Grnadma's story 1

Well my grandma was one great story teller, which I have tried to pass on to the next generation(s). One or Two stories are a great favourite of mine which I feel has basic lessons of life inlaid underneath. Though the story is best heard in the original tamil, I want to try to translate it to Queen's language and see how it sounds/looks.
This story has a very funny heading. 'amma amma kozhakattaikku kannu (m)undodi' .ha ha.
Once there lived a family of parents and seven daughters. (I wonder if the seven was my grandma's idea as we were seven kids in our family or was it a norm those days to have seven kids like the two kid norm of today). One day mom prepared a sweet dish (called) kozhakattai. The elders all ate the dish and mom left exactly 7 pieces and asked each kid to take one each. (this is where you can introduce the little kids to simple arithmetic) All the kids took one by turn and when the turn of the (wicked?) 6th one came she ate one and since liked it very much ate the next one also and caught a little mouse and kept it and closed the lid of the container. The poor last kid came and opened and could see the eyes of the mouse. As she had not seen 'kozhakattai' before, she went and asked her mom the question 'amma amma....... 'meaning if the dish has eyes. The busy mom was naturally irritated and asked her to shut up and go eat the dish. She went again and saw the nose, came back and said 'amma amma kozhakattaikku mukkumundodi', now again the mom sends her back. Next the poor kid sees the tail, and runs back again to ask amma amma ko... vaalumundodi. Now this is the limit of the patience of the overworked mom. As the little girl had got scared and threw the lid open the mouse had ran away. So when mom comes and sees the vessel is empty. Mom thinks the girl ate the dish and simply irritating her. she throws a fit and throws the girl out saying get lost.
The girl keeps walking crying and sees a lot of small ants on the road. The little ants come and tell her not to stamp on them and this nice girl obliges and goes further without harming them.
Then she comes to some rose and jasmin bushes which ask the girl to help them as they are very thirsty. she draws water from a nearby well and waters the plants.
She trudges along and sees an elephant in agony with a thorn in its trunk. Since the elephant asked her to help , she removes it much to the delight of the elephant.
Now she has to cross a small rivulet. The river asks her not to make its water muddy and just to cross it carefully. She carefully wades out of the water only to come to a small house which as usual in other tamil stories belongs to a 'ammayar paati' a good old woman.
Here she is welcomed and the 'paati' says come little child you are tired you go and have bath, I will give you food. She asks the girl 'you want hot water or cold water' The girl replies politely not to trouble herself, and will have bath in cold water. But a hot nice bath is waiting for her. Grandma gives her two lemons and asks her to use one on her hair and the other she asks her to throw. She listens to her and hey and presto her hair becomes luxurious. Now when it comes to the question of food, again the question is asked what she wants freshly prepared food or the old food to be precise 'pazhaya sadam' you guessed it right, when she says she is content with pazhaya sadam she is given hot nice fresh food. The same thing is followed about change of dress where the girl who is content with any tattered cloth, is offered new set of clothes. Now she takes enough rest and next day starts her return journey knowing her mom's temper would have cooled down.
Now when she comes near the rivulet it is waiting with lot of 'muthu and pavalam' (pearls and coral) for not making it muddy. The elephant is waiting to take her on its back. On her way back she picks up the roses and jasmines, which are given to her in plenty and the ants give her a sack full of sugar (yes sugar) .
When she comes home and knocks, for a second, her mom is not able to recognize her. When she realizes the mistake, she welcomes home the little girl and now it is the turn of the wicked? one to go on the said journey. No points for guessing the further story line. This girl just does the opposite of her younger sister, by stomping on the ants, not watering the plants, and jeering at the elephant's discomfort and making the rivulet as muddy as possible by jumping up and down and comes at last to the 'ammayar paati's ' house.
Here the moment she enters, she demands loudly asking the old lady to keep hot water ready for her bath and hot food and good clothes. Old lady simply smiles and gives her the two lemons and the greedy kid who finds only the cold water tries to use both of them and looses what little hair she already had on her head. She is given the 'pazhaya sadam' and since she was so hungry she eats it and is given some old tattered clothes.
Now on her journey back the rivulet throws mud on this girl and the elephant gently lifts her throws her towards the rose bush whose thorns prick all over her and the ants add to her woes by stinging her everywhere.
Now she reaches home crying loudly and now the mom really can not recognize the battered girl.
She is taken into the house and the little one explains how she came back as a winner from her little trip. The sixth one has learnt her lesson and promises to share the eats and ony eat her share (hhaha) and they live happily ever after.
I have seen in life, many times it is the 'amma amma..' story syndrome, and when you demand something you don't get it and when you are prepared to accept and give the choice to the other person you get a better deal.