Once upon a time, there lived a happy couple. The wife's name was Tanaimma, and her husband was Tanaimpha. The woman was infertile, and they did not have any children. Both the man and the woman were ageing. In their front yard, they had a bamboo lattice canopy for vegetative creepers, such as snake gourds.

One day, while the woman was engaged in household cooking, her husband went to fetch water because she could not. A sparrow came and sat on their bamboo lattice canopy and began to taunt the couple.

"Oh, Tanaimma and Tanaimpha, you cannot kill me! Oh, Tanaimma and Tanaimpha, you cannot kill me! Oh, Tanaimma and Tanaimpha, you cannot kill me!". The sparrow kept tempting them repeatedly.

When the husband returned home after some time, the wife told him what she had seen. "Oh husband, I cannot comprehend what this sparrow has said. It repeatedly says, 'Oh, Tanaimma and Tanaimpha, you cannot kill me!'. I am tired of listening to it. Please, shoot it down with a stone".

The husband picked up a stone and shot the sparrow down. It fell to the ground with a thud. The husband no longer cared about the dead sparrow, but the bird then spoke again.

"Oh, Tanaimma and Tanaimpha, although you have shot me down, you cannot pick me up!".

The husband picked up the sparrow and placed it on the balcony of their elevated bamboo house. However, the sparrow then said, "Oh, Tanaimma and Tanaimpha, although you have shot me down and picked me up, you cannot make a peingmo out of me in a bamboo tube!".

"Oh my! What is wrong with this sparrow?" the husband exclaimed. "Come, wife, let's make a peingmo out of this sparrow in a bamboo tube".

The husband skinned the sparrow and filled a bamboo tube with chillies and the bird. The bamboo tube was then placed on the hearth to cook over a low flame. The husband could not yet pound the contents of the bamboo with his bamboo stick, so he set it aside for a while.

Then, the sparrow inside the bamboo tube said, "Oh, Tanaimma and Tanaimpha, although you have shot me down, picked me up, and cooked me in a bamboo tube, you cannot pound me with a bamboo stick!".

The couple became so frustrated that they began pounding inside the bamboo tube with a bamboo stick. Subsequently, they served the dish to themselves and ate it. They then mocked the sparrow, challenging it to speak after being eaten.

Unexpectedly, the sparrow started chirping from inside their bellies: "Oh, Tanaimma and Tanaimpha, although you have shot me down, picked me up, cooked me in a bamboo tube, pounded me with a bamboo stick, and have eaten me, you cannot excrete me".

"Oh wife," said the husband, "it's such a torment! The bird is still chirping. Come, let's excrete it".

After some time, the sparrow said, "Oh, Tanaima and Tanaimpha, although you have shot me down, picked me up, cooked me in a bamboo tube, pounded me with a bamboo stick, have eaten me, had have excreted me, you cannot bury me!".

The couple started digging a burial pit. The husband said "Enough! I am fed up with this sparrow, wife. Come, let's bury it". After the couple buried it, the sparrow could no longer be heard chirping for a while.

But after some time, it chirped once more, "Oh, Tanaimma and Tanaimpha, although you have shot me down, picked me up, cooked me in a bamboo tube, pounded me with a bamboo stick, have eaten me, have excreted me, and buried me, you cannot excavate me!".

The couple began to excavate their buried feces. To the husband's surprise, he found something else. He said, "Oh wife, please come see this. It's a hoard of gold and silver".