Walter de la Mare (1873-1956), who is best remembered for his works for children and for his supernatural horror writings, was a great English poet, short story writer and novelist. His ‘The Three Mulla Mulgars’ (1910) that was later re-titled as ‘The Three Royal Monkeys’, a fairy tale is considered as a ‘classic animal fantasy’. In it De la Mare describes the adventurous journey of the Three Royal Monkeys to the valleys of Tishnar. Though it is a book for children, its humour, excitement and poetic description captivates all the ages. It makes the readers think about a time when animals and unreal characters were dominant on the earth and the role of nature and its elements then.
Mutta
Mattuta, an old grey Mulgar, who is in her death bed tells her children Thumma,
Thumbulla and Ummanodda (Nizza Neela) that they should go to the valley of Tishnar,
their father’s country, after her death. Their father Seelem, the brother of
the Prince of Assasimon, a Royal Mulgar came to the forest of Munza and lived
with her for 13 years and left before 7 years.
On his departure he asked her to send their children to the valley of Tishnar. To get help from Tishnar, he left the wonder
stone for his children there. Moreover,
he taught his children how to make fire, to cent, to take honey, to find ways
with the help of stars, to make huts and to speak in the common languages for
forest monkeys. Thumb, Thimble and Nod
are the short names of them. The mother
instructs Nod to spit on the milk white wonder stone and rub three times softly
to get help from Tishnar. She says that
he should not lend or give away that wonder stone to anyone. Among the three, Nod has magic in him to use
the wonder stone. They leave their home
after the death of their mother.
On
their way some pigs destroy many of the things that they have. They see squirrel tails and Ephalantoes. When one Ephalantoe raises him he says that
they are the servants of Tishnar and escapes from it. After 5 days journey, they see the dwelling
of a Gunga Mulgar. To cross the river
that was filled with coccadrilloes, they need the boat of the Gunga
Mulgar. Though Gunga Mulgar prisons Nod,
he escapes from the Gunga Mulgar and they cross the river on the boat of the
Gunga Mulgar. When they eat the bread
that Nod has taken with him from the Gunga Mulgar, they become
unconscious. When Nod opens his eyes he
finds that he is imprisoned by Minimules. They were actually wounded by the poisoned
darts of the Minimules. However with the help of wonder stone they all escape
on three Zevveras, the horse of Tishnar.
But on the way Nod gets separated from his brothers.
Nod
gets help from Mishcha, an old grey hare, Quatta and is saved from Minimules. Then Nod meets an Oomgar, who is a human,
Andy Battle. He teaches Nod to speak
English words. Mishcha meets Nod and
tells about Immanala, the queen of Shadows, that will kill the Oomgar. If he wants to save him, he should kill
immanala. To that he needs magic,
cunning and courage. With the help of the wonder stone, Nod kills Immanala and
leaves him with this brother to the Valley of Tishnar. After crossing Kush, Zut, Kippel, Solmi,
Makkri and Moot, they see faraway the seventh hill Arakkaboa. On the way they get help from Mulla Moona, who
sends Ghibba and others with them.
Though Nod misses the wonder stone on their being attacked by eagles, he
finds it from the mouth of an eagle.
From the story narrated by Ghibba, Nod and his brothers come to know
that he has known their father who once passed those ways. Again with the help of wonder stone, Nod and
others safely cross the phantom guarded orchards, the Mulgar Meerez.
Nod
thoughtlessly gives his wonder stone to one water Nymph but as the nymph cannot
use it she returns to Nod. Then she
helps Nod and his brothers to cross the river and reach the Palace of
Assasimon. Thus the three Royal Monkeys
reach the place of their father after a long journey where they have to cross
forest and river, forest, swamp and river, the mountains of Arrakkaboa and help
Andy Battle, a human. De la Mare makes
the reader see the wonder land that might be here on this earth before a few
centuries, before the mechanization, industrialization and urbanization.
------Thulasidharan V
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