Page 24 - English Class 05

going to sacrifice for the feast. But, he had no proof, so he thought of a plan. He made

a human figure from straw and draped it in his mother’s clothes. Then he laid this on a
steep slope above the river so that it looked like a woman sleeping. Then he went off

for the feast.

According to the custom of that place, one had to recite a certain ‘mantra’ asking
forgiveness of the animal about to be sacrificed. People believed that unless this was
done, the spirits of the animals they killed would take revenge on them. Neither of the

brothers knew the ‘mantra’, so, they asked the owner of the buffaloes to recite it for
them. But, he replied, “Only my mother knows the ‘mantra’ so, you will have to go and

ask her. She is resting by the river bank. But, she is quite deaf, and you will have to
shake her to wake her up.”

The brothers hurried off to the river where they saw a woman’s figure lying on a
steep bank. Taking this to be the owner’s mother, they shook her to wake her. But, to

their horror, she rolled down the steep hillside right into the river and was swept away
by the swift current. They ran and tried to grab her, but she vanished round a bend in

the river.
vanish : disappear

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