A hawk swooped down on a little mouse, picked her up with claws and soared into the sky. The mouse somehow wriggled out of the clutches of the hawk, and fell from a great height.
Around the same time, a sage having a bath in the river Ganga, was scooping water from the river to offer it to the sun god. Suddenly, he heard a ‘plop.’ A frightened mouse had landed in his open palm!
The sage looked at the frightened creature and patted it lovingly. “You are a gift from the gods. I’ll bring you up as my daughter,” said the sage. Muttering some chants, the sage sprinkled water on the mouse, and turned the mouse into a cute little girl. The sage called her Mooshika.
Mooshika grew into a beautiful woman. Her foster father, the sage, wanted her to get married and asked her to choose a husband.
“I want to marry the strongest person in the world,” said Mooshika. Looking up at the sky, she said, “I think, Surya, the sun, is the strongest. He is the right person to be my husband.”
The Sage summoned Surya, and offered his daughter’s hand to him.
“If Mooshika is looking for the strongest person, I’m afraid, I’m not the right choice,” said the Sun. The Cloud King is even stronger than me. When he is around, I cannot be seen at all,” said Surya.
Mooshika looked up and saw a cloud passing by, and in no time, the cloud covered the Sun, who could no longer be seen.
“I’ve changed my mind, father,” said Mooshika, “Megha the cloud, is the man for me.”
The Sage summoned Megha, the cloud.
“I’m honoured that your daughter has chosen to wed me, Sage,” said Megha the cloud. “I hope you won’t be inviting Wind to the wedding.”
Mooshika was curious to know why Megha the cloud, was not keen on having Wind at the wedding. “If Wind attends the wedding, I’ll be blown away. Then you have to marry Wind,” said Megha laughing.
Mooshika looked up. Sure enough, a passing Wind blew away Megha the cloud. Convinced that Wind was the right choice for her, Mooshika requested her father to summon Wind.
Wind readily agreed that he was perhaps the strongest of all. “Trees and clouds shake in fear of me,” said Wind, “But there is someone who is not frightened of me.”
“Who’s that?” Mooshika eagerly asked.
“It is Mountain. He stands firm. No matter how hard I blow, I cannot shake him,” said Wind.
Mooshika turned away from Wind and walked towards the strong looking, handsome Mountain Peak. The sage went with her.
With a garland in hand, Mooshika approached Mountain Peak, “I’m honoured, Mooshika,” said Mountain Peak, “I’m indeed fortunate to have you as my wife.”
Encouraged by his words, Mooshika took a step forward to garland Mountain Peak, when the bridegroom winced. He seemed to be in pain and even frightened.
“Are you alright, my dear?” Mooshika asked concerned.
“I will be alright if I can find a way to get rid of this terrible monster,” said Mountain Peak. “He chews me, bit by bit. He gnaws so deep that my foundation is shaking,” said Mountain Peak.
By now Mountain Peak was shaking all over. It looked as though he was going to fall. It was then that Mooshika noticed a mouse gnawing at the base of the Mountain Peak. She turned away from the Mountain Peak and ran towards the mouse. She hugged the mountain digger saying, “My Lord.”
The mouse was of course happy that someone had taken a liking to him. “But you are a human. How can I marry you?” he said with a frown on his face.
“That will not be a problem,” said the Sage with a smile. He sprinkled some water on Mooshika uttering a spell. The next moment, Mooshika turned into a cute female mouse and ran away with her mate, watched by the Sage and the Mountain Peak.
“Women are so fickle minded,” said Mountain Peak shaking his head in disbelief.
“Look at the brighter side. She has taken away your tormentor,” pointed out the Sage.
Watching the mouse couple running away, Mountain Peak sighed. “Hope they will never come back again.”
