Destiny Cannot Be Changed

Sham S. Misri

A sage lived on the banks of a river. The sage and his wife were sad as they had no children. One day, when the sage was in his prayer, a kite dropped a she-mouse in the lap of the Sage. The Sage thought that if he would take the mouse to his home, people would laugh at him. So he changed the mouse into a girl.

The Sage brought the girl to his home. He narrated the whole story to his wife. The sage’s wife did not believe.  “I would bring her back to her original form” said the sage. The Sage’s wife stopped him and said, “Please don’t change her into a mouse. You have given her life so you have become her father. Since you are her father, I am her mother. God must have sent her to us because we don’t have any children”.

The Sage agreed and they brought up the Girl child as their own daughter. Soon the Girl grew into a beautiful maiden. By the age of fifteen, the Sage’s wife decided to get her daughter married. She asked her husband to find a suitable match for their daughter. The Sage liked the idea and suggested that the Sun God would make the best match for their daughter. The wife agreed upon this and the Sage prayed to the Sun God to appear. When the Sun God appeared, the Sage asked him to marry his daughter.

But the Girl refused the idea and said, “I can’t marry the Sun God as he is burning hot. I will be reduced to ashes in his warmth and light”. The Sage got disappointed to hear this from the Girl. He asked the Sun God if he could suggest a groom for his daughter. The Sun God said, “The Lord of Clouds could make a good match for her”.

The Sage then prayed to the Lord of Clouds to appear and asked him to marry his daughter. But the Girl again rejected the proposal and said, “I don’t want to marry a dark person like him.”. The Sage was sad once again and asked the Lord of Clouds if he could suggest a possible groom. The Lord of Clouds said, “Wind God can make a possible match for her as he can easily blow me away”.

The Sage then prayed to the Wind God to appear and asked him to marry his daughter. The Daughter declined the idea and said, “I can’t marry a frail person like the Wind God who is always stirring”. Once again the sage got gloomy and asked the Wind God to give some suggestion. The Wind God replied, “Lord of Mountain is solid and can stop the hard blows of wind easily. He can make a suitable match for your daughter”.

The Sage went to the Lord of Mountain and asked him to marry his daughter. But the Girl once again declined the proposal and said, “I can’t marry the Lord of Mountain because he is too cold-hearted and cannot move”. She asked the Sage to find a softer groom for her. The Sage sought Mountain Lord’s suggestion for the same. The Mountain Lord replied, “A mouse will make a perfect match for her as he is soft and can easily make holes in the mountain”.

The daughter approved the idea of marrying a he-mouse. She was pleased at this proposal. The Sage said, “This is destiny. You came as a mouse and you were fated to marry a mouse”. Saying this, the Sage converted the Girl back to a female mouse. The female mouse got married to a male mouse and lived happily thereafter.