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Title: Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume 1 (of 3)
Author: Henry Parker
Release Date: February 21, 2018 [EBook #56614]
Last Updated: February 26, 2018
Language: English
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VILLAGE FOLK-TALES OF CEYLON
Vol. I
Collected and Translated by
H. PARKER
Late of the Irrigation Department, Ceylon
LONDON
LUZAC & CO
Publishers to the India Office
1910
CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction 1
PART I.
STORIES OF THE CULTIVATING CASTE AND VAEDDAS.
NO.
1 The Making of the Great Earth 47
2 The Sun, the Moon, and Great Paddy 52
3 The Story of Senasura 54
4 The Glass Princess 57
5 The Frog Prince 67
6 The Millet Trader 72
7 The Turtle Dove 79
8 The Prince and the Princess 93
9 Tamarind Tikka 100
10 Matalange Loku-Appu 108
11 The White Turtle 113
12 The Black Storks' Girl 120
13 The Golden Kaekiri Fruit 129
14 The Four Deaf Persons 134
15 The Prince and the Yaka 137
16 How a Yaka and a Man fought 146
17 Concerning a Man and Two Yakas 148
18 The Three Questions 150
19 The Faithless Princess 157
20 The Prince who did not go to School 160
21 Nagul-Munna 169
22 The Kule-baka Flowers 173
23 Kurulu-gama Appu, the Soothsayer 179
24 How a Prince was chased by a Yaksani 186
25 The Wicked King 191
26 The Kitul Seeds 197
27 The Speaking Horse 199
28 The Female Quail 201
29 The Pied Robin 206
30 The Jackal and the Hare 209
31 The Leopard and the Mouse-deer 213
32 The Crocodile's Wedding 216
33 The Gamarala's Cakes 219
34 The Kinnara and the Parrots 224
35 How a Jackal settled a Lawsuit 228
36 The Jackal and the Turtle 234
37 The Lion and the Turtle 241
PART II.
STORIES OF THE LOWER CASTES.
38 The Monkey and the Weaver-Bird (Potter) 247
39 The Jackal Devatawa (Washerman) 249
STORIES OF THE TOM-TOM BEATERS.
The Foolishness of Tom-tom Beaters 252
40 A Kadambawa Man's Journey to Puttalam 253
41 The Kadambawa Men and the Hares 255
42 The Kadambawa Men and the Mouse-deer 256
43 The Kadambawa Men and the Bush 257
44 How the Kadambawa Men counted Themselves 258
45 The Kadambawa Men and the Dream 260
46 The Four Tom-tom Beaters 262
47 The Golden Tree 264
48 The Seven Princesses 270
49 Mr. Janel Siñña 278
50 The Nikini Story 284
51 The Aet-kanda Leniya 291
52 The Wimali Story 302
53 The Pots of Oil 304
54 The Mouse Maiden 308
55 Sigiris Siñño, the Giant 312
56 The Proud Jackal 316
STORIES OF THE DURAYAS.
57 The Seven Robbers 317
58 The Stupid Boy 319
59 The Gamarala and the Washerman 322
60 The Two Thieves 330
61 The Margosa Tree 334
62 The Gamarala's Foolish Son 336
63 The Jackal's Judgment 339
64 The Heron and the Crab 342
65 The Jackal and the Brahmana 347
66 The Cat who guarded the Precepts 349
67 The Lizard and the Leopard 355
68 The Lion and the Jackal 359
STORIES OF THE RODIYAS.
69 The Roll of Cotton 364
70 The Jackal and the Leopard 367
71 How the Boars killed the Rakshasa 370
72 The Grateful Jackal 373
STORIES OF THE KINNARAS.
73 Concerning a Monk and a Yaka 375
74 The Three Suitors 378
75 The Crocodile and the Jackal 380
Index 383
INTRODUCTION
When the forest and jungle of north-central or north-western Ceylon
is viewed from the upper part of a hill of considerable height, it
has the appearance of a dark green sea, across which, if there be
any wind, waves closely resembling those of the ocean roll along in
parallel lines as the swaying tree tops bend under the gusts of the
breeze. As clouds pass between it and the sun their shadows of darker
green follow each other over this seemingly illimitable ocean. The
undulations of the ground are lost; all appears to be at one general
level, except that here and there a little island is visible where
a low rocky mound succeeds in raising its head above the verdant waves.
Any hills of lower elevation than our post of observation look
strangely dwarfed, while higher ones behind us stand out more
prominently than ever. In the immediate neighbourhood, perhaps glimpses
may be obtained of one or two pale green rice fields, contrasting with
the darker foliage around them, and of the light blue reflection of
the sky in the water of a village tank; but further away there is no
break in the uniformity of the forest sea. No houses are to be seen
nor sounds heard, and the visible country appears to be an uninhabited
silent wilderness of vegetation.
Let us descend from such an elevated post, and proceed to examine
the depths of the green ocean at closer quarters. I shall assume
that the reader is accompanying me on a visit to a Kandian village,
where we can learn something of the mode of life and the ideas of
the dwellers in this jungle, and become acquainted with some of the
animals who are introduced into the stories which they relate.
We leave the dusty main roads, and follow a winding village path,
never straight for a hundred yards except by accident--not such a path
as was constantly encountered thirty or more years ago, on which the
overhanging thorny bushes often made it necessary to bend low or run
the risk of having one's clothes torn, but a track flanked with grass,
having the bushes completely cleared away for a width of twelve feet.
For a long distance we journey under an exhausting, pitiless, brazen
sun, which during all the middle part of the day the traveller
feels but never sees--never directing his gaze towards its blinding
glare. The heat is reflected from the unsheltered path. Shut out from
the cooling breath of the wind, we have on each side only closely
interlaced jungle, a tangled growth, consisting chiefly of leafy thorns
and creepers from ten to fifteen feet high, interspersed at varying
intervals with a few large trees. This is the wild growth that has
sprung up on the sites of abandoned chenas or jungle clearings, and
will be cut down again for them from five to seven years afterwards.
An occasional recent example of such a clearing may be passed,
having a few large surviving scorched trees, and several smaller ones,
interspersed among the growing crop of green millet. Round this a rough
fence made by laying sticks and blackened sapling trunks horizontally
between pairs of crooked posts--part of the unconsumed remains after
the cut and dried up bushes had been burnt--protects the crop from
the intrusion of deer and pigs and buffaloes.
Near the middle of the clearing, where two young trees grow in
proximity, two thin posts have been fixed in the ground, and between
these four supports a floor of sticks has been constructed at a height
of ten or twelve feet above the ground, reached by a rough stick
ladder with rungs two feet apart, and having a thatched roof overhead,
and a flimsy wall of sticks, interwoven with leafy twigs or grass on
the windward side. A thin floor of earth, watered and beaten until it
became hard, permits a small fire of sticks to be made in the shelter
if the nocturnal air be chilly. In this solitary watch-hut a man, or
sometimes two, sit or lie nightly, in order to drive away intruding
animals that may successfully evade or break through the protecting
fence, and feed on the crop.
In such clearings are cultivated chiefly millet of different sorts,
or edible grasses, sesame, and a small pulse called mun; while in
the richer soil around some scattered conical brown anthills are
planted maize, pumpkins, or red chillies, and a few small cucumbers
called kaekiri, bearing yellow or reddish fruit some six inches
long. Climbing up two or three of the smaller trees are to be seen
gourds, with their curious, hanging, pale, bottle-shaped fruit.
Along the path through the chena jungle there are not many signs of
life. A Monitor Lizard or "Iguana," about four feet long, which we
frighten as it was licking up ants and other insects on the roadside
with its extensile thin tongue, scurries off quickly, and disappears
down a hole in the side of an anthill. Over the jungle come the slow
monotonous calls, "Tok, tok, tok, tok," of a small Barbet, perched
on the topmost twig of one of the higher trees, jerking its body
to the right and left as it repeats its single note. A Woodpecker
crosses the path with a screaming cry, three times repeated, and a
few other birds may appear at intervals, but otherwise there is not
much to break the sameness.
Then, if one be lucky, comes a tract of the original forest that
has escaped the chena clearer's destructive bill-hook and fires,
in which is immediately experienced the welcome relief afforded by
the delightful cool shade cast by the forest trees of many species
which stretch high above the lower bushes. This is the home of the
Elephant, traces of which are observed in the wide footprints and
an occasional broken-down sapling or fractured branch. A slightly
leaning tree on the side of the path has tempted one to rub his back
on it, and lower down are the scratches left by a Leopard's claws,
as he scraped them on it like a cat.
As we pass along the leaf-strewn way, the loud hoarse cry, "Ho, ho,"
of the large grey Monkeys (Semnopithecus priamus) whom we startle,
resounds through the trees. They cease to feed on the succulent young
leaves, and shake the rustling branches in their bold leaps among
the higher ones. This is soon followed by a sudden stillness as they
mysteriously conceal themselves, vanishing as though by magic among
the denser foliage.
Bird calls unfamiliar to a stranger are heard, especially the short
cry of two notes, rather than the crow, of the Jungle-cock--the wild
game-fowl of Ceylon,--the sheep-like bleats of the Lesser Hornbill,
sometimes the rich notes of the Crested Drongo, or the often reiterated
whistle, "To meet ye´-ou," of the Whistling Babbler. A charming
Ground Dove that was picking up seeds on the path, flies off quickly
down the path, and turns suddenly through the bushes. A few white or
brown or striped Butterflies, and sometimes the lovely, large, dark
velvety-green or steely blue Ornithoptera, flit about. A few sharp
notes, uttered as a small timid creature, little bigger than a hare,
darts off under the bushes, tell us that we have startled a little
Mouse-deer, Miminna. These fragile-looking animals always stand on
tiptoe, appearing exactly, as Mr. R. A. Sterndale expressed it in
his work, The Mammalia of India, "as if a puff of wind would blow
them away." But as a rule, there is not much animal life noticeable
even in these forests, unless one can spare time to search for it.
Another patch of the chena jungle succeeds the forest, and then the
path reaches one end of the embankment of a village tank or reservoir,
a shallow sheet of water varying in size from two or three acres to
more than one hundred, but commonly from twenty to fifty in area. The
trim, earthen, grass-sloped embankment, nearly straight, from an
eighth of a mile to half a mile long, from nine to sixteen feet high,
and six feet wide on the top, rises a few feet above the water level.
In its contrast with the parched and heated ground along which we have
come, the scene always appears strikingly beautiful. There are few
fairer spots on the earth than some of the village tanks when they
are nearly full of water. Here we may sit in the cool shelter of an
umbrageous tree, and contemplate nature in its most idyllic aspect. The
busy world, with its turmoil and stress, its noisy factories and
clanging machinery, its hurrying railway trains and motor-cars,
its crowded cities full of an artificial and unhealthy existence,
has disappeared, as though it had been merely a fantastic vision of
the night. Here all is peace: an uneventful calm that has survived
the changes of perhaps two thousand years, and that may be unaltered
in another two thousand. One may wonder if the fevered life of the
present western civilisation will last as long, or will have burnt
itself out, and been swept away like that of the dead civilisations
that preceded it.
Abandoning these day dreams, which the seclusion of the site induces,
we look around us. At both sides of the tank and along the outer toe of
the embankment grow lofty trees, with grey trunks often strengthened by
wide buttresses, which are thrown out so as to afford their support in
the direction in which it is chiefly needed. If a branch become unduly
expanded on one side of the tree, always that on which it receives the
rays of the sun, so as to displace the centre of gravity, the trunk
at once proceeds to develop these thin triangular buttresses under
it, wide at the base, and extending ten or fifteen feet upward. As
though designed by an engineer, there are usually two which act as
struts, and support the trunk below the overweighted branch; and on
the opposite side a broader one which acts as a tie, and assists in
holding back the stem.
There is no lack of varied forms of animal life here. Often a party
of brown Monkeys who have come to drink at the tank are to be seen
in some of the trees, sitting quietly inspecting the visitors, or
walking leisurely along the branches, a few of the females carrying
under their bodies a young one tightly clutching them.
In many tanks, a low grey or dark-stained rock in the water affords a
favourite basking ground for the sluggish muddy-brown Crocodiles that
make their home in all but a few of the smallest of these tanks. They
lie on it like stranded logs, exposed to the sun's rays, often with
wide-open mouths, as though overcome by the heat, from which, however,
they make no effort to escape.
A few black Cormorants and a white Egret or two may also be there,
resting on another part of the rock; and close to the water even one
or two little Black Tank Turtles, but not the edible White Tank Turtle
(Kiri-ibba), which is much less common. On a stump in the water is
usually perched a Darter, a bird that can outswim its fishy prey,
with long snake-like neck, drying its expanded wings under the fiery
tropical rays. Its mate will be immersed in the water, in which it
swims with only its head and neck visible above the surface.
Near the upper margin of the tank wades, with long deliberate strides,
a lanky Great White Egret (Herodias alba), its neck outstretched
in advance, and head held ready for a rapid spear-like thrust of
its long tapering bill at any frog or small fish incautious enough
to remain within its fatal reach. Nearer the edge of the shallowest
water Lesser Egrets step more hurriedly in search of frogs, and often
chase them as they rush spluttering along its surface.
At the larger tanks the hoarse scream of a White-tailed Fishing Eagle
(Polioaetus ichthyaetus), perched on one of the higher branches of
a tall tree overhanging the water, resounds across the open space,
without frightening a flock of reddish-brown Whistling Teal that
float motionless near some lotus leaves, watching the human intruders,
who monopolise all their attention.
As we proceed along the embankment, we disturb some of the large Frogs
that were sunning themselves on it, or catching flies near the edge
of the water, and that plunge headlong into it with extended hind legs.
We now perceive on the low side of the tank a stretch of fields, a
couple of hundred yards, a quarter of a mile, or half a mile long, or
even more, in which the clear uniform light green sheet of the paddy
or growing rice affords a pleasant relief after the uninteresting
chena jungle. A long group of feathery-fronded Coconut trees near the
tank, fringing the far side of the field, indicates that we are close
to a Kandian village. The thatched grey roofs of some of the houses
are soon distinguishable below the palms, nearly concealed among the
plantain trees and other bushes growing about them. Above these stand
out several tall, deep green, pointed-leaved Mango trees, and higher
still a few wide-spreading Tamarinds and slender Halmilla trees.
Before we reach them, our attention is again arrested by the
repeated mewing calls of the light-coloured Jacanas (Hydrophasianus
chirurgus), with pheasant-like tails and enormously lengthened toes,
which distribute their weight over a wide area. This enables them to
walk on the round floating leaves of the lotus plants that cover one
portion of the tank, picking unwary insects out of the water.
Near the side of the tank are to be seen the upper parts of the dark
heads of buffaloes, of which the bodies are immersed, as they lazily
chew the cud. A White Egret is perched on one whose back appears above
the water. At intervals a head disappears quietly below the surface,
and the dense crowd of small flies that had settled on it is driven
to flight, only to return once more as soon as it rises again.
In the shallower water near them, and nearly stationary, or moving
a few feet only at a time, stands a small silent Pond Heron (Ardeola
grayi), avoiding observation as much as possible. Its shoulders are
raised, and its head is drawn down, so that it appears to have no neck;
its dorsal plumes spread over the closed wings and completely hide
them. When it stands still in this, its usual, attitude it is almost
unnoticeable among the aquatic weeds. On our approach it flies off
with a croak, transformed into a bird displaying broad white wings
and a long thin neck. It is far from being the voracious bird that
a well-known tale represents it to be.
A Chestnut Bittern (Ardetta cinnamomea), that had stationed itself
at the foot of the embankment, flits silently across the water, and a
Blue or Pied Kingfisher is seen poising itself with down-turned bill,
over a shoal of small fishes, on which it drops unexpectedly with
a sudden splash, and then wings its way to another position where
others have been detected.
On a patch of grass at the upper side of the tank we observe a couple
of white-necked Black Storks (Ciconia leucocephala) promenading
sedately in search of luckless frogs, but maintaining a careful
watch for human enemies who may be tempted to endeavour to approach
within gunshot.
Near this end of the embankment, a party of village women who have
brought their large, narrow-mouthed, brown earthen pots or "chatties"
for water, holding them on their hips by passing an arm round the
neck, will probably take to flight on seeing the white strangers,
or otherwise stand as far off the path as the space permits, until
they pass. A cry of rapidly shouted words is repeated through the
village, announcing the arrival of "gentlemen," and soon some of the
men emerge, and after saluting us with hands raised to the chest and
palms touching each other, guide us into it.
On our way we pass by single houses or groups of two or three, built
in the midst of each little paddock, fifty or one hundred feet wide
or more, often with a very slight fence around it, of the scattered
area under the coconut palms which forms the gardens of the Kandian
village. Decently clad men and women come out of their mud-walled
and often whitewashed dwellings to stare at the strangers, as well
as children of all sizes, in varying stages of scanty clothing,
from a short piece of white calico which reaches from the waist to
the ankles, down to its vanishing point. The men wear a plain white
cloth from the waist to the ankles. The women have a white or coloured
one about twelve feet long, one end passing from the waist over the
front of the figure, with the corner thrown over the right shoulder,
and hanging down behind as far as the waist; the rest of the cloth
is wrapped twice round the lower part of the figure, from the waist
downwards. When they visit other villages many of the people of both
sexes wear white jackets; in the women's jackets the sleeves are
gathered and puffed out at the shoulder, and reach only to the elbow,
and there is a wide, sometimes frilled, double collar.
Our guides lead us on until we reach a dwelling possibly a little more
carefully constructed than the others, close to which is a thatched,
open, rectangular shed, about twelve feet long by nine feet wide,
with its roof resting on plain round wooden posts. Its raised earthen
floor is hastily swept, a heavy wooden mortar cut out of a piece of
tree trunk, and used for pounding rice in order to remove the skin, is
rolled away, and the shed is then ready for our temporary occupation.
This is a maduwa, or shed erected for travellers and strangers,
as well as for the general use of the owner, in which the women may
plait mats, or clean paddy or rice in the wooden mortar, with a long
wooden pestle having an iron ring round the lower end. Here also the
man's friends may sit and chat, and chew the leaf of the Betel vine
with broken-up bits of the nut of the Areka Palm, and a little lime,
and a fragment of tobacco leaf, while they discuss the state of the
crops, or the local news.
When such a shed is erected on the side of a path for public use, it
may have, but rarely, half walls four feet high; or the posts may be
tenoned into a rectangle of substantial squared logs that are halved
into each other at the angles, where they rest upon large stones, so
as to be clear of the ground, and thus partly protected from attacks
by white ants. The squared beams act as seats for the tired passer-by.
At the end of the maduwa in the village there is sometimes a very small
room of the same width, in which is stored millet or pulse in bags,
or ash-pumpkins, together with a few articles required about the house,
such as surplus grass mats, and flat winnowing baskets. Under the roof
of the maduwa, above the cross-beams and some sticks laid on them,
will be the owner's little plough, and board for levelling the mud of
the rice field before sowing, and some short coils of rope made from
the twisted inner bark of tough creepers, and one or two fish creels.
When there is no suitable shed of this kind for the visitor, a hut,
usually one belonging to the village headman, is swept out and
temporarily given up to our use. If information of the coming visit
had been sent beforehand, the hut or shed would have been provided
with a ceiling made of lengths of white calico borrowed from the
family washerman, and perhaps the walls also would have been hung
with others, sometimes including such coloured ones as he had washed
for some of the villagers.
While food is being prepared by our servants in a small shed or kitchen
close to the house, we stroll through the village, and observe as
we go that all the houses lie east and west, or north and south,
and are thatched with straw or plaited Coconut leaves. They are all
rectangular, usually eight or nine feet wide and some twelve feet
long, and are raised a couple of feet from the ground, on a solid
earthen foundation. Each one has a low veranda, two feet six inches
or three feet wide, along the front side, and one heavy door of adzed
or sawn timber near the middle; but there is very rarely a window,
and even then only one of the smallest size.
Near the end of the house, and within sight of the veranda, there are
one or two round corn stores, considerably wider at the top than at
the base, with conical thatched roofs. They rest upon cross sticks
placed upon four horizontal adzed logs, which are supported by four
small rough blocks of stone at the corners. Their walls are made of a
wicker frame hung from four or five durable posts set in the ground,
which are usually the heart wood of trees that are not eaten by white
ants. The upper part of the wicker frame is firmly tied to the tops
of these, and the whole wicker work is then thickly overlaid and
stiffened by successive coatings of mixed clay and sand, on which,
as on all the walls and floor of the dwelling house, there is placed
a thin surface wash of cow-dung.
These corn stores contain the household supply of paddy or millet. They
are entered only by raising the loose conical roof on one side by
a long prop, and getting inside by means of a rough ladder, at the
opening thus made, over the top of the wall, which rises eight or
nine feet above the ground. Sometimes, but rarely in the northern
Kandian districts, a small rectangular hut is used as a corn store,
the entrance in that case being made through a doorway in the middle
of one side.
The open ground along the front of the house is clean, and free from
grass and weeds, and is swept every morning. In this space, called the
midula, there is a stand of peeled sticks supported on thin posts,
and having a stick platform about four feet, or a little more, in
length and two feet in width, raised three feet from the ground,
with often another similar platform below it. On these are laid,
after being washed, the blackened earthenware cooking pots of the
house, and spoons made of segments of coconut shell with long wooden
handles, which are used with them.
In the little kitchen at the end of the house, with a lean-to roof,
the hearths or fire-places called lipa are formed of three round stones
fixed on the ground, about eight inches apart, on which are set the
cooking pots, over a fire of dry sticks. Sometimes a separate small
shed is built as a kitchen, but often the cooking is done inside the
single apartment of the house, at one end of it.
In each garden are a number of Coconut trees, some thin Halmilla
trees, and often a Mango tree, or a dark-leaved Jak tree, with its
enormous light green fruit hanging on pedicles from the trunk or larger
branches, as well as a Lime tree, and four or five clumps of Plantain
stems nearer the dwelling. Round the base of one or two of the Coconuts
or Halmilla trees are piled on end long bundles of firewood, nearly
two feet thick and six or eight feet long, the unconsumed sticks
from the chena, collected by the women, tied round with creepers,
and carried home on their heads. Climbing up a small tree in front
of the house is a fine Betel vine, which is watered every day during
the dry weather. We notice that a bleached skull of a bull is fixed
among the leaves to guard the creeper from the unlucky glance of
the "Evil Eye," which might cause its premature decay. In the damper
ground adjoining the rice field a few slender Areka palms are growing,
with their clusters of small fruit hanging below their leafy crowns.
On the outer side of the village, near the embankment of the tank,
there are the large, rough-stemmed Tamarind trees that we noticed
as we came. A number of separate thin posts are fixed in the bare
ground below them, to which are tethered a few small Buffalo calves,
which will be joined by their mothers at dusk, after their bath in
the tank is finished.
Further on, there is a small enclosure protected by a stick fence,
round which a few thorns are placed. At the entrance, the halves
of a split log, about nine inches wide, form gate posts; and five
moveable horizontal bars pass easily through holes cut through them,
a few loose thorns being rolled against them when the enclosure is
shut up at night. This is a cattle-fold, or gala, into which the
little harmless black humped cattle are driven each evening by some
boys, with the repeated long-drawn cry, Gale, "Into the fold." In some
districts tobacco or chillies will be planted on this well-manured plot
of ground in the following spring, a new cattle fold being then made.
On our return to the shed we see that our host's wife has cooked
his evening meal of boiled rice and vegetable curry, with a bit of
sun-dried fish as a flavouring, these last being often made burning
hot with red chillies. She serves it in the raised veranda to him and a
relative who has come from a distant village, after giving them water
for rinsing out their mouths. Both sit or "squat" on their heels,
and convey the food to their mouths with their right hands, out of
the shallow, rather wide basins that act as plates. Where the supply
of such household articles runs short, leaf plates made of a piece
of plantain leaf, or two or three halmilla leaves pinned together,
are used. When they have finished the meal, and have rinsed their
right hands and drunk water--which is never taken while eating--and
have been served with a chew of betel leaf and its accompaniments,
the wife eats the remains of the meal alone, inside the house. If she
and her husband were alone they would take it together, the husband
being first served.
The men now sit on mats spread in the narrow veranda, where a little
oil lamp is perhaps hung, and the woman, after throwing out the remains
of the food for the dog, and washing the basins and cooking utensils,
and arranging them on their stand, joins the party, and shares in the
evening's conversation. Sometimes, however, she finds it necessary
to pound some paddy until bed-time, in order to remove the husk,
in readiness for the meals of the following day; or millet or rice
may require grinding into flour in the stone quern.
If some intimate village friends were there, this would be the time
when, after discussing the events of the day, or making arrangements
for the morrow, a member of the party might finish the evening's chat
by relating one of the familiar old stories of which translations
appear in this book.
In the end the woman retires, the visitor stretches himself on his
grass mat in the veranda, and the host extinguishes the lamp, if
one had been lit, and enters the single room of his house. On the
next night it will be his turn to occupy the watch-hut at the chena,
where his partner is sitting now.
All take care to lie, if possible, in an east and west direction,
and on no account with their heads to the south. This is the abode
of Yama, the god of death, while the north is the quarter inhabited
by demons. These directions are therefore exposed to evil influences
which might affect the sleeper, and perhaps cause such unlucky omens
as evil dreams.
The dog curls himself on the ground at the front of the house, the
cat wanders off to join some village cronies, and all is silent in
the village, except the rustling of the Coconut fronds overhead,
the monotonous call, "Wuk; chok-cho-tok," uttered by a small owl in
one of the higher trees, and the more distant chorus of the frogs in
the adjoining rice field.
Now and again we hear at some villages the long-drawn, human-like cry,
"Hoo, hoo, hoo," of a large Wood-Owl (Syrnium indranee), that is flying
round high in the air, and answering its distant mate. It is a weird
unearthly sound, which is always firmly believed by the villagers to
be uttered by demons, as will be noticed in some of the stories.
The earliest cry of the morning is the deep booming note, three or four
times repeated, of the large Ground Cuckoo (Centrococcyx rufipennis),
which is heard soon after dawn appears. Our host's wife is at work
before daylight, scraping into shreds the kernel of a half coconut,
and preparing some milk-rice--rice boiled in milk made by squeezing
grated coconut in water until the latter assumes the colour of milk.
By sun-rise, the Crows of the village are astir, and the Parrakeets,
commonly called "Parrots" in the East, which have been sleeping in
the coconut trees, fly away in parties in search of food.
The notes of the double kettle-drum at a neighbouring wihara,
or Buddhist temple, consisting of three deep-toned strokes at
short intervals, followed by five rapid blows on a higher key, once
repeated, the whole series being many times sounded, now announce to
the villagers within hearing that this is one of the four Poya days
of the month, the Buddhist Sabbath, kept at each of the quarters of
the moon.
About an hour later, our host's wife is joined by a party of eight or
ten women, and one or two men, all dressed in clean white clothes. They
proceed to the temple, each carrying in a small bowl a present of
milk-rice and a few cakes, covered with a white cloth. There they
chant three times, after the resident monk, the Buddhist creed,
"I go to the Buddha-refuge, I go to the Faith-refuge, I go to the
Community (of Monks)-refuge"; this is followed by some more stanzas
in the ancient language, Pali, after which they return, and resume
the ordinary occupations of the day.
Our host is about to leave his room after his night's rest, when the
chirp of a little pale-coloured House Lizard on the wall causes him to
turn back suddenly, in order to avoid the evil influences against which
the wise Lizard had uttered its warning voice. He occupies himself
in the house for a short time longer, and then, at a luckier moment,
makes his appearance afresh, taking care to step over the threshold
with the right foot first.
He is cheered by finding that nothing obstructs his way in the
least after he comes out, and that we are the first living beings
on which his gaze rests. To begin the day by seeing first a person
of superior status is a lucky omen of the favourable character of
the rest of the day, and one with which he is not often blessed. We
increase the auspicious impression by a few judicious friendly remarks;
but are careful not to offer any decided praise regarding any of his
possessions, since we are aware of his opinion that one never knows if
such sayings may not have a reverse effect through the malevolence of
jealous evil spirits. There is an Evil Mouth, as well as an Evil Eye.
A man or two, and a few boys, come from the adjoining houses to watch
our doings, from the open space in front of the house, or the veranda;
but all turn their faces away and ignore us from the moment when
we sit down to our "early tea," and until it is finished. This is
done so as to avoid any risk of our food's affecting us injuriously,
owing to a possible glance of the Evil Eye, which a person may possess
without being aware of the fact.
We notice a little copper tube slung on the right upper arm of our
host's wife, by means of a yellow thread which passes through two
rings on its under side. In reply to our carefully worded inquiry
regarding it, he informs us that as she had been troubled with evil
dreams they had thought it advisable to get a friend of his, a Vedarala
or doctor, who was acquainted with astrological and magical lore, to
supply her with a magical diagram and spell against dreams, inscribed
on a strip of dried palm leaf, which was rolled up and placed in the
tube. The thread, a triple one, was coloured with saffron, and nine
knots were made on it before it was tied on her arm, a magical spell
being repeated as each knot was made. Thanks to this safeguard the
dreams had ceased, but it was considered advisable not to remove the
thread and charm for a few weeks longer.
Our host's relative, having eaten some milk-rice, and taken a chew of
betel and areka-nut in his mouth, is about to return to his distant
village, and now leaves, saying only, "Well, I am going." "It is good;
having gone come," is the reply. The latter word must not be omitted,
or it might appear that his return in the future was not desired.
So he sets off on his journey, the host accompanying him to the garden
fence. However, in a few minutes he is back again, and explains that
he had met with a bad omen which made it necessary to postpone the
departure. A dog stood in the path, obstructing his way, and made no
attempt to move even when he spoke to it. The host cordially agrees
that it would be most unwise to continue the journey after such an
unfavourable omen on starting, and it is settled that he will leave
early in the afternoon, when the danger, whatever it may be, probably
will have passed away.
And so on, like a perpetual nightmare haunting him during his
whole journey through life, the Kandian villager sees his dreaded
portents in the simplest occurrences of his daily life. A few are
prognostications of good luck; but far more in number are those which
are to him obvious warnings, not to be disregarded with impunity,
of some unknown but impending evil that he must avoid if possible.
Every evil is directly due to evil spirits, either specially
instigated to injure him by inimical magicians, or taking advantage
of some accidental opportunity. The evil spirits are innumerable
and malevolent, and ever ready to make use of any chance to annoy or
injure human beings. Thus it would be the height of foolhardiness to
ignore events that appear to be signs of some approaching unfavourable
action on their part.
One man informed me that in the dusk one evening he was unable to find
the little exit path from his chena, and was compelled to remain all
night there before the clearing work was finished. He attributed this
entirely to the malicious action of an evil spirit, who had blocked
it up in order to annoy him. When daylight came the path was clear,
and so plainly to be seen that he was certain that he could not have
missed it at night had it been in a similar state at that time.
I knew of one instance in which a man who had arranged to make a
lengthy trading journey, and had loaded his cart with produce ready
for an early start at daybreak, abandoned the trip because he had
a dream in the night which he considered indicated an unfavourable
prospect. The reader will find a similar tale included among these
stories; and although the villagers laugh at the foolish men of whom
it is related, there are scores of others who would return home under
such circumstances.
It is a holiday season for the villagers, during which they can devote
themselves to the congenial occupation of contemplating the growth of
the rice and the millet crop; but it was preceded by much hard work
in the rice field and the chena. The felling of the thorny jungle at
the chena, the lopping and burning of the bushes, the clearing and
hoeing of the ground, and the construction of the surrounding fence,
were carried on continuously under a scorching sun from morning to
night, until the work was completed shortly before the first light
showers enabled the seed to be sown, after a further clearing of the
weeds that had sprung up over the ground.
As soon as the heavier rains had softened the hard soil of the rice
field, baked, where not sandy, by the tropical sun until it became
like stone, the work of ploughing and preparing the land for the
paddy crop was one that permitted little or no intermission. Every
morning the men carried their little ploughs on their shoulders,
and yoking a couple of buffaloes to each of them, spent many hours
in guiding the blunt plough backwards and forwards through the soil,
overgrown since the last crop by a covering of grass. It requires no
slight labour to convert such an apparently intractable material into
a smooth sheet of soft mud, eight inches deep. After that is done,
all the little earthen ridges that form the raised borders of each
of the rectangular plots into which the field is divided, and that
are necessary for retaining the sheet of water which is periodically
flooded over the rice, must be repaired and trimmed.
When that is accomplished the ground must be sown by hand without
delay, with paddy which has already sprouted, and being merely
scattered lightly on the surface of the thick mud, will grow at
once. The preparation of the paddy for this purpose is one of the
duties of the women, who soak it in water, and spread it a few
inches thick on large mats laid on the floor of the shed or the
veranda. In three days it will be sprouted, and ready for immediate
sowing. After the sowing is completed, there still remains the repair
or reconstruction of the stick fence which protects the field from
cattle, or, in some parts, deer.
It is thought to be essential for obtaining a satisfactory crop, that
each of the more important operations of these or any other works
should be commenced on a day and at an hour that have been selected
by the local astrologer as auspicious. There must be no unfavourable
aspects of the planets, which are held to have a most powerful and
often deleterious influence on all terrestrial matters; planets or no
planets, certain days are also recognised by every person who claims
a modicum of intelligence, as being notoriously unlucky.
After the time for beginning the ploughing, or commencing the clearing
of the jungle at the chena, has been so chosen, a start must be made
at that hour, even though it be nothing more than a beginning; and
usually the plough is once run at that time through each little plot
of the field, several days before the real ploughing is undertaken. In
the case of the chena, a few branches will be lopped off at the lucky
moment, and the remainder of the work can then be done when convenient.
Without such necessary precautions no village cultivator would be
astonished at the subsequent failure or unproductiveness of the crops,
either through excess or deficiency of the rainfall, or damage caused
by wild animals, or, in the case of the rice, by an excessive irruption
of "flies" or bugs, which suck out the milky juices of the immature
grains. The surprise would be felt, not at the failure of the crops
under such unfavourable conditions, but at the survival of any crop
worth reaping.
Of course, in the case of the "flies" on the rice the usual remedy of
their forefathers will be tried. A Bali Tiyanna, a priest who makes
offerings to arrest or avert the evil influences due to unpropitious
planets, will be summoned. After presenting a small offering,
he will march round the crop, blowing a perforated chank shell in
order to alarm any unfavourable spirits; at each side of the field
he will formally exorcise the flies, and in a loud voice order them
to depart. [1]
But on the whole, notwithstanding the thorough confidence of the
exorcist in the efficacy of this treatment, it is felt to be a last
resort, which ought to be, but often is not, altogether as successful
as the owner of the crop might desire. Planets and flies are sometimes
intractable, and will not hearken to the charmer. Besides, thinks the
cultivator, who knows if the Bali Tiyanna was so foolish as to speak
to some one on his march round the field, and thus break the spell?
Now that he comes to consider the matter, the cultivator remembers
that he heard the cry of a Woodpecker [2] as he was leaving the
house for the first ploughing. He thought at the time that, as the
hour had been declared to be a fortunate one, that warning scream
was intended for some other person; but now he is of opinion that it
may have been addressed to him. It is unfortunate; it must have been
settled by Fate that he should neglect it, but he will exercise more
care another time. He feels that he can always place confidence in the
House Lizards and Woodpeckers, because they receive their information
from the gods themselves.
When the chena crop is ripe, the wives of the owners collect a number
of friends and relatives, and proceed with them to the place, each
carrying a light sack or two, and a diminutive sickle. With this
they cut off the heads of the millet, storing them in the sacks;
the straw is left as useless. All the party are rather gaily dressed,
usually in white, and often have a broad strip of calico tied over the
head, with the ends falling down the back. This work is looked upon
as a recreation, and is carried on amid a large amount of chatter
and banter, and the singing of songs by first one and then another,
each verse being repeated by the whole party. Some that are sung are
simple verses from the olden time, which probably are believed to
have a magical influence.
At noon and in the evening the bags full of millet are carried to the
houses of the owners of the crop. Meals are provided for the whole
party by them, and no payment is made for the work. In most districts
the men never take any part in this reaping, and their presence would
be thought objectionable. As one of them expressed it, they stay at
home and boil water.
For the reaping of the rice crop, the man to whom it belongs collects
a few assistants in the same way, the women also sometimes joining in
the work. The stems of the plants are cut near the ground, and are
tied up in little sheaves, which are collected first at some of the
junctions of the earthen ridges in the field. The whole are removed
afterwards and built into larger stacks at the side of the field,
near a flat threshing-floor of hard earth, surrounded by a fence in
which a few trees are planted as a shade.
The threshing of the stacks is a business of great importance, which
must be performed according to ancient customs that are supposed to
have a magical effect, and prevent injurious demoniacal interference
with the out-turn. After the floor has been thoroughly cleaned and
purified, a magical circular diagram, with mystical symbols round it,
is drawn on the ground round a central post, before the threshing
can be commenced.
The unthreshed rice is laid over the floor in a circle round the
central post, and four buffaloes in a row are driven over it, round
and round the post, following the direction taken by the sun, that is,
from the east towards the south and so on through the circle, the stems
of the rice being shaken up from time to time. After the corn has been
thus trampled out of the ears it is collected and poured gradually
out of baskets held high in the air, so that the wind may blow away
the chaff. The corn is then placed in sacks and carried to the store.
After the crop of the chena or field has been gathered in, a small
offering of the first-fruits is made at the local Dewala, or demon
temple, and cleaned rice is also presented to the resident monk at
the local Buddhist temple.
When the crop is placed in the store, the household supply of food for
at least a great part of the year, and commonly for the whole year,
has been provided for. Such additions as salt, sun-dried fish, and some
of the condiments used in curries are obtained by bartering coconuts,
or paddy, or millet, at little roadside shops which are established at
a few places along the main roads throughout the country. These are
kept by Muhammadan trades--commonly termed Tambi, with, in village
talk, the honorific addition ayiya, "elder brother,"--or Sinhalese
from the Low Country districts, or Tamils from Jaffna; and rarely or
never by Kandians. From these shops, also, clothes are procured at
long intervals in the same way, or a special journey is made to the
nearest town or larger shopping centre.
As a general rule, in the interior it is all a matter of barter, and
very little money is used, so little indeed that if the crops be less
satisfactory than usual the villager often has difficulty in paying
the tax of a rupee and a half (two shillings), which is collected by
Government each year from adult males, towards the cost of keeping
the roads in order. In the poorer districts, the payment of this,
the only direct tax of the villager, is like a recurring annual
nightmare, which worries him for weeks together, and unfortunately
cannot be charmed away, like his other nightmares, by a magic thread.
Village life is on the whole a dull one. Its excitements are provided
by demon-ceremonies for the cure of sickness, occasional law-suits,
and more especially by weddings, which afford a welcome opportunity
for feasting, and displaying clothes and jewellery, but sometimes also
cause quarrels owing to caste or family jealousies. It would be too
long a digression to attempt to describe these here. Pilgrimages to
important Buddhist temples are also undertaken, about nine-tenths of
the pilgrims being women, a proportion sometimes observable in church
attendance in England.
One of the pleasantest features of village life is the family re-union
at the Sinhalese New Year, April 11 or 12, when all the members meet
at their old home if possible, and make little presents to each other,
and pay ceremonial visits, dressed in their best clothes, to their
relatives and friends. The men also call on their local headmen,
who in the same way visit their superiors. I have known considerable
numbers of villagers tramp ninety miles on hot dusty roads, with an
equally long return journey in prospect, in order to be present at
this home gathering.
For three weeks before the day, the whole village life is disorganised
by preparations for this festival. The houses are furbished up,
plantains and palm sugar are collected, often from places many
miles away, new clothes are purchased, and every one's mind is
given up to anticipation of the event and provision for it, to the
complete exclusion of all ordinary work. It is also a busy time for
astrologers, who are required to fix a suitable day and a lucky hour
for the first lighting of the New Year's fire, the first cooking of
food, and, three or four days later, the hour at which the heads of
all shall be anointed, pending which important ceremony no work is
begun or journey commenced.
In many villages the women produce from some dark hiding-place the
little board with fourteen little cup-shaped hollows, in two rows each
consisting of seven cups, on which the ancient game called in Ceylon
"Olinda" is played. Four bright red seeds of the Olinda creeper
are placed in each cup, and the two players, who sit on opposite
sides of the board, "sow" them one by one in the holes. As a rule,
only the women play at this game, at which many of them are adepts,
carrying it on for hours at a time with the greatest rapidity and
skill. At the conclusion of the New Year's holiday, or soon after it,
the boards are returned to their hiding-places, and often are not used
again for another year. In the villages where Low Country influence has
penetrated, many of the men find gambling a more attractive amusement,
as well as a more exciting one, at this time.
About once in a couple of years a party of Gypsies who speak Telugu,
and broken Tamil and Sinhalese, come along the high road, and settle
down on a patch of open grass near a tank. The talipat palm leaves
with which their diminutive oblong huts are roofed, and strong creepers
or bamboos curved in a semicircle, for making the skeleton framework,
are transported on small donkeys, the women and children carrying the
other few household goods and cooking utensils in bundles on their
heads. Some take about with them large numbers of goats.
As soon as they have raised their little huts, each about four feet
high, and surrounded by a shallow channel for carrying off rain
water, the adults leave them in charge of the children and old women,
and spread through all the villages of the neighbourhood in order to
collect food or money. The man carries in a round, flat, black basket
slung in a cloth from his shoulder, a cobra or two, which are made to
"dance," a term which means merely sitting coiled up (the head with
the hood expanded being raised about fifteen inches from the ground),
and making attempts to strike the moving knee or hand of the crouching
exhibitor. The women tell fortunes by the lines on the hands.
All the village girls endeavour to raise the requisite three halfpence
or twopence so as to hear, often for the third or fourth time,
of their past and future experiences, and to be promised handsome
husbands possessing fields and cattle. The adults pay a little rice
for the exhibition of the cobras.
When the Gypsies have exhausted the contributory possibilities of the
adjoining villages they move on again to another camping ground. They
have always a number of dogs which assist in catching animals for the
food supply, and it is few, whether provided with legs or without
legs, that are thought unfit to eat. The diet includes white ants,
rat-snakes, owls, and munguses, as well as any stray village fowls
that can be acquired surreptitiously.
These Gypsies of Ceylon are an interesting race, and I may be permitted
a digression in order to furnish some details regarding them. I am
not aware how long they have settled in Ceylon; they are permanent
dwellers in the island, and are especially found in the northern
half and the eastern districts, but also in the south and in the hill
districts. In the Sinhalese districts they have developed a dialect
which appears to be a curious compound of Telugu and Sinhalese. Thus
fowls, which in Telugu are termed Kollu, are known by them as Guglu,
the Sinhalese Kukulu.
From a Gypsy with whom, by the aid of pecuniary intervention,
I established friendly relations, cemented by my presenting him
one day with a fine newly-caught cobra, I learnt that they enjoy
general good health, notwithstanding the apparent hardships of their
life. They attribute this to their constant changes of drinking-water
and camping-sites, no camp being maintained in one place for more than
seven days in the Sinhalese districts. In the Eastern Province, where
the Gypsies possess very large herds of cattle, amounting sometimes
to four or five hundred, they camp in one spot for a month if the
grazing be sufficiently good.
They do not keep their cobras for more than a month. After being kept
for that period, they not only become too tame to "dance," but, what
is far more important, their poison fangs grow afresh, and it would be
dangerous to retain them. They are therefore always released at the
end of that time, if not earlier. They are fed regularly upon fowls'
eggs and occasional rats.
My friend characterised as nonsense the idea of their handling and
using cobras which have not had their fangs excised. The reader
may remember Sir Bartle Frere's note in Old Deccan Days, p. 329,
regarding a boy who continued to handle with impunity poisonous snakes
with unremoved fangs, until at last one killed him. The reader is
also referred to Drummond Hay's Western Barbary, 1844, pp. 105-108,
in which an account is given of a snake-charmer who allowed a deadly
snake to bite him. A fowl that it bit immediately afterwards died in
a minute, while the man did not suffer from the bite. Hay saw the
snake's fangs. He mentions another instance at Tangier, in which a
youth who was sceptical regarding the poison allowed the snake to
bite him, and died from the effect of it.
I saw this Gypsy cut off the fangs of the cobra that I gave him. This
was done with a common pen-knife which he kept for the purpose. The
head being held sideways on a thick stick, so that the upper jaw lay
on it, the fang was cut off at the base. The head was then turned,
and the other fang removed. The man then passed his fore-finger along
the jaw, and finding a slight roughness or projection, sliced off a
little of the bone at each side. After this he released the cobra,
which followed him and sprang at him furiously, time after time, and
had its first lesson on the ease with which he evaded its strokes. When
it became tired of attempting the impossible, he consigned it to his
basket--another cobra ready for exhibition.
Some of these men are extraordinarily expert in making pretended
captures of cobras which they apparently fascinate by their pipes,
so as to attract them from their holes or hiding-places. They perform
this feat so cleverly as to deceive many people, who insist that
it is a real capture. I have twice got them to do it for me--in the
Southern and the North-western Provinces--and although I watched them
from a very short distance, I was unable to see whence the cobra
was produced. On both occasions I examined the mouth of the cobra
immediately after it was captured, and in both instances I found that
the fangs had been removed. My Gypsy friend also assured me that it
was a mere trick which only a few learn.
In each case, the man, who was dressed only in a cloth extending
from the waist to the calf, after piping for some time at the edge
of the bushes in which the snake might possibly be found, bent
down suddenly, half entering the bush, and apparently endeavoured
to seize a cobra which eluded him. After resuming the piping for
a few seconds more, he bent down again at the same spot, and drew
out a large cobra--one was nearly six feet long; it extended to the
full length of his outstretched hands--holding it by the tail; then
slipping his other hand rapidly along its body he grasped it tightly
behind the jaws. Probably when first bending down he placed a cobra
on the ground, afterwards seizing it by the tail as it was moving off.
In one case, a pretence at being bitten on the thumb on the way back
from the bush was very effective. There were two bleeding punctures
between the nail and the knuckle, at the right distance apart, and
the expressions of pain no doubt were not altogether simulated.
The supposed poison was extracted by means of the usual spells and
remedial agents--a charmed piece of creeper and a tiny ball of lime,
the latter to check the progress of the poison along the arm, and the
former to draw it down to the wounds; and two "snake stones"--nearly
flat rectangular pieces of horn slightly hollowed on one side--which
were placed on the wounds to extract the poison. These "stones" adhere
by atmospheric pressure when wetted and pressed on the skin with the
hollowed side downwards. I have been informed that the wounds are
made by pressing on the thumb a thorny seed capsule which has two
sharp spikes at a suitable distance apart.
One of these men afterwards proceeded to a large village about a mile
away, and appeared to capture three more cobras in the same manner
at houses where the residents denied that any were to be found; but
in the end I was told by the villagers that he had only two cobras
in his basket, this being the number that I saw in his possession
before these last pretended captures were made.
These people are said to live well, better, indeed, than the majority
of the villagers. The women are given to lavish personal adornment
of an inexpensive kind, chiefly articles of brass and glass. On one
lady, perhaps considered a beauty, I counted sixteen bead necklaces;
twenty-four bangles, chiefly of common black glass, on the wrists;
four silver armlets on the upper arms; and six rings on each finger
and thumb, excepting only the middle finger of each hand.
The Kandian village is a self-contained unit, producing everything
that the inhabitants require, with the exception of the few articles
previously mentioned. It hears a faint echo of the news of the great
outer world, without feeling that this has any connexion with its own
life. It would listen with almost equal indifference to a statement
that the sky was blue, or that England was at war with a European
power, or that a new Governor had been appointed. When I asked a
villager's opinion regarding the transfer of a Government Agent who
had ruled a Province for some years, he replied, "They say one Agent
has gone and another Agent has come; that is all."
The supervision of the work of maintaining in order the embankment of
the village reservoir or "tank," upon which the rice crops depend,
as well as of the fencing of the rice field, is in the hands of
the Gamarala, now termed in other parts than the North-central
Province, the Vidane. The latter title is not recognised in any of
the folk-tales, in which (with one exception) the Gamarala is the
only headman represented. His jurisdiction extends over two or three
closely adjoining villages, or sometimes over one only.
Of a higher rank and different functions is the Aracci (pronounced
Aratchy), who rules over five or six villages, and who is responsible
for the maintenance of order, arrests and prosecutes offenders, and
acts as general factotum for seeing that the orders received from
superior headmen are promulgated and obeyed.
Of much more important authority are the Korale-Aracci and Korala,
the latter being the head of a considerable district, and above these
again is the Ratemahatmaya, who is the supreme and very influential
chief of a large part of a Province. By successive steps in promotion
the members of influential or respectable families may rise to any of
these offices. Though all but the highest one are unsalaried, they are
competed for with a good deal of eagerness on account of the power
which they confer, the possibility of further promotion, and also
for the opportunities which they afford for receiving "presents,"
which flow in a pleasing though invisible, but not therefore less
remunerative, stream towards all but the Vidanes and Gamaralas.
A few words may be added regarding the castes of the Kandian districts
whose stories are given in this work, or who are referred to.
The Smiths come next to the cultivating caste, sometimes occupying
separate hamlets, but often living in the same village as the superior
caste, though divided from it by an impassable gulf, of which only
the women preserve the outward sign. Those of the cultivating caste
are alone permitted by social custom to dress in one outer robe in
one piece; all of lower rank must wear a separate garment from the
waist upward.
The Smiths are considered to be the highest class of their caste,
called Nayide, the artificers. There are said to be five classes of
Nayides:--(1) Acari (pronounced Atchary), which includes the Smiths,
Painters, and Sculptors; (2) Badahaela, Potters; (3) Mukkara or Karawa,
Fishers; (4) Madinna, Toddy-drawers ("toddy" is fresh palm-juice); (5)
all "Moormen," the descendants of Muhammadan settlers. All these, and
the other low castes, except the Rodiyas, cultivate rice and millet.
The Potters live by making all local forms of earthen pottery, and
tiles and bricks if required. They build up large temporary kilns
filled with alternate layers of pots and fire-wood, and are often
intelligent men. Some of them are priests or conductors of services
for the propitiation of planets and other evil astronomical bodies,
as well as astrologers.
Next in the villages come the Washermen (Radawa, or Henaya, or
Henawalaya), who possess great power as the arbiters regarding cases
of the violation of social etiquette or custom. The disgrace of a
refusal on their part to wash the clothes of objectionable persons is a
form of social ostracism, and the offender soon has sad experience of
the truth of the statement of the Maha Bharata that there is nothing
(except fire) that is so purifying as gold (or its value). Some of the
washermen are officiators at demon ceremonies. They are paid for their
services as washermen in produce of various kinds, each family giving
an annual subvention in paddy, etc., in return for its washing. One
whom I knew could improvise four-line stanzas for an indefinite time,
on the spur of the moment, each verse being composed while the audience
chanted the refrain after the preceding one.
The Tom-tom Beaters (Berawaya) are a peculiar and interesting caste,
who formerly combined their present duties with the weaving of cotton
fabrics in frames. Although the arduous work of their profession--often
a whole night's hard dancing or tom-toming--leads at the time to a
considerable consumption of "arrack," the spirit distilled from palm
juice, I believe that few of them take much liquor at other times.
In their own work many of them are very expert, the result of many
years of training. On one occasion three tom-tom beaters requested
permission to give me an exhibition of their skill. The leader first
played a short simple tune, which was repeated in turn by the second
and third players. They continued to play in this way, in turn, the
tunes becoming increasingly difficult and rapid; whatever impromptu
changes the leader introduced were all repeated in the same manner
by the others. A number of villagers who were present, and listening
critically, stated that it was a clever performance; it was also a
noisy one.
The boys are taught to learn thoroughly, without using a tom-tom, the
whole of the complicated airs that are played, repeating a series of
sounds such as ting, tang, etc., which with varying emphasis represent
the various notes to be played on the tom-tom. Not until they can give
in this manner the whole of an air correctly, as regards notes, time,
and emphasis, are they considered to know it. It is a tonic sol-fa
system. To these professionals, every air has its name and meaning,
often expressed in words which fit the notes; so that when a very few
notes have been heard they can state what is being said. The reader
will find one or two references to this in the folk-tales.
The Durayas are the carriers of baggage for the higher caste, and
nearly always have tanks and fields of more than average quality. These
have been granted to them in former times by the cultivating caste in
return for their services, which could be claimed at any time if a man
were about to proceed on a journey, and required himself or his luggage
carrying. They still occupy a very low social position. Formerly
the women were not allowed to wear above the waist more clothing
than a strip of calico of about a hand's breadth, across the breast;
a coloured handkerchief now generally takes its place.
Much has been written about the Rodiyas. They may be of partly
different descent from the Sinhalese, but I do not know how far
this matter has been investigated. Their hamlets are never called
gama, "village," but kuppayama. [3] I am not aware that any of them
cultivate rice fields; they make ropes, and guard chenas and cattle
for others. They also partly subsist by begging, and, it is said,
by theft; some are gamblers also. The women usually wear no clothing
above the waist. Their dialect differs from Sinhalese to some extent.
Nothing is known regarding the origin of the Kinnaras, the lowest
caste of all, in whose case there are several anomalies that deserve
investigation. They do not hunt as a profession. They have village
tanks and rice fields, own cattle, and have good houses and neat
villages. Their caste occupation is mat weaving in frames, with
Niyanda fibre alone or combined with grass.
Some have their heads covered with a mass of thick, short, very
curly hair, being the only people in the island possessing this
distinctive characteristic. The features and the colour of the skin
are of the ordinary type of the lower castes, and would not enable
them to be recognised from others. Social rules forbid the growth of
the hair beyond the neck. The dress of the women is restricted like
that of the Durayas. Though they can never enter Buddhist temples,
or the enclosures round them, they are all Buddhists. I was informed
that their social ceremonies, as well as the religious ones, that is,
those for propitiating evil spirits, whether demoniacal or planetary,
closely resemble those of the other castes; and that they, as well
as the Rodiyas, have their own medical practitioners, astrologers,
soothsayers, and kapuwas or officiators at demon ceremonies.
The men of the Chetti caste, or Hettiyas, who are mentioned in some
of the stories, are either Indians, or the descendants of Indian
settlers. The Chetti caste is one of great importance, and many of
its members are persons of the highest respectability and often of
great wealth. The persons referred to in these tales are only some of
the inferior members of the race, some of whom have little road-side
shops or cultivate small fields and gardens.
Coming at last to the stories themselves, I may quote the words of
the late Mr. W. Goonetilleke, the learned editor of The Orientalist, a
journal published during the years 1884-1892, in which many folk-tales
of Ceylon were given. Mr. Goonetilleke said (vol. i. p. 36), "What is
really wanted ... are the genuine stories of the Sinhalese [and other
races also], those which are quite free from foreign influences,
and have existed among the people from time immemorial. These can
only be gathered from the inhabitants of villages and of the remoter
parts of the island into which western civilization has not yet
penetrated." It is an adherence to this advice, and, I may say also,
the complete absence of all attempts to give the tales a literary
appearance that the originals do not possess, which constitute the
special features of the present work.
Though all have been collected by myself, I have only myself written
down a very limited number from dictation. All the rest have been
written for me in Sinhalese by the narrators themselves, or by other
villagers employed by me to collect them, who wrote them just as
they were dictated. I preferred this latter method as being free from
any disturbing foreign influence. Only three very short stories were
written down by me in English; two of them were related in English
by a Sinhalese gentleman, and the other, a variant of another story,
was written immediately after a Buddhist monk had related it to me
in Sinhalese.
The stories, as they now appear, are practically literal translations
of the written Sinhalese originals, perhaps it may be thought in some
respects too literal. My aim has been to present them as nearly as
possible in the words in which they are related in the villages. The
only liberty of any importance that I have taken has been the insertion
of an occasional word or phrase where it was evidently omitted by
the narrator, or was necessary in order to elucidate the meaning,
or complete the sense.
It was unavoidable that many expressions, such as "afterwards,"
"after that," "at that time," "then," "again," with which the
village story-teller repeatedly begins his sentences, should be
deleted. Many past participles which Sinhalese grammar requires have
been transformed into the past tense, and most of the tense errors
have been corrected, and in rare instances an unmanageable sentence has
been cut in two. Such a word as "came," when it expressed "came back,"
is sometimes translated "returned"; and "said," where it referred to an
answer, is occasionally turned into "replied." The word translated as
"behead," is merely "cut" in the original; but the context sometimes
shows that the other meaning is to be understood.
In other respects, the reader may rely on having here the tales in
their true village forms, and expressed in the same simple manner. I
have even left one peculiar idiom that is often used, according to
which a question is described as being asked, or a statement made, "at
the hand" of a person; but I do not follow the village story-teller in
using this form in conversations carried on with the lower animals. It
is quite usual in Sinhalese to state that a question was asked by a
person "at the hand" (lit. "from the hand," the same word meaning also
"fore-paw") of a jackal, a deer, or a reptile. It will be seen that
I have not attempted to translate the interjections into English.
It will be noticed that in the majority of the tales the characters
are introduced in the present tense, which is then abandoned. The
narrators sometimes relapse into it afterwards, but as a rule, unless
action is being emphasised, I have adhered to the past tense in such
instances, excepting in the stories told by the Village Vaeddas and
the lowest castes, in which it seemed advisable to make as little
change as possible.
Attention may be invited to the tales told by the lowest castes,
probably the only stories of theirs that have ever been collected in
Ceylon. From the Tom-tom Beaters a considerable number were obtained,
some of which will appear in a later volume. The few tales that have
been told by the Rodiyas and Kinnaras are very simple; the chief fact
is that they have any to tell.
It appeared to be likely that some of the Sindbad series of adventures
might be found in Ceylon, but inquiries made in different districts,
including part of the west coast, failed to reveal any tales belonging
to the "Arabian Nights," with the exception of one which probably
was derived from a printed work, and orally transmitted from one of
the towns. It is still possible that some may be found, as the Rukh
is included in the Sinhalese tales, and the ogre called Rakshasa,
who is a familiar personage in them, is correctly described in his
folk-tale form, in one of the Sindbad voyages. In one story, which
is not included in this work, there is the incident of the demon who
was imprisoned in a bottle. The demon was Mara, Death personified,
and his captor was a Vedarala, or medical practitioner. The age of
the tale is uncertain.
It is evident that many of the stories belong to distant times,
but there is little to indicate their age more definitely. In one
tale only, of this volume, the money mentioned is the kahawanuwa,
in old Sinhalese kahawana, the Pali kahapana, a coin that ceased to
be current by the tenth or eleventh century A.D., if not considerably
earlier. Commonly, we find that the coinage is the masurama, plural
masuran, which came into use in the eleventh century and was not coined
after the thirteenth; but of course this is far from proving that
the stories in which it occurs are not of much earlier date. There
are no references to the Portuguese, who arrived in Ceylon at the
beginning of the sixteenth century, or to later foreign residents;
but a Tamil king is mentioned.
Although a large number of the stories relate the adventures of
Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses, it will be observed that these
personages sometimes behave like ordinary villagers. The Queen or
Princess often cooks the rice for the family meal; Sir Bartle Frere
has stated in the notes at the end of Old Deccan Days, p. 324, that
this "would be nothing unusual in the house of a Rajah.... It is still
the most natural precaution he can take against poison, to eat nothing
but what has been prepared by his own wife or daughter, or under their
eye in his own zenana, and there are few accomplishments on which an
Indian Princess prides herself more than on her skill in cookery."
It is not to be understood that such persons in these stories
are supposed to be members of the family of the ruling monarch of
Ceylon. These so-called "kings," ruling over a small district or even
a single city, are in reality some of the more important parumakas
or feudal chiefs of the inscriptions of pre-Christian or early
post-Christian years. This old title does not make its appearance in
the stories, however.
Vaedda rulers who are termed "kings" receive notice in three
stories. In one which was given in Ancient Ceylon, p. 93, a Vaedda
youth was appointed the king of a Sinhalese district, which is stated
to have prospered under his rule. In a tale in the present volume
(No. 4) reference is made to a Vaedda "king" who dwelt in a forest,
and who arrested some travellers and imprisoned them in what is
termed a house. In another story, which is not included here, there
is an account of another Vaedda "king" who lived in a forest, and
who ordered his archers to kill a prince who had succeeded to the
sovereignty of a neighbouring district on the death of his father,
and was proceeding there in order to assume it. His offence lay in
travelling through the forest without first obtaining the permission
of the Vaedda ruler. We also find references to Vaeddas who were
accustomed to enter the towns; one of them laid a complaint before
a Sinhalese "king" that a person had threatened to kill him in the
forest. Probably in all these instances we have a true picture of the
actual position, in early times, of some of the Vaeddas who had not
yet adopted, or had abandoned, the village life. Their chiefs were
practically independent in their wild forests.
The Rakshasas (in village spelling Rasaya, Rasi) who are introduced
into many tales are ogres like those of Europe. The Yakas are always
demons or evil spirits, of little intelligence, often having a human
appearance but black in colour. They live chiefly upon human flesh,
like the ogres, and possess like them some supernatural powers.
With regard to the animals mentioned, it is strange to find such
prominence accorded to the Lion, which has never existed in a wild
state in Ceylon. Its characteristics are correctly described, even
including its ear-splitting roar.
The place taken by the Fox of European tales is filled by the Jackal,
full of craft and stratagems, but sometimes over-reaching himself. The
Hare and Turtle are represented as surpassing all the animals in
cleverness, as in African and American Negro stories.
Of all the animals, the poor Leopard is relegated to the lowest place,
both as regards want of intelligence and cowardice; and in only one
adventure does he come off better than the Jackal. Even in that one
his position is a despicable one, and he is completely cowed by a
little Mouse-deer, the clever animal of Malay stories. In Ceylon the
Leopard occupies the place taken in India by the foolish Tiger.
It is perhaps the chief merit of these stories, and certainly a
feature which gives them a permanent value, that we have in them the
only existing picture of the village life of ancient times, painted by
the villagers themselves. From the histories we can learn practically
nothing regarding the life of those of the ancient inhabitants of
Ceylon who were not monks or connected with royalty, or the conditions
under which they existed. It is here alone that the reader finds the
daily experiences and the ideas and beliefs of the villagers gradually
unfolded before him. In some of the stories we may see how the village
life went on in the early centuries after Christ, and how little it has
changed since that time. Others doubtless contain particulars which
belong to a much later period, and in some there is an incongruous
mixture of the old and the new, as when the slates of school children
are introduced into what is evidently a tale of considerable age.
In the case of stories like these, composed for the amusement of
villagers only, and related by villagers to other villagers, it might
be expected that a considerable number of objectionable expressions
would occur. So far from this being the fact, I am able to state
with much satisfaction that in only three or four instances in this
volume has it been thought desirable to slightly modify any part of
the stories. It is to be remembered that it is not the function of
these tales in general to inculcate ideas of morality or propriety,
although kindness of heart is always represented as meeting with some
adequate reward or success, and the wicked and cruel are punished
in most cases. But successful trickery and clever stratagems are
always quoted approvingly, and are favourite themes in the tales
which are most evidently of entirely local origin. In this respect
they do not differ from many Indian stories. Undaunted bravery, and
also self-abnegation and deep affection, are characteristics which
are displayed by many of the heroes and heroines; but untruthfulness
is practised, and is never condemned.
The instances of polygamy are almost confined to the members of
the royal families; there is one case of polyandry in which both
the husbands were brothers. Infanticide was practised; in one tale a
woman is recommended to kill her infant son because his horoscope was
said to be unpropitious, and in another the parents abandoned their
newly-born infant in order to carry home some fruit. In a story that
is not included in this volume, a king is described as ordering all
his female children to be killed immediately after birth. In another
tale which is not given here, another king is stated to have sold
his children during a time of scarcity.
These "kings," however, are almost always depicted in an unfavourable
light. They are represented as cowardly, selfish, licentious,
unintelligent, and headstrong, ordering their sons or others to be
executed for very slight faults, in sudden fits of anger. Murders
are referred to as being commonly committed with impunity, and by no
means of unusual occurrence. One man is said to have exchanged his
wife for a bullock.
Yet although the story-tellers do not relate social events which were
not within the range of the common experience or traditions of the
people at the time when the tales were invented, it may be doubted
if the great mass of the villagers differed much as regards crime
and morality from those of the present day. The humdrum life of the
ordinary villager did not appeal to the story-teller, who required
more stirring incidents. It is not necessary to assume that such
events were of everyday occurrence.
Considering the situation of Ceylon and the Indian origin of the
people, it was certain that numerous tales would be similar to those
of India, if not identical with them; but, with the exception of the
story of the Creation, there are merely bare references to the Indian
deities in about four of the tales in this volume.
The great majority of the folk-tales collected by me, and almost the
whole of those given in this volume, come from districts of the far
interior of the island, where story-books in Sinhalese, Tamil, [4]
or Arabic do not appear to have penetrated, and English is unknown
by the villagers. Such tales are therefore nearly free from modern
extraneous influences, and must be looked upon as often of genuine
Sinhalese origin, even when they utilise the usual stock incidents
of Indian folk-stories. A very few which resemble Jataka stories may
owe their dissemination to Buddhist teaching, and doubtless some also
were orally transmitted by immigrants who were often of South Indian
nationality--as their similarity to South Indian stories shows--or
in some instances may have been settlers from the Ganges valley,
or near it.
With regard to the latter, it is not probable that they consisted only
of the early immigrants of pre-Christian times. King Nissanka-Malla,
who reigned from 1198 to 1207 A.D., has recorded in his inscriptions
that he was a native of Sinhapura, then apparently the capital of the
Kalinga kingdom, which extended far down the east coast of India,
southward from the lower part of the Ganges valley; and he and his
Chief Queen Subhadra, a Kalinga Princess, must have brought into
Ceylon many of their fellow-countrymen. The Queens of two other
earlier Kings of Ceylon were also Princesses from Kalinga.
In the Galpota inscription at Polannaruwa (Prof. E. Müller's Ancient
Inscriptions in Ceylon, No. 148), he stated that "invited by the King
[Parakrama-Bahu I], who was his senior kinsman, to come and reign
over his hereditary kingdom of Lakdiva [Ceylon], Vira Nissanka-Malla
landed with a great retinue in Lanka" [Ceylon]. Further on in the
same inscription he stated that "he sent to the country of Kalinga,
and caused many Princesses of the Soma and Surya races to be brought
hither."
A connexion with the Kalinga kingdom seems to have been maintained
from early times. In his inscriptions the same king claimed that the
sovereignty of Ceylon belonged by right to the Kalinga dynasty. He
described himself in his Dambulla inscription (Ancient Inscriptions,
No. 143), as "the liege lord of Lakdiva by right of birth, deriving
descent from the race of King Wijaya," the first king of Ceylon,
who according to the Sinhalese historical works was also born at a
town called Sinhapura, which is stated to have been founded by his
father. In the Galpota inscription we read of "Princes of the Kalinga
race to whom the island of Lanka has been peculiarly appropriate
since the reign of Wijaya."
Nissanka-Malla was succeeded by his elder half-brother, Sahasa-Malla,
who remarked in his Polannaruwa inscription (Anc. Inscriptions,
No. 156) that he also was born at Sinhapura. He, too, claimed that
Wijaya was a member of their family. He said, "Because King Wijaya,
having destroyed the Yakshas, established Lanka like a field made by
rooting out the stumps, it is a place much protected by Kings from
this very family."
Thus it will be seen that stories which are current in Central
India, or the lower part of the Ganges Valley, or even the Panjab,
as well as tales of Indian animals such as the Lion, may have been
brought direct to Ceylon by immigrants from Kalinga, or Magadha, or
Bengal. Apparently it is in this manner that the evident connexion
between the tales of Ceylon and Kashmir is to be explained, the
stories passing from Magadha or neighbouring districts, to Kashmir
on the one side, and from Magadha or Kalinga to Ceylon on the other.
To show the connexion of the Sinhalese stories with those of India,
the outlines of some Indian parallels have been appended after each
tale, as well as a very few from the interior of Western Africa;
but no European variants, except in two instances, where they are
inserted for the benefit of readers in Ceylon.
The stories have been arranged in two parts. In the first one are those
told by members of the Cultivating Caste and Village Vaeddas; in the
second one those related of or by members of lower castes. Those of
each caste are given consecutively, the animal stories in each case
coming last.
The general reader is advised to pay no attention to diacritical marks
or dots which indicate separate letters in the Sinhalese alphabet,
or to note only the long vowels. In all cases ae is to be pronounced
as a diphthong, like a in "hat," and not to rhyme with "me." It is
short where not marked long.
Enough material has been collected for a second volume, which it is
hoped may be published next year.
As reference has been made to the subject in the foregoing extracts
from Sinhalese inscriptions, a few lines may be added regarding
the district from which Wijaya came, and his journey to Ceylon. The
sentences that have been quoted prove that at the beginning of the
thirteenth century A.D., it was claimed by two kings of Ceylon who
came from Sinhapura in the Kalinga country that they were of the same
family as Wijaya.
At a very early date the lands along the southern bank of
the Ganges were divided into a series of states that once were
independent. Proceeding eastward in the lower part of the valley,
these were Magadha, occupying southern Bihar, with its capital Rajagaha
(called also Rajagriha and Girivraja), afterwards abandoned in favour
of Pataliputta, near Patna; Anga, separated from it by the river Campa
(c pronounced as ch), on which was its capital Campa; Vanga or Banga,
probably extending on both sides of the Ganges, and forming part of
the modern Bengal; and Tamalitta, or Tamralipta, with a capital of the
same name at Tamluk, near the southern mouth of the Ganges. Extending
along the east coast was Kalinga; and between it and Magadha and Anga
came the Pundra and Odra states, the latter occupying part of Orissa.
An old legend recorded that several of these states had a common
origin. It was said that the wife of a Yadava king Vali or Bali had
five sons, Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Pundra and Odra or Sunga, each of
whom founded a separate state. The names of the first four are grouped
together several times in the Maha Bharata, as taking part with Kosala
and Magadha in the great legendary fight against the Pandavas, and on
one day the troops from Magadha and Kalinga are said to have formed,
with another people, one wing of the Kuru army.
Regarding Kalinga, Pliny gives the name of a race called the
Maccocalingæ, who have been thought to belong to Orissa, and he wrote
that the Modogalingæ occupied a very large island in the Ganges,
that is, apparently part of the delta.
At a later date there were said to be three districts called
collectively Trikalinga. Whether these were portions of the more
southern part of the Kalinga country only, or included the land of
the Modogalingæ, is not clear. If the Kalinga kingdom once included
the territory of the Modogalingæ, the Tamalitta district would be
part of the Kalinga country at that time; but apparently Vanga was
unconnected with Kalinga, the two being mentioned as separate kingdoms.
Divested of its impossibilities, the story of Wijaya's ancestry which
is contained in the Sinhalese histories is that a king of Vanga,
who had married the daughter of a king of Kalinga, had a daughter who
joined a caravan that was proceeding to Magadha. On the way, either a
robber chief called Siha, "Lion," attacked and plundered the caravan,
and carried off the Princess, or she joined a member of the caravan
who had that name. They settled down in a wild tract of country termed
Lala, near the western border of the Vanga territory. There she had two
children--the eldest being Siha-Bahu--with whom she afterwards returned
to the Vanga capital, where her cousin Anura, who became King of
Vanga, is said to have married her. Her son Siha-Bahu went back to his
father's district, Lala, founded a town called Sihapura or Sinhapura,
and lived there as the ruler of the country around. Evidently it was a
subordinate district belonging to Vanga; it is stated that the Vanga
king granted it to him (Mah. i. p. 31). It is not mentioned in the
Ramayana, the Maha Bharata, the Jataka stories, or in the lists of
countries given in the Puranas to which I have access; but the people
of Lata are referred to in a tenth century grant from Bhagalpur,
a town on territory that once formed the eastern part of Magadha
(Indo-Aryans, by Dr. R. Mitra, ii. 273).
The first marriage or elopement of the Princess does not appear
to have affected the status of her son Siha-Bahu. According to the
histories, his eldest son, Wijaya, eventually married the daughter of
the Pandiyan king of the southern Madura, and his second son, Sumitta,
who succeeded him, married the daughter of the King of Madda or Madra,
probably a small eastern state of that name, rather than the distant
Madda in the Panjab.
The Sinhalese histories record that Wijaya was exiled on account of
his lawless behaviour, but the truth of this statement may be doubted,
and it is a suspicious fact that this part of the story resembles
folk-tales from Kashmir. [5] We are informed in those works not only
that he was exiled, but that he was also forcibly deported by sea,
together with seven hundred followers, and their wives and children,
that is, two or three thousand persons.
All that is actually credible in this incident is that for a reason
which is unknown, perhaps a love of adventure, or possibly at the
solicitation of traders who had settled there, he proceeded by sea
to Ceylon, where he became the first Sinhalese king. Most probably
he accompanied a party of Magadhese or other merchants.
It is recorded that from an early period vessels sailed across the Bay
of Bengal from various ports on the Ganges. In the Jataka stories some
are mentioned as passing down the Ganges from Benares with traders,
and being far out at sea for several days, and even going to Suvanna
Bhumi (Burma) and back. Tamalitta was a famous port in early times and
for many centuries; and there is a definite and credible statement
that vessels sailed direct from it to Ceylon in the reign of Asoka,
in the third century B.C. There is no reason to suppose that similar
voyages were not undertaken long prior to the period during which the
Jatakas were being composed. If they are not mentioned in earlier
Buddhist works, this may have been merely owing to the fact that
their authors felt no interest in the trade of the countries near
the mouth of the Ganges.
In the presence of such evidence of the sea-going capabilities of the
vessels which sailed from the ports on the Ganges, the statement of
the Sinhalese histories that Wijaya embarked at Baroach, on the western
coast, whether accompanied by a large party of followers and numerous
women and children or not, cannot be credited. It is impossible to
believe that any travellers who wished to proceed to Ceylon in the
fifth century B.C., from a district lying between Anga and Vanga,
and probably within a few miles of a port from which vessels sailed,
would not step on board a ship at their own doors, so to speak, rather
than undertake an arduous journey across several other countries,
in order to embark at a port more than eight hundred miles away in a
direct line, which when reached was still no nearer their destination.
In any case, there is no likelihood that a large number of women and
children were taken, unless we are prepared to accept the improbable
hypothesis that a fleet of ships was expressly chartered for the
voyage. In the case of the small vessels which ventured on such long
trading expeditions, every foot of storage space would be required for
the goods that were carried, and for the accommodation of the merchants
who went to exchange these for the products of the ports at which
they called. It is most unlikely that many other passengers were ever
carried so far in Indian ships in early times, notwithstanding fanciful
tales of imaginary ships with hundreds on board, in the Jataka stories.
Nissanka-Malla and his brother do not claim that the Sinhapura at
which they were born was the city founded by Wijaya's father. It
is possible, however, that they could trace some distant connexion
with the Lala family, and it has been noted already that Wijaya's
great-great-grandfather was said to be a king of Kalinga.
NOTE.
With regard to the exorcism of the flies, I give a relation of the
similar treatment of locusts in Abyssinia, by Father Francis Alvarez,
who visited that country in 1520, in the suite of a Portuguese
Ambassador. The account is appended in Pory's translation of the
History of Africa, by Leo Africanus, 1600, p. 352. An appeal having
been made to Alvarez to drive away an enormous flight of locusts,
"which to our iudgement couered fower and twentie miles of lande,"
the following is his own record of the proceedings:--
"And so I went to the Ambassadour, and told him, that it would be very
good to goe on procession, beseeching God that hee woulde deliuer the
countrie, who peraduenture in his great mercie might heare vs. This
liked the Ambassadour very well: and the day following we gathered
togither the people of the land, with all the priests, and taking
the consecrated stone, and the crosse, according to their custome,
all we Portugals sung the Letanie, and appointed those of the land,
that they should lift vp their voices aloud as we did, saying in their
language Zio marina Christos, which is as much to say, as Lord God
haue mercy vpon vs: and with this manner of inuocation we went ouer a
peece of grounde, where there were fieldes of wheate, for the space
of a mile, euen to a little hill: and heere I caused many of these
locustes to be taken, pronouncing ouer them a certaine coniuration,
which I had about me in writing, hauing made it that night, requesting,
admonishing, and excommunicating them, enioining them within the space
of three howers to depart towards the sea, or the lande of the Moores,
or the desert mountaines, and to let the Christians alone: and they
not performing this, I summoned and charged the birdes of heauen,
the beasts of the earth, and all sorts of tempests, to scatter,
destroy, and eate vp their bodies: and to this effect I tooke a
quantitie of locusts, making this admonition to them present, in the
behalfe likewise of them absent, [6] and so giuing them libertie,
I suffered them to depart. It pleased God to heare us sinners,
for in our returne home, they came so thicke vpon our backes, as it
seemed that they woulde haue broken our heads, or shoulders, so hard
they strooke against vs, as if we had beene beaten with stones and
cudgels, and in this sort they went towards the sea: The men, women,
and children remaining at home, were gotten vpon the tops, or tarrasses
of their houses, giuing God thankes that the locusts were going away,
some afore, and others followed. In the meane while towardes the sea,
there arose a great cloude with thunder, which met them full in the
teeth, and continued for the space of three howers with much raine,
and tempest, that filled all the riuers, and when the raine ceased,
it was a fearefull thing to behold the dead Locustes, which were more
then two yardes [marginal note, or fathomes] in height vpon the bankes
of the riuers, and in some riuers there were mightie heapes of them,
so that the morning following there was not one of them found aliue
vpon the earth."
PART I
STORIES TOLD BY THE CULTIVATING CASTE AND VAEDDAS.
NO. 1
THE MAKING OF THE GREAT EARTH
From the earliest time, the whole of this world, being filled up
and overflowed by a great rain, and being completely destroyed,
was in darkness. There were neither men, nor living beings, nor
anything whatever.
During the time while it was in this state, Great Vishnu thought,
"In what manner, having lowered the water, should the earth be
established?" Having thought this, Great Vishnu went to the God
Saman. Having gone there, he asked at the hand of the God Saman,
"What is the way to establish this earth?"
The God Saman replied, "There is no one among us [gods] who can
establish this earth."
Thereupon the God Great Vishnu asked, "Then who is able to do it?"
The God Saman said, "You must go to the residence of Rahu; he can
do it."
After that, the God Great Vishnu went to the abode of Rahu, and spoke
to Rahu, the Asura Chief [7]: "Rahu, Asura Chief, our residence has
been swallowed up by water; on account of that can even you make us
an earth?"
Then Rahu, the Asura Chief, said, "Countless beings having gone
to the world of Brahma (i.e., having been destroyed in the water),
how can I descend into the water which is there?"
The God Great Vishnu asked, "In what way, then, can you make the
earth?"
Rahu told him to put a lotus seed into the water.
After that, the God Great Vishnu, having returned to this world,
placed a lotus seed in the water. Having placed it there, in seven
days the lotus seed sprouted.
Then the God Vishnu again went to the dwelling-place of Rahu. Having
gone there, he spoke to Rahu, the Asura Chief: "The lotus plant has
now sprouted."
Afterwards Rahu arose, and came with the God Vishnu to this
world. Having made ready to descend into the water, he asked Great
Vishnu, "What thing am I to bring up from the bottom of the water?"
Then Great Vishnu said, "I do not want any [special] thing; bring a
handful of sand."
Rahu, having said "Ha" (Yes), descending along that lotus stalk
proceeded until he met with the earth. Having descended to the earth
in seven days, taking a handful of sand he returned to the surface
again in seven days more. Having come there, he gave the handful of
sand into the hand of the God Great Vishnu.
After it was given, taking it and squeezing it in his hand, the God
Great Vishnu placed it on the water. Having placed it there the God
Great Vishnu made the resolution: "This water having dried up, may
the Earth be created."
Afterwards, that small quantity of sand not going to the bottom, but
turning and turning round on the surface of the water, the water began
to diminish. Thus, in that manner, in three months and three-quarters
of the moon, the water having diminished, the earth was made.
After it was formed, this world was there in darkness for a long
time. [After the light had appeared], the God Great Vishnu thought:
"We must make men."
Having gone to the God Saman he said, "What is the use of being the
owner of this world when it is in this state? We must make men."
The God Saman said, "Let us two make them."
Then those two spoke to each other: "Let us first of all make a
Brahmana."
Saying that, they made a Brahmana from that earth, and having given
breath to the Brahmana those two told him to arise. Then the Brahmana
arose by the power of those Gods; and having arisen, that Brahmana
conversed with those Gods.
Then the God Vishnu said, "Brahmana, for thy assistance thou art to
make for thyself a woman."
Afterwards the Brahmana by the power of those very Gods made a woman,
and from that time men began to increase in number up to to-day.
North-western Province.
This is evidently a story of the last creation. In Hinduism there is
a series of four ages termed Yugas, each ended by a destruction of
the world by fire, which is quenched by cataclysmal rainfall. These
are the Krita, Treta, Dwapara, and Kali Yugas, their periods being
respectively 4,000, 3,000, 2,000, and 1,000 divine years. There are
also intermediate periods equal to one-tenth of each of the adjoining
Yugas. A divine year being 360 times as long as a human year, the
whole series, called a Maha Yuga, amounts to about 4,320,000 years
(Vishnu Purana, Wilson, p. 24). When a series is ended the order
is reversed, that is, the Kali Yuga, which is the present one, is
followed by the Dwapara.
The Vishnu Purana, p. 12, thus describes the state of things before
the original creation: "There was neither day nor night, nor sky
nor earth, nor darkness nor light, nor any other thing, save only
One"--"the Universal Soul," the All-God, Vishnu in the form of Brahma.
His action is thus summarised: "Affecting then the quality of activity
Hari [Vishnu], the Lord of all, himself becoming Brahma, engaged in
the creation of the universe."
At the end of the Yuga, "the same mighty deity, Janarddana, invested
with the quality of darkness, assumes the awful form of Rudra,
and swallows up the universe. Having thus devoured all things,
and converted the world into one vast ocean, the Supreme reposes on
his mighty serpent couch amidst the deep: he awakes after a season,
and again, as Brahma, becomes the author of creation (V.P., p. 19).
In the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. ii, p. 583, there were two
Danavas, a form of Asura, "invincible even by gods," who impeded
Prajapati in his work of creation. The only way which the Creator
could hit upon to destroy them was to create two lovely maidens, one
black and one white. Each of the Danavas wished to carry off both,
so they fought over them and killed each other.
It is only in the Sinhalese story that we find an Asura assisting
in the creation. Rahu is usually known as a dark planetary sign,
a dragon's head, which endeavours to swallow the sun and moon,
and thus causes eclipses, at which time, only, it is seen. In the
account of the great Churning of the Ocean, it is evident that he
was supposed originally to have, or to be able to assume, a figure
indistinguishable from those of the Gods.
The story of the application of Vishnu for Rahu's assistance is based
on the Indian notion that the Asuras were of more ancient date than
the Gods. The Maha Bharata states that they were the elder brothers
of the Gods, and were more powerful than the Gods, who were unable
to conquer them in their strongholds under the sea. The God Saman is
Indra, the elder brother of Vishnu.
According to the Maha Bharata, Vishnu assuming the form of a boar
raised the earth to the surface of the waters (which covered it to
the depth of one hundred yojanas), on his tusk, without the aid of
any other deity.
The following accounts of the state of things in very early times
are borrowed from The Orientalist, vol. iii., pp. 79 and 78, to which
they were contributed by Mr. D. A. Jayawardana.
"In the primitive good old days the sky was not so far off from the
earth as at present. The sun and moon in their course through the
heavens sometimes came in close contact with the house-tops. The
stars were stationed so close to the earth that they served as lamps
to the houses.
"Once upon a time, there was a servant-maid who was repeatedly
disturbed by the passing clouds when she was sweeping the compound [the
enclosure round the house], and this was to her a real nuisance. One
cloudy morning, when this naughty girl was sweeping the compound as
usual, the clouds came frequently in contact with the broom-stick
and interfered with her work.
"Losing all patience she gave a smart blow to the firmament with the
broom-stick, saying, 'Get away from hence.' The sky, as a matter of
course, was quite ashamed at the affront [8] thus offered to it by
a servant-girl, and flew away far, far out of human reach, in order
to avoid a similar catastrophe again."
The second account is as follows: "Till a long period after the
creation, man did not know the use of most of the vegetables now used
by him for food. His food at first consisted of some substance like
boiled milk, which then grew spontaneously upon the earth. This
substance since disappeared, and rice took its place, and grew
abundantly without the husk.
"The Jak fruit (Artocarpus integrifolia), one of the principal articles
of food of the Sinhalese, was not even touched, as it was thought to be
poisonous. The God Sakra [Indra] bethought himself of teaching mankind
that Jak was not a deadly fruit, but an article of wholesome food."
The story goes on to relate that, assuming the form of an old man,
he got a woman to boil some Jak seeds for him, with injunctions not
to eat them or she would die; but the smell being appetizing she
first tasted one, and then ate a quantity.
NO. 2
THE SUN, THE MOON, AND GREAT PADDY
In a certain country there are a woman and a man, it is said. There are
also the children of those two persons, the elder brother and younger
brother and elder sister. Well then, while these three persons were
there, the man having died those children provided subsistence for
the mother of the three.
One day the three persons went to join a party of friends in assisting
a neighbour in his work. [9] That mother stayed at home. For that
woman there was not a thing to eat. Should those persons bring food,
she eats; if not, not.
When the three persons were eating the food provided for the working
party, the elder sister and the elder brother having eaten silently,
without even a [thought of the] matter of their mother, came away
home. The younger brother thought, "Ane! We three persons having
eaten here, on our going how about food for our mother? I must take
some." Placing a similar quantity of cooked rice and a little vegetable
curry under the corner of his finger nail, the three came back.
Then the mother asked at the hand of the elder sister, "Where,
daughter, is cooked rice and vegetable curry for me?" She said,
"I have not brought any. Having indeed eaten I came [empty-handed]."
Then the mother said to the daughter, "Thou wilt be cooked in hell
itself."
Having called the elder son she asked, "Where, son, is the cooked
rice and vegetable curry for me?"
The son said, "Mother, I have not brought it. Having indeed eaten,
I came [empty-handed]."
Then the mother said to the son, "Be off, very speedily."
Having called the young younger brother she asked, "Where, son,
is cooked rice and vegetable curry for me?"
Then that son said, "Mother, hold a pot." After that, the mother
brought it and held it. The son struck down his finger nail in it. Then
the pot was filled and overflowed.
Afterwards the mother, having eaten the rice and curry, gave authority
to those three persons, to the elder brother, to the younger brother,
and to the sister older than both of them.
Firstly, having called the elder sister she said, "Thou shalt be cooked
even in hell." That elder sister herself now having become Great Paddy,
[10] while in hell is cooked in mud.
She told the eldest son to go speedily. That elder brother himself
having become the Sun, goes very speedily. For the Sun, in very truth
(aettema), there is no rest. In the little time in which the eyelids
fall, the Sun goes seven gawwas, [11] they say. At the time when
the Great Paddy is ripening, the Sun goes across (harahin). [12]
Because it is older than the Sun, [13] the Great Paddy represents
the elder sister.
Having called the younger son she said, "My son, go you in the very
wind (pawanema) [14]." That one himself having become the Moon, now
goes in the wind. For the Moon in very truth there is not a difficulty,
by the authority given by the Mother.
North-western Province.
NO. 3
THE STORY OF SENASURA [15]
In a certain country a man having been stricken by the evil influence
(apale) of Senasura, any cultivation work or anything whatever which
the man performs does not go on properly.
The man having become very poor said, "I cannot stay in this country;
I must go to another country"; and having gone away from that country
he sat down at a travellers' shed. During the time while he was
there a friend of the man's came there. That man, sitting down in
the travellers' shed, said, "Friend, where are you going?"
Then the man said, "What is it, friend? Well then, according to my
reckoning there is no means of subsistence for me. I am going away to
some country or other, to look if I shall obtain a livelihood." [He
told him how everything that he did failed, owing to the ill-will
of Senasura.]
Then the friend said, "Friend, don't you go in that way; I will tell
you a good stratagem. Having gone back to your village, when dry
weather sets in cut chenas; when rain falls do rice field work."
The man having come back again to his village, began to cut a chena. At
the time when he was cutting the chena rain rained. Then, having
dropped the chena cutting, he went to plough the rice field. Then
dry weather again began to set in. Again having gone he chops the
chena. Then rain rained. Again having gone he ploughs the rice
field. In that manner he did the chena and rice field works, both
of them. Having done the work, the [crops in the] chena and the rice
field, both of them, ripened.
After that, Senasura said at the hand of the man, "What of their
ripening! I will not give more than an amuna (5·7 bushels) from a
stack. Let it be so settled (aswanu)."
Afterwards, having cut the rice crop, the man began to make the stacks
separately of two or three sheaves apiece. Then having trampled out
[the corn in] the stacks [by means of buffaloes] at the rate of the
amuna from the stack--should there be one sheaf in it, an amuna; should
there be two sheaves, an amuna--in that manner having trampled out
[the corn in] the stacks he filled up two corn stores. Having cut
the millet in the chena he filled up two corn stores of millet.
In that very country there is an astrologer (naekatrala). Having gone
to him, he informed the astrologer of the evil influence that there was
from Senasura [and how he had outwitted him]. Then the astrologer said,
"Until the time when you die the evil influence of Senasura over you
will not be laid aside."
The man said, "Can you tell me the place where Senasura is [and what
I must say to him]?"
The astrologer replied, "Senasura having taken a man's disguise and
come to your house, will talk with you. Then say, 'The evil influence
of Senasura has been over me. I did a good trick for it. I worked
in both a chena and a rice field. I got the things into the corn
stores. While staying here eating them I can do cultivation again
[in the same way].'"
Afterwards this man came home. While he was there, on the day foretold
by the astrologer Senasura came. The man having given him sitting
accommodation asked, "Where are you going?"
Then Senasura said, "It is I indeed whom they call Senasura, the
Divine King. Because of it tell me any matter you require."
So the man said, "What is the matter I require? I have become very
poor, having been stricken by the evil influence of Senasura. Now then,
I want an assistance from you for that."
Afterwards Senasura, the Divine King, having given the man a book said,
"Without showing this book to anybody, place it in your house. Remain
here, and make obeisance [to me] three times a day, having looked
and looked into [the instructions in] the book. From any journey on
which you may go, from any work you may do, you will obtain victory
[that is, success]."
Having said this, Senasura, the Divine King, went away. After that,
having remained there in the very manner told by Senasura, the man
became a person of much substance.
North-western Province.
In Indian Folk-Tales (Gordon), p. 61, a Jackal is represented as
outwitting the great deity Siva or Mahadeo, by telling him that he was
Sahadeo, the father of Mahadeo. See the notes at the end of Nos. 39
and 75.
NO. 4
THE GLASS PRINCESS
In a certain country there are seven Princes, the sons of a King. When
the seven persons had grown up, messengers were sent to find the
places where there were seven Princesses to be taken in marriage by
them. They obtained intelligence that there was a kingdom where they
were to be met with.
After that, the seven portraits of the seven Princes having been
painted, two or three ministers were summoned, and sent with
the instructions, "Go to that kingdom, and observe if the seven
Princesses are there. If they are there, take the portraits of the
seven Princesses and come back with them."
The ministers having gone there and looked, found that seven
Princesses were there. So they went to the King, the father of the
Princesses. After they had come, the King having given quarters to
the ministers, and having given them food and drink, asked, "Where are
you going?" Then the ministers said, "On account of news that you have
seven Princesses, as there are seven Princes of the King of our country
we have come, bringing the portraits of the seven Princes to show you,
in order to marry the Princesses to those seven." The King and the
Princesses having looked at the portraits were pleased with them.
Afterwards, a suitable occasion for the marriage having been appointed,
the portraits of the Princesses were painted, and given into the
hands of the ministers, and they were sent away with them.
The party having brought them, showed them to the King and the seven
Princes. The King and the seven Princes being pleased with those
persons after they had shown the portraits, the King of that city, on
the very day appointed as the date for setting out for the marriage,
having decorated an elephant for the King and Queen, and both of them
having mounted on it, and having decorated seven other elephants for
the seven Princes, the party made ready to go.
Then the youngest Prince of all, having placed his sword on the back
of the elephant, and made obeisance to his father, said, "I will
not go. Should the Princess come after being married to the sword,
let her come. If not, let her simply stop there." Having said this
he did not go; he sent only the elephant, and the elephant and all
the other persons went.
Having gone there the six Princes were married to the six
Princesses. Then the King whose Princesses they were, asked, "Is
there not a Prince for the youngest Princess?"
When he asked this, the King whose son was the Prince replied, "There
is my youngest Prince. He has not come. If she will come after being
married to the sword placed on the back of this elephant, he said
she is to come; if not, he said that she is to remain here."
The King whose Princess she was, was not satisfied with that. What
of that? The youngest Princess was contented, and said, "Even a deaf
man or a lame man would be good enough for me. Therefore I must be
married." So having been married to the sword she came away with
the others.
The Prince who did not go, but stayed at home, knew that there was
a pool on the way, and that there was also a Cobra which had charge
of that pool. The Prince was well aware that if the people who went
to the marriage came there, and being thirsty drank the water, that
Cobra would ask for a human offering. How was that? A deity came to
the Prince in a dream and told him. Having learnt this, the Prince
went, and at the time when they were coming hid himself near the pool,
and remained there.
Then all the party having come there drank the water. Having drunk it,
when they were setting out to come away, a large Cobra which had been
in a rock cave near by, came out, and said, "Because you drank water
from my pool one person must remain here as an offering to me. If not,
I shall not permit even one of you to go."
After that, the youngest Prince who had gone near and hidden himself
came forward, and saying, "I will stay as the human offering; go you
away," he started off all that marriage party, and sent them to their
village. He said to the Princess who had come after being married to
his sword, "Until whatever time it may be when I return, go and stay
at the palace of mine which is there. There are servants at it. Set
the party of them to work, and eat and drink in great contentment just
as though I were there." After he had said this, the party returned
to the city, and the youngest Prince went with the Cobra to the cave.
After they had gone there, the Cobra said to the Prince, "There is
an ulcer on my forehead. You may go after curing the ulcer. Because
of your curing it I shall not require a human offering."
The Prince said, "It is good," and continuing to eat the things for
which it provided the expenses, stayed there. Twice a day he washed and
washed the ulcer, while applying medicine to it, but it did not heal.
Afterwards the Cobra said, "There is a certain daughter of the King
of a city, called the Glass Princess. The Princess takes any disguise
she likes and goes through the sky, supported by her power of flying
through the air. The Princess knows a medicine by which, if it should
be applied by her own hand, my ulcer will become healed; otherwise
it will not heal, and there will be no going to your village for you."
The Prince replied, "It is good. I will go and bring the Glass
Princess."
Having said this, he set off to go to the city where the Glass Princess
lived. Having hurried along the road which led in that direction,
there was a river to which he went. When he looked up the river he
saw some rats coming floating in the water. Then what does he do? He
seizes all those few rats, and goes and places them on the bank.
After he had put them there the rats said, "Ane! O Lord, if Your
Majesty should require any assistance, be pleased to think of us;
then we will come and stay with you, and assist you." The Prince said,
"It is good," and went to the city in which the Glass Princess dwelt.
Having come there, being without a place to stay at he went to the
spot where a widow-mother was stopping, and said, "Ane! Mother,
give me a mat to sleep on."
The widow-mother said, "It is good, son. Remain here. I am alone here,
therefore it will be good for me also."
Then the Prince said, "If so, mother, cook and give me a little
rice. Having obtained some money to-morrow, I will bring it and give
you it." The old woman having heard his words, cooked and gave him
a little rice.
When she had given it and he had eaten, the Prince asked that old
woman, "Mother, what are the new things that are happening at this
city?"
The old woman replied, "What! Son, the new matters at this city are
like those of other cities indeed; but there is one new affair at this
city. If so, what is it? The daughter, called the Glass Princess, of
the King of this city remains an [unwedded] Princess. The Princess,
creating any disguise she wants, can go through the sky sustained by
her power of flight through the air. Through the beauty of her figure
she is a very celebrated person. Because of that, many royal Princes
have come to ask to marry the Princess. Having come, they are asked,
'What have you come for?' When they have said, 'We have come to take
this Princess in marriage,' the King puts on the hearth a very great
cauldron of water, and having made it boil tells them to bathe in it
without making the water lukewarm. There is a large iron tree in the
open space in front of the palace. Having bathed in the water, he
tells them to saw the iron tree in two. If they do not bathe in the
water and cut it in two, he does not permit the Princes to go away;
he beheads them there and then, and casts them out."
The Prince asked the old woman, "Mother, can no one go to the place
where the Glass Princess is staying?"
The old woman said, "Ane! Son, even a bird which passes along in the
air above cannot go to the place where the Glass Princess is."
Then the Prince asked, "Mother, why do they say that the Princess is
the Glass Princess?"
The old woman said, "O son, they call her the Glass Princess. The bed
on which the Princess sleeps is a bed of glass throughout. Glass is
fixed all round the bed in such a manner that even the wind cannot get
to her. [16] Because of that, they say that she is the Glass Princess."
The Prince asked, "Mother, at what time does the Princess eat rice
at night?"
The old woman said, "O son, at night water for bathing, and cooked
rice, having gone there for the Princess, they are placed in the
upper story where the Princess sleeps alone. When the Princess has
been sleeping at night, at about eight she awakes, and after bathing
in the water eats rice. Before that she does not get up."
Then the Prince, after listening to all these words, asked for a mat,
and went off to sleep at the travellers' shed which was in front of
the old woman's house. Having gone there, while he was lying down he
thought, "Ane! O Gods, in any case you must grant me an opportunity of
going to the place where that Princess is." Then while he was thinking,
"Ane! Will even those rats that I took up that day out of the river
and placed on the bank, become of assistance to me in this matter?" he
fell asleep.
After that, those rats, collecting thousands of rats besides, came
there before the Prince awoke, and having come near the Prince while he
was sleeping, waited until he awoke. When the Prince awoke and looked
about, he saw that rats, thousands in number, had come and were there.
The rats asked the Prince: "O Lord, what assistance does Your Majesty
want us to give?"
The Prince said, "I want you to excavate a tunnel, of a size so that
a man can go along it erect, to the upper story of the house in which
the Glass Princess is staying, and to hand it over without completing
it, leaving a very little unfinished. It was on account of this that I
thought of you." Then the rats went, and having dug it out that night,
finished it and handed it over, and went away.
The Prince having been in the travellers' shed until it became light,
took the mat and went to the widow-mother. He gave her one masurama and
said, "Here, mother, this is given for the articles I obtained. Bring
things for you and me, and in order that I may go and get something
to-day also, quickly cook and give me a little rice." The old woman
speedily cooked and gave it. The Prince having eaten it, during the
whole day walked round about the city.
At night he went along the tunnel to the upper story where the Princess
was. Having gone there, when he thought of looking in the direction
of the Princess he could not through diffidence, it is said. The
Princess was asleep on the glass bed; a lamp shone brightly.
After that, the Prince having rubbed soap in the water which was
ready for the Glass Princess, and washed in it, and eaten half the
rice that was set on the table, and having eaten a mouthful of betel
that was in the betel box, left the room without speaking, and went
away after closing the opening through which he had come.
The Princess arose at about eight, and having gone to bathe in the
water, when she looked at it saw that soap had been rubbed in the
water, and some one had washed in it. Then she went to the table
on which was the rice, and when she looked half the rice had been
eaten. So the Princess having returned without eating the rice, lay
down and thought, "A much cleverer person than I, indeed, has done
this work. Except a deity, no man can come to the place where I am
staying. I shall seize that thief to-morrow." Having thought that,
she went to sleep.
The Prince having come away, and having been asleep in the travellers'
shed, in the day-time went to the old woman and ate. Then having
returned to the tunnel and slept there, he went that night also,
and washed in the water and ate, and came away. That night, also,
the Princess being asleep was unable to seize him.
The Prince came back, and having slept that night, also, at the
travellers' shed, in the day time asked the old woman for rice and
ate it. Then he returned to the tunnel, and after sleeping in it, at
about twelve went and washed in the water, and ate the rice. After
eating betel he came away. The Princess being asleep on that night
also, was unable to seize him.
After that, what does the Princess do? At night, pricking her finger
with a needle, and rubbing lime-juice in the place, she remained awake
blowing it [on account of the smarting]. That night, also, the Prince
went. The Princess having seen the Prince enter, took a sword in her
hand, after awaking as though she had been asleep. Having seen that
the figure of the Prince was beautiful, and being pleased with it,
she closed her eyelids, pretending to be asleep.
The Prince knew very well that the Princess was awake. Now, as on other
nights, he went looking on the ground, and having soaped himself,
washed himself in the water. Then having come to the table, he ate
the rice. While he was eating it, the Princess, taking the sword,
arose, and having come towards him, asked, "Who are you?"
The Prince asked, "Who are you?"
The Princess said, "I am she whom they call the Glass Princess."
Then the Prince also said, "I am he whom they call the youngest Prince
of the King of such and such a city."
After that, the Prince and Princess ate the food, and having talked
much, the Princess asked, "For what purpose have you come?"
The Prince replied, "I have not come for anything else but to take
you away."
The Princess said, "Our hiding and going off would not be proper. Here,
put away this jewelled ring and lock of hair. To-morrow morning, having
gone to our father the King, say, 'I have come to marry your Princess.'
"Then saying, 'It is good,' he will boil a cauldron of water and
give you it, and tell you to bathe in it. And he will show you an
iron tree, and tell you to saw it. When he has given you the water,
put this jewelled ring in the water and bathe; it will be like cold
water. When he has shown you the iron tree, pull this lock of hair
across it; then it will saw it in two. After that, we two having been
married, let us go to your city."
Then taking the ring and the lock of hair, the Prince went back to
the travellers' shed.
Next day, the Prince in the very manner the Princess told him, came
and spoke to the King. The King said, "It is good," and gave him
those two tasks. The Prince performed both the tasks.
After that, the King, being pleased, publicly notified the celebration
of their marriage, and said, "If you wish to live here, stay here;
if you wish to go, summon the Princess [to accompany you] and
go." Afterwards, having performed the marriage ceremony, he called
the Princess, and went to the place where that Cobra was staying.
There she applied the medicine to the Cobra's ulcer, and it
healed. The Cobra, being pleased, gave the two persons a hidden
treasure consisting of gold, silver, pearls, and gems. After that,
they went to the Prince's city.
Thus, by bringing this Princess the Prince had two Princesses. The
King, the Prince's father, was pleased because the Prince who went as
the offering and the Princess had got married, and had returned. Having
eaten the marriage feast they remained there.
When those six elder brothers looked they saw that their Princesses
were not so beautiful as the Glass Princess. Because of it, the six
persons spoke together about killing the youngest Prince and taking
the Glass Princess; and they tried to kill the Prince. The Glass
Princess, knowing of it, told that Prince, and the two Princesses
and the Prince set off to go to another King.
While they were going in the midst of a forest, the Vaedda King
who dwelt in that forest saw this Glass Princess. In order to take
possession of the Princess, he seized the three persons, and having
put them in a house, prepared to kill the Prince.
So the Glass Princess, knowing this, became a mare, and placing the
Prince on her back, and telling the other Princess to hang by her tail,
went through the sky, and descended near another city. Having gone to
the city and taken labourers, they engaged in rice cultivation. When
they had been there a little while the King of the city died.
After his death they decorated the royal tusk elephant, and set off
with it in search of a new King. While they were going along taking it
through the streets, the elephant went and knelt near this Prince. Then
all the men having made obeisance, and caused the Prince to bathe,
placing the Prince and the two Queens on the back of the elephant,
went and stopped at the palace, and he became King.
When he had been ruling a little time, there was no rain at the city of
the King the Prince's father, and that country became abandoned. Those
six Princes and their six Queens, and his father the King, and his
mother, all these persons, being reduced to poverty, came to an
almshouse which this King had established, bringing firewood to sell.
There this King having seen them, recognising them, came back after
summoning his father the King, and his mother, to the palace. He told
them, "Because those six elder brothers and their six Queens tried to
kill me in order that my elder brothers might seize and carry off the
Glass Princess, I came away from the city, and was seized by a Vaedda
King, but I escaped and came here." Then saying, "There is the place
where I was cultivating rice. Go there, and cultivate rice and eat,"
he sent the brothers to that place. Having sent them, he gave them
this advice: "For the crime that you tried to commit by killing me,
that has befallen you. Therefore behave well now."
After that, his father the King, his mother the Queen, the King and
the two Queens, those five persons, remained at the palace.
North-central Province.
Although the whole story apparently has not been found in India,
several of the incidents in it occur in Indian folk-tales.
I have not met with the marriage to the sword in them, but in The
Indian Antiquary, vol. xx, p. 423, it is stated by Mr. Prendergast that
in southern India, among two Telugu castes, "the custom of sending a
sword to represent an unavoidably absent bridegroom at a wedding is
not uncommon. It is considered allowable among other Hindus also."
In The Story of Madana Kama Raja (called by the translator, Pandita
Natesa Sastri, The Dravidian Nights), p. 43, the Kings of Mathurapuri
and Vijayanagaram caused the portraits of their respective son and
daughter to be painted, and sent envoys with them in search of royal
persons resembling them. The envoys met at a river, exchanged pictures
there, and returned to their masters, who were satisfied with the
portraits, and caused the wedding of the Prince and Princess to be
celebrated at the latter's home, Vijayanagaram.
In the same work, p. 12, a Prince in the form of a parrot, which
was confined in a cage in the sleeping apartment of a Princess, on
two successive nights resumed his human form, and smeared sandal and
scent over the Princess while she slept, and then became a parrot once
more. On the third night she was awake, and he told her his history.
At page 103, also, the King of Udayagiri, father of a Prince who had
run off when about to be beheaded, having been deprived of his kingdom
by the King of the Otta country, was reduced to selling firewood
for a living, together with his wife and six sons. They came for
this purpose to the city over which the Prince had become sovereign,
and were discovered by him and provided for.
In the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. ii, p. 93, a thief gained
access to the bedroom of a Princess by means of a tunnel.
In Indian Fairy Tales (Thornhill), p. 122 ff., a Prince, riding a
magical wooden horse, visited a Princess nightly while she was asleep,
and pricking his arm each night, wrote "I love you," in blood on her
handkerchief. Although she tried to keep awake, for six nights after
the first one she was asleep when he came. On the next night she
scratched her finger with a needle and rubbed salt into the wound,
so that the pain might keep her awake. When he entered the room she
started up and inquired who he was, and how and why he had come.
In Indian Fairy Tales, Ganges Valley (Stokes), p. 163, the cutting
of the tree trunk with the hair of the Princess occurs.
In the Panchatantra (Dubois), an elephant released rats when caught
and imprisoned in earthen pots, and the rats in their turn served
him by filling up with earth the pit in which he had fallen.
In the Katha Sarit Sagara, p. 360 ff., a Rakshasa King gave three tasks
to the Prince who wished to marry his daughter. She assisted him by
means of her magical powers, and he accomplished them successfully.
NO. 5
THE FROG PRINCE
At a city there is a certain King; a widow lives at a house near his
palace. She subsists by going to this royal palace and pounding rice
there; having handed it over she takes away the rice powder and lives
on it.
During the time while she was getting a living in this way she bore
a frog, which she reared there. When it was grown up, the King of
that city caused this proclamation to be made by beat of tom-toms:
"I will give half my kingdom, and goods amounting to an elephant's
load, to the person who brings the Jewelled Golden Cock [17] that is
at the house of the Rakshasi (Ogress)."
Every one said of it that it could not be done. The widow's Frog
having heard the King's proclamation, said to the widow, "Mother, I
will bring the Jewelled Golden Cock. Cook a bundle of rice and give
me it." Having heard the Frog's words, the widow cooked a bundle of
rice and gave it to him.
The Frog took the bundle of rice, and hanging it from his shoulder
went to an Indi (wild Date) tree, scraped the leaf off a Date spike
(the mid-rib of the leaf), and strung the rice on it. While going
away after stringing it, the Frog then became like a very good-looking
royal Prince, and a horse and clothing for him made their appearance
there. Putting on the clothes he mounted the horse, and making it
bound along he went on till he came to a city.
Hearing that he had arrived, the King of that city prepared quarters
for this Prince to stay at, and having given him ample food and drink,
asked, "Where art thou going?"
Then the Prince said: "The King of our city has made a proclamation by
beat of tom-toms, that he will give half his kingdom and an elephant's
load of gold to the person who brings him the Jewelled Golden Cock
that is at the Rakshasi's house. Because of it I am going to fetch
the Jewelled Golden Cock."
The King, being pleased with the Prince on account of it, gave him a
piece of charcoal. "Should you be unable to escape from the Rakshasi
while returning after taking the Jewelled Golden Cock, tell this
piece of charcoal to be created a fire-fence, and cast it down,"
he said. Taking it, he went to another city.
The King of that city in that very manner having prepared quarters,
and made ready and given him food and drink, asked, "Where art thou
going?" The Prince replied in the same words, "I am going to bring the
Jewelled Golden Cock that is at the house of the Rakshasi." That King
also being pleased on account of it gave him a stone, "Should you be
unable to escape from the Rakshasi, tell this stone to be created a
mountain, and cast it down," he said.
Taking the charcoal and the stone which those two Kings gave him, he
went to yet another city. The King also in that very manner having
given him quarters, and food and drink, asked, "Where art thou
going?" The Prince in that very way said, "I am going to bring the
Jewelled Golden Cock." That King also being greatly pleased gave him
a thorn. "Should you be unable to escape from the Rakshasi, tell a
thorn fence to be created, and cast down this thorn," he said.
On the next day he went to the house of the Rakshasi. She was not
at home; the Rakshasi's daughter was there. That girl having seen
the Prince coming and not knowing him, asked, "Elder brother, elder
brother, where are you going?"
The Prince said, "Younger sister, I am not going anywhere whatever. I
came to beg at your hands the Jewelled Golden Cock which you have got."
To that she replied, "Elder brother, to-day indeed I am unable to
give it. To-morrow I can. Should my mother come now she will eat you;
for that reason come and hide yourself."
Calling him into the house, she put him in a large trunk at the bottom
of seven trunks, and shut him up in it.
After a little time had passed, the Rakshasi came back. Having come
and seen that the Prince's horse was there, she asked her daughter,
"Whose is this horse?"
Then the Rakshasi's daughter replied, "Nobody's whatever. It came
out of the jungle, and I caught it to ride on."
The Rakshasi having said, "If so, it is good," came in. While lying
down to sleep at night the sweet odour of the Prince having reached
the Rakshasi, she said to her daughter, "What is this, Bola? [18]
A smell of a fresh human body is coming to me."
Then the Rakshasi's daughter said, "What, mother! Do you say so? You
are constantly eating fresh bodies; how can there not be an odour
of them?"
After that, the Rakshasi, taking those words for the truth, went
to sleep.
At dawn on the following day, as soon as she arose the Rakshasi went to
seek human flesh for food. After she had gone, the Rakshasa-daughter,
taking out the Prince who was shut up in the box, told that Prince a
device on going away with the Jewelled Golden Cock: "Elder brother,
if you are going away with the Cock, take some cords and fasten them
round my shoulders. Having put them round me, take the Cock, and
having mounted the horse go off, making him bound quickly. When you
have gone I shall cry out. Mother comes when I give three calls. After
she has come, loosening me will occupy much time; then you will be
able to get away."
In the way she said, the Prince tied the Rakshasa-daughter, and
taking the Jewelled Golden Cock mounted the horse, and making it
bound quickly came away.
As that Rakshasa-daughter said, while she was calling out the
Rakshasi came. Having come, after she looked about [she found that]
the Rakshasa-daughter was tied, and the Jewelled Golden Cock had
been taken away. After she had asked, "Who was it? Who took it?" the
Rakshasa-daughter said, "I don't know who it was." After that, she
very quickly unfastened the Rakshasa-daughter, and both of them came
running to eat that Prince.
The Prince was unable to go quickly. While going, the Prince
turned round, and on looking back saw that this Rakshasi and the
Rakshasa-daughter were coming running to eat that Prince.
After that, he cast down the thorn which the above-mentioned King of
the third city gave him, having told a thorn fence to be created. A
thorn fence was created. Having jumped over it they came on.
After that, when he had put down the piece of stone which the King
of the second city gave him, and told a mountain to be created, a
mountain was created. They sprang over that mountain also, and came on.
After that, he cast down the charcoal which the King of the first
city gave him, having told a fire fence to be created. In that very
manner a fire fence was created. Having come to it, while jumping
over it both of them were burnt and died.
From that place the Prince came along. While coming, he arrived at
the Indi tree on which he had threaded the rice, and having taken
off it all that dried-up rice he began to eat it. On coming to the
end of it, the person who was like that Prince again became a Frog.
After he became a Frog, the clothes that he was wearing, and the horse,
and the Jewelled Golden Cock vanished. Out of grief on that account
that Frog died at that very place.
North-western Province.
In the Jataka story No. 159 (vol. ii, p. 23) there is a tale of a
Golden Peacock which lived upon a golden hill. A King got it caught
and informed it that the reason was because "Your colour is golden;
therefore (so it is said) those who eat your flesh become young and
live so for ever."
In the story No. 491 (vol. iv, p. 210) the chick is described as "of
the colour of gold, with two eyes like gunja fruit, and a coral beak,
and three red streaks ran down his throat and down the middle of his
back." On p. 212, it is said that "they who eat his flesh will be
ever young and immortal." This one lived in the Himalayas for seven
thousand years.
In The Story of Madana Kama Raja (Natesa Sastri), p. 56, a Queen bore
a Tortoise Prince who had the power of leaving his shell. At p. 141,
a Queen also bore a Tortoise, which was reared by her, and eventually
went in search of divine Parijata flowers (Erythrina indica) from a
tree which grew in Indra's heaven. He seems to have been a turtle and
not a tortoise, being described as swimming for weeks across the Seven
Seas. He climbed Udayagiri, the Mountain of the Dawn, and blocked the
way of the Sun-god (who rises from behind it), in honour of whom he
uttered 1,008 praises. Pleased with this, the deity gave him a splendid
divine body like a man's, and the power to resume his tortoise shape
at will; he directed him to a sage, who sent him to another, and this
one to a third, by whose advice he secured the love and assistance
of a divine nymph, an Apsaras, by concealing her robes when a party
of them were bathing. With her aid he obtained the heavenly flowers.
In Old Deccan Days, Ganges Valley (Frere), p. 69, a Prince, using a
wand belonging to a Rakshasi, created in order to stop her pursuit,
a river, a mountain, and apparently a forest. Lastly, by throwing
down three of her hairs that he had secured he set the trees on fire,
and she was burnt in the flames.
In the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), p. 360 ff., the daughter of a
Rakshasa King gave the Prince who wanted to marry her "some earth,
some water, some thorns, and some fire, and her own fleet horse,"
telling him how to use them. He was chased by the brother of the King,
whom he went to invite to the wedding. When he threw down the earth
a mountain was produced behind him; the water became a great river;
the thorns a dense thorny wood. When the Rakshasa emerged from the
wood and was coming on, the Prince threw down the fire, which set the
bushes and trees in front of him ablaze, and finding this difficult
to cross he returned home, "tired and terrified."
NO. 6
THE MILLET TRADER
At a certain city two men were cutting jungle, it is said. Having
cut it for many days, one man said, "Friend, I will go and bring
millet [19] to sow in this chena clearing; you continue to cut the
jungle." The other man said "Ha" (Yes), and that man went to seek
millet.
Having gone to a village, he went along asking the way to a house
where there was millet. After he had gone there it became night,
so he remained in a shed at the house. A lucky hour had been fixed
by astrology for cutting the hair [for the first time] of a child at
the house, on the following day after that.
Having told at the hand of his wife to put rice in water [to clean
it], and to cook cakes from it, the man of the house that evening
went to the watch-hut in his chena. The woman having pounded the
rice and cooked cakes, selected the best cakes and put them in the
rice mortar in order to give them to another man. The millet trader
in the shed remained there looking on.
Afterwards the man who went to the watch hut returned, and when
he was eating the cakes said, "Give a couple of cakes from them
to that millet trader." Then the woman having selected burnt, very
burnt ones, and given them to the millet trader, the trader saying,
"I cannot bite these," put the cakes on the others in the rice
mortar, and pounded them. The woman scowled at the millet trader,
but because her husband was present she was unable to say anything,
so she remained silent. The millet trader, having pounded all the
cakes and eaten, tied up the surplus ones and put them aside.
After that, the man went again to the watch hut. Then that woman
quickly put a gill of rice in water, and having pounded it into
flour and very hurriedly cooked cakes, placed them in the house,
and lay down in it.
The millet trader awoke, and while he was there looking about, saw a
man coming. Arising quickly, he came to the open space in front of
the house and coughed. Then the man, thinking, "Perhaps the man is
at the house," went back again.
After that, the millet trader went inside the house. That woman taking
those cakes gave them in the dark to the millet trader, and said,
"Ando! When I was cooking cakes I put the best cakes in the rice mortar
in order to give them to you. Then, after being in the watch hut he
(the husband) came, and while eating the cakes said to me, 'Give a
couple of cakes to that millet trader'; so I gave them. After that,
the millet trader, that Rodiya, having put the cakes in the rice
mortar that was full of the best cakes, pounded them and ate. Then
I again put a gill of rice into water, and pounded it into flour,
saying that you will come; and only just now finished cooking."
The millet trader said, "Ha. It is good," and ate.
Afterwards the woman said, "Now then, are we not cutting the child's
hair to-morrow? Now, what will you give on account of it?"
The millet trader said, "What have I got to give? When coming for
millet I only brought four tuttu." [20]
Then the woman, saying, "Be off! Be off! Rodiya! Are you the millet
trader, Bola?" drove him away.
When he had gone back to the shed, she again put a gill of rice in
water, and having pounded it and very rapidly cooked cakes and brought
them into the house, lay down.
Afterwards, while the millet trader was there looking about, he again
saw that man coming, so he arose quickly, and came to the open space
in front of the house and coughed. That man again went away.
After that, the millet trader went into the house again. That woman
rose quickly, and gave those cakes to him, and said to the man,
"Ando! When I was cooking cakes to give to you I put the best cakes
in the rice mortar. Afterwards he came from the watch hut, and while
eating the cakes said to me, 'Give a couple of cakes to that millet
trader.' So I gave them. Afterwards that Rodiya, putting the cakes
in the rice mortar which was full of the best cakes, pounded them
and ate. Then I again put a gill of rice in water, and cooked more
cakes. Then, while I was looking out for you, some one like you came
in the dark. I gave them to him. While he was eating them I said,
'Now then, are we not cutting the child's hair to-morrow? What will
you give?' That Rodiya said, 'Only the four tuttu that I brought for
millet.' Then I got to know who it was. I drove him away, and again
put a gill of rice in water, and pounded it, and I have only just
finished cooking more cakes."
The millet trader, saying, "Ha. It is good," ate the cakes.
Then the woman said, "Now then, are we not cutting the child's hair
to-morrow? What will you give?"
The millet trader said, "If you should ask me even another time,
still the same four tuttu."
The woman saying, "Be off! Be off! Millet trader, Rodiya! Hast come
again, thou!" drove him away. Then it became light.
Afterwards, the man who went to the watch hut came, and handed over
the millet to the millet trader. On his giving it, the millet trader,
tying it up in two bundles and placing them on his head, set off to
go into the house.
That man saw it, and asked, "Where are you going there?"
The millet trader replied, "I don't know. During the whole of last
night they were going and coming along this very way, so I thought,
'Maybe this is a high road.'"
The man said, "Put down the packages of millet there," and having
gone to the millet store-room, and handed over a greater quantity
from the millet in it, beat that woman.
From there the millet trader went to another village, and sitting down
at a house unfastened that package of pounded cakes, and was eating
them. A woman who was looking on said, "Ade! What are you eating?"
The trader said, "They are pounded cakes of our country."
The woman saying, "The colour of them is good indeed; give me some
to look at," begged and got some.
After eating them she said, "Ade! These millet cakes have a sweet
taste; they are indeed good."
The trader replied, "In our quarter the millet is of that very sort;
let us go there together if you like."
The woman said, "Ha" and having taken out all the effects in the
house placed them in the jungle, ready for taking when she went.
Afterwards, taking those things, as they were getting very far away
the man said, "What have you forgotten? Consider well."
The woman replied, "I have not forgotten anything. I only forgot my
flowered hair comb. It is of the pattern of my flowered hair pin."
The trader said, "To be without a flowered hair comb is
not proper in my country. I shall be here; you go and fetch
it. If I should not be here on your return, call me, saying,
'Day-before-Yesterday! Day-before-Yesterday!' My name is
Day-before-Yesterday (Pereda)."
Then the woman came running home. When she returned, taking
the flowered hair comb, the man was not there. So saying,
"Day-before-Yesterday! Day-before-Yesterday!" the woman called and
called. The man was not there.
The woman returned home, weeping and weeping. While she was there,
her husband, having gone somewhere or other, came back, and asked,
"What are you crying for?"
The woman said, "He who was taking millet, Day-before-Yesterday,
plundered the house."
The man said, "If he plundered the house day before yesterday, why
didst thou not tell me yesterday?"
The woman replied, "Not day before yesterday. He who was taking millet,
Day-before-Yesterday."
Then the man said, "Isn't that just what I'm saying? When he
plundered the house day before yesterday, why didst thou not tell me
yesterday?" Having said this, he beat the woman.
When the millet trader, taking the effects and the bundles of millet,
went from there carrying his load, he came to another village. On
going to a house, a woman was there weeping and weeping.
As the man was placing the effects and the millet bundles on the
veranda of the house, he said, "Appe! I have been to the other world
and back," [21] and laying them on the veranda, said, "What are you
crying for, mother?"
The woman said, "My daughter died six days ago. When I think of her
I am weeping." Then she asked the millet trader, "Ane! My Latti went
to the other world; did you meet her there?"
The millet trader said, "Don't cry, mother. I did meet her there. She
is now in the other world. I have taken in marriage that very Latti. I
have come for Latti's things that she puts on her arms and neck. She
told me to come."
The woman quickly arose, and having cooked abundantly for the trader,
and given him to eat, he said, "Mother, I must go immediately. Where
is father-in-law?"
"He went to plough; wait till he comes," she said.
"I cannot," he said. "It is our wedding feast to-morrow. I must be
off now to go to the wedding."
So she gave the trader the silver and golden things for placing on her
daughter's arms and neck, also. Then the trader taking the bundles of
millet, the effects, and the things for the arms and neck, went away.
After that, when the woman's husband who had gone to plough came, the
woman was laughing. Seeing it, he asked, "What are you laughing at?"
The woman replied, "Bolan, why shouldn't I laugh? Our son-in-law came."
"What son-in-law?" the man asked.
The woman said over and over again, "Latti's man came, Latti's man
came. Our son-in-law, to whom our daughter is given in the other
world. It is true."
The man asked, "Bola, can any one in the other world come to this
world? Didst thou cook and also give him to eat?"
The woman replied, "What! Didn't I cook and give him to eat! After
I had given him to eat he said that Latti had told him to take away
the things for her arms and neck. So I gave him those also."
Then the man said, "Where is now, Bola, the horse that was here?" and
asking, "Which way did he go?" and mounting on the horse's back,
went to seek that millet trader.
As the trader was going along in the rice field he looked back, and
having seen a man coming on horseback, said, "That one is coming to
seize me."
There was a Timbiri tree very near there into which he climbed. While
he was there, that man making the horse bound along, having come up,
tied the horse to the root of the Timbiri tree. After he had climbed
up the tree to catch the trader, the trader, descending from the ends
of the Timbiri branches and cutting the fastening, mounted the horse,
after placing on it also the bundles of millet and the other goods,
and went off on the horse.
Then that man descended slowly from the tree, and having called "Hu"
to the millet trader [to arrest his attention], said, "Tell Latti that
your mother-in-law gave you a few things to put on her arms and neck,
but your father-in-law gave you a horse."
Having returned to the house, he said to the woman, "It is true. He
is really Latti's man. I said 'Don't go on foot,' and having given
him the horse I came back."
The woman said, "Isn't it so indeed! I told you so."
Then the millet trader having gone to his village, and divided the
goods with the chena cultivator, sowed the millet in the chena,
and remained there.
North-western Province.
The story about Latti's husband occurs in The Orientalist, vol. i,
p. 62, the dead girl's name being Kaluhami. Her father was a Gamarala,
and the man who carried off the things for her was a beggar.
This part of the story is also given, with slight variations, in Tales
of the Sun, Southern India (Kingscote and Natesa Sastri), p. 135 ff.
In Folklore in Southern India (Natesa Sastri), p. 131 ff., the
rogue did not pretend to be married to the woman's daughter, but
represented to her that her parents were living in the other world
in a very miserable state, without proper clothing, and without the
means of purchasing food. She handed over to him the clothing, jewels,
and cash in the house, and he went off at once with them. The ending
of the incident is the same as in Ceylon.
In The Indian Antiquary, vol. xviii, p. 120, there is a story from
Southern India, by Pandita Natesa Sastri, in which a youth obtained
work under an appa [22] (or "hopper") woman, giving his name as
"Last Year." When he absconded with her cash-box she gave the alarm
in the village by saying, "Last Year (he) stole and took my box,"
and was thought to be out of her mind.
In The Orientalist, vol. ii, p. 182, the incident of the cakes pounded
in the mortar is related. After eating part of the pounded cakes,
the traveller was about to enter the corn-store in which the woman
had concealed her lover. On the woman's stopping him, the husband's
suspicions being aroused he examined the corn-store, and finding the
man in it, beat him well, and his own wife also.
NO. 7
THE TURTLE DOVE
In a certain city there are two Princes, it is said. A flower-mother
[23] cooks and gives food to the two Princes. The mother of the
Princes is dead; the father is alive. The King has married another
Queen, and because the Queen is not good to the Princes they live
with the flower-mother.
One day, while they were living in that manner, the two Princes having
gone to shoot birds with bows and arrows, walked until night-fall,
but were unable to find any birds. As they were coming back, there was
a Horse-radish tree (Murunga) [24] at the front of the King's palace,
in which was a turtle dove. The younger brother saw it, and said to
the elder brother, "Elder brother, there! There is a turtle-dove." The
elder brother shot at the turtle-dove, and it fell dead.
Afterwards, the younger brother having picked it up and come back, said
at the hand of the elder brother, "Elder brother, are we to give this
to our father the King, or are we to give it to the flower-mother?"
Then the elder brother said, "Why should we give it to our father
the King? We will give it to the flower-mother who gives us food and
clothing." Taking the turtle-dove, the two Princes came to the house
of the flower-mother, and gave it into the flower-mother's hand.
On that day the King was not at the palace; only the Queen was
there. The Queen remained listening to all that the two Princes said,
and stayed looking [to see] if they gave the turtle-dove into the
hand of the flower-mother.
That being so, after the King's return to the palace in the evening
the Queen told at the hand of the King what the Princes said, and the
fact that they gave the turtle-dove into the hand of the flower-mother.
After that, the King settled to behead both Princes on the morrow. The
flower-mother on hearing of it said at the hand of the Princes,
"Children, the King said that he must behead you two to-morrow. To
save both your lives go away somewhere."
Having cooked a bundle of rice in the night, she placed gem-stones
at the bottom of the bag and the cooked rice above them; and having
tied up the bag she gave it into the hands of the Princes before it
became light, and told them to go.
The two Princes took the bundle of cooked rice and went away. Having
gone on and on, being hungry they sat down in the shade of a great
forest. For rinsing their mouths after chewing betel, before eating
rice, there was no water.
While they were seated there, a turtle-dove came and fell down, making
a noise, "tas," as it struck the ground. The younger brother asked,
"Elder brother, what shall we do with this turtle-dove?" Then the
elder brother said, "Hide it in a heap of leaves, for us to eat it
yet." The younger brother hid it.
Thereupon a Vaedda came, and asked at the hand of the two brothers,
"Ane! Didn't a turtle-dove fall here?"
The two Princes said, "No."
So the Vaedda sought for it, continuing to say, "Ane! After trying
for seven years, I shot the turtle-dove with my bow and arrow."
Then the Princes said, "Ane! Vaedi-elder-brother, why is the
turtle-dove such a good one?"
The Vaedda replied, "Why shouldn't it be good? The person who has eaten
the right portion at that very time will receive the sovereignty. The
person who has eaten the left portion will receive the sovereignty
after seven years have gone by."
Having said thus, the Vaedda sought and sought it; he was unable to
find the turtle-dove, and he went away. Then, having cooked it, the
elder Prince ate the right half; the younger Prince ate the left half.
Having eaten it, the elder Prince, taking the small copper water-pot
which the flower-mother gave them, went to seek for water. The younger
brother remained there.
The elder brother, breaking and throwing down branches all along the
path, having gone on and on, came to a large stream. Hearing a beating
of tom-toms while getting water in the pot, he stayed there, looking
[to see] what it was about. While he was there, the tom-toming having
come near him, a tusk elephant came close to the Prince and knelt down.
The Prince knew that the royal elephant had selected him for the
sovereignty, and said, "Ane! A younger brother of mine is there;
how can I go without him? I will go there and come with him."
Then the men who were there said, "You cannot seek your younger
brother; you must mount now." Afterwards the Prince having mounted
on the elephant, went to the city of that kingdom, and became the king.
The younger brother, after having looked and looked for a long time,
taking the bundle of cooked rice, came along the path on which the
branches were broken, and descended to the stream. Then, having seen
the elephant's footprints, continuing to say, "Ane! It is this very
elephant that has killed elder brother," weeping and weeping he drank
water; and having eaten part of the cooked rice, tied up the other
part and went away.
While going along the path on which were the elephant's footprints,
he saw that his Prince's robes were torn and torn, and repeating,
"Ane! Elder brother has been killed. It is this very elephant. Kill me
also, O Gods," weeping and weeping, going on and on, he went after
nightfall to a Hettiya's house at some city or other, and said,
"Ane! You must give me a resting-place for the night."
The Hettiya was not at home; only his wife was there. The woman said
to the Prince, "No resting-place will be given here. We do not allow
any one to come to our house. The Hettirala goes to the King, to fan
his face. On that account the Hettirala does not permit any one to
come to this house. To-day the Hettirala went to the King, to fan
his face. He will come at this time. Before he comes go away quickly."
The Prince said, "Ane! Don't say so. There is not a quarter to which
I can go now. In some way or other you must give me it."
Then the woman, taking a bit of mat, gave it into the Prince's hand,
saying, "If so, go to that calf house. When the Hettiya comes don't
even cough or anything. You must be silent."
Afterwards, when the Prince was sitting in the calf house, the Hettiya
returned, and while he was eating rice a cough came to the Prince. The
Prince tried and tried to be silent. He could not. He coughed.
The Hettiya having heard it said to his wife, "What is that, Bola,
I hear there?"
The woman said, "Ane! A youth, not vicious nor low, came and asked
for a resting-place. I told him to go to the calf house. Do nothing
to him. I told him to get up before daylight and go away."
Then the Hettiya, saying, "I told thee, 'Do not give a resting-place to
any one'; is it not so? Why didst thou give it?" beat the woman. Having
finished eating rice he came into the raised veranda.
When he was there, that Prince took the remains of his rice, and
while eating it and thinking in his mind, "Ane! Was I not indeed a
royal Prince before; why must I stop now in a calf house?" he saw
the gem-stones at the bottom of the rice, and placing one on his knee
ate the rice by its light.
The Hettiya having seen the light, asked at the hand of the woman,
"Ade! Did you go and give a light also to that one?" The woman said,
"It is not a light that I took and gave him."
Then the Hettiya got up and went to look, and having seen the
gem-stone, scolded the woman. "Ade! When my friend from a foreign town
came dost thou give him a resting-place in this way? What hast thou
given it at the calf house for? Was there no better place to give?"
Having said this, and again beaten the woman, "Quickly warm water,"
he said. After waiting while she was warming it, he took the water
into the house, and having placed it there, said to the Prince,
"Let us go, younger brother, to bathe," and gave him a bath. After
finishing bathing him, having cooked food abundantly and laid the
table, he gave him to eat.
When that was finished, he prepared a bed for sleeping, and said,
"Younger brother, come and sleep." The Prince came. Afterwards the
Hettiya said to the Prince, "Younger brother, if there are any things
of value in your hands give them into my hands. I will return them to
you at the time when you ask for them. If they be kept in your hands
they may be lost. There are thieves hereabouts; we cannot get rid of
them. They will not let us keep anything; they carry it off."
Then the Prince said, "Ane! There is nothing in my hands."
The Hettiya said, "Nay, there was a gem-stone in your hand; I saw
it. It will be there yet; give me it. I shall not take it in that
way. I will give you it at the time when you ask for it."
The Prince said, "Ane! Hetti-elder-brother, I know your Hetti
slumber. It is necessary for me to arise early, while it is still
night, and go away."
Then the Hettiya said, "I shall give you it when you ask for it,
no matter if I should be asleep. You can awake me; then I will give
it." Having said thus and thus, the Prince gave all the gem-stones
into the hands of the Hettiya. The Hettiya taking them and placing
them in a house in the middle of seven houses, went to sleep.
Afterwards, the Prince having been asleep, arose while it was still
night, and awoke the Hettiya, saying, "Ane! Hetti-elder-brother,
it is necessary for me to go expeditiously. Quickly give me those
few gem-stones."
Thus, in this manner he asks and asks. It is no affair of the
Hettiya's. Then the woman said, "What is this! One cannot exist for
this troubling. Must not persons who took a thing give it back? Must
not this youth who is not vicious nor low go away? Why are you keeping
them back?"
After that, the Hettiya, having got up, opening the seven doors of
the seven houses came out into the light, and saying, "When, Bola,
did I get gem-stones from thee?" he cut off the hair-knot of the
Prince, and took him for his slave. So the Prince remained there,
continuing to do slave work for the Hettiya.
Afterwards, one day the Hettiya and the Prince having gone on a journey
somewhere, as they were coming to a stream the seven Princesses of
the King of that country having been bathing in the stream, saw the
Hettiya and the Prince going on the road.
The youngest Princess said to the other Princesses, "Elder sisters,
that one going there is indeed a Prince."
The six Princesses said, "So indeed! The Hettiya's slave has become
a Prince to thee!"
Then the Princess said another time, "However much you should say it
is not so, that is indeed a Prince going along there."
The six Princesses said, "It is not merely that to thee the Hettiya's
slave has become a Prince; he will come to call thee [to be his wife]."
Then the Princess replied still another time, "It is really so;
he is inviting me indeed. However much you should say that, it was
really a Prince who went there."
The six Princesses said, "If he is inviting thee go thou also. The
Hettiya's slave is going there; go thou before he departs."
The Princess replied, "I shall really go. You look. What though I
have not gone now! Shall I not go hereafter?"
After the seven Princesses had come to the palace, the youngest
Princess said at the hand of her father the King, "When we were
bathing now, a slave youth went along with the Hettiya. That slave
youth is really a Prince."
Then the King sent an order to the Hettiya that the Hettiya's slave
and the Hettiya should come to him. Afterwards the Hettiya and the
Hettiya's slave went to the King.
The King asked, "Whence this slave youth?"
Then before the Hettiya said anything the Prince replied, "I
was formerly a royal Prince; now I am doing slave work for this
Hetti-elder-brother."
The King asked at the hand of the Hettiya, "Is he doing slave work
for you?"
The Hettiya said, "Yes."
After that, the King decided that he would give his youngest daughter
to the slave youth (as his wife), so he sent away the Hettiya, and
the Princess with the slave youth.
As those three were going to the Hettiya's house, the Hettiya,
becoming hungry while on the way, gave money into the hand of the
Prince, and said, "With this money get three gills of rice, and with
these ten sallis (half farthings) get a sun-dried fish, and come back
and cook them." He gave money for it separately into the Prince's hand.
The Prince having bought three gills of rice with the money given
for it, and placed it on the hearth to boil, took the ten sallis and
went to the shops for the dried fish. When he looked at the dried
fish there was none to get for ten sallis.
As he was coming back bringing the ten sallis, a man was on the road,
having laid down a heap of dried fish. When the Prince came there
the man asked him, "Where, younger brother, are you going?"
The Prince said, "I came for a dried fish; I have ten sallis. There
being no dried fish to get for ten sallis I am going away."
Then the man said, "Give me the ten sallis. Take any dried fish
you want."
So the Prince having given the ten sallis to the trader, selected a
large dried fish, and putting it on his shoulder, as he was coming
near the river the dried fish was laughing. After laughing, it asked,
"Are you taking me in this manner to cook?"
The Prince replied, "Yes, to cook indeed."
The dried fish said, "Do not take me. You are going to die now. From
that I will deliver you. Put me into the river."
The Prince having placed the dried fish in the river, and come back
"simply" (that is, without it), made sauce and cooked the rice. When
he had finished, the Hettiya said, "Separate and give me the cooked
rice boiled from two gills." So the Prince separated the rice from two
gills and gave it. Then the Hettiya asked, "Where is the dried fish?"
The Prince said, "I could not get a dried fish for ten sallis; I walked
through the whole of the bazaar. I came back empty-handed ('simply')."
Afterwards, the Hettiya having eaten half the rice in silence, heaped
up the other half in the direction of the Princess (thus inviting her
to eat it). The Princess saying, "Go thou! Have I come to eat rice
out of the Hettiya's bowl?" [25] went to the place where the Prince
was eating, and ate rice from the Prince's plate.
Then the Hettiya said, "If it is wrong for thee to eat from my bowl,
how is it thou art eating from my slave's bowl?"
The Princess said, "Hettiya, shouldst thou any day say 'slave' again, I
will tell it at the hand of my father the King, and get thee quartered
and hung at the city gates." After that the Hettiya was silent.
The whole three having finished eating rice, went on board the vessel
that was to carry them along the river. While going along in the
vessel, the Hettiya said to the Prince, "Cut me a mouthful of betel
and areka-nut, and give me it."
The Princess said, "Now then, having already cut betel and areka-nut,
his food is done."
The Prince saying, "It is not wrong; I will cut and give it," cut
and gave it to the Hettiya.
Afterwards the Hettiya again said to the Prince, "Get a little water
and give me it."
The Princess saying, "Now then, your doing slave work is stopped,"
told the Prince not to give it.
The Prince said, "When there is thirst, how can one not give water? I
will give him a little."
While he was bending down over the side of the vessel to get the water,
the Hettiya raised him, and threw him into the river.
As the Prince fell into the river, the dried fish that he had
previously put in the river took him on its back, and having brought
him to the shore, left him there. The Hettiya and the Princess went
on in the ship to the Hettiya's house.
The Prince was in the sun, on a sandbank. Then, as a flower-mother
was coming to the river for water, she saw the Prince, and said,
"What is this, son, that you are in the sun? Come away and go with
me." Inviting him, and going to her house with him, she warmed some
water and made him bathe, and gave him food.
While he was there, the Prince told all at the hand of the
flower-mother. After telling it, when he said, "I must go again to
the Hettiya's house," the flower mother said, "O son, let him do what
he likes. Don't you go. Stop here."
The Prince replying, "I cannot stay without going, O flower-mother;
I will go there and come back to you," went there. After he had gone
to the Hettiya's house he found that men had collected together there,
and were saying that the Hettiya and the Princess were to be married
on such and such a day. He stayed listening to them, and went again
to the flower-mother's house.
After he returned, asking for four sallis at the hand of the
flower-mother he went to the potters' village, and giving them the
four sallis told them, "When I come to-morrow you must have ready
a kettle having three zig-zag lines round it and twelve spouts." So
saying, he came back to the flower-mother's house.
On the morning of the following day he walked to the potters' village,
and taking the kettle, came to the Hettiya's house. As he arrived,
men were dancing, and the King was looking on. At the time when they
were finishing dancing he got on the raised veranda, and looked
on. The dancing being ended he came out to the wedding hall. Then
the Princess saw him and laughed. At that moment the Hettiya trembled.
The Prince having gone there said, "Stop that. It is necessary for
me to dance a little." Then he began to tell them all from the very
beginning: "We were of such and such a city, the sons of the King
of such and such a name. We were two Princes, an elder brother and
a younger brother. Our mother was dead. A flower-mother gave us food
and clothing."
Having thus said a little of the story that he was relating, he danced,
and while dancing sang to the kettle that he held in his hand--
Possessing three bent lines, a dozen spouts as well,
Little kettle, hear this our trouble that befel. [26]
Then he said, "While living thus we said one day, 'Let us go and shoot
birds,' and elder brother and I went. Having walked till night-fall
we did not meet with a single one. While we were returning home,
as it was becoming night, there was a Horse-radish tree in front of
the palace of our father the King. In that Horse-radish tree was a
turtle-dove which elder brother shot; at the stroke it fell dead.
"Afterwards I asked at elder brother's hand regarding it, 'Elder
brother, to whom are we to give this?' Then elder brother said,
'There is no need to give it to our father the King; let us give
it to the flower-mother who gives us food and clothing.' So saying,
we took it home and gave it to the flower-mother."
Again he danced, and sang while dancing--
Possessing three bent lines, a dozen spouts as well,
Little kettle, hear this our trouble that befel.
"Our Puñci-Amma (step-mother, lit. 'little mother') after hearing this,
on the return of our father the King told him of it, and our father
the King appointed to behead us. Afterwards our flower-mother to
save the lives of us both told us to go away. Having cooked a bundle
of rice, and tied up a bag of it, placing gem-stones at the bottom
and the cooked rice above, she gave it into the hand of both of us,
and told us to go away somewhere before it became light. So we both
came away. Walking on and on, we came to a great forest, and both of
us sat down in the shade."
Then he danced again, and sang while dancing--
Possessing three bent lines, a dozen spouts as well,
Little kettle, hear this our trouble that befel.
After that, he told a further part of his tale, and then danced
again. Thus, in that way he related all the things that had occurred.
The King who had come to celebrate the wedding was the Prince's elder
brother. While the Prince was relating all these things the King wept.
Then the King asked at the hand of the Hettiya, "Is what he has said
regarding the gem-stones, and the taking him as a slave, true?" The
Hettiya replied, "It is true."
Then the King caused the Hettiya to be quartered, and hung at the
four gateways of the city.
After the King had caused the Prince and Princess to be married, and
had given that kingdom to the Prince, both the King and the Prince
went to their cities.
The elder brother who had eaten the right portion of the turtle-dove
shot by the Vaedda, at that very time obtained the sovereignty. The
younger brother having eaten the left portion, when seven years had
passed, on that day obtained the sovereignty.
So the Prince and Princess remained at their city.
North-western Province.
The notion that the persons who ate two birds, or the halves of one
bird or of a fruit, would become Kings, or a King and his minister,
is found throughout India in folk-tales.
In the Jataka stories No. 284 (vol. ii, p. 280), and No. 445 (vol. iv,
p. 24), two cocks were overheard to say that whoever ate one would
get a thousand pieces of money, and the person who ate the other
would become King, Chief Queen or Commander-in-Chief, and Treasurer
or King's favourite cleric. The second one was selected and eaten,
with the corresponding result.
In The Orientalist, vol. ii, p. 150, there is a story by Miss
S. J. Goonetilleke, in which a blind man, sitting under a tree, heard
a Rakshasa who was in the tree saying to others that if the fruit of
the tree were rubbed on the eyes of a blind man he would recover his
sight, and that a person who ate the fruit on the top of the tree
would become a King within seven days. The man regained his sight
in this way, and having also eaten the fruit was selected as King by
the royal elephant, which knelt before him. The man who had blinded
him married his Prime Minister's daughter; and ascertaining how the
King recovered his sight and obtained his position, he got his wife
to treat him in the same way and leave him under a tree, where he died.
In The Indian Antiquary, vol. xvii, p. 75, there is a tale of two
Princes who were ordered to be blinded because of a false charge made
by the Queen, their step-mother. They escaped, and killed a Chakwa
(Sheldrake) which they heard informing its mate that he who ate its
head would become a King, and he who ate the liver would be very happy
after twelve years' wanderings. The elder brother went for food to
a city, where the royal elephant threw a garland over his neck, and
he became King. The younger brother being unable to find him worked
for a potter, then travelled on and took the place of a woman's son
who was going to be offered to an Ogre, who had forced a King to give
him daily a cart-load of sweet cakes, a couple of goats, and a young
man. The Prince killed the Ogre while he was eating the cakes. The King
gave him his daughter in marriage, and half the kingdom. The elder
brother came to the wedding, and they recognised each other. When
they visited their father he sent the Queen into exile.
In the Tamil work, The Story of Madana Kama Raja (Natesa Sastri),
p. 125 ff., a Mango tree growing in a thick forest bore a magical
fruit once in one hundred years. A sage waited for it, and went to
bathe in order to purify himself before eating it. As two Princes
whose parents had been reduced to poverty, were passing, the younger
one picked up the fruit and placed it in their packet of rice. The
sage followed them, but they denied all knowledge of the fruit. He
informed them that the person who ate the outer part would become a
king, and that from the mouth of the person who ate the seed, gems
would drop whenever he laughed. The brothers divided the fruit in
this way, and a royal elephant coming in search of a new King placed a
garland on the neck of the elder one, and depositing him on its back
went off with him. The younger one, thinking he was carried off by
a wild elephant, left the wood, and was received at the house of a
dancing girl. One day when he laughed gems fell from his mouth, and
after getting many more, they gave him a purgative pill and secured
the magic stone. After other adventures he was united to his brother,
recovered the mango stone, and became a King himself.
In Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 138 ff., Tales of the
Punjab (F. A. Steel), p. 129, two Princes ran away on account of their
step-mother's cruelty, and while resting under a tree heard a Maina
(Starling) and a Parrot telling each other that the two persons who ate
them would become a King and a Prime Minister. They shot the birds with
crossbows, and ate them. The younger one went back for the other's
whip, which was left at a spring, and was bitten and killed by a
snake. The elder was selected as King, by a royal elephant. A magician
found the dead Prince, drained the spring into his wife's small brass
pot, and the snakes being waterless gave back the Prince's life. After
stirring adventures, the younger Prince married a Prime Minister's
daughter, who went on a ship with him. There he was thrown overboard,
but caught a rope and got back to his wife's cabin unobserved. He
met his brother the King at last, and was made to relate his life
story. This he did in sections, on seven days, and at the end the
King claimed him as his brother, and he became Prime Minister.
In Indian Nights' Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 276 ff., a step-mother
got two Princes exiled. At night while they were under a tree two birds
were heard predicting that those who ate them would become a King and
a Minister, so they shot and ate them. The whip and snake incident
are as above, the guilty snake being brought up by a cowry shell,
of which the magician had despatched four to the four quarters. The
snake breathed into the Prince's mouth and revived him. He had
wonderful adventures, and married a Princess, went on a ship with
her, was thrown overboard, and assisted a gardener. The Princess had
been sold at the palace, where the King, who was the elder brother,
wished to marry her. The younger brother went disguised as a woman,
and related his story by sections in three days, when the Princess
claimed him as her husband. His brother made him Chief Counsellor,
and at last he succeeded to his father's kingdom.
In Folk-Tales of Kashmir (Knowles), 2nd ed., p. 78, the persons who
ate the head and breast of a bird became Kings.
At p. 159, the King's elephant selected a person as King, the elephant
bowing down to him, and the royal hawk perching on his hand.
At p. 167 ff., two Princes who escaped their death sentence, which was
due to their step-mother's plotting, heard two birds say of two others
that they who ate them would become a King and Minister. They shot
and ate them. The whip and snake incident occurred, the latter being a
dragon. The elder brother was selected as King by the royal elephant
and hawk. A jogi emptied the spring and made the dragon restore the
Prince, who was captured by robbers, saved by the daughter of one,
went with her on board a ship, was pushed overboard, and was saved by
the girl. They landed at the city where the elder brother was reigning,
and he was made Minister, and eventually King when the elder brother
succeeded their father.
In Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 99, a royal elephant with a rich
howdah on its back selected a Prince as King, and took him to the city.
NO. 8
THE PRINCE AND THE PRINCESS
In a certain city there are a Prince and a Princess, it is
said. Because these two go together to the school the teacher said,
"You two came together to-day; on another day you must not do it
again."
When they were coming separately on that account, the Princess,
being in front, one day went to the well, and having bent down while
trying to drink water, her writing style fell into the well. Being
there alone the Princess was unable to get the writing style.
After the Prince came up she said, "Ane! My writing style fell into
the well; get it and give me it."
Then the Prince said, "I will get it and give you it if you will
swear that you will not marry another person."
The Princess said, "I will not marry another; I will only marry you
yourself." Having touched the Prince's body she swore it, and the
Prince having touched the body of the Princess also swore it. Then
he got and gave her the writing pin, and one of them went in front
and one went behind.
Those two learnt their letters excellently. Afterwards, both having
grown up, when they inquired about arranging the marriage for
the Prince he said, "You must bring me in marriage such and such
a Princess, of such and such a village. If not, I do not want a
different marriage."
Then the King said, "Do you want the kingdom, or do you want the
Princess?"
The Prince replied, "I do not want your kingdom at all; I want the
Princess."
Afterwards the King went and asked for the Princess. Then the father
of the Princess said, "I will give the Princess to the persons who
give me this well full of gold."
So the Prince filled it and gave it, and the Prince and Princess
having got married stopped many days at the Prince's house.
Then the King said to the Prince, "Because at first you said that
you did not want the kingdom, that you only wanted the Princess,
you shall not live at my house. Go where you want."
Then having gone to the Princess's house, after they had been living
there many days the father of the Princess said, "Taking a well of
gold, I sold the Princess. You shall not live at my house. Go where
you want."
So those two went away. As they were going the Princess went along
sewing a jacket. Having gone very far, after they sat down at a
travellers' shed near a city, the Princess gave the jacket that she
had sewn into the Prince's hand, and said, "Take this, and having
sold it at the bazaar bring something to eat."
The Prince having taken it to the bazaar, after he had told the bazaar
men to buy it they said, "We are unable to say a word about buying
this. It is so valuable that we have not got the means to purchase it."
The guards of the King of that country having been present looking on,
and having seen this, told the royal servants to bring the jacket to
the King. After they had brought it the King took it, and gave the
Prince two bags of money. The Prince left one and took one away.
The King having called his servants, ordered them, "Look at the place
where that Prince goes and stays, and come back." Well then, the
servants having gone and having seen that the Princess was stopping at
the travellers' shed, came running, and said at the hands of the King,
"There is a good-looking Princess at such and such a travellers' shed."
The Prince having left at the travellers' shed the bag of money which
he took, came for the other bag of money. While he was coming, the
King, taking a horse also, went to the travellers' shed by a different
road, and placing the Princess on horseback brought her to the palace.
Well then, when the Prince, taking the other bag of money went to the
travellers' shed the Princess was not there. He called and called;
she did not come. Afterwards, taking both bags of money he comes away
along the road.
The Princess, while she was looked after by the guards, having
seen from afar that the Prince was coming, said to the servants,
"I am thirsty," and told them to bring an orange quickly. After it
was brought and given to her, she opened the skin and wrote a letter
thus: "Give even both those bags of money, and buying two horses come
near the palace, and having tied up the two horses stay there without
sleeping. After the King has gone to sleep I shall descend down robes
tied together, and having come to you, when I mount a horse you mount
the other horse, and we will go off."
Having placed the letter inside the skin of the orange and shut it
up completely, so as to appear like a whole orange fruit, she threw
it behind the guards, in front of the approaching Prince. The Prince
thinking, because he was hungry, "I must eat this," picked it up,
and having gone into the shade of a Timbiri tree, sat down. When he
opened the skin of the orange, having seen that there was a letter
inside it he took it to the light, and read it aloud.
A Karumantaya (a Kinnara, a man of the lowest caste) who was in the
Timbiri tree heard all that was written in the letter. Well then,
the Prince having given the two bags of money and taken two horses,
and having come near the palace on the appointed day, tied the two
horses there. While he was there the Karumantaya also came, saying,
"Ane! I also must stop here at this resting place."
The Prince said, "Do not stay here. Should the King hear of it he
will drive us both away."
The Karumantaya replied, "Don't say so. I also am going to stop here
to-day," and stayed there. The Prince went to sleep; the Karumantaya
remained awake.
After the King had gone to sleep, the Princess, descending down some
robes, came there. When she was mounting a horse, the Karumantaya
mounted the other horse, and both of them went off together.
Having gone off, when the Princess looked after it became light, she
saw the Karumantaya. Afterwards she stopped the horse, and said to the
Karumantaya, "Get and give me a little water." The Karumantaya said,
"I will not; get it to drink yourself."
After the Princess had said it yet another time, the Karumantaya
dismounted from the back of the horse. When he had gone for water,
the Princess cut with her sword the throat of the horse on which the
Karumantaya came, and went off, making the horse bound along. The
Karumantaya having run and run a great distance, returned again
because he could not come up to her.
While the Princess was going on horseback, she came to a place where
seven Vaeddas were shooting with bows and arrows. Those seven persons
having seen the Princess coming, said to each other, "That Princess
who is coming is for me." The Princess having heard that saying,
stopped the horse and asked, "What are you saying?"
Then each of the seven said, "The Princess is for me, for me."
Afterwards the Princess said, "You seven persons shoot your arrows
together. I will marry the one whose arrow is picked up in front of
the others."
After that, they all seven having at one discharge shot their arrows,
while the seven persons were running to pick up the arrows the Princess
went off, making the horse bound along. Those seven persons having
run and run for a great distance, returned again because they could
not come up to her.
The Prince having awoke, when he looked the two horses were not there,
and the Princess was not there. So he walked away weeping and weeping.
Then, while the Princess was going near yet another city, putting
on Brahmana clothes she went to the school at that city, and there
having begged from a child a slate [27] and slate pencil, [27] she
wrote a name in Brahmana letters (Devanagari).
When she had given it to the children who were at the school, nobody,
including also the teacher, was able to read it. Then the teacher
took it to the King of that country, and showed him it. The King also
could not read it. So the King appointed her as a teacher, saying,
"From to-day the Brahmana must teach letters at the school."
Now, when the Brahmana had been teaching letters for a long time, men
told the King tales about her: "That is a woman indeed; no Brahmana."
Then the King having said, "Ha. It is good," told the servants,
"Inviting that Brahmana, go to my flower garden. If it be a woman,
she will pick many flowers and come away after putting them in her
waist pocket. If it be a Brahmana, he will pick one flower, and come
away turning it round and round near his eye."
That Brahmana had reared a parrot. The parrot heard from the roof of
the palace the words said by the King, and having gone to the school
said to the Brahmana, "The King says thus."
Next day, the Ministers having come to the school said, "Let us go to
the flower garden," and inviting the Brahmana, went there. Keeping in
mind the words said by the parrot, the Brahmana broke off one flower,
and holding it near the eye came away turning it round and round. The
King looking on said, "From to-day no one must say again that it is
a woman."
Again, in that manner, when she had been there a long time, people
began to say to the King, "No Brahmana; that is a woman indeed."
Then the King again said to the servants, "To-morrow, inviting the
Brahmana, go to my betel garden. If it be a woman, she will pluck many
betel leaves, and go away after putting them in her waist pocket. If
it be a Brahmana, he will pluck one betel leaf, and holding it near
his eye he will come away turning it round and round." Hearing that
also from the roof of the palace, the Brahmana's parrot having gone
to the Brahmana said, "The King says so and so."
Next day, the King's Ministers having gone to the school said, "Let us
go to the betel garden," and inviting the Brahmana, went there. Keeping
in mind the words said by the parrot, in that very manner breaking off
one betel leaf, and holding it near the eye, she came away turning it
round and round. The King, looking on at it also, said, "From to-day
I shall cut with this sword the one who says again that it is a woman."
After that, the Brahmana having carved a figure like the Princess,
gave it into the hands of the scholars, and said, "Taking this, go and
collect donations (samadama). After you have gone, inviting to come
with you him who on seeing this figure recognises it, return with him."
After the scholars, taking the figure, had gone to a city, the seven
Vaeddas saw it, and said, "Here is the Princess." Having drawn near
they asked, "How is it that she has gone away for such a long time
since she went from here that day? Where is she now?"
Then the scholars, saying, "She is now at our city; let us go there,"
inviting those seven persons, returned with them. After they had come
to the school the Brahmana said, "Cut them down, the seven persons."
After they had cut them down, the Brahmana said to the scholars,
"Take this again. Again inviting him whom you meet, return with him."
The scholars took it again, and while they were going to another city
met that Karumantaya. After he had said, "Ane! Amme! Where did you
go for such a long time? Where is she now?" the scholars replied,
"The Princess is now at our city; let us go there." After they had
come to the school the Brahmana said, "Cut down that one also."
After they had cut him down, she said to the scholars, "Take this
again." The scholars, taking it, and having gone to another city,
met with the Prince. Having come in front of it, the Prince fell
down weeping. The scholars said, "Do not weep. She is in our city;
let us go there."
After they had come to the school, the Brahmana arose quickly,
and having thrown off the Brahmana clothing, dressed herself in her
Princess's robes. Having prepared warm water and made the Prince bathe,
the Princess cooked ample food, and gave him to eat.
While she was doing this, the scholars having gone to the King said,
"It was a Princess who was there. After we went to a city to collect
donations, having met with the Princess's Prince he came back with
us. Both of them are now at the school."
After that, the King, having come to the school, and having asked
about those things from those two, built a house with a tiled roof,
and gave it and half the village to the Princess as a present.
North-western Province.
In Folk-Tales of Kashmir (Knowles), 2nd ed., p. 86, a Prince induced
three persons who were quarrelling over the ownership of some wonderful
articles left by their master, a Fakir, to run for three arrows
which he discharged in three directions. While they were absent,
he took three of the articles, and seating himself on a magic seat
which was one of the things, was conveyed away by it.
At p. 306 ff. of the same work, a Prince and Princess eloped when the
latter was about to be married to another Prince. While on their way,
she remembered some jewels which she required, and he returned for
them. In the meantime a robber had come up in the dark, and finding
her servant asleep had ridden off with the Princess, who thought he
was the Prince. When daylight came she found out her mistake, sent
him to a village for food, and then rode off alone; and calling at a
goldsmith's house for a drink, was detained and requested to marry
him. On her agreeing, he gave her gold ear-rings and her jewels,
with which she rode off, and stayed with a married couple, disguising
herself as a man. An elephant selected her as King. Then she got
an artist to paint her portrait, and she hung it in a thoroughfare
of the city, with a guard who seized all who recognised her. These
proved to be the robber, her servant, the goldsmith, and the two
who befriended her, and lastly the Prince. When the Prince saw her
portrait he fainted. He was first made Prime Minister, and afterwards
the Princess revealed herself to him, and he became King. The robber
and goldsmith were imprisoned, and the others rewarded. The resemblance
to the Sinhalese story is striking.
NO. 9
TAMARIND TIKKA
In a certain city there are seven elder brothers and younger brothers,
it is said. The seven have a younger sister, who cooks and gives food
to all seven.
While the seven brothers were cutting and cutting the sides of an
earthen ridge (nira) in the rice field, they saw seven women coming,
and said to them, "Where are you going?"
The seven women replied, "We are seven elder sisters and younger
sisters; and we are going to seek seven elder brothers and younger
brothers."
Then the seven brothers said, "We are seven elder brothers and younger
brothers. Stop with us."
The seven sisters said, "Ha."
The seven brothers having brought the seven sisters to their house,
leaving them there went again to the rice field, and chopped the
ridges. Those seven sisters having boiled seven pots of paddy and
spread it out to dry, said to their sister-in-law, "We are going for
firewood; you stay at home and look after these things."
After they had gone, that sister-in-law fell asleep. Then rain having
fallen, the seven large mats (magal) on which the paddy was spread
were washed away. When the seven sisters came, and saw that the mats
and paddy had been washed away, they seized that woman, and having
beaten her, drove her away from the house. So she went to the foot
of a Tamarind tree on the roadside, and stayed there.
When a long time had passed after she went there, all those seven
women bore girls. The woman under the Tamarind tree bore a boy.
As the eldest brother was going along the road on which was the tree,
the woman said, "Ane! Elder brother, look at my boy's horoscope." He
said, "I will not."
As the next brother was going she said, "Ane! Elder brother, look at
my boy's horoscope." He said, "I will not."
Thus, in that way all the six elder brothers refused.
Afterwards, when the youngest brother was going, on her saying,
"Ane! Elder brother, look at my boy's horoscope," he said, "Ha,"
and went.
When he looked at it, the astrologer said, "He is born such that
he will bring misfortune to those seven girls. The child will be so
lucky that he might obtain a kingdom."
Then the brother having returned, said to that woman, "That one has
been born such that he will eat thee. Knock his head on a stone or
root, and kill him."
The woman saying, "It is good. Let him eat me," reared him.
The child having become big, said at the hand of the woman, "Mother,
now then, oughtn't you to bring me an assistant (i.e. a wife)?" The
woman replied, "Ane! Son, who will give in marriage to us?"
Afterwards the youth went to a place where they were grinding
flour, and having put a little flour under his finger nail, came
back. "Mother, mother, quickly hold a basin," he said. The woman held
one. Then, when he put into the basin the little flour that was under
his finger nail, it filled it and ran over.
Having gone again to a place where they were expressing coconut oil,
in the same way he took a little coconut under his finger nail, and
came back. "Mother, mother, hold that quickly," he said. The woman
held it. That also was filled and overflowed.
Again, having gone to a place where they were warming Palm-tree
syrup, in the same way he took some under his finger nail, and came
back. "Mother, mother, hold that quickly," he said. That also was
filled and overflowed.
Afterwards the youngster said, "Mother, cook cakes with those things,
and give me them." So the woman having cooked them, tied up a pingo
(carrying-stick) load, and gave it to him.
The youngster, taking the pingo load, went to his eldest uncle
[28]. After he asked him for his daughter's hand in marriage, the uncle
said, "Be off! Be off! Who would give in marriage to Tamarind Tikka?"
From there he went to the next uncle, and asked him. That uncle spoke
in the same manner. All the six elder uncles spoke in the same manner.
Then he went to the youngest uncle, and when he asked him the uncle
said, "Put the packages of cakes there, then." (Intimating by this
that he accepted him as a son-in-law. He alone knew of the nature of
the boy's horoscope.)
Afterwards, having cooked and given Tamarind Tikka to eat, the uncle
said, "My buffalo cow has died, Tamarind Tikka. Let us go and bury it,
and return."
Tamarind Tikka said "Ha," and having gone to the place where the dead
buffalo was lying, said, "Uncle, shall I make that get up?" The uncle
said "Ha." So Tamarind Tikka went to the low bushes at the edge of
the jungle, and came back cutting a white stick. Then calling out,
"Into the cattle-fold, Buffalo cow! Into the cattle-fold!" he struck
the buffalo. Then the buffalo cow that had been dead got up, and came
running to the cattle-fold. By the calves from that buffalo cow the
cattle herd was increased.
One day, while the six uncles and Tamarind Tikka were watching cattle
in the field, the uncles said, "Tamarind Tikka, we will watch. You go
and eat, and come back." After he had gone home, the six uncles cut all
the throats [29] of his cattle. When he returned the six uncles said,
"Ane! Tamarind Tikka. Some men came, and having tied us all and thrown
us down in the dust, cut all the throats of your cattle. Not a thing
could we do." Tamarind Tikka said, "Ha. It is good."
As he was going away, having seen people burying a corpse he waited
while they were burying it, and after they had gone he dug out the
grave, and raised the dead body to the surface. Then lifting up the
body and taking it to a tank, he bathed it, dressed it in a cloth,
tied a handkerchief round its waist, tied a handkerchief on its head,
put a handkerchief over its shoulder, [30] and placing it on his
shoulder went away with it.
After nightfall, having gone to a village, Tamarind Tikka set the
body upright against a clump of plantain trees, and asked at a house,
"Ane! You must give us a resting-place to-night."
When he said this the men in the house replied, "There will be no
resting-place here. Go away, and ask at another house."
Then he said, "Ane! Don't say so. Our great-grandfather is coming
there."
Women were driving cattle out of that garden. Tamarind Tikka said to
them, "Ane! Our great-grandfather is coming there. His eyes cannot
see anything. Don't hit him, any one."
Then a woman at the raised terrace of the shop, having knocked down
a stump, when she was throwing it at the cattle the dead body was
hit, and fell down. At the blow Tamarind Tikka went running there,
and cried out, "Appe! Great-grandfather is dead."
The men came out of the house and said, "Tamarind Tikka, don't cry. We
will give you a quart measure of money."
"I don't want either a quart measure of money or two. Our
great-grandfather is dead," Tamarind Tikka said, and cried aloud.
Again the men said, "Appa! Tamarind Tikka, don't cry. We will give
you three quart measures of money."
Tamarind Tikka said, "I don't want either three or four. I want our
great-grandfather."
Again the men said, "Tamarind Tikka, don't cry. We will give you five
quart measures of money."
Tamarind Tikka said, "I don't want either five or six. Give me my
great-grandfather."
The men said, "Tamarind Tikka, don't cry. We will give you seven
quart measures of money."
Then Tamarind Tikka said, "Ha. It is good. Give me them. What of
that! Will our great-grandfather come to his senses again?"
Taking the seven quart measures of money, and returning to his village,
Tamarind Tikka spread a mat on the raised veranda of his house, and
having put the seven quart measures of money on it, was counting
it. The six uncles having come, said, "Whence, Tamarind Tikka,
this money?"
"O! Will people with cattle hides to sell become in want of money?" he
said.
After that, the six uncles having cut the throats of all the cattle
they had, and tied the skins into pingo loads, taking them to the
villages asked, "Will you buy cattle hides?"
The men said, "Go away. Go away. Who will give money for cattle hides?"
Then the uncles having come to their village, becoming angry with
Tamarind Tikka, spoke together, "We must kill him." So they went to
him and said, "Tamarind Tikka, let us go on a journey together." He
asked, "Where?" The six uncles said, "A daughter of ours has been
asked in marriage. On that account we must go to-day to eat betel at
the house of the people who have asked for her. Tamarind Tikka said
"Ha," and went with the uncles.
Having gone very far, they came to a foot-bridge made of a tree trunk
(edanda), and on seeing it the uncles spoke together, "Let us hang
Tamarind Tikka under this, and go away." So they put him in a sack,
and having hung it under the foot-bridge, went off.
While he was under it, as a washerman bringing a bundle of clothes was
going over the bridge, Tamarind Tikka said, "Appe! The lumbago is a
leetle better since I have been hanging here." Then the washerman said,
"Tamarind Tikka, I also have lumbago; hang me up a little."
Tamarind Tikka said, "If so, unfasten this sack." After the washerman
unfastened it, Tamarind Tikka came out, and having put him in the
sack, and again tied it in the same manner under the foot-bridge,
took his bundle of clothes, came to the rice field with it, and spread
the clothes out to dry.
As the six uncles were returning, they cut the fastenings of the sack
that hung under the bridge (thus letting it fall into the stream).
While coming along afterwards to the village, they saw Tamarind
Tikka in the rice field spreading clothes out, and asked, "Whence,
Tamarind Tikka, these clothes?"
Then he said, "O! Will people who have to be under foot-bridges become
in want of clothes?"
The six uncles said, "Hang us there also, Tamarind Tikka," and they
brought six sacks and gave them to him. So he put the six uncles into
the six sacks, and hung them under the foot-bridge, and afterwards
cut the fastenings of the sacks. Then the six uncles were carried
away down the river, and died in the sea.
The six women (their wives) ran away; their six girls, saying, "Our
fathers are going for clothes to wear. Let us go also," also ran away.
So the six uncles, and the six women, and the six girls all
died. Tamarind Tikka, and his wife, and uncle, and aunt, and mother,
these five remained.
North-western Province.
In the Jataka story No. 432 (vol. iii, p. 304), a similar incident
to the last one is related. A woman whom her son and his wife thought
they had burnt while asleep, frightened a robber when he came to the
cave in which she had taken refuge, and thus got his bundle containing
jewels. When she returned home next day with the jewels, and was asked
by her daughter-in-law where she got them, she informed her that all
who were burnt on a wooden pile at that cemetery received a similar
present. So she went there, and burnt herself.
In The Story of Madana Kama Raja (Natesa Sastri), p. 97 ff., a Prince
was requested to deliver letters to the departed relatives of all at
the palace of the King under whom he was employed, who twice before
had endeavoured to kill him by giving him apparently impossible
tasks. By the aid of the magical powers of his wives, he jumped into
a pit of fire with the letters, and was saved by Agni, the Fire God,
who sent him back next day out of the fire, with costly jewels and a
splendid dress. All the persons who were hoping to kill him decided
to follow his example, and were burnt up. The Prince then became the
ruler of the kingdom.
In The Indian Antiquary, vol. iii, p. 11, in a Bengal tale by
G. H. Damant, six men burnt a farmer's house. He loaded two bags of
the ashes on a bullock, and on the way met some men driving bullocks
laden with rupees, changed two of their bags for his own, met the six
men who burnt his house, and told them he got the money by selling the
ashes. They burnt their houses and were beaten by people for trying
to sell ashes. Then they went to the farmer's house, tied him, put
him in a sack, and threw him into a river. He was saved by a man who
was riding past, on his offering to cut grass for his horse without
pay. He rode off on the horse, overtook the six men, and informed them
that he found the horse in the river, where there were many more. They
persuaded him to throw them in, tied in sacks, and all were drowned.
In the same journal, vol. iv, p. 257, the incident is given as found
among the Santals. A man who was in a sack, about to be drowned,
induced another, a shepherd, to take his place. The man then took
possession of the shepherd's cows, and when those who thought they
had killed him heard from him that there were many more in the river,
they allowed themselves to be tied up and thrown in.
In vol. xviii, p. 120, in a South Indian story by Pandita Natesa
Sastri, a man who had cheated some persons was carried off, tied up in
a bag, to be burnt alive. While firewood was being fetched, he induced
a cow-watcher to take his place, and he himself drove off the 1,001
cows of which the man had charge. When his enemies returned to his
house after burning the watcher, they found him there to welcome them,
the cows being all around. He informed them that on going to Kailasa,
the residence of the God Siva, after being burnt, he met his father
and grandfather, who stated that his allotted time on earth had not
expired, and sent him back with the cows. The others decided to go
also, and were tied up and burnt.
A variant of the last incident is also found in West Africa, and is
given in Contes Soudanais (C. Monteil), p. 121. A sorceress captured
a youth, whom she wished to destroy enclosed in three goat skins,
and she set her daughter to watch the package while she dug a pit and
filled it with wood, which she set on fire. The girl heard the boy
apparently eating food inside, and questioned him about it. He said,
"I have better than that; I have some dainties." As she wanted some she
released him and was tied up in his place, while he escaped clothed
in her dress. The sorceress returned, and threw the bundle into the
fire. Although she heard a voice inside saying the boy had tied up
the girl in it, she believed it was only a trick of his.
A similar incident is related in another story in the same volume,
p. 164.
It also occurs in a folk-tale of the Southern Province which I
contributed to The Orientalist (vol. ii, p. 53). As other incidents
in that story resemble some in the tales given below, I give it in
full here.
I may add that however improbable the marriage of seven brothers
to seven sisters may appear, it has been nearly matched in recent
years in England. The Daily Mail of January 20, 1908, contained the
following words regarding an old lady who had just died:--"She was one
of seven members of her family who married seven sons and daughters
of a neighbouring farmer."
NO. 10
MATALANGE LOKU-APPU
Once upon a time there lived a man and a woman, whose son was a youth
named Matalange Loku-Appu.
One day the mother went to the river to fetch water, telling her son to
allow nothing whatever to enter the house in her absence. While she was
away a small lizard (hikanala) ran into the house. As it approached,
the boy called out to it to stop, but it took no notice of him, and
climbed up into the roof, whereupon Loku-Appu set fire to the roof
and burnt the house down. When his mother returned, and asked him
how the house came to be burnt, he informed her that he had done it
in driving the lizard out of the roof.
Afterwards the father came home, and on learning what had occurred set
off into the forest with his son to cut sticks, in order to build a new
house. While he cut the sticks he ordered Loku-Appu to collect them.
A river flowed through the forest, and Loku-Appu asked him where it
ran. "To your house," he replied. The son, taking this literally,
threw all the sticks into the river, so that it might transport them
home. When the father discovered that all the sticks were lost in
this way, he flew into a passion, tied the boy on a log, and set him
afloat in the river, saying, "Go thou also."
At a short distance down the river there was a sweet-potato garden. The
gardener saw the log and boy floating past, and rescued Loku-Appu. He
inquired the boy's name, and was told it was "Uprooter-of-Creepers,
Sweet-Potato-Eater." Nevertheless, he placed the boy in charge of
his garden.
After two or three days, the gardener returned to inspect his garden,
and found all the sweet potatoes pulled up and eaten. So he tied the
boy on the log again, and set him afloat once more.
Further down the river there was a plantain garden, the owner of
which saw Loku-Appu on the log, and drew him ashore. When asked
his name, Loku-Appu replied, "Eater-of-the-first-Comb-of-Plantains,
Crusher-of-young-Plantain-Shoots." The man gave him charge of the
garden.
In a few days, the man came to see how his garden progressed, and
found everything broken down and eaten. On this, he at once dismissed
Loku-Appu.
Having nothing to live upon, Loku-Appu now began to borrow from some
tom-tom beaters. After a few months, these men, finding that he did not
repay them, called on him to make him come to a settlement. Loku-Appu
saw them at a distance, and guessing their errand, put a young girl
into the corn store-room, and began to trim a club with his knife.
When the creditors arrived he requested them to be seated. Soon
afterwards he fetched up an old woman who lived in the house, gave
her a smart blow with the club, and put her also into the corn-store.
After a few minutes, he called for betel to be brought, and the little
girl came out with it. At this, the tom-tom beaters were greatly
astonished, and made inquiries regarding the miracle, for such they
thought it. Loku-Appu told them that the virtue lay in the club,
with which all old women could be converted into young girls.
When they heard this, they became exceedingly anxious to possess the
wonderful club, but Loku-Appu refused to part with it on any terms. At
last, finding persuasion useless, the tom-tom beaters took it from
him by force, and went straight home with it.
There they called up part of the old women of their village, and after
beating them well with the club, put them into the corn store-rooms. To
give the charm time to work they waited three days. Then they went
to examine the old women, expecting to find them become young again;
but all were dead.
Full of anger, they went to Loku-Appu to tell him that he had deceived
them, and that the women were all dead. While they were still at a
distance, Loku-Appu cried out, "Alas, alas! They have taken hold of
the wrong end of the stick!" When they came near he explained to them
the blunder they had made. As they took the stick from him by force
he was not responsible for it.
This time he cut a mark on the right end of the stick to be used,
telling the tom-tom beaters that if the wrong end were used the women
would certainly die, while the proper end would as certainly change
them into young girls.
When the tom-tom beaters returned to their village they fetched up
all the rest of the old women, and after belabouring them well with
the proper end of the club, put them also into the corn-stores. Yet
after three days they found that the result was just the same as at
first; all the women were dead.
Determined to revenge themselves on Loku-Appu, they came to his house,
tied him up in a sack, and set off to the river with him, intending to
drown him. On the way, they heard the beating of tom-toms, whereupon
they set the sack down on the road, and went to see what it was about.
During their absence, a Muhammadan trader in cloth who was coming
along the road, found the sack, and heard a voice proceeding from it:
"Alas! What a trouble this is that has come upon me! How can I govern
a kingdom when I cannot either read or write?"
The trader immediately untied the sack, and questioned Loku-Appu as
to how he came there. Loku-Appu explained to the trader that he was
about to be made a king, but not possessing the requisite amount of
knowledge for such a high position he had refused the dignity; and
now he was being carried off in this way to be put on the throne. "By
force they are going to make me king," he said.
The trader remarked to him, "It will be a great favour if you will
let them do it to me instead"; and eventually they changed places,
Loku-Appu tying the trader in the sack, and he himself taking the
man's clothes and bundle of cloth. Loku-Appu then hid himself.
In a short time the tom-tom beaters came back, carried away the sack
with the would-be king, and threw it into the river.
As they were returning past a part of the river, they saw, to their
intense surprise, Loku-Appu washing clothes in it. They came to him
and said, "What is this, Loku-Appu? Where have you come from? Where
did you get all this cloth?" He replied, "These are the things which
I found in the river bottom when you threw me in with the sack. As
they are rather muddy I am cleaning them."
The tom-tom beaters said that they would be greatly obliged if he
would put them in the way of getting such treasures, so he requested
them to bring sacks like that in which he had been tied.
They soon came back with the sacks, were tied up in them, and were
thrown into the river by Loku-Appu.
Then Loku-Appu went to the tom-tom beaters' village, and took
possession of their lands and houses.
Some of the incidents of this story are found in No. 58 also.
In The Indian Antiquary, vol. iii, p. 11, in a Bengal story, by
Mr. G. H. Damant, some men who had been cheated by a farmer, called
at his house regarding the matter. He offered them food, and when they
sat down to the meal struck his wife with his bullock goad, and said,
"Be changed into a girl, and bring in the curry." She went out, and
sent back their little daughter with the food. He then sold the men the
magic stick for one hundred and fifty rupees, telling them that if they
beat their wives well with it they would all recover their youth. They
acted accordingly, and beat them so thoroughly that the wives were all
killed. Then they returned and burnt the farmer's house down, as noted
at the end of the last story, where the later incidents are given.
In The Indian Antiquary, vol. xviii, p. 120, there is a South Indian
story by Pandita Natesa Sastri, in which, when three persons who had
been cheated by a man came to interview him regarding the frauds,
they were welcomed by him. According to arrangement, he beat his wife,
who was dressed as an old woman, with a pestle and put her inside
the house, explaining to his guests that he had only done it to make
her young again. Soon afterwards she reappeared as a young woman. He
lent them the magic pestle for a week, but by its use they only killed
their relatives. Then they returned in order to square up accounts with
him, tied him in a bag, and carried him up a mountain, intending to
burn him alive. When they went for the firewood, a cow-herd came up,
learnt from him that he was about to be forcibly married to a girl,
took his place, and was burnt, the impostor himself driving off the
1,001 cows which the man was watching. When the three cheated persons
returned and learnt that he had been sent back from Kailasa with the
cattle, as his time on earth had not expired, two of them got him to
burn them in a similar way.
NO. 11
THE WHITE TURTLE
At a village there are an elder sister and a younger sister, two
persons. The two are going away, it is said.
While going, they saw two bulls going along. Then the cattle asked,
"Where are you going?"
"We are going to a country where they give to eat and to wear"
(meaning that they were in search of husbands).
"Are we good enough for you?" [31] the cattle asked.
"What do you eat?" they asked.
"Having been put in those chenas we eat paddy and jungle vegetables."
Saying, "We don't want you," the two women go on.
As they were going, they met with two jackal-dogs. "Where are you
going?" they asked the two women.
"We are going to a country where they give to eat and to wear,"
they said.
"Are we good enough for you?" they asked.
"What do you eat?" they asked.
"We eat a few fruits and crabs," the two jackals said. "What do
you eat?"
"We eat dried-fish fry," they said. Saying, "We do not want two
jackals," the two women still go on.
While they were going, an elder brother and a younger brother were
ploughing. They asked the two women, "Where are you going?"
"We are going to a country where they give to eat and to wear,"
they said.
"Are we good enough for you?" they asked.
The two women asked, "What do you eat?"
"We eat dry-fish fry," they said.
"Then both parties eat it," they said. "It is good."
"If so, it is good. Go to our house," the men said. [32]
Afterwards those two men, having given the two keys of their houses
into the hands of the elder sister and the younger sister, said,
"The cooking things are in such a place; go there, and having opened
the doors cook until we come."
Then the two women went to the houses, and the elder sister opened the
door of the elder brother's house and cooked; and the younger sister
opened the door of the younger brother's house and cooked. Afterwards
the two men came home, and having eaten, stopped there [with the
sisters, as their husbands].
After many days had passed, the two sisters bore two girls. The
younger sister had many things at her house; the elder sister had
none. On account of that, the elder sister through ill-feeling thought,
"I must kill younger sister."
One day, the two sisters having cooked rice, while they were taking
it to the rice field the younger sister went in front, and the elder
sister went behind. On the way, they came near the river. Then the
elder sister said, "Younger sister, didst thou never bathe? The skin
on thy back is dirty. Take off that necklace and the clothes on thy
body, and lay them down, and let us bathe and then go."
They put down the two mat boxes of cooked rice, and having descended
into the river, she called, while bathing, to her sister, "Younger
sister, come here for me to rub thy back." While rubbing she threw her
into the middle of the river. Then she took the two boxes of cooked
rice and went to the rice field. The younger sister died in the river.
After the elder sister went to the rice field, the younger brother
asked at the hand of the elder sister, "Why has no one come from
our house?"
Then the elder sister said, "Ando! Catch her coming! [33] Isn't she
playing [illicit] games at home?" Having given the two boxes of rice
to the elder brother and the younger brother, that woman returned home.
Afterwards that younger sister's girl asked, "Loku-Amma, [34] where
is our mother?"
Then the woman said, "Ando! Catch her coming! When I came she was
still stopping in the rice field."
After it became night, the elder brother and the younger brother having
come home, the younger brother asked, "Girl, where is thy mother?"
Then the girl said, "At noon she took cooked rice to the rice field
with Loku-Amma; she has not come yet."
The younger brother said, "Where? She did not go to the rice field."
Then the girl said, "At the time when I asked at the hand of Loku-Amma,
'Where is our mother?' she said, 'She is at the rice field.'"
Afterwards the elder sister, calling the elder brother and the younger
brother, both of them [to be her husbands], took her sister's goods,
and remained there with them. From the next day, having cooked she gave
the rice into the hands of the two girls to take to the rice field.
After the girls had gone near the river for two or three days, they
saw one day a White Turtle in it, and approached and tried to catch
it. When the elder sister's girl went to catch it, it went to the
middle of the river; when the younger sister's girl went, it came to
the bank, and rubbed itself over the whole of her body.
After the elder sister's girl had gone home, she told the elder sister
of it: "Mother, there is a White Turtle in the river. When that girl
goes it comes to her; when I go it swims far away," she said.
That elder sister said, "Ha. It is good. I shall eat it," and lay down.
The younger sister's girl hearing it, went near the river, and said,
"Mother, she must eat you, says Loku-Amma."
Then the White Turtle said, "Ha. It is good, daughter. Let her
eat. After she has cooked she will give you, also, a little gravy,
and a bone. Drink the gravy, and take the bone to the cattle-fold,
and having said, 'If it be true that you are our mother, may you be
created a Mango tree,' throw it down."
Afterwards, when those two men came home, having seen that the woman
was lying down, "What are you lying down for?" they asked.
Then the woman said, "It is in my mind to eat the White Turtle that
is in the river." So the men went to the river, and having caught
the White Turtle, and brought it home, and cooked it, gave it to the
woman. Then the woman got up and ate it.
She gave the girl a little gravy, and a bone. The girl having drunk
the gravy, took the bone to the cattle-fold, and saying, "If it
be true that you are our mother, may you be created a Mango tree,"
threw down the bone.
After that, a Mango tree being created, in a day or two grew large and
bore fruit. As the two girls were going near the Mango tree they saw
that there were Mangoes on it, and went close to it. When the elder
sister's girl went to pluck the Mango fruits, the branches rose up;
when the younger sister's girl went to pluck them, the branches bent
down, and spread over her body and head. Well then, after that girl
had plucked and eaten as many as she wanted, the branches rose again.
That also the elder sister's girl, having come home, told her: "Mother,
there are fruits on the Mango tree at the cattle-fold. When I try to
pluck them the branches rise; when that girl tries to pluck them the
branches rub the ground."
The woman said, "Ha. It is good. I will split that and warm it in
the fire."
After hearing that also, that girl, having gone to the Mango tree
said, "Mother, having split you she must warm you in the fire,
Loku-Amma says."
Then the Mango tree said, "Ha. It is good, daughter. Let her split. A
splinter having fallen will remain here. Take it, and having said,
'If it be true that you are our mother, may you be created a Kaekiri
creeper,' put it down at the back of the house."
Afterwards, when the elder sister's two men came, having seen that she
was lying down, "What are you lying down for to-day also?" they asked.
Then the woman said, "Having split the Mango tree at the cattle-fold,
it is in my mind to have a few splinters warmed for me in the fire." So
the two men having gone to the cattle-fold, and having cut and split
up the Mango tree, and brought a few splinters home, put them in the
fire and fanned it. After that, the woman got up, and warmed herself
at the fire.
Then that girl went to the place where the Mango tree was, and when
she looked a splinter was there. Taking it, she came to the back of
the house, and having said, "If it be true that you are our mother,
may you be created a Kaekiri creeper," she put it down. In a day or
two a Kaekiri creeper was created there, and bore fruits.
On going there, the younger sister's girl said, "There is fruit," and
having plucked and eaten as many as she wanted, she came home. When the
elder sister's girl went to pluck them there was not a single fruit.
Having returned home, the girl said regarding that also, "Mother,
on the Kaekiri creeper which is at the back of the house there are
many fruits when that girl goes to it; when I go, not a single one."
The woman said, "Ha. It is good. Having uprooted it I will eat it in
a dry curry."
That girl after hearing that also, went near the Kaekiri creeper and
said, "Mother, having uprooted you and cooked you in a dry curry,
she must eat you, says Loku-Amma."
The Kaekiri creeper said, "Ha. It is good, daughter. Let her eat. At
the place where I am uprooted there will be a Kaekiri root. Take it
to the river, and having said, 'If it be true that you are our mother,
be created a Blue-Lotus flower,' throw it into the river."
The elder sister having uprooted the Kaekiri creeper, took it home,
and having cooked the curry, ate. After that, the girl went to the
place where the Kaekiri creeper had been, and when she looked a
Kaekiri root was there. Having taken it to the river, and said, "If
it be true that you are our mother, be created a Blue-Lotus flower,"
she threw it into the river. Then a Blue-Lotus flower was created.
When the two girls were going together to the river to bathe, having
seen that there was a Blue-Lotus flower, that younger sister's girl
went and held out her hands in a cup shape. Then the flower which
was in the middle of the river came into the girl's hands, and opened
out while in her hands. When the elder sister's girl was holding her
hands for it, it goes to the middle of the river.
That girl having come home, said of it also, "Mother, there is a
Blue-Lotus flower in the river. When that girl goes it comes to her
hands; when I go it moves far away."
The woman said, "Ha! It is good. That also I shall seize, and take."
The girl after having heard that also, went and said, "Mother, she
must pluck you also, says Loku-Amma."
Then the Blue-Lotus flower said, "Let that woman say so, daughter. She
is unable to pluck me."
Afterwards the woman having told at the hands of the two men, "Pluck
the flower and come back," the two men having gone to the river
tried to pluck it; they could not. When they are trying to pluck it,
it goes to the middle of the river.
Afterwards, the men having told it at the hand of the King of the
country, and having told the King to cause the flower to be plucked
and to give them it, the King also came near the river on the back
of an elephant, together with the King's servants. The elder sister,
and the two girls, and the two men stayed on this side.
Then the people on this side and the people on that side try and try
to take that flower; they cannot take it. That younger sister's girl
having gone to one side, after looking on said, "Indeed I am able
to take it, that flower." The King on the other side of the river
having heard that, while he was on the back of the elephant, said,
"What is it, girl, that you are saying?"
Then that girl said, "O Lord, I am greatly afraid to speak; I indeed
am able to take it, the flower."
"Ha. Take it," the King said. Afterwards, when the girl was holding
her hands in a cup shape, the flower that was in the middle of the
river came into her hands.
Afterwards the King, taking that flower, and placing the girl on the
elephant, went to the King's city.
North-western Province.
In the Jataka story No. 67 (vol. i, p. 164), a woman went to a King
and begged for "wherewith to be covered," by which she meant her
husband, who had been arrested. She explained that "a husband is a
woman's real covering."
In Indian Fairy Tales (Stokes), p. 144, a girl who was supposed to
be drowned became a pink-lotus flower which eluded capture, but came
of its own accord into the hand of a Prince.
NO. 12
THE BLACK STORKS' GIRL
In a certain country there are a woman and a man, it is said. The man
cuts jungle at a chena clearing; the woman is weaving a bag. After
the man comes home, the woman asks, "Is the jungle cut yet?" The man
says, "A couple of bushes are cut; is the bag woven?" The woman says,
"A couple of rows are woven."
Continuing in that way, after the end of two or three days the man,
while returning from cutting jungle, saw a Kaekiri creeper at a
threshing-floor, and having come near, and seen that there was a fruit
on it, plucked and ate it. A Kaekiri seed remained fixed in his beard.
After he came home, the woman, seeing it, asked, "Where did you
eat Kaekiri?"
The man said, "When I was coming home there was a Kaekiri creeper at
a threshing-floor on the way; on it there was a fruit. I ate it."
Then the woman said, "There will be more on that creeper. After I
have woven the bag let us go there."
Afterwards, having gone with him to the threshing-floor, she saw that
the Kaekiri creeper had spread completely over the floor, and that
there were as many fruits as leaves. While plucking them, she bore
a girl there.
Afterwards, the man having plucked Kaekiri, and filled and tied up
the bag, said to the woman, "Shall I take the girl, or shall I take
the bag?"
The woman told him to take the bag, leaving the girl there. So the
girl was left at the threshing-floor, and the man and woman went home,
taking the bag of fruit with them.
While a Black Stork (Mana) and a female Black Stork (Mani) were
going about seeking food, the female Stork saw that a girl was at the
threshing-floor, and having gone near it, cried out, "Ade! A thing
for me! Ade! A thing for me!" When the male Stork heard this he came
running to the spot. Having looked at the girl, the two Black Storks
took her to their house, and reared her there.
After a time, the girl having become big, the female Black Stork and
the male Black Stork said, "Daughter, we must go for golden bracelets
and golden anklets for you."
At that house there were a Parrot, a Dog, and a Cat, which were
reared there. The two Storks told the girl, "Daughter, after we
have gone, do not reduce the food of either the Parrot, or the Dog,
or the Cat. Until we return, be careful not to put out the fire on
the hearth, and not to go anywhere whatever." After saying this,
they went to bring the golden bracelets and golden anklets.
That girl having been careful for two or three days in the way
the female Stork and male Stork told her, lessened the food of the
Cat. That night the Cat extinguished the fire on the hearth.
Next morning, the girl having gone to the hearth to cook, when she
looked there was no fire on the hearth. So she said to the Parrot,
"Younger brother, last night I reduced the food of the Cat a
little. For that, the Cat has extinguished the fire on the hearth,
and now there is no fire for cooking. You go and look from which
house smoke is rising, and come back."
Then the Parrot having gone flying, looked and looked. There was not
any coming from any other houses; from the house of the Rakshasa,
only, there was a smoke. The Parrot having come home, said, "Elder
sister, I looked at the whole of the houses. There was not any; only
from the house of the Rakshasa the smoke came." Afterwards the girl,
having said, "If so, younger brother, you stop at home until I go
and bring fire," went for the fire.
The Rakshasa was not at home; only the Rakshasa's wife was there. The
girl having gone to that house, said, "Give me a little fire." Then
that woman made the girl boil and dry seven large baskets of paddy
(unhusked rice), and pound the paddy in those seven, and bring seven
large pots of water, and bring seven bundles of firewood. Then taking a
piece of coconut shell with a hole in it, she put ashes at the bottom,
and having placed a fire-charcoal on them, gave it to her. While
the girl was going home, the ashes fell through the hole all along
the path.
Afterwards, when the Rakshasa came home, "What is this, Bolan?" he
asked the woman; "there is a smell of a human body, a human body that
has been here."
The woman said, "A girl came for fire. Thinking you would come, I
employed that girl, and having made her boil seven baskets of paddy,
and dry it, and pound it, and bring seven large pots of water,
and seven bundles of firewood, when I looked you were not to be
seen. Afterwards, having placed ashes in a piece of coconut shell
with a hole in it, I put a fire-charcoal on them, and gave her it. By
this time she will have gone home. There will be ashes along the path
on which that girl went. Go, looking and looking at the ashes-path,"
she said.
Afterwards the Rakshasa went along the ashes-path. The Parrot having
seen him coming in the rice field, said, "Elder sister, the Rakshasa
is coming. Shut the door," he said. So the girl, shutting the door
and bolting it, stopped in the house.
The Rakshasa having come near the house, said, "Here are golden
bracelets, O daughter. Here are golden anklets, O daughter. Open the
door, my daughter."
Then the Parrot said, "No golden bracelets, O elder sister. No golden
anklets, O elder sister. Open not the door, wise elder sister."
Then the Rakshasa ran to catch the Parrot. He could not catch it;
the Parrot went into the forest and stayed there.
Afterwards the Rakshasa having come again near the house said,
"Here are golden bracelets, O daughter. Here are golden anklets,
O daughter. Open the door, my daughter."
Then the Dog, which was in the open space at the front of the house,
said, "No golden bracelets, O elder sister. No golden anklets,
O elder sister. Open not the door, wise elder sister."
The Rakshasa having gone running after the Dog, and having caught and
killed the Dog, came again near the house, and said, "Here are golden
bracelets, O daughter. Here are golden anklets, O daughter. Open the
door, my daughter."
Then the Cat that was in the raised veranda said, "No golden bracelets,
O elder sister. No golden anklets, O elder sister. Open not the door,
wise elder sister."
The Rakshasa, having gone running, killed also the Cat, and again
having come near the house, said, "Here are golden bracelets,
O daughter. Here are golden anklets, O daughter. Open the door,
my daughter."
Then the Gam-Murunga [35] tree said, "No golden bracelets, O elder
sister. No golden anklets, O elder sister. Open not the door, wise
elder sister."
Afterwards the Rakshasa, having cut down and broken up the Gam-Murunga
tree, again went near the house, and said, "Here are golden bracelets,
O daughter. Here are golden anklets, O daughter. Open the door,
my daughter."
Then the Murunga logs said, "No golden bracelets, O elder sister. No
golden anklets, O elder sister. Open not the door, wise elder sister."
The Rakshasa, having set fire to the logs, and gone near the house
again, said, "Here are golden bracelets, O daughter. Here are golden
anklets, O daughter. Open the door, my daughter."
Then the ashes of the burnt Murunga tree said, "No golden bracelets,
O elder sister. No golden anklets, O elder sister. Open not the door,
wise elder sister."
The Rakshasa, having collected the ashes, and taken them to the river
and placed them in it, and again having gone to the house, said,
"Here are golden bracelets, O daughter. Here are golden anklets,
O daughter. Open the door, my daughter."
Then the water of the river said, "No golden bracelets, O elder
sister. No golden anklets, O elder sister. Open not the door, wise
elder sister."
Afterwards, the Rakshasa, having gone to the river, and having drunk
and drunk, could not finish the water, and at last he burst open
and died.
After that, the female Black Stork and the male Black Stork brought
the golden bracelets and golden anklets, and having given them to
the girl, remained there.
North-western Province.
In a variant of this story, related by a Duraya in the North-western
Province, the persons who abandoned the child were a Gamarala and
his wife, the Gama-mahage.
On the Storks' finding it, they cried, "Ada! I have met with a
gem!" Their home was in a rock-cave. When the Parrot warned the girl
that the Rakshasa was coming, "having gone running, and having sprung
into the cave, she shut the door. The Rakshasa says, 'Having brought
bracelets for the arms, jackets for the body, cloths for the waist,
O daughter, open the door, my daughter.'
"Then the Parrot said, 'It is false that there are bracelets for the
arms, jackets for the body, cloths for the waist. Open not the door,
my elder sister.'
"Then the Rakshasa tried to kill the Parrot. Having flown away it
settled on a tree. The Rakshasa having smashed the Parrot's cage,
again says, 'Having brought bracelets for the arms,'" etc.
The Cat warned the girl and was killed, then the Dog, next the
Ash-plantain tree, and lastly the Katuru-Murunga tree. I now translate
again.
"After that, he struck a finger-nail into the lintel, and having
struck another finger-nail into the threshold, the Rakshasa went away.
"After that, the male Black Stork and female Black Stork came. Having
come, they say, 'Having brought bracelets for the arms, jackets for
the body, cloths for the waist, open the door, my daughter.'
"Then the Parrot says, 'It is true that there are bracelets for the
arms, jackets for the body, cloths for the waist, elder sister. Open
the door, my elder sister.'
"As she was coming out opening the door, her foot was pricked by a
finger-nail, and the crown of her head by a finger-nail. Then becoming
unconscious she fell down, the finger-nails having entered her. Both
Storks together drew out the finger-nails."
She recovered, and they gave her the things they had brought, but
sent her away. The rest of the story is an evident modern addition
of no interest. She went to a large chena, and was taken home by a
widow who was there.
In another variant of the Western Province the two birds which
reared the child were Crows. After the child was born, the mother,
a Gamarala's wife (Gama-Mahage or Gama-Mahayiya) said, "Are we to take
the child, or are we to take the bag of Kaekiri?" Her husband replied,
"Should we take the child it will be [necessary] to give it to eat
and to wear; should we take the bag of Kaekiri we shall be able to
eat it for one meal." "So the Gama-Mahage, having put the child
among the Kaekiri creepers, taking the bag went home." The Crows
carried away the infant, and called it Emal Bisawa, Queen of the
Flowers. When the girl had grown up, the birds went to bring pearls
for her to wear, after giving her the usual injunctions regarding the
food of the Dog, the Cat and the Parrot. She reduced the Dog's food,
and it put out the fire. The Parrot found smoke rising from the house
of a Rakshasi, and guided her to the place. The Rakshasi was absent;
her two daughters gave the girl two amunas (nearly twelve bushels)
of paddy to pound. "She thought, 'Having been pounded, go into the
house,' and it became pounded of its own accord." Then they gave
her seven perforated pots to be filled with water and brought. She
filled them and handed them over. They gave her a piece of coconut
husk with a hole in it, and a perforated coconut shell, and filled
the former with sesame seeds, and the latter with ashes on which was
placed burning charcoal. She hurried home with these, being warned
by the Parrot that the Rakshasi was coming.
When the Rakshasi asked her daughters who had been to the house,
they replied that the female Crow's girl had taken some fire, and
that there would be sesame and ashes along the path by which she
had gone. The Rakshasi ran along it, found the door shut, and said,
"Mother has come. Father has come. We are bringing pearls of the sea;
we are bringing also wire for stringing the pearls. Open the door,
O daughter." The Katuru-Murunga tree warned her that it was false;
when it was burnt, its ashes repeated the warning, then the Dog, the
Cat, and the Parrot. Then the Rakshasi, "having broken her finger
nails, and having fixed one above and one below in the door-frame,
went away. After that, her mother and father came, and said, 'Mother
has come. Father has come. We are bringing pearls of the sea; we
are bringing also wire for stringing the pearls. Open the door,
my daughter.' The Parrot said the same. As she opened the door,
a finger-nail having entered the crown of her head she died. When
they asked the Parrot, 'What has happened?' 'Because of the Rakshasi
elder sister died,' he said."
In a fourth variant of the North-western Province the aspect of
the story is partly changed, and I give a translation of the latter
portion, because it contains an account of a runaway match, such as
still sometimes occurs.
In this story, a Gamarala's wife went with another woman to the chena
while the Gamarala was asleep, and after eating as much fruit as
possible they filled a bag also. As they were proceeding home rapidly
with it, the Gamarala's wife gave birth to a child at a hollow in which
pigs wallowed. She asked the other woman to carry it home for her,
but this person refused, and took the bag of Kaekiri fruit instead,
so the child was abandoned.
Then the two Storks came, and carried the child to their cave, and
reared it. After the girl grew up, they went off to seek bracelets and
necklaces for her, instructing the girl to "give an equal quantity of
food to the Cock, the Dog, the Cat, the Parrot, the Crow, the Rat,
and the other creatures," and warning her that if she gave less to
the Rat it would extinguish the fire. After some days she reduced
the Rat's food, so it put out the fire.
The Parrot found a house--not a Rakshasa's--from which smoke was
rising, and guided the girl to it. The woman who was at it gave her
some fire without delaying her, and she returned home with it. I now
translate the concluding part.
"After the son of the woman who had the fire came home, the woman says
to her son, 'To-day a good-looking Princess came to the house.' Then
the son asks, 'Mother, by which stile did the Princess go?' His mother
says, 'Here, by this stile,' and showed him it.
"Then the man having set off, and having gone near the cave, and seen
the Princess, when he said, 'Let us go to our house,' the Princess
said, 'Because my parents are not here [to give their consent]
I cannot go.' This man says, 'No matter for that,' and seizing the
hand of the Princess, they came to his house.
"Afterwards the two Black Storks which went seeking bracelets and
rings, having come near the cave, when they looked the Princess was not
there. The Black Storks ask the Dog, the Cat, the Crow, the Parrot,
the Rat, and the Cock, 'Where is the Princess?' They all say, 'A man
came, and while the Princess was saying she could not go he seized her
hand and took her away.' When the Storks asked, 'By which stile did he
take her?' saying, 'There, by that stile,' the animals showed them it.
"Then the two Black Storks having gone flying, when they looked the
Princess was staying at the house. Afterwards the two Storks gave
the Princess the bracelets, rings, and coral necklaces which they had
brought; and having handed her over to the man, the two Black Storks
went to their dwelling."
In Old Deccan Days, Ganges Valley (Frere), p. 87 ff., there is a
variant according to which the child was carried off to their nest
by two eagles, from the side of the mother. After the eagles went to
bring a ring for her, the cat stole some food, and on being punished
by the girl put out the fire.
The girl went to a Rakshasa's house for a light, and was detained by
his mother, pounding rice and doing other housework. She left at last
with instructions to scatter corn along the path.
The Rakshasa followed the track and climbed to the nest, but the outer
door was bolted, and he could not enter, so he left his nail in a crack
of the door. When the girl opened the outer door--there were seven
in all--the nail wounded her hand, and being poisonous apparently
killed her. The eagles returned, and seeing this flew away. When a
King arrived and drew out the nail, she recovered, and he married her.
NO. 13
THE GOLDEN KAEKIRI FRUIT
In a certain city there are a man and his daughter, it is said. The
man's wife being dead, the girl cooks food for the man. The man
cuts jungle at a chena clearing. The girl every day having cooked,
and placed the food ready for her father, goes to rock in a golden
swing. [36] Then a Mahage [37] comes and says, "Daughter, give me a
little fire." The girl sitting in the swing says, "Is it here with
me? It is at the hearth; take it." The Mahage goes into the house,
pulls out and takes the things which that girl has cooked and placed
there, and having eaten, carries away the fire.
So, after two or three days had passed in that manner, the man asked,
"Who, daughter, while I am coming home has eaten the rice that you
have cooked and placed for me?"
Then the girl said, "I don't know, father. Every day when I have
cooked the food and placed it ready for you, and gone to rock in the
golden swing, a Mahage comes and begs fire from me. Then I say, 'Is
it here with me? It is at the hearth; take it.' It will be the Mahage."
Then the man, having said, "Ha. Daughter, cook and arrange the food
to-day also, and go to the golden swing," got onto the shelf, and
stayed there.
Afterwards the girl, having cooked and placed the food exactly as on
other days, went to the golden swing. Then the Mahage having come on
that day also, begged, "Daughter, give me a little fire." The girl
said, "Is it here with me? It is at the hearth; take it."
Then the Mahage having gone into the house, and drawn out the pots,
and eaten part of the rice, when she was about to rise after taking the
fire, the man on the shelf asked, "What is that you have been doing?"
The Mahage said, "What indeed! Why don't you invite me [to be your
wife]?"
The man said, "Ha. Stop here." So the woman stayed.
After a great many days had passed, the woman lay down. "What are
you lying down for?" asked the man.
The woman said, "It is in my mind to eat your daughter's two eyes."
Afterwards the man called the girl, and said, "Daughter, a yoke of
cattle are missing; let us go and seek them." While he went with the
girl, taking a cord, the dog also followed behind.
Having gone into a great forest, he said, "Daughter, come here in
order that I may look at your head." [38] While he was looking and
looking at it, the girl fell asleep. Then the man placed the girl
against a tree, and tied her to it; and having cut out her two eyes,
came home and placed one on the shelf and one in the salt pot. The
dog that went with the man having come home, howled, rolling about
in the open space in front of the house.
There was also a child. That little one having gone somewhere, on
coming back bringing a mango, asked that Mahage, "Loku-Amma, give me
a knife." The woman said, "Have I got one here? It is on the shelf;
get it."
Then the child, going into the house, and putting his hand on the
shelf, caught hold of the eye placed there by the man, and said, "This
is indeed our elder sister's eye. Loku-Amma, give me a piece of salt."
The woman said, "Have I got any here? Take it from the salt pot."
When the child put his hand into the salt pot the other eye was
there. He took it also. When he stepped down from the veranda of the
house into the compound, the dog went in front, and the child followed
after him.
Having gone on and on, the dog came to the place in the great forest
where the girl was, and stopped there. When the child looked, his elder
sister was tied to the tree. He saw that red ants were biting her from
her eyes downward, and having quickly unfastened her he took her to a
tank, and bathed her. Then taking both her eyes in his hand, he said,
"If these are our elder sister's eyes, may they be created afresh,"
and threw them down. After that, they were created better than before.
Afterwards the girl said, "Younger brother, we cannot go again to that
house. Let us go away somewhere." So they went off. While they were
going along the road, a King was coming on horseback, tossing and
tossing up a golden Kaekiri fruit. The child, after looking at it,
said, "Elder sister, ask for the golden Kaekiri."
The girl replied, "Appa! Younger brother, he will kill both of us. Come
on without speaking."
Then the child another time said, "Elder sister, ask for it and give
me it."
The King having heard it, asked, "What, Bola, is that one saying?"
The girl replied, "O Lord, nothing at all."
"It was not nothing at all. Tell me," the King said a second time.
Then the girl replied, "O Lord, I am much afraid to say it. He is
asking for that golden Kaekiri."
The King said, "I will give the golden Kaekiri if thou wilt give me
thy elder sister."
The child said, "Elder sister and I, both of us, will come."
So the King, having placed the girl on horseback, went to his city
with the child, and married the girl.
After many days had passed, when the King was about to go to a war
the girl was near her confinement. So the King said, "If it be a girl,
shake an iron chain. If it be a boy, shake a silver chain." Afterwards
the girl bore a boy, and shook a silver chain.
Before the King came back, the girl's father and Loku-Amma
(step-mother), having collected cobras' eggs, polangas' [39] eggs,
and the like, the eggs of all kinds of snakes, and having cooked
cakes made of them, came to the place where the girl was.
The girl's Loku-Amma told her to eat some of the cakes. When she
did not eat them, that woman, taking some in her hand, came to her
and rubbed some on her mouth. At that very moment the girl became a
female cobra, and dropped down into a hole in an ant-hill. Her father
and Loku-Amma went home again. The infant was crying on the bed.
Afterwards, when the girl's younger brother was saying to the golden
Kaekiri:--
They'll me myself to kill devise;
In bed the gold-hued nephew cries;
As a lady, gold-hued sister rise," [40]
the cobra returned [in her woman's form], and having suckled and
bathed the infant, and sent it to sleep, again [becoming a snake]
goes back to the ant-hill.
Then the King having returned, asked the younger brother, "Where,
Bola, is thy elder sister?"
The child said, "Our father and Loku-Amma having cooked a sort of
cakes came and gave us them, and Loku-Amma told elder sister to
eat. Afterwards, as she did not eat, Loku-Amma, taking some, rubbed
them on elder sister's mouth. At that very moment elder sister became
a female cobra, and dropped down into an ant-hill."
Then the King asked, "Did she not return again, after she had dropped
down into the ant-hill?"
The child replied, "While I was calling her she came back once."
The King said, "Call her again in that very way."
So the boy said to the golden Kaekiri,
They'll me myself to kill devise;
In bed the gold-hued nephew cries;
As a lady, gold-hued sister rise."
Afterwards, the cobra came [in her woman's form], and having suckled
and bathed the child, and sent it to sleep, cooked for the King,
and apportioned the food for him.
Then when she tried to go away [in her cobra form], the King cut the
cobra in two with his sword. One piece dropped down into the ant-hill;
the other piece became the Queen, and remained there.
After that, the King collected cobras, polangas, all kinds of snakes,
and having, with the Queen, put them into two corn measures, they
took the two boxes, and went to the house where the Queen's father and
Loku-Amma were. There they gave them the two boxes, and said, "We have
brought presents for you. Go into the house, and having shut the door,
and lowered the bolt, open the mouths of the two boxes. Otherwise, do
not open the mouths in the light." The King and Queen remained outside.
The Queen's father and Loku-Amma, taking the two boxes, went into the
house, and having shut the door and bolted it, opened the mouths of
the two boxes. At that moment, the snakes that were in them came out,
and bit both of them, and both of them died.
Afterwards, the King and Queen came to the city, and stayed there.
North-western Province.
In Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 132, a girl received a fan, the
shaking of which summoned a Prince, however far away he might be.
At p. 239 also, a Queen received a golden bell, the ringing of which
summoned the absent King.
In the Sinhalese story, it is evidently to be understood that the
shaking of the chain would be heard by the King while he was away,
although the narrator omitted to mention this.
NO. 14
THE FOUR DEAF PERSONS
In a certain city there were a woman and a man, it is said. Both of
them were deaf. A female child was born to that man, and this child
was also deaf. The man to whom she was given in marriage when she
grew up was also deaf.
The girl's husband went to plough a rice field at the side of the
high road. While he was ploughing, a man who was going along the road
asked the way. Continuing to plough with the yoke of bulls, the deaf
man said, "I brought this bull from the village. This other bull is
from father-in-law's herd."
"What are the facts about the bulls to me? Tell me the way," the
man said.
The deaf man replied, "The bull is from my herd."
The man said again, "What are the facts about the bulls to me? Tell
me the way."
Then the deaf man, replying, "Don't say that another time," beat the
man with the goad, and the man having received the blows went away.
Afterwards, the deaf man's wife having brought cooked rice to the
field, he unfastened the cattle which had been ploughing, and while
he was eating said to the woman, "A man came just now, and saying,
'Whose is the yoke of bulls?' quarrelled with me about them."
The woman replied, "Through seeking firewood and water and vegetables,
and cooking, I was a little late in the day in coming."
Having quarrelled with him over it, she bounded off, and having gone
home, went to the place where her mother was plaiting a mat, and said
to her, "Mother, our house man quarrelled with me, saying that I was
late in taking the rice."
The woman said, "Marry thy father! What is it to thee whether my
works are good or not good now?" and she quarrelled with her.
The woman having gone to the place where her husband was watching
a sweet-potato chena during the day time, on account of thieves
uprooting the plants, said, "To-day my daughter having taken cooked
rice to the field, and having given it and returned, quarrelled with
me, saying that the plaiting of my mat was bad. I also indeed scolded
her a great deal, saying, 'What is it to thee whether my works are
good or not good now?' I have come to tell you about it."
Then the man said, "Bola, you infamous woman! Because I stopped in
the chena you cooked and ate three sweet-potatoes, did you?" and he
beat and drove away the woman.
Then saying that it was useless to go on with the chena when his
wife was eating the crop, he cut the fence, and abandoned it to the
cattle. And the man left the village and the district, and went away.
North-western Province.
The quarrels of deaf persons through misunderstanding each other's
remarks form a common subject of folk-tales. The mistakes of three
deaf people are related in Folklore in Southern India (Natesa Sastri),
p. 3 ff., and Tales of the Sun (Kingscote and N. Sastri), p. 1 ff.
The Abbé Dubois published another amusing South Indian variant,
which recounted the mistakes of four deaf men (le Pantcha-Tantra,
1872, p. 339 ff.). The four persons in it were a shepherd, a
village watchman, a traveller who was riding a stolen horse, and
a Brahmana. The shepherd requested the watchman to look after his
flock during his temporary absence. In reply the latter refused to
let him have the grass that he had cut. On the shepherd's return,
he offered him a lame lamb as a reward for the trouble he thought
the man had taken, but the watchman fancied he was being accused of
laming it. They stopped a horseman who was riding past, and asked him
to decide their quarrel. In reply, he admitted that the horse was not
his. Each thought the decision was against him, and cursed him for it;
and while the quarrel was at its height they referred it to a Brahmana
who came up, who replied that it was useless for them to stop him,
as he was determined never to return to his wicked wife. "In the crew
of devils I defy any one to find one who equals her in wickedness,"
he said. The horse-thief, observing men coming in the distance,
made off on foot, the shepherd returned to his flock, the watchman,
seeing the lamb left, took it home in order to punish the shepherd
for his false charge, and the Brahmana stayed at a rest-house, and
went home again next day.
In the Contes Soudanais (W. Africa), by C. Monteil, p. 18 ff.,
there is a story which resembles both this South Indian one and the
Sinhalese one, in part. A shepherd in search of a lost sheep asked
a cultivator about it. He replied, "My field begins before me and
ends behind me." The shepherd found the sheep, and offered it to the
cultivator in payment for quarters for the night. The latter thought
he was being charged with stealing it, and took him before a village
headman, who remarked, "Still another story about women! Truly this
can't continue; I shall leave the village." When he told his wife
to accompany him, she said she would never live with a man who was
always talking of divorcing her.
NO. 15
THE PRINCE AND THE YAKA
A king of a single city had one son, who was a Prince of five
years. At that time, a Yaka [41] having settled in that kingdom began
to devour the people of the city, and by reason of this the whole city
was like to be abandoned. At last, the King and the men of the city,
making great efforts, seized the Yaka, and having made an iron house,
put him in it, and shut the door.
At that time it became necessary for the King of the city to go to
war. After he had gone off to the war, when the King's son one day
had opened the door of the house in which was the man-eating Yaka,
and was looking at him, the Yaka fell down, and made obeisance to him,
and signifying his misery to the Prince, began to weep. So the Prince,
pitying him, told the Yaka to go away. Then the Yaka, saying to the
Prince, "It is good. I will assist you, too," went away.
After he had left, when the Prince had gone home the King who had
gone to the war returned, having conquered. When he looked at the
room in which the Yaka had been, the door was open. The King asked
who had opened the door. The Queen replied that the Prince opened
it. Then the King said, "To-morrow I must behead that wicked Prince."
The Queen, being sorry at this, having tied up a packet of cooked
rice, and given it and money to the Prince, and having given him a
horse and sword, said, "The King has settled to behead you to-morrow
for letting the Yaka escape. Go away at night to any country you like."
So the Prince, taking the money and the bundle of cooked rice, and the
sword, mounted the horse, and set off to go to another country. There
was a travellers' shed at the road along which he was going. As he
was unable to go further on account of weariness, he went that night
to the travellers' shed; and having fastened the horse to one of the
posts of the shed, he lay down, placing the bundle of rice at his side.
Then seeing a youth running along the road, he called him, and asked,
"Boy, where art thou going?"
The boy said, "I am going to a place where they give to eat and
to wear."
Then the Prince said, "I will give you pay. Stop and look after
my horse."
The youth said, "It is good. I will stay."
The Prince said, "I do not know the fords in this country; therefore
tell me of a path by which we can go to another country."
The youth replied, "There is a river here. On the other side of
it there is a city, to go to which there is not a short road from
here. However, there is another road further on. By it we must pass
over a bridge."
"If so," said the Prince, "having bathed here let us go."
Having seen that three Princesses who were at the city on the other
side were bathing, he also was pleased at bathing there. After he
had gone to bathe, the three Princesses of the King of the country
on the other side, when they looked saw the good figure of this Prince.
After that, as the Prince wished to go after bathing, the youth who
was to look after the horse having mounted it, began to ride away,
wearing the Prince's clothes, and taking the sword.
When the Prince, having bathed, and seen the Princesses on the other
bank putting on their clothes, came ashore to put on his clothes, on
his looking for them there were no clothes, no sword, no horse. The
youngest Princess of the three who had bathed on the other side well
knew what had happened.
This Prince, having on only his bathing cloth, bounded off, and while
running along overtook the horse and youth. When he was still far
away, the youth said, "Do not come near me; should you come I will
cut you with the sword. If you are willing to look after this horse,
take hold of its tail and come."
Then because that one in any case must go to the city, he said,
"It is good," and having taken hold of the horse's tail went with
him. Going thus from there, they arrived at the city.
It was a custom of the King of that country that, having sent a guard,
when any one of the men of another country arrived, he was to write
the names of those persons, and come to the King. When these persons
arrived, a guard being there asked their names. The youth who came
on the horse said, "My name is Manikka Settiya; except the youth who
looks after my horse, there is no one else with me."
The guard having gone, said to the King, "Lord, a person called
Manikka Settiyare has come and is there, together with a horse-keeper."
Then the King thought, "Because the man called Manikka Settiyare has
this name, Manikka, he will be able to value my gem" (manikya). A
gem of the King's having been taken through the whole country, no
one had been able to value it.
So having summoned that Manikka Settiyare, the King, after giving
him food and drink, showed him it, and said, "Manikka Settiyare,
there is my gem. Can you value it?"
That Manikka Settiyare replied, "My horse-keeper will tell you
the value."
The King became angry because he said, "My horse-keeper will tell you
it," and indignantly caused the horse-keeper to be brought speedily,
and asked, "Can you value this?" The horse-keeper Prince said,
"If I try hard I can." Then the King gave it into his hands.
Taking it and weighing it, and learning when he looked at it that
there was sand inside the gem, he said, "As it now appears to me,
the value of this gem is four sallis" (half-farthings).
The King becoming angry asked, "How do you know?"
The Prince replied, "There is sand inside this gem."
Then the King asked, "Can you cut it, and show me it?"
The horse-keeper said, "If you will ask for the sword belonging to
that Manikka Settiyare, I will cut it and show you it."
After that, the King gave him the sword that was in the hand of the
Settiyare. Then the horse-keeper, taking the sword, and remembering the
name of his father the King, and thinking, "By the favour of the Gods,
if it be appointed that it will happen to me to exercise sovereignty
over this city, I must cut this gem like cutting a Kaekiri fruit,"
put the gem on the table, and cut it with the sword. Then the sand
that was in the gem fell out, making a sound, "Sara sara."
Afterwards the King, thinking, "When this horse-keeper knows so much,
how much doesn't this Settirala know!" having given food and drink
to the horse-keeper, and also to the Settiyare, and having greatly
assisted them, made them stay there a little time.
The youngest Princess well knew the wicked things that this Settiyare
was saying about the horse-keeper youth. On account of her great
sorrow concerning this horse-keeper, the Princess instructed the
butler who gave the food at the royal house: "Give the horse-keeper
who accompanied that Manikka Settiyare, food like that you prepare
for me, and a bed for sleeping on, and assist him a little."
After that, the butler and the rest helped him. The Prince was
unwilling to enjoy that pleasure. "Ane! I am a horse-keeper. Do not
you assist me in that way," he said.
After that, the King's youngest Princess, for the sake of sending the
Prince away from the post of looking after the horse, went to the King,
and wept while saying thus: "Ane! Father, [42] because of this youth
who looks after them, my sheep are nearly finished. On that account,
taking the horse-keeper who came with that Settiyare, to look after
my sheep, let us send the youth who looks after the sheep to look
after the horse."
The King replied, "Having asked the Settiyare we can do it."
The King having asked the Settiyare the thing she told him, "You can
do it," he said; and after he had thus spoken to the Settiyare it was
done. So the horse-keeper went to look after the sheep. Having gone
there, while he was looking after them for a long time, the sheep
increased in number by hundreds of thousands.
One day, when the King had gone for hunting sport into the midst of
the forest, he was seized there by a Yaka. After being seized, he
undertook to give the Yaka the King's three Princesses, and having
escaped by undertaking this charge he came back.
Next day he made a proclamation through the whole city by beat
of tom-toms. What was it? "Having been seized yesterday in the
forest by a Yaka, I only escaped by promising to give him my three
Princesses. To-morrow a Princess, on the day after to-morrow a
Princess, on the day after that a Princess; in this manner in three
days I am giving the three Princesses. If a person who is able to do
it should deliver them, having married that person to them, I will
appoint him to the kingdom."
Then Manikka Settiyare said, "I can do it."
On that day, that Prince who was looking after the sheep went to look
after them. While he was there, a man, taking a sheep, ran off into the
chena jungle. While bounding after him in order to recover it, having
gone very far, the Prince saw him go down the hole of a polanga snake.
After going near the polanga's hole, and looking down it, and seeing
that the hole descended into the earth, the Prince went along that
tunnel. Having gone on from there it became dark, and going on in
the darkness he saw a very great light. Having gone to the light,
when he looked about there was a man asleep, wearing very many clothes.
Then it was in the mind of this shepherd to go away, and in his mind
not to go. If you should say, "Who was sleeping there?" it was the
Yaka who had formerly been in that iron house, and had left it. That
Yaka at that very time saw in a dream that the Prince who had sent
him out of that house had come to him, and was there. While seeing
him in the dream, the sleeping Yaka awoke, and when he looked up the
Prince was beside him.
The Yaka, getting up from there, went to the Prince, and while he
was embracing him the Prince became afraid. Then the Yaka said,
"Lord, let not Your Majesty be afraid. The Yaka whom you sent away
from that house is I indeed."
After that, the Prince sat down. Then the Yaka asked, "Where are
you going?"
The Prince replied, "That I sent you away, our father the King decreed
as a fault in me, and appointed that I should be beheaded. Then our
mother, having tied up and given me a bundle of cooked rice, told me
to go anywhere I wanted." Having said this he told him all the matter.
After that, the Yaka brought the lost sheep, and having given it to
the Prince, asked, "What more do you want?"
The Prince said, "I want another assistance."
"What is the assistance?" he asked.
The Prince replied, "After I had remained in this way, the King,
the father of the Princess who looks after the sheep, and of two more
Princesses, having gone hunting and been caught by a Yaka, is giving
the three Princesses to him as demon offerings. If there should be
a person who can deliver them, he has made proclamation by beat of
tom-toms that having given to him the three Princesses in marriage,
he will also give him a part of the kingdom."
The Yaka said, "It is good. I will bring and give you victory in
it. Be good enough to do the thing I tell you. After you have eaten
rice in the evening, be good enough to come to this palace." He then
allowed the Prince to return home.
The Prince having eaten his rice in good time, went to the Yaka. After
he had gone there, the Yaka having given him a good suit of clothes,
and a horse, and a sword, instructed him: "As you go from here there
will be a path. Having gone along that path, there will be a great
rough tree. Go aside at it, and while you are waiting there the
Yaka from afar will make a cry, 'Hu.' Having come to the middle of
the chena jungle he will say again, 'Hu, Hu, Hu.' At the next step,
having bounded to the place where the Princess is stopping, he will
again say, 'Hu.' After he has said this, as he comes close to the
Princess you will be good enough to step in front. Then the Yaka,
becoming afraid, will look in the direction of your face; then be
good enough to cut him down with the sword."
The Prince having gone in that manner to the tree, when he looked
about, Manikka Settiyare having climbed aloft was in a fork of the
trunk, lamenting, having turned his back. While he was lamenting he
saw this Prince coming, and [thinking it was the Yaka], trembled and
lost his senses.
Then, in the very manner foretold, the Yaka came, crying and crying
out. As he came near the Princess, the Prince cut him down, and
having drawn out and cut off his tongue, and also asked for a ring
off the hand of the Princess, came away to the palace of the friendly
Yaka. Having arrived there, and placed there the clothes, the horse,
and the tongue, all of them, he returned to his house before any
one arose.
Manikka Settiyare, having descended in the morning, chopped the Yaka's
body into bits, and smeared the blood on his sword. While he was
there, the King went in the morning to see if the Princess was dead or
alive. Having arrived there, he saw Manikka Settiyare there looking on,
and he returned to the city, taking Manikka Settiyare and the Princess.
On the next night, also, they went and tied another Princess. The
Prince that night also having gone there, killed a Yaka who came,
and cut off the Yaka's tongue, and after asking for a jewelled ring
came away. That time, also, Manikka Settiyare went there, and after
smearing blood on his sword remained there. The King went there in
the morning, and calling the two persons came away.
On the following day he did the very same to the other Princess. This
Prince, having taken away the three jewelled rings that were on the
hands of the three Princesses, and the three tongues of the three
Yakas that he had cut off, remained silent.
As Manikka Settiya had come falsely smearing blood on his sword each
morning, as though he had killed the Yakas, the King sent letters to
all royal personages: "Manikka Settiya has cut down three such powerful
Yakas, and has delivered the three Princesses who had been devoted
to be given as a demon offering to the Yaka who seized me when I went
hunting. Because of that, I am giving the three Princesses to him in
marriage. You must come to the festival, and look at the Yakas who have
been killed." After that, the royal persons came from those countries.
While they were there, that Prince went to the palace of the friendly
Yaka. The Yaka having given that Prince golden clothes, and a golden
crown and necklace, and a golden sword, told him to go, taking those
rings and tongues, and mounted on a white horse. The Prince putting
on those things, and mounting the white horse, went.
When he went to the palace where the royal persons were who had come
to fulfil the object of the occasion, those royal persons became
afraid, and having made obeisance to him, asked, "Lord, where is Your
Majesty going?"
"'I have cut down a very powerful sort of Yaka.' Letters went through
foreign countries to this effect, and that there is a marriage
festival for the person who killed the Yaka. On account of the news
I also have come to look," he said.
After that, those royal persons said, "It is good, Lord," and with
pleasure showed him the heads of the Yakas.
Then this Prince asked, "Is there or is there not a tongue to every
living being whatever?"
Every one said, "Yes, there is one."
The Prince having looked for the tongues in the mouths of the Yakas,
asked, "What is this, that there are not tongues for these Yakas?"
After that, every one asked it of Manikka Settiya. Manikka Settiya
being afraid, remained without speaking.
Then he asked it of the two eldest Princesses. The two Princesses said,
"We do not know."
At the time when he was asking it of the youngest Princess, she
replied, seizing the hand of the Prince who split off the tongues
and took the jewelled rings, "This one went away after taking in his
hand the ring, and cutting off the tongue of the Yaka." After that,
the Prince brought to light the three rings and the three tongues,
and showed them.
Speedily having beheaded and cast out Manikka Settiya, they carried
out the wedding festival of the marriage of the three Princesses to the
Prince. After that, those royal personages went to their own kingdoms,
and the kingdom having been bestowed on this Prince he remained there
ruling it.
North-western Province.
In the Jataka story No. 510 (vol. iv, p. 305), an iron house was
built, in which a King's son was confined for sixteen years in order
to preserve him from a female Yaka who had carried off two children
born previously. The demon was unable to break into it.
In the Jataka story No. 513 (vol. v, p. 13), there is an account of a
King who was seized by an Ogre while hunting. The latter allowed the
King to go home on a promise to come back next day to be eaten. His
heroic son returned in his place, but was spared by the Ogre. The
Prince said of these beings, "The eyes of Ogres are red, and do not
wink. They cast no shadow, and are free from all fear."
NO. 16
HOW A YAKA AND A MAN FOUGHT
In a certain country three men went shooting, [43] it is said. At
the time when the three persons were going, one man was obliged to
go aside for a certain purpose. The man went aside without telling
those two men.
A Yaka saw the man separate from those two persons. Having seen it, the
Yaka seized the man, and began to push against him. At that time those
two men were very distant. The men having said, "What has happened
to this man?" came to look for him. When they came [they saw that]
there was a black one near the man. The two persons spoke together,
"Let us shoot this black one." So they shot [43] him. Then the black
one went out of the way.
Afterwards the men went to look near at hand. When they went the man
had fallen. After that, having taken hold of the man and raised him,
when they looked at him the man's body having gone quite slimy he
was unconscious also.
Afterwards, while the two men, raising [and carrying] that man, were
[endeavouring] to come away, the Yaka did not allow them to come. He
shakes the bushes; he breaks the trees; he blocked up the path all
along. One man of the two men looked upward. Then the Yaka spit into
the man's eye, and the man's eye became blind.
Well then, the two men having uttered and uttered spells, with pain
lifting up [and carrying] that man, came to the village. Having
come there, and summoned a Yaksa Vedarala [44] to restore the man to
consciousness, when he arrived they showed him this man. Then the Yaksa
Vedarala told them to warm a large pot of water. So they warmed the
water. After that, having bathed the man, and having uttered spells,
after the Vedarala had tied protective written spells and diagrams
[45] on him the man became conscious.
After that, the Yaksa Vedarala and those two men asked about the
circumstances that had occurred. The man said, "A Yaka having
come, seizing me pressed against me for me to roll over on to the
ground. What of that? I did not fall [on account of it]. After you two
fired, indeed, I fell. Then the Yaka bounded off, and went away. Well,
I don't know anything after that. Whether you came and lifted me up,
or what, I do not know."
The man having recovered from that, again the Yaka came, and
having possessed the man he began to have the powers conferred by
"possession." [46] Afterwards that Yaksa Vedarala having come again,
and given the Yaka many offerings placed on frames (dola pideni),
the Yaka went out of the way. The man remained very well [afterwards].
North-western Province.
NO. 17
CONCERNING A MAN AND TWO YAKAS
In a certain country there was a man who had cut a chena. The man,
without any one joining with him, went one day and made ready to cut
a fresh chena at a place where there was a large tree.
Then the Yaka who dwelt in the tree became afraid, and having descended
to the ground, and having said, "Lord, do not cut a chena here. At
every eventide I will bring and give you rice, coconuts, chillies,
etc.," he made obeisance. The man said, "It is good," and went home.
That very evening the Yaka brought and gave him rice and all things
sufficient for curries, and went away. After that, in no long time
the man became in a good position and wealthy, through the Yaka's
bringing him his provisions.
When coming afterwards, the Yaka met another Yaka, who asked, "Where
are you taking those things?"
The Yaka replied, "A man came to cut the residence in which I stay. On
account of it, I promised to give him food and goods."
Then the Yaka said, "Do thou give the things to-day only. I will kill
the man to-morrow."
The other Yaka said, "It is good."
On the following day, when the man of that house was going somewhere
or other, the Yaka who said, "I will kill him," came to the house,
and having crept under the bed remained there. At that time the man
returned, and sitting on the bed, said to his wife, "Bola, I am hungry
enough to eat a Yaka."
His wife had placed the knife on the shelf, and having plucked a
pine-apple had put it under the bed. The woman [not seeing the Yaka],
said, "Look there! On the shelf. Look there! Under the bed."
So the man, taking the knife that was on the shelf, went near the
bed to get the pine-apple. Then the Yaka, thinking he was coming to
kill and eat him, said, "Lord, do not eat me. I will bring and give
you each month anything you want."
So the man saying, "It is good," sent away the Yaka.
Then the Yaka met that other Yaka, and said, "When I went to set you
free I also was caught. Both of us are in the same state."
After that he gave the things monthly. Then this man having become
a great wealthy person, remained so.
North-western Province.
In a variant in Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), pp. 258-260, a barber
frightened a Bhuta (evil spirit) who was going to eat him, by
threatening to put him in his bag. He took out his looking-glass,
and showed the Bhuta his reflection, which the evil spirit thought was
another imprisoned one. The Bhuta promised to obey the barber's orders,
and provided money, and a granary filled with paddy. The Bhuta's uncle
told him that he had been cheated; but he was treated in the same way,
and made to build another granary, and fill it with rice.
NO. 18
THE THREE QUESTIONS [47]
In a certain country, as a man was going through the middle of a
city he met a man of the city, and asked him, "In what manner does
the King of this city rule?"
The man said, "It does not appear to us that he has any fault."
Then the man said [sarcastically]: "Does the King of this city know
these three matters--the centre of this country, the number of the
stars in the sky, and the work which the King of the world of the Devas
[48] does?" Having asked this, that wicked man went through the midst
of the city.
Afterwards, the man of the city came to the palace, and declared
to the King that there were three matters regarding which a man
had wanted information. After he had informed him, the King asked,
"What are the three matters?"
The man said, "The centre of the country, the number of the stars in
the sky, and the work which the King of the world of the Devas does;
these three matters," he said.
Then the King, having caused the Ratemahatmayas--(the highest
provincial Chiefs)--to be told that he ordered them to come, after he
had asked them concerning these three matters, the Chiefs said that
they could not tell him the answers. When they said that, the king
commanded that the Ratemahatmayas should be beheaded. Thereupon the
executioners came and beheaded them.
After that, he caused the Adikaramas--(the Ministers)--to be brought,
and asked them if they knew these three matters. Those persons also
said that they could not explain them. He commanded that party also
to be beheaded, and the executioners came and beheaded them.
Having beheaded all the people of both parties, there remained still
the Royal Preceptor [49] only, so he caused the Royal Preceptor to
be brought, and asked him regarding these matters. Then the Royal
Preceptor said, "I cannot tell you about them to-day. I will tell
you to-morrow." After he had said this he returned to his house, and
having come there, lying down prone on the bed he remained without
speaking a word.
The youth who looked after the Royal Preceptor's goats came at that
time, and asked, "For what reason are you lying down, Sir?"
The Royal Preceptor said, "They beheaded the Adikarama party and the
Ratemahatmaya party to-day; they will behead me to-morrow. The post
that I have told thee of [under the executioner] will be made over
to one's self."
The youth said, "Lord, you must tell me the reasons for it."
The Royal Preceptor replied, "If I should be unable to-morrow to say
which is the centre of the country, the number of the stars, and the
work which the God of the world of the Devas does, they will behead
me to-morrow."
Then the youth said, "Are you so much troubled about that? I will
say those very things for you."
Afterwards, at the time when the Royal Preceptor, on the morning of
the following day, was setting off to go to the palace, he called
the youth, and went with him to the palace. The King asked for
the answers to these three sayings. Then the Royal Preceptor said,
"What is there in these for me to tell you? Even the youth who looks
after the goats for me knows those three sayings." Then he told the
youth to come forward, and the youth came near the King.
The King asked, "Dost thou know the centre of the country, and the
number of the stars, and the work which the God of the world of the
Devas does?"
The youth fixed a stick in the ground, and showed it. "Behold! Here
is the centre of one's country. Measure from the four quarters, and
after you have looked at the account, if it should not be correct be
good enough to behead me," he said. The King lost over that.
Then he told him to say the number of the stars in the sky. Throwing
down on the ground the goat-skin that he was wearing, "Count these
hairs, and count the stars in the sky. Should they not be equal be
good enough to behead me," he said. The King lost over that also.
Thirdly, he told him to say what work the God of the world of the
Devas does.
The youth said, "I will not say it thus."
The King asked, "If so, how will you say it?"
The youth said, "Should you decorate me with the Royal Insignia, and
put on me the Crown, and give the Sword into my hands, and place me
on the Lion-throne, I will say it."
Then the King, having caused that youth to bathe, and having decorated
him, placed him upon the Lion-throne.
After that, he called the executioners, and said to them, "Ade! This
one beheaded so many [innocent] people; because of that take him and
go, and having beheaded him, cast him out. Behold! That indeed is
the work which the King of the world of the Devas does," he said.
Thus, having killed the foolish King, the youth who looked after the
goats obtained the sovereignty; and ruling the kingdom together with
the Royal Preceptor, he remained there in prosperity.
North-western Province.
The dramatic, and apparently improbable, ending of this Kandian story
is founded upon an historical fact. It is recorded in the Mahavansa,
the Sinhalese history (Part I, chapter 35), that King Yasalalaka-Tissa,
who reigned in Ceylon from 52 to 60 A.D., had a young gate porter or
messenger called Subha, who closely resembled him in appearance. The
Mahavansa relates the story of the King's deposition by him as follows
(Turnour's translation):--
"The monarch Yasalalaka, in a merry mood, having decked out the said
Subha, the messenger, in the vestments of royalty, and seated him
on the throne, putting the livery bonnet of the messenger on his own
head, stationed himself at a palace gate, with the porter's staff in
his hand. While the ministers of state were bowing down to him who
was seated on the throne, the King was enjoying the deception.
"He was in the habit, from time to time, of indulging in these
scenes. On a certain occasion (when this farce was repeated),
addressing himself to the merry monarch, the messenger exclaimed:
'How does that messenger dare to laugh in my presence?' and succeeded
in getting the King put to death. The messenger Subha thus usurped
the sovereignty, and administered it for six years."
A variant was related to me by the resident monk at a Buddhist temple
to the south of Colombo. Its tenour was as follows:--
THE FOUR DIFFICULT QUESTIONS.
A certain King put four questions to a Sangha-raja, or Superior of
the Buddhist monks. The first one was, "How deep is the sea?" the
second, "How many stars are there?" the third, "Which is the centre
of the earth?" and fourthly, he must tell the King what he, the King,
thought. The Sangha-raja was allowed a certain time in which to find
answers to the questions.
One day a monk seeing him sad, asked him the reason, and was told
that the King had put these questions to him, and had threatened to
take his life if he could not answer them.
The monk told him not to have any fear, and said that he would go
on the appointed day, and answer the King. When the day came round,
the monk dressed himself in the Sangha-raja's robes, and appeared
before the King, saying that he was ready to answer the questions.
The King asked him, "How deep is the sea?" He replied, "At first it
is knee-deep; as you go on it is waist-deep; further on it is up to
the neck; and beyond that it is over the head." The King was satisfied.
He next asked, "How many stars are there?" "Twenty lakshas (two
millions)," said the monk. "If you do not believe it, count them." With
this answer, also, the King was satisfied.
He then inquired, "Where is the centre of the earth?" The monk took
a staff which he had brought with him, and fixed it upright in the
ground. "Here is the centre," he said. "Measure each way from it,
and you will find the distance the same." The King was satisfied with
this answer also.
"Lastly, you must tell me what I am thinking," the King said. The
monk replied, "You think I am the Sangha-raja, but I am only one of
his monks." So the four questions were all answered satisfactorily.
I heard the following version in Cairo:--
A certain King said to his Chief Minister, "Find me a man who can
measure the world and show me the centre of it, and who can count me
the number of the stars."
The Minister considered the matter carefully, but could think of
no way of complying with the King's orders. At last his wife said,
"I can see that something is troubling you. Tell me what it is;
perhaps I can assist you." Then he told her the orders of the King,
and that he did not know where to look for any one who could do what
the King desired. "Go," she said, "to the coffee-dealer's shop. You
will find there a man who is always taking hashish. He may be able
to help you" [his mental powers being exalted by the drug].
So he went to the coffee-dealer's, and told the hashish-eater his
difficulty. "I can soon solve these questions for you," replied the
hashish-eater. "Take me to the King."
Thereupon they proceeded to the palace, and the Minister introduced
the hashish-eater to the King. He came with a donkey, which was
drawing a great load of rope.
"First show me the centre of the world," said the King.
"This place is the centre," said the hashish-eater. "If you doubt
it, send your men to drag the other end of this rope up to the sky,
and I will prove to you that you are just in the middle."
"Very well," said the King, "that is a satisfactory answer. Now give
me the number of the stars."
"Let your people count the hairs on my donkey. You will find that
they are exactly equal to the stars in number," said the man. The
King admitted that he could not prove that he was answered incorrectly.
The English version is given in the ballad termed "King John and
the Abbot of Canterbury," and is found in Bishop Percy's Reliques
of Ancient English Poetry (ed. 1844, ii, 328). I give some extracts,
etc., for the benefit of readers in Ceylon, because of its resemblance
to the second Sinhalese story.
With a view to seizing the Abbot's wealth, the King put three questions
to him, the penalty for failing to answer them being beheading. The
Abbot received three weeks' grace in which to discover the replies,
but the wisest doctors could not assist him:
Away rode the Abbot all sad at that word;
And he rode to Cambridge and Oxenforde;
But never a doctor there was so wise,
That could with his learning an answer devise.
However, as in the Kandian version, the shepherd came to his
assistance, and took his place on the appointed day, robed as the
Abbot, whose features resembled his, and accompanied by the usual
train of servants and monks.
Now welcome, sire abbot, the king he did say,
'Tis well thou'rt come back to keepe thy day;
For and if thou canst answer my questions three,
Thy life and thy living both saved shall bee.
And first, when thou seest me here in this stead,
With my crown of golde so fair on my head,
Among all my liege-men so noble of birthe,
Tell me to one penny what I am worth.
"For thirty pence our Saviour was sold
Amonge the false Jewes, as I have bin told;
And twenty-nine is the worth of thee,
For I thinke, thou are one penny worser than hee."
The king he laughed, and swore by St. Bittel,
I did not think I had been worth so littel!
--Now secondly tell me, without any doubt,
How soone I may ride this whole world about.
"You must rise with the sun, and ride with the same,
Until the next morning he riseth againe;
And then your grace need not make any doubt,
But in twenty-four hours you'll ride it about."
The king he laughed, and swore by St. Jone,
I did not think, it could be gone so soone!
--Now from the third question thou must not shrinke,
But tell me here truly what I do thinke.
"Yea, that shall I do, and make your grace merry:
You thinke I'm the abbot of Canterbury;
But I'm his poor shepheard, as plain you may see,
That am come to beg pardon for him and for mee."
The king he laughed, and swore by the masse,
Ile make thee lord abbot this day in his place!
"Now naye, my liege, be not in such speede,
For alacke I can neither write, ne reade."
Four nobles a weeke, then, I will give thee,
For this merry jest thou hast showne unto mee;
And tell the old abbot when thou comest home,
Thou hast brought him a pardon from good king John.
NO. 19
THE FAITHLESS PRINCESS
In a certain country there is a Prince, it is said. The Prince,
saying that women are faithless, does not marry.
The God Sakra having ascertained this, came in the appearance of a man,
and asked at the hand of the Prince whether if he created a Princess
out of his own very body, and gave her to him, he would be willing
to take her in marriage. The Prince said, "It is good."
Afterwards the God Sakra created a Princess from the Prince's body,
and gave her to him.
When the Prince and Princess, having got married, had been living
together for a very long time, the Princess associated with a
Nagaya. [50] When they had been thus for a long time, the Princess and
the Nagaya spoke together as to how to kill the Princess's Prince. Then
the Nagaya said, "Ask at the hand of the Prince where the Prince's
death is. After you have got to know the place where his death is,
I will bite [51] him there."
After that, the Princess asked at the hand of the Prince, "Where is
your death?" The Prince did not tell her. Every day the Princess was
asking it. On a certain day the Prince said, "To-day my death is in
my thumb."
Then the Princess told the Nagaya, "He said that his death is in
his thumb."
So the Nagaya went [in his snake form, as a cobra], and stopped on
the path on which the Prince was going for his bath, in order to
bite [51] him.
Afterwards, the Prince's people went first; the Prince went in the
middle. Then the people who went first saw the Nagaya, and killed it.
Afterwards, the people and the Prince having returned from bathing,
the Prince told at the hand of the Princess, "As we were going to bathe
to-day a cobra was on the path; my people killed it." The Princess,
clasping her hands with grief, asked, "Where was it?" The Prince told
her of the place where the cobra was staying, and she knew that it
was the Nagaya.
Afterwards the Princess having given gold to the goldsmith, and having
got a waist-chain made, told him to make a case for it. The goldsmith
made it, and gave it. Then the Princess went to the place where the
cobra was, and cut off its hood; and placing the cobra in the case
of the golden waist-chain, the Princess put it round her waist.
Having it there, when they had eaten and drunk in the evening, and
lighted the lamp in the house, both of them went into the house.
Then the Princess said to the Prince, "I will ask you a riddle. Should
you be unable to explain it, I will kill you. Should you explain it,
you shall kill me."
The Prince said "Ha," and both of them swore it.
The Princess saying,
The Naga belt Naga patiya
(Is) the golden waist-chain. Ran hawadiya.
Explain (it), friend. Tora, sakiya.
told the Prince to solve it. For fifteen paeyas (six hours), without
extinguishing the lamp, he tried and tried to explain it. He could
not. So she was to kill the Prince next day.
A Devatawa (godling) who drank the smoke of the lamp of that house,
was there looking on [invisibly] until the lamp was extinguished. After
the lamp was put out, having drunk a little smoke, he took a little
that was only slightly burnt with him for his wife. The Devatawa and
Devatawi lived in an Ironwood tree on the roadside.
This Prince's elder sister, and the man to whom she was given in
marriage, having set off to come to the Prince's city, stayed that
night at the resting-place under the Ironwood tree.
Then that Devatawa having brought a little of the under-burnt smoke
of the lamp, after he had given it to the Devatawi she quarrelled
with him until fifteen paeyas (six hours) had gone, saying, "Where
have you been?"
The Devatawa said, "Do not quarrel. In such and such a city, such
and such a Prince's Princess having associated with a Nagaya, the
Prince's people killed the Nagaya. Having cut off the Nagaya's hood,
and laid aside her golden waist-chain, putting it round her waist in
order to kill the Prince, because of her anger at the killing of the
Nagaya, the Princess told a riddle to the Prince. Having sworn that
should the Prince be unable to solve it she is to kill the Prince:
should he solve it he is to kill the Princess, the Princess said,
The Naga belt
Is the golden waist-chain.
Explain it, friend.
"From the evening, without extinguishing the lamp, he tried to solve
it. The Prince could not explain it. After fifteen paeyas had gone
by, he put out the light. Up to the very time when he extinguished
the lamp, so long I remained there. She said that she will kill the
Prince to-morrow."
Hearing it, there stayed below the Ironwood tree the Prince's elder
sister, and the man to whom she was given. After having heard it, as
it became light, when they were coming along to the Prince's house,
they saw from afar that they were going to behead the Prince. The elder
sister said from afar, "A! Don't behead him. I will solve that riddle."
Having come near, the Prince's elder sister explained the riddle in
the manner stated by the Devatawa. So the Prince was saved, and they
beheaded the Princess.
North-western Province.
In Folk-Tales of Kashmir (Knowles), 2nd ed., p. 227, a Fakir split a
King, and made a wife for him from half his body, but warned him that
she would be unfaithful. She fell in love with one of his wazirs,
but they were detected, and she was killed.
NO. 20
THE PRINCE WHO DID NOT GO TO SCHOOL
In a certain country there is a King, it is said, and there are two
Princes of the King. The two Princes are sent to school, and as they
are going from the palace the two go along together. After they have
walked a little way, the younger brother goes along the path to the
school, and having arrived at the school, learns his letters and
returns home. The elder brother, after playing and playing in the
water of the river, puts the school aside, it is said; and having
come round that way and joined the younger brother, again comes to
the palace with him.
After many days had gone by in that manner, the King one day told
the two Princes, "To-day I must look at your lessons."
The younger brother said, "Father-King, I indeed go to the school,
and having said my lessons return. Elder brother and I having met here,
and set off together, after we have gone part of the way, where elder
brother goes I do not know. Having gone somewhere or other, when
I have left the school and am returning, elder brother meets me on
the road, and we two come again to the palace. I can say my lessons;
elder brother indeed cannot."
After that, the King looked into the lessons of the two Princes. When
he looked, the younger Prince's lessons were good. When he asked
the elder Prince, he knew nothing. So the King settled to behead the
elder Prince.
The King had, besides, a Prince older than that Prince. He said to
that elder Prince, "Behead this one."
Then the Prince having taken a sword to the chena jungle, and killed a
"Blood-sucker" lizard (Calotes sp.), returned after rubbing the blood
on the sword, and showed it to the King. "Behold! Father-King, I cut
younger brother," he said. Afterwards their mother having cooked a
bundle of rice, and given it, and also a sword, to the Prince who
was ordered to be beheaded, said, "Go to any place you like."
As the Prince was going away taking the bundle of cooked rice and the
sword, he met with a man. The man having uprooted Palmira trees and
Coconut trees, was taking them away and tying a fence. Having seen
this, the Prince said to that man, "Come thou and go with me."
The man having said "Ha," as the two persons were going along together,
another man was cutting the earthen ridges in a rice field. The
blade of the man's digging hoe was as large as a liyadda (one of the
squares into which the rice field was divided). Having seen that,
the Prince said to that man who was cutting the ridge in the field,
"Come thou and go with me."
The man having said "Ha," and laid down his digging hoe at that very
place, came away with those two persons. As the three were going
along together, they saw yet a man ploughing. Having seen that the
man ploughed a liyadda at one ploughing (furrow), the Prince said,
"Come thou and go with me." The man said "Ha," and laying down his
plough at that very place, went with the three persons. The three
persons whom the Prince had met with on the way were three giants.
The four persons having gone on and on, went near the house of a
Rakshasi at a city. Sitting down there, the Prince said to one of
the giants, "There! Go to that house and bring thou cooking pots and
fire." So that giant went to the house of the Rakshasi.
As he arrived there, the Rakshasi was pouring water over (i.e. bathing)
a child. The giant went near the Rakshasi, and said, "Ane! Give me
fire and cooking pots." The Rakshasi told him the way to the house in
which she ate human flesh, and said, "There! They are in that house;
take them." After that, at the time when the giant was going into
the house, the Rakshasi went running and shut the door, so that the
giant could not come out.
Those two giants and the Prince remained a long time looking out; the
giant did not come. Afterwards the Prince again told a giant to go. The
giant having gone, asked the Rakshasi, "Didn't a man come here?"
The Rakshasi said, "He did not come here."
Then the giant said, "If so, give me cooking pots and fire." Then the
Rakshasi, in the same manner in which she told that giant, showed him
the way to the house in which she ate human flesh. As the giant was
going into the house, the Rakshasi, having gone running, shut the door.
That Prince and the third giant having been there a long time, neither
of the giants came. Afterwards the Prince told the other giant to
go. The giant went, and asked the Rakshasi, "Didn't two men come here?"
The Rakshasi said, "They did not come here."
So the giant said, "If so, give me cooking pots and fire." The
Rakshasi, in that very way having told him the path to the house in
which she ate human flesh, at the time when the giant was going into
it shut the door.
The Prince remained looking out for a long time; the three giants
did not come. Afterwards the Prince, taking his sword, came near the
Rakshasi, and asked, "Didn't three men come here?"
The Rakshasi said, "They did not come here."
Then the Prince, seizing the Rakshasi's hair knot, prepared to chop
at her with the sword. "Give me quickly my three men; if not, I shall
chop thy head off," he said.
Then the Rakshasi, saying, "Ane! Do not kill me. At any place where
you want it I will assist you," gave him the three men.
After that, the Prince and the three giants having gone away without
killing the Rakshasi, the Prince caused the three giants to stay at
a city; and having given into their hands a Blue-lotus flower, said,
"Should I not be alive, this Blue-lotus flower will fade, and the
lime trees at your house will die." So saying, the Prince, taking
his sword, went quite alone.
After going a long way he came to a city, and having gone to the
house of a Rakshasa, when he looked, the Rakshasa had gone for human
flesh as food and only a girl was there. The Prince asked the girl
for a resting-place.
The girl said, "Ane! What have you come here for? A Rakshasa lives
at this house. The Rakshasa having eaten the men of this city they
are now finished."
The Prince said, "I will kill him. Are there dried coconuts and meneri
[52] here?" The girl said there were. The Prince told her to bring
them, and the girl brought them.
Then the Prince asked, "How does he come to eat men?"
The girl said, "Having come twelve miles--(three gawwas)--away, he
cries, 'Hu'; having come eight miles away, he cries, 'Hu'; and having
come four miles away, he cries, 'Hu'; and then he comes to this house."
After that, the Prince having spread out, from the stile at the fence,
the meneri seed and the dried coconuts, over the whole of the open
ground near the front of the house, went to sleep in the veranda,
placing the sword near him, and laying his head on the waist pocket
of the girl.
Then the Rakshasa, when twelve miles away, cried, "Hu." Tears fell
from the girl's eyes, and dropped on the Prince's head. The Prince
arose, and said to the girl, "What are you weeping for?"
Then the Rakshasa cried, "Hu," eight miles away. The girl said,
"There! The Rakshasa cried, 'Hu,' eight miles away." Continuing to say,
"He will cry, 'Hu,' the next time, and then come here," the girl wept.
The Prince, having told the girl not to weep, took the sword in his
hand, and while he was there the Rakshasa, crying "Hu," came into
the open space near the house.
Then the Prince chopped at the Rakshasa with his sword, and the
Rakshasa went backward. Thereupon the Prince said, "Will not even
the Rakshasi whom I set free that day without killing her, render
assistance in this?"
The Rakshasi came immediately, and struck a thorn into the crown of
the Rakshasa's head, and at that very instant the Rakshasa died. After
that, the Prince buried the body, and marrying the girl remained there.
When he had been there a long time, a widow-mother came and said to
the Prince and the girl, "Children, I will come and live with you,
as you are alone." Both of them said "Ha," so the woman stayed there.
After she had lived there a long time, the woman said to the girl,
"Daughter, ask in what place is the life of the Prince."
Afterwards the girl said to the Prince, "Mother is asking where your
life is."
The Prince said, "My life is in my neck."
The girl told the woman, "I asked him; he said his life is in his
neck."
The woman said, "It is not in the neck. He is speaking falsely. Ask
again." So the girl asked again.
The Prince said, "My life is in my breast."
The girl told the woman, "He said it is in his breast."
The woman said, "It is not in the breast. Tell him to speak the truth."
Afterwards she said again to the Prince, "Mother says it is not in
your breast. She said that you are to speak the truth."
Then the Prince said, "My life is in my sword."
So the girl told the widow-mother, "He said it is in his sword."
When a long time had gone by, one day the Prince, laying down the
sword, went to sleep. After the Prince had gone to sleep, the widow
woman and that girl having quietly taken the sword, put it in the fire
on the hearth. Then as the sword burnt and burnt away the Prince died.
After that, the widow woman took the girl, and gave her to the King,
and the woman also stayed at the palace.
Then the Blue-lotus flower which the Prince gave to those three giants
on going away, faded, and the lime trees died. When the giants saw
this they said, "Ade! Our elder brother will have died," and having
spoken together, the three giants came to seek the Prince.
Having come there, and asked the men of the city at which the Prince
stayed, regarding him, they went to the house in which he lived,
and searched for him. As they were digging in a heap of rubbish, they
found that a little bit of the end of the sword was there, and they
took it. Afterwards the giants placed it on a bed, and after they had
tended it carefully, the sword little by little became larger. When
the sword became completely restored, the Prince was created afresh.
Afterwards, when the Prince looked to see if the girl whom he had
taken in marriage was there, neither the girl nor the widow-mother
was there. Then the Prince went with the three giants to the King's
palace, and on looking there they learnt that the girl was married
to the King, and that the widow woman also was there. So the Prince
said to the widow woman, "Quickly give me the Princess whom I married."
The woman said, "Ane! The Princess whom I knew is not here. She did
not come with me."
Then the Prince cut off the woman's head with his sword, and having
gone to the King, asked, "Where is my Princess? You must give her
to me."
The King said, "No Princess will be here."
Thereupon the Prince cut off the King's head with his sword; and he
and the three giants having cut down all the servants who were in
the palace, summoning the Princess, remained in that very palace.
North-western Province.
The giving a plant or flower as a life index, which fades when illness
or danger besets the giver, and dies at his death, is a very common
incident in folk-tales.
In Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 52--Tales of the Punjab
(Steel), p. 47--it was a barley plant.
In Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 189, a Prince planted a tree as
his life index, and said, "When you see the tree green and fresh then
you know that it is well with me; when you see the tree fade in some
parts, then you know that I am in an ill case; and when you see the
whole tree fade, then know that I am dead and gone."
In Tota Kahani (Small), p. 43, when a man was about to leave his wife,
she gave him a nosegay of flowers which would retain their freshness
if she were faithful to him, and fade if she misconducted herself.
In The Indian Antiquary, vol. xvii, p. 54, a plant was given to each
of two persons, as a Prince's life index. He said, "If this plant
should fade, know that I am sick or in danger; if it should die know
that I also am dead."
The notion that a person's life may be concealed in some external
object, usually a bird or a bee, is one of the commonest features
of folk-tales.
In the story numbered 24 in this volume, the King's life was in a
golden parrot.
In Wide-Awake Stories, p. 59--Tales of the Punjab, p. 52--a Jinni's
life was in a bee, which was in a golden cage inside the crop (?) of
a Maina [bird].
At pp. 62, 63, Tales of the Punjab, p. 55, a Prince's life was in his
sword. When this was placed in the fire he felt a burning fever, and
when it was made red-hot and a rivet came out of the hilt, his head
came off. Afterwards, when the sword was repaired and repolished,
the Prince was restored to life.
At p. 83, Tales of the Punjab, p. 75, the life of a Princess was in a
nine-lakh necklace, which was in a box inside a bee that lived in the
body of a fish. When asked about it, she first said that her life was
in each of the seven sons of the wicked Queen who wanted to kill her,
all of whom were murdered by the Queen.
In Folk-Tales of Kashmir (Knowles), 2nd ed., p. 49, the lives of
Rakshasas were in seven cocks, a spinning-wheel, a pigeon, and
a starling.
At p. 134, the life of one was in a veranda pillar at his house;
when it was broken he died.
At p. 383, the life of one was in a queen-bee in a honey-comb hanging
on a tree.
In Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), pp. 2 and 6, the life of a Prince was
in a golden necklace deposited in a wooden box which was in the heart
of a fish.
At pp. 85 and 86, the lives of seven hundred Rakshasas were in two
bees which were on the top of a crystal pillar, deep in the water
of a tank. If a drop of their blood fell on the ground, a thousand
Rakshasas would start up from it.
At p. 121, the life of a Rakshasi was in a bird that was in a cage. As
its limbs were torn off, a corresponding limb dropped off the Rakshasi
who had been made the Queen.
At p. 253, the lives of two Rakshasas (m. and f.) were in two bees
that were in a wooden box at the bottom of a tank. If a person who
killed them allowed a drop of their blood to fall on the ground,
he would be torn into seven hundred pieces by the Rakshasas.
In The Indian Antiquary, vol. i, p. 86, in a Dardu legend
(G. W. Leitner), the life of a King of Gilgit was in snow, and he
could only die by fire.
At p. 117, in a Bengal story (G. H. Damant), the lives of Rakshasas
were in two bees in a gourd which was inside a crystal pillar at the
bottom of a tank. If one drop of the bees' blood fell on the ground,
the Rakshasas would be twice as numerous as before. The bees were
killed by being squeezed to death.
At p. 171, in a Bengal story (G. H. Damant), the lives of Rakshasas
were in a lemon, and a bird. When the lemon was cut in Bengal,
the Rakshasas in Ceylon died. As the bird's wings were broken, the
Rakshasi Queen's arms were broken; when the bird died, she died.
In vol. xvi, p. 191, the life of a giant was in a parrot; when it
was killed he died.
In vol. xvii, p. 51, a Prince's life was in a sword; if it rusted he
was sick, and if it broke he died.
In Folk-Tales of Hindustan, Allahabad (Shaik Chilli), p. 51, the life
of a Prince was in the brightness of his sword. When it was placed in
a furnace and lost the brightness, he died. A giant who was his friend
found it, and discovering that a little brightness remained at the tip,
rubbed it until it regained its lustre, on which the Prince revived.
At p. 114, the lives of Rakshasas were in a number of birds; they
died when these were killed.
In a tale of the interior of W. Africa in Contes Soudanais
(C. Monteil), p. 154, the life of a King was in a little box inside
a small goat-skin, which was in a little pot placed inside a large
pot. When the King was told this he died.
Doubtless this strange notion of a life safeguarded by being hidden
away, is of early date, and may be due originally to the early magical
idea prevalent in Egypt, Assyria, and India, that a person might be
killed from any distance by piercing the heart of a figurine formed
to represent him. This action is mentioned in the Commentary on the
Atharva Veda (Bloomfield's translation, p. 359); and in the Rigveda,
i, 29, 7 (Griffith's translation), prayer is made to Indra for the
destruction of "him who in secret injures us."
In the Jataka story No. 208 (vol. ii, p. 111), a monkey escaped from
a crocodile that was going to kill it in order to get its heart,
by telling it that monkeys kept their hearts hanging on trees.
In the Maha Bharata, Vana Parva, 135, 52, a Rishi caused buffaloes
to shatter a mountain, and thereby killed a child whose life was
dependent on its existence, if not supposed to be actually in it.
The recovery of the three giants from the house of the Rakshasi is
evidently based on the story of Wijaya, the first King of Ceylon, and
Kuweni, a female Yakkha or aboriginal Princess, who, taking the form of
a devotee, had captured his followers one by one, and imprisoned them.
The story is given in the Mahavansa, chapter vii, as follows:--"All
these persons not returning, Wijaya becoming alarmed, equipping himself
with the five weapons of war, proceeded after them; and examining the
delightful pond [to which they had gone to bathe], he could perceive
footsteps leading down only into the tank; and he there saw the
devotee. It occurred to him: 'My retinue must surely have been seized
by her.' 'Woman, hast thou seen my attendants?' said he. 'Prince,' she
replied, 'what need hast thou of attendants? Do drink and bathe ere
thou departest.' Saying to himself, 'Even my lineage, this Yakkhini
is acquainted with it,' proclaiming his title, and quickly seizing
his bow, he rushed at her. Securing the Yakkhini by the throat with
a 'naracana' ring, with his left hand seizing her by the hair, and
raising his sword with his right hand, he exclaimed, 'Slave! restore me
my followers, or I will put thee to death.' The Yakkhini, terrified,
implored that her life might be spared. 'Lord! spare my life; on thee
I will confer this sovereignty; unto thee I will render the favours
of my sex, and every other service according to thy desire.' In order
that she might not prove herself treacherous, he made the Yakkhini
take an oath. While he was in the act of saying, 'Instantly produce
my followers,' she brought them forth" (Mahavansa, i, p. 32).
The idea of the thorn which was driven into the head of the Rakshasa,
is borrowed from magical practice. In the case of a figurine made for
the destruction or injury of a person, pins or nails or thorns were
run into various parts of the body, one being inserted in the crown
of the head. In a variant of the story numbered 73 in this work,
a female Yaka was kept in subjection by means of an iron nail that
was driven into the crown of the head.
In Indian Fairy Tales (Stokes), p. 12, a pin was fixed in the head
of a woman who had been transformed into a bird. When it was drawn
out she resumed her human form.
In The Illustrated Guide to the South Indian Railway, 1900, p. 232,
it is stated regarding the great stone Bull, 12 feet high, at the
Tanjore temple, that "it was popularly supposed by the natives that
this bull was growing, and as they feared it might become too large
for the mandapam [stone canopy] erected over it a nail was driven
into the back of its head, and since this was done the size of the
monolith has remained stationary."
NO. 21
NAGUL-MUNNA
In a village there were two persons called Nagul-Munna and Mun-aeta
Guruwa. While those two were living there they spoke together,
"Friend, while we two are remaining in this way matters are not going
on properly." At the time when they spoke thus, Mun-aeta Guruwa replied
to Nagul-Munna's talk, and said, "It is good, friend. If that be so
let us two cut a chena."
Having spoken thus, the two persons went to the chena jungle, and
there being no watch-hut there, built one; and taking supplies week
by week, began to chop down the bushes while they were living at the
house in the jungle. Having chopped down the jungle, and burnt it,
and sown the chena, the millet plants grew to a very large size.
When the two persons were at the watch-hut they remained talking one
night for a long time, and said, "To-morrow we must go to the village
to bring back supplies." After talking thus, they went to sleep,
both of them.
During the time while they were sleeping, Mun-aeta Guruwa's clothes
caught fire. Then Nagul-Munna awoke, and jumped down to the ground,
and ran away. Mun-aeta Guruwa was burnt in the shed and died. On
account of his being killed, through fear of being charged with
causing his death, Nagul-Munna bounded off into the jungle, and did
not return to the village.
That day the relatives of those people who were in the village,
thinking, "Nagul-Munna and Mun-aeta Guruwa will be coming to fetch
supplies," getting ready the supplies, stayed looking for them. On
that day the two persons did not come; because they did not come two
men went from the village to look for them.
The two having gone and looked, and seen that the watch-hut had been
burnt, spoke together concerning it: "Both these men have been burnt
and died. Let us go back to the village." So they returned.
Nagul-Munna, who sprang into the jungle that night, having come home
during the night of the following day, spoke to his wife, who was
in the house. The woman, thinking that he had died, was frightened
at his speech, and cried out, "Nagul-Munna has been born as a Yaka,
and having come here is doing something to me." At that cry the
men of the village came running; when they looked he was not there,
having run off through fear of being seized.
In that manner he came on two days. The woman, being afraid, did not
open the door. On the third day he arose, and hid himself at the tank
near the village. While he was there, a tom-tom beater having gone
to a devil-dance, [53] came bringing a bit of cooked rice, and a box
containing his mask and decorations. [54]
As he was coming along bringing them, this Nagul-Munna having
seen him, went and beat the tom-tom beater, and taking the bit of
cooked rice and the box of devil-dancer's things, bounded into the
jungle. Having sprung into the jungle, and eaten the bit of rice,
he unfastened the box of devil-dancer's goods, and taking the things
in it, dressed himself in them, putting the jingling bracelets [55]
on his arms and the jingling anklets [56] on his legs.
There was a large mask in it. Taking it, and tying it on his face,
he went to the village when it became night, and having gone to
a house there, broke the neck of a calf that was tied near it, and
sprang into the rice-field near by. Having made a noise by shaking the
jingling bracelets, and given three cries, "Hu, Hu, Hu," he shouted,
"If you do not give a leaf-cup of rice and a young coconut at dawn,
and at night a leaf-cup of rice and a young coconut, I will kill all
the cattle and men that are in your village, and having drunk their
blood, go away."
The men of the village becoming afraid on account of it, began to give
rice every day in the way he said. Having given it for about four
or five years in this manner, the men spoke together, "Let us fetch
a sooth-sayer to seize that Yaka." After having said concerning it,
"It is good," they fetched a doctor (Veda).
When the doctor went to the tank to catch that Yaka, Nagul-Munna came,
and seizing that doctor, cut his bathing cloth, and having taken
him to the place where he was staying, killed him, and trampled on
his bathing cloth. Through the seizing and killing of the doctor,
the men of the village became afraid to a still greater degree.
After that, having talked about bringing another sooth-sayer they
fetched one. In the same manner, when he went to the tank the Yaka
killed the sooth-sayer. At that deed the men of the village became
more afraid still.
Having fetched a Sannyasi (a Hindu religious mendicant) from Jaffna,
they went to him, and told him to seize the Yaka. That man said,
"It is good"; and having gone to the aforesaid tank to look for him,
the Yaka was in a tree. So the sooth-sayer repeated incantations to
cause the Yaka to descend. The Yaka did not descend.
After that, because he did not descend, that person got to know that
he was a man, and on his calling "Hu," to the men of the village
the men came. Afterwards, seizing Nagul-Munna, who was in the tree,
they went to the village.
Because Mun-aeta Guruwa had died, the relatives of Mun-aeta Guruwa
came for their [legal] action against him.
Saying that he had cheated them, and eaten food wrongly obtained from
them, the men of the village came for their action.
Because he had stolen the rice and the box with tom-tom beater's
things in it, the tom-tom beater came for his action.
Saying that he killed the first sooth-sayer, his people came for
their action.
The second sooth-sayer's people also in the same way came for their
action.
For his killing the calf the owner came for his action.
After all who had brought these actions had came to one spot, the
man, saying, "Because my wife told me to cut the chena together
with Mun-aeta Guruwa, and through my cutting the chena with him,
this happened," killed his own wife.
Then, while he was going for his trial a bear bit that man on the way,
and he died.
North-western Province.
In The Orientalist, vol. iii, p. 31, there is a nearly similar
story of a tom-tom beater who was supposed to be burnt in his watch
hut. In reality, it was a beggar who was burnt. The man being afraid
of being charged with murdering him, got hid in the jungle. He came
to his house at night, but was supposed to be the Mala upan Yaka,
"the evil spirit born from the dead," and was refused admittance
by his wife, who gave an alarm. As men were coming on hearing it,
he ran off. On another night when he came, his wife assailed him with
a volley of invectives, as demon-scarers; so carrying off his dancing
paraphernalia, he again retired, and afterwards robbed travellers, and
frightened the people till they threatened to leave the district. The
King offered a handsome reward for his apprehension, but he tied up
a Kattadiya or devil priest who came to exorcise him. In the end he
was captured by a Buddhist monk, taken before the King, and after
relating his adventures, appears to have been allowed to go unpunished.
In the Jataka story No. 257 (vol. ii, p. 209), there is an account
of four actions brought against one man on the same day. It is a
folk-tale in Ceylon also.
NO. 22
THE KULE-BAKA FLOWERS
In a certain country a King was ruling; the King was without
children. The King having performed many meritorious deeds, five
children were born.
When they looked into the Naekata (or prognostics resulting from the
positions of the planets) at the time when the children were born,
those of four were good, but that of the fifth child was that on
seeing him his father's two eyes would become blind. The King told
them to take the Prince and put him down in the forest. So having
taken the Prince they put him in the forest.
After that, animals having come through the favour of the Prince's
guardian deity, gave him milk, and reared him.
After much time had passed, the Prince's father, the King, went to have
the jungle driven (for shooting); and having gone, while they were
driving the jungle that Prince came, and bounded round the King's
enclosure. Then, the King having seen him his eyes became blind,
and he went away without his eyes seeing anything. The people who
went with the King, lifting him up, carried him to the palace.
Having arrived there, various medical treatments were applied; he
was not cured. After that, he caused sooth-sayers to be brought,
and after he had asked them regarding it, they said, "By applying
medical treatment you will not meet with a cure. In the midst of the
Forest of the Gods there is a flower called Kule-baka. Having brought
that flower, and burnt it on your eyes, your eyes will see."
Afterwards the King asked the people, "Who is able to bring this
flower?" All the people said they could not do it. Then the four
eldest Princes of the King, having said, "Let us go," asked permission
of the King; the King told them to go. So the four persons having
started, went.
As they were going, the four persons went to a city. A courtesan
stayed in that city; her name was Diribari-Laka. [57] She gambled
(i.e. kept a gambling house). These four persons went to her house,
and having gone there prepared to gamble. Then the woman said, "Should
you lose by this game, I shall make you four persons prisoners (that
is, slaves)." The four persons having said, "It is good," gambled,
and all four having lost remained there as prisoners.
The Prince who was in the forest, having got to know all these matters,
also set off to seek the flower, and on his way arrived at the city
at which the Princes who were made prisoners were staying. This one,
having gone to the King of the city, was appointed to do messenger's
work there. While he was living thus, this one obtained news that the
courtesan was gambling, and thereupon this Prince asked the King for
leave of absence. Having obtained it, he went to the house of an old
woman near the courtesan's house.
Having gone there, this Prince having fallen down near the feet of that
old woman and made obeisance, weeping and weeping, these words are what
he said, "Mother, are you in the enjoyment of health? Do not you let
your face be even visible (to) scrofulous offspring. When lightning
has struck you (may it) take your progeny." [58] Having spoken and
spoken with these honours he remained weeping. The woman's child,
not of small age, was there, and having said similar things to the
child also, and while weeping having paid respect, the woman made that
Prince rise, and asked him, "Where were you for such a long period?"
"I was with a King," the Prince said. "Mother, whose is that house?" he
asked.
The woman said, "Why, son? Do not say anything about it. That house
is the house of a courtesan. There is a gambling game of that woman's,
and by it many persons, having lost, remain as prisoners."
The Prince asked, "Mother, how does one win by that game?"
Then the woman said, "A bent lamp having been lighted, is placed at
the gambling place. Below the lamp a cat is sitting. While the woman is
gambling the cat raises its head; then victory falls to the woman. When
another person is playing the cat lowers its head; then defeat falls
to that man. If you are to win, having extinguished the bent lamp,
and driven away the cat, and brought and placed there another lamp,
if you should then play you can win."
After that, the Prince went to gamble. Having gone there, when he was
ready to gamble she said, "Should you lose in gambling, you will be
condemned to imprisonment; should you win you marry me."
The Prince said, "It is good," and gambled. When he was losing, he
extinguished the lamp, and having beaten and driven away the cat, he
told the woman to bring another lamp. After that, the woman brought
a lamp. Having brought and placed the lamp there, they gambled. The
woman having lost all, the Prince won. Afterwards, that woman married
this Prince.
During the time while he was living there, as this Prince was starting
to go and bring the Kule-baka flower, the woman said, "Don't go."
The Prince said, "I did not come for this gambling; I came for the
Kule-baka flower. I must indeed go, after having set off for this
purpose," he said. So the Prince went to bring the flower. Before this,
he had allowed the imprisoned men to go, and said to the four Princes,
"Stop until I return."
Having thus gone, he entered into the midst of a forest. While he
was there, human-flesh-eating serpents and forest animals that were
in the midst of the forest sprang to devour this Prince, but he made
supplication to his deity, so they were unable to do it, and went away.
Then the Yaka who was guarding the Kule-baka garden, having seen the
Prince, and having arisen and come near the Prince, asked, "Have you,
a man born in the world of men, come into my presence to be a prey
to me?"
The Prince said, "My father the King for a fault said he must behead
me. On account of it, having made my way into the midst of the forest,
I have come to you for you to eat indeed. If you are going to eat me,
eat me; if you are going to keep me, keep me alive."
After that, the Yaka asked, "What do you eat?"
The Prince said, "We eat wheat flour, ghi, sugar, and camels'
flesh. [59] These indeed we eat."
All these requisites having been brought by the Yaka, after he had
given them to the Prince, the Prince made the food, and gave to the
Yaka also.
The Yaka having eaten the food, sprang up into the air, and said to the
Prince, "I never ate a meal like this. I will do anything you tell me."
Then the Prince said to the Yaka, "Where is the path to go to the
Kule-baka garden?"
The Yaka sprang up into the air, and fell on the ground, and beating
his head, said, "If you had said so before this, by this time I
should have eaten you. What can I do now that I have promised to help
you?" Having said, "Go away from here," he told him about the path.
Then the Prince went along it. There, also, a Yaksani [60] (female
Yaka) was guarding it, and the Prince came to her. The Yaksani asked
the Prince, "Where are you going?"
The Prince said, "Having delayed in the midst of a forest, as I was
returning I was unable to find the country with my village. Now I
have met with you here."
As he appeared good to the Yaksani she caused him to stay there,
and married her daughter to him. The name of the girl to whom the
Prince was married was Maha-Muda. [61]
During the time while he was there the Prince remained angry.
The girl asked, "What are you angry for?"
The Prince said, "I must go to look at the Kule-baka garden."
Then the girl spoke about this matter to her mother. So that woman
having fetched rats, caused a tunnel to be made by them to the
Kule-baka garden. Along that tunnel the Prince went to the flower
garden, and having gone there, and plucked the flowers, came back
again.
Having returned there, calling Maha-Muda he came to the house of
Diribari-Laka. Having arrived there, he burnt on the lower part of
the back the four Princes who had remained as prisoners. The Prince
who went for the Kule-baka flowers having burnt in this way the four
Princes, who stayed as slaves at the house of Diribari-Laka, these
four persons were freed from imprisonment.
Then the Prince, Maha-Muda, and Diribari-Laka, taking the flowers,
came to the Prince's native country. Having arrived there, he burnt
the Kule-baka flowers on the two eyes of his father the King, and
the two eyes of the King became well.
After that, the King having asked the Prince regarding these matters,
learnt that he was the King's Prince, [and he and his two wives
continued to live there with him].
North-western Province.
In Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 276 ff.--Tales of the
Punjab, p. 263, 264--a rat assisted King Sarkap in games at Chaupur
(the Pachis game), until it was frightened by a kitten that Prince
Rasalu had rescued from a potter's kiln.
At p. 250 of the former work it was predicted that if his father saw
the Prince during the twelve years after his birth, he (the father)
would die.
In Indian Nights' Entertainment, Panjab (Swynnerton), p. 319, a
rat which had been saved from drowning assisted a girl to defeat a
Princess at Chaupur, by attracting the attention of a cat that moved
the pieces for the Princess. The cat was struck by the girl while
trying to seize the rat which she held; when it ran off she won.
In Folk-Tales of Kashmir (Knowles), 2nd ed., p. 149, the cat belonging
to a female gambler, at a sign from her mistress, extinguished the
lamp whenever the game was going against her.
In Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 277, a Princess, in order to get back
her husband, started a gambling establishment at which they gambled
with dice, the stake being one hundred thousand rupees, together with
the imprisonment of the loser at her house. Her ruse was successful. A
rich merchant's son, the Prefect's son, the Minister's son, and the
Prince, all came in turn and lost.
NO. 23
KURULU-GAMA APPU, THE SOOTH-SAYER
In a certain city a man was stricken by a scarcity of food to eat,
and he went to another country. Having gone there, during the time
while he was residing in a village, the village men asked, "What sooth
can you tell?" [62] He said, "I can tell one sooth; to do that sooth
I want Jak-tree gum, Coconut oil, and Euphorbia milk" (the milky sap
which exudes from cuts or bruises in the bark). Thereupon the men
having collected those things that he mentioned, gave them to him.
Then he went and warmed these things [making bird-lime] and placed
[limed] twigs, and catching birds and coming with them, he gave them
daily, two by two at each house, and thus ate. The man's name was Appu;
his village was Kurulu-gama (Birds' village).
While he was continuing to eat in this manner, the men of that
village started to go to Puttalam, carrying produce for sale. That
man also said, "I also must go." Then the men of the village asked,
"You have nothing; what will you take?" Thereupon this one tying up
a pingo load of chaff and coconut husks, goes with the men.
Then the men who were going on that journey, having come down to the
high road, set off to go. While they were going, the men having said
[in fun] "Vedarala" (Doctor) to that man, he kept the name.
Having gone very far, the Vedarala, telling the men who went with
him to wait on the road, placed his pingo (carrying-stick) on the
road, and went into an open place in the jungle. While going along
in it, when he looked about, a yoke of cattle were entangled in
the bushes. Then this Vedarala having gone near the yoke of cattle,
looked at the letter marks branded on them, and having come back and
taken up the pingo load, while they were going on it became night.
This party having halted on the road near a village, sent the Vedarala
to get a resting-place for the night. Having gone to a house in the
village, when he asked for it the house men said, "What giving of
resting-places is there for us! We are lamenting in sorrow for the
difficulty we are in. Our yoke of cattle are missing."
The Vedarala said, "Now then, what have we to do with your losing a
yoke of cattle? Give us a resting-place."
"If you want one, look there! There is the shed, come and stay there,"
they said.
Then the Vedarala having come back, says to the people of the party,
"There is a shed indeed. Stay if you like; go on, if you want to go,"
he said. So this party having come to the shed sat down.
The people of the party said to the Vedarala, "Vedarala, why are
you staying looking about? Night is coming on. We must seek a little
firewood and water," they spoke together.
The house persons having heard these words, said, "What is this, that
you are saying 'Vedarala'? Does he know sooth and the like?" they
asked. [63]
The persons of the party said without a reason for it (nikamata),
"To a certain extent he can tell matters of sooth."
"If so, don't be delayed on account of anything you want. We will
bring and give you rice, firewood, and water." So they brought and
gave them five quarts of rice, a dried fish, a head of ash-plantains.
This party, cooking amply, and having eaten, said at night to the
person who owned the house, "Now then, bring a packet of betel leaves
for him to tell you sooth." So the house person having brought the
betel, gave it to the Vedarala.
Thereupon the assumed (lit. "face") Vedarala, having taken the betel,
after having looked at it falsely becoming "possessed," said, "It is
a yoke of oxen of yours that have been lost, isn't it?"
Then the house person said, "You have said the sooth very correctly. I
asked it of the deities of many dewalas (demon-temples), and of
sooth-sayers. There wasn't a person who told me even a sign of it."
Thereafter the Vedarala asked, "What will you give me for seeking
and giving you the yoke of cattle?"
That person said, "Even if you can't give the full yoke of cattle,
I will give a half share of the value"; thus he promised.
The Vedarala having said, "It is good," and told him to get and bring
a torch, cunningly having gone near the yoke of cattle that remained
entangled in the bush at that place where he went on coming, asked if
these were his oxen. Then the man said, "These are indeed my cattle,"
and having unfastened them and come back, in the morning gave him a
half share [64] of the value of the cattle. Taking it, and throwing
away the chaff and coconut husks, he went away.
That day also, having gone on until the time when it was becoming
night, he got a resting-place in the very way in which, having
spoken before, he got one. At the time when they were in the shed the
persons of the party said, "Vedarala, what are you staying looking
about for? We must seek and get firewood and water."
Then the house people say, "What are you saying 'Vedarala' for? Does
he know to say sooth and the like?"
After that, this party say, "He can also tell sooth. Last night he
sought and gave a yoke of cattle."
Then the house persons quickly having brought rice, fish, firewood,
water, gave them to the men.
This party having amply cooked and eaten, while they were sleeping,
the house person, having brought a packet of betel leaves, spoke to
the Vedarala: "How am I to ask sooth?"
The Vedarala rebuked him. "All these persons being now without memory
or understanding, what saying of sooth is there?" [65] Then that one
having gone, he went to sleep.
A woman of the house was there; her name was Sihibuddi. The woman
having heard the words which the Vedarala said, came and having softly
awakened the Vedarala, said, "The Sihibuddi you mention is I indeed. It
was I indeed who stole this house person's packet of waragan. [66]
I will give you a share; don't mention it."
Thereupon the Vedarala says, "Where is it? Bring it quickly, and
having brought it place it near that clump of plantains."
Then this woman having brought the packet of waragan, and placed it
at the foot of the plantain clump and gone away, he went to sleep.
Afterwards the Vedarala called the house person. "Now then, bring
betel for me to say sooth." The man having brought betel gave it to
the Vedarala.
Then the Vedarala, having taken the betel and looked at it, said,
"It is a packet of waragan that has been lost, isn't it."
That man said, "It is that indeed. Should you seek and give what has
been lost of mine, I will give you a half share."
Then the Vedarala having told him to get a light, becoming "possessed,"
went and took and gave him the packet of waragan that was at the foot
of the plantain clump.
Having taken from it a half share, at the time when the party were
going on, thieves having broken into the box at the foot of the King's
bed, [67] he made public by beat of tom-toms that many offices would
be given by the King to a person who should seek and give it to him.
At that time this party said, "In our party indeed, there is a
sooth-sayer. On the night of the day before yesterday he sought
out and gave a yoke of cattle. Yesternight he sought out and gave a
packet of waragan." Thereupon the persons took this Vedarala near the
King. Then the King asks, "Can he catch and give the thief who broke
into the box at the foot of my bed?" The party said that he could.
Then the sooth-sayer, having become afraid, thought, "I will tie a cord
to my neck and die." So he said, "After tying white cloths in a house
(as a decoration, on the walls and under the roof), and a piece of
cord to the cross-beam, and placing a bed, chairs, and table in it, and
setting on end a rice mortar, you must give me it in the evening." The
King having prepared them in that very way, gave him them.
Afterwards, the Vedarala, after it became night, having gone inside the
house, told them to shut the door from the outside, and lock it. Then
having mounted on the rice mortar, when he tried to put the cord round
his neck it was too short. On account of it he said, "Both the cord
is too short and the height is insufficient. What shall I do?" [68]
As the Vedarala was saying this word Kumandaeyi, a citizen, Kumanda,
an old thief, was there [listening outside]. Having heard this, he
thought, "He is calling out my name"; so becoming afraid he came near
and spoke to the Vedarala, and said, "It is I indeed whom you call
Kumanda. It is I indeed who committed the theft. Don't say anything
about it to the King."
Then the Vedarala said, "If so, bring the things and put them in
this house."
Thereupon the old thief, having brought to the house all the things
taken out of the box which was at the foot of the King's bed, gave
them to the sooth-sayer through the window.
Then the Vedarala slept until light having come it became daylight.
Afterwards, the King having sent messengers in the morning, they awoke
the Vedarala. Then the Vedarala, thinking it unseasonable, said,
"Who is talking to me without allowing me to sleep?" and silently
went to sleep again. So the messengers returned and told the King.
Afterwards the King came and spoke to him, and opened the door. The
Vedarala having come out, said, "O Lord, Your Majesty, I was unable
to seize the thieves; the things indeed I met with."
Then the King said, "The thief does not matter; after you have met
with the things it is enough."
Then the King, catching a great many fire-flies and putting them in
a coconut shell, asked the Vedarala, "What is there in this?"
The sooth-sayer, becoming afraid, went as far as he could see him, and
thinking, "I will strike my head against a tree and die," came running
and struck his head against a tree. [69] Then the sooth-sayer said,
"O Father! It was as though a hundred fire-flies flew about."
The King said, "That is true. They are indeed fire-flies that are in
my hand."
After that, the King caught a bird, and clenching it in his fist,
asked the sooth-sayer, "What is there in this fist?"
The sooth-sayer, having become afraid, began to beat his head on
a stone. Then he said, "Kurulu-gama Appu's strength went (this
time)." [70]
The King said, "Bola, it is indeed a bird that is in my hand"; and
having called the Vedarala, and given him many offices, and a house,
told him to stay at that very city.
Afterwards the Vedarala, thinking, "They will call me again to tell
sooth," having put away the things that were in the house, and having
set fire to the house, said, "Kurulu-gama Appu's sooth-saying is
finished from to-day. The sooth books have been burnt." Having made
it public he stayed at that very city.
North-western Province.
The second discovery of the sooth-sayer is extracted from a variant
by a washerman, the rest of the story having been written by a man
of the cultivating caste.
In the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. i, p. 272, there is an account
of a pretended sooth-sayer, a poverty-stricken Brahmana. He first hid
a horse, and when application was made to him to discover it, he drew
diagrams and described the place where it would be found. After that,
when a thief stole gold and jewels from the King's palace he was sent
for and shut up in a room, where he began to blame his tongue, jivha,
which had made a vain pretence at knowledge. The principal thief, a
maid called Jivha, overheard him, and told him where she had buried
her share of the plunder. Afterwards the King tested him by placing
a frog in a covered pitcher. He expected that he would be killed, and
said, "This is a fine pitcher for you, Frog (his father's pet name for
himself), since suddenly it has become the swift destroyer of yourself
in this place." He was thought a great sage, and the King presented
him with "villages with gold, umbrella, and vehicles of all kinds."
There is another story of a pretended sooth-sayer in vol. ii,
p. 140, of the same work, but it does not, like the last, resemble
the Sinhalese tale.
NO. 24
HOW A PRINCE WAS CHASED BY A YAKSANI, AND WHAT BEFEL
A prince went for hunting-sport. As he was going, a Yaksani (female
Yaka) who was living in the midst of the forest, chased him, saying
that she was going to eat the Prince, and drove the Prince down the
path. The Prince having gone running, went bounding through the middle
of a city. The Yaksani followed him in the disguise of a woman.
The King of the city having seen them, sent the Ministers, and told
them to look what it was about. The Ministers asked the Yaksani who
was bounding behind him, "What is that for?"
The Yaksani said, "My husband having quarrelled with me and left me,
is running away. I am running after him because of it."
The Ministers then brought her before the King, and having seen the
beauty of the Yaksani, the King was pleased with her, and said, "If
you should not go with him it does not matter; stay here." So the King,
having prepared another house for the Yaksani, and having married her,
establishing her in the office of Chief Queen, she remained there.
While she was there, this Yaksani having gone like a thief during the
time when all were sleeping, and killed and eaten the men of the city,
brought a few of the bones, and placed them in a heap at the back of
the houses in which the twelve Queens of the King slept.
When a little time had gone by in this manner, the men of the city
came to the King, and saying, "Since you have brought and are keeping
this Yaksani this city is altogether desolate," made obeisance. Then
the King made inquiry into the matter.
Then that Yaksani said, "Ane! O Lord, Your Majesty, I indeed do not
know about that, but I did indeed see that thief who eats human flesh,
although I did not tell you."
The King asked, "Who is it?"
The Yaksani said, "If Your Majesty should look behind the houses of
the twelve Queens you can ascertain."
When the King went there and looked, he found that it was true, and
gave orders for the twelve Queens to be killed. Then the Yaksani told
him not to kill them, but to pluck out their eyes, and send them into
the midst of the forest. Having heard the words which the Yaksani said,
he acted in that very manner.
So all this party of Queens went and stayed in one spot, and there all
the twelve bore children. As each one was born, they divided and ate
it. The youngest Queen put aside all the flesh that was given to her,
and while she was keeping it she, also, bore a son. Then those eleven
Queens made ready to eat that Prince, so that Princess gave them the
flesh which she had kept, and the party ate it.
As time went on that Prince having grown a little, began to bring and
give them fruits that were lying on the ground. Then the Prince met
with a bow and an arrow that had been concealed there. After that
he began to shoot various kinds of small animals, and to bring and
give them to the Queens. Afterwards he shot large animals, and having
brought fire and boiled them, he gave the flesh to them. By this time
the Prince understood all things thoroughly.
After that, one day this Prince asked, "Mother, what is the reason
why your eyes have become blind, and my eyes are well?"
The party said, "We were the Queens of such and such a King;
having taken a Yaksani in marriage, this was done to us through her
enmity." Then the Prince remained thinking of killing the King.
One day, as he was going hunting, he met with a Vaedda. Thinking
he would kill the Vaedda, the Prince chased him along the path. The
Vaedda, being afraid, went running away, and having met with the King
said, "O Lord, Your Majesty, there is a very handsome Prince in the
midst of this forest. One cannot say if the Prince is the son of a
deity or a royal Prince. He does not come near enough to speak. When
he sees a man he drives him away, saying he is going to eat him." He
spoke very strongly about it.
So the Ministers were sent by the King, who told them to seize and
bring him. As the party were going to seize him, he sprang forward,
saying that he was going to eat them. At that, the party became afraid,
and ran away. Having come running, they told the King, "O Lord, Your
Majesty, we cannot seize him. He comes springing at us saying he is
going to eat us."
Then the King came, bringing his war army. Thereupon the Prince,
who before that was angry with the King in his mind, threw a stone
in order to kill the King, and struck him. Being struck by the stone,
the King's head was wounded (lit. split), so the King and all of them
became afraid, and ran away.
The King, having returned, wrote letters to foreign countries: "There
is a wicked Prince in the midst of the forest in my kingdom. Who he
is I cannot find out. Because of it you must come to seize the Prince."
The Prince having got to know of it, and thinking, "It is not good
for me to be killed at the hands of these men; having met with the
King I will kill him," went to the royal palace. When he arrived
there the King saw him, and asked, "Who are you?"
The Prince said, "I am a royal Prince; I stay in the midst of this
forest."
The King said, "Would it be a bad thing if you remained at this
palace?"
The Prince asked, "What work would there be for me?"
The King said, "Remain and do the work of the First Minister of
the Ministers."
The Prince asked, "How much pay would there be for me for the day?"
The King replied, "I will give fifty masuran."
"Fifty masuran are insufficient for me. Will you give me every day
in the evening a hundred masuran?" he asked.
The King said, "It is good," and after that he stayed there. While
remaining there he came twice a day and assisted his twelve mothers.
When no long time had gone by, some one was heard crying out in the
night near the city. The King told him to look who was crying. The
Prince having gone, taking his sword, when he looked, a dead body
was hanging in a tree, and a Yaksani was springing up to eat the dead
body. Being unable to seize it she was crying out.
The Prince went and asked, "What is that for?"
The Yaksani replied, "My son having gone into the tree cannot descend;
because of it I am crying out."
The Prince said, "Mount on my shoulders and unfasten him."
The Yaksani having got on his shoulders, as she was about to eat the
Prince he chopped at her with his sword. A foot was cut off, and she
fled. Taking the foot and returning with it, the Prince showed it to
the King. The King having seen the Prince's resoluteness, in order
to cause him to be killed said that unless he should bring the other
foot he could not take charge of this one.
After that, the Prince went to the palace where the Yakas dwelt. There
this Yaksani whom he had wounded came, and having made obeisance,
fell down and said, "Lord, do not kill me. I will do anything you
tell me." Summoning her to accompany him and returning, he showed
her to the King.
Afterwards he employed this Yaksani, and caused her to make a city
at the place where his mothers were, and having made her construct
a palace, he told the Yaksani and his mothers to dwell there.
While they were there the Yaksani said to the Prince, "I know the
place where the King's life is. Whatever you should do to the King
himself you cannot kill him."
The Prince asked, "Where is it?"
"It is in a golden parrot in such and such a tree," she said.
After that he went there and caught the parrot and killed it. Then
the King died.
After he died, the Prince having set fire to the palace there, and
cut down the Yaksani who stayed with the King, left his mothers in
charge of the city formed by the maimed Yaksani, and remained ruling
the kingdom.
Western Province.
For some variants, see the notes at the end of the story numbered 48.
In Indian Nights' Entertainment, Panjab (Swynnerton), p. 355, a
Princess in man's disguise, acting as the King's guard, found a ghul
in the form of a woman howling under a corpse that was hanging from
a gallows. She stated that it was her son whom she could not reach,
and she asked to be lifted up. When raised up to it by the Princess
she began to suck the blood, on seeing which the Princess made a cut at
her, but only severed a piece of her clothing, which proved to be of so
rich a quality that the King ordered her to procure more for his wife.
In the Jataka story No. 96 (vol. i, p. 235) an Ogress in the disguise
of a woman followed a man into Takkasila, intending to devour him. The
King saw her, was struck by her beauty, and married her. When he had
given her authority over those who dwelt in the palace, she brought
other Ogres at night, and ate the King and every one in the place.
NO. 25
THE WICKED KING
In a certain country there are a King and a Queen, it is said. The
Queen has no children. During the time while she was rearing another
(adopted) Prince, a child was born to the Queen.
After it was born, the King and Queen having spoken together, "Let us
kill the Prince whom we have brought up," said to the King's Minister,
"Take this Prince and put him down in a clump of bamboos." The Minister
having taken the Prince, and put him down in a clump of bamboos,
returned. The Prince was seven years old.
After that, a man having gone to the bamboo clump to cut bamboos,
and having seen, when he looked, that this Prince was there, without
stopping to cut bamboos took away this Prince.
On the following day the King said to the Minister, "Look if the
Prince is in the bamboo bush, and come back." Afterwards he went,
and when he looked, the Prince was not there. So he came to the King,
and said, "The Prince is not there."
Then the King said, "The man who went away after cutting bamboos will
have taken him. Give these thousand masuran, and bring him." Having
said this, he gave him a thousand masuran. The Minister, having taken
the thousand masuran, and given them to the man who took away the
Prince, brought him and gave him to the King.
Afterwards the King said to the Minister, "Take this one and put him
down in the middle of the path to a cattle fold in which five hundred
cattle are collected, and return, so that, having been trampled on
as the cattle are going along the path, he may die." So the Minister
having taken that Prince, and put him down in the middle of the path to
a cattle fold in which five hundred cattle were collected, came away.
After that, as the five hundred cattle were setting off to go into the
cattle fold, when the great chief bull which went first was about to go
in, having seen this Prince he placed him under his body, and allowing
the other cattle to go in, this bull went afterwards. Subsequently,
as the herdsman who drove the cattle was going along he saw this
Prince, and taking the Prince the herdsman went away.
On the following day the King said to the Minister, "Look if the
Prince is at the cattle fold, and come back." The Minister went,
and when he looked the Prince was not there. So the Minister came
and said to the King, "He is not there."
Then the King having given a thousand masuran into the Minister's hand
said, "The herdsman who drove the cattle will have taken him. Give
these thousand masuran and bring him." So the Minister having taken
the thousand masuran, and given them to the herdsman, brought the
Prince and gave him to the King.
After that, the King said, "Take this one and put him down in the
road on which five hundred carts are coming." So the Minister having
taken the Prince, and put him down in the road on which five hundred
carts were coming, returned.
Then the carters, having seen from afar that the Prince was there,
took the Prince, and placed him in a cart, and went home with him.
On the following day the King said to the Minister, "Go and look
if the Prince is in the road on which the five hundred carts come,
and return." The Minister went, and when he looked the Prince was
not there. So the Minister came and told the King, "The Prince is
not there."
Then the King gave the Minister a thousand masuran, and said, "The
carters will have taken him. Give these thousand masuran and bring
him." The Minister having given the thousand masuran to the carters,
brought the Prince and gave him to the King.
After that, the King said to the Minister, "Speak to the potter and
come back. There is no other means of killing this one but surrounding
him with pottery in the pottery kiln, and burning him." So the Minister
went and spoke to the potter, "Our King tried thus and thus to kill
this Prince; he could not. Because of that, how if you should surround
him even in the pottery kiln?"
The potter said, "Should you bring him I will surround him."
So the Minister came and said to the King, "The potter told me to
take the Prince."
After that, the King wrote a letter: "Immediately on seeing the Prince
who brings this letter, surround him in the pottery kiln, and kill
him." Having written that in the letter, and given the letter to the
Prince who had been adopted, he said, "Take this letter to such and
such a potter, and having given it come back."
Afterwards, as the Prince was going along taking the letter, the King's
Prince having played at "Disks," [71] and the counters having been
driven out, was dragging along the hop counters. Then, having seen this
Prince, the King's Prince asked, "Where, elder brother, are you going?"
The Prince said, "Father gave me this letter, and told me to give it
to such and such a potter. Having given it I am going to return."
The King's Prince said, "If so, elder brother, I will give that letter
and come back. You drag these hop counters."
Then this Prince having said "Ha," and given the letter into the
hands of the King's Prince, dragged the hop counters.
While the King's Prince was taking the letter, the potter was making
ready the pottery kiln. After the Prince had given the letter to
the potter, when the potter looked at it there was in the letter,
"After you have seen this letter, surround in the pottery kiln the
Prince who brings this letter, and set fire to it." So the potter
taking the Prince surrounded him in the pottery kiln, and set fire
to it. While it was burning in the pottery kiln the King's Prince died.
After the adopted Prince finished dragging the hop counters, and came
to the palace, the King asked, "Did you give the letter to the potter?"
The Prince said, "As I was going there, younger brother having played
at 'Disks,' and the counters being driven out, was dragging the hop
counters. Having seen me going, younger brother asked, 'Where, elder
brother, are you going?' I said, 'Father gave me this letter to give
to such and such a potter; having given it I am going to return.' Then
younger brother said, 'Elder brother, I will give that letter and come;
you draw these hop counters.' So I gave the letter into the hand of
younger brother, and I myself having drawn the hop counters came back."
Then the King quickly said to the Ministers, "Go to the potter,
and look if the Prince is there, and return."
The Ministers went and asked the potter, "Is the Prince here?"
The potter said, "I killed the Prince."
So the Ministers came and told the King that the Prince was dead.
The King immediately wrote a letter to the King of another city, that
when he saw the Prince who brought the letter he was to kill him; and
having given the letter into the hand of this adopted Prince, he said,
"Give this letter to the King of such and such a city, and come back."
The Prince having taken the letter went to the palace of the King
of the city. At that time the King was not in the palace; the King's
Princess was there. This Prince having grown up was beautiful to look
at; the Princess thought of marrying him. Asking for the letter in
the hand of the Prince, when she looked at it there was written that
on seeing the Prince they were to kill him.
Then the Princess having torn up and thrown away the letter, wrote
a letter that on seeing the Prince they were to marry him to the
Princess. Having written it and given it into the hand of the Prince,
she said, "After our father the King has come give him this letter."
After that, while the Prince, having taken the letter, was there, the
King came. The Prince gave him the letter. When the King looked at the
letter he learnt that on seeing the Prince he was to marry the King's
Princess to him. So the King married the King's Princess to the Prince.
Having married her, while the Prince was there, illness seized the
King who brought up the Prince, and they sent letters for this Prince
to come. The Prince would not. Afterwards they sent a letter: "Even
now the King cannot be trusted [to live]; he is going to die even
to-day. You must come." To that also the Prince replied, "I will not."
The Princess said, "Having said 'I will not,' how will it be? Let us
two go to-day." So the Prince and Princess came. When they arrived,
the King was about to die, and breathing with difficulty. The Prince
came and sat near the King's feet; the Princess sat near the King's
head. The King told the Prince to come near in order to give him an
oath [to repeat], in such a manner that he would be unable to seize
any article of the King's.
Well then, as the King was coming to mention the King's treasure
houses and all other things, while he was opening his mouth to say the
truth-oath to the Prince, the Princess, the King's daughter-in-law,
being aware of it, stroked the King's neck, saying, "If so, father,
for whom are they if not for us?" Then that which the King was about
to say he had no opportunity of saying; while she was holding his
neck he died.
After that, the Prince having obtained the sovereignty, and the
treasure houses, and the other different houses that were there,
the Prince and Princess stayed at that very palace.
Anun nahanda yanakota tamumma nahinawa.
While they are going to kill others they die themselves.
North-western Province.
NO. 26
THE KITUL SEEDS
A certain man and his son, who was a grown-up youth, were walking
along a path one day, when they came to a place where many seeds had
fallen from a Kitul Palm tree.
The man drew his son's attention to them, and said, "We must gather
these Kitul seeds, and plant them. When the plants from them grow
up we shall have a large number of Kitul trees, from which we will
take the toddy (juice), and make jaggery (a kind of brown sugar). By
selling this we shall make money, which we will save till we shall
have enough to buy a nice pony."
"Yes," said the boy, "and I will jump on his back like this, and ride
him," and as he said it he gave a bound.
"What!" said the father, "would you break my pony's back like
that!" and so saying, he gave him a blow on the side of the head
which knocked him down senseless.
E. G. Goonewardene, Esqre.
North-western Province.
There is another story of this type in the tale No. 53, below.
In the Jataka story No. 4 (vol. i, p. 19), there is a tale of a young
man who acquired a fortune and became Lord Treasurer by means of a
dead mouse which he picked up and sold for a farthing, subsequently
increasing his money by careful investments.
In the Katha Sarit Sagara, vol. i, p. 33, a nearly identical mouse
story is given.
In Indian Fairy Tales (Stokes), p. 31, there is a different one. A
man who was to receive four pice for carrying a jar of ghi, settled
that he would buy a hen with the money, sell her eggs, get a goat,
and then a cow, the milk of which he would sell. Afterwards he would
marry a wife, and when they had children he would refuse some cooked
rice which they would offer him. At this point he shook his head as
he refused it, and the jar fell and was broken.
In Indian Nights' Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 23, a man who was
carrying a jar of butter on his head, and who expected to get three
halfpence for the job, was going to buy a hen, then a sheep, a cow,
a milch buffalo, and a mare, and then to get married. As he patted
his future children on the head the pot fell and was broken.
In The Arabian Nights (Lady Burton's ed., i, p. 296) there is a
well-known variant in which the fortune was to be made out of a tray
of glass-ware.
NO. 27
THE SPEAKING HORSE
There was once a certain King who was greatly wanting in common sense,
and in his kingdom there was a Panditaya who was extremely wise. The
King had a very beautiful white horse of which he was very proud. The
Panditaya was respected and revered by all, but for the King little
or no respect was felt, on account of his foolish conduct. He
observed this, and became jealous of the Panditaya's popularity,
so he determined to destroy him.
One day he sent for him. The Panditaya came and prostrated himself
before the King, who said, "I hear that you are extremely learned and
wise. I require you to teach my white horse to speak. I will allow
you one week to consider the matter, at the end of which time you must
give me a reply, and if you cannot do it your head will be cut off."
The Panditaya replied, "It is good, O Great King," [72] and went home
in very low spirits.
He lived with a beautiful daughter, a grown-up girl. When he returned
she observed that he was melancholy, and asked the reason, on which
the Panditaya informed her of the King's command, and said that it
was impossible to teach a horse to speak, and that he must place his
affairs in order, in preparation for his death.
"Do as I tell you," she said, "and your life will be saved. When you
go to the King on the appointed day, and he asks you if you are able
to teach his horse to speak, you must answer, 'I can do it, but it
is a work that will occupy a long time. I shall require seven years'
time for it. You must also allow me to keep the horse by me and ride
it, while you will provide food for it.' The King will agree to this,
and in the meantime who knows what may happen?"
The Panditaya accepted this wise advice. He appeared before the King
at the end of the week, and prostrated himself. The King asked him,
"Are you able to teach my white horse to speak?"
"Maharajani," he replied, "I am able." He then explained that it would
be a very difficult work, and would occupy a long time; and that he
would require seven years for it, and must have the horse by him all
the time, and use it, while the King would provide food for it.
The King was delighted at the idea of getting his horse taught to
speak, and at once agreed to these conditions. So the Panditaya took
away the horse, and kept it at the King's expense.
Before the seven years had elapsed the King had died, and the horse
remained with the Panditaya.
E. G. Goonewardene, Esqre.
North-western Province.
NO. 28
THE FEMALE QUAIL
A female Quail having laid an egg on a rock, went to eat food. Then
the [overhanging] rock closed over it, and when the bird returned
there was no egg. "Ando! There is no egg," she said.
Well then, she went to the Mason. The Mason said, "Sit down, O Bird."
"What is [the use of] sitting and staying? What is [the use of]
betel leaf and areka nut at the corner of the bed? Cut the rock,
and give me the egg, O Mason," she said.
The Mason said, "I will not."
From there she went to the Village Headman. [73] The Village Headman
said, "Sit down, O Bird."
"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel
leaf and areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Village Headman, tie up
the house-door [74] of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock,
and give me the egg," she said.
The Village Headman said, "I will not."
From there she went to the Pig. The Pig said, "Sit down, O Bird."
"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel
leaf and areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Pig, feed in the rice
field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie
up the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock,
and give me the egg," she said.
The Pig said, "I will not."
From there she went to the Vaedda. The Vaedda said, "Sit down, O Bird."
"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel
leaf and areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Vaedda, shoot (with
bow and arrow) the Pig, the Pig who did not feed in the rice field
of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie up the
house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give
me the egg," she said.
The Vaedda said, "I will not."
From there she went to the Timbol creeper. [75] The Timbola said,
"Sit down, O Bird."
"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel leaf
and areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Timbola, prick the body of
the Vaedda, the Vaedda who did not shoot the Pig, the Pig who did not
feed in the rice field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman
who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did
not cut the rock, and give me the egg," she said.
The Timbola said, "I will not."
From there she went to the Fire. The Fire said, "Sit down, O Bird."
"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel leaf
and areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Fire, burn the Timbola,
the Timbola that did not prick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda
who did not shoot the Pig, the Pig who did not feed in the rice
field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie
up the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock,
and give me the egg," she said.
The Fire said, "I will not."
From there she went to the Water-pot. The Water-pot said, "Sit down,
O Bird."
"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel leaf
and areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Water-pot, quench the Fire,
the Fire that did not burn the Timbola, the Timbola that did not
prick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda who did not shoot the Pig,
the Pig who did not feed in the rice field of the Village Headman,
the Village Headman who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason,
the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg," she said.
The Water-pot said, "I will not."
From there she went to the Elephant. The Elephant said, "Sit down,
O Bird."
"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel
leaf and areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Elephant, make
muddy the Water-pot, the Water-pot that did not quench the Fire,
the Fire that did not burn the Timbola, the Timbola that did not
prick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda who did not shoot the Pig,
the Pig who did not feed in the rice field of the Village Headman,
the Village Headman who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason,
the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg," she said.
The Elephant said, "I will not."
From there she went to the Rat. The Rat said, "Sit down, O Bird."
"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel leaf
and areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Rat, creep into the ear of
the Elephant, the Elephant who did not make muddy the Water-pot, the
Water-pot that did not quench the Fire, the Fire that did not burn
the Timbola, the Timbola that did not prick the body of the Vaedda,
the Vaedda who did not shoot the Pig, the Pig who did not feed in the
rice field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie
up the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock,
and give me the egg," she said.
The Rat said, "I will not."
From there she went to the Cat. The Cat said, "Sit down, O Bird."
"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel leaf
and areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Cat, eat the Rat, the Rat
who did not creep into the ear of the Elephant, the Elephant who did
not make muddy the Water-pot, the Water-pot that did not quench the
Fire, the Fire that did not burn the Timbola, the Timbola that did not
prick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda who did not shoot the Pig,
the Pig who did not feed in the rice field of the Village Headman,
the Village Headman who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason,
the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg," she said.
The Cat said "Ha" (Yes).
Well then, the Cat went to catch the Rat, the Rat went to creep into
the ear of the Elephant, the Elephant went to make muddy the Water-pot,
the Water-pot went to quench the Fire, the Fire went to burn the
Timbola, the Timbola went to prick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda
went to shoot the Pig, the Pig went to feed in the rice field of the
Village Headman, the Village Headman went to tie up the house-door of
the Mason, the Mason went to cut the rock, and take and give the egg.
Here the story ends. "Was the egg given?" I asked. "It would be given,"
the narrator said. "No, he gave it," said a listener.
North-western Province.
In a variant which I heard in the Southern Province, a bird laid two
eggs in a crevice between two stones, which drew close together. She
went to a Mason or Stone-cutter; (2) to a Pig; (3) to a Hunter;
(4) to an Elephant, which she requested to kill him; (5) to a Lizard
(Calotes), which she told to crawl up the Elephant's trunk into its
brain; (6) to a Jungle Hen, which she told to peck and kill the Lizard;
(7) to a Jackal, who, when requested to kill the Jungle Hen, at once
agreed, and said, "It is very good," and set off after her.
In Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 209--Tales of the Punjab,
p. 195--there is a variant. While a farmer's wife was winnowing corn,
a crow carried off a grain, and perched on a tree to eat it. She threw
a clod at it, and knocked it down, but the grain of corn rolled into
a crack in the tree, and the crow, though threatened with death in
case of failure, was unable to recover it.
It went for assistance, and requested (1) a Woodman to cut the tree;
(2) a King to kill the man; (3) a Queen to coax the King; (4) a Snake
to bite the Queen; (5) a Stick to beat the Snake; (6) Fire to burn the
Stick; (7) Water to quench the Fire; (8) an Ox to drink the water;
(9) a Rope to bind the Ox; (10) a Mouse to gnaw the Rope; (11) a
Cat to catch the Mouse. "The moment the Cat heard the name Mouse,
she was after it, for the world would come to an end before a Cat
would leave a Mouse alone." In the end the Crow got the grain of corn,
and saved its life.
In Indian Folk Tales (Gordon), p. 53, there is an allied variant. A
bird had bought three grains of corn for three cowries, and while
she was on a new cart eating them one fell into a joint of the cart
where she was unable to get it.
She appealed to (1) the Carpenter to take the cart to pieces, so that
she might obtain it; (2) the King to make him do it; (3) the Queen
to persuade the King; (4) a Deer to graze in the Queen's garden;
(5) the Stick to beat the Deer; (6) the Fire to burn the Stick;
(7) the Lake to quench the Fire; (8) the Rats to fill up the Lake;
(9) the Cat to attack the Rats; (10) the Elephant to crush the Cat;
(11) an Ant to crawl into the Elephant's ear; (12) the Crow, "the
most greedy of all creatures," to eat the Ant. The Crow consented,
and the usual result followed.
NO. 29
THE PIED ROBIN
At a certain city, while a female Pied Robin [76] was digging and
digging on a dung-hill, she met with a piece of scraped coconut refuse,
it is said. She took it, and put it away, and having gone again, while
she was digging and digging there was a lump of rice dust. Having
taken it, and put it to soak, she said, "Sister-in-law at that house,
Sister-in-law at this house, come and pound a little flour." [77]
The women, saying, "No, no, with such a fragment you can pound that
little bit yourself," did not come.
The Pied Robin pounded the flour, and cooking a cake of the size of
a rice mat (wattiya), and tying a hair-knot of the size of a box,
and putting on a cloth of the breadth of a thumb, while she was going
away she met with a Jackal.
The Jackal asked, "Where are you going?"
"Having looked for a [suitable] marriage, I am going to get married,"
she said.
The Jackal said, "Would it be bad if you went with me?" [78]
The bird asked, "What do you eat?"
The Jackal said, "I eat a land crab, and drink a little water."
Then the bird said, "Chi! Bullock, Chi!" and while going on again
she met with a blind man.
The blind man asked, "Where are you going?"
"Having looked for a [suitable] marriage, I am going to get married,"
she said.
The blind man said, "Would it be bad if you went with me?"
The bird asked, "What do you eat?"
The blind man said, "Having chewed an eel, I drink a little water."
Then the bird said, "Chi! Bullock, Chi!" and while going on again
she met with a Hunchback, chopping and chopping at a bank (nira)
in a rice field.
The Hunchback said, "Where are you going?"
"Having looked for a [suitable] marriage, I am going to get married,"
she said.
The Hunchback said, "Would it be bad if you went with me?"
The bird asked, "What do you eat?"
The Hunchback said, "I eat rice cakes."
Then the bird having said, "Ha. It is good," the Hunchback said, "I put
rice on the hearth to boil, and came away. You go and look after it."
After the bird had gone to the Hunchback's house, she found that the
water was insufficient for cooking the rice, and except that it was
making a sound, "Kuja tapa tapa, kuja tapa tapa," it was not cooking.
So the bird went to the Hunchback, and said, "The water is
insufficient for cooking the rice. It only says 'Kuja tapa tapa,
kuja tapa tapa.' [79] Bring water, O Hunchback."
The Hunchback became angry [at the nicknames], and having come home,
when he was taking a water-pot to the well, a frog sitting on the
well mouth jumped into the well, making a sound, "Kujija bus." [80]
Then the Hunchback, having drawn and drawn up the water from the
well, caught and killed the frog, and tried to fill the water-pot
with water. The water continuing, as he poured it, to make a sound
"Kuja kutu kutu, kuja kutu kutu," [81] except that it splashed up
does not fill the water-pot.
Through anger at it, he took the water-pot and struck it against the
mouth of the well, and smashed it.
While he was coming home he met a Village Headman. The Village Headman
asked, "Where, Mr. Hunchback, did you go?"
The Hunchback said, "What is the journey on which I am going to thee,
Bola, O Heretic?" and having come home, killed the Pied Robin, and
ate the cakes that the bird brought.
North-western Province.
In Indian Folk Tales (Gordon), p. 59, a large grain measure (paila)
having quarrelled with his wife, the small grain measure (paili),
and beaten her, she ran off, and on her way met with a Crow, which
invited her to stay with him. She inquired, "What will you give me
to eat and drink, what to wear and what to spend?" The reply being
unsatisfactory, she went on, and met a Bagula (crane or heron), which
also invited her to stay, and when asked the same question gave an
unsatisfactory answer. She next met a King, who said, "I will place
one cushion below you and one above, and whatsoever you desire you
may have to eat." She refused this, and met a dog, who told her that
in the King's store there was much raw sugar, of which they would
eat as much as they pleased. She accepted this offer, and they lived
in the store; but one day the King's daughter threw in the scales,
which wounded the dog on the head, so the measure jumped out.
NO. 30
THE JACKAL AND THE HARE
In a certain country there are a Jackal and a Hare living together,
it is said.
One day when the Jackal was rubbing himself in the morning in the
open space at the front of the house, there was a pumpkin seed in his
hair. He took it and planted it. Afterwards, when the Hare went to the
open ground, and was rubbing himself, he also had a pumpkin seed in his
hair. He, too, took it and planted it. That which the Jackal planted,
being without water, died. The Hare having brought water in his ears,
and watered his seed, it sprouted, grew large, and bore a fruit.
After the fruit had become large, the Jackal and Hare spoke together,
"Friend, with that pumpkin fruit let us eat pumpkin milk-rice." They
also said, "Whence the rice, coconut, and the like, for it?"
Then the Hare said, "We two will go to the path to the shops. You
stay in the bushes. I will be lying down in the grass field (pitiya)
at the side of the path. Men going along the road, having placed on
the path the articles which they are carrying to the shops, will come
to take me. Then you take the goods, and go off to the bushes."
When the Jackal and Hare had gone to the path that led to the shops,
and seen a man coming, bringing a bag of rice, the Hare lay down in
the grass field as though dead. The Jackal hid himself and waited.
That man having come up, and seen that the Hare was dead, said,
"Appa! Bola, there is meat for me." So he placed the bag of rice on
the road, and went to get the Hare. Then the Jackal came running,
and carried off the bag of rice into the bushes. When the man was
approaching the Hare, it got up and ran away. So the man had neither
the bag of rice nor the Hare. He went home empty-handed (nikam).
Again when the Jackal and Hare were looking out, they saw a man come,
bringing a pingo (carrying-stick) load of coconuts, and the Hare
went and lay down again in the grass field. The Jackal hid himself
and looked out.
Afterwards that man came up, and as he was going on from there he
saw that the Hare was lying dead, and saying, "Appa! Bola, there is
a Hare," placed the pingo load of coconuts on the path, and went
to get the Hare. The Jackal, taking the pingo load of coconuts,
went into the bushes. As that man approached the Hare it got up and
ran away. So the man had neither the pingo load of coconuts nor the
Hare. He went home empty-handed.
As the Jackal and Hare were looking out again, they saw that a man
was bringing a bill-hook and a betel-cutter, which he had got made
at the forge. So the Hare went and lay down again in the field.
The man came up, and when going on from there, having seen that the
Hare was dead, placed the bill-hook and betel-cutter on the path, and
went to get the Hare. Then the Jackal carried the bill-hook and the
betel-cutter into the bushes. As that man was coming near to take the
Hare, it got up and ran away. So that man had neither the bill-hook,
nor the betel-cutter, nor the Hare. He went home empty-handed.
As the Jackal and Hare were looking out again, they saw a potter
coming, bringing a pingo load of pots, so the Hare went and lay down
again in the grass field. The Jackal hid himself and waited.
When the potter was going on from there, he saw that the Hare was
dead, and having placed the pingo load of pots on the path, he went
to get it. Then the Jackal, taking the pingo load of pots, went off
into the bushes. As the man was coming near the Hare it got up and
ran away. So that man had neither the pingo load of pots nor the
Hare. He went home empty-handed.
Then the Jackal and Hare took home the bag of rice, and the pingo
load of coconuts, and the bill-hook, and the betel-cutter, and the
pingo load of pots. After that, having plucked and cut up the pumpkin
fruit, and washed the rice, and put it in the cooking pot, and placed
it on the fire, and broken the coconut, and scraped out the inside,
while squeezing it [in water in order to make coconut-milk], the
Jackal said to the Hare, "Friend, I will pour this on the rice, and
in the meantime before I take it off the fire, you go, and plucking
leaves without a point bring them [to use] as plates."
While the Hare was going for them, the Jackal ate all the rice,
and placed only a little burnt rice in the bottom of the cooking
pot. Then he lay down on the ash-heap.
Afterwards the Hare returned, and saying, "Friend, there is not a leaf
without a point. I have walked and walked through the whole of this
jungle in search of one," gave into the paws of the Jackal two leaves
with the ends bitten off. Then, without getting up, the Jackal said,
"Ando! Friend, what is the use of a leaf without a point now? The rice
people, the coconut people, the bill-hook and betel-cutter people, the
pots people having eaten the rice, and beaten me also, rolled me over
on this ash-heap. There will still be a little burnt rice in the bottom
of the cooking pot. Scrape it off, and putting a little in your mouth,
put a little in my mouth too." So the Hare having scraped off the burnt
rice, and eaten a little of it, put a little in the Jackal's mouth.
Then the Jackal said, "Friend, a tick is biting my nose; rid me
of it." When the Hare was coming near to rid him of it, the Jackal
vomited all over the Hare's body. Then the Hare bounded off to the
river, and jumped into it, and having become clean returned to the
place where the Jackal was.
The Jackal asked, "How, Friend, did you become clean?"
The Hare said, "I went to a place where a washerman-uncle is washing
clothes, and got him to wash me."
The Jackal asked, "Where is he washing?"
The Hare said, "Look there! He is washing at the river."
Afterwards the Jackal went to the river, and said to the
washerman-uncle, "Ane! Washerman-uncle, wash me too, a little."
When the washerman-uncle, having taken hold of the Jackal's tail,
had struck a couple of blows with him on the stone, the Jackal said,
"That will do, that will do, washerman-uncle, I shall have become
clean now." But the washerman-uncle, saying, "Will you eat my fowls
again afterwards? Will you eat them?" gave him another stroke. Then
the washerman-uncle, having washed the clothes, went home.
From that time the Jackal and Hare became unfriendly, and the Jackal
said that whenever he saw Hares he would eat them.
North-western Province.
According to a variant, the washerman struck the Jackal on the stone
until he was dead.
NO. 31
THE LEOPARD AND THE MOUSE-DEER
In a jungle wilderness in the midst of the forest there is a rock
cave. In the cave a Leopard dwells. One day when the Leopard had
gone for food a lame female Mouse-deer (Miminni) crept into the cave,
and gave birth to two young ones.
Afterwards the Mouse-deer having seen that the Leopard, having got wet
at the time of a very great rainfall, was coming to the cave, began
to beat the young ones, so the young ones began to squall. Then the
Mouse-deer came out, saying, "There is fresh Leopard's flesh, there
is dried Leopard's flesh; what else shall I give you? Having eaten
these, still you are crying in order to eat fresh Leopard's flesh!"
As the Mouse-deer was saying it, the Leopard heard it, and thought,
"They are going to eat me," and having become afraid, sprang off and
ran away, thinking, "I will go to my Preceptor, and tell him."
Having gone to him, the Jackal said, "What is it, Sir? You are running
as though afraid. Why?" he asked.
The Leopard then replied, "Preceptor, the danger that has happened to
me is thus: A Mouse-deer having crept into the cave that I live in,
and having borne young ones there, as I was returning came shouting
and springing to eat me. Through fear of it I came running away,"
he said to the Jackal.
The Jackal then said, "What of that! Don't be afraid. I will come with
you and go there. As soon as I go I will bite her and cast her out."
As they went near the cave, the Leopard having lagged a very little
behind, said, "Friend, I cannot go, I cannot go."
Then the Jackal said, "If you are afraid to that extent, be so good
as to go after tying a creeper to my neck, and tying the other end
to your waist, Sir," he said to the Leopard.
So bringing a creeper, and tying one end to the Jackal's neck, and
tying the other end to the Leopard's waist, they set off to go to
the cave.
As they were going there, the Mouse-deer, having seen that the Jackal
was bringing the Leopard, began to beat the young ones. When the
young ones were squalling, the Mouse-deer having come out, says,
"Don't cry; the Jackal is bringing another Leopard for you." Then
she says to the Jackal, "Jackal-artificer, after I told you to bring
seven yoke of Leopards, what has the Jackal-artificer come for,
tying a creeper to only this one lean Leopard?"
After she had asked this, the Leopard thought, "They have joined with
the Jackal, and are going to kill me," and began to run off. Then the
creeper having become tightened round the Jackal's neck, the Leopard
ran away, taking him along, causing the Jackal-artificer to strike
and strike against that tree, this tree, that stone, this stone.
The Leopard having gone a great distance in the jungle, after he
looked [found that] the creeper had become thoroughly tightened on the
Jackal-artificer's neck. Having seen that he was grinning and showing
his teeth, the Leopard says, "The laugh is at the Jackal-artificer. I
was frightened, and there is no blood on my body," he said.
When he looked again, the Jackal was dead, grinning with his teeth
and mouth.
North-western Province.
This story is given in The Orientalist, vol. iv, p. 79
(D. A. Jayawardana), but the animals that went to the cave are wrongly
termed tiger and fox, which are not found in Ceylon.
It is also related in vol. iv, p. 121 (S. J. Goonetilleke), the
animals being a hind and a tiger.
In vol. i, p. 261, there is a Santal story (J. L. Phillips), in which
a goat with a long beard, which had taken refuge in a tiger's cave
frightened it when asked, "Who are you with long beard and crooked
horns in my house?" by saying, "I am your father." A monkey returned
with it, their tails being tied together. When they came to the cave,
the monkey asked the same question, and received the same answer,
which frightened both animals so much that they fled, the monkey's tail
being pulled off. When the tiger stopped, and began to lick himself, he
found the monkey's tail so sweet that he went back and ate the monkey.
In the Panchatantra (Dubois), a bearded goat frightened a lion that
he found in a cave in which he took refuge, by saying, "I am the Lord
He-goat. I am a devotee of Siva, and I have promised to devour in his
honour 101 tigers, 25 elephants, and 10 lions." He had eaten the rest,
and was now in search of the lions. A jackal persuaded the lion to
return, but the goat frightened them again.
In Old Deccan Days (Frere), p. 303, a pandit frightened a demon in
this manner, by scolding a wrestler who brought for dinner an apparent
goat which the pandit recognised as a demon.
In Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 132 ff.--Tales of the
Punjab, p. 123 ff.--a farmer's wife frightened a tiger that was going
to eat a cow. A jackal persuaded it to return, their tails being tied
together. On the tiger's running off again, the jackal was jolted
to death.
In The Indian Antiquary, vol. iv, p. 257, there is a Santal story by
Rev. E. T. Cole, of a tiger which was frightened by two brothers. The
three sat round a fire and asked riddles. The tiger's was, "One I
will eat for breakfast, and another like it for supper." The men
expressed their inability to guess the answer, and their riddle was,
"One will twist the tail, the other will wring the ear." When the
tiger was escaping, they held the tail till it came off.
In Tota Kahani (Small), p. 98, a lynx took possession of a tiger's
cave, and behaved like the mouse-deer when the tiger came up. When
the tiger returned with a monkey, the lynx frightened it like the
mouse-deer, by telling its young ones that a monkey friend had sworn to
bring a tiger that day. On hearing this, the tiger killed the monkey,
and fled.
NO. 32
THE CROCODILE'S WEDDING
In a certain country there is a Crocodile in the river, it is said. On
the high ground on the other bank there was a dead Elephant. A Jackal
of the high ground on this side came to the river bank, and on his
saying "Friend," the Crocodile rose to the surface.
Then the Jackal said, "Now then, how are you getting on, living in
that [solitary] way? I could find a wife for you, but to fetch you
a mate I have no means of going over to the land on that bank."
The Crocodile said, "Ane! Friend, if you would become of assistance
to me in that way can't I put you on the other bank?"
The Jackal said, "If so, Friend, put me on the ground on the other
side, so that I may go to-day and ask for a mate for you, and come
back again."
Then the Crocodile, placing the Jackal on his back, swam across the
river, and after placing the Jackal on the other bank returned to
the water.
The Jackal went and ate the body of that dead Elephant. Having eaten it
during the whole of that day, he returned again to the river. Having
arrived there, when he said "Friend," the Crocodile rose to the
surface and asked the Jackal, "Friend, did you ask for a mate for me?"
Then the Jackal said, "Friend, I did indeed ask for a mate; we have
not come to an agreement about it yet. To-morrow I must go again to
settle it. On that account put me on the ground on the other side." So
the Crocodile, placing the Jackal on his back, swam across the river,
and placed the Jackal on this bank.
Next day, as it became light, the Jackal went to the river, and
as he was saying "Friend," the Crocodile rose to the surface. The
Jackal said, "Friend, in order that I may go and make a settlement
of yesterday's affair and return again, put me on the other bank."
Then the Crocodile, placing the Jackal on his back crossed the river,
and having placed the Jackal on the other bank went again into
the water.
The Jackal having gone to the dead body of the Elephant, and eaten
it even until nightfall, came to the river after night had set in. As
he was saying "Friend," the Crocodile rose to the surface, and asked,
"Friend, did you get it settled to-day?"
The Jackal said, "Friend, I have indeed settled the matter. They told
me to come to-morrow in order to summon her to come. On that account
put me on the far bank."
After that, the Crocodile, placing the Jackal on his back, went across
the river, and having placed the Jackal on the ground on this side
returned to the water.
The Jackal next day also, as it became light, went to the river. When
he said "Friend," the Crocodile rose to the surface. The Jackal said,
"Friend, if I must bring and give you your mate to-day, put me on
the other bank."
After that, the Crocodile, placing the Jackal on his back, went across
the river, and having placed the Jackal on the ground on the other
side, went into the water.
The Jackal went that day to the dead body of the Elephant, and having
eaten it until nightfall the Elephant's carcase became finished. In
the evening the Jackal came to the river, and when he was saying
"Friend," the Crocodile rose to the surface, and asked, "Friend,
where is the mate?"
Then the Jackal said, "Ando! Friend, they made a mistake about it
to-day; they told me to return to-morrow to invite her to come. Because
of that put me on the other bank again. Having come to-morrow I will
bring and give you the mate."
After that, the Crocodile, placing the Jackal on his back, swam across
the river, and having put down the Jackal on the ground on this side,
went into the water.
Then the Jackal, sitting down on the high ground on this bank, said
to the Crocodile, "Foolish Crocodiles! Is it true that a Jackal King
like me is going to ask for a wedding for thee, for a Crocodile who
is in the water like thee? I went to the land on that bank to eat the
carcase of an Elephant which died on that side. To-day the carcase
was finished. So now I shall not come again. Thou art a fool indeed."
Having said this, the Jackal came away.
North-western Province.
This story is known by the Village Vaeddas.
In The Orientalist, vol. ii, p. 46, this story is given by
Mr. E. Goonetilleke, the Crocodile being termed an Alligator.
In Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 243--Tales of the Punjab,
p. 230--there is a variant in which the Jackal was attracted by a
fruit-laden wild plum tree. He made love to a lady Crocodile, and
was carried across the river by her.
NO. 33
THE GAMARALA'S CAKES
At a village there are a Gamarala (a village headman or elder) and
a Gama-Mahage (his wife) and their four sons, it is said.
One day while they were there the Gamarala said to his wife, "Bolan,
it is in my mind to eat cakes. For the boys and for me fry ample cakes,
and give us them," he said.
The Gamarala was looking out for them for many days; the Gama-Mahage
did not cook and give him the cakes.
Again one day the Gamarala thought of eating cakes. That day, also,
the Gamarala reminded her of the matter of the cakes. On the following
day the Gama-Mahage having fried five large cakes, placed them in the
corn store. The boys having gone to the chena and come back, after
they had asked, "Is there nothing to eat?" the Gama-Mahage said to
the boys, "Look there! There are cakes in the corn store. I put them
there for father, too; eat ye also," she said. The boys having gone
to the corn store, all four ate the cakes.
After they had eaten them, the Gamarala, having gone to the watch-hut,
came back. After he came the boys said, "Father, we ate cakes." When
the Gamarala asked, "Where are [some] for me?" "Mother puts them in
the corn store," they said.
When the Gamarala went to the corn store for the cakes to eat, there
were no cakes. "Where, Bolan, are the cakes?" he asked.
Saying, "Why are you asking for them at my hands? If there are none
the boys will have eaten them," the Gama-Mahage pushed against the
Gamarala.
Then the Gamarala said, "Now I shall not remind you again. You do not
make and give me the food I tell you about." Having said, "It is good,"
and thinking, "Having pounded and taken about half a quart of rice,
and given it at a place outside, and got the cakes fried, I must eat
them," pounding the rice he took it away.
As he was going he saw a poor house. Having seen it the Gamarala
thought, "Should I give it at this house, these persons because they
are poor will take the rice, and I shall not be able to eat cakes
properly." So having gone to a tiled house near it, and given a little
rice, he said, "Make and give me five cakes out of this, please."
The people of the house replied, "It is good," and taking a little
of the rice fried some cakes. The woman who fried them then looked
into the account. "For the trouble of pounding the rice and grinding
it into flour, I want ten cakes," she said. "Also for the oil and
coconuts I want ten cakes, and for going for firewood, and for the
trouble of frying the cakes, I want ten cakes." So that on the whole
account for cooking the cakes it was made out that the Gamarala must
give five cakes.
Next day the Gamarala, having eaten nothing at home, came to eat the
cakes. Having sat down, "Where are the cakes?" he asked.
Then the woman who fried the cakes said, "Gamarala, from the whole
of the rice I fried twenty-five cakes. For pounding the rice and
grinding it into flour I took ten cakes. For the oil and coconuts I
took ten cakes. For going for firewood, and for the trouble of frying
the cakes ten more having gone, still the Gamarala must bring and
give me five cakes."
Then the Gamarala thought, "Ada! What a cake eating is this that has
happened to me!"
After thinking thus, having gone outside and walked along, and come to
that poor house, he sat down. As he was thinking about it that poor man
asked, "What is it, Gamarala, that you are thinking about in that way?"
The Gamarala said, "The manner in which they fried and gave me cakes
at that house," and he told him about it.
Then the man of that poor house said to the Gamarala, "Since we
are poor you did not give the rice to us. If he had given it to us
wouldn't the Gamarala have been well able to eat cakes? The Gamarala
having given us the rice would have had cakes to eat, and still five
cakes to give for that debt.
"For those cakes I will teach the Gamarala a trick," that poor man
said to the Gamarala. "The husband of the woman who fried the cakes
has gone to his village. The woman is now connected with another
man. Every day the man having come at night taps at the door when
he comes. After she has asked from inside the house, 'Who is it?' he
makes a grunt, 'Hum.' Then having opened the door he is given by her
to eat and drink. To-day she will give the cakes made for the Gamarala.
"After the Gamarala has gone at night in that manner, and tapped
at the door, she will ask, 'Who is it?' Then say, 'Hum.' Then she
will open the door. Having gone into the house without speaking, she
will give to eat and drink. Having eaten and drunk, and been there a
little time, open the door and come away." Thus the poor man taught
his lesson to the Gamarala.
In that manner, the Gamarala having gone after it became night,
tapped at the house door. [82] "Who is it?" she asked. "Hum," he
said. Then having opened the door and taken the Gamarala into the
house, she gave him cakes and sweetmeats to eat.
As he was eating them, some one else having come taps at the door. The
Gamarala became afraid. "Don't be afraid," she said, and sent the
Gamarala to the corn loft [under the roof of the house, at the level
of the top of the side walls].
Having sent him there she asked, "Who tapped at the door?" "Hum,"
he said. Then she opened the door, and after she had looked it was
the Tambi-elder-brother, [83] who was trading in the village. She
got him also into the house, and gave him sweetmeats to eat.
When a little time had gone, again some one tapped at the door. Then
the Tambi-elder-brother, having become afraid, prepared to run off
without eating the sweetmeats. "Don't be afraid," she said, and she
put the Tambi also in another part of the corn loft [and he lay down].
Having come back, after she had opened the door and looked, it
was the man of the house who, having been to the village, had come
back. She gave him water to wash his face, hands, and feet. After
he had finished washing, she gave him cakes and the like to eat,
and water to drink. The man afterwards lay down to sleep.
When a little time had gone, the man who went first to the corn loft,
the Gamarala, asked for water, saying, "Water, water." Then the man
of the house having opened his eyes, asked, "What is speaking in the
corn loft?"
"When you went to the village, as you were away a long time, I made
an offering of a leaf-cup of water to the deity. Perhaps the deity
is asking for it now," she said.
Then the man told her to put a coconut in the corn loft. So the woman
put a coconut in the corn loft.
The Gamarala, taking the coconut in his hand, sought for a place
on which to strike it [in order to break it, so that he might
drink the water in it]. As he was going feeling with his hand, the
Gamarala's hand touched a lump like a stone in hardness, the head
of Tambi-elder-brother. After he touched it, the Tambi-elder-brother
[not knowing what it was] through fear trembled and trembled, and did
not speak. Then the Gamarala, taking the coconut, struck it very hard
on the head of the Tambi-elder-brother, thinking it was a stone.
The man of the house thought [before this], "The water in the coconut
is insufficient for the deity. He will be ascending [and leaving
us]." After he had quickly opened the door, and gone out to get more
water to give him, the Tambi-elder-brother sprang from the corn loft,
breaking his head, and ran away.
Then the man who came out to get the water said, "My deity! Here is
water, here is water," holding the water kettle in his hand. While
he was calling out to him, the woman having opened her eyes said,
"What is it, Bolan?" As she was coming outside the man said, "The
deity jumped down and ran away."
At that very time, breaking out from the corn loft, the Gamarala also
jumped down and ran off. Then the man of the house asks the woman,
"Who is that running away?"
The woman says, "Why, Bolan, don't you understand in this way? Didn't
the God Saman also run behind him?"
Village Vaedda of Bintaenna.
NO. 34
THE KINNARA AND THE PARROTS
In a large forest there is a great Banyan tree. In that tree many
Parrots roost. While they were doing so, one day, having seen a Crow
flying near, a Parrot spoke to the other Parrots, and said, "Bolawu,
[84] do not ye ever give a resting-place to this flying animal,"
he said.
While they were there many days after he said it, one day, as a
great rain was falling at night, on that day the flying Crow, saying,
"Ka, Ka," came and settled on the tree near those Parrots.
That night one Parrot out of the flock of Parrots was unable to come
because of that day's rain. Having seen that this Crow was roosting
on the tree, all the Parrots, surrounding and pecking and pecking
the Crow, drove it out in the rain.
Again, saying, "Ka, Ka," having returned it roosts in the same tree. As
the Parrots getting soaked and soaked were driving off the Crow in this
way, an old Parrot, sitting down, says, "What is it doing? Because it
cannot go and come in this rain it is trying [85] to roost here. What
[harm] will it do if it be here this little time in our company?" thus
this old Parrot said. So the other Parrots allowed it to be there,
without driving away the Crow.
While it was there, the Crow in the night left excreta, and in the
morning went away. At the place where the excreta fell a tree sprang up
[from a seed that was in them]; it became very large.
As it was thus, one day as Kinnaras were going near that [Crows']
village, having seen that another tree was near the tree in which
the Parrots roosted, the Kinnaras spoke with each other, "In these
days cannot we catch the Parrots that are in this tree?" they said.
Before that, the Kinnaras were unable to catch the Parrots in the
tree. There was then only that tree in which the Parrots roosted. When
the Kinnaras were going along the tree to catch the Parrots, the
Parrots got to know [owing to the shaking of the tree], so all the
Parrots flew away. Because of that they were unable to catch the
Parrots.
The Kinnaras having [now] gone along the tree which had grown up
through the Crow's dropping the seed under the tree, easily placed
the net [over the Parrots' tree]. All the Parrots having come in the
evening had settled in the tree. Having settled down, and a little
time having gone, after they looked, all the Parrots being folded in
the net were enclosed. The Parrots tried to go; they could not.
While they were under the net in that way, the Parrot Chief says to
the other Parrots, "How has another tree grown up under this tree
that we live in?" thus the Parrot Chief asked the other Parrots. "At a
time when I was not here did ye give a resting-place to any one else?"
Then the Parrots say, "One day when it was raining at night, a Crow
having come and stayed here, went away," they said.
Then the Parrot Chief says, "I told you that very thing, 'Don't give a
resting-place to any one whatsoever.' Now we all have become appointed
to death. To-morrow morning the Kinnaras having come and broken our
wings, seizing us all will go away."
When a little time had gone, the Parrot Chief [again] spoke to the
Parrots, and said, "I will tell you a trick. Should you act in that
way the whole of us can escape," the Parrot Chief said. "When the
Kinnaras come near the tree, all of you, tightly shutting your eyes
and mouths, be as though dead, without even flapping your wings. Then
the Kinnaras, thinking we are dead, having freed us one by one from
the net, when they are throwing us down on the ground, and have taken
and placed all there, fly away after they have thrown down the last
one on the ground," he said.
"That is good," they said.
While they were there, a Kinnara, tying a large bag at his waist,
having come to the bottom of the tree, says, "Every day [before],
I couldn't [catch] ye. To-day ye are caught in my net."
Having ascended the tree, as he was going [along it] the Kinnara says,
"What is this, Bola? Are these dead without any uncanny sound?" Having
climbed onto the tree, after he looked [he saw that] a part having
hung neck downwards, a part on the branches, a part in the net,
they were as though dead.
Then the Kinnara saying, "Ada! Tell ye the Gods! Yesterday having
climbed the tree I had no trouble in spreading the net; to-day having
come to the tree I have no trouble in releasing the net. Ada! May the
Gods be witnesses of the event that has occurred! What am I to do with
these dead bodies!" and freeing and freeing each one from the net,
threw it down on the ground.
As he threw them to the ground he said "One" at the first one that he
threw to the ground, and having taken the account [of them], after all
had fallen, at the time when the Kinnara, freeing the net, was coming
descending from the tree, the whole flock of Parrots went flying away.
Village Vaedda of Bintaenna.
A version of this story from the North-western Province, by a Duraya,
though shorter, contains the same incidents, the tree, however,
being another Fig, the Aehaetu, Ficus tsiela. It ends as follows--
"As he [the Kinnara] was throwing them down in this way, having been
counting and counting 'One,' the Parrot which he counted last having
flapped its wings and screamed, [according to a pre-arranged plan,
to show] that the man was cheated and that it had escaped, flew
away. All the Parrots having gone, after they had looked into the
account of the whole flock [found that] they were all correct.
"Then the Parrots said, 'Let us not give a resting-place to the
Crow. At the places where he goes he is a dangerous one. To us also,
this danger came now [through him]. Ada! Because we gave this one a
resting-place. O Vishnu, burst thou lightning on him who did this to
us! Ada! Where shall we all go now?' After flying and flying in the
midst of the forest, all went to each place where they had relatives."
The story is given in Old Deccan Days (Frere), p. 114, with the
variations that a thousand crows came to the tree instead of one,
and that snares of thread were used in place of the net. The last
parrot did not escape, but was taken away and sold.
In Tota Kahani (Small), p. 64, when a parrot and its young ones were
caught in a net they feigned death. All the young ones escaped by
this means. The mother was captured and sold to the King, and regained
her liberty by pretending to fetch some medicine to cure his illness.
NO. 35
HOW A JACKAL SETTLED A LAWSUIT.
In a village there is a rich foolish man. One son was born to the
man. When they had been there in that way for a long time, as the rich
man's son was growing up, his father died. Then all this wealth came
into the hands of his son. The son was a fool just like the father.
One day, having seen a wealthy man going in a carriage in which a horse
was yoked, that rich man's son thought he ought to go in that way in
a carriage in which a horse was yoked. This rich man having gone home
spoke to a servant, and said, "I will give thee thy expenses for going
and coming. Go thou, and buy and bring me a horse," he said. Having
said it, he gave him a hundred masuran, and having given them sent
him away.
This servant having gone on and on, went to a great big country. Having
gone there, he made inquiry throughout the country--"Are there horses
to sell in this country?"
Then a man of that country said, "The Gamarala of this country has
many horses," he said. This servant who went to bring horses having
given a masurama to the man whom he had met, said, "Please show me the
house of the Gamarala who has the horses," he said. So the man, calling
the servant, having gone to the Gamarala's house, sent him there.
The Gamarala asked these men, "What have you come here for?"
The servant who went to get horses said, "I have come to take a horse
for money," he said.
"For whom?" he asked.
"For a rich man in a village," he said.
Having given fifty masuran he got a horse. After he got it he again
gave a masurama to that man who went with him. Having given it, and
the two persons having gone a considerable distance, [86] this man
left both the horse and the man to go [alone], and went home.
When the servant had taken the horse, and gone a considerable
distance, after he looked [he found that] night was coming on. On
seeing it, taking the horse and saying, "This night I cannot go,"
having sought and sought for a resting-place, he met with a place
where there were chekkus (mills for expressing oil). There this man
found a resting-place; and having tied the horse to an oil-mill, this
servant went to a village, and ate and drank, and having returned went
to a shed at the side of the oil-mill, and lay down to sleep. Having
become much fatigued because he had brought this horse very far,
the servant went to sleep.
At dawn, the man who owned the oil-mill, having arisen and come
near the oil-mill, when he looked saw that a horse was tied near the
oil-mill. So this man thought, "Last night the oil-mill gave birth to
a horse"; and unloosing it from the place where it was tied, the owner
of the oil-mill, having taken the horse home, tied it in the garden.
Then the servant having opened his eyes, after he looked, because the
horse was not near the oil-mill went seeking it. Having seen it tied
in a garden close to a house, he spoke to the [people in the] house,
"Having tied this horse near the oil-mill, in the night I went to
sleep. This one breaking loose in the night came here." Unfastening
it, as he was making ready to go, the man who owned the house came
running, [and saying], "Where did my oil-mill give birth to this
horse for thee last night?" he brought the horse back, and began to
scold the servant. Then the servant thought, "Now I shall not be
allowed to go and give this horse to the rich man. Because of it,
I must go for a lawsuit."
As he was going seeking a trial he met with a place where lawsuits
were heard. The servant having gone [there] told the judge about the
business: "When I was bringing yesterday the horse that I am taking
for a rich man, it became night while I was on the road. As there was
no way to go or come, I tied and placed the horse at this oil-mill,
and went to sleep. Having arisen in the morning, after I looked,
because the horse that I brought was not there I went looking and
looking along its foot-prints. Having seen that it was tied in the
garden near the house of the oil-mill worker, thinking, 'This one
breaking loose has come here,' I unfastened it. As I was making ready
to bring it away, having scolded me and said that the oil-mill gave
birth to the horse, he took it," he said to the judge; and stopped.
Then the judge says, "If the oil-mill gave birth to the horse, the
horse belongs to the man who owns the oil-mill," the judge said.
The servant having become grieved says, "What am I to do now? Without
the masuran which the rich man gave me, and without the horse that I
got after giving fifty masuran, having gone to the village what shall
I say to the rich man, so that I may escape?" he said with much grief.
Then a Jackal having come there along the same road, and having seen
it, asks the servant, "Because of what matter are you going sorrowing
in this way?"
The servant says to the Jackal, "Jackal-artificer, [87] is the trouble
that happened to me right to thee, according to what was said?"
As they were going along, the Jackal, having gone behind him, asks
again, "Tell me a little about it, and let us go. More difficult
things than that have happened to us--folds [full] of scare-crows
tangled together. As we cleared up those with extreme care there is
no difficulty in clearing up this also." So the Jackal-artificer said
to the servant.
Then the servant told the Jackal the way in which the rich man gave
the servant one hundred masuran; the way in which, having given fifty
masuran, he got the horse; the way in which, having brought the horse,
he tied and placed it at the oil-mill; the way in which the oil-mill
owner, unfastening the horse, went and tied it; the way in which,
after he went to ask for it he would not give it, saying that the
oil-mill gave birth to the horse, and came to scold him; then also
what the judge said. The servant told [these] to the Jackal-artificer,
making all clear.
Then the Jackal-artificer says, "Ane! That's thick work. I'll put that
right for you. You must assist me also," he said. "You yourself having
gone near the judge again, and made obeisance, you must say, 'The
oil-mill did not give birth to the horse. The owner of the oil-mill,
unfastening it from the place where I tied it, took it away. I have
evidence of it. Having heard the evidence please do what you want,'"
so the Jackal taught him.
So the servant having gone, made obeisance to the judge. "What have
you come again for?" the judge asked.
Then the servant says, "The oil-mill did not give birth to the
horse. Unfastening it from the place where I tied it, and having gone,
he tied it up. I have evidence of it. Having heard the evidence do
what you want, Sir," he said.
The judge says, "It is good. Who is your witness?"
"The Jackal-artificer," he said. So the judge sent a message to the
Jackal to come. That day the Jackal did not come. On the following
day, also, he sent a message. He did not come. Next day he sent a
message. That day the Jackal, having thoroughly prepared himself,
came to the judgment court.
After the judge asked, "Dost thou know about this lawsuit?" "Yes,
Sir," the Jackal-artificer said.
"Why didst thou not come yesterday," the judge asked the Jackal.
"Yesterday I did not come; I saw the sky," he said. While saying it
the Jackal was sleepy.
Again he asked, "Why didst thou not come on the first day?"
"On that day I saw the earth," he said. While saying it the Jackal
was sleepy.
"Why hast thou come to-day?" he asked.
"To-day I saw the fire," he said.
"Having seen the sky why didst thou not come?" the judge asked.
Then the Jackal says, "O Lord, the sky cannot be trusted. Sometimes it
rains, sometimes it clears up. Because of that I did not come." Having
said it he was sleepy.
"Having seen the earth why didst thou not come?" he asked.
"That also cannot be trusted," he said. "In some places there are
mounds, in some places it is flat; in some places there is water, in
some places there is not water," he said. Having said it he was sleepy.
"What hast thou come to-day for?" the judge asked.
"To-day I saw the fire," he said. "Because of that I came," he
said. Then the Jackal says, "After the fire has blazed up you do not
look after your cold hut. I do not look after my palace also." [88]
Having said it the Jackal was sleepy.
On account of that saying the judge having become angry, "Being here
what art thou sleeping for?" he asked.
"Ane! O Lord who will become a thousand Buddhas [in future existences],
I am very sleepy indeed," he said.
"Why, Bola?" he asked.
"Last night I went to look at the fishes sporting on the land. Because
of that I am sleepy," he said.
Then the judge having become angry with the Jackal, says very severely,
"Having beaten him, cast ye him out."
This rascally Jackal having prayed with closed paws, saying, "O Lord,
who will become a thousand Buddhas," fell down and made obeisance.
"In what country, Bola, Jackal, do the fish who are in the water
sport on the land?" the judge asked the Jackal.
The Jackal said, "I must receive permission [to ask also a question],
O Lord. How does an oil-mill which expresses the kinds of oils give
birth to horses?"
Then the judge, having become ashamed and his anger having gone,
told the rich man's servant to take away the horse.
Village Vaedda of Bintaenna.
In Indian Fables, p. 45, Mr. P. V. Ramaswami Raju gives a South Indian
variant of the latter part of this story. A thief stole a horse that
was tethered to a tree, and then stated that he saw the tree eat the
horse. The case was referred to a fox [jackal]. The fox said he felt
dull. "All last night the sea was on fire; I had to throw a great deal
of hay into it to quench the flames, so come to-morrow and I shall hear
your case." When he was asked how hay could quench flames, he replied,
"How could a tree eat up a horse?"
In Indian Nights' Entertainment, Panjab (Swynnerton), p. 142, there is
a story about a foal that was born in the night while a mare was left
near an oil-press, and was claimed by the oil man. The King who tried
the case decided that the "mare could not possibly have had this foal,
because, you see, it was found standing by the oil-press." A jackal
assisted the owner to recover it, and fell down several times in the
court, explaining that during the night the sea caught fire, and he was
tired out by throwing water on it with a sieve, to extinguish it. When
asked how this could be possible, the jackal retorted by inquiring
if any one in the world ever heard of an oil-press's bearing a foal.
In the interior of West Africa there is a variant, given in Contes
Soudanais (C. Monteil), p. 23. A mare was buried near a house, and
a pumpkin spread from the adjoining piece of land, until it extended
round the stake to which she was formerly tied. When the owner of the
pumpkin split open a fruit that grew near the stake, there were two
foals inside it, which the owner of the mare claimed. The judgment was
that as a dead mare could not bear foals nor a pumpkin contain horses,
neither of the claimants had a right to the foals; but as one sowed
the pumpkin, and the other had watered it, each should take one foal.
In another tale in the same volume, p. 141, a hyaena had a bull
and a hare a cow, which bore a calf in the hare's absence. This was
claimed by the hyaena, as having been borne by the bull. The dispute
was referred to a male rat, which sent its young ones to say that it
could not leave its hole, as it was about to bear young ones. When
the hyaena laughed at the idea, and inquired when such an occurrence
had been known, the rat replied, "Since it has been the bulls which
bore calves."
NO. 36
THE JACKAL AND THE TURTLE
At a village there is a large pond. At the margin of the pond two
Storks [89] live. When they had been eating the small fishes in that
pond in that way for a long time, the pond became dried up by a very
great drought. These two Storks having eaten the small fishes in the
pond until they were becoming finished, one day a Stork of these two
Storks having spoken to the other Stork, says, "Friend, now then,
that we have been here is no matter to us. Because of it let us go
to another district." Thus he spoke.
Now, a Turtle stayed in the pond. The Turtle having heard the speech
of these two Storks, the Turtle says, "Ane! Friends, I also now have
been staying in this pond a long time. The pond having now dried
up, I also have nothing to eat, nor water to be in, and nowhere to
go. Because of it, friends, having taken me to the village to which
you two go, put me down there," the Turtle said to the two Storks.
Then one Stork says to the Turtle, "Ane! Bola, foolish Turtles! How
wilt thou go with us to another village?"
Then the Turtle says, "Ane! Friends, I indeed cannot go flying to
the village to which you go. You two somehow or other having gone
with me must put me there."
Then the two Storks say to the Turtle, "If thou, shutting thy mouth,
wilt remain without speaking anything, we two having gone to the place
where there is water will put thee down there," the two Storks said.
Having said this they brought a stick, and said to the Turtle, "Grasp
the middle of this stick tightly with the mouth, and hold it tightly."
Having said this, the two Storks [holding the stick near the ends]
took the Turtle. While they were going flying, as they were going
above a dried field a Jackal saw the shadow going with the two Storks
carrying the Turtle. Having seen it the Jackal says, "Isn't this a
troublesome comrade they are taking?"
Then the Turtle having become angry, says, "The troublesome comrade
whom they are taking is for thy mother." So the Turtle's mouth was
opened. Then the Turtle fell on the ground. The two Storks left him
and went away.
The Jackal having come running, after he looked saw the Turtle,
and turning and turning it over to eat, when he tried to eat it the
Turtle says, "I have now for a long time been staying dried up without
water. In that way you cannot eat me. Having gone with me to a place
where there is water and put me in it, should I become soaked you
will be able to eat me," he said to the Jackal.
Then the Jackal having taken hold of the Turtle with his mouth, and
placed it in a pond containing water, when he had been treading on
it [to prevent it from escaping] for a little time, the Turtle says,
"Now every place is soaked. Under the sole of your foot, Sir, I have
not got wet. Should you raise the sole of your foot a little it would
be good," it said. So the Jackal raised the foot a little. Then the
Turtle crept to the bottom of the mud. The Jackal quickly seized the
Turtle [by its leg] again.
After he had caught it the Turtle says, "The Jackal-elder-brother
being cheated has got hold of the Ketala [plant] root." The
Jackal-elder-brother quickly having let go the Turtle, speedily got
hold of the Ketala root that was near by. Then the Jackal being unable
[to go deeper], the Turtle going yet a little further in the water,
says, "Bola! Even to-day you are Jackals! When didst thou eat us?"
Many Jackals prated to the Jackal about the Turtle. On account of the
Jackal's being unable to eat the Turtle or to seize it, he became much
ashamed. While he was there, having contrived and contrived a trick,
saying he must somehow or other kill the Turtle, another Jackal came
there to drink water. Having drunk water, he asks the other Jackal,
"What, friend, are you thinking of and clenching your nails about?"
Then the Jackal who was unable to seize the Turtle, says, "Friend,
a Turtle cheated me, and went into this pond. Having become angry on
account of that, I am looking for it in order to kill that one should
that one come onto the land," he said to the other Jackal.
That Jackal says, "Ae, Bola! Fool! How many Turtles are there yet
in the pond? How canst thou seek out the one that cheated thee?" the
Jackal that came to drink water said.
Every day in that manner this Jackal comes to the pond to drink
water. One day when he came to drink water, having seen that a crowd
of Turtles are grimacing on the lotus, the Jackal says, "If ye and
we be friends, how much advantage we can gain by it!" Having spoken
thus on that day the Jackal went away.
Having gone, when he met the Jackal whom the Turtle cheated he said,
"Friend, having met with a crowd of Turtles while they were in the
pond to-day, I spoke words [to them]. We must devise together a trick
to kill them." Having said this the two Jackals talked together.
Again, on a day when the Jackal went to the pond to drink water,
having seen in the [same] way as on that day the Turtles grimacing
on the lotus, the Jackal says, "How can ye and we remain in this
manner? Should ye and we, both parties, take wives [from each other]
wouldn't it be good?" the Jackal asked the Turtles.
Then the Turtles say, "If so, indeed how good it would be!"
"Then one day we will come and speak with ye [about] the
wedding." Having said this the Jackal went away.
Having gone he says to the Jackals, "[After] speaking words with the
Turtles who are in that pond regarding taking and giving wives I have
come away."
Then the other Jackals said, "It is very good. Some day let us all
go." So they spoke.
Again on a day, after the Jackal had gone to the pond to drink water,
on that day, having seen that Turtles more than on the other day were
[there], he says, "Friends, to-day about all of you are [here]. Because
of it, on what day will it be good to come and summon [our wives]?" he
asked.
"We will say in a day or two days," they said.
The Jackal having drunk water and having gone, said to the other
Jackals, "They said they will say in a day or two days [on which day
we are to go to summon our wives]."
Then the Jackal whom the Turtle cheated said, "In some way or other
we must completely destroy them. Friends, somehow or other having
gone and spoken about this wedding, make ready quickly," he said.
On the following day this Jackal went to drink water, and to speak
about the wedding. Having drunk water the Jackal asked the Turtles,
"When will it be good to come?"
"To-morrow will be good," the Turtles said.
Then the Jackal says, "We shall all come. All ye also having got
ready be present."
Having said this, the Jackal quickly came running, and after all the
Jackals had collected together, said, "Let nobody of ye go anywhere
to-morrow. We must all go to call the Turtles for the wedding,
and return."
The Jackal whom the Turtle cheated said, "Somehow or other having
sought out the Turtle that cheated me and called it to the wedding,
I must torture it and kill it," he said.
After that, all the Jackals having collected together, started to go
to call the Turtles for the wedding. Having set off, the Jackal who
drank water at the pond having gone in front to invite the Turtles
[to be ready], said, "They are coming to summon you to the wedding. All
ye having prepared for it be pleased to be quite ready," he said.
Then all the Turtles having come and climbed onto the branches of
trees fallen in the pond, were looking out.
The Jackal who came with the message having gone back near the Jackals,
said, "All the Turtles having climbed on the trees and the branches,
are present looking out till we come."
Well then, all the Jackals having started, while they were going with
the tom-tom beaters, the Jackal who drank water at the pond said,
"You stay here. I will go and look if the Turtles are coming or what."
Having gone, after he looked [he saw that] all the Turtles in
the trees, more than the Jackals, all having climbed onto the
branches, were looking out. Having seen [this] the Jackal says,
"Haven't you tom-toms, drums, kettle-drums?" the Jackal asked the
Turtles. "There! we indeed are coming beating well the tom-toms,
kettle-drums, drums, and [blowing] trumpets," he said.
Then the Turtle Chief said, "Beat our tom-toms," he said.
Then all the Turtles began to beat tom-toms by singing, "Gaja, Gaja;
Gora, Gora; Baka, Baka," enough to destroy the ears.
Then the Jackal having come running to the front of the Jackals, said,
"All the Turtles having climbed completely along the branches of the
trees are there. We all having gone near the Turtles must go along
the trees that we can mount onto, and seize the Turtles," he said.
Then the Jackal Chief said, "Not so. As we come very near the Turtles
beat this tom-tom verse," he said. Then all at a leap having jumped
onto the trees where the Turtles are he told them to seize them. The
very tom-tom verse that he told the tom-tom beaters to beat on the
tom-toms is, "Ehe; Kata, kata, kata. Ehe; Kata, kata, kata."
Then when they were far off, the Turtles having seen the Jackals
coming, said, "There they are, Bola. Now then, get ready."
As they were coming near, beating the tom-toms, "Ehe; Kata, kata,
kata. Ehe; Kata, kata, kata," the Turtles having heard all this,
all the Turtles began to cry out, "Baka, Baka," as they came near.
Then, as they came very near, singing "Baka, Baka," all the Turtles
sprang into the pond [and disappeared].
On account of this thing that they did, the Jackals became still
more ashamed. "These Cattle-Turtles have cheated us," they said;
and having become angry, went away.
The way the Jackal-artificers called the Turtles to the wedding
is good.
Village Vaedda of Bintaenna.
The first part of this tale is found in the Jataka story No. 215
(vol. ii, p. 123). In it two Hansas or sacred Geese asked a Turtle
to accompany them to their home, a golden cave in the Himalayas. They
carried it like the Storks. The Jackal is not introduced at all. Some
village children saw the Turtle in the air, and made a simple remark
to that effect. The Turtle, wishing to reply, opened its mouth,
and was smashed by falling in the King's court-yard.
In the Panchatantra (Dubois), as well as in a variant of the
North-western Province of Ceylon, and elsewhere in the island, the
story does not end at this point, but with the escape of the Turtle
after the Jackal had soaked it in the water.
In the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. ii, p. 37, the story ends
with the fall of the Turtle, which was being carried to a lake in
which there was water. In this case, as in the Jataka story, the
point to be illustrated only required the Turtle to fall and be killed.
The variant of the North-western Province is practically identical
with the first part of the Vaedda tale, but the drought is stated
to have lasted for seven years. The Jackal was about to howl, and on
turning his head upward for the purpose saw two Black Storks carrying
the Turtle.
He asked, "Where are you taking a present?" (referring to the way
in which a considerable load is sometimes carried slung on a stick,
the ends of which rest upon the shoulders of two men, one in front and
the other behind). The Turtle replied, "For your mother's head." When
the Jackal tried to eat it he heard the Turtle laughing inside the
shell, and said, "Friend, what are you laughing at?" The Turtle said,
"I am laughing at your thinking you can eat me in that way. I have
been dried up for seven years, and if you want to eat me you must
first soak me in water." The Jackal did this, and the Turtle escaped
in the way related by the Vaeddas.
The rest of the story is, I think, found only among the
Vaeddas. Although it is clear that it must have been invented by the
settled inhabitants of villages, the marriage custom according to which
the bride was to be taken to the bridegroom's house to be married is
not that of the modern Sinhalese, but is in accordance with the story
related in the Mahavansa, i, p. 33, regarding the marriage of a Vaedi
Princess at the time of Wijaya's landing in Ceylon. The Sinhalese
custom is found in the story of the Glass Princess (No. 4), in which
six Princes accompanied by their parents, went to their brides'
city to be married, returning home with their brides afterwards.
It is probable that the original story ended with the escape of the
Turtle from the Jackal after it was placed in the water. It is a
folk-tale, and not a story written to illustrate a maxim. It appears
to have been invented to show the folk-lore superiority of the Turtle's
intelligence over that of the Jackal. The Turtle is always represented
as a very clever animal, not only because of the ease with which he can
protect himself by withdrawing his head and legs inside the shell--of
which Mr. A. Clark, formerly of the Forest Department of Ceylon, and
I once had an amusing illustration at a pool in the Kanakarayan-aru,
when his bull-terrier made frantic attempts to kill one, like the
Jackal--but possibly also because, as I was told of another amphibious
animal in West Africa, "he lives both in the water and on the land,
therefore he knows the things of both the land and the water."
In The Orientalist, vol. i, p. 134, the story as far as the escape of
the Turtle was given by Mr. H. A. Pieris, the animals concerned being
wrongly termed Tortoise, Cranes, and Fox; the two latter animals are
not found in Ceylon. To this the Editor added the story found in the
Hitopadesa, in which the animals were a Turtle and two Geese, which
agreed to carry the Turtle to another lake in order that it might not
be killed by some fishermen next day. Some herdsmen's boys saw it,
and remarked that if it fell they would cook and eat it. The Turtle
replied, "You shall eat ashes," fell down, and was killed by the men.
In the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. ii, p. 37, the birds were
"Swans" (probably Hansas, which are always represented as geese in
ancient carvings in Ceylon). Some men made remarks to each other on the
strange object that was being carried, and the Turtle, on asking the
birds what the chattering was about, fell and was killed by the men.
In Old Deccan Days (Frere), p. 310, a Jackal escaped from an Alligator
[Crocodile] in the same manner as the Turtle.
In Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 155--Tales of the Punjab,
p. 147--an Iguana or Monitor Lizard outwitted a Jackal who had caught
him by the tail as he was entering the hole in which he lived. Both
pulled for a long time without any result. At last the Lizard said
he gave in, and requested the Jackal to allow him to turn round and
come out. When released he disappeared into the hole.
NO. 37
THE LION AND THE TURTLE
In a jungle there is a Lion King. While he was there, one day there
was no prey for the Lion King when he was walking about seeking it. He
obtained nothing as prey that day. As the Lion through fatigue was
staying below a great big tree, avoiding the heat, he went to sleep.
While he was sleeping, a Turtle came out [of the bushes], having
set off to go away from there. As he was going along, a "sara, sara"
sound was heard, having been made by the dry leaves. The Lion King
having opened his eyes [90] at the sound of this Turtle's going,
after he had looked saw the Turtle, and having become angry sprang
at once near the Turtle. Having said, "Bola! What art thou going
on a rapid journey in this manner for? Didst thou not see that I am
[here]?" the Lion King pushed against the Turtle.
Then the Turtle says, "O Lord who will become a thousand Buddhas
[in future existences], I didn't come to cause you alarm, Sir; I am
walking to procure my food," the Turtle said to the Lion King.
"What art thou going to seek and eat in this forest?" the Lion asked.
Then the Turtle says, "O Lord, I am walking to obtain and eat any
sort of things that I can eat," the Turtle said.
Then anger having gone to the Lion, he sprang to eat the Turtle. Then
the Turtle, having brought his head inside, became like a stone. After
he became thus, the Lion turning the Turtle to that side and to this
side, and having clawed him and bitten him, looked at him, having been
unable to do anything to him. After he had been looking the Lion says,
"Having been like a what-is-it stone, didn't you preach to me in
overbearing words?"
When he had been looking at him a little time, as the Turtle,
having put his head outside again, was going off, the Lion says,
"Bola, art thou a being who can do anything?"
"O Lord, the things that you, Sir, can do you do. I do the things
that I can do," the Turtle said.
"Bola, canst thou, who endest by drawing slowly and slowly what is
like a lump of stone, run, jump, roar, swim in rivers that way and
this way, equal to me? And what canst thou do to me, who having roared
and caused the bottom of the ears to burst, and killed every animal,
eats it?" the Lion said.
Then the Turtle says, "You, Sir, frighten and eat even all. You cannot
frighten and kill, nor eat, me except on land. In the water, you,
Sir, cannot swim that side and this side equal to me," the Turtle
said to the Lion.
After the Lion, having become angry, said, "Wilt thou come to swim
that side and this side with me? If not, I will put thee under a
large stone," the Turtle having become afraid that he would kill him,
having given his word to swim with the Lion that side and this side
in a river, went near the river.
Having gone [there] the Turtle met with yet a Turtle, and said,
"Friend, a great trouble has befallen me to-day." After the friendly
Turtle asked, "What is it, friend?" the other Turtle says, "The Lion
King has come and wagered with me to swim that side and this side,"
he said.
Then the Turtle says, "Why are you afraid of that, friend? Say, 'It
is good.' I will tell you a good trick; you act in that way. What is
it? You place a red flower in your mouth. I will place a red flower
in my mouth. You having been on this side with the Lion King, and
having sprung into the river and hidden at the bottom of the water
very near there, remain [there]. I having hidden near the river bank
on that side will be [there]. The Lion King having come swimming,
as he is going to land on that side, I being near the river bank and
having said, 'Kurmarsha,' [91] taking the flower will land [before
him]. You also in that way having been hidden near the bank on this
side, as the Lion King is going to land, having said, 'Kurmarsha,'
quickly land [before him]." The friendly Turtle having said [this],
hid at the bottom of the water near the bank on that side of the river.
The Turtle that spoke with the Lion went near the Lion. Then the Lion
asks, "Art thou coming to swim?" he asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the Turtle said.
Then [after they had gone to the river] the Lion said to the Turtle,
"Thou, having swum in front, be off. I having come slowly shall get
in front of thee," he said.
Then the Turtle, also holding a red flower in his mouth, having
descended to the river, and having gone a little far, got hid
at the bottom of the water. While it was hidden, as the Lion was
going swimming near the river bank, the other Turtle which stopped
at that side, having got in front before the Lion landed, and said,
"Kurmarsha," having placed a red flower also in his mouth, landed on
the river bank at once.
The Lion having seen him, again sprang into the river. As he came
to this side, the Turtle that remained at the bank at this side,
having got in front of the Lion at once, taking the flower also, said,
"Kurmarsha," and landed.
Again the Lion swam to the other side. In that very way the Turtle
having been there and said, "Kurmarsha," landed [in front of him].
Thus, in that way, when swimming seven or eight times, the Lion,
who was without even any prey that day, having become unable to swim,
and being without strength in the middle of the river, died.
Village Vaedda of Bintaenna.
In a variant of the North-western Province, the Lion lived in a cave,
and met the Turtle when he went to the river to drink. He told the
Turtle that it was unable to travel quickly because it always lived in
one place. The Turtle shrugged its shoulders, and replied, "Can you
travel better than I?" The Lion challenged it to race with him, and
the Turtle accepted the challenge, fixing the time eight days later.
The race of the two animals was not across the river, but along it,
a series of Turtles having been stationed at various points where
it was arranged that the Lion should come to the bank and call out,
"Friend." At each place a Turtle rose on hearing this, and said,
"What is it, friend?" At the fifth stage, the Lion leapt over two
stages as quickly as one, and broke his neck.
The resemblance of the race in this variant to that between Brer
Rabbit and Brer Tarrypin in Uncle Remus is striking; it even extends
to the number of stages, five in both stories.
In The Orientalist, vol. i, pp. 87, 88, Mr. W. Goonetilleke gave
a variant from Siam, by Herr A. Bastian, in which the animals were
the Garuda [or Rukh] and the Turtle; and two others by Lord Stanmore,
from Fiji, where the animals were a Crane and a Crab in one instance,
and a Crane and a Butterfly in the other, the insect being perched
on the bird's back during the race.
PART II
STORIES TOLD
OF OR BY
THE LOWER CASTES
NO. 38
THE MONKEY AND THE WEAVER-BIRD
In the midst of a forest there were a Wandura (a large grey Monkey,
Semnopithecus) and a Weaver-bird.
One day the Monkey came to the tree in which the Weaver-bird lodged,
and after that a great rain-storm began. The Weaver-bird without
getting wet remained in much comfort in its nest; the Monkey stayed
in a fork of the tree, getting thoroughly soaked.
Then the Weaver-bird said, "Why does a person endowed with hands and
feet, and strength, like thee, get soaked in this rain? Such a small
animal as I am having built a house stays in it without getting
wet. Not a drop of rain leaks into it. If I were equal to thee I
should build a good house."
On account of that remark the Monkey became angry, and saying,
"What is my business to thee?" broke down the nest of the Weaver-bird.
Then the Weaver-bird went to the [Monkey] King, and instituted an
action [against the Monkey]. Afterwards, orders were issued by the
King to seize the Monkey. After remaining in concealment, the Monkey,
thinking, "If I should be caught they will kill me," plucked a Jak
fruit, and went with it to the King. After that [the King] caused
the Weaver-bird to be brought, so that he might try the case.
As he was inquiring into the case, it came to be accepted that
on account of his breaking down the nest the fault lay with the
Monkey. Then the Monkey said, "The action is coming to an end. Will
the Maharaja be pleased to look behind me?"
At that very time, when the King having considered [his judgment],
looked around, he saw that there was a Jak fruit behind the
Monkey. Then the King, thinking, "The Jak fruit has been brought
to be given to me for the sake of obtaining my favour," said to the
Weaver-bird, "The fault is in thy hands. Whether he gets soaked or
however he may be, it is no affair of thine."
Having said this, the King drove her away; and the Monkey, having
given him the Jak fruit, went away.
At that time animals were able to talk.
Potter. North-western Province.
The first part of this story is given in the Hitopadesa, but not the
trial before the Monkey King.
NO. 39
THE JACKAL DEVATAWA
In a certain country there was a dead Elephant, it is said. A Jackal
having gone to eat the Elephant's carcase, and having eaten and eaten
a hole into the Elephant from behind, passed inside it. While he was
eating and eating the carcase of the Elephant as he remained inside
it, the skin [dried and] became twisted up, and the path by which
the Jackal entered became closed.
A man who was a tom-tom beater was going near it, taking a tom-tom
for a devil-dance. Then among the bones the sound of tom-tom beating
was heard. So the Jackal asked, "Who is going here?"
The tom-tom beater said, "I am going to this devil-dance."
The Jackal said, "What art thou going this way for, without
permission?"
The tom-tom beater replied, "O Lord, I am going without knowing about
this [permission's being necessary]."
The Jackal asked, "What wilt thou obtain for the dancing?"
The tom-tom beater said, "I receive presents and the like."
Then the Jackal said, "I will give thee a present better than
money. It is owing to thy good luck that thou hast come this way. I
am a Devatawa (deity) who is guarding his own treasure here. If I am
to give thee the treasure, split one eye (end) of the tom-tom which
is in thy hand, and having filled it with water and brought it here,
pour it on this Elephant."
After that, the tom-tom beater having plucked out the eye of the
tom-tom, filling it with water brought it, and poured it on the
Elephant's dried up carcase. The Jackal, also, sitting inside it,
worked and worked it into the skin with its muzzle. Having made the
skin pliable it sprang out, and went away.
When this man looked inside, no deity was there, but there were many
maggots. So the man, taking his broken tom-tom, went home.
In a few days afterwards, a rain having fallen, the Elephant's carcase
floated, and went down into the water-course. From the water-course
it passed down to the stream. A flock of crows covered the carcase. As
they were going eating and eating the dead body, it descended into the
river, and from the river it passed down to the great sea. There the
skin having rotted began to fall to the bottom. After the crows had
looked [around], there was not even a tree [to be seen], and before
they were able to fly to a place where there were trees their wings
were broken, and they died.
Washerman. North-western Province.
A variant related in another village is nearly the same. Some tom-tom
beaters passing the Elephant's carcase were accosted by the Jackal,
to whom they replied that they were going to "a poya tom-tom beating,"
that is, one given on the Buddhist sabbath, at the quarter of the
moon. When he inquired what profit they would get from it, they
stated that they would receive cakes and milk-rice. "You don't want
cakes and milk-rice," he said, "I will give you gold. Bring water
to this Elephant's carcase." They did so, breaking open the "eyes"
of their tom-toms for the purpose, and the Jackal escaped.
The story concludes: "For the tom-tom beaters there was neither gold,
nor cakes and milk-rice. Having broken their tom-toms, lamenting and
lamenting they went to their village."
In the Jataka story No. 148 (vol. i, p. 315), a Jackal became
imprisoned in the same way, but escaped when a tempest soaked the
skin. The tale is also given in No. 490 (vol. iv, p. 206).
In the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. i, p. 77, a man crept inside
the skin of an Elephant from which jackals had eaten the flesh. A
rain-storm caused it to contract (?) and closed the aperture. The flood
carried it into the Ganges and thence to the sea. There a Garuda [Rukh]
picked it up, and took it to Ceylon, where the man escaped when it tore
open the hide. I insert the following as an account of the supposed
state of things in Ceylon under the rule of Vibhisana, the Rakshasa
King of Ceylon, after the death of Ravana: "Two Rakshasas contemplated
him from a distance with feelings of fear." They reported his arrival
to Vibhisana, who sent for him and entertained him in a friendly and
hospitable manner. When asked how he came to Ceylon, the Brahmana
cunningly replied that he had been sent by Vishnu, who had informed
him that Vibhisana would present him with wealth. He stayed some time
in the island, and was allowed a young Garuda on which to ride about
the country, and at last he was carried back to Mathura by it.
In Old Deccan Days (Frere), p. 179, a Jackal got inside a dead bullock,
and informed the scavengers who came to bury it that he was the god
of their village. They poured water on the hide, and he escaped.
In Indian Folk Tales (Gordon), p. 61, a live Elephant swallowed a
Jackal. The Jackal fed on the heart and killed the Elephant, but was
imprisoned inside when the skin dried up. When the God Mahadeo (Siva),
who was passing, heard cries and inquired who was there, the Jackal,
after ascertaining who it was, said that he was Sahadeo, father of
Mahadeo, and induced the latter to prove his identity by causing a
heavy rainfall, owing to which the skin was softened and he escaped.
It is said in the Southern Province that all tom-tom beaters are
fools. [92] In the North-western Province the same opinion is held
regarding some of them. To what extent it is justified I am unable to
say, but an example which supported the general notion fell under my
own observation. Some jungle was being cut for an irrigation channel,
at the side of an uncultivated field belonging to a tom-tom beaters'
village, and one of the men came to watch the progress of the work. I
questioned him regarding eggs. He stated at first that only things
which could fly laid eggs, but he admitted that this rule did not apply
to crocodiles, lizards, and snakes. About bats he was not certain, but
thought they do not lay eggs. Rats certainly do not lay them, he said.
I had seen a Green Bee-eater flying near us, and I observed a small
hole such as this bird makes as its nest-hole, in the sandy ground. I
drew his attention to it, and he at once asserted that it was a
rat-hole; of that he had no doubt whatever. "Well then, let us see
if there are any eggs in it," I said, knowing that it was then the
breeding season of the Bee-eaters.
He looked on, smiling ironically, while I got one of my men to open
the tunnel carefully. When he came to the end, there on the sand,
in a little saucer-shaped cavity, were four shining, spherical white
eggs of the bird. The man was astonished, but was quite satisfied
that they were rat's eggs. "I saw them with my two eyes," he said to
my men, who all laughed at him.
The following stories were written for me as the foolish doings
traditionally attributed to the tom-tom beaters of a village in the
North-western Province. Apparently the village is at the side of a
rice field.
NO. 40
A KADAMBAWA MAN'S JOURNEY TO PUTTALAM
In order to go to Puttalam, a Kadambawa man having yoked his bull in
his cart, sent it in advance with the cart, saying, "My bull knows
the way to Puttalam." He himself walked behind the cart.
The bull [being without guidance], having gone completely round the
rice field, came again to the path leading to the man's house. There
the man's children came out, saying, "Ade! Has our father been to
Puttalam and come back?"
The man [thinking he had come to another village] said, "What are
you saying 'Father' to me for? I am a Kadambawa man. I am going to
Puttalam." Then he again sent on the bull in front [as before].
In the same manner as before, the bull having gone round the rice
field came again to the house. Then those children saying, "Ade! Has
our father been to Puttalam and come back?" went on in front.
Then the man said, "Ha! At each place that I go to, the boys call me
'Father.' I am a Kadambawa man. I am going to Puttalam. At a village
on the road, also, certain boys said 'Father' to me." So saying,
he again sent on the bull in front.
In the same way as before, the bull turning round the rice field
came again to the village. Again the man's children said, "Ade! Has
our father been to Puttalam and come back? Have you come on in front
[of the others who went]?"
Then the man said, "Ha! At each place that I go to, the boys say
'Father' to me. I am a Kadambawa man. I am going to Puttalam. At two
villages on the road the boys called me 'Father.'"
As he was setting off to go again, the man's wife came and spoke
to him. Then the man having recognised that it was his own house,
unfastened the bull, and having sent it off to eat food stayed quietly
at home.
In The Orientalist, vol. ii, p. 102, there is a story by
Mr. A. E. R. Corea, in which a man who was going to a village in order
to hire out his bull, allowed the animal to take its own way while he
trudged behind it. The bull wandered about eating, and at last lay
down near a stream. The man being tired out also lay down, and fell
asleep. He was close to his own house, and was found by his children
when they went for firewood. When they spoke to him, he denied that he
was their father, and drove them away; but his wife afterwards came,
and by means of her broom-stick convinced him that he was at home.
NO. 41
THE KADAMBAWA MEN AND THE HARES
The Kadambawa men having gone to set nets, a great many hares were
caught in the nets. Afterwards the men, having seized the hares,
doubled up the hind legs of the hares at the joints, and the fore-legs
at the joints, and threw them on the ground, in order to make a heap
of them in one place afterwards. Then all the hares ran away into
the jungle.
After all the hares in the nets had been finished, when they looked
for the dead hares there was not even one hare. Then the men were
astonished at the coming to life of the hares which they had killed,
saying, "How thoroughly we killed the hares!" After having become
fixed like stone [with astonishment] until nightfall, they went in
the evening to their houses.
NO. 42
THE KADAMBAWA MEN AND THE MOUSE-DEER
The Kadambawa men having appointed a wedding-[day], and having caught
a great many Mouse-deer [for eating at it], tied clappers on their
necks like those on goats, and having made an enclosure put them in
it, and came away. The Mouse-deer escaped into the jungle.
Having gone to it on the wedding-day, when they looked there was not
one Mouse-deer left. Then the men, saying, "Ane! The Mouse-deer that
we reared have all gone," came back to the village, much astonished.
NO. 43
THE KADAMBAWA MEN AND THE BUSH
As the Kadambawa men were going away with some drums one night, to
attend a devil-dance, they met with a Wara [93] bush on the path,
which looked like an elephant. The men became afraid, thinking,
"Maybe an elephant has come onto the path." At the shaking of the
leaves of the Wara bush they said, "He is shaking his ears."
Being afraid to go past the elephant, they beat the drums until it
became light, to frighten the Wara bush. When they looked after it
became light, it was not an elephant; it was a Wara tree. After that,
they came back to their village. So they had neither the devil-dance
nor went to sleep.
NO. 44
HOW THE KADAMBAWA MEN COUNTED THEMSELVES
Twelve Kadambawa men having gone to cut fence sticks, and having
cut and tied up twelve bundles of them, set them on end leaning
against each other [before carrying them home]. Then a man said,
"Are our men all right? Have all come? We must count and see."
Afterwards a man counted them. When he was counting he only counted
the other men, omitting himself. "There are only eleven men; there
are twelve bundles of fence sticks," he said.
Then another man saying, "Maybe you made a mistake," counted them
again in the same way. He said, "This time also there are eleven men;
there are indeed twelve bundles of fence sticks."
Thus, in that manner each one of the twelve men counted in the
same way as at first. "There are eleven men and twelve bundles of
fence-sticks. There is a man short," they said, and they went into
the jungle to look for him.
While they were in the chena jungle seeking and seeking, a man of
another village, hearing a loud noise of shouting while he was going
along the road, having come there to see what it was, found these
twelve men quarrelling over it. Then this man asked, "What are you
saying?"
The men said, "Twelve of our men came to cut fence sticks. There are
now twelve bundles of sticks; there are only eleven men. A man is
short yet."
When this man looked there were twelve men. So he said, "All of you
take each one his own bundle of fence sticks." Then the twelve men
having taken the twelve bundles of sticks came to their village.
In Indian Fables (Ramaswami Raju), p. 61, twelve pigs crossed a stream,
and counting themselves in the same way on the opposite bank, thought
that one had been drowned.
In Indian Nights' Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 305, seven Buneyr men
[weavers] counted their number as six, and were so delighted when a
shepherd proved that there were seven that they insisted on doing a
month's free labour for him. Next day, however, one killed his mother
in driving a fly off her face, and another chopped off the heads of
several goats for mocking him by chewing their cud while he was eating,
so he dispensed with the rest of their services.
In the Adventures of the Guru Paramarta (Dubois, 1872) the Guru and
his five foolish disciples, after long delay because of the danger,
crossed a river in which the water was only knee-deep. On reaching
the far bank one of them counted the party several times, omitting
himself, and they concluded that one had been drowned in the river,
which they had heard was a treacherous one. They lamented, and cursed
the river, one after another, until a traveller arrived. When he had
heard their story he offered to restore the missing man to them by
means of magic, for which service they agreed to pay him all the money
they had, forty panams of gold. He said to the Guru, "It is a very
little thing in comparison with the service that I promise to render
you. However, as you say it is all that you possess, and as you are
in other respects a good man who does not intend any malice thereby,
I consent." He set the six persons in a row, and struck each one a
good blow on the back with his stick as he counted him in a loud voice.
In the Laughable Stories, of Bar-Hebraeus (Budge), the counting tale
is No. 569. A man counted his asses and found there were ten, then
having mounted on one he omitted it, and made the number nine. He
dismounted and found there were ten; mounted again and counted only
nine. He got down again, and saw that there were ten. Then saying,
"Verily there is a devil in me, for whenever I mount an ass I lose
one of them," he went on foot for fear of losing one permanently.
The counting incident is found in China also. In A String of Chinese
Peach-Stones, by W. A. Cornaby, p. 276, a stupid Yamun underling
who was taking a rascally monk to prison, kept counting the things
he had with him, "Bundle, umbrella, cangue (the heavy wooden collar
on the prisoner's neck), warrant, monk, myself." On the way he got
drunk and went to sleep. The monk took advantage of the opportunity
to shave his head and place the cangue on his neck, after which
he absconded. When the man awoke, and began to count the things,
he found everything there but himself.
NO. 45
THE KADAMBAWA MEN AND THE DREAM
When some Kadambawa men, having joined together, were going away to
Puttalam, it became night while they were on the road. Having got a
resting-place, and cooked and eaten, while they were sleeping a tusk
elephant appeared to a man in a dream.
On the morning of the following day the man said to the other men,
"Friends, last night I saw an evil dream."
The men asked, "What was in the dream?"
The man said, "I saw a tusk elephant."
Then the men began to interpret the dream. They said, "What is the
meaning? If there is a tusk elephant there will be elephant's dung;
if elephant's dung, paddy [which the elephant has eaten]; if paddy,
uncooked rice; if uncooked rice, cooked rice; if cooked rice, it is
a thing [found only] in the village. Therefore the elephant means
the village. Something must have happened. It is useless for us to
go on. Let us go back to the village." So all, weeping and weeping,
set out to return to the village.
As they came to the rice field of the village, the women and boys of
the village having heard the men coming crying and crying aloud, said,
"Ane! Our men are coming crying and crying. What is it? It will be a
dreadful thing." So the women and boys, having come from the houses to
that side of the field before those men came across, began to cry also.
On seeing them, the man who saw the dream said to those other men,
"Look there! Did I tell you falsely?" Then the men cried the
more. Having seen it, these boys and women, they also cried more
and more. The two parties having come quite near each other still
cried. The women and boys on that side of the stile [at the edge of
the field], these men on the field side of it, except that they cried
said nothing.
While they were crying and crying until it became night, as a man
from another village was going along the path he heard this uproar,
and came to see what it was. He asked at the hand of the men, "What
is it? Who is dead?"
Then the men, crying and crying, said, "Who is dead we don't know."
After that, the man having gone near those women and boys, asked,
"What is it? Who is dead?"
Then those persons also said, crying and crying, "Who is dead we
don't know."
Afterwards the man having stopped the crying of both parties, when he
had asked them about it, there was nothing dreadful. So the man went
away, and these men and women and boys, they also went to their houses.
In Indian Nights' Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 348, a weaver girl
said to herself that it would be a good thing if she married in her own
village, but if she had a son and he were to die, how her relatives
and friends would lament! The thought of it made her cry. When her
aunts and friends observed it they all cried too, and her father and
uncles and brothers coming up and seeing all these people crying,
also cried. When a neighbour asked the men what it was about, who was
dead? they could not tell him, but referred him to the women. He then
learnt that these also did not know, but cried because they saw the
girl crying.
NO. 46
THE FOUR TOM-TOM BEATERS
This story is told in the Southern Province to illustrate the
foolishness of this caste.
Four Tom-tom Beaters when proceeding along a road together,
met a man of lower caste than themselves. Before passing them he
made an obeisance, and (as usual in such cases) said, "Awasara,"
"Permission"--that is, "Have I permission (to pass)?"--and then
walked away.
While the Tom-tom Beaters were going along afterwards a dispute
arose over it, each person claiming that he was the one who had been
addressed, and to whom the obeisance had been made, as being the
superior man of the party. Each maintaining his own view, and being
unable to settle it in any other way, the four persons decided to refer
the matter to the man himself. They therefore turned back and ran after
him, and on overtaking him requested him to state from which of them
he had asked the permission. As the question plainly indicated the sort
of persons they were, he replied, "From the biggest fool among you."
This left matters just where they were, as each one, in order to prove
his claim to the obeisance, then declared himself to be the greatest
fool; and at last they related their foolish actions. These were
pointless, and I did not preserve the details. Each, however, had two
wives, this being one of the grounds on which all based their claims,
and the details they gave consisted of accounts of the ill-treatment
that they received from these women.
In Indian Nights' Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 65, a traveller threw
four pence to four weavers, each of whom claimed all the money. A
second traveller's reasonable suggestion that each should take a
penny was rejected, and they ran after the man, and asked for whom
he had given them. When he inquired which was the wisest they told
stories that only indicated their extreme stupidity, and in the end
he gave them four pence each, all being equal in this respect.
The Abbé Dubois gave a similar story from the Tamil of Southern India,
the men being four Brahmanas to whom a soldier said, "Saranam, eiyar"
("Homage, Sir"). The four replied, "Asirvatam" ("Benediction"),
and the man went off. After disputing about it, they ran after him
for a league, and asked him whom he saluted. He said, "Well, it is
the biggest fool of four whom I intended to salute." Eventually the
matter was referred to the headmen of the next village, who after
hearing their accounts of their silly deeds, decided that each one
might claim superiority over the others. "Thus," said they, "each one
of you has gained his case." The men were satisfied, as each had won.
In Folk-Tales of Hindustan (Shaik Chilli), p. 1, there is a version in
which two men were saluted by an old woman as they passed her. After a
dispute over it, when they ran back and asked her about it, she replied
that she saluted the greater fool of the two. Then they related their
experiences to her, and she adjudged one to be a bigger fool than
the other.
NO. 47
THE GOLDEN TREE
At a certain city there is a King, it is said; there are three Princes
of that King. The King, while sleeping, saw in a dream that a Golden
Tree sprang up, and on that Golden Tree a Silver Flower blossomed. A
Silver Cock that was sitting on the Silver Flower crowed.
Afterwards the King caused the three Princes to be fetched. When the
eldest Prince had been brought he asked him, "Son, can you explain
this dream which I have had?"
The Prince asked, "What appeared in the dream, Father-King?"
The King said, "A Golden Tree having been created, on it a Silver
Flower blossomed, and a Silver Cock crowed while sitting upon the
flower."
The Prince said, "Ane! Father-King, I cannot interpret it; perhaps
my two younger brothers will explain it."
Then the King having caused the next Prince to be fetched, asked him,
"Son, can you explain this dream?"
The Prince asked, "Father-King, what appeared in the dream?"
The King told him the manner in which the things appeared in the dream.
The Prince said, "Father-King, I cannot explain it; perhaps younger
brother will interpret it."
Then the King having caused the youngest Prince to be brought asked
him, "Son, can you explain this dream?"
The Prince asked, "Father-King, what appeared in the dream?"
The King told him the manner in which the things appeared in the dream.
Then the Prince said, "O Lord, Your Majesty, I will interpret that
dream, but I must first go in search of the explanation."
After that, the three Princes obtained leave of absence for three
years. Having got it, the three persons, cooking a bundle of rice,
and taking from their father permission to depart, started to go in
search of the interpretation. Having gone on and on, they came to a
junction of three roads. Having arrived at it, and eaten the bundle
of cooked rice, the eldest Prince said, "I will go along this road;
you go on those two roads." So the eldest Prince went along one road,
the second Prince went along another road, and the youngest Prince
went on the remaining road.
Having gone on and on, the youngest Prince arrived at the house of
a widow woman. The woman said, "Ane! Son, what have you come here
for? We have not even firewood for cooking."
The Prince asked, "Why, mother, is that?"
The widow woman said, "There is a Yaka in the jungle in which is
the firewood. The Yaka has now eaten all the people of this city;
few people are now in it."
The Prince asked, "How does that Yaka seize the men?"
The widow woman said, "When they go to the jungle and are cutting
firewood, he comes saying 'Hu,' and eats them."
Afterwards the Prince, taking his sword, went to the jungle, and
chopped a piece of firewood. The Yaka came, saying "Hu." Then the
Prince chopped at the Yaka with that very sword, and the Yaka died
there. After that, the Prince, taking a bundle of firewood, returned
to the house of the widow woman.
The widow woman asked, "Son, did you meet with the Yaka?"
The Prince said, "I met with him; I killed the Yaka."
Then having cooked with the firewood, she gave the Prince to eat.
On the morning of the following day the King went to the jungle,
and chopped firewood. That day the Yaka did not come, saying
"Hu." Afterwards, through the Yaka's not saying "Hu," the King went
to look for him, and saw that the Yaka was dead. So the King returned
to the city, and saying, "I must find now, in a moment, the man who
killed the Yaka," caused proclamation to be made by beat of tom-toms
to that effect.
Having heard it, this widow woman, summoning the Prince, went to the
palace, and told the King that he had killed the Yaka. After that
the King asked at the hand of the Prince, "How did you kill the Yaka?"
The Prince said, "I went to the jungle, and while I was chopping
firewood the Yaka having come crying "Hu," sprang onto me. Then I
speedily chopped at him and killed him." Having heard this, the King
gave the Prince a district of that kingdom, and an elephant's load
of goods.
Afterwards the Prince gave all those things to the widow woman,
and having gone away to another city, came to the house of a
widow-mother. Having arrived there, the Prince said to her,
"Ane! Mother, you must give me a resting-place to-day."
The widow-mother said, "I can indeed give you a resting-place,
but there is no place to sleep in. You cannot sleep in the veranda;
a light falls there during the night, and any person who sees that
light dies. Nobody can stop the light. In order to stop it, the King
has made public proclamation by beat of tom-toms that to any person
who stops it he will give an elephant's load of goods, and a district
of the kingdom."
The Prince asked her, "Mother, where does the light fall first?"
The widow-mother said, "In an open grass field in the middle of
the city."
The Prince then said, "If so, go and tell the King to fix a raised
platform at the place where the light falls, and having placed there
a winnowing basket made of cow-dung, and a large pot of water, to
come away. I will go there to-night and stop it."
So the widow-mother went and told the King. After that, the King
prepared the things in that very manner, and came away.
In the evening, the Prince, having eaten food, went onto the
platform. Near midnight, while he was there the light fell there. When
the Prince looked, the Naga King of the world of the Nagas, having
come there, had ejected from his mouth the Cobra Stone, and having
gone far away was eating food [as a cobra].
Then this Prince put the cow-dung winnowing basket on the stone,
whereupon the Naga King came crying out to the water-pot, taking it
for the person [who had done it]. The Prince then chopped at him with
his sword, and the Naga King died. After that, taking the Cobra Stone,
the Prince washed it with water from the pot, and put it away in the
waist pocket of his cloth.
While he was there it became light. Then the King came to see if he
had stopped the light. When he looked he saw that the cobra was lying
in a heap. The King asked at the hand of the Prince, "Did you stop
the light?" The Prince said, "Look there! The very one that made the
light has been killed there." Afterwards the King gave the Prince an
elephant's load of goods, and a district of that kingdom.
Afterwards, the Prince having given to the widow woman all the things
that had been given to him, went along the path on which the Naga
King had come, to the world of the Nagas. When he got there, all
the three Princesses of the Naga King whom he had killed were there,
sitting in one spot.
The Princesses said to this Prince, "What have you come for? Should
our father the King return now he will eat you."
The Prince saying, "Your father the King cannot come. I have come
here after killing your father the King," showed them the Cobra Stone.
Then the Princesses asked, "What have you come here for?"
The Prince said, "I have come on account of a sooth-saying, in order
to get it explained."
The Princesses asked, "What is the sooth?"
The Prince said, "At the time when our father the King was sleeping,
a Golden Tree having sprung up, and a Silver Flower having blossomed
on it, a Silver Cock which was sitting upon the flower crowed."
The three Princesses said, "We cannot explain it here. Let us go to
your father the King."
The Prince said "Ha," and the three Princesses and the Prince set
off to come to him.
They came to the junction of the three roads at which at first the
three Princes separated. Having arrived there they went along the
road on which the eldest brother of the Prince had gone, and having
met with him the Prince said, "Let us go back, elder brother, these
three Princesses will explain the dream"; so they returned. Then
they all went along the road on which the next brother had gone,
and having found him the Prince said, "Let us go back."
Having summoned him to go with them, those three Princes and the
three Princesses, six persons, having met together in this manner,
came to the Princes' city. Having arrived there, this youngest Prince
caused their father the King to be called. So the King came to them.
Then these three Princesses who had come from the world of the Nagas
said to this youngest Prince, "Cause us three persons to stand at
the thread" (that is, to toe the line). So this Prince caused them
to stand at the thread.
Then the three Princesses said, "Cut off our three heads at one
stroke." So this youngest Prince cut off their three heads at one
stroke. Thereupon the Golden Tree was created, and the Silver Flower
having blossomed on it, the Silver Cock that was sitting on the top
of the flower crowed.
Then this youngest Prince chopped down the Golden Tree with his sword,
and the three Princesses came to life again. Having come to life,
the three Princesses asked at the hand of the King, the father of
the Princes, "Was it thus in the dream that appeared to you?" The
King said "Yes." Then the three Princesses told him that they were
the Golden Tree, and the Silver Flower, and the Silver Cock.
After that, the three Princesses, having been married to the three
Princes, remained there.
Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.
The Cobra King with the gem, a diamond, which he laid down while
feeding, and swallowed afterwards, occurs in Old Deccan Days (Frere),
p. 36. A girl, disguised as a Prince, hung in a tree a large iron
trap fitted with knives underneath. Below it she scattered flowers and
sweet scents "such as cobras love," and when the Cobra came at night
she dropped the trap on him, and killed him. When she went to wash the
diamond in the lake, the water on being touched by it rolled aside,
and revealed a path which led to the garden at the Cobra's palace. In
the garden she found a tree with a silver stem, golden leaves, and
clusters of pearls as fruits. In the end, the Cobra's daughter came
away with her.
In Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 18, a Cobra rose out of a tank, with
a brilliant gem on its hood, which shone "like a thousand diamonds,"
and lit up everything around. The snake put it down and went in search
of food, and swallowed the two horses of a Prince and his friend, the
son of the Minister, who were belated, and sitting in a tree. While the
snake was at some distance, the Minister's son descended, covered the
gem with horse dung, and climbed back. The snake rushed to the spot,
but could not find the gem, and eventually died. Next morning they
descended, washed the gem in water, and saw by its light a palace under
the water, in which they found a Princess whom the Prince married.
In the Jataka story No. 253 (vol. ii, p. 197) we learn that the Naga
King called Mani-Kantha, "Jewel-throat," appears to have kept the
gem in his throat. He said--
Rich food and drink in plenty I can have
By means of this fine jewel which you crave.
In the story No. 543 (vol. vi, p. 94), the Naga gem is mentioned as
"the jewel which grants all desires." Naga youths are described as
placing it on a hillock of sand, and "playing all night in the water
by its radiance." One on the head of the Naga King is referred to on
p. 97 as being one which, "bright-red like a lady-bird, glows on his
head a diadem."
In the Panchatantra (Dubois), three jogis when killed while eating
became three large copper pots filled with gold and valuable jewels.
In Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 176--Tales of the Punjab
(Steel), p. 166--a Princess was brought to life by cutting off,
at one blow of the Sword, the heads of a pair of ducks.
In The Indian Antiquary, vol. i., p. 115, in a Bengal story by
Mr. G. H. Damant, a King dreamt of a silver tree, with golden
branches, diamond leaves, and pearl fruits; peacocks were playing in
the branches and eating the fruits. The tree was a girl, imprisoned
by Rakshasas. When a Prince cut her in two she became the tree;
when he dropped the knife she took her own shape again.
NO. 48
THE SEVEN PRINCESSES
In a certain country there are a King and a Queen, it is said; there
are seven Princesses [the daughters] of the King. A Prince younger
than those seven is born.
The King went to a war, and having gone there the King was defeated
in the war. When he returned, the royal food was not made ready for
the King. Having arrived, he asked the Queen, "Why did you not prepare
the royal food for me?"
Then the Queen said, "I cannot bring up your children, and prepare
the royal food for you also."
The King asked, "Why? What have the Princesses done?"
The Queen replied, "They go to the river, and after bathing there
come back and rub oil on their heads, and comb their hair, [instead
of assisting me to prepare the food]."
On account of that the King settled to behead the seven royal
Princesses next day.
The Queen having cooked a bundle of rice and given it to those
seven said, "Go to any place you like, or the King will behead you
to-morrow."
After that, they went off to the river, and after sitting there and
eating the bundle of rice, the seven went away.
Having gone on and on, they went to the house of a Rakshasa. When they
got there the Rakshasa was not at home. The seven persons asked for
and obtained a resting place from the Rakshasi (female Rakshasa). Then
the youngest Princess said, "We have no food; give us something to
cook." So the Rakshasi gave them a little paddy.
The youngest Princess, taking the paddy, said to the other six
Princesses, "Elder sisters, come and pound this small quantity of
paddy." The six persons refused.
After that, the Princess having pounded it, when she went out
to winnow it saw that there was a heap of human bones behind the
house. The Princess bearing that in mind winnowed it, and returned
without speaking about them. Then she called the Princesses to come
and cook it; they did not come.
Afterwards the Princess having cooked, summoned those six persons to
eat the rice. The six persons refused. Thereupon the Princess fed the
six Princesses [by dividing the rice and giving each one her share
of it].
Now, in the evening the seven Princesses went to sleep. There were
seven girls at the house, the daughters of the Rakshasa, and the seven
wore white clothes. The seven Princesses wore blue clothes. Then the
youngest Princess having awoke in the night, took the seven white
cloths of the seven Rakshasa girls, and put them on the Princesses,
placing the dark cloths of the Princesses on the girls.
The Rakshasa having returned during the night, and having learnt from
his wife of the arrival of the Princesses, put one of the girls out
of those who wore the dark cloths, in a large cooking-pot, and having
boiled her the Rakshasa ate his own daughter.
After seeing this, when the Rakshasa had gone to sleep, the little
Princess, awaking those six Princesses, told them about it, and all
the Princesses escaped together during the night. Having come to a
river they remained there lying on a sandbank.
A King having come that way while they were there, asked, "Are you
Yakas or human beings?"
The Princesses asked, "Is it a Yaka or a human being who asks?"
The King replied, "It is indeed a human being who asks, not a Yaka."
Then the Princesses said, "We indeed are human beings, not Yakas,"
[and they told him how they had escaped from the house of the Rakshasa
and had come there].
On hearing this the King said, "Can you go with me?"
The Princesses having said, "We can," went with the King to his palace,
and became his Queens. [94]
On the night of the following day, a daughter of the Rakshasa,
having heard how the King had taken away the Princesses, came there,
and remained lying on the sandbank.
On the next day, also, the King having come that way asked, "Are you
a Yaka or a human being?"
The Rakshasa's daughter said, "Is it a Yaka or a human being who asks?"
The King replied, "It is indeed a human being who asks, not a Yaka."
The Rakshasa's daughter said, "I also am indeed a human being, not
a Yaka."
Then the King said, "If so, can you go with me?"
The Rakshasi having said, "I can," went with the King to the palace,
[and also became his wife.]
After a long time had gone by, all those seven Princesses were about
to have children. One night, when the Princesses were asleep, the
Rakshasi plucked out the eyes of the seven Princesses by magic, without
awaking them, and having done so hid all the eyes. Then when the seven
Princesses, having arisen, tried to go about, they were unable to go;
they found that they could not see, so they lay down again.
Afterwards the King came to awake them. "Why are you sleeping
yet?" he said.
The seven Princesses replied, "We are unable to get up; we have
no eyes."
The King asked, "How have your eyes become displaced?"
The seven Princesses said, "What has happened we do not know; they
have been plucked out while we were asleep."
Afterwards the King having said, "If so, go where you like," drove
them away. The King allowed only the Rakshasi to stay.
The seven Princesses, having gone on and on, and having fallen down
at a pool, gave birth to seven Princes there. Now, there was no food
for the seven, so having cut up the Prince of the eldest Princess, and
divided the body into seven parts, they ate for a day. On the next day,
having cut up the next Princess's Prince and divided the body, they ate
it. Thus, in that manner they ate the six Princes of the six persons.
On the next day they settled to cut up the Prince of the youngest
Princess. Then the youngest Princess, on each of the days having
put away her portions of flesh, said, "You shall not cut up my
Prince. Look, here is your flesh," she said, and gave them the six
portions of flesh. The six persons ate them.
[The narrator did not state how they subsisted after that.]
While this youngest Princess was rearing that Prince there, after the
Prince went to the chena jungle one day, he met with a Vaedda. The
Vaedda said, "Let us go together to the King's city." [95] The
Prince said "Ha," and went with him. There the King saw him, and
being pleased with him gave him food and the like. The Prince having
eaten, after he had come again to the pool the Prince's mother asked,
"Where did you go?"
The Prince said, "I went to the King's city."
His mother asked, "What did you go for?"
The Prince replied, "I went 'simply'" (that is, for no special
purpose).
The Princess having said, "Aha!" while she was still there the Prince
said, "I am going to the forge."
Having gone to the forge he said to the smith, "Make and give me a bow
and an arrow." The smith said, "Cut a stick and come with it." So the
Prince went to the chena jungle to cut a stick. There was no suitable
stick, but a golden shoot had fallen down there, and having taken it
he gave it to the smith. The smith said, "This is not good; bring
another stick," so the Prince went and brought another stick. The
smith made a good bow and arrow out of the stick, and gave them to him.
Then the Prince having taken the bow and arrow, and shot a deer,
carried it to the city. After he had gone there they gave him paddy,
rice, flesh, and cooking-pots, and the like for it. Then the Prince
having taken them to the pool where the Princesses were, gave them to
his mother the Queen. Afterwards he shot a deer every day, and having
taken it to the city carried back to the Princesses the things that
he received for it.
One day having shot a deer, as he was about to take it to the city
the Prince's mother told him to carry it to the palace. While he
was there the Rakshasi saw him, and having made inquiry got to know
that he was the son of the youngest Princess. So she said to him,
"Take a letter to our house for me," and gave it to him.
As the Prince was going that day taking the letter, it became night,
so he went to a city, and asked a widow woman for a resting-place for
the night. The woman of the house said, "Ane! What have you come to
this city for? A Yaka has eaten all who were in this city. To-night
he will be coming for my daughter."
The Prince asked, "How will the Yaka come?"
The woman said, "Four miles away he says, 'Hu'; then a mile away he
says, 'Hu'; and having come from there near the stile at the road,
he says, 'Hu'."
The Prince asked, "Are there Kaekuna [96] seeds here?"
The daughter said, "There are," and she gave him a sackful of them.
Then he told the daughter, whose father had been the King of the
city, not to be afraid. "If the Yaka should come I will kill him," he
said. So the Prince went to sleep, placing a sword that he had brought
at his side, and laying his head on the waist pocket of the Princess.
Afterwards the Yaka cried "Hu," when four miles away, and tears fell
from the eyes of the Princess on the breast of the Prince when she
heard it. Next, the Yaka cried "Hu," when a mile away. The Princess
having spoken words to him on hearing it, he arose. "What is it?" he
asked. The Princess said, "The Yaka is coming." Then the Prince
emptied the sack of Kaekuna seeds at the door, and took up his sword.
As the Yaka, having come, was springing into the doorway, he slipped
on the seeds, and fell. Thereupon the Prince cut and killed the Yaka
with his sword, and having put his body in a well which was there,
covered it up with earth.
After the Prince had told the Princess about himself and the seven
Princesses, he said, "I must go now."
The Princess asked him, "What else is there in your hands?"
The Prince replied, "There is a letter which the Queen has ordered
me to take to her home."
The Princess having said, "Where is it? Let me look at it," took
it, and when she looked at it there was written in it, "Mother,
eat the Prince who brings this letter, and eat the eyes of those
seven persons."
Then the Princess having torn up the letter, wrote another letter,
"Mother, having taken care of the Prince who brings this letter,
send medicine for the eyes of those seven persons." Having written
it she gave it into the hands of the Prince.
The Prince carrying the letter, and having taken a bundle of cooked
rice to eat on the way, went to the house of the Rakshasi. As he was
coming near the house he saw a Rakshasi sitting at the road. When
she saw him she said, "The flesh of that one who is coming is for me."
The Prince asked, "What art thou saying?" and gave the letter to
the Rakshasi, and asked for the medicine for the eyes. After reading
the letter the Rakshasi prepared abundant food for him, and gave him
lodgings that day.
Next day, showing him a tree, she said, "After you have rubbed the
juice of this tree on the eyes of the persons who are blind, their
eyes will become well."
The Prince said, "If so, tie a little of it in a packet and give me
it." So the Rakshasi having tied up a packet of it gave him it.
Then the Prince having taken it back, rubbed it on the eyes of those
seven persons, and their eyes became well.
Afterwards, the Prince having gone with them to the city where he
killed the Yaka, married the Princess, and remained there.
North-western Province.
This story does not appear to have been met with among the people of
Southern India, but variants are well-known in other parts of the
country. In all these forms of the tale the wicked Rakshasa Queen
is killed.
In Indian Fairy Stories (Ganges Valley), by Miss Stokes, there are
two variants, pp. 51 and 176. In both, a demoness or Rakshasi whom the
King married induced him to cause the eyes of his other seven Queens
to be plucked out, and six of the infants whom they bore were eaten,
the seventh being saved as in Ceylon.
In one story the boy was sent for the milk of a tigress, an eagle's
feather, and night-growing rice; in the other he went for rose-water,
flowers, and a dress. A friendly Fakir in one tale, and a Princess in
the other, substituted other letters for those in which the demons
or ogres were instructed to kill him, so that he was well received
and succeeded in his errands. In one case he got the blind Queens'
eyes, and ointment to make them as before; in the other he brought
back magic water that cured them.
In Tales of the Punjab (Steel), p. 89, and Wide-Awake Stories (Steel
and Temple), p. 98, the demoness Queen persuaded the King to give
her the eyes of the seven Queens, which she strung as a necklace
for her mother. The seventh boy, who was shooting game for the blind
Queens' food, was sent for the eyes and got thirteen, one having been
eaten. The written message which requested that he should be killed
was changed by a Princess. On two other journeys he obtained the
Jogi's white cow which gave milk unceasingly, and rice that bore a
million-fold, by the aid of which the seven Queens became the richest
people in the kingdom. After he had married the Princess who assisted
him, the King heard the whole story, and killed the demoness.
In Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 117, the Rakshasa Queen, after
getting the seven Queens' eyes plucked out, ate up all the people,
and no one remained to attend on the King. At last the boy offered
his services. He always left before night, the time when the Ogress
caught her victims. She sent him to her mother for a melon, with a
letter which he tore up. He got back safely, bringing a bird in which
was the life of the Ogress Queen; when he killed it she died.
In The Indian Antiquary, vol. i, p. 170, there is a Bengal story by
Mr. G. H. Damant. The Ogress or Rakshasa Queen obtained the eyes of
the seven Queens from the King, and sent the boy for sea-foam, and
afterwards for rice grown in Ceylon, "the home of the Rakshasas,"
that ripened in one day. A Sannyasi, or Hindu religious mendicant,
changed him into a kingfisher on one trip and a parrot on the other,
which brought the things, being re-converted into a Prince on the way
back. Lastly, he was sent to Ceylon for a cow a cubit long and half
a cubit high. The King paid him heavily for getting these things, and
for the last one was obliged to sell his kingdom and give the proceeds
to the boy. The Sannyasi instructed him to conciliate a Rakshasi by
addressing her as "Aunt," and to deliver a pretended message from the
Ogress Queen. He was well received, and learnt that the Rakshasas'
lives were in a lemon and the Ogress Queen's in a bird. He cut the
lemon and thus killed all the Rakshasas, brought back the blind Queens'
eyes, and killed the bird, and with it the Ogress Queen.
In Folk-Tales of Hindustan, Allahabad (Shaik Chilli), p. 105,
the seven Queens were thrown into a large dry well; it is not
stated that their eyes were plucked out. The seventh boy got his
grandfather, a carpenter, to make him a wooden flying horse. He was
sent for singing-water, magic rice, and news of the Rakshasa Queen's
relatives. He met a lion, a wolf, and various other savage animals,
which he appeased by addressing them as "Uncle," "Cousin," etc. A
kind Yogi changed his letter, and he was welcomed by the Rakshasas,
whose lives he learnt were in a number of birds. These he killed,
taking back a pea-hen in which lay the life of the Ogress Queen,
as well as the magic water and rice. Each of the animals sent a cub
with him, and on his return these performed a dance, at the end of
which he killed the pea-hen and the Ogress died. The persons who had
been eaten by the Ogress revived when the magic water was sprinkled
on their bones. The magic rice plant, called Vanaspati, grew into a
tree forty yards high, and bore cooked rice.
In Folk-Tales of Kashmir (Knowles), 2nd ed., p. 43, the seven Queens'
eyes were put out, and they were thrown into a large dry well. The
seventh boy was sent for the milk of a tigress, and then to the
grandparents of the Ogress Queen. A friendly Fakir having altered
the messages, he was well received, got medicine that cured the blind
Queens' eyes, and also killed the birds and smashed a spinning-wheel
in which were the lives of the Ogress Queen and her relatives.
At p. 446, also, the eyes of a Queen which had been plucked out were
replaced and healed.
A variant of the Western Province of Ceylon, in which there were
twelve Queens, whose sight was not regained, however, has been given
already. See No. 24.
NO. 49
MR. JANEL SIÑÑA
In a certain city there are a King and a Queen, it is said. There are
six Princes. The youngest Prince of the six plays with (lit. beats)
the ashes on the ash-heap at the corner of the hearth; the other five
Princes are doing work, and going on journeys together.
The King said at the hands of the Queen that he must behead the Prince
who was [idling] on the ash-heap. Then the Queen said, "What is the
use of beheading him? Let us send the Prince whom we do not want to
any place where he likes to go."
Having come to the Prince, the Queen says, "Son, the King says that
he must behead you; on that account go away to any place you like."
Then the Prince said, "If so, give me a bundle of cooked rice, and
a thousand masuran, in order to go and trade."
So the Queen gave him a package of cooked rice and a thousand masuran.
The Prince took the masuran and the package of cooked rice, and having
gone on and on, when he was coming to a travellers' shed [saw that]
a man was taking a brown Monkey, [97] in order to throw it into the
river. This Prince called the man, and the man thereupon brought the
Monkey and came to the travellers' shed.
The Prince asked, "Where are you taking that Monkey?"
The man said, "I am taking this to sell."
The Prince asked, "For how much will you give it?"
The man said he would give it for a thousand masuran. The Prince
gave the thousand masuran that were in his hands, and got the Monkey,
and that man having taken the thousand masuran went away.
The Prince having unfastened the package of cooked rice, and given
some to the Monkey also, and the Prince himself having eaten, took
the Monkey and came back to the very city of the King. When he came
there the King was not at the palace; only the Queen was there. The
Queen asked, "What sort of goods have you brought?"
The Prince says, "Mother, having given that thousand masuran I have
brought a Monkey."
Then the Queen says, "Ane! Son, should the King and the rest of them
get to know that, he will behead you and behead me. As you have taken
that Monkey put it away somewhere."
So the Prince took the Monkey and put it in a rock cave in the
jungle, and shutting the door came to the palace. While he was there
the King saw him, and having seen him, called the Queen and said,
"I shall not allow that one to stay in my palace for even a paeya
(twenty minutes). I shall behead him to-morrow."
Afterwards the Queen came to the Prince and said, "Son, the King says
he must behead you to-morrow, therefore go to any place you like,
and do not come back."
The Prince said, "Give me a package of rice, and a thousand masuran."
Afterwards the Queen having cooked a package of rice gave him it,
and a thousand masuran. The Prince taking them, and having gone to
the rock cave where the Monkey was, took it and went to [another]
city. At that city he ate the package of rice at the travellers'
shed, and having gone to the hearth the Prince slept on the ash-heap.
The Monkey went away to dance in cities. Having gone and danced,
collecting requisite articles, he came back to the place where the
Prince was, and the Prince cooked some of the things he brought, and
gave him to eat. The Monkey goes every day to dance; and having danced,
the Prince and Monkey, both of them, eat the things he brings. In
that way the Monkey brings things every day.
One day, the Monkey having gone to a city and danced, fell down at
the palace at that city. Then the King came and asked, "What is it,
Monkey? Why have you fallen down there?"
The Monkey says, "I have come to beg and take the measure [98] in
which masuran are measured."
Afterwards the King gave him the measure for measuring masuran. The
monkey having taken it and having been absent for as much as a month,
brought the measure back.
Then the King asked, "What is this, Monkey, that having taken the
measure thou hast been such a time [in returning it]?"
The Monkey says, "For just so much time I measured masuran."
The King asked, "Having measured them did you finish?"
Then the Monkey said, "Ando! Could it be finished? Not even a quarter
was finished."
The King said, "Aha!" and was silent.
The Monkey that day also having danced in that city, the King gave
him many presents. Taking them, and stealing a cloth from a field
where clothes were spread out [to dry], while he was coming a man
having met him in the road asked the Monkey, "Monkey, to whom dost
thou give the articles that thou art taking every day?"
The Monkey says, "I give them to our Mr. Janel Siñña. I am supporting
that gentleman."
The Monkey having gone to the place where the Prince was, says,
"Here is a cloth. It is good for the gentleman, is it not?" and he
showed him the cloth which he had stolen.
The Prince threw it aside, and said, "This cloth which I have is
enough."
Next day the Monkey having come to that city and danced, lay down
on the lawn of the palace. Then the King asked, "What is it, Monkey,
that you have fallen down there for?"
Then the Monkey says, "Our Mr. Janel Siñña burnt his cloth while
drinking. I have come to ask you to cause the cloth to be woven for
him [anew]."
The King said, "If so, bring it."
Afterwards the Monkey having gone to the place where the Prince was,
brought a thin cloth and gave it to the King. Afterwards the King
caused one to be woven, and gave it to him.
Then the Monkey says at the hand of the King, "You ought to marry
your Princess to our Mr. Janel Siñña."
The King said, "Ha. It is very good."
The Monkey, begging two copper pots, [99] went away, and having gone,
heated water in the two copper pots, and having made the Prince bathe,
said to the Prince, "Do not eat largely of the sorts [of food] after
I have cooked and given [the food] to you [at the palace]. I have
asked for a [Princess in] marriage for you after I went there."
Afterwards the Monkey, summoning the Prince also, went to the palace
of the King of that city. Having gone there, and prepared a seat at
the King's table, and made ready the food, after the Prince sat down
to the food seven Princesses themselves began to divide [and serve] it.
Then that Prince began to eat very plentifully. The Monkey having come
and nudged him with his finger, said, "You have eaten enough." Taking
no notice of it, the Prince went on eating. Having eaten that, he
shaped his hand [into a cup] and reversing it there [when full],
ate in excess.
Then the King asked the Monkey, "What, Monkey, is [the reason of]
that?"
The Monkey said, "Our Mr. Janel Siñña having been overheated [by his
bath] could not eat. Through that indeed it has befallen that he has
lost his senses." That also the King kept in mind.
Then the Prince and the King's eldest daughter were married.
After that, the Monkey said that he wanted a thousand bill-hooks, and a
thousand digging-hoes, and a thousand axes, and a thousand people. The
King gave him a thousand bill-hooks, and a thousand digging-hoes,
and a thousand axes, and a thousand people. [With these the royal
party set off to deliver the Princess at the Prince's palace.]
Afterwards, having given the tools to those people, the Monkey goes in
front. The King and the Princess and the Prince come after. That Monkey
goes [in the trees] jumping and jumping, and changing branches. The
thousand people went footing and footing the road.
While going thus they met with a city. Then the King quietly told
the Monkey to halt; it stopped. Then the King asked the Monkey,
"Whose is that city that is visible?"
The Monkey says, "This city is our Mr. Janel Siñña's. It has been
rented out to his work-people." Afterwards the King went on, keeping
that also in his mind.
The Monkey again went in front. Then again they met with a city. Again
the King having called the Monkey asked, "Whose is that city?"
Then the Monkey says, "It is our Mr. Janel Siñña's. It has been rented
out to his work-people. In that way are the cities belonging to our
Mr. Janel Siñña [given out]."
Again the Monkey went off in front. Having gone thus, he went to the
house of a Rakshasa, and having made the house ready in a second,
when he stepped aside the King and the Prince and Princess went in.
The King made the thousand work-people stay there, and having handed
over the Princess, next day went back to his city.
Afterwards the Monkey asked at the hand of the Prince, "For the help
that you gave me I also am assisting you. What favour besides will
you give me?"
Then the Prince says, "When you have died I shall weep abundantly,
and having made a coffin, and put you in the coffin, I will bury you."
Then the Monkey said, "So much indeed is the assistance I want."
One day the Monkey lay down, trickishly saying that he was getting
fever. The Prince did not even go in that direction. Next day and
the next day he stayed there; on those days he did not go.
On the third day the Monkey cunningly shutting his eyes remained as
though he had died. The Prince said to a man, "Look if that Monkey
is dead."
The man having gone near the Monkey, when he looked it was dead [in
appearance]; he said at the hand of the Prince that it was dead. The
Prince said, "Having put a creeper round its neck, drag it in the
direction of that jungle, and having thrown it there come back."
When the man tried to put the creeper on the Monkey's neck the Monkey
got up. "Don't put the creeper on my neck," he said.
Having gone near the Prince he said, "After I was dead [apparently],
you were taking me without having put me in a coffin. Why do you
[arrange to] drag me, having put a creeper on my neck? Don't take
even so much trouble."
Having said this, the Monkey went off to the midst of the forest,
and died.
Tom-Tom Beater. North-western Province.
Of course, this is an Eastern form of Puss-in-Boots.
In Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 226 ff., there is an account of a
clever match-making Jackal which induced a King to marry his daughter
to a weaver.
NO. 50
THE NIKINI STORY [100]
In a certain country there are a man and a woman, it is said. There
is a girl (daughter) of those two persons.
The girl was asked [in marriage] for a Gamarala of another country who
had much wealth in money. The girl having been summoned, and having
gone to the Gamarala, and been with him for a long time, he went to
chop jungle [for making a chena]. There he met with a fawn, and having
returned home said to the girl, "Bolan, there was a fawn in the chena."
The girl said, "Ane! After you have gone to-morrow bring it." On the
following day the Gamarala brought it.
When the girl had reared it for a long time, a longing came to her,
and she lay down. Afterwards the Gamarala asked the Deer, "What,
Deer, is thy elder sister's illness?"
Then the Deer said, "Our elder sister has a longing."
The Gamarala said, "What can she eat for it?"
The Deer replied, "Our elder sister can eat the stars in the sky."
Afterwards the Gamarala, having gone to seek the stars, and to seek
for the corner of the sky [where it joined the earth, so as to ascend
to them], searched until he became aged, but was unable to find the
corner; and the Gamarala died.
Then the girl, having sold the Gamarala's village, took the money that
was obtained there, and the wealth that he possessed [and left]. While
the girl and the Deer were going on their way they met with a King. He
asked the Deer, "Where, Deer, are ye going?"
The Deer said, "Our elder sister on account of thirst is going to
seek a little water."
Then the King said, "Wilt thou give thy elder sister to me [in
marriage]?"
The Deer said "Ha"; so having placed the Deer and the Deer's elder
sister on the back of the King's elephant, they went to the palace.
When a long time had passed, a longing came again to the girl, and
she lay down.
The King asked the Deer, "What is thy elder sister's illness?"
The Deer said, "Our elder sister has a longing."
The King asked, "What can she eat for it?"
The Deer said, "Should you bring for our elder sister the sand which
is at the bottom of the ocean, if she slept upon it she would be well."
Afterwards, when the King was going to the bottom of the sea to take
the sand, he was soaked with the water, and died.
After this, when the Deer and the Deer's elder sister, taking all
the King's things, and cooking a bundle of rice, were on their way
again, they met with a man. The man asked the Deer, "Where, Deer,
are ye going?"
The Deer said, "We are going to seek a man for our elder sister."
The man said, "If so, give thy elder sister to me."
The Deer said "Ha," and the Deer and the Deer's elder sister went to
the man's house.
When they had been there a long time, a longing came to the woman,
and she lay down. The man asked, "What, Deer, is thy elder sister's
illness?"
The Deer said, "Our elder sister has a longing."
The man asked, "What can she eat for it?"
The Deer said, "Our elder sister must eat Nikini. Should she not
eat it, it will not only be very difficult for her [to recover];
her life will be lost." Now the sort called "Nikini" is not in any
place whatever in the world. That ignorant man, not knowing of its
non-existence, on account of the love that he bore for his wife went
away on a search for Nikini.
Afterwards, when the foolish man was on his way to seek for Nikini,
a man was ploughing. The man who was ploughing asked, "Where are
you going?"
This man said, "I am going to seek for a little Nikini."
Then the man said to this man, "If so, come here [and help me to
plough]."
Those two having ploughed during the whole of that day, went in the
evening to the house of the man who had been ploughing. Both of them
having eaten cooked rice, the man who went to seek for Nikini asked
that man, "Ane! Now then, tell me the place where there is Nikini."
The man said, "Ane! I don't know. Go you away."
After that, when he had slept there that night, that man gave him a
little cooked rice. Having eaten a little, while he was going on his
way to seek for Nikini, a man was chopping earthen ridges in a rice
field. The man asked, "Where are you going?"
This man said, "I am going to seek for a little Nikini."
Then that man said, "If so, come here [and help me]."
After those two persons had chopped the ridges during the whole day,
they went in the evening to the man's house. While they were [there],
having eaten cooked rice this man who went to seek for Nikini said,
"Ane! Tell me the site where there is Nikini."
The man said, "Ane! I don't know. Go and ask at the hand of another
person."
When this man had slept there that day night, on the next day that man
gave him a little cooked rice. Having eaten it he set off to go and
seek Nikini. Then a man was sowing a rice field. The man asked him,
"Where are you going?"
This man said, "I am going to seek for a little Nikini."
The man asked, "What for?"
This man replied, "A longing has come to our house-mistress, so she
told me to go and bring a little Nikini."
The man said, "If so, come here and sow."
For the whole of that day those two sowed. In the evening they came
to the man's house, and both of them having eaten cooked rice, while
they were there this man said, "Now then, tell me the place where
there is Nikini."
Then the man said, "Yako, [101] that was not [asked for] through
want of Nikini. That was said through wanting to cause you to be
killed. Your wife has a paramour."
The man quarrelled with him, saying, "Not in any way. My wife is
very good. She has great love for me. If you again say such a thing
as that one is there, I shall strike you."
The other man asked, "What will you give me to catch that paramour
for you?"
The person who went on the search for Nikini said, "I have a gem which
has continued with us from generation to generation. I will give you
that gem." [The man accepted this offer].
Then the two persons made a cage called, "The Cage of the God
Sivalinga," and tied white cloth in it [as a lining], and trimmed a
wooden cudgel and placed it inside. The man [who had gone for Nikini]
was also placed inside the cage with a cloth on his shoulders, and
closed in with similar cloths. Men having been fetched [and engaged to
carry it]--saying that he was bringing the God Sivalinga--took it on
their shoulders, and going off with it they went to a Hettirala's shop.
Then that man said [to the person inside the cage], "After I have
placed it inside the shop, take the cash-box which is in it, and put
it inside the cage."
The Hettirala asked, "What is that cage?"
The man said, "Our deity, the God Sivalinga."
The Hettirala asked, "What is it, then, that is necessary for offering
to that deity?"
The man said, "The cooked rice from two quarts of raw rice, and sweet
plantains are wanted."
So the Hettirala brought and gave him the cooked rice from two quarts
of raw rice, and ripe sweet plantains. After that, the man gave to
the man in the cage the cooked rice from a quart of the raw rice, and
half the plantains. The other man ate the rice from the other quart,
and the remaining plantains.
In the evening the man gave the cage into the hands of the Hettiya,
and told him to place it in the house. So the Hettiya put the
cage in the house. [During the night the man inside it stole the
cash-box.] When it got near midnight the man asked for the cage,
saying, "Hetti-elder-brother, give me my cage so that I may go." The
Hettirala gave it.
As the man, taking the cage, was going along he met with a city. Then
that man said [to the man in the cage], "After I have taken this cage
and placed it in the palace, you get the things in it and put them
inside the cage." Having said this they went to the palace. The King
asked, "What is that?"
The man said, "Our deity, the God Sivalinga. We are able to say sooth
and the like."
The King asked, "What do you require for him?"
The man said, "Rice cooked from raw rice, and sweet plantains are
necessary."
So the King gave him cooked rice and sweet plantains. The man having
given [a share of them] to the man in the cage, said, "It is necessary
to place this cage inside the palace [for the night]."
The King having said "Ha," he brought it, and placed it inside the
palace. As it was becoming light the man said, "Now then, I want the
cage in order to worship the deity." So the King gave him the cage.
Afterwards, as the man was taking the cage near a tank it became
light. He remained there until it was night, and then went to the
house of the man who went to seek Nikini, and found that the woman had
called in another man who was there. That man asked, "What is that?"
The man said, "This is our deity, the God Sivalinga. We are able to
tell sooth."
The man said, "Ha. It is good. There is a sooth that we, too, require
to ask about."
Then the [pretended] Kapurala, whom the God Sivalinga was [supposed to
be] goading [102] to it, became possessed. When he was saying sooth,
the wife of the man who went to seek Nikini and the false husband
who had joined her, came with their arms interlaced, and saying to
the deity that a long time had elapsed since her husband had gone in
search of Nikini, they asked, "Has anything happened to him now?"
At that time the God Sivalinga said through the person possessed by
Sivalinga, "The man has now become blind. Besides that, he will not be
permitted to return to his village. He will die while in that state."
Then because he said this in the manner that was in the mind of the
woman, she took the food off the fire, and together with the false
husband brought the deity to her house, and gave the rice cooked
from two quarts of raw rice, and sweet plantains, in order that the
Kapurala might present an offering.
That night, when he had eaten, the Kapurala said, "We must place this
our cage inside that [room]."
"You may do it," they said, and they placed it in the house.
Then when the wife of the man who was inside the cage and the
false husband were spreading mats [to lie upon], and making ready
for sleeping, the Kapurala who remained outside said, "Except that
[cage], there is no room for two." Thereupon the man who was inside
the cage came out, and beat the false husband even on the cheeks with
the cudgel that he had taken. So the man died.
After that, the man, as it was becoming light, went and threw the
Deer's elder sister into the river. Having returned, and gone to
the village with the Deer, the man who went for Nikini cooked for
the other man, and gave him to eat. Then the two divided the money,
and he gave the man the gem which he had, as a present for him,
and sent that man back to his village.
Afterwards this man, taking another wife, remained there. [According
to another version, however, he became a Buddhist monk.]
Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.
The story is also related in a contracted form in the Western Province.
In a variant by a Tom-tom Beater of the North-western Province, a
young Boar takes the place of the Deer, and the woman married first a
King, and afterwards a Rakshasa who was sent for the Nikini. At the
Boar's suggestion he died by jumping into a fire made by the girl,
and the Boar then followed his example, and was burnt up. The girl is
represented as "smearing a great deal of gold on herself" before this,
apparently becoming gilded.
NO. 51
THE AET-KANDA LENIYA [103]
At a certain city there are the King and the Queen, it is said. They
had one son, and while the Prince was living there the Queen bore yet
[another] Prince.
One day the two Princes having gone to the river to bathe, a Princess
from another city came to bathe [at the same place], and the eldest
Prince hid the robes of the Princess. Afterwards, on his inviting
the Princess she went with the Prince to his city.
After they had gone there, when the King got to know of it he said,
"Should this rascal stay with me the kingdom will be destroyed," and
he ordered them to behead the Prince. Then the Queen, the Prince's
mother, having cooked a bundle of rice and given it to him, said,
"Go away where you like [or the King will behead you]."
The Prince having taken the packet of cooked rice to the river, ate
it with the Princess. After eating it the two persons went to the
house of a widow woman. The Prince made the Princess stay with her,
and having given the Princess's robes into the hands of the widow
woman, said, "Mother, put those robes into that box and this box"
(that is, here and there, not all in one place, so that the Princess
should not be able to find them).
Afterwards, when the Prince had gone to the forge to get a sword made,
the Princess said to the widow woman, "Mother, give me my robes to
look at."
The widow woman said, "Ane! Daughter, I don't know where they are."
The Princess said, "Why are you telling me lies? Give them to me."
On account of that, the widow woman opened the boxes, and gave the
robes to the Princess. The Princess took the robes, and saying,
"Should he see me again it will be as [wonderful as] if he should
see the young of the Aet-Kanda Leniya, or white where charcoal has
been rubbed," went away to the city of the Princess.
When the Prince came after getting the sword made, he asked at the
hand of the widow woman, "Where is the Princess?"
The woman said, "On her asking for her robes I gave them. Taking them,
she said, 'Should he see me again it will be as [wonderful as] if he
should see the young of the Aet-Kanda Leniya, or white where charcoal
has been rubbed' [and then she went away]."
The Prince on that account rubbed and rubbed charcoal, and when he
looked there was a little white [colour]. Having seen it, he told the
widow woman to cook cakes. When they were cooked he took some and ate;
and tying up a cloth package of them, and taking it, and the sword,
he went off.
As he was passing through the middle of a forest, he saw a cobra
beginning to climb a tree in which were the little ones of the
Aet-Kanda Leniya, and he cut it in two with the sword. While he was
climbing the tree after killing it, the little ones of the Aet-Kanda
Leniya came to eat him. Then he said to the little ones, "O unrighteous
ones! Why are ye coming to eat me? Look ye on the ground."
When the Aet-Kanda little ones had looked on the ground, and seen the
cobra that he had cut in two, they said, "[As you have saved us from
the cobra] we will render you any possible assistance."
Then the Prince after going to the nest where they were, unfastened the
package of cakes, and having given to them also, ate. After eating,
the little ones of the Aet-Kanda Leniya said, "Mother will indeed
eat you to-day when she has come."
The Prince said, "Ane! Somehow or other you must save me."
They said "Ha," and made him creep among their wings.
While he was there the Aet-Kanda Leni (the female Rukh, their mother),
having pierced with its claws a tusk elephant, came bringing it, after
flying round the sea in three circles. After she had come she said,
"What is this, children! Here is prey for you; are you delaying to
eat? On other days you come screaming for it."
Those young ones said, "Mother, to-day we are not hungry. Food has
been given to us."
"Whence?" she asked.
The little ones said, "There is a man with us; [he gave it to us]."
"Show me him," the Aet-Kanda Leni said.
"You will eat him, mother," they replied.
The Aet-Kanda Leni said, "I will not eat him."
"If so, take us and swear," [104] the little ones said.
Then the Aet-Kanda Leni swore, "I will not eat him."
After that, the little ones showed the Aet-Kanda Leni the Prince. The
Prince said to the Aet-Kanda Leni, "Look at the foot of the tree;
[I have saved your little ones by killing the cobra]."
After having looked, the Aet-Kanda Leni said, "I will give you any
possible assistance because you have done this."
Afterwards, the Prince having descended from the tree was unable to
cross the river. So the Aet-Kanda Leni broke a stick, and bringing
it in her mouth told the Prince to hang from it. While the Prince
was hanging, the Aet-Kanda Leni flew to the other side of the river;
after [leaving him there] she returned to the nest where the little
ones were.
The Prince went on. As he was going along, some men were taking a great
many elephants. "What are you taking those elephants for?" he asked.
Those men said, "We are taking them to kill at the city."
The Prince said, "I will give you these hundred masuran; let them go."
Those men, saying "Ha," took the hundred masuran, and let the
elephants go.
After that, when he had gone much further still, he saw men taking
a great many pigs. The Prince asked, "Where are you taking these pigs?"
"We are taking them to kill at the city," the men replied.
The Prince said, "I will give you these hundred masuran; let them go."
The men said "Ha," and taking the hundred masuran let them go.
When the Prince had gone still a little further, men were taking
a great quantity of turtle-doves. "Where are you taking those
turtle-doves?" he asked.
"We are taking them to the city to kill," the men replied.
The Prince said, "I will give you these hundred masuran; let the
turtle-doves go."
The men said "Ha," and taking the hundred masuran let them go.
When he had gone a little further still, men were taking a great many
fire-flies. "Where are you taking them?" the Prince asked.
Those men replied, "We are taking them to the city to fry."
The Prince said, "I will give you these hundred masuran; let them go."
The men said "Ha," and taking the hundred masuran let them go.
When he had gone a little further yet, seven widow women came to the
well for water [which they said they wanted in order] to pour water
on the head of that Princess, who had become marriageable. A widow
woman said to that Prince, "Take hold of this water-pot [and help me
to lift it up]." Then the Prince having taken the jewelled ring that
was on his hand, put it in the water-pot [unobserved]; after that he
took hold of the water-pot [and helped her to lift it].
When they had taken the water, and were pouring it on the head of the
Princess, the jewelled ring fell down. Having seen it [and recognised
it], the Princess ordered the woman to tell the Prince to come. So
the Prince went there.
After he had gone there [and told her that he had made a white mark
with charcoal, and had saved the lives of the little ones of the
Aet-Kanda Leniya], that Princess said to the Prince, "[Before I will
marry you, you must perform the tasks that I shall give you. First
you must] cut a chena suitable for sowing one and a half amunas [105]
of mun" (a small pulse).
The Prince said "Ha," and having gone and cut a branch or two at the
chena, thought, "Ane! Will the elephants that I set free by giving a
hundred masuran render an assistance?" Those elephants that he freed,
having come at this word, broke down all that jungle and went away.
After that, the Prince went to the Princess, and said, "The chena
has been cut."
"Then set fire [to it]," the Princess said. So the Prince went and set
fire [to the bushes]. The chena burnt excellently; nothing remained,
so well it burnt.
Having gone to the Princess he said, "I set fire to the chena." Then
the Princess gave him one and a half amunas of mun, and said, "Sow
this and come back."
When the Prince had gone he took the mun and sowed it at the
chena. Afterwards the Prince said, "Ane! Will the pigs that I set
free by giving a hundred masuran render an assistance?" Then the
pigs that he had freed by giving the hundred masuran all came and dug
[with their snouts] the whole of the chena.
The Prince went to the Princess, and said, "I have sowed the
chena." After that, the Princess told him to collect and bring back
the mun that he had sown in the chena.
So the Prince having gone to the chena, and collected a little mun,
said, "Ane! Will the turtle-doves that I freed by giving a hundred
masuran render an assistance?" Then the turtle-doves that he had set
free having all come, picked up the whole.
The Prince, collecting it and taking it to the city said to the
Princess, "After collecting the mun that I sowed in the chena I have
come back."
"Then measure it," she said. When he was measuring it there was
one mun seed less. As she said this a turtle-dove dropped it at the
measuring place.
After that, the father of the Princess put that Princess and seven
widow women in a dark room. Having put them [there] the King said,
"Unless you select and take out the Princess, or if you take out any
other person, I shall behead you."
When the Prince had gone into the room [he thought], "Will the
fire-flies that I freed by giving a hundred masuran render an
assistance?" Then all the fire-flies having come, fastened on the body
of the Princess, as a lamp. After that, the Prince took the Princess
out into the light.
[As he had performed all the tasks, the Prince was married to the
Princess]. Afterwards the Prince, calling the Princess, went to the
house of that widow woman.
Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.
In a variant of the first part of this story, a youth whose father was
dead, and whose mother, finding him in the way, wanted to get rid of
him in order to marry another man, was sent by his mother to bring some
milk, to be used medicinally for curing a pretended illness of hers.
He was sent first to the Aet-Kanda Lihiniya (Leniya is an alternative
spelling), and had the same experiences at its nest, before he got
the milk. The young birds told their mother that he was their elder
brother, the son of their Puñci-Amma. [106] When he stated that he
had come to ask for the milk, the Lihini (the female Rukh) said,
"Ando! Son, when did any one get milk from me, and cure a sick
person with it? She has done that to kill you, not through want of
it. However, since you have come I will give you a little milk." One
of the young birds accompanied him to his home. After his mother had
drunk the milk she pretended to be still ill, and sent him for the
milk of the Demon Hound, [107] which lived in a cave in a forest. I
translate this part:--
The woman cooked and gave him a packet of rice. This youth, taking
the packet of cooked rice and his sword, and making the little one
of the Aet-Kanda Lihini stay at the house, went to the cave where
the Demon Hound was. When he arrived, the Demon Hound was not there;
only the little ones of the Demon Hound were there.
As the youth was going [to the cave] the little ones came growling to
eat him. When this youth unfastened the packet of cooked rice, and
showed them it, they stopped. Afterwards, the youth, having divided
the packet of cooked rice, gave [part] to the Demon Hound's little
ones, and taking some himself, they ate.
After they had eaten, the young dogs said, "When mother has come she
will indeed eat you."
Then this youth said, "Ane! To-day you must somehow or other save
me. Do not let her eat me."
The young dogs said "Ha," and putting the youth in the hollow of
the cave, the young dogs came to this side, [towards the entrance],
and remained there lying down.
While they were there the Demon Hound came. After she had come she
said, sniffing twice, "Where does this smell of fresh human flesh
come from?"
The little ones of the Demon Hound replied, "You eat fresh human flesh,
and you bring fresh human flesh; what is this that you are saying?"
The Demon Hound said, "No, children, a fresh human smell is coming
to me. Tell me [how it is]. Tell me."
The little ones said, "You will eat him."
The Demon Hound said, "No, children, I will not eat him. Tell me."
The little ones said, "Take us and swear."
After that, the Demon Hound took her little ones and swore, "I will
not eat him."
Then the little ones showed her that youth, saying, "Here he is,
mother; our little mother's son has come, our elder brother."
The Demon Hound asked at the hand of this youth, "What, son, have
you come for?"
This youth replied, "Mother, our mother is ill. On account of it
she said, 'Should you go and bring a little milk, when I have drunk
it I shall become well.' Because of that I have come to ask for a
little milk."
The Demon Hound said, "Ando! Son, when did a sick person get milk
from me and become well! To [get] you killed is the explanation of
that. However, since you have come, take a little milk and go." So
saying she gave him a little milk.
Afterwards, as this youth was preparing to set off with it, a young
dog said, "I also want to go with our elder brother," and howling [on
account of it was allowed by his mother] to come away with the youth.
Having arrived and given the milk to the woman, after she had drunk
it he asked, "Now then, mother, is your illness cured?"
The woman said, "Ando! Son, it is not cured."
The youth asked, "If so, what shall I do?"
The woman replied, "Bring a little milk from the Bear that is in the
cave in the forest, and give me it."
He went for it, leaving the young Demon Hound at the house, and his
adventures and the conversations were a mere repetition of those at
the cave of the Demon Hound. One of the young Bears returned to the
house with him.
Lastly, he was sent to bring the milk of the Crocodile that was in
the Sea, "the reservoir [108] for the sky, and the reservoir for the
earth." He ate his rice on a mound in the sea, after which, as he was
descending into the sea, he observed a blue-lotus flower, and found
the Crocodile at it. It came to eat him, but he held out his sword
in front of him, so it asked him why he had come, and after hearing
his explanation, in the very same words as before, gave him a little
milk. It warned him, like the other animals, that the sending him
for it was only a device to get him killed. He took the milk home,
and after drinking it his mother informed him that she was cured. The
story is then concluded as follows:--
Having said this, the woman went to the man [whom she wanted to marry],
and said, "Now then, there is no means of killing that one. From the
places to which he went he has escaped and come back. What, then,
shall we do to that one?"
That man said, "Cook to-day after it has become night. I will break
something in the lower part of the garden. Then say, 'Son. There! Did
you hear something break in the lower part of the garden? Maybe
cattle have come in.' He will come to see, and when he has come,
I will chop him with the bill-hook, and kill him."
Afterwards, this woman having returned to the house, as she was
cooking when it became night, the man came and broke a stick in the
lower part of the garden. The woman said, "Ando! Son, maybe cattle
have come in. Go quickly [and drive them out]."
Then, as this youth, having gone into the house and taken his
sword, was going out, that little one of the Aet-Kanda Lihini,
and the little one of the Demon Hound, and the little one of the
Bear went with him. The three of them having gone [in front] to the
lower part of the garden, bit the man who waited there, and having
killed him returned. When this youth went and looked, the man had
been killed. Then the youth came back, and having killed his mother
stayed quietly there. So that little one of the Aet-Kanda Lihini,
and the little one of the Demon Hound, and the young Bear, and the
youth remained at the house together.
Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.
There are Indian versions of several of the incidents of these stories.
In Old Deccan Days (Frere), p. 15, a Prince killed a cobra that was
about to ascend a tree in order to destroy two eaglets. They assisted
him afterwards.
In the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. i, p. 221, the Garudas or
Rukhs are described as being "of the nature of vultures." A Brahmana
got hid among the back feathers of one while it was asleep, and was
carried by it to the Golden City next day. These birds are referred
to (vol. i, p. 78) as breeding on a mountain called Swarnamula, in
Ceylon. Compare also the account of Bharunda birds in The Kathakosa
(Tawney), p. 164. According to Prof. Sayce, the original idea of the
Rukh is to be found in Zu, the storm-bird or god of the Sumerians
(The Religions of Ancient Egypt and Babylonia, p. 353).
A lion-headed eagle with outspread wings, holding a lion by each
of its feet, formed the symbol of Lagash or Shirpurla, one of the
earliest Sumerian cities. It was the emblem of Ningirsu, the god of
the city (A History of Sumer and Akkad, by L. W. King, 1910, pp. 98,
100). According to Mr. King's revised chronology, this takes back
the notion of this gigantic eagle, which carried off and devoured
the largest quadrupeds, to the fourth millenium B.C. Its Sumerian
name was Imgig.
In Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 134, a Prince's wife, disguised
as a Sannyasi, or Hindu religious mendicant, on her way to join her
husband who was ill--poisoned by lying on powdered glass that was
spread over his bed--rested under a tree in which a pair of Rukhs (in
this story called Bihangama and Bihangami) had their nest, containing
two young birds. She cut in two a snake that was about to climb the
tree, and that was accustomed to kill the young ones each year. She
overheard the conversation of the birds, which was to the effect
that some of their droppings would cure the Prince, if reduced to
powder and applied with a brush to the Prince's body, after bathing
him seven times, with seven jars of water and seven jars of milk. One
of the birds carried her on his back to the Prince, with the rapidity
of lightning. At p. 219, we learn that the dung of the young of this
bird, when applied fresh to the eyeballs, would cure blindness.
At pp. 189 and 192, a puppy and a young hawk joined a Prince on his
journey, but apparently owing to the omission of some incident of
the tale they were of no service to him. Such omissions are common;
they can only be supplied by collecting variants.
In Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), pp. 74, 75--Tales of the
Punjab, pp. 66, 67--a crow, peacock, and jackal in turn warned a girl
against a robber with whom she was going.
At p. 273--Tales of the Punjab, p. 259--Prince Rasalu was given
the task of separating a hundred-weight of millet seed from a
hundred-weight of sand with which it had been mixed. This was done
for him by crickets in return for his saving a cricket from a fire.
In the Jataka story No. 444 (vol. iv, pp. 19, 20), a man laid his
hand on the head of a boy who had been bitten by a snake, and then
repeated a spell to restore him to health. The boy's father laid his
hand on the boy's breast while saying a second spell.
In the Tamil Story of Madana Kama Raja, or "Dravidian Nights" (Natesa
Sastri), p. 21 ff., a Prince purchased for a hundred pagodas apiece,
a kitten and a snake, which he reared for twelve years. They assisted
him afterwards.
At p. 91 ff., a Prince was ordered by a King to bring snake's poison,
and afterwards whale's fat.
At p. 109 ff., a Prince who had four heavenly wives lost them through
his mother's returning to one of them her celestial garment, which
had been concealed. When in search of a way to his wives, he saved
an Ant-King, a Frog-King, and a Cricket-King. He went to Indra,
who gave him four tasks, of which one was that after an acre of
land had been sown with sesame seed and ploughed one hundred times,
he was to collect all the seeds. The Ant-King brought his subjects
and collected them for him. Another of the tasks, the last one, was
the selection of Indra's daughter, who was one of his wives, from
the four, who were all given the same appearance. The Cricket-King
enabled him to do this, by hopping onto her foot.
NO. 52
THE WIMALI STORY
At a certain city there are a man and a woman, it is said. That woman
was about to have a child. She cooked cakes to eat. While she was
eating, a crow came, and stayed there looking on. "She will throw
me a piece of cake, at least," it thought. The woman did not give it
even a bit of the cakes.
Afterwards the crow went to the house of the Rakshasa, and breaking
off a mango fruit came to that house, and ate it in front of the
woman who ate the cakes. While the crow was eating, the woman thought,
"It will throw down a piece of it, at least." The crow did not give
her any of it; it ate the whole and flew away.
After the man of the house came, the woman said, "The crow brought
a mango fruit, and turned it round and round, and ate the whole of
it. [Somehow or other you must get me a mango.]"
After that, the man went to the house of the Rakshasa, and having
ascended the mango tree, tried to pluck a mango fruit. As he was
plucking it the Rakshasa came home. Seeing the man in the tree,
he asked, "Who is that in the tree?"
"Ane! I am in the tree," said the man.
"What are you plucking mangoes for?" he asked.
"For our house-girl to eat. [She is about to have a child, and has
asked for one,]" he said.
"Well then, pluck one and descend," the Rakshasa said.
So the man plucked one, and came down. After he had descended the
Rakshasa said, "Should she bear a son he is for thee; should she bear
a daughter, she is for me."
The man said "Ha," and taking the mango fruit went home.
News afterwards reached the Rakshasa that she had borne a girl. On
account of it the Rakshasa went to the house [and took the girl]. As
he was returning carrying the girl, he saw two boys going to school,
and said, "Boys, boys, say a name for my daughter."
The boys saying, "Wimali, Wimali" (pure or beautiful one), ran away.
So the Rakshasa took the girl to his house, and shared it with her.
Afterwards, when he had gone to eat human flesh, the Rakshasa heard
the sound of tom-toms saying, "Wimali," [and thought they were calling
the girl]. So he came home, and asked Wimali, "Have you been out?"
"No, I have not been out. I have just got up," Wimali said.
Next day he went again to eat human flesh. After he had gone he
heard the sound of tom-toms saying, "Wimali." The Rakshasa came home,
and asked Wimali again, "Have you been out?"
"No, I have just put on my cloth," Wimali said.
The Rakshasa having gone to eat human flesh on the following day,
again heard the sound of tom-toms saying, "Wimali." He came home and
asked Wimali, "Have you been out?"
"No, I have only just combed my hair," Wimali said.
After that, news reached the King that a girl called Wimali was at
the Rakshasa's house. Having learnt this, the King came to take away
Wimali. When he arrived there [the Rakshasa was out, so] he formed
a figure of Wimali out of rice flour, and after placing that figure
in the Rakshasa's house, took Wimali to the city.
The Rakshasa came to the house and [finding that she was not there]
said, "Wimali will not stay at home." Then he tried to eat her figure,
and ate a great part of the flour figure. After he had eaten this
[his mouth was choked with the flour, so] he said, "May a mouth be
created on the top of my head." When he had said this [the mouth was
created, and] the Rakshasa's head being split in two by it, he died.
Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.
NO. 53
THE POTS OF OIL
A man having gone to the Lower Twelve Pattus (the name of a district)
to seek for coconuts, and having collected fifty or sixty coconuts at
a shed [where he was lodging, found that] because of their great weight
he was unable to bring them; and so he expressed [the oil from] them.
Having expressed it, on the morning of the following day he asked for
two large pots, and filling them with the oil he tied them as a pingo
(carrying-stick) load (one below each end of the stick), and set off
with them.
During the time while he was coming on his way to his village, he met
a man in the road, and having given him betel, etc., to eat, said,
"Ane! Friend, you must assist me a little. Take this pingo load
somewhat far, and hand it over to me. I will give you four tuttu"
(three halfpence). [The man agreed to help him, and took the load.]
Then the man, as he was going along the road, thought, "With the funds
provided by these four tuttu I shall buy a hen chicken. Having taken
it home, after it has become large and laid twelve eggs I shall [set
them under it and] get twelve chickens. After the twelve chickens
have become big, I shall sell them for sixpence apiece. With that
money I shall get a he-goat and a she-goat, and that she-goat will
bear two kids.
"When the kids have become large I can sell them for five rupees
apiece, and having given the ten rupees I shall get a buffalo
cow. While I am rearing the buffalo cow she will bear a calf. At
that time I shall go to ask about a lucky hour (fixed by astrology)
for taking the [first] milk.
"After I have got to know the lucky hour and gone to take the milk,
the buffalo cow, becoming afraid, will kick at me." Saying this,
he jumped aside in order to avoid it.
As he was coming on the path, at this time he had reached a foot-bridge
formed of a single tree trunk (edanda), and while going along at
the middle of it he made the jump [to escape the cow's kick]. As he
jumped, he fell off the tree trunk, taking the load of oil with him
[and the two pots were smashed].
At his fall, the owner of the oil asked, "Having come so far taking
care of this oil, why did you throw it down and break the pots at
this foot-bridge, friend?"
The man said, "With the funds provided by the four tuttu I thought
of buying a chicken. This happened owing to that."
Afterwards the owner of the oil, saying, "Never mind the spilling of
the oil; you must go with me," invited the man to accompany him, and
they went together. Having arrived at the village, because he was a
capable man [the owner of the oil] gave him his daughter [in marriage].
Not a very long time afterwards, the men of the village said that
they must go to Puttalam to load salt and sun-dried fish, and bring
them back [bartering part of them on the way home]. The man said,
"Father-in-law, I also must go to Puttalam." So the father-in-law made
ready a cart load of goods, and giving them to him told him to go with
the other men, and said, "[When disposing of the goods] the things
which they count you also count and give; the goods which they give
'simply' (that is, without counting), you also give 'simply.'" [109]
Afterwards the men who went from the village, while coming back from
Puttalam, from place to place gave the goods they were bringing, and
took [in exchange] the things they wanted. The man having observed
which goods they counted, counted and gave the same goods, without
[taking] money. The goods which the other men gave without counting,
that man also gave without counting. Thus, in that manner he gave
all the goods loaded into the cart, until at last only the cart and
the yoke of bulls remained over.
Afterwards the men who went in the party gave goods, and each one
got a horse. This man gave the cart and yoke of bulls and got a horse.
While they were coming bringing the horses, the men of the party
gave goods, and each one got a goat of foreign breed. So this man
gave his horse, and got a goat.
While they were bringing the goats, the men of the party, saying,
"We must each one get a dog with a party-coloured body," gave goods,
and got one apiece. So this man gave the foreign goat that he was
bringing, and got one.
Having come to a shop where they were selling foreign pots, the men
of the party gave goods, and each one got a foreign water-pot. This
man giving the parti-coloured dog, also got one.
Afterwards having come very close to their village, each of the
men of the party, saying, "I will give four tuttu and get shaved,"
got shaved. So this man gave that foreign water-pot, and got himself
shaved.
In the end the man returned home without either cart, or yoke of bulls,
or goods.
Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.
Some Eastern variants have been mentioned above in the story of the
Kitul seeds, No. 26.
In The Orientalist, vol. ii, p. 102, there is a story by
Mr. A. E. R. Corea, in which a man who was going in search of
work gathered some leaves on the road-side, which are eaten as a
vegetable. In another district where there were no vegetables he
exchanged them for fishes, a leaf for a fish. Going on, he bartered
these for digging hoes, and these again for oxen, with which he set
off on his return home. Having nothing to eat, he continued to give
two oxen for two rice cakes, until at last he arrived at his house
empty-handed.
In the Panchatantra (Dubois), a Brahmana who had been at two feasts on
the same day, carried away from the second some pots of ghi--or liquid
butter,--milk, and flour, and began to consider how he would acquire
wealth by means of them. He would sell them, and buy a she-goat, which
would have kids, and in a short time he would possess a flock. He
would then sell the goats and buy a cow and a mare, by selling the
calves and foals from which he would become a rich man. He would get
married and have numerous children, who would be well educated and
well dressed. His wife would become inattentive to her duties at the
house. During her absence the children would run about near the cows,
and the youngest one would be injured by them. For neglecting them he
would beat his wife, and taking up his stick to beat her he smashed
the pots containing his provisions.
NO. 54
THE MOUSE MAIDEN [110]
There are a King and a Queen of a certain city, and there is a daughter
of the Queen.
They asked [permission] to summon the daughter to go [in marriage]
to the Prince of another city. The King said "Ha," so they came
from that city to summon the King's Princess. After coming, they
told the bride to come out [of her chamber] in order to eat the rice
[of the wedding-feast]. The Queen said, "She is eating cooked rice
in the house."
Then they told her to come out in order to dress her in the robes
[sent by the bridegroom (?)]. The Queen said, "She is putting on robes
[in her chamber]."
Then they told her to come out in order to go [to the bridegroom's
city]. So the Queen told two persons to come, and having put a female
Mouseling [110] in an incense box, brought it, and gave it into the
hands of the two persons, and said, "Take ye this, and until seven
days have gone by do not open the mouth of the box." Having taken it
to the city, when they opened the mouth of the box after seven days,
a mouse sprang out, [and hid itself] among the cooking pots.
There was also a (servant) girl at the Prince's house. The girl
apportioned and gave cooked rice and vegetable [curry] to the Prince,
and covered up the cooking pots [containing the rest of the food]. Then
the Mouseling came, and having taken and eaten some of the cooked
rice and vegetables, covered up the cooking pots, and went again
among the pots.
On the following day the same thing occurred. The Prince said to the
girl. "Does the Mouseling eat the cooked rice? Look and come back." The
girl having gone and looked, came back and said, "She has eaten the
cooked rice, and covered the cooking pots, and has gone." The Prince
said, "Go thou also, and eat rice, and come back." So the girl went
and ate rice, and returned.
Next day the Prince said, "I am going to cut paddy (growing
rice). Remain thou at the house, and in the evening place the articles
for cooking near the hearth." Then the Prince went. Afterwards, in
the evening the girl placed the things for cooking near the hearth,
and went out of the way.
The Mouseling came, and cooked and placed [the food ready], and again
went behind the pots. After evening had come, that girl apportioned
and gave the rice to the Prince. The Prince ate, and told the girl,
"Go thou also, and eat rice, and come back." So the girl went and
ate rice, and having covered the cooking pots came to the place where
the Prince was.
Then the Mouseling came and ate rice, and covered up the pots. After
that, she said to the [other] mice, "Let us go and cut the paddy,"
and collecting a great number of mice, cut all the paddy, and again
returned to the house, and stayed among the pots. Next day when the
Prince went to the rice field to cut the paddy, all had been cut.
Afterwards the Prince came back, and saying, "Let us go and collect and
stack [the paddy]," collected the men, and stacked it, and threshed it
by trampling [it with buffaloes]. Then they went and called the women,
and having got rid of the chaff in the wind, brought the paddy home.
After they had brought it, the Prince went near the place where the
cooking pots were stored, at which the Mouseling was hidden, and said,
"Having pounded this paddy [to remove the husk], and cooked rice,
let us go to your village [to present it to your parents, as the
first-fruits]."
The Mouseling said, "I will not. You go." So the Prince told the girl
to pound the paddy and cook rice, and having done this she gave it
to the Prince.
The Prince took the package of cooked rice, and went to the Mouseling's
village, and gave it to the Mouseling's mother.
The Queen asked at the hand of the Prince, "Where is the girl?"
The Prince said, "She refused to come."
The Queen said, "Go back to the city, and having placed the articles
for cooking near the hearth, get hid, and stay in the house."
After the Prince returned to the city, he did as she had told him. The
Mouseling having come out, took off her mouse-jacket, and [assuming
her shape as a girl] put on other clothes. While she was preparing
to cook, the Prince took the mouse-jacket, and burnt it.
Afterwards, when the girl went to the place where the mouse-jacket
had been, and looked for it, it was not there. Then she looked
in the hearth, and saw that there was one sleeve in it. While she
was there weeping and weeping, the Prince [came forward and] said,
"Your mother told me to burn the mouse-jacket." So the Mouseling
became the Princess again, and the Prince and Princess remained there.
Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.
The notion of a skin dress that could be put off and on, and that
transformed a person into one of the lower animals, is well-known in
folk-tales. It is found in Old Deccan Days (Frere), pp. 183, 193,
where a King had a jackal-skin coat which turned him into a jackal
when he put it on, until it was burnt.
At p. 222, a Princess concealed herself by putting on the skin of an
old beggar woman. She was discovered when she removed it in order to
wash it and herself. In the end it was burnt by the Prince she had
married, and she retained her true form as a Princess.
In Indian Fairy Tales (Stokes), p. 41 ff., there is a Prince who had
a monkey skin, which he could put on and off as he wished.
In Indian Nights' Entertainment, Panjab (Swynnerton), p. 344, four
fairies came in the form of doves, and took off their feather dresses
in order to bathe. A Prince concealed one dress, and the fairy was
unable to resume her bird form and fly away.
In The Story of Madana Kama Raja, or "Dravidian Nights" (Natesa
Sastri), pp. 56, 57, there is an account of a tortoise Prince who
had the power of leaving his shell and assuming his human form. His
mother one day saw the transformation, and smashed the shell, after
which he remained a Prince.
In Folk-Tales of Hindustan, Allahabad (Shaik Chilli), p. 54 ff.,
the daughter of the King of the Peris had the form of a monkey while
she wore a monkey's skin, and her own form at other times. When a
Prince burnt the skin she took fire, and flew away in a blaze to her
father's palace. While she was ill there, the Prince discovered her
and cured her, and she did not resume her monkey form.
The feather-vest of the Dove-maidens--female Jinn--in the Arabian
Nights (Lady Burton's ed.), iii, p. 417 ff., is well known. They
removed it for bathing, and could not fly without it.
NO. 55
SIGIRIS SIÑÑO, THE GIANT
In a country there was a great person called Sigiris Siñño. He was
a very wealthy person; under him ten hired labourers worked.
During the time while he was in this state, Sigiris Siñño having
thought he would drink arrack (spirit distilled from palm juice),
began to drink a very little. In that way he became accustomed to drink
very largely. Afterwards having come [home] drunk he went to beat the
labourers; also he did not give them their wages properly. When he had
acted in this manner for many days, they, after speaking together,
gave Sigiris Siñño a good beating, and on account of their [short]
pay took the goods of Sigiris Siñño, and went away. Then no one would
give work to Sigiris Siñño, so he drank until the goods in his house
were finished.
Then, there being nothing for this one to drink or eat, and having
become like a madman, at the time when he was walking and walking
about he saw a man carrying a young coconut. Begging, "Give me that,"
and taking it, he went to a travellers' resting-shed.
While he was there eating the young coconut after breaking it,
a great number of flies began to settle there. After he had struck
at the flies with his hand, twenty died. Thereupon this one went to
a person who did tin work, and said, "Ane! Friend, do a little work
for me and give me it."
"What is it?" the tin worker asked.
This one said, "Cut on a sheet of tin in Tamil and Sinhalese,
'I killed twenty,' and give me it."
Having said, "It is good," he cut it and gave it.
After he had cut and given it, this one took it, and preparing a
hanging board, and hanging the sheet of tin on it, put the cord on
his neck, and walked along the roads. Men who saw this stepped on
one side through fear, and went away.
Certain Tamils having seen this at a city, said to Sigiris Siñño,
"In our country the King has a giant. Should any one fight with him
and win, the King said he will give him a present of five hundred
masuran, and the post of Prime Minister. This being so, can you go
there with us [and fight him]," they asked.
Then Sigiris Siñño, thinking, "Let me go even should I be struck by
lightning," said, "I am able to fight with the giant," and went to
that city with the Tamils.
Having arrived there, these Tamils handed him over to the King
under whom that giant had a post. The King asked this one, "I have
a giant. Canst thou fight with the giant and win?"
Sigiris Siñño said instantly, "A son who has killed twenty giants
better than that one am I."
So the King said to his giant, "Now then, do what fighting thou
knowest, and conquer that one."
Then the giant said to Sigiris Siñño, "To-day you must come and swim
[against me] in the great sea for eight days. We require from the King
ten rupees in order to get things to eat while we are swimming." Having
said this and got them, the two giants went to the shops, and got
things for the ten rupees.
Then Sigiris the Giant said to that giant, "What are these few
things! For one meal I want six quarts of rice and I want three
bottles of arrack. I can swim for eight or ten months."
After that, this giant thought, "I can't eat as much as this
one, and I can't drink as much, and I can't swim for eight or ten
months. Therefore I am indeed unable to swim with this giant and beat
him." He told the King so.
The King said, "If so, thou wilt lose."
The giant said, "At swimming I shall lose. We must fight each other."
"It is good," said the King. Then the King asked Sigiris Siñño,
"Canst thou fight with this one?"
Sigiris Siñño replied, "I will give that one one blow."
So the King said, "Fight ye each other to-morrow."
Thereupon Sigiris the Giant said, "Not to-morrow. After a month has
gone both giants will fight each other. Having proclaimed it, and
put both of us into two houses under one roof, you must give us to
eat until the month is finished."
The King said, "It is good."
Sigiris the Giant having sought for an iron nail, from that day dug
into the wall of the house in which the giant was [which separated
their two rooms]. Having dug [nearly through] it, when the month
would be finished to-morrow Sigiris the Giant said to that giant,
"Ade! Giant, give me a little tobacco."
That giant said, "How can I give you tobacco there?"
Sigiris the Giant replied, "Knock a hole through that wall with your
hand, and give me it."
"I cannot," that one said.
Then Sigiris the Giant said, "What sort of a giant art thou,
one who can't make a hole through that wall and give me a little
tobacco!" Saying, "Look there! Give me it through there," Sigiris
the Giant struck with his hand at the place which he had previously
bored. When he struck it his hand made a hole through to the other
side. That giant becoming afraid at the blow, began to tremble,
and thought, "I can't win in fighting with this one."
On the following day they made them come out to fight. The place was
filled with people who had come to look on. Sigiris the Giant thinks in
his mind, "To-day is indeed my Fate. How shall I escape?" That giant,
through fear his thoughts were the same.
The King said, "Strike ye each other."
Having said, "It is good," each one being afraid of the other, said,
"Strike thou." Sigiris says to the other, "Thou strike," he says. By
that one and by this one not a blow was struck.
Then the King says to Sigiris the Giant, "Strike thou first."
Sigiris the Giant said, "It is good," and thinking of running away,
and saying to the people, addressing them loudly, "Get to both sides,
and stop there," looked round to run off. At that, the other giant,
rolling the people over, began to run away, and the people who were
there cried "Hu," after him.
Then the King having become pleased with Sigiris Siñño, and having
given him a present of five hundred masuran, established him in the
post of Prime Minister.
Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.
In Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 89--Tales of the Punjab,
p. 80--a weaver who killed a mosquito thought himself a hero, and
eventually became the ruler of half the country.
In Indian Nights' Entertainment, Panjab (Swynnerton), p. 208, a
weaver killed nine flies on his arm, and called himself Nomar Khan,
the Nine-killing Prince. He became Commander-in-Chief.
NO. 56
THE PROUD JACKAL
In the midst of a certain forest a Lion stayed. Having joined with
that very Lion, a Jackal was eating and eating the flesh of animals
killed by the Lion.
After a few days had gone by, the Jackal, becoming arrogant, said to
the Lion, "Don't say 'Jackal' to me."
Thereupon, "What shall I say?" the Lion asked.
Then the Jackal says, "You must call me, saying to me,
'Jackal-artificer' (Nari nayide)."
In this way, when the Lion had said, "Jackal-artificer," for many days,
he said, "Don't say 'Jackal-artificer.'"
"What name am I to say?" the Lion asked.
"Say to me, 'Small Lion'; don't say, 'Jackal-artificer,'" he said.
After the Lion had been saying, "Small Lion," for a few days, "Say
to me, 'Great Lion'; don't say, 'Small Lion,'" he said to the Lion.
Then the Lion says, "For me to say, 'Great Lion,' you must make the
Lion's roar," the Lion said.
Then the Jackal having gone near a tusk elephant, after he had
cried out, as the Lion's roar, "Hokkiye, Hokkiye" (the beginning of
the customary yelping cry of the Jackal), the tusk-elephant kicked
the Jackal.
Thereupon the Jackal died.
Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.
In the Jataka stories 143 (vol. i, p. 306) and 335 (vol. iii, p. 75),
a Jackal who acted as a Lion's servant induced his master to let him
go out in the latter's place, in order to kill animals. He howled
and sprang at an elephant, but was crushed to death by it.
STORIES OF THE DURAYAS
NO. 57
THE SEVEN ROBBERS
In a country there are seven robbers. Among them, in the same gang,
there is a fool. One day they went to commit robbery. While they
were there, they got a devil-dancer's box, containing his mask and
ornaments. Having brought it, the seven persons went into a rock cave
to sleep.
When they had gone there that foolish man became hungry. After the
others went to sleep that fool took out the devil-dancer's clothes,
and having looked at them put them on.
After he had put them on, one of those men opened his eyes. Then
on account of the noise of the bells [of the devil-dancer] the
others opened their eyes also. When they saw the man dressed in the
devil-dancer's clothes they were frightened, and saying, "Ade! The
Kohomba deity is coming," the other six persons ran away.
As they were running, that man who had the clothes ran after them,
saying, "Stay there, stay there." While they were running those
six persons leaped over a well [in the path]. This one also jumped,
but being held back by the clothes he fell into the mouth of the well.
After he had fallen into the well, a woman came to draw water. Then
he placed his weight in the bucket when she lowered it. After the
woman had got to know of the weight, striving and striving she got
the bucket near the mouth of the well. The man who had fallen, and
was in it, said, "A little more, my mother." Then the woman hearing
this [and seeing what she thought was a demon in the well], let go,
and bounded away.
Duraya. North-western Province.
In The Orientalist, vol. i, p. 136, a story is given regarding
twenty-five idiots, in which is a variant of this tale. Some robbers
whom one of them was assisting left him outside a house with a basket
that he had brought out of it. While they were inside searching for
booty, he found in the basket the dress worn in representations of
a demon termed Gara Yaka, and put it on. When the robbers came out
they thought he was the demon himself, and ran off, with the idiot
at their heels. In the end, they jumped into a well, were followed
by him, and all were drowned.
NO. 58
THE STUPID BOY
In a certain city there are a Gamarala, a Gama-gaeni (his wife),
and a son of theirs. The Gamarala went to the chena. The Gama-gaeni
lay down, and told the Gama-puta (the son) to examine her head [for
insects]. While he was looking through the hair she fell asleep, and
a fly settled on her head. "Ade! Fly, do not bite our mother's head,"
he said, "mother will scold me."
The fly having gone flying away, settled again on her head. Saying,
"Now then, this fly is biting mother's head again," he placed his
mother's head gently on the ground. Then having gone and taken a rice
pestle, and come back with it, he said, "Is the fly still biting the
head?" and struck at the fly with the rice pestle, killing his mother
with the blow.
The boy's father having come, tried to arouse her. "How is it that
mother is dead?" he asked. The boy said, "A fly was biting our mother's
head. I struck it with the rice pestle. Because of it she died." So
the Gamarala took the woman away and buried her.
Then he came home with the boy. Having arrived, the Gamarala told the
boy to make a pot of gruel. Having made the pot of gruel he told the
boy to take it, and they went to the jungle to cut fence sticks. The
man, cutting and cutting the fence sticks, told the boy to draw them
out, and throw them down. Then the boy, taking the fence sticks,
threw them into the river.
Taking the pot of gruel, and making a raised platform of sticks,
he placed it on it. The Gamarala said to the boy, "Now then, as you
have come here, go and drink gruel." Then the boy having gone under the
stick frame, and pierced the bottom of the pot, and made a hole through
it, placed his mouth under it, and drank a sufficient quantity. Still
the gruel comes from the pot, so the boy said to the pot of gruel,
"Father is there. Don't come out, gruel."
Having cut the fence sticks, the Gamarala came to drink gruel. There
was nothing in the gruel pot. He asked at the hand of the boy,
"Where, Ada! is the gruel?"
"The gruel went out while I was saying don't go," he said.
Then the Gamarala thought, "There is no need to keep this boy,"
and having beaten him he drove him away.
As the boy was going, weeping and weeping, he met with a Buddhist
monk. [111] There were two bundles in the Lord's hand. He told the
boy to take the couple of bundles. As the boy was carrying them he
asked at the hand of the Lord, "What is there in the bundles?"
"Palm-sugar packets, [112] and plantains," he said.
The Lord asked at the hand of the boy, "What is thy name?"
The boy said, "My name is Aewariyakka Mulakka."
As he was coming along from there the boy lagged behind. So the
monk spoke to the boy, "Aewariyakka Mulakka, Ada! Come on quickly,"
he said. Then the boy ate some packets of sugar, [113] and rows of
plantains. [114]
The monk having gone to the pansala (monk's residence), when he
looked [found that] packets of sugar and rows of plantains were
missing. "Ada! where are the other plantains and palm-sugar that were
in these?" he asked.
"Lord, I am a packet eater (Mulakka), and a first-row-of-plantains
eater (Aewariyakka)," he said. "I ate them." There and then, having
beaten the boy, he chased him away.
Then, as a washerwoman-aunt was washing clothes, she saw the boy
going along, and asked him, "Can you live at our house?" "I can,"
he said. She asked his name; Giya ("He went") he said was his name.
Having taken the washed clothes, and placed them in the house,
he asked at the hand of the mother for the [unwashed] clothes that
were in the house. She told him to come [and take them]. After the
boy had come in, the mother asked at the hand of the boy, "What is
your name?" The boy said, Awo ("He came"), and took the clothes away.
Afterwards, because both the clothes and the boy were missing,
[the washer-woman] having searched and looked for him, went home. On
account of her going late the washerman called her [and asked the
reason]. She said, "It is because of Giya" (the words might also mean,
"It is because he went"). A man who was in the house having heard it,
said, "Ada! He said Awo."
While both were saying, "Giya," "Awo," ("He went, he came"), the boy
took the clothes, and went to his village.
Duraya. North-western Province.
The fly-killing incident occurs in Indian Nights' Entertainment
(Swynnerton), p. 306, in which a Buneyr man killed an old woman by
throwing a stone at a fly that was on her face.
In the Jataka story No. 44 (vol. i, p. 116), a boy killed his father
by striking with an axe at a mosquito that had settled on his pate,
splitting his head at the blow. In the next Jataka tale, a girl
killed her mother by aiming a blow with a pestle at the flies that
had settled on her head when she was lying down.
In The Orientalist, vol. i, p. 284, there is a Kashmir story by the
Rev. J. H. Knowles, in which a bear who had become friendly with a man,
killed him by throwing a piece of rock at a bee which had settled on
his mouth. Reference is also made to a similar story in the Journal
A.S.B., vol. iii, part i, 1883.
A considerable part of the story now given is a variant of No. 10
above. I have inserted it on account of the low caste of the narrator.
When the monk repeated the boy's name on ordering him not to lag
behind, he was in reality telling him to eat the plantains and sugar,
the meaning of Aewariyak ka Mulak ka being, "Eat thou a first row of
plantains; eat thou a packet (of the sugar)."
NO. 59
THE GAMARALA AND THE WASHERMAN
In a certain country there are a Gamarala and a Washerman. [115] Those
two persons cut a chena. As they were cutting the chena a jungle-cock
crowed. The Gamarala said to the Washerman, "Please catch that crowing
jungle-cock, and come back."
Then the Washerman said, "Will you do the chena work until I catch
the jungle-cock and come back?" he asked.
"Until you come I will do the chena work," he said.
From there that man came home, and remained there. When the chena
[crop] was ripening he caught the jungle-cock, and went back.
"I shall not give thee a share of the chena," the Gamarala said.
Thereupon the Washerman instituted a lawsuit against him.
When they were going for it on the day of the trial, he borrowed
a cloth from the Gamarala, and went after putting it on. When the
action was being heard the Washerman said, "He will say next that
this cloth is that gentleman's."
Then the Gamarala said, "It is so indeed. If not, Bola, whose is that
cloth?" he asked.
The Washerman said, "There! I said so. O Lord, when coming on account
of this day of the trial, was it necessary for me to ask for a cloth
from that gentleman? Am I without clothes to that extent?"
After that, the judge told them to divide the chena in two, [and each
take half of it]. Afterwards, having come there they divided it in two.
Again, this Washerman and the Gamarala sowed a paddy field (rice
field). Of the paddy plants in the field, those things that were above
the ground were for the Washerman, they said. Those which were below
the ground were for the Gamarala, they said. Having cut the paddy
when the crop ripened, they threshed it by trampling [with cattle],
and the Washerman took the paddy. Afterwards they cut the ground;
there was nothing for the Gamarala.
Again, these two persons planted onions. This time, those things
that were above the ground were for the Gamarala, they said. Those
that were below the ground were for the Washerman, they said. When
the crop was ready, the Gamarala having cut off the onion stumps,
heaps them up together; the Washerman dug up and got the onions.
After that, those two persons got a buffalo bull. The front part of
that bull was for the Washerman, they said; the after part for the
Gamarala, they said.
Next, the two persons got a buffalo cow. The front part was for the
Gamarala; the after part for the Washerman, they said. Thereupon
the calves which the buffalo cow bore belonged to the Washerman,
he said. When the Gamarala asked for calves because the front part
did not give birth to calves, "There is nothing for you," he said.
After that, the Gamarala, in order to build a house, cut Waewarana,
Kaetakala, Milla, Kolon trees (good timber trees commonly used in
building houses). The Washerman, also, saying, "I also must build
a house," cut Paepol, Eramudu, Murunga trees (all of which are soft
woods, quite useless for any kind of work).
When the Gamarala's wife was coming near his house, the Washerman,
taking the Naekat Pota (an astrological book which deals with
prognostications), read aloud from it [these sham prognostications
regarding the results to the occupiers if these woods be used in
house building]: "For a house of Waewarana, diarrhoea; for a house
of Kaetakala, quarrel; for a house of Milla, hanging; for a house of
Eramudu, purity; for a house of Paepol, land."
Then the Gamarala's wife having heard this, goes and says to the
Gamarala, "You have done a foolish thing again. We shall have only
sickness and trouble if we build the house with those trees. In the
Naekat Pota it is so written. If we use the trees that the Washerman
has cut we shall be fortunate." So the Gamarala went to the Washerman,
and persuaded him to exchange trees with him. Then the Washerman built
himself a good house with the Gamarala's trees. The trees which the
Gamarala got were of no use to him.
Duraya. North-western Province.
The incident at the trial in the first part of this story occurs in
a slightly different form in a folk-tale that I heard in Cairo. As
I am not aware that it has been published I give it here, condensing
the first portion (see No. 60).
The planting incidents are related by Rabelais, in Pantagruel, chapters
45 and 46. For the benefit of readers in Ceylon, I give the account:--
THE DEVIL AND THE HUSBANDMAN
This devil having arrived at the place, addressed a husbandman and
asked him what he did. The poor man replied to him that he sowed that
field of early wheat to assist him in living during the following
year. "But really," said the devil, "this field is not thine; it is
mine and belongs to me ...; however, I leave thee the field. But it is
on condition we shall share the profit." "I agree to it," replied the
husbandman. "I mean," said the devil, "that of the coming profit we
shall make two shares. The one shall be what grows above the ground,
the other what shall be covered in the earth. The choice belongs
to me, for I am a devil of a noble and ancient race; thou art only
a villein. I choose that which will be in the ground, thou shalt
have that above. When will the reaping be?" "In the middle of July,"
replied the husbandman. "Now," said the devil, "I need not be present
here. In other respects do thy duty. Work, villein, work."
The middle of July having come, the devil presents himself again at the
place, accompanied by a squadron of little chorister devilets. Meeting
there the husbandman, he said to him, "And now, villein, how hast
thou been since my departure? It is requisite to make our division
now?" "That is right," replied the husbandman.
Then the husbandman, with his people, began to reap the corn. The
little devils similarly drew the stubble from the ground. The
husbandman threshed his corn in the air, put it in sacks, and carried
it to the market to sell. The devilets did the same, and at the market
seated themselves near the husbandman to sell their stubble. The
husbandman sold his corn very well, and with the money filled an old
sock which he carried at his belt. The devils sold nothing, but on
the contrary the peasants jeered at them in the midst of the market.
The market being over, said the devil to the husbandman, "Villein, thou
hast cheated me this time; at another thou shalt not deceive me." "My
Lord Devil," replied the husbandman, "how have I cheated you who have
chosen first? True it is that in that choice you thought of cheating
me, hoping that nothing would come out of the ground as my share,
and to find, below, the whole of the corn that I had sown.... But
you are very young at the trade."... "Leave this discourse," said the
devil; "with what canst thou sow our field this following year?" "For
profit," replied the husbandman, "and good economy it is expedient to
sow radishes." "Now then," said the devil, "thou art an honest man;
sow plenty of radishes. I shall protect them from tempests, and shall
not hail at all on them. But, understand thoroughly, I keep as my
share what shall be above ground; thou shalt have what is below. Work,
villein, work."
The time for the reaping having come, the devil was present at
the spot with a squadron of household devilets. There, meeting the
husbandman and his people, he began to reap and collect the leaves
of the radishes. After him the husbandman dug and drew out the large
radishes, and put them into sacks. So they went all together to the
market. The husbandman sold his radishes very well. The devil sold
nothing. What was worse, they jeered at him publicly.
"I see well, villain," the devil then said, "that I am cheated by
thee. I want to make an end of the field between thee and me."
I add a variant of the cultivating caste, as some incidents are new.
THE GAMARALA AND THE WASHERMAN. (VARIANT.)
In a certain country there is a Gamarala, it is said. A Washerman,
having come there, became friendly with the Gamarala. Having become
friendly, he takes charge of the Gamarala's cattle for grazing. During
the time while he was grazing them the two persons chop chenas and
do rice field work.
Well then, the two persons having become very thoroughly friends,
at the time while they were thus, the cattle grazed by the Washerman
increased by a buffalo bull and a buffalo cow. Afterwards, the
Washerman having come [to the other man] said, "Now then, Gamarahami,
[116] we must divide the two cattle between us." The Gamarala said,
"Ha. Let us divide them." Afterwards the Washerman having gone and
caught the two cattle, tied them up.
The Gamarala went there. Then the Washerman said, "Now then, the
Gamarahami indeed has cattle. I myself have no cattle. Because of
it, let the after portion of this buffalo cow be for me. The front
portion the Gamarahami will be good enough to take." The Gamarala,
having consented to that, said, "Ha. It is good." Well then, in
complete agreement they shared the buffalo cow.
Again, to share the buffalo bull the Washerman said, "Gamarahami,
let the front side of the buffalo bull be for me, the after side
the Gamarahami will be good enough to take." Well then, the Gamarala
having consented to that also, by the agreement of the two persons
they divided the buffalo bull also.
During the time while they were thus, the Washerman having taken the
buffalo bull ploughs for himself. The Gamarala also one day was going
to take the buffalo bull to plough. Then the Washerman quarrelled
with him: "The front part belongs to me; the after part belongs to
you. I will not allow you to plough with my side," he said. [117]
The Gamarala having become angry came home.
The buffalo cow having gone to the Gamarala's house eats by
stealth. Men having come told the Gamarala, "Gamarala, your buffalo
cow comes to our rice field [and eats the crop]. On that account
attend well to its grazing."
Then the Gamarala said, "Don't tell me. Tell that to the Washerman."
Then the men having gone, told the Washerman, "Washerman, the
buffalo cow that you are causing to graze eats by stealth [in our
rice field]. Attend well to its grazing."
The Washerman said, "What are you telling me? Doesn't the front half
belong to the Gamarahami? Isn't it the Gamarahami who must attend to
the grazing?" [118]
The Washerman having come to the Gamarala's house, quarrelled with
the Gamarala [over it]. The Gamarala became very angry.
Afterwards, the Gamarala went to institute a lawsuit against the
Washerman [on account of these matters]. That day, having entered the
suit, and having come back to the village, he went to the Washerman to
tell him the day of the trial. Having told him, the Gamarala came home.
On the following day, the Washerman came to the Gamarala. Afterwards,
the Gamarala having given the Washerman to eat and drink, and having
made ready to go for the day of the trial, the Washerman said,
"Gamarahami, I have no [suitable] cloth to wear when going." The
Gamarala gave (that is, lent) him a cloth. The Washerman putting on
the cloth, both of them went for the trial-day.
After they went, the assessors [119] having assembled heard the
lawsuit. When they asked the Gamarala [regarding the matter], the
Gamarala said, "The after portion of the buffalo cow belongs to the
Washerman; the front portion belongs to me."
When they asked the Washerman he said, "Because the front portion
of the buffalo bull belongs to me, I will not allow him to plough
with the buffalo bull. Because the front portion of the buffalo cow
belongs to the Gamarahami, the Gamarahami must attend to the grazing,"
he answered.
Then after the assessors had thus asked him they said, "What the
Washerman said is true."
Thereupon the Washerman says, "That gentleman (Rahami) will now say
that this cloth which I am wearing is the gentleman's, maybe!"
The Gamarala asked, "Yes, indeed. Whose is it, Bola, if that cloth
is not mine?"
Then the Washerman says to the assessors, "There! Be good enough to
look. Didn't that gentleman just now say that the cloth I am wearing
is the gentleman's. In that manner, indeed, he has brought this
lawsuit, also."
At that time the assessors said to the Gamarala, "There is not a thing
for us to say regarding this [except that] he is to gain [the action]
against you."
Then the Gamarala having lost, came back with the Washerman to the
village.
At that time, while the Gamarala was angry with the Washerman,
the Gamarala, having said that he must build a house for himself,
and having gone to the jungle, cut Halmilla, Milla, Waewarana trees;
these three sorts [of good timber trees].
Then the Washerman, having got news that he had cut these woods,
also went to the jungle, and having said, "I also must build a house
for myself," cut Paepol wood, Murunga wood, Eramudu wood; those three
sorts [of soft useless woods]. After heaping them together, he wrote
a book [of sham prognostications]: "For the house [built] of Halmilla,
begging; for the house of Waewarana, killing; for the house of Milla,
begging; for the house of Paepol, land; for the house of Eramudu,
purity; for the house of Murunga, purity."
After writing these, the Washerman taking up the book while the
Gama-Mahage (the Gamarala's wife) was going past for water, says them
over every day for the Gama-Mahage to hear. The Gama-Mahage having
heard them, said to the Gamarala, "A book of the Washerman's says
thus. Because of it, come with the Washerman, and having given him
our small quantity of timber speak with him to allow us to take his
small quantity of timber."
Afterwards, the Gamarala having gone to the Washerman, asked at the
hand of the Washerman, "Washerman, give me your small quantity of
timber, and take for yourself my small quantity of timber."
Then the Washerman says, "I don't know [if I can do it], Sir
(Rahamiye). I cannot [willingly], through sorrow [at the loss to me],
give you my small quantity of timber, indeed; but because the gentleman
says it, any way whatever is good. Be good enough to take it."
Afterwards the Gamarala brought [home] the Washerman's small quantity
of timber. The Washerman brought the Gamarala's small quantity of
timber. Having brought it, the Washerman with the small quantity of
the Gamarala's timber thoroughly built the house for himself, the
Gamarala also building the house for himself from the Washerman's
timber. When only three months had gone, the Gamarala's house fell
down, and the Gama-Mahage, having been underneath it, died. The house
which the Washerman built from good timber remained in good condition.
North-western Province.
NO. 60
THE TWO THIEVES
Two thieves at Cairo were in love with the same girl, who promised
to marry the one who showed the greatest cleverness.
The first one assisted a rich merchant in purchasing some cattle, and
eventually purloined a bag of money which the merchant was carrying
in the large pocket in the front of his gown, and put a similar bag
in its place containing an orange or two.
The theft was discovered when the merchant was about to pay the money
for the cattle. The robber assumed the rôle of the sympathising
friend, and suggested that a mistake might have been made by the
merchant's wife, and the wrong bag given to him. The merchant went
home to inquire about it, and on his return the robber ran up to him,
and embraced and kissed him, saying, "Hallo, Friend! I am very glad
to see you again. I hope you have succeeded in finding your money." As
he said this he put back the purse, and took the bag of oranges.
The merchant replied, "I hope God will hear what you say."
The thief said, "You are playing me a trick; put your hand in your
pocket, and feel if your purse is not there."
So he put his hand in his breast pocket, and found his bag of money
there. The thief explained the matter, and requested him to relate
the particulars to the girl, who then decided that she would marry
this thief.
I give the rest of the story in full, as it was dictated to me:--
The second thief said, "Oh! that is nothing. I can play a better trick
than that. Will you be kind enough to come to-morrow morning to the
Government offices to see me?" The merchant man said, "I also will
come to see the trick." Then the merchant went away, and the three
remained there till evening.
After dinner, the second robber went out to the café to spend the time,
and there he met one of the higher class people. The robber said,
"Salam," and sat down next this merchant. They both smoked hashish
together, and the thief told him, "I have just arrived from outside
the city. The four gates are now shut, and I cannot return. I do not
know where to go to sleep."
The merchant told him, "Don't you feel ashamed to say that to me when
you know what size my house is?"
The robber said, "Thank you for the favour," and at the end of their
smoke they went together to the merchant's house. When the two entered,
lights were put in the writing room, with two beds for them, so that
they might sleep together there.
While the merchant was fast asleep and snoring, the robber awoke, and
took the key of the money-box and the seal from the merchant's pocket,
opened the box, counted the money, wrote a promissory note giving
the amount of each kind of money, signed it with the merchant's seal,
and put all back again as before, keeping the note. He then went to
sleep again.
Next morning they breakfasted together, becoming very friendly, and the
robber said, "Please can you lend me your horse and a clean suit of
clothes, because I must go to report a person to the Government?" So
the merchant gave him a clean suit and a horse, and told him, "You
can change your clothes and wash here. I must go to my office." He
then left.
The robber put on the clothes, and rode off to the Government office,
and explained his case, and asked for a man to be sent to fetch the
merchant, as he had to recover a large sum of money from him. The
Chief of the Police sent a man to call him.
When the merchant came, the Chief of the Police asked him, "Why don't
you pay this gentleman the money you owe him?"
He says, "Which gentleman?"
"This gentleman," said the Chief of the Police, pointing to the robber.
"This one!"
"Yes, I am the one," said the robber.
The merchant said, "Don't you feel ashamed at saying I owe you
some money?"
"Of course," he replied, and then he took out the promissory note,
and handed it to the Chief of the Police.
The Chief of the Police looked at it, and said, "Hallo! That is a
big amount."
The merchant asked to see it, and he looked at the list, and said,
"I have not got so much money in my box. If I have so much in my
house it must really be yours."
The Chief of the Police sent some men to bring the box to the station,
and on counting the money in it, he found it was exactly the amount
written in the promissory note. The woman, and the other robber,
and the merchant who was tricked on the previous day were all present
and listening, and were all astonished.
The Chief of the Police said, "Well, it must be the claimant's money,"
and he gave it to him.
The merchant was angry, so the robber said, "I suppose you will be
saying next that the horse is yours, and the suit I am wearing";
and when the merchant angrily demanded them the robber requested the
Chief of the Police to lock the man up, because he was now trying to
steal his horse and clothes.
Then the merchant was locked up, and the robber left the money in
the box at the Police Station, and rode off to his own home, where
he met the woman and the first robber. He asked them, "How do you
like that trick?"
She said, "A very clever man you are," and she agreed to marry him.
After three days they both went to the merchant, and told him the whole
story, and returned him the money, and the horse and clothes. And
the merchant was so pleased to get them back that he gave them some
money to live upon.
In Folk-Tales of Kashmir (Knowles), 2nd ed., p. 297 ff., two thieves
had one wife, who agreed that she should belong only to the one who
brought her the most valuable spoil in two days. The King executed her,
as being the instigator of the robberies they committed.
NO. 61
THE MARGOSA TREE
In a certain city there is a King, it is said. The King thought of
growing a Margosa tree without bitterness [in the fruit], so one day
he made proclamation accordingly by beat of tom-toms.
While two friends of one village were coming to seek a means of
subsistence they heard this sound of tom-toms. When they asked at the
hand of a tom-tom beater, "What is the sound of tom-toms for?" he said,
"What is it? His Majesty our King will give presents to any person
who should grow and give him a Margosa tree without bitterness." One
of the friends, saying, "I can [do it]," went to the royal palace.
"Canst thou grow and give me a Margosa tree without bitterness?" the
King asked.
"Yes, your Majesty," he said.
"What things dost thou want for it?" the King asked.
"I want monthly a hundred-weight of sugar and a large pot of cow's
butter," he said.
After that, the King asked, "Where wilt thou grow it?"
"I must grow it on the edge of a river," he said.
Having built and given him a house on the edge of the river, he gave
him a hundred-weight of sugar and a large pot of butter monthly.
Seven times in succession he planted seven trees. Seven times the
seven trees were washed away by the river.
During the time while he was there in that way, the other friend
having come, asked, "Where is the tree?"
Then the friend who had planted the tree says, "Either the King,
or I, or the river." [120]
The words that he said meant, "Either His Majesty the King will die;
if not, I shall die, because of no means of subsistence."
"Having cheated the King I get a living. When it is so, the foolish
King has been caught by my trick."
Duraya. North-western Province.
NO. 62
THE GAMARALA'S FOOLISH SON
While a Gamarala and a Gama-gaeni (his wife) were at a village,
as there were no children to those two for a long time they went to
a Dewala, and worshipped the Gods in order to obtain a child. After
that they obtained a child. As that child was growing up the Gamarala
and Gama-gaeni were becoming very old.
So one day the Gamarala says to the Gama-gaeni, "Before we die we
must summon and give a bride to the youth." Having said this they
summoned and gave him a small girl.
During the time while they were living thus, the Gamarala had
an illness. After that the Gamarala died. Afterwards, while the
Gama-gaeni, and the son, and the son's wife were there, one day the
wife of the Gama-puta (son of the Gamarala) said, "Now then, let us
go to my village, and having gone there, sowing our rice field lands
let us do cultivation"; and both of them went.
While they were there, one day, as an illness settled on the
Gama-puta's wife, the Vedarala (village doctor) went to see her. The
Vedarala asked, "What is the illness?"
Then he said, "My wife has tumours which are growing large." The
Vedarala having made a medicine which was to be rubbed [on the places],
and having come to the house gave it, saying, "Rub thou this medicine
on them."
When he had been rubbing it for four or five days they grew larger. The
Gama-puta having seen this, said, "Ada! These tumours are becoming
very severe. I cannot go for medicine every day if they go on like
this. Let us go to my village." So they set off to come to the
Gama-puta's village.
As they were coming, a man was driving a bull on the road. This
Gamarala's son asked, "Where are you taking the bull?"
The man said, "I am taking it to my village," he said. "Where are
you going?" he asked.
"We are going to my village. My wife has tumours. We are going to
apply medical treatment," he said.
"Where? Let us look at them. I also know a little medical art,"
he said.
Then he showed them. When the man who was taking the bull saw them he
said, "They are growing larger; they will never become well," he said.
Then the Gama-puta thought, "This woman does not matter to me." So
he said, "It would be good for you to give me that bull and take this
woman." So taking the bull he gave the woman.
"This one has water in his stomach (i.e., he had drunk water); you
will be careful," the man said.
Then having taken the bull, as he was going to the village he took
a large cloth and tied it round the middle of the bull. While he
was there after tying it, a man came, carrying a bill-hook on his
shoulder. When he saw it he asked, "What is this doing?"
"This one has water in his stomach; on that account I have tied the
cloth round it," he said.
Having seen the bill-hook, "What is that?" he asked.
"This is a bill-hook," the man said.
After he asked, "What do you do with the bill-hook?" the man said,
"Taking a packet of cooked rice and a water-gourd, it is for cutting
the jungle," he said.
When he asked, "Will you take this bull and give me the bill-hook,"
the man said, "It is good," and having given the bill-hook went away
taking the bull.
Then the Gama-puta, having taken the bill-hook, and gone to the
village, during the time while he was there thought he would go to
cut jungle. Having thought so, he took a packet of cooked rice and a
water-gourd, and the bill-hook, and having placed them upon a rock
he remained looking on. Seeing that the bill-hook stayed [there]
without cutting the jungle, and thinking that it was because he was
looking at it, he came home.
Having come and eaten rice, and having gone back afterwards, when he
looked, the bill-hook having been put in the sun had become extremely
hot. So the Gama-puta thinks, "The bill-hook having got fever, is
it on that account it did not eat the cooked rice and did not cut
the jungle?"
He went quickly for medicine. Having gone he told the Veda (village
doctor). The Veda having looked [at it] told him to bury it under the
frame on which the water pots were set. Afterwards, having come home,
he buried it under the water-pots' frame. On the following day, after
he had looked [he found that] having become thoroughly wetted by the
water it was cold. Having seen that, he got into his mind [the notion],
"Ada! The medical treatment is very good."
When a little time had gone, one day the Gamarala's wife had a severe
illness, having got fever. The Gama-gaeni said, "Son, I have much
fever. Having gone for medical advice and brought a little medicine,
give me it," she said.
He said, "It is good," and speedily having cut a hole under the
water-pots' frame, and put the Gama-gaeni in the hole, he covered
her with earth.
Afterwards when he looked, the fever having thoroughly gone down
she had become cold like a plantain tree; and saying, "Ada! Mother's
fever is completely well," he went away.
Duraya. North-western Province.
In Indian Fables (Ramaswami Raju), p. 71, a variant of the last
incident is given. A man with severe fever having cooled a red-hot
poker in cold water, thought he could cool himself in the same way,
so he sat in a tub of cold water, with a fatal result.
In Indian Nights' Entertainment, Panjab (Swynnerton), p. 83, a weaver
got a smith to make a sickle that would cut corn of itself. He
laid it beside the standing corn, which he ordered it to cut; but
on returning he found no work done, and the sickle ill with fever,
through being in the sun. The smith to whom he applied for advice
recommended him to tie a string to it, and lower it into a well;
this cooled it. When his mother caught fever he treated her in the
same way until she died and became cold.
NO. 63
THE JACKAL'S JUDGMENT
At a village there is a tank. A Crocodile, making a burrow in the
[foot of the] embankment, stayed in it. Afterwards the mud having
dried and become hard, the Crocodile being unable to get out of the
hole was going to die.
As a man was going past to fetch a midwife-mother to attend to his
wife, the Crocodile, hearing him, said to the man, "Somehow or other
manage to save me by breaking up the earth so that I may get out." The
man broke up the earth, and let it out.
After that, as there was no water left in the tank, the man, placing
the Crocodile on his shoulder, went to the edge of the river. Having
gone there, after he had placed it in the water, the Crocodile seized
the arm of that man in order to eat him.
"Why wilt thou eat me?" he asked. "Dost thou not know the help I gave
thee? Yet thou art going to eat me!"
The Crocodile said, "It is true, indeed, regarding the assistance. It
is because I am hungry that I am going to eat thee."
The man said, "It is good. Eat thou me. There are my witnesses,
two or three persons. First ask them [regarding the justice of it],
and then eat me." So they went to ask the witnesses about it.
Having met with a Kumbuk tree, [121] he said to the Kumbuk tree,
"This Crocodile is going to eat me. I ask this one's opinion of it."
"What is that about?"
The man said, "This Crocodile was going to die. I saved it. It is
now going to eat me. Is that right?"
Then the Kumbuk tree says, "O Crocodile-cultivator, do not let that
man go. There is no animal so wicked as that man. He stays near the
tree in the shade, and having broken off the bark and the leaves he
takes them away. At last he cuts down and takes the tree."
From there he goes and asks it of the Cow. "O Cow, I saved this
Crocodile from death. This Crocodile is now going to eat me. Do you
think it right?"
The Cow says, "O Crocodile-cultivator, do not let that man go. That
man is a wicked man. He takes our milk, and at last kills and eats
us. Do not let him go."
After that he asks it of the Jackal. The Jackal asks, "What is
it about?"
He says to the Jackal, "O Jackal-artificer, without letting this
Crocodile die, I saved it. Now it is going to eat me."
The Jackal-artificer says, "I cannot give this decision, not having
seen what is the meaning of it. You must show me the whole affair
from the beginning."
Then the man, placing the Crocodile on his shoulder, and having gone
with it and put it in the house in which the Crocodile was at first,
[and closed the entrance], and made the soil hard, the Jackal says,
"Now then, don't you be afraid. I am on your side."
Then the man says, "Jackal-artificer, hear this case."
"I am both the judge and the witness," the Jackal said. "Now then,
taking a cudgel beat thou him until he dies. I saw thy excellence
and this one's wickedness."
Duraya. North-western Province.
This is one of the best-known of folk-tales. A Malay variant is given
in Mr. W. Skeat's Fables and Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest,
p. 20. A tiger, being released from a cage-trap by a man, seized
him in order to eat him. When appealed to, the road and tree were
against him. The Mouse-deer, which in Malaya fills the place of the
clever animal in folk-tales, got the tiger to return to the cage,
and called the neighbours to kill it.
The tiger story is given in Old Deccan Days (Frere), p. 198 ff.,
and the appeal was made to a banyan tree, camel, bullock, eagle,
and alligator [crocodile], which were against the man. The Jackal
settled it in his favour.
In Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 116--Tales of the
Punjab, p. 107--the matter was referred to a pipal (or bo) tree,
a road, and the Jackal, who induced the tiger to re-enter the trap,
and left him there.
In Indian Fairy Tales (Stokes), p. 16, the matter was not referred to
others, but the Jackal told the tiger a good way of eating the man,
by getting inside a large bag and having him thrown in to it. When
it was inside the bag, the Jackal, a dog who was present, and the
man tied it up, and beat the tiger to death.
The Panchatantra (Dubois), as in several other instances, comes
nearest to the Sinhalese story. A Brahmana carried a Crocodile in a
sack from a stream to the Ganges, and was then seized by it. In reply
to his appeal to the Crocodile's virtue and gratitude, he was told,
"The virtue and gratitude of our days is to devour those who nourish
us and who do good to us." Reference was made to a mango tree, an old
cow (both of which agreed with the Crocodile), and a Jackal, who,
stating that he wished to get to the bottom of the matter, induced
the Crocodile to re-enter the sack, after which the Jackal broke his
head with a stone.
In Indian Nights' Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 134, a boy on his
way to fetch his bride, killed a mungus that was attacking a snake,
which then turned on him, to eat him, but gave him eight days' grace
to get married. When he returned with his wife she remonstrated
with the snake, and was referred to some trees. One had preserved a
thief in its hollow interior, but he found sandalwood there, and cut
it down; and now it had become a rule to do evil for good. For the
future widow's protection, the snake gave her magic powder capable of
reducing to ashes whatever it fell on, so she applied it to the snake,
and burnt it to dust.
The tale is found in West Africa also, in a form which is very
close to the South Indian and Sinhalese one. In Contes Soudanais
(C. Monteil), p. 53, a child found a tired Crocodile, and carried
it back to water. The Crocodile asked if he knew how goodness was
rewarded. "By evil," the child said. The Crocodile was going to eat
him, but referred the matter to an old horse and an old ass (both of
which recommended it to do so), and lastly to a Hare, which refused
to believe that the child could have carried it. When this was proved,
and the Crocodile taken back, the Hare said to the child, "Doesn't thy
father eat Crocodile?" "Yes." "And thy mother?" "Yes." "Hast thou not
an axe?" "I have one," the child replied. "Then break the Crocodile's
head and eat it," the Hare said. In many West African tales the Hare
is the clever animal who outwits the others.
NO. 64
THE HERON AND THE CRAB
There is a great big mountain. On the mountain there is a rock-hole
[containing water]. In it there are some small fishes. At all other
places a Heron [122] eats the small fishes. In this rock-hole the
Heron cannot eat the small fishes; he goes along [in the air], above
the rock cave.
On account of it, the Heron puts on a false appearance. "I am indeed
an ascetic," he said. "I do not kill living creatures," he said.
Thereupon the small fishes came for a talk. After they came he said,
"Being in this hole ye cannot go up and down," he said. "Because it
is so, I will take you and put you in a river possessing length and
breadth," he said.
After that, having taken them one by one he ate them. At the time when
he was taking the Crab which remained over from them, the Crab took
hold of the neck of the Heron. While on the way, when the Heron was
preparing to kill the Crab, the Crab getting to know of it, cut the
neck of the Heron with his claws and killed it.
Duraya. North-western Province.
THE POND HERON. (VARIANT.)
At the time of a great drought the water of a pool having nearly
dried up, the fishes [123] saw that they were coming near dying. A
Pond Heron [124] which saw it, having very speedily come flying,
spoke to the fishes: "Friends, I will go and conduct you to a pool
in which there is much water," he said. They were pleased at it.
The Pond Heron holding one by his bill, and having gone and put it
down at the pool in which there was water, again brought it near
those that were in the pool at which the water had dried up, and let
it go. The fish which he brought informed them that there was a pool
in which there was water, in the way the Heron said. All the fishes
that were in the dried-up pool became wishful to go.
Now then, the Pond Heron having taken them one by one, leaving aside
the pool in which there was water, took them to a tree near it,
and ate them. After not many days the fishes were finished; the Pond
Heron ate all. Having eaten them, below the tree on which he put them
there was a heap of bones to the extent of a tree in height.
Afterwards having seen that a Crab was in the dried-up pool, the Pond
Heron spoke to it: "Friend, you also come to be conducted there,"
he said.
The Crab also spoke to the Pond Heron: "Friend, my shell is very thin,"
he said.
"I will take you carefully," the Pond Heron said. After he had said
it the Crab became wishful to go.
The Pond Heron took hold of his shell, and the Crab took hold of the
neck of the Pond Heron with his two claws. Having taken hold of him the
Pond Heron flew away. Having seen that, leaving the pool on this side,
he was flying to the tree, the Crab spoke to him. "The pool is here,"
he said.
"I am taking thee to eat," the Pond Heron said.
At that time having seized the two claws the Pond Heron killed him.
Washerman. North-western Province.
THE POND HERON. (VARIANT.)
In a certain country a Pond Heron stayed, it is said. At the time
while the Pond Heron was there, seeking small fishes in the tanks,
a great general drought befel. On account of it all the tanks dried
up. The Pond Heron ate all the small fishes that stayed in them.
Having eaten them, he remained hungry for two or three days, there
being no more small fishes. Having been in that state, and having
flown away to seek food, as he was going along he saw that a tank
having dried up, small fishes were there, being unable to go elsewhere.
The Pond Heron having gone there, asked the small fishes, "What,
friends, are you there for?"
Then the small fishes said, "Ane! Friend, the little water that there
was for us having dried up, we are without water."
After that, the Pond Heron said, "If so, friends, there is a good
river for you. I will take you to it, and put you down there."
The little fishes said, "It is good, friend. If so, take us and put
us down there."
The Pond Heron said, "If so, let one come [first, and see the river],"
and holding it with his bill he took it to the river, and put it down.
That small fish going in the water all round the river came near
the Pond Heron. Then the Pond Heron having said to the small fish,
"Let us go, friend," the small fish said, "Friend, I cannot go."
The Pond Heron said, "No, friend, let us go. Can you remain, without
going? Your other people are to come."
Afterwards the small fish said "Ha." So the Pond Heron, taking the
small fish with his bill, came flying back. Having come to a great
rough tree, and settled on a branch of the tree, he ate the small fish.
Again he went flying to the place where the small fishes were. The
small fishes asked, "Friend, one of us went with you. Where is he?"
The Pond Heron replied, "Friends, he said he would not come. He stayed
in the river."
Then those small fishes said, "If so, go with us, and put us down
in it."
After that, the Pond Heron, taking one of them, settled on the tree
at which he ate that small fish, and ate it. Again he came to the
place where the other small fishes were. Then those small fishes said,
"Friend, take us also, and put us in the river."
The Pond Heron again having taken a small fish and settled on that
very tree, ate it. Thus, in that way having taken the small fishes
until they were finished, he ate them all.
Having finished the small fishes, a Crab was omitted outside. The Pond
Heron came and asked the Crab, "What, friend, are you here alone for?"
The Crab said, "Ane! Friend, the small fishes of this tank went to
the quarters where they went. I alone remain."
Then the Pond Heron said, "Friend, shall I take you also to the river,
and put you down in it?" The Crab said "Ha."
Afterwards the Pond Heron, holding the Crab with his bill, took it
and settled on the tree on which he ate the small fishes. While he
was there the Crab asked, "What, friend, have you delayed here for?"
Then the Pond Heron said, "It is here that I ate also the few small
fishes that stayed in the tank. It is here I shall eat you also."
Afterwards the Crab, having stiffened his claws a little, seized the
neck of the Pond Heron. Then the Pond Heron with his bill tightened
his hold of the Crab. Thus, in that way holding each other, both of
them died, and fell on the ground below the tree.
Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.
The Jataka story No. 38 (vol. i, p. 96), about a Crane and a Crab,
nearly agrees with the second of these tales, but the ending is like
that of the first one, the Crab killing the Crane. It is also much
more artificial and developed in the conversations.
It is possible that the story related by the Duraya may represent a
very early form of the tale, or perhaps the original one. If the story
were derived from the Jataka tale, it is very improbable that in a
country where ponds are more numerous than in any other, we should
find the pool of the Jataka, to which the fishes were to be taken,
displaced in two of these by a river.
The story is given in Indian Fables (Ramaswami Raju), p. 88. A Crane
pretended to carry the fish to a pond, and was killed by a Crab.
In Skeat's Fables and Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest, p. 18,
the bird was a Pelican, which was killed by a Crab.
In the Panchatantra (Dubois), a Cormorant came to the fishes at a pool,
and allayed their suspicions by putting on an appearance of piety and
by alleging that he had become a religious devotee. He informed them
that he foresaw a twelve years' drought, in which the pools would
dry up and they would perish, and he offered to transport them to a
mountain pool fed by a perennial spring. They were eaten on a rock,
and the Crab strangled the bird.
In the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. ii, p. 31, the animals were
a Crane and a Makara, which is said by the translator to generally
mean a crocodile, though in early carvings in Ceylon and India it
is a fabulous animal with two short legs and a tail usually curved
upon its back. The bird frightened the fish by saying that a man was
coming to catch them with a net, and he offered to convey them to a
lake. When the Makara was taken to the rock at which the others were
killed, he cut off the Crane's head.
This story nearly agrees with that in the Hitopadesa, in which a Crab
killed the bird.
NO. 65
THE JACKAL AND THE BRAHMANA
In a certain city a Jackal according to custom was eating the fowls,
it is said. Now, as the Jackal was there eating the fowls, by degrees
he finished all the fowls in that manner. There was still one fowl
at the royal palace.
So this Jackal went to the royal palace to eat the fowl. After he
had come there the Jackal tried to catch it, and while he was there
striving to eat the fowl it became light. There being no means
of going away because of the people, he sought a place in which
to remain hidden. As he was seeking it, except that there was open
ground and no jungle, when he looked there was only a clump of weeds
as a hiding place.
While he was in it peeping out, a Brahmana comes near. This Jackal
asked, "You Brahmana! Where art thou going?" he asked.
The Brahmana says, "I am going in search of a livelihood."
The Jackal says, "I will give thee a means of subsistence; carry me
here and there," he said.
Then the Brahmana taking the Jackal slung him by his four legs. "Dost
thou carry me by the legs to some place to give a livelihood to
thee?" he said.
"If not, how shall I carry thee?" the Brahmana asked.
Then the Jackal says, "Having placed me in thy upper garment take me
up and go," he said. "Look here! Take me and go thou along the road
which leads to this jungle," he said. "Having taken me and gone on
it there will be a clump of wild dates. Do thou put me down near the
clump of wild dates," he said.
So the Jackal came to the open ground in the bundle. Then the Jackal
told this Brahmana, after he had placed the bundle on the ground,
to stay looking in the direction of the sun. Having remained looking
in the direction of the sun, he told him to look in the direction
of the clump of wild dates, and to take the kahawanas (coins) which
were placed in it. When he had looked in the direction of the clump
of wild dates, the rays of the sun having entered his eyes a yellow
colour went into everything, and he thought he saw some money in it.
So the Brahmana crept into the clump of wild dates and passed his
hand through it, and looked through it. Then because there were no
kahawanas, he came out into the open ground.
When he looked on the path there was no Jackal. Then the Brahmana
said, "There is neither the journey that I came for, nor the
kahawanas. Ada! Ada!" So he went away.
Duraya. North-western Province.
In this story we find one of the lowest castes of the Chandalas making
fun of the highest caste of all, a mild revenge for their treatment
by the latter. As part of the joke, the Jackal is represented as
addressing the Brahmana in the manner in which the latter would have
spoken to a Duraya, and as being carried about by him, thus turning
the tables completely, the chief duty of the Durayas being carrying
loads for others.
In the Jataka story No. 113 (vol. i, p. 255) a Jackal having overslept
himself in some bushes in Benares, concealed himself until a Brahmana
came near. By promising him two hundred gold pieces he induced the
man to carry him concealed under his robe until they reached the
cremation ground. There he told him to dig up a tree in order to
get the treasure, and then ran off while the man was occupied with
the work.
NO. 66
THE CAT WHO GUARDED THE PRECEPTS
A Cat having seen that a sun-dried fish was in a bag of rice, at
the time when he was going to it to eat it, a rosary [hanging there]
fell on his neck.
After it had fallen, as he was going away with it on his neck a
Jungle-hen met him, and ran off. The Cat then says, "I am guarding
(that is, keeping) the Precepts (of Buddha, sil rakinawa). Tummal
Kitti, [125] come here and go with me."
While he was taking her with him they met with a Ground Cuckoo. He
called this one: "'Bug-bug'-singing Kaccale, [126] I am guarding the
Precepts. Come here and go with me."
As they were going they met with a Hare. He called him also: "Tokka
[127] the Devil-dancer, come here and go with me. I am guarding
the Precepts."
Having gone to a rock cave [as a pansala or monk's residence], while
they were there the Cat said, "Tokka the Devil-dancer, Tummal Kitti
having scratched [the ground] in the pansala has defiled it. I must
kill this one," he said.
When the Hare said, "It is good," he killed her.
After the Cat had said, "It is not a fault to eat a dead one, is
it?" when the Hare replied, "No, there is not any fault in it,"
he ate her.
Afterwards the Cat said, "Tokka the Devil-dancer, this
'Bug-bug'-singing Kaccale has been drinking arrack (palm spirit)
until his eyes have become red." When he said, "I must kill this one,"
he killed it. Then saying, "There is no fault in eating a dead one,"
he ate it.
Then he said, "Tokka the Devil-dancer, thou having dropped dung
in the pansala art defiling it." When he said, "I must kill thee,"
the Hare said, "Yes, killing me is virtuous and proper. I must first
perform a great gallop [128] and a little gallop, two gallops. [129]
After that there will be no fault if you kill me," he said.
"Yes, perform them," the Cat said.
Then the Hare having run round [the cave], "There! The small gallop,"
he said. Again having gone running round, and [then] having jumped
over the Cat's head, while he was running away he said, "There! The
great gallop," and ran off.
Duraya. North-western Province.
HOW THE CAT BECAME AN UPASAKA. [130] (VARIANT.)
At a certain time, at the house of a Gamarala, milk having been
taken and placed on the shelf by him [to curdle], the Gamarala went
to the chena.
There is a Cat at the house. The Cat having looked [to see] when
the Gamarala was not there, went to the shelf to eat the curds by
stealth. Having gone there and eaten them by stealth, as he was
coming away the Gamarala came home from the chena, and the Cat,
becoming afraid, sprang down.
The Gamarala's rosary was hanging on the shelf. As the Cat deceitfully
was springing down, the rosary fell on the Cat's neck. Then while the
rosary was on its neck it goes away. Why? Should the Gamarala get to
know about its eating the curds he would thrash it inordinately.
Well then, as it was going it met with a Rat. The Rat [seeing the
rosary] asked the Cat, "Upasakarala, [131] where are you going?"
"I am going to guard the Precepts," he said. "You also come and go
along with me," he said.
At the time when the two were going they met with the Squirrel called
the Three-lined Chief. [132] "Upasakarala, where are you going?" he
asked.
"We are going to guard the Precepts. You also come and go with us,"
he said. The Squirrel having said, "Ha. I will come," the three went
along [together].
As they were going they met with the Ground Cuckoo called Bum-bum
the Tom-tom Beater. "Where, Upasakarala, are you going?" he asked.
"We are going to guard the Precepts. You also come," he said.
The Ground Cuckoo having said, "Ha. If so, I also will come," the
four went together.
At the time when they were going they met with the Hare called Tokkan
the Devil-dancer. "Upasakaralas, where are you going?" he asked.
"We are going to guard the Precepts. You also come and go with us,"
he said.
Well then, the five went to the jungle. Having gone on and on, there
was a rock cave. Having said, "Look there! Our pansala," he told
the people to creep inside. "In order that I may go and rehearse the
Precepts, let no single other person besides cause any disturbance,"
he said.
Then the Rat, being hungry during the night, was wriggling about. So
the Upasaka Cat said, "Ade! While Bum-bum the Tom-tom Beater stays
there quietly, while the Three-lined Chief stays there [quietly],
while Tokkan the Devil-dancer stays there [quietly], this one does
not take [to heart] the things that were said. Being on guard over
it I must put it out of the way." [133] Saying this, he ate the Rat.
At the daybreak watch the Ground Cuckoo crowed [as usual]. After it
had crowed, the Cat said, "While the Three-lined Chief stays there
[quietly], while Tokkan the Devil-dancer stays there [quietly],
because this one is making noises, and as I am on guard over it,
I must put it out of the way," and seizing that one also he ate it.
As it became light in the morning, at the time when the Squirrels
were singing, "Tin-Tin," the Three-lined Chief also sang, "Tin-Tin."
Then the Cat said, "While Tokkan the Devil-dancer stays there quietly,
and I stay here [quietly], this one having said it through arrogance,
and as I am on guard over it, I must put it out of the way." Having
said this he ate that one also.
Now then, the Hare called Tokkan the Devil-dancer ascertaining that
he was eating it, began to cry in the morning.
"What, Tokkan the Devil-dancer, are you crying for?" he asked.
"I know thoroughly how to dance dances. Because there is no one to
look at the dances I was sorry," he said.
After he had said, "If so, dance a little for me to look at it,"
the Hare said, "Upasakarala, open the doorway so that a little light
may fall into the cave. Having seen my dance you must eat me also,"
the Hare said.
When he moved from the door, out of the way, for a little light to
fall inside, the Hare, having jumped to the four corners of the cave,
springing over the head of the Cat went away.
P. B. Madahapola, Ratemahatmaya. North-western Province.
HOW THE CAT PERFORMED BELL WORSHIP. (VARIANT.)
In a certain country a man reared a Cat, it is said. The Cat every day
goes to eat by stealth in the villages. On account of it the man one
day caught the Cat, and having tied a hawk's bell [134] on its neck,
let it go.
After that, the Cat, without going that day into the village, went
away along the path. As it was going along it met with a Rat. The
Rat asked the Cat, "Where, O Cat-Lord, are you going?"
Then the Cat said, "I am going for Bell Worship."
The Rat asked, "Shall I come too?"
The Cat said, "It is good."
The Rat also having set off, as the two were going away they met
with a Squirrel. The Squirrel asked the Cat, "Where, O Cat-Lord,
are you going?"
Then the Cat said, "I am going for Bell Worship."
The Squirrel asked, "Shall I come too?"
After that, the Cat said, "It is good."
Now then, the Squirrel having set off, as the three were going away
they met with a Jungle-cock. The Jungle-cock asked the Cat, "Where,
O Cat-Lord, are you going?"
Then the Cat said, "I am going for Bell Worship."
The Jungle-cock said, "I shall come too."
To that the Cat said, "It is good."
The Jungle-cock having set off, the four persons went to a great rock
cave in the jungle. Having made those three remain in the direction
of the corner, the Cat stayed at the doorway.
After being there [a short time], the Cat first of all said to the Rat,
"O Rat, [135] I am hungry."
Then the Rat said, "Let it be according to the wish of the
Cat-Lord." After that, the Cat, seizing the Rat, ate it.
In a little more time the Cat said to the Squirrel, "O Squirrel,
[136] I am hungry."
At that time the Squirrel also said, "Let it be according to the wish
of the Cat-Lord."
So the Cat having seized the Squirrel also, ate it.
In a little more time the Cat said to the Jungle-cock, "O Jungle-cock,
[137] I am hungry."
At that time the Jungle-cock said falsely, "Let it be according to
the wish of the Cat-Lord."
Afterwards, when the Cat was approaching very near the Jungle-cock,
having sprung at the Cat's face and with his spurs having plucked out
both his eyes, the Jungle-cock flew away. The Cat there and then died.
Cultivating Caste. North-western Province.
The Precepts of Buddha to which reference is made in the first two
stories, are the Ata-sil, or Eight Precepts, the keeping of which
by lay devotees, called Upasakas, is a necessary obligation. The
first one prohibits the taking of life. The others are against
theft, immorality, lying, drinking intoxicants, eating after noon,
attendance at theatrical amusements, dancing, singing, etc., and
personal adornment.
In the Jataka story No. 128 (vol. i, p. 281) there is an account of
a Jackal who pretended to lead a saintly life, standing on one leg
because the earth could not support his weight if he stood on all four,
he said. He ate the rats which came to pay their respects to him,
always seizing the hindmost as they left. The King of the Rats waited
till the others had gone, and then sprang at the Jackal's throat and
killed him. The next story, No. 129, is similar.
In No. 384 (vol. iii, p. 170) a Crow pretended to be a saint, and
also stood on one leg for the same reason, saying that it fed only
on wind. When the other birds left it in charge of their young ones
it ate them. At last it was killed by the other birds.
In the Maha Bharata (Udyoga Parva) a Cat which pretended to be an
ascetic killed the mice that placed themselves under its protection.
In the Hitopadesa a Cat which gained the confidence of the birds by
its pious demeanour ate their young ones.
In the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. ii, p. 67, a pious Cat killed
a hare and a bird.
NO. 67
THE LIZARD AND THE LEOPARD
At a village there are a Leopard and a Lizard. [138] The Lizard and
Leopard cut a chena, it is said. Afterwards both having quarrelled
they divided the chena between them. In the part which the Lizard got
he planted Kaekiri creepers, which became large; in the part which
the Leopard got the Kaekiri died, and he abandoned it.
Then the Leopard ate the Kaekiri fruit in the Lizard's chena, and
after eating rubbed himself on his hams over the fruits that were on
the ground. So the Lizard gave some Kaekiri fruits to the smith, and
having got a small knife made took it away. After getting it made, the
Lizard ran it through some plucked Kaekiri fruits [and left it there].
Afterwards the Leopard came to eat Kaekiri. Having eaten, he rubbed
himself on the plucked Kaekiri fruits. Then the knife pierced him. Over
this matter the Leopard and Lizard quarrelled. Afterwards the Leopard,
having eaten cattle flesh, became strong again.
One day the Leopard told the Lizard that the Gamarala had a chena. The
Lizard said, "Ade! Where is it? Let me look at it." Having gone with
him to it, the Leopard shows him the fruits and says, "Ade! Lizard,
eat thou there. Lizard, eat thou here." The Gamarala having heard it
and having gone home, began to laugh. The Gama-Mahage (his wife) asked,
"What are you laughing at?" The Gamarala said, "A Leopard sitting
in the chena was saying and saying to a Lizard, 'Eat thou there,
Lizard. Eat thou here, Lizard.'"
Afterwards, when the Lizard was in the chena the Leopard goes to the
house of the Gamarala and says, "Gamarala, see! The Lizard is eating
thy chena." Then the Gamarala scolded him and said, "I heard thee
telling the Lizard, 'Eat thou there, Lizard. Eat thou here, Lizard.'"
Then the Leopard went to the Lizard, and said, "Friend, take thou my
piece of chena, and give me thy piece of chena." Because the Lizard
was afraid he said, "It is good," and they exchanged chenas. The
Lizard planted the abandoned piece in a thorough manner. The Leopard
ate the fruits in the part which he got, until they were finished.
After that, the Leopard went to the Lizard again, and said, "Friend,
let us exchange chenas again." The Lizard felt anger which he could
not bear, but because he was afraid he said again, "It is good,"
to that also.
Afterwards, the Lizard went to a man, and asked him to tell him a way
of succeeding, so as to fight the Leopard. The man said, "When he asks
you again, say you will not. The Leopard will come and quarrel with
you. Then say, 'We cannot fight in that manner. You go, and after
asking your mother about a means of success, return. I will go, and
after asking my mother about a means of success, will return.' Having
said it and come away, and having rolled in the mud and dried it,
and again rolled in the mud and dried it, by rolling in the mud and
doing thus you will become big. After that go to fight. The Leopard's
claws will not enter your body." All this the man told the Lizard.
Afterwards, one day the Leopard said, "Let us exchange chenas." The
Lizard told him as the man said. When the Leopard went to his mother
she told him to rub coconut oil over his body.
The Lizard having gone to a mud hole, jumps into it, and climbs onto
a post to dry the mud. Again it jumps into the mud and climbs onto
the post. Thus, having acted in that manner he caused much mud to be
smeared on his body.
After that, having met each other, the Leopard and Lizard quarrelled
again, and struck each other on the face. Then the Lizard springs on
the Leopard's back and scratches his flesh. The Leopard jumps about,
but only scratches mud off the Lizard.
Having fought in that way, the Leopard, becoming afraid, went
away. The Lizard went and washed off the mud. The Leopard having gone
and crawled under the corn store at a house, while sitting there says,
"Bite thou me here, too, Lizard. Bite thou me here, too, Lizard." [139]
While he was there saying it he saw a boy [near him]. Then the Leopard
says, "Ade! Do not tell any one, or I will kill thee." Because of it,
the boy being afraid did not tell any one.
Afterwards the Leopard, thinking, "The boy will tell it," came while
the boy [140] was asleep on the bed [in the veranda], and having
crept under the bed, lifted it on his back and went off with it,
in order to eat him. When the boy awoke and saw that the Leopard
was going along carrying him, he caught hold of a branch and hung by
it. After the Leopard, having gone a long distance, looked back the
boy was not there.
Then the Leopard came running back to seek him. Having seen that the
boy was on a branch, the Leopard asked, "Art thou descending to the
ground, boy? I shall eat thee."
The boy said, "Ade! Bola, art thou saying Bana? [141] I have no means
of stretching out my hands to descend," he said.
"What is in thy hands?" he asked.
"In this hand I have small Lizard's eggs; in this other hand I have
large Lizard's eggs," he said. "A sort of Lizards as big as Talipat
trunks and Coconut trunks will be coming."
Then the Leopard, saying, "Stay thou there, boy, until I have run a
little far," bounded off and ran away.
Duraya. North-western Province.
In The Orientalist, vol. i, p. 117 ff., the latter part of this
tale was given by Miss J. A. Goonetilleke, containing the fight of
the animals and the incidents that follow it. The animals were a
"Bloodsucker" Lizard and a "tiger," a word often used in Ceylon where
"leopard" is intended to be understood. There are no tigers in Ceylon.
An incident like that in the chena, in which the knife wounded the
Leopard, is found in Old Deccan Days (Frere), p. 177. In it a barber
tied a knife to a cucumber, and it wounded a Jackal who began to eat
the fruit.
In Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 240--Tales of the Punjab,
p. 227--a woman who was being carried off by robbers while on her bed,
seized a branch and climbed up a tree when they paused under a Banyan
tree. The same incident is given in The Orientalist, vol. i, p. 40.
With regard to the fear of the lizard which the leopard is described
in the Sinhalese story as exhibiting, I am able to state that it is
not much exaggerated. Many years ago, on returning to my bungalow one
day, at a tank in a wild part of the jungle, I found that a lizard of
the species mentioned in this tale--a Katussa or "Bloodsucker"--had
entered my bedroom. I brought up a tame, full-grown leopard which
I then had, and introduced it to the lizard, as a new experience for
it. At first it was inclined to play with the lizard, but on pretending
to seize it with its mouth it felt the spikes on the lizard's back,
and immediately showed the greatest fear of it. The attempts which
it made to escape when the lizard came in its direction were quite
ridiculous, and it became so terrified that I was obliged to take it
away to the security of its den, a large packing-case under a tree
to which it was tethered, leaving the lizard the complete master of
the situation, though probably nearly equally alarmed.
NO. 68
THE LION AND THE JACKAL
While an old Lion was in a rock cave, after a Jackal went there the
Lion says, "Ane! Bola, I have been thinking of eating fresh pig's
flesh." When he said, "When I ran and sprang at some Boars now I
couldn't catch one," the Jackal said, "If it come near this cave
can't you seize it, Sir?"
"In that way I can still do it. But will a Boar come near me? The
thing you are saying would be a wonder."
The Jackal says, "Somehow or other I will bring a Boar."
The jackal having walked about in the jungle, and having seen a Boar,
says, "How many days have I now been seeking thee!" After he had said,
"Why should I be of assistance to thee?" the Boar says, "Uwah! Why
is there so much need of it by me? Thou wilt not be of any assistance
to me."
The Jackal said, "Our King is there, having now become old. Is it
true or not, Cultivator, that as he told me to seek a person to give
the sovereignty to, I have been going about seeking thee? If not,
am I telling lies? Come along and go there with me."
Having gone near the Lion, taking him with him, the Jackal says,
"Now then, having gone near the King and made obeisance, take the
sovereignty." As the Boar was approaching in great fear the Lion
sprang at him. After he had seized him, the Boar, pushing off his paws,
bounded away.
Then the Jackal says, "Did a thunderbolt strike you, Sir? Why didn't
you hold the Boar?"
The Lion says, "Ane! Bola, did I fail? Are you saying it falsely? When
will such a Boar come near me again?"
As the King was sorrowful the Jackal says, "Are you mad, Sir, that
you doubt my powers? I will bring that one again now."
The Jackal having gone on the path on which the Boar went, and
having seen the Boar says, "What is the matter with thee? Ade! Did
a thunderbolt strike thee, that thou camest bounding away?"
The Boar says, "What did I come away for? Truly, I was running away. If
I had stayed there it would be seen why!"
Then the Jackal says, "If thou hadst stopped he wouldn't eat thee. Art
thou a person afraid to have the sovereignty bestowed on thee? What
was it? Except that he merely looked at thee he did not attempt to
eat thee, Cultivator. If he had done so wouldst thou be thus? [142]
No. Did he attempt the crime of eating thee?" [At last the Boar agreed
to return to the Lion.]
Afterwards, when they went near the Lion together, the Jackal
says, "Friend, go without fear, and tell him to hand over the
sovereignty." In that manner the Boar went near the Lion.
Having sprung with great force on the neck of the Boar, and broken
the neck, and broken the bone of the head, as he was going to eat
the brains the Jackal said, "Don't."
When the Lion asked, "Why not, Bola?" the Jackal says, "Though you,
Sir, exercise the sovereignty your wisdom is less than ours. Do kings
eat and drink in that manner?" After he had said, "Blood has fallen
on your body, Sir. Having gone to the river, bathing and drying your
body there, and having returned, be good enough to eat sitting down,"
the Lion went to bathe.
After he had caused him to go, the Jackal ate the Boar's brains,
and remained there silently. The Lion having come back, and taken the
skull in his paws, sought for the brain in order to eat it. When he
said, "There is no brain," the Jackal said, "Sir, don't you know so
much? Having once escaped death and gone away, would he again be caught
for killing if he had had brains? That one had no brains," he said.
Duraya. North-western Province.
HOW THE JACKAL CHEATED THE LION. (VARIANT.)
In a more ancient time than this, a Lion King dwelt in a certain
forest. A Jackal who lived in that very forest, establishing a friendly
state with the Lion began to reside near him. Should I state the mutual
trust of them both [it was this]--the Lion knew that although by the
aid of the Jackal's means of success (that is, advice and stratagems),
the Lion was seizing and eating the flesh of other animals, he did
not get from the Jackal any other assistance that ought to be given.
When a little time had passed in that way, it was evident that the
Jackal's body was becoming very fat. The Lion saw it, and assuming
a false illness remained lying down at the time when the Jackal
came. Having seen it, the Jackal made obeisance to the Lion, and asked,
"What, O Lord, are you lying down for? Has some ailment befallen Your
Majesty? Are you not going to hunt to-day?"
Then the Lion said, "My friend Jackal, a headache having afflicted me
to-day, I am in a very serious state. From this time onward, having
hunted, and eaten only the small amount of the brains of the animals,
I will give thee all the rest of the flesh. Do thou subsist on it. For
the reason that I am not well enough to go to hunt this day, thou
and I, both of us, must remain hungry. Art thou unable to go hunting
[alone] this day only?" he asked.
Thereupon the Jackal said to the Lion, "O Lord, is that which should
be done a difficult thing? Your Majesty will stay thus. I will go,
and will return calling some animal or other [to come] near Your
Majesty." Having instructed him to spring up and seize it as soon as
it comes, the Jackal went to seek animals.
While going for this purpose [it saw that] a Goat was tied in a
field. Having told many falsehoods to the Goat it returned, inviting it
[to come] near the Lion. Then the Lion sprang to seize it. Thereupon
the Goat, having become afraid, ran away. The Jackal went [after it],
and causing it to turn back again, returned [with it].
Then the Lion, having killed the Goat, went to bathe in order [to
purify himself, so as] to eat the small quantity of brains. In the
meantime the Jackal removed the brains, and having eaten them replaced
the skin.
The Lion having returned after bathing, when he came to split open the
skin in order to eat the brains, saw that there were no brains. Having
seen it, the Lion asked the Jackal, "Where are my brains?"
Thereupon the Jackal said, "O Lord, if this one had any brains would
it have come twice near Your Majesty? It came twice because it had
no brains." So saying the Jackal ate the small quantity of flesh also.
Western Province.
Improbable as the notion appears that an animal, other than insects or
fishes, would return into the same danger shortly after escaping from
it, one instance of this has come under the observation of myself and
a friend, with whose approval I insert this account of the occurrence.
As Mr. H. E. H. Hayes, late of the Public Works Department, Ceylon,
was walking one day near the water, at the embankment of the Vilankulam
tank in the Northern Province, a crocodile made its appearance suddenly
in the water near him, apparently attracted by his young terrier. He
fired a charge of snipe shot at its head, and it disappeared.
He and I went to the spot on the following day. I remained on the
look-out on the top of the bank, while he was partly hidden behind a
tree nearer the water. There he tweaked or pinched the dog so as to
make it yelp a little. Then we observed a crocodile's head raised
among some weeds far out in the tank. Not many minutes afterwards
the crocodile's head appeared out of the water only a few feet away
from the dog. Mr. Hayes at once shot it with his rifle; and when he
recovered it found the shot marks of the previous day in its head.
In this case it might almost be said with truth that the animal had no
brains, since the brain of an ordinary tank crocodile is only about the
size of a large walnut. When I split the skull of one, the men who were
with me could not find the brain cavity, and thought it had no brains.
In Indian Nights' Entertainment, Panjab (Swynnerton), p. 268, a Tiger
with a broken leg takes the place of the Lion, and a Jackal brought
an Ass to eat what he represented to be the superior grass at the
place. After the Tiger had killed it and eaten part of it, he crawled
to a spring for a drink, and in his absence the Jackal ate the heart
(which the Tiger wanted itself), and gave the same explanation of
its absence. The author added a note, "the heart among the Punjabis
being the seat of reason."
In the Panchatantra (Dubois), an Ass was brought to a sick Lion King
in order that he might eat the heart and ears, as a remedy for his
illness. When he was brought back the second time by a Jackal, the
Lion killed him and ate the heart and ears.
In the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), p. 85, there is a similar
story, except that after killing the Ass the Lion went to bathe,
and the Jackal then ate the heart and ears. He told the Lion that
"the creature never possessed ears or a heart, otherwise how could
he have returned when he had once escaped?"
STORIES OF THE RODIYAS
NO. 69
THE ROLL OF COTTON
In a certain country there is a city. In the city there are two
persons, an elder sister and a younger sister. There are two female
children of the two persons.
The younger sister took to spinning cotton. At that time her daughter
also came there. A roll of cotton was driven away in the wind out of
the daughter's hand. Then her mother beat the daughter. "Wherever it
should go do thou bring back the roll of cotton," she said. This girl,
weeping and weeping, follows the roll of cotton.
She came to a betel plot which a lame man had made. To this girl who
was following the roll of cotton the lame man says, "Ane! Pour water
on this betel plot and go, please," he said. Afterwards, having poured
it she went on. "The betel has been plucked," she said.
As she was going [she came to a place where] a dog was
tied. "Ane! Younger sister, tie me in the shade and go, please,"
he said. "While you are going home to-morrow there will be a haunch
of a bull tied up [for you]," he said. So having tied the dog in the
shade she went on.
Then the roll of cotton having gone on, stopped in a cane-brake. At
that time a King came there. That girl was tying hooked sticks in
order to get the roll of cotton. So the King said, "I will bring the
roll of cotton. Go thou to the royal palace and cook," he said.
The girl went and cooked. The King got the roll of cotton. The King
having gone, gave the roll of cotton to the girl.
After he had given it, both of them ate the cooked rice. After they
had eaten it the King called the girl to the house. Having called
her, he said to the girl, "Please take from these boxes any box thou
wantest," he said.
Then the girl, having looked at them, took a small sandalwood box.
Afterwards the King said, "This will provide a livelihood for the
persons who are rearing thee, also," he said.
Taking the box, she came near the dog that was tied up. There the dog
had tied up the haunch of a bull. Having taken the haunch of the bull
from there, she came near the lame man. Having got betel from there,
she came near her mother at the girl's house.
Having come there she opened that box. Having opened it, after she
looked [in it she found that] the box was full of silver and gold;
the box had been filled. Then that other elder sister and the elder
sister's daughter saw these articles [and heard how the girl obtained
them].
On the following day that mother and daughter took to spinning
cotton. Afterwards, from the mother's hand by force a roll of cotton
was carried away [by the wind]; having been carried away she beat the
daughter, and told her to bring the roll of cotton. So this daughter,
weeping and weeping, goes after the roll of cotton.
She goes near the lame man who is making the betel plot. Then the
lame man said, "Please pour water [on these plants]." Having said,
"I will not," she went by the place where the dog was. The dog said,
"Ane! Elder sister, tie me in the shade and go. As you go [home]
I will place a haunch of a bull for you," he said. Having said she
would not she went away.
The roll of cotton having gone into the very cane-brake, that also
stopped there. Then this girl was tying hooked sticks in order to
get the roll of cotton. Then the King [came there, and] said, "I will
bring the roll of cotton. Go thou to the palace and cook," he said.
The girl having gone, without any deficiency cooked rice and
vegetables. The King having taken the roll of cotton [there], both
of them went to eat the rice. Having gone and looked [at it in order]
to eat it, they could not eat it; it had the taste of water.
Having called the girl he said, "From these please take for thyself
any box thou wantest," he said.
This one having searched and searched, took in her arms a great
chest. Afterwards the King said, "Go thou; please open the box at
the place where thy mother and father are," he said.
The girl, after it became night, having summoned every one,
[143] opened the box. All [the things] in the box were cobras and
polangas. The cobras and polangas having bitten the people of the
village, destroyed them. They made all the village desolate.
Rodiya. North-western Province.
In Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 178--Folk Tales of the
Punjab, p. 167--there is an account of the good luck of a kind girl
and the bad luck of an unkind girl, but the incidents are unlike
those of the Sinhalese story.
NO. 70
THE JACKAL AND THE LEOPARD
In a certain country there is a Gamarala. There is a goat-fold of the
Gamarala's. At that goat-fold one by one the goats are disappearing
during the night. Afterwards the Gamarala having gone there [to watch
for the thief] went to sleep. In the hand of the Gamarala there was
a lump of salt chillies.
Afterwards the Leopard came at night. The Leopard lifting each goat
looks at it. Having looked, afterwards having lifted up the Gamarala
[and found he was the heaviest] he took him. Carrying him away he took
him to his rock cave. Then the Gamarala quickly [entered it, and] shut
the door. The Leopard then was trying to go into the cave. Having heard
the uproar the Jackal Panditaya came. "What is this, Sapu-flowers'
Minister, you are doing?" he asked.
"In other years I brought goats [and ate them without trouble]. That
one having entered the cave has shut the door."
"You, Sir, having put your tail inside the cave be pleased to wave it,"
he said; the Jackal Panditaya said. "Do not catch hold of the tail,"
he said [to the Gamarala]. "Otherwise, having put thy foot against the
wall, and having folded it two-fold or three-fold, hold it [fast],"
he said. "Do not jam a little of the golden salt chillies under the
tail of the Sapu-flowers' Minister," he said.
Then the Gamarala having seized the tail jammed in the salt
chillies. Afterwards the Sapu-flowers' Minister pulling out his tail
bounded away. Having bounded off and gone, he sat down on a flat
rock. Afterwards the Jackal Panditaya asked, "What are you on that
flat rock for?"
"I am looking if this country is fruitful or unfruitful," [144]
he said.
Again, the Gamarala, saving his life, went to the village. The Jackal
Panditaya went to the Gamarala. "What is it, Gamarala? Couldn't you
kill him?"
"While he was outside how could I, sitting in the cave, kill him?"
"I will tell you a trick for that one," the Jackal Panditaya
said. Afterwards he said, "You must make a trap for that one," he said.
"Where shall I make the trap?" [the Gamarala] asked.
"At the fence of the goat-fold," he said.
Afterwards he made the trap. The Sapu-flowers' Minister was noosed
in the trap. On the following day the Gamarala came to look. Having
come before the Gamarala, also the Jackal Panditaya came near the
trap. "Gamarala, to-day indeed he has been hanged," he said.
Etana metana to gasanne
Kambul baeta dipanne
Kanda sewanata aedapanne
"Strike thou there and here a blow;
Knocks upon the cheeks bestow;
Drag him to the hill's shadow,"
the Jackal Panditaya said.
Hampottayi to ganne
Malu tika mata denne.
Then he said--
"'Tis the skin will be for thee,
The little flesh thou'lt give to me."
Rodiya. North-western Province.
Part of this story was given in The Orientalist, vol. iv, p. 30. A
Jackal that had followed a Leopard which was trying to get at a man
who had taken refuge in a corn store, advised it to insert its tail
through a gap in the doorway, and wave it about. When it did so,
the Jackal said in the Peraelibasa, [145] which the Leopard did not
understand, Katu anuwe potun detak, which when transposed becomes
atu kanuwe detun potak, "Two or three twists round the pillar of the
corn store." The man acted as advised, and held the tail fast. When
some men came up they killed the Leopard.
NO. 71
HOW THE BOARS KILLED THE RAKSHASA
There is a certain city. There is a very great jungle belonging to
the city. A wild Sow stays in the jungle. The Sow having come to a
house on the high ground, and pains having come to her, gave birth
to a little Boar. The men of the house having seen the little Boar,
catching it and amply giving it to eat, reared it.
[After he had grown up], one day that village Boar says, "I cannot
remain thus." Having thought, "I must go to a great jungle," he
went away.
After that, having gone to the jungle, while he was there a Rakshasa
having come to that jungle was eating the large Boars. Afterwards the
village Boar said [to the others], "I will tell you a good trick,"
he said.
"What is it?" the other large Boars in the jungle asked.
"Please dig two very large wells. At the bottom make the two wells
one," [146] he said. "The large village Boar will be [on the ground]
in the middle of the two wells," he said. He told the other large
Boars to be round the well.
The Rakshasa every day comes to a rock. The large village Boar asks
the other large Boars, "This Rakshasa having come, what will you do
as he comes?"
The other Boars say, "This Rakshasa having come makes grimaces at us."
"Then ye also make grimaces," he said.
"Again, he inflates his sides at us."
"Do ye also inflate your sides," he said.
"He makes a very great roar."
"Do ye also at that time roar all together," he said.
On the following day the Rakshasa having come, and having looked
in the direction of the Boars, made grimaces, inflated his sides,
and made a very great roar. [The Boars did the same.]
Then the Rakshasa thought, "To-day these Boars will eat me." Thinking
this he went near the Lion.
Afterwards the Lion scolded him. "Ane! You also having gone, and
having been unable [to do anything], have you come back?"
"What am I to do? All that I do the Boars are doing."
Afterwards the Rakshasa again came to the place where the Boars
were. After that, the village great Boar says to the other Boars,
"To-day the Rakshasa is coming to eat us indeed. What shall we do?" he
said to the great Boars. "[This is what we will do.] The Rakshasa
having come, when he springs at the great Boars I will jump into the
well. Having jumped in, I will come to the ground by the tunnel [and
the other well]," he said. "Before I ascend you eat the Rakshasa,"
he said.
In that way the Rakshasa came. Having come, as he was springing [at the
Boar] the Boar jumped into the well. Then the Rakshasa having jumped
[in after him] they bit him and ate him up.
Afterwards the great village Boar asked the other Boars, "Who else
is there to eat your flesh?"
Then, "Still there is a Lion King," they said. Saying, "Ada! Seeking
him there, let us all go," they all went.
The Lion King as the Boars were coming climbed up a tree. Then the
Boars at once having broken the roots of the tree, felled the tree
to the ground. The Lion ran away.
Then the Boars, saying, "Seize him, seize him!" having gone chasing
him, killed the Lion.
Rodiya. North-western Province.
This tale is given in the Jataka story No. 492 (vol. iv, p. 217). A
Boar reared by a carpenter joined the wild ones, and taught them how
to kill a Tiger that devoured them, by means of two pits. The tunnel
connecting them is omitted. The Boar did not jump into the pit;
'only the Tiger fell into one of the pits when he sprang at the
Boar. After killing the Tiger they proceeded to kill a sham ascetic
who was his abettor, in the same manner as in the Sinhalese story.
Although the Rodiyas are not often present at the services at
the Buddhist temples, they go to them occasionally, not, however,
being permitted to enter the temple enclosure, but standing outside
it. There they can hear the reading of the sacred books (bana), and
perhaps in this manner they have learnt the story of the Boars. I have
not met with it as a folk-tale elsewhere. The reference to the tunnel
connecting the two pits shows that it has independent features. This
tunnel alone explains the excavation of the two pits, one to jump
into and the other to escape by.
NO. 72
THE GRATEFUL JACKAL
In a certain village there was a boy who looked after cattle. One day,
in the morning having taken the cattle [to graze], as they were going
to water, that boy, when a python seizing a Jackal was going to eat
it, went and beat the python, saying, "Ane! This python is going to
eat the Jackal, isn't it?"
Then the python having let the Jackal go seized the boy. So the boy
cried out, "Anda! Anda! O my father! The python has seized me!" he
cried.
Then the Jackal having come running, when he looked [saw that] the
python had caught the boy, and thinking "Ada! Because of me this one
seized the boy," the Jackal looking and looking backwards, ran off
[to fetch assistance]. After he had looked [to see] if there was
any one, there was no one. The Jackal heard several people in the
distance. The Jackal went running there. When he was going near the
men, the men said, "A mad Jackal has come," they said.
Then again the Jackal came running to the place where the python
was. Again he came running to the place where the men were. Having
come [there], after the Jackal looked [he saw that] the clothes of
men who were bathing were under a tree. The Jackal having gone to
the place where the clothes were, taking a waist cloth in his mouth
ran off. Having run off, and having put down the cloth at the place
where the python, holding the boy, was staying, the Jackal ran into
the jungle.
Then those men having seen that the Jackal which had taken the cloth
in its mouth was running away, saying, "Ada! The mad Jackal taking our
cloth in its mouth is running away," followed the Jackal. When they
looked, having seen that the python had seized the boy, they said,
"Ada! The python has caught such and such a one's boy and encircled
him."
Then those men who were ploughing and ploughing having all come
running, and having beaten and thrown down the python, saved the
boy. [Afterwards] those men asked at the hand of the boy, "What did
the python seize thee for?"
Then the boy said, "As I was coming the python had seized the Jackal,
and I was sorry. At that time I tried to save the Jackal, and that
one having let the Jackal go, seized me."
Rodiya. North-western Province.
STORIES OF THE KINNARAS
NO. 73
CONCERNING A MONK AND A YAKA
A monk, tying a Yaka [by magical spells] gets work from him. For seven
years he got work. Then the time having come for the Yaka to go, the
Yaka every day having gone near the monk says, "Monk, tell me a work
[to do]."
The monk said one day, "In Galgamuwa tank there will be seven
islands. Having gone there and planed them down, come back." After
that, the Yaka having gone and planed the tank, and having very
quickly come, said at the hand of the monk, "Monk, tell me a work."
Then the monk said, "Having cut a well of seven fathoms, and having
cut a Damunu [147] tree, and removed the splinters, and put it down
to the bottom of a well, and tied a creeper noose to the Damunu stick,
you are to draw it up [from inside the well] to the ground."
Afterwards the Yaka having cut a well of seven fathoms, and cut a
Damunu tree, and removed the bark from it, and tied a creeper noose
to it, and put the Damunu stick to the bottom of the well, the Yaka
sitting on the ground holding the creeper noose tried to draw it
out. He could not draw it. When he was drawing it, because there was
slime on the Damunu stick he was unable to draw it out.
On account of the time during which the Yaka had been delayed near
the well, the monk being afraid of the Yaka, the monk went backwards
and backwards for three gawwas (twelve miles). The Yaka having pushed
against the monk for so much time, and having got a bill-hook also, on
the road he drove him (the monk) away. Having gone there [afterwards]
to kill the monk, he met with the monk. After that, the Yaka threw the
bill-hook, so that having cut the monk with it he would die. After
he had thrown it, the bill-hook was behind, [148] and the monk was
in front [of it]. On account of that, the name [of the place] there
became Kaettaepahuwa [a village twenty-one miles from Kurunaegala,
on the road to Anuradhapura].
Kinnara. North-western Province.
This story is known throughout the district to the north of
Kurunaegala. The explanation of the Damunu tree incident which was
given to me is that the monk, being unable to find enough work for
the Yaka, gave him this task as one that would provide occupation for
him for a long time. When the bark is freshly removed, the Damunu
sticks are extremely slippery. The creeper was tied at one end in
a ring which was passed over the smooth stem of the tree. When the
Yaka endeavoured to raise the tree by pulling at the creeper, the
ring slipped up the stem instead of raising the tree.
Elsewhere in the same district I heard of another man, a villager,
who had mastered a Yaksani (female Yaka), and who made her perform work
for him. In appearance she was an ordinary female, and the man's wife
was unaware of her true character, as he had not informed her of it,
being afraid of alarming her. The man kept the Yaksani under control
by means of a magic iron nail, which he had driven in the crown of
her head. One day during his absence she went to her mistress, and
told her that a thorn had run into her head while she was carrying
firewood on it, and that she was unable to draw it out. The woman
extracted the nail for her, and the Yaksani, being then free, killed
the family, and escaped.
In Folk-Lore of Southern India (Natesa Sastri), p. 272--Tales of
the Sun, p. 285--there is a story of a landowner who learnt an
incantation by means of which he summoned a Brahma-Rakshasa, who
became his servant, at the same time informing him that if he failed
to provide work the Rakshasa would kill him. Everything he could think
of was done in an incredibly short time--tank repaired and deepened,
lands all cultivated--and there being nothing more to be done the wife
gave the demon a hair of her head to straighten. He failed to do it,
but remembering that goldsmiths heated wires when about to straighten
them, he placed the hair on a fire, which burnt it up. He was afraid
to face his mistress after it, so he ran away.
Regarding the thorn in the demon's head, see No. 20.
NO. 74
THE THREE SUITORS
In a certain country dwelt a man and a woman, it is said. These two
had a son and a daughter.
When a man came one day and asked for the daughter [in marriage]
at the hand of the father, the father said, "It is good. Come on
Wednesday." The man having said "Ha," went away.
Afterwards another man came and asked for the girl at the hand of
the mother. The mother said, "It is good. Come on Wednesday." The
man having said "Ha," went away.
After that, yet a man came and asked for her at the hand of the
girl's younger brother. The younger brother said, "It is good. Come
on Wednesday." The man having said "Ha," went away.
Well then, the company of three persons having come on Wednesday and
eaten rice and betel, caused the girl to come out [of the house],
inviting her to go. Then the three persons endeavoured to call her
to go in three [different] directions. Because the girl was unable
to settle the dispute she ate a kind of poison, and lying down died
there and then. Afterwards they buried her.
After that, the man who came first went to a sooth-sayer. The man who
came next watched alone at the place where they buried her. The man who
came last having said, "It doesn't matter to me," went to his village.
The man who went to ask for sooth having inquired about it, came to the
place where they buried the girl. Having come and made incantations
in the manner prescribed by the sooth-sayer, he made her arise,
and got her [back to life]. After she had recovered she went to the
village. The man also went there.
Now then, after the three men had come together there, the man who
brought her back to life asked, "To whom do you belong?"
The girl said, "The man who watched alone at the grave is my
mother. The man who went to inquire of the sooth-sayer is my
father. The man who went to his village is my man."
Having said this, the girl went with the man to his village.
Kinnari. North-western Province.
This is a story of Vikrama and the Vampire, one of the puzzling
questions set to the King being a decision as to whom the girl
belonged.
In Indian Nights' Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 237, the girl threw
herself down from the house-top. One of the suitors sprang on the
funeral pile, and was burnt with her. The second watched over the
grave. The third became a Fakir, and learnt how to revive the dead. He
revived both the girl and the burnt suitor. The merchant whose opinion
was required decided that the two who were burnt together were brother
and sister, the Fakir who gave them renewed life was their father,
and the man who merely sat by the grave must become her husband.
In the Jataka story No. 150 (vol. i, p. 321), there is an account of
a person who had learnt the spell for reviving the dead. In this case
it was a tiger, who killed him.
In Tota Kahani (Small), p. 139, out of three suitors for the hand of
a girl who was carried off by a fairy, one learnt the manner of her
disappearance and the place where she was, the second made a magical
flying wooden horse, on which the third rode to rescue her, killed
the fairy, and brought her back. The Parrot's decision was that the
last one had the best right to her, as he had risked his life for her.
NO. 75
THE CROCODILE AND THE JACKAL
In a river in a certain country a Crocodile stayed, it is said. While
it was living there, the Crocodile having become friendly with a Crab,
the Crocodile said to the Crab, "Friend, you call the Jackal to drink
water, so that I may seize and eat the Jackal after he has come." The
Crab said "Ha."
On the bank of that river there were Muruta [149] trees, and there
were flowers on those Muruta trees. The Crocodile said to the Crab,
"I will lie down on the high ground. You bring flowers that have
fallen below those Muruta trees and cover me." Having said [this],
the Crocodile lay down on the high ground near the water, and the
Crab having brought the Muruta flowers covered the Crocodile.
Having covered him, the Crab, calling the Jackal, came to drink
water. The Crocodile stayed as though dead. Then the Jackal having
come near the Crocodile said, "In our country, indeed, dead Crocodiles
wag their tails. This Crocodile, why doesn't he wag his tail? Maybe
he isn't dead."
Then that Crocodile which remained as though dead, wagged his
tail. After that, the Jackal, without stopping even to drink water,
bounded off, and went away.
Afterwards the Crocodile said to the Crab, "Friend, to-morrow I will
stop at the bottom of the water. You come there with the Jackal. Then
I will seize and eat him."
The Crab having said "Ha," on the following day came with the Jackal
to the place where the Crocodile was. Then the Crocodile seized the
Jackal by the foot [as he was going to drink water]. The Jackal said--
Kimbulundae raewatundae
Ketala ale dae gandae?
"Are the Crocodiles cheated quite,
Thus the Ketala yam to bite?"
Then the Crocodile let go. After that, on that day also without
drinking water he bounded off, and went away.
From that day, the Jackals having become angry with the Crabs, and
having seized and bitten the Crabs in the rice fields, place the Crabs'
claws on the earthen ridges in the fields.
Kinnara. North-western Province.
In The Orientalist, vol. ii, p. 46, there is a story of a Jackal
and a Crocodile, in the latter part of which the first incident is
given, the tree being a Veralu (Elaeocarpus serratus). The Crab is
not introduced into it.
In the Jataka story No. 57 (vol. i, p. 142) a Crocodile endeavoured
to entrap a Monkey by lying still on the top of a rock. The Monkey,
suspecting some trick, from the unusual height of the rock, addressed
the rock and inquired why it did not reply as usual. The Crocodile
then spoke.
In Indian Folk Tales (Gordon), p. 63, the God Mahadeo (Siva) took
the place of the Crocodile, in order to be revenged on the Jackal for
cheating him in the matter of the dead elephant (see No. 39, note);
and the two incidents of the shamming death and seizure of the root
are related.
In Old Deccan Days (Frere) p. 310, a Jackal escaped from an Alligator
[Crocodile] in the same manner.
NOTES
[1] See note at the end of the Introduction.
[2] Cf. Jataka, No. 206 (vol. ii, p. 106).
[3] From the Tamil kuppam, a village of small houses, perhaps +
ayam, ground.
[4] The Tamil stories of Mariyada Raman, or some of them, are known
in one district. Arabic is unknown.
[5] Folk-Tales of Kashmir, Knowles, 2nd ed., pp. 258 and 331.
[6] Agata anagata, as the early cave inscriptions say.
[7] Asurendraya.
[8] It is one of the greatest possible insults in the East to strike
a person with a broom. Even demons are supposed to be afraid of being
struck by it, and thus it is a powerful demon-scarer.
[9] A Kayiya, usually to provide help in clearing jungle, or ploughing,
or reaping, for which no pay is given, but the party are fed liberally.
[10] Ma Vi, the name of the largest variety of rice.
[11] Twenty-eight miles. According to Indian reckoning of about six
winks to a second, as given in the Maha Bharata, this would be an
orbit of about 14,500,000 miles, with a diameter of 4,620,000 miles.
[12] That is, the sun rises in the latitude of the district where the
story was related. This would be within a day or two of February 22.
[13] I cannot explain this remark.
[14] This is, where refreshing breezes blow.
[15] The deity of the planet Saturn.
[16] The narrator understood this to mean that large upright sheets
of glass were fixed round the bed.
[17] Mini Ran Kukula. The spelling in this and other instances is
according to the manuscripts, except in such words as Rakshasa and
Rakshasi, the village forms of which are Rasaya and Rasi; and Brahmana,
which is usually given as Brahmanaya.
[18] A word without any special meaning in English, often used in
addressing a person familiarly and somewhat disrespectfully.
[19] Amu (Paspalum scrobiculatum), the Tamil Varaku, a small grain
cultivated in jungle clearings.
[20] Three halfpence.
[21] Elawa gihin melawa awa, "Having gone to that world I came to
this world." This is a common saying, meaning in village talk, "What
a long and tiring journey I have had." According to the Rev. C. Alwis
it also means, "I almost died, and recovered." (The Orientalist,
vol. i, p. 62.)
[22] Light rice cakes.
[23] Old flower-seller.
[24] Moringa pterygosperma.
[25] A thing only done by a man's wife.
[26] Wangi tunak aeti, kembi dolahak aeti,
Apata waeduna duka me asapan kota kotali.
[27] Evidently a modern interpolation, as the Princess was represented
as using only a writing style.
[28] Loku mama.
[29] Lit. necks.
[30] This is the dress of a villager when visiting friends. A white
jacket is now often added.
[31] Literally, "Are we bad?"
[32] Up to this point the story follows one related by a Duraya;
the rest belongs to the cultivating caste.
[33] Literally, "Is there any coming for her?"
[34] Great Mother: The title of a mother's elder sister; her younger
sister is called Puñci-Amma, Little Mother. The letter c is pronounced
as ch in transliterations. I follow the village writers in not marking
the various forms of n; they write punci or punci.
[35] Moringa pterygosperma.
[36] Ran oncillawa.
[37] A well-to-do woman of the village. Gama-Mahage is the title of
the wife of a Gamarala, a village headman or elder.
[38] To search for insects. She would sit down for the purpose.
[39] Daboia russelli.
[40] Un mamma nasindayi,
Ranwan baena aende andandayi,
Ranwan akka samine wendayi.
[41] In these stories the Yakas are always evil spirits or demons.
[42] Piyanan-wahanse.
[43] The word used indicates the use of guns, and not bows and arrows.
[44] A Vedarala (medical practitioner) or another man who knows the
spells and magical practices which have power over demons.
[45] Araksha baendala.
[46] E minihata waehila, mayan wenda patangatta.
[47] The Sinhalese title is, "The manner in which the Youth who looked
after the Goats became King."
[48] Inferior Gods, ruled by Indra.
[49] Raja Gurunnanse, probably the Purohita Brahmana, the King's
spiritual adviser.
[50] A supernatural being who could take at will either a human form
or the shape of a cobra (naya or naga).
[51] Dohta karanawa = Dashta k., to give a poisonous bite.
[52] Panicum sp., probably miliare, an edible grass seed.
[53] Kankariya.
[54] Wes.
[55] Gigiri walalu.
[56] Silambu.
[57] Learned Brow.
[58] On account of the strangeness of this speech, I give the
Sinhalese words as they were written: Umba kaburupanjati jati umbe
muna (sic.) penendawat epa. Umbata hena waediyamin umbe jatakaya
ganin. It appears to be a Rabelaisian joke, and was considered such
by the person who narrated it.
[59] Otunne malu. This proves that the story is Indian, and perhaps
from the Panjab, there being no camels in Ceylon.
[60] The usual village spelling.
[61] Great Happiness.
[62] Equivalent to saying, "What things do you know?" Saestara,
the noun used, means sooth, knowledge of things, and science.
[63] The title "Vedarala" is applied both to native medical
practitioners and to demon expellers, who are also sooth-sayers.
[64] Twenty rupees, in a variant.
[65] Sihi buddi naetuwata mona saestara kiyamanada? This might also
be interpreted, "On account of the absence of Sihibuddi what saying of
sooth is there?" The long final i of female names is usually shortened
in conversation.
[66] A South Indian gold coin, with the figure of a boar, Varaha,
on the obverse, said by Winslow to be worth three and a half rupees.
[67] "A box in which the most valuable ornaments of the most frequent
use are kept, and which for the sake of safety is always placed at
the foot of the bed" (The Orientalist, vol. i, p. 59, footnote).
[68] Kumandaeyi mama karanne, which if not very clearly heard might
be translated, "It is Kumanda; I am doing it," or "I will do it."
[69] He might do any unusual acts of this sort without exciting much
astonishment, while apparently under the influence of "possession."
[70] Kurulu gama Appuge rissa giya. This might be translated,
"On the birds' moving, Appu's strength went."
[71] Sillu, "Hopscotch," a game omitted from my account of village
games in Ancient Ceylon. I have seen boys playing a form of Hopscotch
which may be this one. I do not understand the reference to "dragging"
the counters home after it, unless the meaning is "carrying." The
Sinhalese verb used is adinawa, which is sometimes employed with this
other meaning.
[72] Sadhu Maharajani.
[73] Gamaya.
[74] Ge-dora, which probably means only "house-door" in this case,
and not buildings, etc., in general.
[75] A creeper with long sharp thorns, punctures by which usually
cause ulcers.
[76] Polmicca kirilli.
[77] An imitation of the song of the bird, apparently.
[78] Mat ekka giyama nakeyi?
[79] "Stooping man, there is heat, heat."
[80] Kujija is a man who stoops. He may have thought it said,
"Stooping man, you are refuse."
[81] Kuti is a bend. He appears to have interpreted it as, "Stooping
man, you are bent, bent."
All these expressions are imitations of some of the notes of the
bird's song.
[82] Ge dorata.
[83] A Muhammedan trader or pedlar, called "elder brother" in an
honorary sense.
[84] Plural of Bola, regarding which see No. 5.
[85] Lit. "making."
[86] Hungak dura, "a great deal far," a common village expression.
[87] Nari-nayide; see also No. 56, and p. 28.
[88] The meaning is that no appearances can be trusted, not even those
of the earth and sky; but that sometimes untrustworthy things, even
such a dangerous thing as fire, are wrongly trusted. He was referring
to the judge's acceptance of the ridiculous statement regarding the
birth of the horse.
[89] Kokka, a word applied to several species of large waders. The name
of the Black Stork is Mana, but probably this is the bird referred to,
as in the Sinhalese variant.
[90] Aehae aeragassi.
[91] Apparently this is Kurma, turtle + marsha, mrish. The meaning
would be "Permit the Turtle" (to precede you). In The Orientalist,
vol. i, p. 87, in which this part of the story is also given, it is
stated that there is a saying, Kurmaya prativadena sinhasya maranan
yatha, "As the death of the lion by the reply [? Kurmarsha] of the
turtle."
[92] As in India, the tom-tom beaters were the weavers also in Ceylon,
until cheap imported cloth put an end to weaving. In the Folk Tales
of Bengal (Day), p. 233, the "proverbial simplicity" of weavers is
mentioned, and in several stories in Indian Nights' Entertainment
(Swynnerton) their foolishness is the chief theme. In the Jataka story
No. 59 there is an account of a foolish tom-tom beater boy also. See
also the story No. 10, in this volume.
[93] Calatropis gigantea.
[94] This is prosaic love-making!
[95] Probably in order to sell deer's flesh there.
[96] Canarium zeylanicum.
[97] Macacus pileatus.
[98] Berae.
[99] Haeliya.
[100] Called also, "The Deer and the Girl and Nikini."
[101] An expression often used in village talk, without any connexion
with its literal meaning, "O demon." "Fellow!" nearly expresses its
ordinary meaning, which is less respectful than that of the word Bola.
[102] Totra karanawa.
[103] Also written Lihiniya, "the Glider," a name applied to some hawks
and swallows, etc. The whole name is "Tusk-Elephant-Mountain Hawk,"
or Eagle. I could learn nothing of the "Tusk-Elephant Mountain." This
bird is the Rukh or Roc of the Arabian Nights.
[104] Apparently she was to swear by them, touching them at the
time. See No. 8, in which a Prince and Princess touched each other
when swearing an oath.
[105] An amuna is 5·7 bushels in the district where this story
was told.
[106] Little Mother, an expression meaning the mother's younger sister,
or the step-mother.
[107] Yabbaelli, apparently a kind of demon in the shape of a dog.
[108] Talla.
[109] The word used, nikan, "no-act," is employed in several senses;
when a thing is given nikan, it usually means "without payment." To
come or go nikan, is to come or go without any special reason or
business, and also to go empty-handed, as in a former tale.
[110] Mi Paetikki. It might be either a rat or a mouse.
[111] Unnanse namak. In the villages, namak, "a name," takes the
place of kenek, "person", in speaking of monks.
[112] Hakurun.
[113] Mulakun.
[114] Aewariyakun.
[115] Senawalaya.
[116] A contraction of Gama-ralahami. Hami is an intermediate form
between swami, "lord", and himi; Wanniyas still use the latter.
[117] The yoke of the plough is placed on the neck and fastened there,
on the Washerman's half of the animal.
[118] Because the mouth which grazes is in the Gamarala's half of
the cow.
[119] Rate wissa. The word is new to me; this appears to be the
meaning.
[120] Raja ho, ma ho, ganga ho. "Either the King, or I, or the river"
[floods] will come to an end (naeti wenawa). He meant that if the
periodical floods in the river did not come to an end, the job would
last during the King's life-time, and that if he gave it up he had
nothing else to live upon.
[121] Terminalia glabra.
[122] Kokka, a word which also means Egret, and some other large
wading birds.
[123] Lula (Ophiocephalus striatus).
[124] Kanakoka (Ardeola grayi).
[125] Triple-wreathed famous one.
[126] Probably, "He that moves about in the jungle," derived from the
Tamil words kadu, jungle--in compounds, kattu--and salam, Skt. cala,
moving, unsteady. The bird is Centrococcyx rufipennis, which utters
a booming call, and has red eyes.
[127] Tamil, tonku, to move with leaps, Skt. twang, to leap,
gallop + ka, doer.
[128] Maha tokkama.
[129] Tokkam dekak.
[130] Lay devotee.
[131] Rala is an honorific termination, nearly equivalent to our Mr.
[132] Tun-iri Mudiyanse, (Sciurus tri-striatus), a small squirrel
with three yellow dorsal lines.
[133] Lit. "Having guarded, I must place it."
[134] Mini-gedi.
[135] Miyane.
[136] Lenane.
[137] Wali-kukulane.
[138] Katussa (Calotes sp.), a small lizard with a long tail, and
spikes on the back, commonly called "Bloodsucker" in Ceylon.
[139] Perhaps this means that the Leopard found some places where
the Lizard had not yet bitten him.
[140] A variant says it was the Gamarala.
[141] "Art thou reciting the Buddhist Scriptures?" Used colloquially
with the meaning, "What nonsense you are talking."
[142] Ehema nan ehemada, "If so (would it be) so?"
[143] Seramantama.
[144] That is, as we should say, "I have come here to enjoy a view
of the scenery!"
[145] There appears to be some doubt regarding the spelling of this
compound word. I give it as I have heard it. Except in the last letter
I have followed that of the late Mr. W. Goonetilleke, the learned
Editor of The Orientalist, who in vol. i, p. 8, of that journal said
of it: "Perelibase therefore means 'the language of transposition,'
or 'the transposed language.'" In Clough's Dictionary the second
word is spelt basa. In Mr. A. M. Gunasekara's excellent Sinhalese
Grammar the spelling is peralibasa in the Index, and perali base (or
bhashawa) in the paragraph dealing with it. Professor E. Müller-Hess
has drawn my attention to the form pereli on one of the inscribed
tablets at Mihintale.
[146] That is, unite them by a tunnel.
[147] Grewia tiliaefolia (?).
[148] Kaetta pahuwuna.
[149] Lagerstroemia flos-reginae.
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