Long ago, there lived in this country village chieftains called Gamaralas. They were appointed by the Government.
Rafters
One such Gamarala lived in a village near a forest. One day, to his dismay, he discovered that all his rafters were old, worn and in need of replacement. His wife, the Gama Mahage too told him that he should replace the rafters.
One day, the Gamarala went in search of wood to make new rafters. He went here and there in the wood looking for suitable wood to make new rafters. After walking all over the wood, the Gamarala found that he was hopelessly lost and wondered what to do.
Jackal
Just then, the Gamarala saw a jackal coming towards him . He said, “Mr. jackal, I am lost. Can you please help me to get back to my village? I know, you know the way as I have seen you around my village many times”.
The jackal did not answer at once. He thought 'These humans can’t be trusted. I remember what happened to us when my kinsman tried to marry a Gamarala’s daughter. And the jackal looked away without replying.
“Please, Mr. jackal, don’t look away. Help me. I will give you a nice gift. I know you like chickens. I will give you a bagful of them. Please, show me the way home”.
When he heard the word chicken, the jackal’s mouth watered. Pictures of plump chickens sprang to his mind. He agreed to show the Gamarala the way home.
The jackal soon took the Gamarala to his village. As they came near the village, the jackal stopped and said, “ I won’t come any further. You go home and bring the bag of chickens and leave it under that bush. I will take it from there”.
Promise
The Gamarala went home and was greeted joyously by his wife who had been worried about him. When the Gamarala told his wife about his promise to the jackal she got angry and shouted at him “Are you crazy? Why should you give the jackal chickens? I will tell you what to do”.
Then, the Gama Mahage whispered something in the Gamarala’s ear. After that, the Gamarala too thought “Why should I give the jackal chickens” and he did what his wife had asked him to do.
The Gamarala took a large sack and left it under the bush which the jackal had shown him.
The jackal emerged from his hiding place and grabbed the sack and dragged it some way, all the while dreaming of plump,, tasty chickens.
Dog
The jackal ripped the mouth of the sack and out jumped the Gamarala’s fierce dog and tried to get hold of the jackal. The jackal ran for dear life . The dog gave chase.
Finally, the dog got tired and gave up the chase.
Other animals who saw the jackal running asked him why he was running so hard and fast. The jackal replied “The good deed I did is chasing after me”.
And this is how the saying “ This is like good deeds chasing after me," came into use.
