The Brave Potter is a humorous and heartwarming folktale about a potter who is mistaken for a tiger and defeats a group of bandits. The story teaches us the importance of courage, wit, and standing up to injustice.
The Brave Potter Summary
The Brave potter is a folk tale which amuses children very much. Once there lived a potter in a village. One day he worked very hard and reached home in the afternoon. He asked his wife for some palm-wine and drank all the wine. He no longer felt tired. Then the storm began and he suddenly remembered that he had left his donkey tied under a tree. Immediately he rushed out of his hut and reached the spot where he had tied his donkey. But there was no donkey. He felt angry and wanted to give him a good beating when he caught it.
He searched for his donkey everywhere but he could not find it. He walked and walked and often stumbled over roots and fallen branches. It made him more angry. Hours later, he reached the old woman’s hut and saw an animal sleeping in front of the door. He thought it was his donkey.
But the animal sleeping there was an old tiger. The tiger came there to protect himself from the heavy rain. When the tiger came there, he heard a woman saying the ‘leak’ in her house was terrible than a tiger. The tiger thought that the ‘leak might be a very dangerous and strong animal. And then he fell asleep.
The drunken potter did not notice the difference between the donkey and a tiger. He kicked and beat the sleeping tiger. The tiger was frightened. He thought that it might be the ‘leak’ and it came out of the house to kill him. Then the potter jumped on to the frightened animal’s back, rode it home, and then tied it up with the iron chain. Next morning the passers by surprised to see the tiger tied to the tree.
All the villagers praised him for his courage. But the potter couldn’t understand how a tiger was tied there. All the villagers thanked him because the tiger had eaten many of their goats and buffaloes Though the potter tried to tell them that he had only tied his donkey, they didn’t believe his words. They even praised him for being modest. Thus he became famous.
A few years later, a much stronger neighbour declared a war on the potter’s country. The king of the potter’s country wanted a man who could save his country. One of the ministers told the king about the bravery of the potter. Immediately the potter was sent for. When the potter realized that he had been made General of the Army, he became frightened. The next day he met the kina and he ordered the ootter to lead the army into battle the next day. The potter was nervous and worried because he didn’t know how to ride a horse.
He wanted to get up very early the next morning and practise riding. He woke up early and climbed on a horse back with great difficulty. He asked his wife to tie his feet to that stirrups so that he couldn’t fall. His wife bound his feet tightly to the stirrups. Then she tied him to the saddle with a rope. When she tried to tie his hands to the horse’s neck, it suddenly jumped free. The horse started galloping. He held tightly to the horse’s neck and prayed to all the gods to save his life.
The horse began to head for the enemy’s camp. Though he tried harder to stop it, there was no use. When they passed a young tree, the potter grabbed a branch but the horse did not stop. As a result the tree has uprooted and it was in his hand. At that time sentry from the enemy camp saw him galloping towards the camp and warned his soldiers to run and save their lives.
He shouted that the famous Tiger-General was coming at the head of a large army to attack them; he had the strength of a gaint and had uprooted a tree with one hand. The frightened soldiers fled. The king too followed his soldiers after he had written a letter begging for peace and apologizing for attacking the country. When the potter’s black horse reached the camp it stopped and the potter untied his feet and fell to the ground.
He was surprised to see the empty camp. He found the letter and went back to the city. He asked his wife to give the letter to their king and tell him that their enemy had run away. He went bed and his wife ran towards the palace. The king read the letter and praised his new General. Next morning the king rewarded the potter so well that he did not need to work again.
Conclusion:
In the conclusion of “The Brave Potter”, the potter is hailed as a hero and rewarded with the position of general in the king’s army. The story celebrates the power of the human spirit and teaches us the importance of courage, resourcefulness, and standing up to injustice.