My Dear Doll (Ita Laiphadibi)

Long ago, there was a little girl who treasured and cared for her one and only doll. She considered the doll as her most affectionate friend. The doll was her all time companion.  She used to play with her doll and always carried it wherever she went. In this way, the girl passed her childhood days and later grown into a lovely big girl. A day came when her parents decided for her marriage. When she came to know about her parents’ decision she was upset because of the fear that she would be parted from her lovely doll forever. Realizing this, she held her doll tight and cried a lot.

When only a day was left for her wedding, she took out her doll and said “Dear Friend, tomorrow I’ll go away from you. Even though I want, I can’t take you along. Please forgive me”. Saying this, she caressed her doll and kept weeping. At the very moment, the doll transformed into a beautiful girl and said “I’ll miss you dear friend, you have loved me a lot and cared for me all these time. I am blessed to have a friend like you. Ask me anything you wish to have”. The girl startlingly replied “My Dear Doll, I don’t have anything particular to wish for myself. Whether birds, animals or any other living beings, all I want is to know and understand whatever they are communicating with each other. After hearing this, the doll said “Okay my dear friend, I bestow your wish. It’s time for me to leave now.  Goodbye!” Saying this, the doll disappeared.

Next day, the girl got married and she went to her husband’s place. Few months later, her father-in-law died. Relatives and people of their locality gathered to mourn over the deceased person whereas she went to a corner of the place and kept laughing. Her weird behaviour made her husband very upset and he even thought that his wife has gone mad. Time passed by and they continued to live together. Some days later, one very late night while everyone was asleep she went out from her house. Her husband got suspicion about her wife and he secretly followed her where she was going. She gradually went near to a calm dark river and stood there still. Her husband watched her hiding behind the bushes and kept noticing. After a while, a dead body was seen floating in the river. Then she jumped into the river and tried to take out a ring from the finger of the dead body. She failed to do so with her hands so she tried again with her teeth. This bizarre behaviour made her husband so terrified and he hurriedly run back home. She took out the ring, left the dead body in water and returned back home. When she came home, her husband was shivering in fear and shouted at her “You are a witch. You are man-eater and I can’t live with you any longer. Go back to your parents’ home”. Then she calmly replied “What are you saying? This is not a way to marry a woman when you like and throw out when you don’t want. I am not going to follow your command. I won’t ever leave this house”. He couldn’t understand what to do now. He repented of marrying her. Later, he decided to put this matter towards the King.

The next day he took his wife to the palace and narrated the whole story to the King. The King asked her “Lady, is it true whatever your husband has told me”. She replied, “Yes your highness, everything is true”. The King again asked her, “Why did you laugh when your father-in-law died?” She said, “The reason is that when he died, the departed soul scolded the dead body very badly. The soul said, ‘You wicked fellow, you never ever served good food to me. Never made me wear good clothes. I am leaving your body. I can’t tolerate to stay with a stingy person’. The soul then kicked at the chest of the dead body thrice and left without even looking back. This very incident made me laugh”. The king listened to her calmly and asked again, “Why did you eat the flesh of the dead body?” She replied, “My lord, it is not right to blame me that I ate flesh of dead body. The real story is – That night when I was sleeping, one crow was shouting, ‘Everyone, Wake up! One dead body is floating in the river, which has a powerful ring in the finger. Take that ring for your own benefit’. That’s why I went to the river and tried to take out that ring. It failed to come out so I grabbed the ring with my teeth and took it out. Please see the ring which I am wearing right now”. After hearing the whole story the King thought to himself, “This lady is not an ordinary lady. If she becomes my wife, she will bring prosperity to my land”. The king asked her husband, “Man, now what do you think after hearing the whole story”. The man replied, “My Lord, I can’t live with this lady anymore”. Then the king turned towards her and asked, “What do you think?” She replied, “Your Highness, being a married lady I can’t go back to my parents’ home”. The king now said, “Al right Man! If you refuse to stay with your wife then I have to accept her as my bride. What do you think in this case?” The man happily replied, “My Lord, if your highness is willing to accept my wife as your queen, I am the happiest person. My problem is solved. My worries are gone. Please let me go”. The king commanded him to leave and man left happily.

The king told her, “Don’t worry now; be my wife, you will stay happy here”. She replied, “My lord, I am not guilty of anything. It’s fortunate for me to be accepted as your bride when my own husband left me”. In this way, she became the queen and the land grew its prosperity like never been before. People were happy. By the blessings of the doll, she continued to live the rest of her life with the king happily ever after.