477 - ദാരിദ്രത്തിന്റെ ദുർഭൂതം - A Malayalam Story

Once upon a time lived two brothers—
one drowned in wealth, the other trapped in poverty.

When the poor brother goes to his rich sibling for help, he is offered not kindness, but humiliation. Given a loaf of bread and invited to a grand birthday feast, he and his family are ignored and mocked among glittering guests.

As the night ends, the poor man sings a humble song…
and suddenly, another voice joins him.

Standing beside him is a mysterious elf, a spirit who claims to follow the poor wherever they go.

What begins as companionship soon turns into ruin.
The elf demands wine, taverns, and endless drinking—forcing the man to sell his coat, his plough, his sleigh, even his wife’s only dress. Poverty deepens until nothing is left.

But deep in the forest, fate turns cruelly clever.

The elf reveals a pit filled with unimaginable treasure…
and the poor man must choose between loyalty and survival.

A story of greed, cleverness, revenge, and poetic justice, this folktale asks:
Is poverty more dangerous than wealth—or is envy the real curse?