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the pasture. Morning and afternoon were spent plant- ing and weeding the paddies. At midday, estimated from the position of the overhead sun, she would take the meal out to those working in the fields. She and her friends would take the water buffalos for washing every evening before returning them to the corral. At harvest time she would work continuously from dawn to dusk. Her earnest was apparent to those farming on neighbouring plots. They were impressed by her diligence and respected her for it. She earned the reputation as the most diligent in the village. She was popular with her friends — who and loved to play with her. She got along with them all because she never took sides with anyone. She played equally with all of them. They used to play the ‘tide-up-tide- down’ game jumping a skipping rope that was held either high or low. For a joke a friend said ‘tide up’, ‘tide down’ but pulled Chandra’s ear up and down instead of the rope, hurting her — but on the whole her childhood was fun. She loved to swim too. She thought of swimming every time she saw a pond. These were the formative years for her character of bravery, nature, wit and unlimited freedom. She was cheerful, impulsive and lively. Her father used to say that among all of his children, Chandra was the most trouble. A buffalo, Aen, and her dog, Kiaw, were amongst the animals Chandra considered her pets. She loved all of them equally. She took good care of them all and played with her buffalos that worked the rice field. As they got old, they lost their teeth and were unable to work. In some places they would slaughter such old cattle—but Chandra continued to feed them well with young grass every day until they died of natural causes.