Once upon a time, in a dense forest, there lived a Podna and a Podni . Nearby, there was a royal orchard belonging to the king. The Podna and Podni would sneak into the orchard to eat fruits. One day, the king made an announcement that no one was allowed to eat anything from his orchard.
Now, the Podni was a bit mischievous, so she ignored the king’s warning. The next day, when both birds went out in search of food, Podni flew straight into the king’s orchard. As soon as she landed there, the king’s soldiers caught her and took her away.
That evening, when Podna returned home and saw that Podni was missing, he became very worried. He soon found out that the king’s soldiers had taken her to the palace. Determined to rescue her, Podna crafted a small cart made of dry sticks and tied a frog in front to pull it. He set off toward the king’s palace, shouting: “With a cart of sticks and frogs to pull, the king captured my Podni; now I’m ready to fight and die!”
On his way, he met some ants. Seeing Podna worried, the ants asked, “What’s wrong, Podna?”
He told them his story. The ants offered to help, and Podna replied, “Get into my ears!” So, all the ants crawled into his ears.
A little further along, Podna met water flowing down the path. Water asked the same question, and Podna again replied with his chant. When the water offered to help, Podna said, “Get into my ears!” The water did just that.
Finally, Podna reached the king’s palace. The soldiers caught him and took him to the king. The king ordered, “Lock him up with Podni in the elephant’s cage. The elephants will crush them by morning.”
That night, as the elephants moved toward them, Podna whispered to the ants: “In the name of Allah, begin your task!”
The ants swarmed out of his ears and crawled into the trunks of the elephants. They bit the elephants so much that the massive beasts fell unconscious.
The next morning, when the king’s soldiers came to check, they saw all the elephants lying unconscious, and Podna and Podni safe and sound. Furious, the king ordered, “Take them to my room. I will kill them myself tonight!”
That night, the king entered his room with a sword to kill the birds. But Podna called out to the water: “In the name of Allah, begin your task!”
Suddenly, all the water that had been inside Podna’s ears flooded the king’s room. His bed, carpets, curtains, and furniture—all were soaked. Everything in the room began to float, and the king himself started drowning in the water. Panicked, the king and his guards begged for forgiveness.
The king promised Podna and Podni, “I will never harm you or any other bird again. Please forgive me and go back to your home.”
The next morning, the king kept his word. He released the Podna and Podni and vowed to live peacefully. The birds returned to their home in the forest and lived happily ever after, with the king as their friend.
Commentary: Podna (male) and Podni (female) are the vernacular names for a species of tiny sparrows.
In Urdu, the language the story was recorded in, the chant and the dialogues use rhyming syllables.
“Sarkandon ki gaari banay tou maindak jotay jayen, Raja maray Podni, hum larnay marnay jayen!”
“Ghuss ghuss, mere kaan main ghuss.”
“Le ke ab tum Allah ka naam, shuru karo tum apna kaam!”
Source: Narrated by Minahil Khan's grandmother. Recorded in Karachi, as a part of Clicks and Culture, our collaboration with Beaconhouse School System.
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