Tuesday, April 23, 2024

T is for Thailand


Drinking with Yommaban, the King of the Dead

A drunkard wants nothing except to see his son ordained as a monk. He perishes just before it can happen and, per his request, his wife leaves a bottle of whiskey in his coffin. When his soul descends into Hell, he shares a drink with its king. The king gets drunk and grants the man one more year of life so that he may see his son ordained. But the years pass and the drunkard never dies, The king of the dead checks his logbook and learns that, in his alcohol-induced confusion, he accidentally gave the man centuries of extra life.

Source: Thai Tales: Folktales of Thailand by Supaporn Vathanaprida and Margaret Read MacDonald.

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