The Magic Pitcher: When Wishes Come With a Price
The Magic Pitcher: When Wishes Come With a Price
Originally from: Hindu Tales from the Sanskrit, translated by S. M. Mitra (1919)
The Woodcutter’s Dilemma
So there was this guy Subha Datta who lived in ancient India with his family. Total normal life – he’d go out to the forest every day, chop wood, sell it to pay the bills. Classic hardworking dad energy. His three sons were always begging to help cut wood (dangerous much?), and his two daughters would tag along sometimes too. He was pretty cool about it though, eventually giving the boys their own mini-axes and the girls some scissors for twigs. Safety first, right?
Everything was going fine until one day Subha Datta decided to venture deeper into the forest than usual, looking for better wood. His kids wanted to come along (as kids do), but he was like, “Not today – it’s too far, and you’ll get lost coming back alone. Help your mom instead.” The kids actually listened without arguing (I know, shocking by today’s standards), and off he went.
But plot twist – he didn’t come back that night. His wife kept checking the door, mistaking random night sounds for his voice. Eventually she had to go to bed, worried sick that some wild animal had gotten him.
The Forest Encounter
So what actually happened to Subha Datta?
He was just doing his thing, chopping down trees, when suddenly he felt like someone was watching him. He looked up and – no joke – saw four gorgeous girls dancing in a clearing. They looked like they’d stepped straight out of a fantasy movie with their flowing summer dresses and long hair.
Subha Datta was so shocked he dropped his axe, which made the dancers stop and stare at him.
“Who are you and what are you doing in our forest?” one of them asked. “We’ve never seen a human this deep before.”
“Just a poor woodcutter trying to make a living,” he replied, probably still in shock.
One of the girls rolled her eyes. “That’s such a boring way to live. Stay with us instead, and we’ll make sure your family is taken care of way better than you could.”
The Temptation
Subha Datta hesitated. He loved his family, but these beautiful strangers were seriously tempting him to ditch his responsibilities.
“Will my family really be okay?” he asked.
“Duh, we’re fairies,” another girl said. “We can do all kinds of amazing things. We don’t even need to go to your family – we’ll just wish good things for them, and it’ll happen. Now, how about some food? You’ll have to work for us though.”
“I’ll do whatever,” Subha Datta quickly agreed.
“Great! Start by sweeping all these dead leaves away, and then we can eat.”
Subha Datta grabbed a branch and swept the clearing. When he finished, he looked around for the food but only saw a large pitcher standing under a tree.
“Um, where’s the food?” he asked. “And where should I set it up?”
The fairies burst out laughing like he’d just said the most hilarious thing ever.
The Magic Pitcher
When they finally stopped laughing, one fairy explained: “We don’t do food prep like humans. See that pitcher? It’s magic – the only one in the world. You just put your hand in, wish for whatever food you want, and boom – it appears. Try it!”
Subha Datta dropped his axe and rushed to the pitcher. He wished for his usual comfort food – curried rice, milk, lentils, fruits, and veggies. Instantly, an amazing meal appeared on the ground.
The fairies then called out their own food wishes – stuff Subha Datta had never even heard of, which made his meal seem totally basic in comparison.
Paradise Lost
The next few days were like a dream vacation for Subha Datta. The fairies would often disappear, leaving him alone with the magic pitcher. At first, he thought he’d never been happier, getting any food he wanted without working for it.
But then he started missing his family. He missed his kids’ voices, his wife’s smile, even the satisfaction of honest work. What good was cutting down trees when food magically appeared? Sometimes he thought about sneaking home when the fairies were gone, but he couldn’t bear to leave the pitcher behind.
At night, he’d lie awake thinking about his abandoned family. What if they were hungry while he was feasting? He even considered stealing the pitcher, but something told him the fairies would know and their punishment would be severe.
One night, he had a nightmare where he saw his wife crying, holding their youngest child while the other three looked on sadly. He woke up determined to go home, but then saw the fairies dancing in the moonlight and lost his nerve again.
The Breaking Point
The fairies noticed his mood change. “What’s your problem?” one asked. “We don’t do sad vibes here. If you can’t enjoy life our way, just go home.”
Terrified they might actually kick him out, Subha Datta explained his dream and his worry that his family was starving without his income.
“Don’t stress about it,” a fairy replied with a casual wave. “We’ll whisper to your wife while she’s sleeping, and she’ll be so happy knowing you’re living your best life that she’ll forget her own problems.”
Meanwhile, Back Home…
What the fairies didn’t know was that Subha Datta’s family was adapting without him. His sons, though too young to cut down trees, had started climbing them to chop off branches. They made bundles of kindling and sold them to neighbors, who were impressed by their hustle and often gave them extra food.
As time passed, they got used to life without their father. The little girls barely remembered him anymore. They had no idea how their lives were about to change.
The Decision
A month later, Subha Datta had another dream – but this one showed his family with plenty of food, looking perfectly happy without him. His ego couldn’t handle it. He decided right then to go home and remind them he still existed.
When he woke up, he told the fairies, “I’m out. It’s been fun, but I’m done with this forest life.”
The fairies could tell he meant it this time. Being kind-hearted (despite their questionable ethics in luring him away from his family), they offered him a parting gift – anything he wanted.
The Selfish Choice
The moment Subha Datta heard he could have anything, he blurted out: “I want the magic pitcher!”
The fairies were shocked. They always kept their promises, but this was their precious food source! They tried everything to change his mind, even taking him to their secret treasure vault inside a hollow tree. They blindfolded him for the journey so he couldn’t reveal the location later.
When they removed the blindfold, he found himself in a massive hall filled with sparkling jewels worth fortunes and beautiful clothes hanging on the walls. But Subha Datta, being a simple woodcutter with no concept of their value, just kept repeating, “No! The pitcher! I want the pitcher!”
The fairies tried one last time: “The pitcher breaks easily. Take the jewels instead – you can sell them and buy anything you want!”
“No! The pitcher!” he insisted.
Finally, they gave in. “Fine, take it. But never show your face here again.”
Subha Datta carefully took the pitcher and left without a second thought about how the fairies would survive without it. As he disappeared from sight, the fairies began crying.
“He could have at least let us get some food for a few days first,” one sobbed.
“He’s too selfish to think of that,” another replied. “Come on, let’s forget him and find some fruit.”
And so they went off hand in hand. Fairies can survive on fruit and dew, and they never stay sad for long. But Subha Datta’s story was far from over…
To be continued in Part 2: The Consequences of Greed
