the jar was throw into the deep water of a lake and no one saw
him any more since that day. |
