Once upon a time, there lived a farmer. Just like any farmers we knew or would imagine he was hard working. His family had been farmers for as long as he could remember.
He inherited a plot of land from his father, when he promised that he would care for his aged mother. Each day he arose early to till the earth while it was still moist and soft, before the scorching sun dried out the moisture and hardened it.
Life was moving along in simple rhythm. He arose early in the morning and worked until the heat of the sun became unbearable. Then he left his plow in the field and rested under his favorite tamarind tree. The bundle that his mother prepared for him hanged on a branch of the tree. He reached for it and placed it carefully on the ground. He then opened it to take out his simple lunch of steamed rice and tempeh, wrapped in banana leaf. He had to suppress his urge to gobble down everything in a hurry, but tried to savor each small mouthful of food. Sometimes he would add a pod of the tangy tamarind for extra kick.
When he finished his lunch, his eyes could hardly stay open. He looked for a good spot under the cool shade of the tree and lay down for a nap. Almost as precise as clock-work, he woke up when the sun moved west. He quickly returned to the field to complete whatever unfinished work for the day, while there was still light in the sky.
It was hard work indeed but he looked forward to each harvest and enjoyed the fruit of his labor. This had been his life for many years, until one day when everything changed.
In the middle of his nap, he thought he heard some rustling in the grass. Curious to know what that sound was about he wiped away the sleep from his eyes and stood up to look for the cause.
To his amazement and delight, he saw a rabbit hopping happily around.
“Ah…rabbit,” he thought, “I haven’t had rabbit satay in a long time!”
He chased after the rabbit but of course it was too fast for him. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared. That night the farmer went home craving for rabbit satay.
Next morning, while working in the field, all he could think of was the rabbit. He thought of different ways of making a snare to trap his “dinner”. He hardly finished half a day’s worth of work when he rushed to the tamarind tree and wolfed down his lunch of rice and tempeh. After lunch his eyes could hardly stay open and he looked for his favorite spot under the cool shade and lay down for a nap.
Instead of enjoying his nap, he was chasing the rabbit in his dream and became so tired he could hardly wake up from his sleep. That day he hardly completed whatever work that was left unfinished.
(To be continued)
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