A Heartbreaking Tale of a Mother and Daughter's Love
The Story of a Widow and Her Daughter
In a small village, a widow lived with her young daughter, who was around six or seven years old. They struggled to make ends meet in their impoverished circumstances.
One morning, the mother went out to gather grass and also picked some kafal berries. The sight of the berries filled her daughter with joy.
The mother said, "I’m going to work in the fields. We will eat the kafal when I return," and she placed the berries in a basket, covering them with a cloth.
The daughter eagerly awaited the return of her mother, longing to taste the kafal. She repeatedly lifted the cloth to peek at them, imagining their sweet and sour flavor, but being a well-behaved child, she didn’t touch a single berry.
When the mother returned in the evening, the daughter rushed to her and exclaimed, "Mom, can we eat the kafal now?"
The mother, exhausted, replied, "Let me catch my breath first, dear."
Upon opening the basket, the mother noticed that the kafal were fewer than before.
Angrily, she asked, "Did you eat any?"
The daughter replied, "No, Mom, I didn’t even touch them!"
Frustrated from fatigue, hunger, and the heat, the mother slapped her daughter in anger. The girl cried out, "I didn’t eat them, Mom..." and collapsed in tears.
Realizing her mistake, the mother took her daughter in her arms and began to wail, "Oh God! What have I done? I picked these kafal for her..."
She wept throughout the night, having thrown the basket outside in her rage.
The next morning, she discovered that the basket was full of kafal again! The heat had caused the berries to wilt, making them appear fewer, but the cool night air had revived them.
Seeing this, the mother was overwhelmed with regret and died from grief right there.
It is said that both transformed into birds after their deaths. Even today, when the kafal ripen, one bird sings sorrowfully, "kafal pakao, mai ni chakho" (The kafal are ripe, but I haven’t tasted them). The other bird responds, "poor putai poor poor" (It’s full, daughter, it’s full).