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      Myanmar Folk Tales

Genius Son-in-law

    Once there live in a village a rich man who had a lovely daughter. All the young man in the neighborhood courted the girl, but the father had set very high standards for his prospective son-in-law and one by one the suitors were found wanting and rejected. Throughout this whole period there was one youth who would come and sit in front of his house, not saying a word but absently fingering the solitary hair on his chin, lost in contemplation. 

    The father covertly watched him for sometime and them decided: "This one is certainly a deep thinker. He is evidently making plans on how to become rich. I had better marry off my daughter to him while I have the chance, " and before long the wedding was announced and the marriage took place. 

Now that his daughter was safely married to this budding genius, the rich man waited expectantly for his son-in-law to produce his money-making schemes. However the youth continued to sit in front of the house as before, absently playing with his chin-hair and lost in thought. Finally the father-in-law could contain his impatience no longer and said to the young man: "Come on, son, you have been sitting for weeks on end thinking all by yourself. Tell me what plans you have been making all this time, so that we may act on them and become prosperous." To which the youth replied: "But sir, I have not been making plans on how to get rich." "Then what have been thinking about all this time?: "Well, sir, "the son-in-law replied: "I have been wondering whether this hair on my chin is connected to the hair on the top of my head." 

A monk and a young pupil were walking across a treeless plain when the monk, thinking to test the boy’s alertness, inquired: 

"Boy, what would you do if an elephant suddenly appears now and chases you?" 

"Climb the nearest tree" came the prompt answer. 

"Don’t be foolish," said the monk tartly," where would you find a tree on this plain? Tell me that." 

"The same place where you got your elephant" was the rejoinder.