Veerayya has a son, Kotayya. Everyone in the village was surprised at the rivalry that surfaced between these two. For quite a long time, father and son lived quite amicably. Amicably in the sense, whatever the father said, the son obeyed. Today, that has changed. In the recent past, Veerayya happened to remarry after his first wife expired. It is prior to this that Kotayya got married. Since his father’s remarriage, the tension between the father and the son has grown. They have divided the hut between them. Each got fifty rupees as their share out of the cash holding. Immediately thereafter, Veerayya purchased a buffalo with that fifty rupees. His wife started selling milk and curd. Seeing it and not being able to contain herself, Kotayya’s wife, by pestering, made her husband purchase a buffalo. Since then, the competition has further intensified. Right from feeding the buffaloes to the selling of milk, quarrels have become a daily affair.

One day, Kotayya went into the cattle yard at 5 O’ clock in the morning to feed the buffalo. Ever since his wife complained about her father-in-law’s buffalo giving more milk than theirs and their buffalo being not fed properly, Kotayya himself started giving feed to the buffalo besides giving it brawn-water. He goes to the haystack to feed his buffalo with dried leguminous sheaf.  Beside it, is his father’s haystack. Upon seeing his father’s haystack, he is struck with a bad thought. His father had stacked good quality leguminous hay bundles. What if he feed that leguminous shoots to his buffalo—no sooner had the idea struck his mind than it appeared dreadful to Kotayya. Slowly, it sunk into him. He goes to his father’s haystack. He pulls out a bundle of shoots. Moves two steps. His father appears right in front of him. For an unknown reason, he felt like beating his father with that leguminous sheaf. Holding the leguminous sheaf in his hand, he looked at his father furiously. It is difficult to discern what Veerayya thought, but he slowly walked away. Hurriedly spreading the shoots in front of his buffalo, Kotayya goes inside the hut and lies down.

By morning, somehow Veerayya’s wife comes to know of it. Veerayya is not at home. No sooner did she come to know of it, than she goes to the yard and pulling out four leguminous sheaves from Kotayya’s haystack, feeds it to her buffalo. Learning this, Kotayya’s wife picks up a quarrel with her—they lock horns.

“Your hand must break—”

“Why did your husband do it?”

“Did my husband do it?”

“He pulled out our leguminous sheaf—”

“Prove it?”

Veerayya’s wife proves it calling Rattayya, who resides in the neighboring hut. Explaining what has happened she adds, “Rattayya mama^[1] too has seen it.” This further infuriates Kotayya’s wife. She accuses her that it’s not to let them live in the hut, she implanted all this. “You have wooed all the neighbors to be on your side. Obviously, if not on your behalf, who would speak for me—an impoverished woman. What do I 

have—no wealth, no people’s support?” With this Veerayya’s wife starts abusing her. Again they are at their full-throttle into a fight—pulling each other’s hair. In the meanwhile, the whole neighborhood assembles before them. Somehow, they bring them to their senses by coaxing each of them appropriately.

Kotayya’s wife cannot contain her anger. Inside the house, she yells at her husband. Shouting, “It’s all because of your timidness,” she cries loudly. It doesn’t matter to you even if others accuse me of stealing or loafing? She cries and cries. Yet, Kotayya remains lying in the cot fully covered under a blanket without uttering a single word.

Wandering hither and thither, Veerayya returns home by evening. No sooner does he arrive than he senses the happenings at home. Kotayya’s wife is again at her full-throttle   —starts scolding Veerayya’s wife loudly, so that he could hear. Hearing those curses, she pounces at her like a snake stamped on the tail. Both are again at each other—locking horns over the leguminous sheaf. Although it is the same old story, the whole neighborhood assembles in front of them again. Veerayya is angry. He orders his wife, “Shut your mouth and go inside.”

“They are stealing!” she cries.

“Who has stolen?” 

“Your son.”

“Who said?”

“Do you think if you don’t say it will remain hidden?”

“Who said?”

“Rattayya.”

“Why have you believed him?”

“Why, does it need somebody’s saying, do they have this big-leafed leguminous sheaves?” questioning she points to the shoots and leaves in front of their buffalo.

“While going out I have only fed it one of our sheaves. Why so much ruckus for this?” says Veerayya.

“Look! Look! What a trick she played… not liking our staying in the hut, she got this done —” Kotayya’s wife explains the truth thus to everyone assembled there… She then rushes to her husband. 

“Have you seen?” Remaining under the blanket, Kotayya does not speak.

“Your father came. He told the truth.”

 “What did he say?” Kotayya gets up from the bed with a jerk.

“Seems, he himself fed his leguminous sheaf to our buffalo, before leaving,” replies his wife.

Listening to this, he lies down at once covering himself fully with the blanket again. His wife continues with her brawl—continues to shout at her mother-in-law. He however, does not come out of his blanket.