The Devil and the Dog

A story that I had read in my English Reader lessons in my childhood has remained with me. I believe most of you have known about this one from some or the other place. I still take all the pleasure in narrating this one whenever I get the opportunity. Given the fact that I have some soft heads around me; I have done that many a times.. lols

So, here’s how it goes:

Once upon a time (as is always), there lived a sleepy slacker (the name seems so identical with that of mine). He was rich and affluent (alas! the resemblance ends here) and spent most part of his day slacking… err sleeping; I mean. Being rich and all that, he had never bothered about anything around him ever. It so happened one day that Gods decided to give him a run. For..? It pinched the entire God-kind how he spent his time eating and sleeping (and yet not putting on weight- sigh! I say he should be releasing a “stay- fit” DVD soon) doing nothing much.

After a round table meeting (no, I wasn’t there to see the shape of the table myself- but it isn’t square table conference; much less rectangular or octangular shaped table meeting, isn’t it?), they decided to send The Devil on the earth. He was known far and wide for his devilish intelligence. It was this demon who used to get inside our head whenever it became empty. On that I must say, my mind is pretty much empty! It has always been- even The Devil couldn’t stay inside. Blame it all on this sleepy slacker!

Packing all his devilish ideas inside his horns, he had ascended from heaven. He was Gods’ fave- remember?

“Hey you sleepy slacker, wake up! I have been sent by the Gods so I don’t let you sleep. Now quickly assign a task so I’ll be off your head. The idea is to keep me busy or else I’ll strangle you to death..”

“What the heck!” thought the “rich” sleepy slacker. He wasn’t going to give up on his sleep that easily. Thinking for almost half hour, he told The Devil to go and build a huge empire, complete with fortresses, walls and gardens. He had barely started to blink when The Devil was back.

“You sleepy moron, I told you to keep me busy or else!”

The rich sleepy slacker was now agitated. He could have never imagined that his sleep would be disturbed in such a manner. All his life he had spent his time sleeping. He didn’t know anything much other than sleeping away for the entire time. Thinking of what all could be done, he instructed The Devil to go and make individual wells for each courtroom. He knew that digging wells in a desert wouldn’t be an easy task.

Smiling at his presence of mind, he had tossed to the other side of his bed snoring aloud. Half a day was gone when The Devil had come back all soaked up and equally tired. “I am leaving for the day- but will come back tomorrow early morning. Be ready with a task for me or else tomorrow would be your last sleeping day on the earth.” Saying so, The Devil had vanished.

The rich sleepy slacker couldn’t sleep a wink after that. The whole of night he had stayed wide awake thinking of the tasks that could be assigned to him so he lets him sleep in peace. The next morning was the 1^st and the last ever day of his life for him to be witnessing a sunrise. Not knowing of anything else, he had started to walk on the trail though the fields.

Poof! “Good Morning sire, now quickly assign a task so I’ll be off your head. The idea is to keep me busy ………”

The rich sleepy slacker had heard the latter part a little too well this time. Eagerly and rather bemused, he had started looking for the street dogs around. Soon he could find several of those barking on the passersby. “The Devil, please go and straighten the tail of that dog you see there. Once you are done, pick up the other one and do that for all the dogs you see anywhere. Don’t come back till you are done with all of those”

It is said that The Devil is still busy straightening that dog’s tail and that rich man is sleeping blissfully!

I wish I knew his address! I could become his manager helping him to manage his wealth.. 🙂

Filed under Coffee Table Stories. Follow the link for Continuity, Relevance or Reference.