Howrah, West Bengal
When the old woman Kunji arrived at the edge of the pond, she was surprised—someone seemed to be crying! From one end of the pond came the soft sound of crying. She tried to listen carefully, wondering where the cry was coming from. She looked towards the bushes in the east, but no, it wasn’t from there. To the south, it was silent too. There was no one around the pond, so could it be coming from the water? Maybe some ghosts or spirits!
She had been coming to this pond for so long, had fished here many times, but never heard such an eerie cry before. Today, she felt unusually scared to go to the pond. But still, summoning courage, she made her way toward the shore, her stick tapping on the ground. She spoke aloud, "Who is crying, child? And why are you crying? Why don’t you show yourself?" Kunji went to the pond in the morning to set her fishing line, and by noon, she would pull up the catch. Whatever fish she caught, it would be cooked. She never returned empty-handed. Her daughters-in-law would set the rice and lentils to cook while urging her to go to the pond. At that time, Kunji would come to pull up her fishing line. Holding her stick tightly, she approached the shore where her fishing rod was stuck, trembling. Kunji realized that today, she had probably caught a big fish.
By now, Kunji was certain the cry was coming from under the water, much like how a little girl sobs quietly, gasping between cries. Did fish cry? As she neared the rod, a tortoise surfaced, caught in the line. "Let me go, Kunji, let me go. Don’t hurt me," it cried. Kunji understood that she hadn’t caught any fish today, but a tortoise. However, catching a tortoise was not a good omen. Kunji gasped, "Oh no, what a disaster!" But how could a tortoise cry? Could it be a magical tortoise?
The tortoise spoke again, "No, Kunji, I am not a magical tortoise. But I can read human thoughts and understand what people say. If you free me from the line, I will help you. I can help you catch the thief who stole your coin." Kunji was shocked. "What? This tortoise even knows my name! How will you help me, I wonder?" The tortoise replied, "I can catch the thief who stole your coin for you."
“Now how did you know my coin was being stolen?” Kunji asked.
“I told you, I can read people’s thoughts,” replied the tortoise. “And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing! What do you think, Kunji ? Don’t hurt me, let me go.”
“I’ll release you now, tortoise, but tell me, who is stealing my coin? I’m completely helpless. I can’t catch the thief. Oh no, my pot of coins is almost empty now, down to the very bottom."
“Wait, let me first free the hook from your mouth; I can see you’re in great pain. Ah, Kunji, if you save me, I’ll be grateful.”
“Yes, now tell me, tortoise, who is the thief? I won’t spare them. I’ll feed them to the jackals and let the snakes bite them!”
“No, no, Kunji, don’t be so hasty, be patient. The thief will be caught soon.”
“I know who your coin thief is, but you don’t know them. You’ll have to catch them in the act.”
“Wait, how do you know the thief?” Kunji asked, puzzled.
“I’ll tell you, but first, let’s sit on the chatal (platform) here. My hands and feet are aching, my lips are cut. You come down a few steps from the shore, and we’ll talk quietly about what to do next.”
“Alright, tortoise, tell me now, I’m sitting.”
“That day, your younger daughter-in-law, elder daughter-in-law, and two sons were sitting on this platform by the pond, plotting together. They were saying, 'We need to find out where Mother hides her coins. The old woman is so stingy. She’s still hoarding coins—what will she even do with them? I’d feel relieved if she were gone!'”
Hearing this, Kunji became furious. “So, they are the ones who stole my coins! And secretly planned to harm me too! I’ll feed them to the jackals!”
“Stop, stop, Kunji, don’t get so angry! You need to catch the real thief.”
“But they were all involved in the plot,” Kunji argued.
“Yes, they were, but only one of them stole the coins.”
“Who is it? Tell me!”
“I told you, you have to catch the thief yourself.”
“Alright, I’ll do that.”
“Then wait here, I’ll be back in a moment,” said the tortoise as it dived into the water. Soon bubbles rose to the surface, and after a few moments, the tortoise resurfaced holding a small magic ball. It handed it to Kunji, saying, “This is a magical ball. Keep it inside your coin pot. Don’t let anyone see it. From now on, whenever anyone reaches into the pot, they will not be able to pull their hand out unless they scream, ‘I am the thief.’ As long as they don’t confess, their hand will be stuck in the pot.”
“Is that so? Give it to me, tortoise, give me the magic ball.”
“Here it is, Kunji, take it. Go home today and put it in your coin pot.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll go now, tortoise.”
“Alright, but come again tomorrow.”
“I’ll come, I’ll come, tortoise. From now on, I’ll visit you every day.”
The next day, Kunji arrived at the pond again, and this time, she had caught a large catfish on her line. As promised, she called out, “Tortoise, tortoise, where are you?” Hearing her, the tortoise surfaced, “What’s up, Kunji? You’re early today! You look quite happy.”
“I’m here to tell you, your magic ball worked, tortoise. The thief has been caught! When I asked who had stolen my coins, my elder daughter-in-law immediately cried out, ‘It was me, Mother, I am the thief. Please let me go. I won’t do it again.’ What could I do? It was my own daughter-in-law. I forgave her, but at least I got most of my coins back. All thanks to you, tortoise, and your magic ball!”
“Well, now, let’s release the magic ball into the pond. Its little ones must be waiting for it.”
“Ah, yes, tortoise, I brought it along. Go, magic ball, go back to your home. It’s time for me to leave, but I’ll come back tomorrow.”