When anything sweet is prepared in the house on a particular night, and
when the children, after feeding to their fill, say to the mother:--
"Amma, this pudding is sweet; keep it for the morning," the mother
says at once:--
"Ask me to keep it for the beggar, and I shall do it."
"Why should I not say keep it for the morning, Amma," ask the curious
children, and the South Indian mother gives to her listening children
the following story:--
In a certain village there lived an affectionate husband and wife. The
husband would go to look after the fields and garden and return home
with abundance of vegetables. The wife would cook and serve her lord
to his fill. Before going out in the morning the husband used to
take whatever of last night's dishes were left cold to remain for
his breakfast.
The husband was a great eater of dhal [100] soup. Every night the
wife used to prepare a large quantity of it and leave a good portion
of it to stand for the morning's breakfast of her lord. And he, too,
owing to his taste for the cold rice, used to warn his wife--though
she was very careful--and say:--
"Keep me some of this soup for the next morning."