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Grandma’s Blackie
[Loving-kindness]
Once upon a time, when King
Brahmadatta was the ruler in Benares, there
was an old woman who had an ebony-coloured calf. Unknown to the woman, the calf
was actually the Bodhisattva.The old woman raised the little calf just like she
would her own child. She gave him only the very best rice and porridge. She
would often pet his head and neck, and the calf would respond by licking her
hand. Since they were so friendly, the people began to call the calf,
‘Grandma’s Blackie’.
Even when he grew up into a big
strong bull, Grandma’s Blackie remained very tame and gentle. The village
children often played with the bull, holding onto his neck, ears and horns.
Sometimes, they would even grab the bull’s tail and swing up onto his back for
a ride. However, as Grandma’s Blackie liked children, he never complained. “The
loving old woman, who brought me up, is like a kind mother to me. She raised me
like her own child feeding me with only the best,” thought the friendly bull.
“She is poor and in need, but too humble to ask for my help, and too gentle to
force me to work. Since I love her too, I want her to be well and wish to
release her from the suffering of poverty.” So he started looking for work.
One day, a caravan of 500 carts
passed by the village. It had to stop when the caravan came to a nearby river.
Even though the caravan leader had hooked up all 500 bullocks to the first
cart, the bullocks still could not pull even one cart cross the raging river.
Left without a choice, the leader began to search for more bulls. An expert in
assessing the calibre of bulls, he noticed Grandma’s Blackie when he examined
the wandering village herd. “This noble bullock looks like he has the strength
and the will to pull my carts across the river,” he thought at once. He said to
the villagers standing nearby, “To whom does this big black bull belong? I
would like to use him to pull my caravan across the river, and I am willing to
pay his owner for his services.” “By all means, take him. His master is not
here,” answered the villagers. So he put a noose through the bull’s nose. But
when he pulled, the bull would not budge! “Until this man says that he will pay
for my work, I will not move,” thought the bull.
The caravan leader understood
what the bull wants. He said: “My dear bull, I will pay you two gold coins, not
just one, but two, for each of the 500 carts you pulled across the river!”
Hearing this, Grandma’s Blackie went with him at once. The man harnessed the
strong black bull to the first cart, and Grandma’s Blackie proceeded to pull it
across the river. Without slowing down a bit, he pulled until all 500 carts
were across the river! When all was done, the caravan leader hung a package
containing 500 coins around the mighty bullock’s neck. “This man promised two
gold coins per cart, but that is not what he has hung around my neck. I will
not let him leave!” Thinking so, he went to the front of the caravan and
blocked its path.
The leader tried to push him out
of the way, but he would not move. He tried to drive the carts around him. But
all the other bulls had seen how strong Grandma’s Blackie was, and so they
would not move either! “There is no doubt that this is a very intelligent bull,
and he knows I have paid him less than I have promised,” thought the man. This
time round, he hung another package, one which contained 1,000 gold coins,
around the bull’s neck. With that, Grandma’s Blackie re-crossed the river and
walked directly towards the old woman, his ‘mother’. Along the way, the
children tried to grab the money package, thinking it was a game. But he
escaped them.
When the woman saw the heavy
package, she was surprised. The children told her what had happened down at the
river. She opened the package and discovered the money. Seeing how tired her
‘child’ looked, she said: “Oh my son, why do you work so hard and suffer? Do
you think I wish to depend on you? No matter how difficult things may be, I
will always take care of you.” Then the kind old woman washed the lovely bull
and massaged his tired muscles with oil. She fed him good food and cared for
him, until the end of their happy lives together.
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