An Old Indian Tale Rewritten

Once upon a time there lived a man by the name of Abu. Abu was witty and clever man and all of the town loved him for his good  nature. Abu too was a happy man except for one thing. Abu had rapidly lost all his hair and become completely bald. He was ashamed of his baldness and always wore a wig to cover his head.  He only took of his head of false hear in the privacy of his home at night , so that no one might know of his predicament.

One day, Abu was out riding with his friends in the forest and there was a great gale. Strong gusts of wind swayed the trees and the leaves swirled into a whirlwind . The animals rushed into their shelters,  as the horsemen tried to find some sort of a sanctuary from the fierce gale.

A sudden mighty gust of wind blew through the forest and as the horsemen tried to steady themselves in vain, Abu gasped in surprise as his wig was completely blown off. He watched in dismay as the woolly ball of hair went hurtling through the forest ground mingling with the scattered leaves and mud.

The other horsemen stared dumbfounded for a minute and then burst out laughing. How they laughed at Abu. The snorted and guffawed and roared with laughter. Abu’s face went a beet root red as he tried to conceal his embarrassment. But his companions could not help laughing at the sight of Abu’s bald head.

Slowly Abu’s embarrassment began to turn to anger and resentment. He grew purple in the face and breathed heavily .

 Abu wondered how he could save face and thought quick and hard. Suddenly, a wide smile spread across his face. He looked at his friends with great glee and joined in their mirth. He too laughed as loudly as they did. His companions thought that Abu was indeed weird ; laughing at his own self . “What is the matter Abu?” asked one finally

Abu, barely able to conceal his mirth looked at his friends with twinkling eyes and replied , “"What a marvel it is that hairs which are not mine should fly from me, when they have forsaken even the man on whose head they grew."

“Yes,” chorused his friends, “ better a bald head than no head at all”.