Appukuttan walks into a restaurant in Abu Dhabi with a full-grown camel behind him,
and as he sits, the waiter comes over and asks for their order.
Appukuttan says, Enike nalu barotaum oru motta roast,' I want 4 porottas and 1 egg roast]and turns to the camel. 'Ninnake endane vendiye?' [what do you want?]
'Ennikum adhu thane,' [ i'll have the same] says the camel demurely.
A short time later the waiter returns with the order.
'That will be 15 dhirams please,' and Appukuttan reaches into his pocket and pulls out exact change for payment. The next day, Appukuttan and the camel come again and Appukuttan says, 'Enike nalu barotaum oru motta roast,'' 'Ennikum adhu thane,' says the camel demurely. [ditto]
Once again Appukuttan reaches into his pocket and pays with the exact change.
This becomes a routine until late one evening, the two enter again.
'The usual?' asks the waiter.
'Innu vyaiyaichai annu, enniku 5 apppamum oru kozhi stew,' [ today is thursday so i'll have 5 appams and chicken stew] says Appukuttan. 'Ennikum adhu thane,' [ same for me ] says the camel demurely.
A short time later the waiter comes with the order and says, 'That will be 12.62 dirhams.'
Once again Appukuttan pulls exact change out of his pocket and places it on the table.
The waiter can't hold back his curiosity any longer.
'Excuse me, sare. How do you manage to always come up with the exact change
out of your pocket every time?'
'Well,' says Appukuttan, 'several years ago I was cleaning the 'thatumbarra' [attic]
and I found an old 'vellake'[lamp].
When I rubbed it a Yakshi (Genie) appeared and offered me two wishes.
My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, just put my hand in my pocket, and the right amount of money would always be there.'
'Oogran'! [ Great] says the waiter. 'Most people would wish for a million rupees or something, but you'll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!' 'That's right! Whether it's a gallon of milk, a benz car or a Rolce Royce , the exact money is always there,' says Appukuttan.
The waiter asks, 'One other thing, sir, Ningal endenaee ottakathinem kondu nadakunnathe?'[ why are you always accompanied by this camel]
Appukuttan sighs and answers, 'My second wish was for a tall female with long legs,
full lips, large eyes with long eyelashes who agrees with everything I say........' |