THE

OLD
HUSBAND
AND
HIS YOUNG
WIFE

PANCHATANTRA STORIES
 In a certain place there once lived an old merchant by
the name of Kâmâtura, which means "lovesick." His wife
having died, he fell deeply in love with the daughter of a
poor merchant, gave a large sum of money for her, and
married her. She, however, was overcome by sorrow, and
did not even want to look at the old man. For is it not
right, that: The white field of hair on an old man's head
attracts the greatest contempt. To avoid it, a girl will take
the widest detour, like someone crossing a graveyard
strewn with bones. And further: The body is bent. The
gait is broken. Teeth are lost. Vision is weak. Beauty is
destroyed. The mouth is always filled with spit. Relatives
do not follow his advice. His wife does not obey him. Alas!
Alas! Even the son despises a man struck down by age!
 One night they were lying in bed together, her face
turned away from him, when a thief broke into their house.
When she saw the thief, she was overcome by fear, and, in
spite of his age, she clasped her husband tightly in her arms.
The surprise embrace caused every hair on his body to stand
on end. He said to himself, "Why is she holding me?"
Then looking around, he too discovered the thief crouched
in the corner, and he realized, "She is embracing me,
because she is afraid of him," and said aloud, "The woman
who has always despised me is embracing me tightly
tonight. Praise be to you, you granter of desire! Take
whatever of mine that you want!" The thief answered, "I see
nothing here that I would want to take. If in the future
there is something worth taking, then I will return, but only
when she is not embracing you so."
 Characters:
Kamatura - is an old merchant whose name means
"lovesick" and who was a widower. After his wife
died, he fell in love with a young woman.

The young wife - is a beautiful young woman and a

daughter of a poor merchant. Marrying an older
man became her fortune in exchange for a large
sum. She was very disappointed and unhappy with
her relationship with the older man, but she tried to
change her treatment of his old husband after the
unexpected incident.

The thief- is the antagonist of the story. His

intention inside the old merchant's house was to
steal money and other valuable things, but a
memorable event happened, and he became one of
the story's protagonists.

II. Setting:
The setting of the whole story happens in a
particular place where Kamatura’s house is situated.
A horrifying but memorable event occurred inside
one of the house rooms when suddenly a thief broke
into their house and tried to steal anything valuable.
Plot
 Plot
Falling Action:
When the old merchant awoke, he was surprised to see his
young wife hugging him. He was delighted but thinking of why
his wife hugged him so closely. Upon further inspection, he
discovered an intruder in their home and that his wife was tightly
clutching him out of dread for the burglar. His words to the thief
expressed gratitude because of that memorable event he had with
his wife. He told the thief that he had tried everything for his
wife, but his wife remained uninterested. As a reward for the
unexpected good deed of the thief, the old merchant told him to
take all that he liked and needed as a gift for him.

Ending:
The thief was shocked by the offer and escaped, believing
something was mistaken. Meanwhile, his wife realized how much
he adored her. She embraced his husband and gave him her
eternal love and affection. The merchant was surprised to see the
same thief the following day. "Please let me know if you seek love
and affection for your wife again," he said to the merchant. I'll
come to your house with a terrifying expression." The merchant
burst out laughing and threw him a bunch of gold coins as a
reward for something he couldn't have done without the
horrifying thief's assistance. The thief happily continued his
journey, and the couple lived happily ever after.


Conflict
The conflict of the story is man vs. man and man vs. self
The moment the wife knew there was an unknown person inside
their house, she tried to fight her fear while she seeks for help
from his husband and the older man had to protect his wife from
the thief.
The other conflict is that they are fighting from their self-battles.
From the man's loneliness after the death of his wife, he tried to
spend a large sum to get a new wife and bring back his happiness
without considering others' feelings.
The young wife is battling with her feelings for the older man.
She doesn't even know what she feels about him. At the
beginning of the story, she is very disappointed and unhappy with
him, but her feelings for him suddenly change as the story goes
on.
The thief became confused about what role he was trying to
play. He is supposed to be a bad guy but doubtless and unaware
of helping other battles.
 Moral of the Story
The moral of the story is everyone can be your
friend, even your enemy. In the story, an
unexpected event happened that turned all the
relationships into good ones. The thief realized that
even though he did terrible things, there could be a
chance that he could help other people and be
friends with them. Another lesson is to appreciate
people's effort and kindness because there will be a
time that they can help us when we are in need. We
have to constantly bring love and compassion to
everyone, even they did awful things to us. Revenge
is not always the cure but understanding and peace.


Culture and Tradition

Throughout the history of Western
civilization, the idea of a very old man marrying a
very young girl, usually 18 or younger, has been a
constant source of comedy and the subject of
many comic masterpieces. Most of these stories
revolve around the clever and manipulative ways
in which the young wife is able to deceive her
elderly husband. Even today, this situation has not
changed, and in all cases, the audience is delighted
by the manner and methods used to perpetrate
this deception.