Chapter (Yaldaq) No.: Two

"The Story of Habu Dongbu"

Episode 04
Translation: Engineer Ghulam Mehdi

After nursing his mother for two years, Khangchuk Mechuk handed over his sons to different families 
to raise them, as was the custom of that time. Habu Dongbu was handed over to "Mon Panq". 
Over the next nine years, nine months, nine days, nine hours and nine minutes,
Habu Dongbu's eleven brothers had grown up to be handsome and strong. One day, after conquering eleven fortresses, they came to visit him at Moon Panq's house.
They were distressed to find Habu Dongbu sitting in the kitchen, unable to speak and looking like a disabled boy.
One of Habu Dongbu's brothers said to Moon Panq: "Only Habu Dongbu can capture the fortress of Serinpo Dare Rogha, so send him with us."
When Habu Dongbu offered no response, all his brothers grew angry with Moon Panq for failing to look after the boy properly. 
One of them suggested that they should attempt to capture the fortress of Serinpo Dare Rogha themselves, 
and upon their return, plunder Moon Panq’s home to punish him for not raising Habu Dongbu well. 
The other brothers agreed, and they set out for the fortress of Serinpo Dare Rogha.
After the boys had left, Moon Panq’s wife reproached her husband for having chosen Habu Dongbu to raise. 
She said that had he selected one of the other sons, the boy would have conquered the fortress by now.
She lived in fear that Habu Dongbu’s brothers might come to plunder their home. So, the next morning, she placed Habu Dongbu in a basket
and ordered Moon Panq to throw the boy into the river so that the current would carry him away and he would perish.
Upon reaching the riverbank, Moon Panq decided to keep the basket for future use and kill Habu Dongbu;

He would first strike a blow to the head and then throw the victim into the water to drown. 
He searched the riverbank for a large stone but found none, as everything was frozen solid due to the cold.
Habu Dongbu could not understand Moon Panq's behavior and asked, "What are you looking for?" Moon Panq replied, 
"I am looking for a stone so I can kill you and then throw you into the river."
Habu Dongbu said, "If you really want to kill me, you should look for a stone underwater." 
Moon Panq searched underwater and found a large stone. Seeing this, Moon Panq was astonished and thought:
"Habu Dongbu is wiser than I am." He abandoned the plan to kill the boy and asked if Habu Dongbu would repeat the whole story to his wife upon their return; Habu Dongbu agreed.
When they arrived at Moon Panq's house, his wife was furious with her husband for not throwing Habu Dongbu into the water. 
Moon Panq recounted the entire story to her
and said that they should not kill someone wiser than themselves—noting that the idea had originated with Habu Dongbu 
rather than Moon Panq, thereby proving the boy's wisdom and intelligence.
However, when Moon Panq's wife tried to verify this with Habu Dongbu, the boy did not say a single word. 
This made her extremely angry.
And once again, she ordered her husband to take the boy and throw him off the mountaintop.
This time, Moon Panq carried Habu Dongbu in a basket. But when he tried to throw the basket off the peak,
Habu Dongbu held on tightly and did not fall. He asked Moon Panq, "What are you trying to do?"
Mun Panq replied, "I want to throw you off the cliff." Habu Dongbu advised him, "If he truly harbored such an intention, 
he could have thrown you over along with the basket. It seems the basket is more important to you than your son." 
Once again, Mun Panq admired the boy's wisdom and decided that such an intelligent child should not be killed. 
He shared his thoughts with Habu Dongbu, stating that he would only take the boy back home if the boy repeated those same words to his wife, 
ensuring she would not be angry with Mun Panq for bringing him back. Habu Dongbu nodded in agreement.
When they arrived home, Moon Panq’s wife cursed him for not heeding her words. Moon Panq recounted the entire incident to her
and suggested she verify it with Habu Dongbu. Yet, once again, the boy did not utter a single word. This infuriated Moon Panq’s wife even more,
and she ordered her husband to gather firewood and set Habu Dongbu ablaze. Moon Panq went to fetch a bundle of wood, while his wife began cooking a meal for the two of them.
Habu Dongbu was sitting near the hearth as usual when Moon Panq returned with the firewood. After the husband and wife finished their meal, they dragged Habu Dongbu into the hearth and set him on fire. Then, they went to the next room to sleep...
(To be continued)