Everyone loves folktales, and no one is too serious for a funny story. Whether you are seeking bedtime stories for kids, funny folktales for kids, or you are an enthusiast of folktales from around the world, you definitely should check out all the stories of Andare. These funny stories of Andare revolve around an unbelievably tricky jester who is told to have lived in the 18th century in Sri Lanka and who, of course, outsmarted everyone, including the king himself. These stories of Andare are usually short, funny stories that are suitable for kids and adults. The story of how Andare defeated a giant is the best of the best stories of Andare. Enjoy storytelling!
Once upon a time in Sri Lanka, there was a man called Andare. He was an extremely funny, cunning, and intelligent person who could grab the slightest chance in any situation and make that an advantage for himself. He was poetic, hilarious, and smart. This man started to work at the palace for the Sinhalese King. The king found this man breaking rules again and again but he got away with his ability to trick anyone. Since Andare could make everyone laugh under any circumstances, the king appointed him as the royal jester. Andare has kept the king delighted since then.
However, Andare has never been in a battle with anyone. He only defeated others with his words and tricks off the battleground. So, the king wanted to see what Andare would do in a battle. Therefore, the king arranged a special battle for Andare. The king brought a giant soldier who was serving in a rural area into the capital. Once the giant arrived, the king asked Andare to come and see him in the courtroom. Andare went to see the king.
“My King, you ordered my presence here.” Andare bowed to the King.
“Yes, I did. Andare, you always win in any situation. don’t you?” The king asked with a friendly smile on his face.
“Yes, my lord,” Andare’s pride did speak.
“Alright then, would you be able to win a battle? I mean a dual?” The king asked.
At that point, Andare realized he had fallen into the king’s trap. But he could say no. If he said no, that would make the king angry. “I fell into the king’s trap. I just said I can win in any situation. If I say I can’t win a single combat, the king will charge me with lying.” Andare thought. So Andare said, “Yes, my king.”
“Well then, ask him to come here,” the king ordered.
In a while, the giant appeared in front of the king. Looking at the giant, Andare got scared. He started sweating. But Andare was careful enough not to show his fear of the giant in front of the king.
“Alright then, hereby, I confirm the single combat between Andare and this giant,” the king said. Meanwhile, Andare was thinking of a plan.
“My king, I don’t have an issue with fighting with this giant and winning the battle. But I recently had a stomachache. I am quite weak right now. Therefore, if your majesty could accommodate two of us in two identical rooms at the same place and provide the same food for a week with just a little more water for me, the battle would be a fair fight,” Andare requested the king.
The king agreed to Andare’s proposal. King provided both Andare and the Giant two identical rooms, separated by a wall, and food and water as Andare requested. The two enjoyed the good food and stayed inside the rooms all the time.
While the giant was resting, Andare was executing his plan. Every time Andare got water, he poured it into a certain place in the wall that separated his room from the giant’s room. Then he scratched the wall. First, he scratched off the plaster on the wall. Then he scratched off the brick layers of the wall. By the end of the 7th day, what was left was a hole in the wall that could easily fit Andare’s hand. But Andare left the plaster of the wall on the other side. The other side means the side where the giant was.
While spending time in rooms separated by a wall, Andare and Giant had been talking with each other. Despite the battle to come, they talked with each other. So, in the evening before the day of the fight, Andare asked the giant to pass him lime for his bulath wita. (Bulath wita is a mixture of betel leaf, betel nut, lime, and sometimes tobacco leaf that people in Sri Lanka use to chew most of the time in the day. It is similar to the act of chewing gum.)
“Lime is here though; there is no way to pass it on to you,” the giant replied to Andare.
“Why, there is no way. You are a giant. Just hit the wall, make a hole in it and pass me the lime,” Andare replied.
The giant thought, “Yes, of course, I can do that,” and he hit the wall with his fist. The wall did not break. He could not make a hole in the wall. Instead, he got hurt.
By hearing the giant hurt himself by hitting the wall, Andare scolded the giant. “Seriously? You can’t even make a hole in this wall by hitting it with your fist? Let me show you how to make a hole in this wall by hitting with my finger,” Andare said.
“Oh, really, why don’t you try that then?” the giant replied.
Then Andare put his hand in the cavity he made on the wall and hit it with his finger. Instantly, Andare’s hand was inside the room where the giant was. The giant was surprised and scared. Andare, without even caring, asked for lime. The giant passed him the lime. Then, since Andare hit the wall and made a hole in it with his finger, the giant was scared of Andare.
“If he can hit the wall with a finger and make a hole in it, what would he do to me in the fight?” the scared giant thought. During the night before the battle, the scared giant escaped.
The rumor spread so fast in the kingdom that a giant who was chosen to fight against Andare by the king himself ran off, scared of Andare. The king realized Andare had done some tricky things. The king gave Andare full immunity for whatever he did to make the giant escape and told him to tell him how he did it. Andare told the king everything. The king had a good laugh and Andare was given presents by the king.