The Stories of Andare are the most famous folktale series in Sinhalese folklore from Sri Lanka. The Andare stories revolve around an intelligent man who lived during the reign of King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe in the Kandyan Kingdom in the 18th century. The stories of Andare are indeed funny stories with appropriate narratives that we can use as folktales for kids, funny stories for kids or even as bedtime stories for kids as well. In fact, the stories of Andare are among the best folktales from around the world. The following story of how Andare lifted a rock illustrates vivid scenes and character building, even though it is a short story.
Once upon a time in Sri Lanka, there was a man called Andare. This man was a genius in making any situation to his benefit. He used to do pranks on people and get away with it all the time using his ingenious intelligence. The Sinhalese king at the time got to know about this man and appointed him as the royal jester for his court. Since then, Andare has never failed to make the king laugh with his pranks and tricks.
One day, Andare heard that a farmer had a huge problem. There was a huge rock boulder in the middle of the farmer’s paddy field. That rock had been trouble for a long time. The farmer lost a large area of his field due to this rock boulder. So, he wanted to move the rock out of his paddy field.
The farmer tried to move the rock out by himself. Then he tried moving it out with the help of his friends. But he could not get the job done. Then he tried to move out of the rock using elephants. But that also did not work. Then he thought maybe if he said he would give money to anyone who moved the rock out of his field, someone might volunteer. Therefore, the farmer hired a town crier to spread the message. Several people who were well known for their physical strength tried but failed. That’s when Andare heard the announcement of the town crier.
“Wow! What an opportunity!” Andare thought.
Then Andare went to meet the farmer who hired the town crier. It was a Gamarala (a village chieftain).
“Aayubowanda!” Andare sent his greetings.
“Ayubowanda! Ayubowanda! Who is this gentleman?” the Gamarala asked.
“I am Andare,” Andare replied.
“Oh hoo! You are the Andare!” Gamarala said this while smiling.
“So, why are you here, Andare?” Gamarala asked.
“I am here to move out the rock from your paddy field,” Andare replied.
“Since it was impossible for men who are even stronger than you to move it, how on earth would you move that rock?” the Gamarala laughed.
“You wait and watch!. Moving the rock is my concern. Your concern is whether to let me do it or not,” Andare said.
“It seems like this man is serious. What harm could come if he moved the rock? Let’s see,” Gamarala thought.
“Alright then, Andare. If you move the rock out of my field, I will treat you well with coins,” Gamarala said.
“Alright, but you have to provide me with Suwandel rice (an aromatic subspecies of rice) and Kalukum meat curry (turkey) as food for 3 weeks. What do you say?” Andare asked Gamarala.
The Gamarala thought, “If the rock is moved out, the cost of this request is nothing,” and agreed to Andare’s deal. As agreed, Gamarala provided Andare, Kalukum meat curry, and Suwandel rice for three weeks.
At the end of the three weeks, Gamarala came to Andare and said, “It has been three weeks. Tomorrow is the day that you promised to move the rock out of my paddy field.”
“Of course! Of course! Don’t worry. I won’t go anywhere,” Andare said laughingly.
“Nice! Then let’s go to the paddy field early in the morning and finish up the task,” Gamarala suggested.
“Sounds good,” Andare said.
“A lot of people will gather to see you move the rock tomorrow.” Gamarala left, saying that to Andare.
The sun rose, bringing the next day. As promised, Andare went to the paddy field early in the morning. The word about this had spread all around the kingdom. “Andare is going to move a huge rock from Gamarala’s paddy field. Anyone who would like to witness that can join us. We are heading there.” People spread the word and gathered around the paddy field to see the marvelous scene.
“Andare, all set?” Gamarala asked.
“Yes. All set,” Andare replied.
“Okay, then move the rock out; what are you waiting for? You have to move the rock from here out to the edge of the paddy field.” Gamarala asked Andare.
“Yes. Yes. Why waste time? You people lift the rock and keep it on my shoulder. Then I will move it out of the field,” Andare said.
Gamarala was so confused. He asked, “What? What are you talking about?”
“I’ll move the rock out of the field when you guys lift it and keep it on my shoulders,” Andare replied calmly.
Gamarala became furious and asked, “You promised to move the rock out. So, you do it. This is not a joke, Andare.”
“I promised to move the rock out of your paddy field. So, as promised, I am here to do it, am I not? But what I didn’t promise you was to lift the rock. So, you people, please lift the rock and place it on my shoulder, so I can move it out,” Andare replied.
At that moment, Gamarala realized that Andare tricked him with his words and fooled him into serving him pricy food for nothing, and he couldn’t do anything about it.