Floating into my Memory -4

Sides are Bitter, In Between is Sweet

The weather was warm and nice. The moon and the stars were looking down on the earth with deceptive shades under the trees. Cattle were still munching the grass and swinging tails to fly the bugs away. Birds were already in the nest and a pack of wolves were howling in the forest warning their predators. The bubbling rivers on the both sides of the hill made the night musical.
Our home was on the top of the hill isolated from the neighboring homes. It was surrounded by the field of maize and millet, vines of different vegetables and fruits. At the bottom of the hill was a waterfall from a rocky cliff.  On the both sides of the field was a jungle of paiyo, dudilo, kaaulo, mauwa and other trees.
One day, we all the members of the family were at home. We had a joint family of twenty members including sisters of close relatives. They were the integral part of our family. Besides, we had a few servants who used to live in the same house. They were friends more than the servants. Among them were Bansary Dalle, Bataamuni Saailo, Bataamuni Kaanchho. Arjai Daai(we call him brother ) used to come every night to stay with us. He was funny. He could not pronounce the words correctly which often made us laugh. Since everyone was home, there was not sufficient beds inside the house that night. So Bansary Dalle and Arjekaa Dai decided to make a bed in tarmac( we call it again). Their idea of sleeping under the moonlit sky enticed me as a child.
Besides cattle, we had a dog (Bhote Kukur) in a kennel placed on the edge of tarmac where they were going to make the bed. My mom gave them a mattress made up of rugs and other cloths properly sewed all over the place and a blanket. It was not enough to cover three people properly. However, they decided to sandwich me in between them so that it would be manageable.
After meal we used to have chat about different topics. Seniors used to tell stories and jokes which would roar laughter until we go to the bed. There was no electricity, so that we put the flickering bottle lamp on the scoped wall while talking after meal. But kerosene was scarce sometimes and we did not have the luxury of sitting in the lights. When my dad order us to sleep so that they could wake up early to work on the farm, they ask me to sleep in between them. As soon as we heard the roar of tiger at distant, Bansary Dalle said,' sides are bitter, in between is sweet'(ओरिपरी तितो माजामा मिठो). That means if the tiger comes, it will chose the one who sleeps in the middle. I was so scared. They asked me to sleep on the side,but I refused.
On the next morning when I awoke, I found myself on the edge of the bed. They told me that the dog was attacked by the tiger that night and dragged away from the kennel. They were laughing remembering how they put me on the side of the Kennel. I did not know the whole story of that night, but saw the kennel empty with some blood stains. My dad was worried about me how I choose to sleep outside and also he scolded them for doing mischievous with me. Since that day, I never trusted them. They knowingly put me on the side being scared of the tiger. It sounds like weird, but was true.