With the first light of day the men came out of their shacks in silence and sheepishly studied the blood-stained swords.
Mirgola are said to be human-like creatures that live in the depths of the remote forests in the Himalayas. They are not to be confused with the migoi, which are believed to be much larger than human beings and have a mystical aura of fear and wonderment associated with them. The migoi is known to the world as the elusive yeti or the abominable snowman. The mirgola on the other hand are less well known although there are many local stories about them. The existence of both the creatures is somewhat shrouded in mystery, and a sense of mythology and legend is evoked when reference is made to them. Yet many people in Bhutan are absolutely sure that these creatures do exist and that there is no question about that.
Today the forest of Somshid stands tall and thick, far away from human habitation. Nobody goes to this almost impregnable forest save the occasional herders who graze their cattle along the edges of the forest during part of the summer months. Somshid is located to the east of the Tang valley, and travelers to Kurtoi who cross the 4,100 meter (15,500 foot) Rodong La mountain pass near to it.
Many years ago the silence of the dark deep forest echoed with the sound of axes chopping the larch trees. A group of men had come to split wood to make shingles for a new roof for Ugen Choling naktsang. The men had been at their jobs for many days now. They worked hard during the day and they were so tired that in spite of the cold they slept soundly through the night. Now it happened that one morning when the men got up to start their work they were surprised to see that all the piles of shingles that they had made on the previous day had been shifted to different locations. They wondered what had happened and they grew apprehensive about the incident. Although none of them admitted it they were frightened by the strange happening. They wondered if this was a sign of the displeasure of the deities of the locality, whose wrath they might have incurred by cutting down the trees. If this was the case then they knew that they could be in for a lot of trouble. To their increasing anxiety the same thing was repeated over several nights until they finally decided to stay up for the night and keep watch.
As usual the men ate their dinner around the camp fire and went to bed in the shacks made of shingles. But this night they were only pretending to sleep. Soon the camp fire was flickering away as no more wood was fed to the fire and eventually there was just a warm glow where the fire had once been.
There was partial moonlight and the men strained their eyes to look into the dark night. Full of curiosity and anticipation they waited to see what would come. It was not long before some of the men saw some shadows and movements. They alerted the others, who now carefully followed the gaze of the ones who had seen something. There seemed to be figures darting noiselessly back and forth. It was too dark to see anything clearly.
Every now and then the moon emerged from behind a large cloud and they could see that these figures actually looked like children. But they could also have been some kind of a monkey. They had long arms and shaggy bodies and stood upright. They had hair falling from their foreheads like a fringe. Their eyes shone through the darkness. Soon they busied themselves taking all the shingles from the piles that were already made and making new piles just as the men had done during the day. One creature held one end of the shingle while another held the other end and they moved the shingles with the dexterity of human beings. They worked quickly and steadily until all the piles had been removed and remade and then they disappeared quietly into the forest.
The men had watched the whole thing in silent fascination barely able to refrain from going closer to look at them. These creatures were surely not human beings but what were they? The men were greatly intrigued and for the next few days they talked of nothing else but the nocturnal visitors who devotedly came and performed their tasks night after night. The men soon noticed that these creatures actually engaged in mimicry, imitating the gestures and other behavior of the men.
The men were getting quite used to these strange creatures when one of them suggested that they could have some fun by playing pranks on the creatures. The others agreed. So the next day the men made wooden swords and staged a mock battle with each other. The whole day they repeated the game, knowing full well that the creatures were watching and learning. They pretended to stab, cut, and slash at each other. Then they exchanged the wooden swords for real swords and retired for the night.
As on the previous nights the creatures emerged from their hiding places in the forest as, soon as the camp fires flickered and dwindled. This night they did not go to the piles of shingles as they had done on the previous nights. They walked to where the swords were piled up and looked at them cautiously, circling the pile on the ground. They tilted their heads at curious angles to examine the strange things but none of them dared to touch any of the lethal tools that glinted in the moonlight. Then all caution was suddenly cast aside when one of the creatures picked up a sword and brandished it in the air as the men had done. One by one the others picked up the swords and held them above their heads, not quite sure of themselves. They held them close to their faces to study the alien tools. They began to swing them a little and point them at each other. Then suddenly they began to attack each other exactly as the men had done. But of course this time the swords were real. The men were horrified, for their innocent prank had gone too far. They ran out of their shacks shouting and waving their arms wildly. The creatures threw down the swords and scuttled away in the darkness and disappeared into the forest, never to be seen again.
With the first light of day the men came out of their shacks in silence and sheepishly studied the blood-stained swords lying around where they had hurriedly been dropped; there were smears of blood still fresh on the shingles. But there was not a single creature to be found, dead, alive, or wounded. They had disappeared, taking with them the secret of their existence. Many days later when the men returned to the village and related the incident to the villagers, the elders nodded confidently and said, “Mirgola, surely mirgola.”