How Andare ate the King’s sugar

Long, long ago, when kings were ruling Sri Lanka, there lived a famous court jester by the name of Andare. By his many tricks and witty jests, he amused the king and the queen at all times of the day. He was therefore allowed much liberty at the court.

One morning, when he went to the palace, he saw some sugar spread out to dry, on a mat in an inner courtyard. He pretended not to know what it was and asked the King, “Your Majesty, what is this stuff on the mat?”

“It is a kind of white sand, Andare,” replied the King. “Do you want some of it?”

“Oh, no my lord; not so soon,” said Andare and immediately thought of a cunning plan to eat the sugar. When he returned home that evening, he told his wife and son of the sugar in the palace and his plan to eat it up. The following morning he gave instructions to his son, and off to the palace he went.

The King happened to be once again in the same courtyard. The sugar had been again put out to dry. The King and Andare were soon in deep conversation when Andare’s son appeared on the scene displaying signs of great distress.

“What’s the matter my son” asked the jester.

“Oh, father dear, father dear, our mother dear has just died,” sobbed the lad. “And she called out to you several times before she died. Oh father, what shall we do?”

Andare thereupon fell on his knees and, wringing his arms like a mad man, began to weep and scream, “What is the use of my life now? Let there be sand in my mouth! I too want to die!”

With that, he rolled about on the mat, gulping down handfuls of the “white sand”! Little Andare too followed his father’s example and soon the sugar on the mat was almost over.

The King was both astonished and amused at the scene. He knew that Andare had once again played a clever trick on him. “Take home”, he said to his jester, “what is left of the sand. Place a little of it in your dead wife’s mouth, and see what happens. Perhaps she may come back to life, Andare.”

Andare acted so pleased to take the King’s advice and that’s how the story ended.

- Asha Senevirathne