THE BROOM

There was an old man lying on his deathbed. He belonged to the Kannada country. While in his last moments he could only blabber some word, which his children could not understand.

They called in a doctor and asked him to give oxygen or something so that the words might become clear. They surmised that he was announcing to them where exactly he had hidden the money he had earned. So, they did everything to get the words correctly.

They could distinguish only one sound, Ka! So they asked whether he meant kanaka (gold), karu (calf), Kanaja (granary), kasabarke (broom)…! When the broom was shown, his head nodded and he died. So, he had to take birth later as a broom! That was his last thought!