Once upon a time, there lived a rich businessman who had three sons and a daughter. After his three sons got married, the businessman decided to go on a pilgrimage. Before he left with his wife, he asked his sons to take care of their little sister, Savitri.
The daughters-in-law did not want to take the responsibility of looking after the little girl. They made the most of their in-laws’ absence to harass her and make her do all the chores.
One day, the eldest daughter-in-law asked young Savitri to fetch water from the well. She gave her one leaking earthen pot and a short rope. Savitri tied the rope to the pot and tried to fetch water. However, the rope was too short to reach the water. Scared of going back home empty-handed, Savitri began crying aloud.
A snake living near the well asked her why she was crying. She told the snake that her eldest brother’s wife would punish her if she went back home without fetching water.
The snake asked her to tie its body to the rope to make it lengthier. Savitri could now fetch the water! However, when she pulled the pot back up, half the water leaked through the crack. She began crying again. This time, a frog came to her aid. It hopped right into the pot, plugging the hole with its body. Savitri could now go home with the pot full of water. All three sisters-in-law couldn’t help but wonder how she had managed to get the water in the leaking pot with a short rope.
The following day, the second brother’s wife handed her a basket full of paddy and asked her to remove the husk and make rice. No matter how hard she tried, Savitri couldn’t remove the husk. Seeing her crying aloud, a sparrow volunteered to help her. The sparrow summoned her gang and helped her separate the husk and rice. Savitri took the rice home and gave it to her sister-in-law.
A few days later, her third sister-in-law asked her to take the dirty clothes and wash them in the village pond. Savitri tried to rinse the clothes in the pond but couldn’t wash them clean. A crane living in the pond heard her crying at the top of her voice. The bird volunteered to help her. The crane asked young Savitri to spread the dirty clothes out on the ground near the pond. It then rolled over the clothes. As if by magic, all clothes turned clean and dazzling white. Once again, Savitri went back home happy.
When her parents came back from pilgrimage five years later, their neighbors told them how their three daughters-in-law had ill-treated Savitri. When the brothers learned about this, they reprimanded their wives. The three brothers also apologized to Savitri and married her to a suitable groom, with whom she lived happily ever after.
Kalai is passionate about reading and reinterpreting folk tales from all over the country. Write to her at kalai.muse@gmail.com to know more about her.
Folk tale adopted and abridged from Internet Archive.