Uncle Tompa is the Ruler's Servant

retold by Rinjing Dorje

A ruler from a far away state had to go to Lhasa for a conference. Of course, high–ranking persons never travel alone, so he brought Uncle along as his servant. While the ruler rode a horse, poor Uncle had to walk behind him carrying a heavy load of blankets and pots for cooking along the way. The ruler also being very stingy, ate all the good food while Uncle had to eat the leftovers.

It took them days before they reached Lhasa. The ruler was still treating Uncle very badly. One day the ruler was going to a conference. Before he left, he put his best tsampa* in one pot and boiled eggs in another pot. The ruler pointing to the pot of tsampa said, "You should not eat this tsampa; it is poisoned." Then he pointed to the pot of eggs and said, "And you should not open this pot for it is full of birds and if you open it, they'll all fly off." Uncle knew the ruler was only trying to keep the best food for himself but he pretended he didn't know it was edible.

As soon as the ruler left for the conference, Uncle ate up all the tsampa and eggs. He had a good lunch for the first time on the journey.

That evening when the ruler walked in, Uncle pretended to shake with fright. The ruler opened the pots of tsampa and eggs and found them both empty. He became very angry and screamed at Uncle, "What happened to the birds and poisoned tsampa?" Uncle replied, "The birds were making so much noise that I thought that they needed a bit of air so I opened the lid a little and they all flew away. I was so worried that I wanted to kill myself so I ate up all the poisoned tsampa. But unfortunately, my lord, I did not die!"

*tsampa is a national Tibetan dish made from a mixture of roasted wheat or barely flour to which tea and sometimes butter are added to make a dough. This dough is then rolled into balls which can be eaten plain, or pan fried as an accompaniment to meat or vegetables.

About the Author:
Tibetan author and storyteller Rinjing Dorje was born in Shabru, a tiny village in the foothills of the Himalayas, along the Nepalese border with Tibet. His father Shareb Dorje was a Tibetan shaman from Nyarong, Kham, far eastern Tibet. His mother Choe Gyalmo was a nomadic woman from the Himalayan foothills. As a child, Rinjing Dorje worked in the mountains as a yak herder, and it was there, sitting around fires with other herders and nomads, that he heard Uncle Tompa stories. At the age of eleven, he was afflicted with a mysterious illness, a renowned Tibetan astrologer predicted that the only way he would enjoy a full life was to become a monk. His parents sent him to a monastery, and there he became captivated by the ancient scholarly work he studied and dreamed of becoming a writer. After the Chinese invasion of Tibet and the death of his father, Rinjing Dorje and his mother moved to Kathmandu, Nepal, and there he attended western schools and learned English before moving abroad to complete his education. Currently, Rinjing Dorje lives in Seattle, Washington, where he is a noted Tibetan storyteller. He has published three books; Tales of Uncle Tompa, The Legendary Rascal of Tibet; Food in Tibetan Life; and most recently, a novel: The Renegade Monk of Tibet. All of these works are available at Banyan Publishing Northwest, where you can also read more on Rinjing Dorje's life.

Copyright © 1975 by Rinjing Dorje. These stories and illustrations first appeared in Tales of Uncle Tompa, The Legendary Rascal of Tibet (Dorje Ling, 1975) and may not be reproduced in any form without the author's express written permission.

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