Once upon a time there was a farmer family living in a remote area. They had three children; a son, a daughter, and a son. One of the hairs of the girl was golden and very beautiful. She was always cautious for her golden hair. The elder son was somewhat dumb and retarded.
One day the girl went to a nearby stream to wash her hair. While she washed her hair, the golden one fell off and the stream took it away. The girl didn't know about this. In the meantime, the elder brother was playing a little ways downstream. He found the golden hair and put it in his pocket. He didn't have any idea whose hair it was.
The mother noticed that the golden hair of her daughter was missing when she came home. When the mother asked her about the hair, the daughter said that she must had lost it in the stream. They went to the stream and searched around every inch of the ground but couldn't find the golden hair. Then the mother declared that she would give her daughter to whoever had found the golden hair. The slow elder brother remembered that the golden hair was in his pocket. He gave the hair to his mother.
Keeping to the promise they had made, the parents decided to arrange the marriage between the brother and sister. They asked their daughter to cook "Sel Roti" (a ring-shaped bread cooked in oil) for her elder brother's wedding, but they didn't tell her who the bride was going to be. She happily started cooking the bread. At that time a mouse came and asked for the first bread. She said, "Go away, I didn't cook these breads for you. These are for my brother's wedding." The mouse then said, "He is your brother today, but he will be your husband tomorrow." Hearing what the mouse said, the girl tried to chase him away. However, the mouse came again and repeated his demand for the first bread. Finally, when she asked the mouse why he had been saying so, he told the story why she was going to be wedded with her brother.
She gave some bread to the mouse and stopped cooking the breads. She was very angry with her parents and brother. She went to a nearby forest and climbed on a big tree named Simali. She laid on the branch and began to cry silently. Toward evening, her parents and elder brother came searching for her. When they found her on the tree, they asked her to climb down. They tried to convince her that it was her destiny, but she didn't listen to them. She refused to climb down the tree and asked them to leave. When her parents insisted that they wouldn't go without her, she cursed them. She said, "Let the branch of this Simali tree move, and let my sinful father, brother, and mother die." Her father, brother, and mother died there, instantly, under the tree.
She climbed down the tree and went to her house. Her younger brother was alone there. She put some black peppers in her "Kannanni" (waist band) and said to her brother, "I am going far away from here. You stay at home alone."The brother began to weep and insisted to go with her. Thus, they started their journey to the place where they had never been before.
On the way, the brother got tired and asked for water. She took her waist band off and gave it to her brother to keep. She took the hat her brother was wearing and left in search of water. She looked all around but couldn't find water. Therefore, she cut the vine of a wild plant called Purenu. She collected the water that oozed out of the vine in the cap and brought it for her brother.
When the sister was away, the brother searched his sister's waist band and found some black pepper. He put some of the black pepper in his mouth and chewed. The pepper was very hot so he spat it out on the ground. Suddenly, a black water buffalo appeared there. Thus, the boy found a friend to play with. When the sister came and saw a buffalo, she inquired whose buffalo was that? The brother told the story how it had appeared. The sister didn't believe the story. She asked her brother to repeat the actions. He chewed some peppers, spat onto the ground, and another buffalo appeared. Thus, they were happy to have two buffaloes as their friends. They started their journey with the buffaloes.
One day they arrived in a wide open area. There were lots of grasses for the buffaloes. Therefore, they built a shed out of grass for themselves and the buffaloes. Thus, they started raising buffalo there. They took care of the buffaloes very well. Therefore, they had a big herd of buffaloes within a couple of years. They had a happy life until some hunters showed up one day.
That day the brother was playing with the buffaloes in the forest. At that time, a group of Rankase Boksa (the demons) arrived, hunting wild animals. Seeing the buffaloes, one of them said, "Look, these buffaloes are beautiful!" The boy replied, " No, they aren't. My sister is more beautiful than these buffaloes." When the demons asked where she lived, the boy showed them the house.
The sister saw the demons coming. She quickly painted her face with charcoal powder to look ugly. When the demons arrived, they asked for water to drink. She gave them water in a big wooden jar. When they were drinking the water, one of the demons splashed some water in her face. The water washed the charcoal from her face and she looked beautiful again. The demons abducted her and took her to their house.
When the brother came back home with the buffaloes, he couldn't find his sister anywhere. He waited until the dark, but his sister didn't come. He started to cry very hard, finding himself alone. The leader of the buffaloes felt pity for the boy and said, "Make a Tenkuli (a small drum) from a frog's skin and I will take you to your sister." The boy quickly made the small beating drum. He rode on the buffalo and started beating the drum. The buffalo took the boy near the house of the demons and left.
By that time the sister had given birth to a baby. When the boy arrived, she was combing her hair and the baby was sleeping nearby. However, the brother didn't immediately go before his sister. Rather, he hid behind the house. The comb suddenly dropped from her hand. She asked a cock to pick up the comb. The cock replied, "Why don't you ask your brother for help?" Again, she asked a dog for help, but the dog also replied the same way. She didn't know why the animals were treating her like that. Finally, the brother picked up the comb and gave it to his sister. As soon as she saw her brother, they hugged and cried for a long time. She cooked good food for her brother and fed him. It was getting dark, and it was time for the demons to return from hunting. Therefore, she asked her brother to hide under a big cooking pot and to keep quiet. The baby boy was watching curiously what his mother was doing.
In the evening, the demons returned home from their hunt. As soon as the demon went inside the house, he smelled human presence. He asked if there was someone in the house. The sister denied it; however, the baby said, "Uncle came, ate good foods, and hid under the pot." The demon didn't hear what the baby said at the beginning. When the baby repeated what he had said, the demon lifted the cooking pot up. The brother, who was hiding inside the pot, quickly bowed his head, touched the demon's feet, and said, "Greetings, my dear brother-in-law." Then the demon said, "I would have killed you and eaten you if you hadn't greeted me."
That night, the demon asked the brother to sleep together in the same bed. While the boy was in a deep sleep, the demon torn a piece of meat from his thigh and ate. The boy cried in pain. His sister scolded the demon.
Next day, the demon took the brother hunting with him despite his wife. He asked the boy to climb on a big tree in the jungle. When the boy climbed the tree, the demon started to fell the tree. It took no time for the boy to learn the intention of the demon. He began to cry loudly and asked his sister for help. He said, "My dear sister, the demon is going to kill me. Please unleash the big dog and send him for help." However, the sister couldn't hear the brother's call because the demon had put pieces of wooden blocks in both of her ears before he left for hunting. Hearing the plight of the boy, a crow felt pity for him. The crow flew to the house and pulled the wooden blocks out from the sister's ears. Then only could she hear the cry of her brother. She instantly unleashed the dog and ordered him to kill the demon. The dog ran straight to the place where the demon had trapped the boy. He attacked the demon, bit fiercely, and made him unconscious.
The brother climbed down the tree and went to his sister's house. He told her the story about what the demon was trying to do. They killed the baby of the demon and cooked it in a pot with rice. After that, they left the house and fled as fast as it was possible.
After sometime the demon came to consciousness. He ran to the house to kill his wife and the brother. Finding that both of them had fled, he became very angry. Since he was very hungry, he ate the rice with cooked meat from his son. Then he started to follow the fleeing brother and sister.
The sister and brother discovered that the demon was after them. They tried to find a place to hide, but couldn't find any. They went to a white spotted cow grazing nearby. They told the whole story to the cow quickly and asked for help. The cow asked both of them to hide inside her body and kept on grazing.
After a while, the demon arrived and asked the cow if she saw the brother and sister. The cow turned her head to the other side and just said "No." Therefore, the demon suspected the cow and began to follow her. Seeing the demon following her, the cow started to climb a hill to get rid of the demon. The demon, however, didn't quit following her. Then she started to climb up a steep cliff. The demon caught the tail of the cow and tried to pull her down, but she kicked the demon very hard. The demon fell off the cliff and died there right on the spot.
The sister and brother thanked the white spotted cow for saving their lives. After that, they went to find their herd of buffaloes. When they got there, they found the buffaloes sick and weak. They felt very sorry for them and started to feed and nurture them very carefully. Within a short period of time, the buffaloes recovered again. They spent the rest of their life living happily.
