In a village, there was a man who did nothing. One day, men from the village were going to the nearby town of Puttalam to sell their produce. This man insisted on going with them. They said, ‘You have nothing. What will you sell?’ The man quickly filled a sack with coconut husks that the villagers had thrown away. The men jokingly called him Vedarala (fortune teller) and took him along.
While the men carrying their heavy loads travelled by the road, Vedarala, with his light load, wandered through the fields and bushes. He came across a pair of bullocks stuck in a bush. After a little while, the party stopped on the road near a village. They sent Vedarala to find some accommodation for the night. The men in the village were running around. When Vedarala asked, they said that they were looking for a pair of bullocks that were lost. Vedarala said he was a fortune teller and could locate the bullocks if they agreed to give them shelter for the night and rice, firewood and water. The village people agreed. The entire party cooked and had a hearty meal. Then Vedarala pretended to concentrate on their problem. He led them to the bush where, earlier, he had seen the bullocks stuck.
When the party reached the city, they heard an announcement by the king of a reward for whoever could find the treasure stolen from the palace. The men in Vedarala’s party talked about him to the king’s officials. The officials took Vedarala to the king. Vedarala was afraid as he knew that he was no fortune teller. He resolved to die, rather than fail and be punished by the king. He asked the king to prepare a room with a bed and a rope tied to the ceiling. Vedarala entered the room and locked it from inside. He climbed on the bed and tried to put the rope around his neck, but it was too short.
Vedarala lamented loudly, ‘It is Kumandaeyi (too short)’. An old thief called Kumanda was hanging around the room, eager to know if the fortune teller would find out that he had committed the theft. He thought he heard his name. In panic, he went to the window and requested Vedarala to save him. Vedarala got him to hand over the stolen treasure. In the morning, Vedarala gave the treasure back to the king. Vedarala received the reward from the king and then burnt the house. He declared that all his books were burnt and he would no longer tell fortunes. Thereafter, he lived comfortably in that city.
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