{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_35060/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_35060","id":"gutenberg_35060","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35060","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Santal (South Asian people) -- Folklore","Santali literature -- Translations into English","Tales -- India"],"text":"</pre>\n\n\n\nProduced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project\nGutenberg (This book was produced from scanned images of\npublic domain material from the Google Print project.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                           SANTAL FOLK TALES.\n\n\n                      Translated from the Santali\n                                   By\n\n                              A. CAMPBELL,\n\n\n                Free Church of Scotland Santal Mission,\n\n                         Santal Mission Press,\n\n                               Pokhuria.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                  Printed at the Santal Mission Press,\n                               Pokhuria.\n\n                                 1891.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nOf late years the Folk tales of India have been the subject of much\nstudy and research, and several interesting collections of them have\nbeen published. But I am not aware that as yet the folk lore of the\nSantals, has received the attention which it deserves. The Santals\nas a people, have, to a remarkable degree, succeeded in resisting the\nsubtle Hinduising influences to which they have long been exposed, and\nto which such a large number of aboriginal tribes have succumbed. They\nhave retained their language, institutions, tribal organization, and\nreligion almost intact. Their traditions show the jealousy with which\nthese have been guarded, and the suspicion and distrust with which\ncontact with their Aryan neighbours was regarded. The point at which\nthey have been most accessible to outward influence and example, is\nin their relations with the aboriginal tribes, who in a more or less\ndegree have merged themselves in Hinduism. Hindu ideas, customs and\nbeliefs, filtering through these tribes, became considerably modified\nbefore they reached the Santals, and were therefore less potent in\ntheir effects than if they had been drawn from the fountain head of\nHinduism itself. Still, in respect to their aboriginal neighbours\nthey are always on their guard, ready to repel any innovation on\ntheir customs or religion with which they may be threatened. In the\nfolk tales of such a people we may well expect to find something,\nif not altogether new, still interesting and instructive from an\nethnological point of view, and this expectation, I believe, would be\nabundantly gratified if they were only made accessible to those who,\nby training and study, are competent to deal with them.\n\nSantal folk-tales may be divided into two classes--those apparently\npurely Santal in their origin, and those obtained from other\nsources. Those of the first class are by far the more numerous,\nand besides showing the superstitious awe with which the Santals\nregard the creations of their own fancy, they throw a flood of\nlight upon the social customs and usages of this most interesting\npeople. The second class embraces a large number of the more popular\ntales current among the Hindus and semi-Hinduised aborigines. These,\nalthough adapted and modified by the Santals to suit their language,\nmodes of thought, and social usages, may generally be detected by the\npresence of proper names, or untranslatable phrases which unmistakably\nindicate the source from which they have been derived.\n\nThese tales were taken down in Santali at first hand, and are therefore\ngenuine and redolent of the soil. In translating them I have allowed\nmyself considerable latitude without in any way diverging so far from\nthe original as to in any degree impair their value to the student\nof Indian Folk-lore.\n\nIt was to be expected that in the popular tales of a simple, unpolished\npeople like the Santals, expressions and allusions unfitted for ears\npolite would be found. In all such cases the changes which have been\nmade are in accord with Santal thought and usage, so that the tales\nare, notwithstanding these alterations, thoroughly Santali.\n\nI have aimed at making these Santal Folk-tales, in their English dress,\ntrue to the forests and hills of their nativity. I am not without hope,\nthat in this I have succeeded in some small degree.\n\nA number of the tales included in this volume have already appeared\nin the Indian Evangelical Review, but in this collected form they\nare more likely to prove of service to those who take an interest in\nthe subject.\n\nThis volume of Santal Folk-Tales is offered as a humble contribution\nto the Folk-lore of India.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n                                                 Page.\n\n    The Magic Lamp                                   1\n    The Two Brothers, Jhorea and Jhore               6\n    The Boy and his Stepmother                      15\n    The Story of Kara and Guja                      18\n    The King and his inquisitive Queen              22\n    The Story of Bitaram                            25\n    The Story of Sit and Bosont                     33\n    The Story of a Tiger                            40\n    Story of a Lizard, a Tiger, and a lame Man      42\n    The Story of a Simpleton                        45\n    A Thief and a Tiger                             49\n    The Magic Fiddle                                52\n    Gumda the Hero                                  57\n    Lipi and Lapra                                  62\n    The Story of Lelha                              65\n    The Story of Sindura Gand Garur                 89\n    The Tiger and Ulta's Mother                     93\n    The Greatest Cheat of Seven                     98\n    The Story of Two Princesses                    102\n    Seven Brothers and their Sister                106\n    The Story of Jhore                             111\n    The Girl who always found helpers              119\n    A Simple Thief                                 125\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSANTAL FOLK-TALES.\n\nTHE MAGIC LAMP.\n\n\nIn the capital of a certain raja, there lived a poor widow. She had\nan only son who was of comely form and handsome countenance. One\nday a merchant from a far country came to her house, and standing\nin front of the door called out, \"dada, dada,\" (elder brother). The\nwidow replied, \"He is no more, he died many years ago.\" On hearing\nthis the merchant wept bitterly, mourning the loss of his younger\nbrother. He remained some days in his sister-in-law's house, at the\nend of which he said to her, \"This lad and I will go in quest of the\ngolden flowers, prepare food for our journey.\" Early next morning they\nset out taking provisions with them for the way. After they had gone\na considerable distance, the boy being fatigued said, \"Oh! uncle I can\ngo no further.\" The merchant scolded him, and walked along as fast as\nhe could. After some time the boy again said, \"I am so tired I can go\nno further.\" His uncle turned back and beat him, and he, nerved by\nfear, walked rapidly along the road. At length they reached a hill,\nto the summit of which they climbed, and gathered a large pile of\nfirewood. They had no fire with them, but the merchant ordered his\nnephew to blow with his mouth as if he were kindling the embers of\na fire. He blew until he was exhausted, and then said, \"What use is\nthere in blowing when there is no fire?\" The merchant replied \"Blow,\nor I shall beat you.\" He again blew with all his might for a short\ntime, and then stopping, said, \"There is no fire, how can it possibly\nburn?\" on which the merchant struck him. The lad then redoubled his\nefforts, and presently the pile of firewood burst into a blaze. On\nthe firewood being consumed, an iron trap-door appeared underneath the\nashes, and the merchant ordered his nephew to pull it up. He pulled,\nbut finding himself unable to open it, said, \"It will not open.\" The\nmerchant told him to pull with greater force, and he, being afraid lest\nhe should be again beaten, pulled with all his might, but could not\nraise it. He again said, \"It will not open,\" whereupon the merchant\nstruck him, and ordered him to try again. Applying himself with all\nhis might, he at length succeeded. On the door being raised, they saw\na lamp burning, and beside it an immense quantity of golden flowers.\n\nThe merchant then said to the boy, \"As you enter do not touch any of\nthe gold flowers, but put out the lamp, and heap on the gold tray as\nmany of the gold flowers as you can, and bring them away with you.\" He\ndid as he was ordered, and on reaching the door again requested his\nuncle to relieve him of the gold flowers, but he refused, saying,\n\"Climb up as best as you can.\" The boy replied, \"How can I do so,\nwhen my hands are full?\" The merchant then shut the iron trap door\non him, and went away to a distant country.\n\nThe boy being imprisoned in the dark vault, wept bitterly, and having\nno food, in a few days he became very weak. Taking the lamp in his\nhand, he sat down in a corner, and without knowing what he was doing,\nbegan to rub the lamp with his hand. A ring, which he wore on his\nfinger, came into contact with the lamp, and immediately a fairy\nissued from it, and asked, \"What is it you want with me?\" He replied,\n\"Open the door and let me out.\" The fairy opened the door, and the\nboy went home taking the lamp with him. Being hungry, he asked for\nfood, but his mother replied, \"There is nothing in the house that I\ncan give you.\" He then went for his lamp, saying, \"I will clean it,\nand then sell it, and with the money buy food.\" Taking the lamp\nin his hand he began to rub it, and his ring again touching it, a\nfairy issued from it and said \"What do you wish for?\" The boy said\n\"Cooked rice and uncooked rice.\" The fairy immediately brought him\nan immense quantity of both kinds of rice.\n\nSometime after this, certain merchants brought horses for sale, and\nthe boy seeing them wished to buy one. Having no money, he remembered\nhis lamp, and taking it up, pressed his ring against it, and the\nfairy instantly appeared, and asked him what he wanted. He said,\n\"Bring me a horse,\" and immediately the fairy presented to him an\nimmense number of horses.\n\nWhen the boy had become a young man, it so happened, that one day\nthe raja's daughter was being carried to the ghat to bathe, and he\nseeing her palki with the attendants passing, went to his mother and\nsaid, \"I am going to see the princess.\" She tried to dissuade him,\nbut he insisted on her giving him permission, so at length she gave\nhim leave. He went secretly, and saw her as she was bathing, and\non returning home, said to his mother, \"I have seen the princess,\nand I am in love with her. Go, and inform the raja that your son\nloves his daughter, and begs her hand in marriage.\" His mother said,\n\"Do you think the raja will consider us as on an equality with him?\" He\nwould not, however, be gainsaid, but kept urging her daily to carry his\nmessage to the raja, until she being wearied with his importunity went\nto the palace, and being admitted to an audience, informed the raja\nthat her son was enamoured of the princess, his daughter, and begged\nthat she might be given to him in marriage. The raja made answer that\non her son giving him a large sum of money which he named, and which\nwould have been beyond the means of the raja himself, he would be\nprepared to give his daughter in marriage to her son. The young man\nhad recourse to his lamp and ring, and the fairy supplied him with a\nmuch larger sum of money than the raja had demanded. He took it all,\nand gave it to the raja, who was astonished beyond measure at the\nsight of such immense wealth.\n\nAfter a reasonable time the old mother was sent to the raja to\nrequest him to fulfil his promise, but he, being reluctant to see\nhis daughter united to one so much her inferior in station, in hope\nof being relieved from the obligation to fulfil his promise, demanded\nthat a palace suited to her rank and station in life be prepared for\nher, after which he would no longer delay the nuptials. The would-be\nbridegroom applied to his never failing friends, his lamp and ring,\nand on the fairy appearing begged him to build a large castle in\none night, and to furnish and adorn it as befitted the residence\nof a raja's daughter. The fairy complied with the request, and the\nwhole city was amazed next morning at the sight of a lordly castle,\nwhere the evening before there had not been even a hut. The dewan\ntried to dissuade the raja, but without effect, and in due time the\nmarriage was celebrated amid great rejoicings.\n\nOn a certain day, some time after the marriage, the raja and his\nson-in-law went to the forest to hunt. During their absence, the\nmerchant to whom reference has already been made, arrived at the castle\ngate, bearing in his hand a new lamp which he offered in exchange to\nthe princess for any old lamp she might possess. She thought it a good\nopportunity to obtain a new lamp in place of her husband's old one,\nand without knowing what she did, gave the magic lamp to the merchant,\nand received a new one in return. The merchant rubbed his ring on the\nmagic lamp, and the fairy obeyed the summons, and desired to know what\nhe wanted. He said, \"Convey the castle as it stands with the princess\nin it, to my own country,\" and instantly his wish was gratified.\n\nWhen the raja and his son-in-law returned from the chase, they were\nsurprised and alarmed to find that the palace with its fair occupant\nhad vanished, and had not left a trace behind. The dewan reminded\nhis master that he had tried to dissuade him from rashly giving his\ndaughter in marriage to an unknown person, and had foretold that\nsome calamity was sure to follow. The raja being grieved and angry\nat the loss of his daughter, sent for her husband, and said to him,\n\"I give you thirteen days during which to find my daughter. If you\nfail, on the morning of the fourteenth, I shall surely cause you to\nbe executed.\" The thirteenth day arrived, and although her husband\nhad sought her every where, the princess had not been found. Her\nunhappy husband resigned himself to his fate, saying, \"I shall go\nand rest, to-morrow morning I shall be killed.\" So he climbed to\nthe top of a high hill, and lay down to sleep upon a rock. At noon\nhe accidentally rubbed his finger ring upon the rock on which he\nlay, and a fairy issued from it, and awaking him, demanded what\nhe wanted. In reply he said, \"I have lost my wife and my palace,\nif you know where they are, take me to them.\" The fairy immediately\ntransported him to the gate of his castle in the merchant's country,\nand then left him to his own devices. Assuming the form of a dog,\nhe entered the palace, and the princess at once recognized him. The\nmerchant had gone out on business, and had taken the lamp with him,\nsuspended by a chain round his neck. After consultation, it was\ndetermined that the princess should put poison in the merchant's\nfood that evening. When he returned, he called for his supper, and\nthe princess set before him the poisoned rice, after eating which\nhe quickly died. The rightful owner repossessed himself of the magic\nlamp, and an application of the ring brought out the attendant fairy\nwho demanded to know why he had been summoned. \"Transport my castle\nwith the princess and myself in it back to the king's country, and\nplace it where it stood before,\" said the young man; and instantly\nthe castle occupied its former position. So that before the morning\nof the fourteenth day dawned, not only had the princess been found,\nbut her palace had been restored to its former place. The raja was\ndelighted at receiving his daughter back again. He divided his kingdom\nwith his son-in-law, giving him one-half, and they ruled the country\npeacefully and prosperously for many years.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE TWO BROTHERS, JHOREA, AND JHORE.\n\n\nThere were two brothers, whose parents died, leaving them orphans\nwhen very young. The name of the elder was Jhorea, and of the younger\nJhore. On the death of their parents, the two brothers went to seek\nemployment, which they found in a certain village, far from where\ntheir home had been. The elder, Jhorea, was engaged as a farm servant,\nand the younger, Jhore, as village goat-herd.\n\nAfter some time, it so happened that one day the brothers had no rice\nfor their dinner, and Jhorea said to his brother, \"Go to the owners of\nthe goats you herd, and ask them for the hire they promised you. One\nwill give you a pai, another a pawa, and a third a paila, and so\non, according to the number of animals they have in your charge;\nsome will give you more and others less, bring what you get, and\ncook some for dinner.\" The boy went as he was ordered, and entering\nthe first house he came to, said, \"Give me a pai.\" They said: \"What\ndo you want with a pai?\" \"Never mind what I want with it, give it,\"\nhe replied. So they gave him a pai. Then he went to another house\nand said, \"Give me a pawa.\" \"What do you want with a pawa?\" they\nsaid. \"Never you mind, give it to me,\" and they gave him a pawa. He\nthen went to a third house and asked for a paila. \"What do you want\nwith a paila?\" they enquired. \"Never you mind, give it to me,\" he\nreplied. Instead of bringing rice he brought the wooden measures, and\nbreaking them into small pieces, put them into the pot to cook. The\nelder brother was ploughing, and being very hungry, he kept calling\nout, \"Cook the rice quickly, cook the rice quickly.\" His brother being\nimpatient, he stirred the contents of the pot with all his might, at\nthe same time exclaiming, \"What can be the matter brother? it is very\nhard.\" The elder brother came to see what was wrong, and on looking\ninto the pot saw only pieces of wood. He became very angry, and said,\n\"I sent you to bring rice, why did you bring measures?\" To which he\nreplied, \"You told me to ask a pai from one, a pawa from another,\nand a paila from a third, and I did so.\"\n\nThe elder then said to the younger, \"You go and plough, and if the\nplough catch in a root on the right hand, cut the root on the left\nhand, and if it catch in a root on the left side, cut the root on\nthe right side, and in the meantime I will cook.\" He went and began\nto plough, and in a short time the plough caught in a root on the\nright, and not understanding the directions given to him, he struck\nthe left hand bullock a blow on the leg with his axe. The bullock\nlimped along a short distance. When the plough caught in a root on\nthe left, he smote the bullock on the right, wounding it as he had\ndone the other. Both of the bullocks then lay down, and although he\nbeat them they did not get up. He therefore called to his brother,\n\"These bullocks have lain down, and will not get up, what shall I\ndo?\" \"Beat them,\" was the reply. Again he beat them, but with no\nbetter result. The elder brother then came, and found that the oxen\nhad been maimed, and were unable to stand, at which he became greatly\nalarmed, and said, \"Why did you maim the oxen? The owners will beat\nus to death to-day.\" He then gave him some parched grain to eat,\nand sent him to look after his goats. The sun being hot, the goats\nwere lying in the shade chewing their cud. He sat down near them,\nand began to eat the parched grain. Seeing the goats moving their\njaws as if eating, he said, \"These goats are eating nothing, they\nare lying there mocking me,\" and becoming enraged, he killed them\nall with his axe. Then going to his brother, he said, \"Oh! brother,\nI have killed all the goats.\" His brother asked, \"Why did you kill\nthem?\" He replied, \"While I was watching them and eating the parched\ngrain which you gave me, I saw them chewing, and as they were eating\nnothing I knew they were mocking me, and so I killed them all.\" The\nelder brother became greatly alarmed, and calling to the younger to\ncome, they quickly ate their dinner, and then went to where the goats\nwere lying dead. From among them they chose the fattest, and carried\nit off to the jungle, where they flayed, and cut it into pieces.\n\nJhore then said, \"I shall take the stomach as my share,\" but his\nbrother said, \"No, let us take the flesh.\" Jhore, however, would not\nagree to that, and at length his brother said, \"Well you take the\nstomach, I shall take the flesh.\" So each took what he fancied most,\nand they set off. After travelling a long distance, they came to a\nlarge tree growing on the side of the road, into which they climbed\nfor safety. After they had been some time on the tree, a raja on his\nway to be married, lay down to rest in its shade, and when he and\nhis attendants had fallen asleep, Jhore let the goat's stomach fall\ndown on the raja. The raja having his rest thus rudely disturbed,\nsprang to his feet, and calling out, awoke his servants, who seeing\nthe goat's stomach, and not knowing what had happened, thought the\nraja himself had burst. They fled in terror followed by the raja,\nand did not halt till they were many miles away from the scene of\nthe raja's discomfiture.\n\nAfter waiting a little while, the brothers descended, and began to\nhelp themselves to the raja's property. Jhore said, \"I shall take the\ndrum.\" His brother said, \"No, let us take the brass vessels and the\nclothes.\" Jhore, however, insisted, and after considerable wrangling,\nhis brother said, \"Well, take the drum if you will have it, I shall\ntake the brass vessels and the clothes.\" So each took what pleased\nhim best, and then they went away and hid in the jungle.\n\nWhile walking about in the jungle, they collected bees, wasps, and\nother stinging insects, and put them into the drum. Having filled the\ndrum, they emerged from the forest at a place where a washerman was\nwashing clothes. Jhore tore all his clothes into strips, and scattered\nthem about. The washerman went and told the raja that two persons\nhad come out from the jungle, and had destroyed all his clothes. On\nhearing this, the raja said to his servants, \"Come, and let us fight\nwith these two men.\" So arming themselves with guns, they went to the\ntank where Jhorea and Jhore were sitting, and began to shoot at them,\nbut the bullets did them no harm. When their ammunition was exhausted,\nthey said, \"Will you still fight?\" The brothers answered, \"Yes, we\nwill fight.\" So they began to fire their guns, and beat their drum,\nand the bees and wasps issued from it like a rope, and began to sting\nthe raja and his soldiers, who to save themselves, lay down and rolled\non the ground. The raja, in anguish from the stings of the bees,\nexclaimed, \"I will give you my daughter, and half of my kingdom,\nif you will call off the bees.\" Hearing this they beat the drum,\nand calling to the bees and wasps, ordered them all to enter the drum\nagain, and the raja and his people went to their homes. The brothers\nhowever, could not agree as to who should marry the princess. One said,\n\"You marry her.\" The other said, \"No, you marry her.\" The younger at\nlength said to the elder, \"You are the elder, you should take her,\nas it is not fitting that you should beg. If I were to marry her,\nI could no longer go about begging.\" So the elder brother married\nthe princess, and became the raja's son-in-law.\n\nThe two settled down there, and cultivated all kinds of crops. One\nday the elder brother sent his younger brother to bring a certain\nkind of grain. Taking a sickle and a rope to tie his sheaves with, he\nwent to the field. Arrived there, he found that the grain was covered\nwith insects. So he set fire to it, and while it was burning he kept\ncalling out, \"Whoever desires to feast on roasted insects, let him\ncome here.\" When his brother knew what he had done, he reprimanded\nhim severely.\n\nSome time afterwards, when the black rice was ripe, he again\nordered him to go and reap some, so getting a sickle, and rope to\nbind his sheaves with, he went to the rice field. On looking about\nto see where he would begin, he discovered that each stalk of rice\nwas covered with flies. \"There is nothing here but flies. How can I\nreap this?\" Saying this, he set fire to the growing rice and burnt\nit all to the ground. His brother, when he knew what had happened,\nwas very much displeased and threatened to beat him.\n\nOn another day he was sent to cut jari [1] to make ropes, so taking\nhis sickle, he set off to the field of jari. As soon as he began\nto cut the stalks, the seeds rattled in the pods, hearing which he\nstopped and called out, \"Who is calling me?\" After listening awhile\nand hearing nothing he began again, and the same noise issuing from\nthe plant he was cutting, he said, \"These plants are remonstrating\nwith me for cutting them.\" So being offended, he set fire to and\nburnt down the whole crop of jari.\n\nOn being informed of his brother's action, Jhorea seized a stick,\nand ran after him to beat him, but could not overtake him. In the\ndirection Jhore was running, there were some men flaying an ox, and\nJhorea called to them to lay hold of his brother. They could not,\nhowever, accomplish this, but as he passed, they threw the stomach\nof the ox at him, which he caught in his arms and carried away with\nhim. Finding a drain that was open at both ends, he crept in at one\nend, and passed out at the other, but left the ox's stomach behind\nhim. His brother soon arrived at the drain, and thinking he was still\nthere, tried to drive him out by pushing in a stick, the sharp point\nof which perforated the ox's stomach. On withdrawing the stick, and\nseeing the contents of the ox's stomach adhering to it, he thought he\nhad pierced and killed his brother, but he having passed out at the\nother end had run swiftly home, and hid himself among the rafters of\nthe house. Jhorea returned home weeping, and immediately began to make\nthe preparations necessary for Jhore's funeral ceremonies. He caused\na sumptuous feast to be got ready, and invited all his relations and\nfriends. When they were all assembled, he went into the house to offer\nJhore his portion. Presenting it, he said: \"Oh! my brother Jhore, I\noffer this to you, take it, and eat it.\" Jhore, from among the rafters\nsaid, \"Give it to me brother, and I shall eat it.\" His brother, not\nexpecting an answer, was alarmed, and fled to his friends without,\nexclaiming, \"Do the spirits of dead men speak? Jhore's speaks.\"\n\nIt now being dark, Jhore descended from his perch, and taking up the\nfood which had been cooked for his funeral feast, left the house\nby another door. Passing on to the high way, he kept calling out,\n\"Travellers by the road, or dwellers in the jungle, if you require\nfood, come here.\" Some thieves hearing him, said, \"Come, let us go and\nask some.\" So going to him they said, \"Give us some too, Jhore.\" But\nhe replied, \"It is for me alone.\" On their asking a second time,\nhe give it to them. After they had eaten it all, they said to him,\n\"Come, let us go a thieving.\" So they went to a house, and while the\nthieves were searching for money, Jhore went and picked up small pieces\nof pottery, and tied them up in his cloth. When they met afterwards,\nseeing Jhore's bundle of what appeared like rupees, they said,\n\"You were not with us, where did you get the money?\" Opening his\nparcel, he shewed them the pieces of pottery, seeing which they said,\n\"We will not have you as our comrade.\" He replied, \"Then return the\nfood which you ate.\" As they could not comply, they agreed to take\nhim with them. Jhore then said, \"Where shall we go now?\" They replied,\n\"To steal cloth.\" So they went to a house, and while the robbers were\nsearching for cloth, Jhore began to pull the clothes from off the\nsleeping inmates. This awoke them, and starting up, they began to call\nloudly for help. The thieves made off, and Jhore with them. Seeing\nJhore had spoiled their game, they said to him, \"We will not allow\nyou to go with us again.\" He said, \"Then give me back the food you\nate.\" Not being able to do so, they said, \"Well, we will allow you\nto accompany us this once.\" Jhore then said, \"What shall we steal\nnow?\" The thieves answered, \"We shall now go to steal horses.\" So\nthey went to a stable, and each of the thieves helped himself to a\nhorse; but Jhore going behind the house, found a large tiger which he\nsaddled and mounted. The thieves also mounted each on the horse he\nhad stolen. As they rode along, Jhore's tiger sometimes went first,\nand sometimes the thieves' horses. When the thieves were in front,\nJhore's tiger bit and scratched their horses, so they said to him,\n\"You ride first, we shall follow.\" But Jhore said, \"No, my horse is a\nHindu horse, he cannot run in front, your horses are Santal horses,\nthey run well and straight, so you ride ahead.\" When day began to\ndawn, Jhore's tiger evinced a tendency to leave the road and take to\nthe jungle, but Jhore holding him in, exclaimed, \"Ha! ha! my Hindu\nsteed, ha! ha! my Hindu steed.\" When it was fully light, the tiger\nran into the jungle, and Jhore got caught in the branch of a tree,\nand continued dangling there for some days.\n\nIt so happened that one morning a demon passing that way spied Jhore\ndangling from the tree, and seizing him, put him in a bag and carried\nhim away. Being thirsty, he laid the bag down, and went to a spring\nto drink. While he was absent, Jhore got out of the bag, and putting\na stone in instead, ran away. The demon having quenched his thirst,\nreturned, and lifting the bag carried it home. His daughter came to\nwelcome him, and he said to her, \"Jhore is in the bag, cook him,\nand we shall have a feast.\" He then went to invite his friends to\nshare it with him. When the demon's daughter had opened the bag,\nshe found the stone, and was angry, because her father had deceived\nher. In a short time her father returned, bringing a large number of\njackals with him. He said to her, \"Have you cooked Jhore?\" She replied,\n\"Tush! tush! you brought me a stone.\"\n\nThe demon was highly incensed at having been outwitted, and exclaimed,\n\"I will track Jhore till I find him, and this time I shall bring him\nhome without laying him down.\" He then left, and before long found\nJhore swinging in the same branch as before. Catching hold of him, he\nput him into a bag, the mouth of which he tied. This time he brought\nhim home without once laying him down. Calling to his daughter,\nhe said, \"Cook Jhore, while I go to invite my friends.\" She untied\nthe bag, and took Jhore out, and seeing his long hair, she said,\n\"How is it that your hair has grown so long?\" \"I pounded it in the\ndhenki,\" he replied, \"Will you pound mine, so that it may become long\nlike yours,\" said the demon's daughter. Jhore replied, \"I shall do so\nwith pleasure, put your head in the dhenki, and I shall pound it.\" So\nshe put in her head, and he pounded it so that he killed her. He then\npossessed himself of all her jewellery, and dressing in her clothes,\ncooked her body.\n\nWhen the demon returned, accompanied by his friends, he said,\n\"Well! daughter, have you cooked Jhore?\" Jhore replied, \"Yes, I have\ncooked him.\" On hearing this, the demon and the jackals who had come\nwith him, were delighted, and setting to, they devoured the body of\nthe demon's daughter.\n\nAfter some days, the demon went to visit a friend, and Jhore divesting\nhimself of the demon girl's clothes, went to where the demon had at\nfirst found him, and began to swing as before. Presently a tigress\napproached him and said, \"Oh! brother, the hair of my cubs has\ngrown very long, I wish you to shave them to-day.\" Jhore replied,\n\"Oh! sister, boil some water, and then go to the spring to bring\nmore.\" The tigress having boiled the water, went to the spring. While\nshe was away, Jhore poured the boiling water over the two cubs,\nand scalded them to death. He made them grin by fixing the lips\napart, and propped them up at the door of the tigress' house. On her\nreturn as she drew near, she saw her cubs, as she fancied, laughing,\nand said to herself. \"They are delighted because their uncle has\nshaved them.\" Setting down her water pot, she went to look at them,\nand found them dead. Just then the demon came up, and she asked him,\n\"Whom are you seeking to-day uncle?\" He replied \"I am seeking Jhore,\nhe has caused me to eat my own daughter. Whom are you seeking?\" The\ntigress replied, \"I also am seeking Jhore; he has scalded my cubs\nto death.\"\n\nThe two then went in search of Jhore. They found him in a lonely part\nof the forest preparing birdlime, and said to him, \"What are you doing,\nJhore?\" He replied, \"I look high up, and then I look deep down.\" They\nsaid, \"Teach us to do it too.\" He answered, \"Only I can do it.\" They\nasked him a second time, and received the same reply. On their begging\nhim a third time to teach them, he said, \"Well, I shall do it.\" He\nthen put some of the birdlime into their eyes, and fixed their eyelids\ntogether, so that they could not open them. While they were washing\ntheir eyes, he ran away. As soon as they had rid themselves of the\nbirdlime, they followed him and found him distilling oil from the\nfruit of the marking-nut tree. They said to him, \"What are you doing,\nJhore?\" He replied, \"I look deep down, and then high up.\" They said,\n\"Teach us also.\" He replied, \"Only I can do it.\" They asked him again,\nand he said, \"Well I will do it.\" He then poured some of the oil he\nhad distilled into their eyes. It burned them so, that they became\nstone-blind.\n\nJhore was next seen seated in a fig-tree eating the fruit. Some cattle\nmerchants, passing under the tree with a large herd of cattle, saw him\neating the figs, and asked him what it was he was eating. He replied,\n\"Beat the bullock that is going last, and you shall find it.\" So\nthey beat the bullock till it fell down. In the meantime, the herd\nhad gone on ahead, and Jhore running after them drove them to his\nown house. His brother seeing the large herd of cattle, asked to whom\nthey belonged. Jhore replied, \"They are Jhore's property.\" Jhorea then\nsaid, \"I killed my brother Jhore, what Jhore is it?\" He made answer,\n\"Your brother Jhore whom you thought you had killed.\" Jhorea was\ndelighted to find his brother alive, and said to him, \"Let us live\ntogether after this.\" So they lived peacefully together ever after.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOY AND HIS STEPMOTHER.\n\n\nA certain boy had charge of a cow which he used to tend while\ngrazing. One day the cow said to him, \"How is it that you are becoming\nso emaciated?\" The boy replied, \"My stepmother does not give me\nsufficient food.\" The cow then said to him, \"Do not tell any one,\nand I will give you food. Go to the jungle and get leaves with which\nto make a plate and cup.\" The boy did as he was ordered, and behold,\nthe cow from one horn shook boiled rice into the leaf plate, and from\nthe other a relish for the rice into the cup. This continued daily\nfor a considerable time, until the boy became sleek and fat.\n\nThe stepmother came to know of the relation which existed between\nthe cow and her herd-boy, and to be revenged upon them she feigned\nillness. To her attendants she said, \"I cannot possibly live.\" They\nasked, \"What would make you live?\" She replied, \"If you kill the cow,\nI will recover.\" They said, \"If killing the cow will cure you, we will\nkill it.\" The boy hearing that the life of the cow which supplied\nhim with food was threatened, ran to her and said, \"They are about\nto kill you.\" Hearing this the cow said, \"You go and make a rope of\nrice straw, make some parts thick, and some thin, and put it in such a\nplace as they can easily find it. When they are about to kill me, you\nseize hold of my tail and pull.\" The next day they proceeded to make\narrangements to kill the cow, and finding the rope prepared by the boy\nthe day before, they tied her with it to a stake. After she was tied\nthe boy laid hold of her tail, and pulled so that the rope by which\nshe was secured was made taut. A man now raised an axe, and felled\nher by a blow on the forehead. As the cow staggered the rope broke,\nand she and the boy were borne away on the wind, and alighted in an\nunexplored jungle. From the one cow other cows sprang, in number equal\nto a large herd, and from them another large herd was produced. The boy\nthen drove his two herds of cows to a place where they could graze, and\nafterwards took them to the river to drink. The cows having quenched\ntheir thirst, lay down to rest, and the boy bathed, and afterwards\ncombed and dressed his hair. During this latter operation a hair from\nhis head fell into the river, and was carried away by the current.\n\nSome distance lower down, a princess with her female companions and\nattendants came to bathe. While the princess was in the water she\nnoticed the hair floating down stream, and ordered some one to take it\nout, which when done they measured, and found it to be twelve cubits\nlong. The princess on returning home went to the king, her father,\nand showing him the hair she had found in the river said, \"I have made\nup my mind to marry the man to whom this hair belonged.\" The king gave\nhis consent, and commanded his servants to search for the object of his\ndaughter's affection. They having received the king's command went to\na certain barber and said to him, \"You dress the hair and beards of\nall the men in this part of the country, tell us where the man with\nhair twelve cubits long is to be found.\" The barber, after many days,\nreturned unsuccessful. The king's servants after a long consultation\nas to whom they should next apply to, decided upon laying the matter\nbefore a tame parrot belonging to the king. Going to the parrot they\nsaid, \"Oh parrot, can you find the man whose hair is twelve cubits\nlong?\" The parrot replied, \"Yes, I can find him.\" After flying here\nand there the parrot was fortunate enough to find the boy. It was\nevening, and having driven his two herds of cattle into their pen,\nhe had sat down, and was employed in dressing his long hair. His\nflute was hanging on a bush by his side.\n\nThe parrot sat awhile considering how she might take him to the king's\npalace. Seeing the flute the idea was suggested to her, that by means\nof it she might contrive to lead him where she desired. So taking it up\nin her beak, she flew forward a little and alighted in a small bush. To\nregain possession of his flute the boy followed, but on his approach\nthe bird flew away, and alighted on another bush a short distance\nahead. In this way she continued to lead him by flying from bush to\nbush until at length she brought him to the king's palace. He was then\nbrought before his majesty, and his hair measured, and found to be\ntwelve cubits in length. The king then ordered food to be set before\nhim, and after he was refreshed the betrothal ceremony was performed.\n\nAs it was now late they prevailed upon him to pass the night as the\nguest of the king. Early in the morning he set out, but, as he had\na long distance to go, the day was far advanced before he reached\nthe place where his cattle were. They were angry at having been kept\npenned up to so late an hour, and as he removed the bars to let them\nout, they knocked him down, and trampled upon his hair in such a way,\nas to pull it all out leaving him bald. Nothing daunted, he collected\nhis cows, and started on his return journey, but us he drove them\nalong, one after another vanished, so that only a few remained when\nhe reached the king's palace.\n\nOn his arrival they noticed that he had lost all his hair, and on being\nquestioned he related to the king all that had fallen him. His hair\nbeing gone the princess refused to marry him, so instead of becoming\nthe king's son-in-law, he became one of his hired servants.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF KARA AND GUJA.\n\n\nThere were two brothers named Kara and Guja. Guja, who was the elder\ndid the work at home, and Kara was ploughman.\n\nOne day the two went to the forest to dig edible roots. After they\nhad been thus engaged for some hours, Kara said to Guja, \"Look up\nand see the sun's position in the heavens.\" Looking up he said,\n\"Oh brother, one is rising and another is setting.\" They then said,\n\"The day is not yet past, let us bestir ourselves, and lose no\ntime.\" So they dug with all their might.\n\nAfter digging a long time Kara looked up and became aware that it was\nnight. He then exclaimed, \"Oh brother, it is now night, what shall\nwe do? Come let us seek some place where we can remain until the\nmorning.\" After they had wandered awhile in the forest they spied a\nlight in the distance, and on drawing near they found that a tiger had\nkindled a fire, and was warming himself. Going up to the entrance to\nthe cave they called out to the tiger, \"Oh uncle, give us a place to\nsleep in.\" He answered, \"Come in.\" So the two went in, and being hungry\nbegan to roast and eat the roots they had brought with them. The tiger\nhearing them eating, enquired what it was. They replied, \"Oh uncle, we\nare roasting and eating the roots which we dug up in the forest.\" He\nthen said, \"Oh my nephews, I will also try how they taste.\" So they\nhanded him a piece of charcoal, and as he munched it he said, \"Oh\nmy nephews, how is it that I feel it grating between my teeth?\" They\nreplied, \"It is an old one that you have got, uncle.\" He then said,\n\"Give me another, and I will try it.\" So they gave him another piece of\ncharcoal, and after he had crunched it awhile he said, \"Oh my nephews,\nthis is as bad as the other,\" to which they rejoined, \"Oh uncle,\nyour mouth is old, therefore what is good to us, is the reverse to\nyou.\" The tiger did not wish to try his grinders on another piece of\ncharcoal, so the brothers were left to enjoy their repast alone.\n\nAfter they had eaten all the roots, Guja said to Kara, \"What shall\nwe eat now? Come let us eat this old tiger's tail.\" Kara replied,\n\"Do not talk in that way, brother, the tiger will devour us.\" \"Not so,\nbrother,\" said Guja, \"I have a great desire to eat flesh.\" The old\ntiger understood their conversation, and being afraid tried to get\nout of the cave, but the brothers caught hold of him, and wrenched\noff his tail, which they roasted in the ashes, and then ate.\n\nThe tiger after losing his tail summoned a council of all the tigers\ninhabiting that part of the forest, at which they decided to kill and\neat the two brothers. So they went to the cave, but Kara and Guja had\nfled, and had taken refuge in a palm tree which grew on the edge of\na large deep tank. Not finding them in the cave the tigers, headed\nby him who had lost his tail, went in quest of them, and coming to\nthe tank saw them reflected in the water, and one after another they\ndived in, thinking they would be able to seize them, but of course\nthey could not catch a shadow. One of the tigers, when in the act\nof yawning, looked upwards, and seeing them in the tree exclaimed,\n\"There they are. There they are.\" They then asked the brothers how\nthey had managed to climb up, to which they replied, \"We stood on\neach other's shoulders.\" The tigers then said, \"Come, let us do the\nsame, and we shall soon reach them.\" As the tailless tiger was most\ninterested in their capture, they made him stand lowest, and a tiger\nclimbed up and stood on his shoulders, and another on his, and so\non; but before they reached the brothers, Kara called out to Guja,\n\"Give me your sharp battle-axe, and I shall hamstring the tailless\ntiger.\" The tailless tiger forgetting himself jumped to one side,\nand the whole pillar of tigers fell in a heap on the ground. They now\nbegan to abuse the old tailless tiger, who fearing lest they should\ntear him in pieces fled into the forest.\n\nAfter the tigers had left, the two brothers descended from the palm\ntree, and walked rapidly away as they dreaded that the tigers might\nyet follow them. Towards evening they came to a village, and entering\ninto the house of an old woman lay down to sleep. The owner of the\nhouse observing them said, \"Oh my children, do not sleep to-night,\nfor there is a demon who visits in rotation each house in the village,\nand each time he comes carries off some one and eats him; it is my\nturn to receive a visit to-night.\" They said, \"Do not trouble us now,\nlet us sleep, as we are tired.\" So they slept, but kept their weather\neye open. During the night the old woman came quietly, and began\nto bite their arms, which they had laid aside before retiring to\nrest. Hearing a sound as if some one were crunching iron between his\nteeth, the brothers called out, \"Old woman, what are you eating?\" She\nreplied \"Only a few roasted peas which I brought from the chief's\nhouse.\" About midnight the demon came, and as he was entering the\nhouse Kara and Guja shot at him with their bows and arrows, and he\nfell down dead. Then they cut out his claws and tongue, and placed\nthem in a bag. Afterwards they threw out the body of the demon into\nthe garden behind the house.\n\nNow it so happened that the king had promised to give his daughter\nand half of his kingdom to the man who should slay the demon. Early\nin the morning a Dome, who was passing, discovered the body of the\ndemon, and said within himself, \"I will take it to the king and claim\nthe reward.\" So running home he broke all the furniture in his house\nand beat his old woman saying, \"Get out of this. I am about to bring\nthe king's daughter home as my bride.\" He then returned quickly,\nand taking up the body of the demon carried it to the king, and said,\n\"Oh sir king, I have slain the demon.\" The king replied, \"Very well,\nwe will enquire into it.\" So he commanded some of his servants to\nexamine the body, and on doing so they found that the claws had been\nextracted and the tongue cut out. They reported the condition of\nthe body to the king, who ordered the Dome to state the weapon with\nwhich he killed him. The Dome replied, \"I hit him with a club on the\nhead.\" On the head being examined no mark whatever was seen, so in\norder to arrive at the truth the king ordered all the inhabitants of\nthe village to be brought together to the palace. He then enquired\nof them as to who killed the demon.\n\nThe old woman, in whose house Kara and Guja had passed the night,\nstepped forward and said, \"Oh sir king, two strangers came to my house\nyesterday evening, and during the night they slew the demon.\" The\nking said, \"Where are those two men?\" The old woman replied, \"There\nthey are, the two walking together.\" So the king sent and brought\nthem back, and questioned them as to the slaying of the demon. They\npointed out the arrow-marks on the body, and produced his claws and\ntongue from their bag. This evidence convinced the king that they,\nand not the Dome, had slain the demon. Kara and Guja were received\nwith great favour by the king, and received the promised reward.\n\nThe king sentenced the Dome to be beaten and driven from the\nvillage. After receiving his stripes, the Dome returned home, and\ngathered the shreds of his property together. He also went in search\nof his Dome wife and children, but they mocked him saying, \"You went\nto marry the king's daughter, why do you come again seeking us.\"\n\nThus Kara and Guja gained a kingdom.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE KING AND HIS INQUISITIVE QUEEN.\n\n\nThere was a certain king known by the name of Huntsman, on account of\nhis expertness in the chase. One day when returning from the forest\nwhere he had been hunting he found a serpent and a lizard fighting\non the path along which he was moving. As they were blocking the way\nhe ordered them to stand aside and allow him to pass, but they gave\nno heed to what he said. King Huntsman then began to beat them with\nhis staff. He killed the lizard, but the serpent fled, and so escaped.\n\nThe serpent then went to Monsha, the king of the serpents, and\ncomplained of the treatment the lizard and himself had received at\nthe hands of king Huntsman. The next day king Monsha went and met king\nHuntsman on his way home from the forest, and blocked his way so that\nhe could not pass. King Huntsman being angry said, \"Clear the way,\nand allow me to pass, or else I shall send an arrow into you. Why\ndo you block my way?\" King Monsha replied, \"Why did you assault the\nlizard and the serpent, with intent to kill them both?\" King Huntsman\nanswered, \"I ordered them to get out of my way, but they would not,\nI therefore assaulted them, and killed one. The other saved himself\nby flight.\" King Monsha hearing this explanation said, \"Very good,\nthe fault was theirs, not yours.\"\n\nKing Huntsman then petitioned the king of the serpents to bestow upon\nhim the gift of understanding the language of animals and insects. King\nMonsha acceded to his request, and gave him the gift he desired.\n\nA few days after this event King Huntsman went to the forest, and after\nhunting all day returned home in the evening Having washed his hands\nand feet, he sat down to his meal of boiled rice. When the rice was\nbeing served to the king a few grains fell on the ground, and a fly\nand an ant began to dispute as to who should carry them away. The fly\nsaid, \"I will take them to my children.\" The ant replied, \"No, I will\ntake them to mine.\" Hearing the two talk thus, the king was amused,\nand began to smile. The queen, who was standing by, said to him,\n\"Tell me what has made you laugh.\" On being thus addressed the king\nbecame greatly confused, for at the time the gift of understanding the\nlanguage of animals and insects was bestowed upon him, King Monsha had\nforbidden him to make it known to any one. He had said, \"If you tell\nthis to any one, I shall eat you.\" Remembering this the king feared\nto answer the question put to him by the queen. He tried to deceive\nher by saying, \"I did not laugh, you must have been mistaken.\" She\nwould not, however, be thus put off, so the king was obliged to tell\nher that if he answered her question his life would be forfeited. The\nqueen was inexorable, and said, \"Whether you forfeit your life or\nnot, you must tell me.\" The king then said, \"Well, if it must be so,\nlet us make ready to go to the bank of the Ganges. There I shall\ntell you, and when I have done so you must push me into the river,\nand then return home.\"\n\nThe king armed himself, and the two set out for the river. When they\nhad reached it, they sat down to rest under the shade of a tree. A\nflock of goats was grazing near to where they were seated, and the\nking's attention was arrested by a conversation which was being carried\non between an old she-goat and a young he-goat. The former addressed\nthe latter thus, \"There is an island in the middle of the Ganges,\nand on that island there is a large quantity of good sweet grass. Get\nthe grass for me, and I shall give you my daughter in marriage.\" The\nhe-goat was not thus to be imposed upon. He angrily addressed his\nfemale friend as follows, \"Do not think to make me like this foolish\nking, who vainly tries to please a woman. He has come here to lose\nhis own life at the bidding of one. You tell me to go and bring you\ngrass out of such a flood as this. I am no such fool. I do not care\nto die yet. There are many more quite as good as your daughter.\"\n\nThe king understood what passed between them, and admitted to himself\nthe truth of what the he-goat had said. After considering a short time\nhe arose, and having made a rude sacrificial altar, said to the queen,\n\"Kneel down, and do me obeisance, and I shall tell you what made me\nlaugh.\" She knelt down, and the king struck off her head and burnt\nher body upon the altar. Returning home he performed her funeral\nceremonies, after which he married another wife.\n\nHe reigned prosperously for many years, and decided all disputes that\nwere brought before him by animals or insects.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF BITARAM.\n\n\nIn a certain village there lived seven brothers. The youngest of\nthem planted a certain vegetable, and went every day to examine\nit to see how it was growing. For a long time there were only the\nstalk and leaves, but at length a flower appeared, and from it a\nfruit. This fruit he measured daily to mark its growth. It grew\ncontinuously until it became exactly a span long, after which it\nremained stationary. One day he said to his sisters-in-law, \"Do not\neat my fruit, for whoever does so will give birth to a child only one\nspan long.\" He continued his daily visits to his plant as usual, and\nwas pleased to note that the fruit was evidently ripening. One day,\nduring his absence, one of his sisters-in-law plucked the fruit and\nate it. On returning from the field where he had been ploughing, he\nwent to look at and measure his fruit, but it was gone, it had been\nstolen. Suspecting that some one of his sisters-in-law was the thief,\nhe accused each of them in turn, but they all denied having touched\nit. When he found that no one would confess to having taken it, he\nsaid to them, \"Do not tell upon yourselves, the thief will be caught\nbefore long.\" And so it happened, for one of them gave birth to a\nbaby one span long. The first time he saw his sister-in-law after\nthe child was born he laughed, and said to her, \"You denied having\nstolen my fruit, now you see I have found you out.\"\n\nWhen the time came that the child should receive a name, Bitaram [2]\nwas given to him, because he was only a span in height. Bitaram's\nmother used to take food to the brothers to the field when they were\nploughing, and when Bitaram was able to walk so far he accompanied\nher. One day he surprised his mother by saying, \"Let me take the food\nto my father and uncles to-day.\" She replied, \"What a fancy! You,\nchild, are only a span high, how can you carry it?\" But Bitaram\ninsisted saying, \"I can carry it well enough, and carry it I will.\" His\nmother being unable to resist his pertinacity said, \"Then, child,\ntake it, and be off.\" So she placed the basket on his head and he\nset out. Arrived at the field he went up a furrow, but the ground was\nso uneven that before he reached his destination, he had lost nearly\nall the rice, which had been shaken out of the basket. On his coming\nnear, one of his uncles called out, \"Is that you Bitaram?\" He replied,\n\"Yes, it is I, Bitaram.\" Climbing up out of the furrow, he put down\nthe basket saying, \"Help yourselves, and I will take the oxen and\nbuffaloes to the water.\" So saying, he drove off the cattle to the\nriver. When they had quenched their thirst he gathered them together,\nand began to drive them back again to where he had left his father and\nuncles. While following them up the sandy back of the river, he fell\ninto a depression made by the hoof of a buffalo, and was soon covered\nup by the loose sand sent rolling down by the herd as they ascended.\n\nWhen the cattle returned without Bitaram, his father and uncles became\nalarmed for his safety, and immediately went in search of him. They\nwent here and there calling out \"Bitaram, where are you?\" But failing\nto find him they concluded that he had been devoured by some wild\nanimal, and returned sorrowfully home. Rain fell during the night,\nand washed the sand from off Bitaram, so that he was able to get up,\nand climb out. On his way home he encountered some thieves who were\ndividing their booty in a lonely part of the forest. Bitaram hearing\nthem disputing called out \"Kehe kere\" at the pitch of his voice. The\nthieves hearing the sound, looked round on all sides to see who was\nnear, but the night being dark, and they not directing their eyes near\nenough to the ground to see Bitaram, they could discern no one. Then\nthey said to each other, \"Let us seek safety in flight. A spirit has\nbeen sent to watch us.\" So they all made off leaving behind them the\nbrass vessels they had stolen. Bitaram gathered these up, and hid\nthem among some prickly bushes, and then went home.\n\nIt was now past midnight, and all had retired to rest, and as Bitaram\nstood shivering with cold at the closed door, he called out, \"Open\nthe door and let me in.\" His father hearing him said, \"Is that you\nBitaram?\" He replied, \"Yes, open the door.\" They then enquired where\nhe had been, and he related all that had happened to him after he had\ndriven the cattle to the river. Having warmed himself at the fire, he\ntold his father of his adventure with the thieves in the forest. He\nsaid, \"I despoiled some thieves, whom I met in the jungle, of the\nbrass vessels they had stolen.\" His father replied, \"Foolish child,\ndo not tell lies, you yourself are not the height of a brass lota\"\n(drinking-cup). \"No father,\" said Bitaram, \"I am telling the truth,\ncome and I will shew you where they are.\" His father and uncles went\nwith him, and he pointed out to them the vessels hidden among the\nprickly bushes. They picked them all up and brought them home.\n\nEarly next morning some sepoys, who were searching for the thieves,\nhappened to pass that way, and seeing the stolen property lying out\nside of the house, recognized it, and apprehended Bitaram's father\nand uncles and dragged them off to prison. After this Bitaram and\nhis mother were obliged to beg their bread from house to house. She\noften attributed to him the misery which had befallen them, saying,\n\"Had it not been for your pertinacity, your father and uncles would\nnot have been deprived of their liberty.\"\n\nOne day, as they were following their usual avocation, they entered\na certain house, and Bitaram said to his mother, \"Ask the people of\nthe house to give me a tumki. [3]\" She did not at first comply, but\nhe kept urging her until being irritated she said, \"It was through\nyour pertinacity in insisting upon being allowed to carry the food\nto your father and uncles that they are now bound and in prison, and\nyet you will not give up the bad habit.\" Bitaram said, \"No, mother,\ndo ask it for me.\" As he would not be silenced she begged it for him,\nand the people kindly gave it.\n\nAt the next house they came to, they saw a cat walking about, and\nBitaram said, \"Oh mother, ask the people to give me the cat.\" As\nbefore, she at first refused, but he continued to press her, and she\nbecoming annoyed scolded him saying, \"The young gentleman insists on\nobtaining this and that. It was your pertinacity that caused your\nfather and uncles to be dragged to prison in bonds.\" Bitaram replied,\n\"Not so, mother, do ask them to give me the cat.\" As the only way to\nsilence him she said to the people of the house, \"Give my boy your cat,\nhe will hold it in his arms for a few minutes, and then set it down,\nbut he carried it away with him.\" Bitaram then begged his mother to\nmake him a bag, and fill it with flour, saying, \"I am going to obtain\nthe release of my father and uncles.\" She mockingly replied, \"Much you\ncan do.\" She made him a bag, however, and filling it with flour said,\n\"Be off.\"\n\nBitaram then strapped the bag of flour on the cat's back as a saddle,\nand mounted. Puss, however, refused to go in the direction desired,\nand it was with great difficulty that he prevailed upon her to take\nthe road. As he rode along he observed a swarm of bees on an ant\nhill, and dismounting he addressed them as follows, \"Come bees, go\nin, come bees, go in.\" The bees swarmed into the tumki, and Bitaram\nhaving covered them up with a leaf continued his journey. Before he\nhad gone far he came to a large tank, which belonged to the raja who\nhad imprisoned his father. A number of women had come to the tank for\nwater, and Bitaram taking his stand upon the embankment began to shoot\narrows at their waterpots. After he had broken several, the women\nespied him mounted on his cat with his bow and arrows in his hand,\nand believing him to be an elf from the forest fled in terror to\nthe city. Going to the raja they said \"Oh raja, come and see. Some\none is on the tank embankment. We do not know who or what he is,\nbut he is only a span high.\" The raja then summoned his soldiers,\nand commanded them to take their bows and arrows, and go and shoot\nhim whoever he was. The soldiers went within range, but although they\nshot away all their arrows, they failed to hit him. So returning to\nthe raja they said, \"He cannot be shot.\" Hearing this the raja became\nangry, and calling for his bow and arrows, went to the tank and began\nto shoot at Bitaram, but although he persevered until his right side\nached with drawing the bow, he could not hit him.\n\nWhen he desisted, Bitaram called out \"Are you exhausted?\" The raja\nanswered \"Yes.\" Then said Bitaram \"It is my turn now,\" and taking the\nleaf from off the mouth of the basket called to the bees, \"Go into the\nbattle, bees.\" The bees issued from the basket like a black rope, and\nstung the raja and those who were with him. No way of escape offering,\nthe raja called out to Bitaram, \"Call off your bees, and I will give\nyou the half of my kingdom and my daughter, and I will also set at\nliberty your father and uncles.\" Bitaram gathered the bees into the\nbasket, and after his father and uncles had been released, took them\nback to the ant hill from whence he had brought them. On his return\nhe wedded the princess and received half of her father's kingdom.\n\nBitaram and his wife lived happily together, and every thing they\ntook in hand prospered, so that before long they were richer than the\nking himself. One great source of Bitaram's wealth was a cow which\nthe princess had brought him as part of her dowry. Being envious of\ntheir good fortune, the raja and his sons resolved to kill the cow,\nand thus obtain possession of all the gold and silver. So they put\nthe cow to death, but when they had cut her up they were disappointed\nas neither gold nor silver were found in her stomach.\n\nBitaram placed his cow's hide in the sun, and when it was dry carried\nit away to sell it. Darkness coming on he climbed into a tree for\nsafety, as wild beasts infested the forest through which he was\npassing. During the night some thieves came under the tree in which\nhe was, and began to divide the money they had stolen. Bitaram then\nrelaxed his hold of the dry hide, which made such a noise as it fell\nfrom branch to branch that the thieves fled terror-stricken, and\nleft all their booty behind them. In the morning Bitaram descended,\nand collecting all the rupees carried them home. He then shewed the\nmoney to his wife, and said \"Go and ask the loan of your father's\npaila, that I may measure them.\" So she went and brought the\nmeasure, which had several cracks in it. Having measured his money\nhe sent back the raja's paila, but he had not noticed that one or\ntwo pieces were left sticking in the cracks. So they said to him,\n\"Where did you get the money?\" He replied \"By the sale of my cow's\nhide.\" Hearing this they said, \"Will the merchant who bought yours,\nbuy any more?\" He said, \"Yes. I received all this money for my one\nhide, how much more may not you receive seeing you have such large\nherds of cattle! If you dispose of their hides at the same rate as\nI have done, you will secure immense wealth.\" So they killed all\ntheir cattle, but when they offered the hides for sale they found\nthey had been hoaxed. They were ashamed and angry at having allowed\nthemselves to be thus imposed upon by Bitaram, and in revenge they\nset fire to his house at night, but he crept into a rat's hole and\nso escaped injury. In the morning he emerged from his hiding place,\nand carefully gathering up the ashes of his house tied them up in a\ncloth, and carried them away. As he walked along he met a merchant,\nto whom he said, \"What have you in your bag?\" He replied \"Gold-pieces\nonly.\" The merchant then enquired of Bitaram what he had tied up in\nhis cloth, to which he answered, \"Gold-dust only.\" Bitaram then said,\n\"Will you exchange?\" The merchant said, \"Yes.\" So they exchanged,\nand Bitaram returned laden with gold. Not being able to count it, he\nagain sent his wife to borrow her father's paila, and having measured\nthe gold-pieces returned it to him. This time a few pieces of gold\nremained in the cracks in the paila, and the raja, being informed of\nit, went and asked Bitaram where he got the gold. He replied, \"I sold\nthe ashes of my house which you burnt over my head, and received the\ngold in return.\" The raja and his sons then enquired if the merchant,\nwho bought the ashes from him, would buy any more. Bitaram replied,\n\"Yes, he will buy all he can get.\" \"Do you think,\" said they, \"he\nwill buy from us?\" Bitaram advised them to burn their houses, and\nlike him, turn the ashes into gold. \"I had only one small house,\"\nhe said, \"and I obtained all this money. You have larger houses,\nand should therefore receive a correspondingly large amount.\" So\nthey set fire to, and burnt their houses, and gathering up the ashes\ntook them to the bazar, and there offered them for sale. After they\nhad gone the whole length of the bazar, and had met with no buyers,\nsome one advised them to go to where the washermen lived, saying,\nthey might possibly take them. The washermen, however, refused,\nand as they could not find a purchaser, they threw away the ashes,\nand returned home determined to be revenged upon Bitaram.\n\nThis time they decided upon drowning him, so one day they seized him,\nand putting him into a bag they carried him to the river. Arrived\nthere they put him down, and went to some little distance to cook\ntheir food. In the meantime a herd boy came up and asked Bitaram why he\nwas tied up in the bag. He replied, \"They are taking me away to marry\nme against my will.\" The herd boy said, \"I will go instead of you. I\nwish to be married.\" Bitaram replied, \"Open the bag and let me out,\nand you get in, and I will tie it up again.\" So Bitaram was released,\nand the herd boy took his place, and was afterwards thrown into the\nriver and drowned.\n\nBitaram on escaping collected all the herd boy's cattle, and drove\nthem home. When the raja and his sons returned, they found Bitaram\nwith a large herd of cows and buffaloes. Going near, they enquired\nwhere he had got them. He replied, \"At some distance below the spot\nwhere you threw me into the river, I found numerous herds of cattle,\nso I brought away as many as one person could drive. If you all go,\nyou will be able to bring a very much larger number.\" So they said,\n\"Very well, put us into bags, and tie us up as we did you.\" Bitaram\nreplied, \"It is impossible for me to carry you as you did me. Walk to\nthe river bank, and there get into the bags, and I will push you into\nthe river.\" They did as he suggested, and when all was in readiness,\nhe pushed them into the river, and they were all drowned.\n\nBitaram returned alone, and took possession of all that had belonged\nto them. The whole kingdom became his, and he reigned peacefully as\nlong as he lived.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF SIT AND BOSONT.\n\n\nThere was a certain raja who had two sons named Sit and Bosont. Their\nmother the rani had been long ill, and the raja was greatly dejected\non her account. From the bed on which she lay, the rani could see\ntwo sparrows who had made their nest in a hole in the wall of the\npalace, and she had remarked the great love and tenderness which\nthe hen-sparrow bore towards her young ones. One day she saw both\nsparrows sitting in front of their nest, and the sight of them set her\na-thinking, and she came to the conclusion that the hen-sparrow was\na model mother. The raja also had his attention attracted daily by\nthe sparrows. One day, very suddenly, the hen-sparrow took ill, and\ndied. The next day the cock-sparrow appeared with another mate, and\nsat in front of the nest with her, as he had done with the other. But\nthe new mother took no notice of the young ones in the nest, but left\nthem to die of hunger. The rani, who was greatly grieved to see such\nwant of compassion, said to the raja, \"This is how it is, one has no\npity for those who belong to another. Remember what you have been a\nwitness of, and should I die take care of the two children.\" Shortly\nafter this the rani died, and the raja mourned over her, and continued\nmost solicitous for the welfare of their two boys.\n\nSome months after the rani's death, the raja's subjects prayed\nhim to take another wife, saying, \"Without a rani your kingdom is\nincomplete.\" The raja refused to comply, saying, \"I shall never\ntake another wife.\" His subjects would not, however, be silenced,\nbut continued to press the matter upon him with such persistency\nthat eventually he had to accede to their wishes, and take to himself\nanother partner. He continued, however, to love and cherish his two\nsons Sit and Bosont.\n\nSome time after their marriage the rani took a dislike to the elder\nson Sit, and was determined that he should no longer be allowed to\nremain within the precincts of the palace. So she feigned sickness,\nand the raja summoned physicians from all parts of his dominions, but\nwithout avail, as none of them could tell what the disease was from\nwhich the rani was suffering. One day when Sit and Bosont were out of\nthe way, and the raja and she were alone together, she said to him,\n\"Doctors and medicines will not save my life, but if you will listen\nto me, and do what I tell you, I shall completely recover.\" The\nraja said, \"Let me hear what it is, and I shall try what effect it\nmay have.\" The rani said, \"If you will promise to do for me what I\nshall request, I will tell you, and not otherwise.\" The raja replied,\n\"I shall certainly comply with your wishes.\" The rani again said,\n\"Will you without doubt, do what I wish?\" The raja replied, \"Yes, I\nshall.\" After she had made him promise a third time she said, \"Will you\ntake oath that you will not seek to evade fulfilling my desire?\" The\nraja said, \"I take my oath that I shall carry out your wishes to the\nfull extent of my ability.\" Having thus prevailed upon the raja to\npledge his word of honour, she said, \"Do not allow your eldest son,\nSit, to remain any longer in the palace. Order him to leave, and go\nsomewhere else, so that I may not see his face, and never to return.\"\n\nOn hearing this the raja was greatly distressed. But what could he\ndo? The rani had said, \"If you permit him to remain, I shall die,\nand if you fulfil my wishes I shall live,\" and in his anxiety to save\nthe life of his rani, he had bound himself by an oath before he knew\nwhat it was he would be required to do. After much consideration as\nto how he could best communicate the order to leave the palace to his\nson, he decided to write it on a sheet of paper and fix it, during\nhis absence, to the door of his room. When the brothers returned,\nthey found the paper placed there by the raja, and on reading it,\nwere greatly troubled. After some time, during which Sit had been\nconsidering the position in which he found himself, he said to his\nbrother, \"You must remain, and I must go.\" On hearing his brother's\nwords, Bosont's heart was filled with sorrow, and he replied, \"Not so,\nI cannot see you go away alone. You have been guilty of no fault for\nwhich our parents could send you away. I cannot remain here alone. I\nwill accompany you. We are children of the same mother, and we should\nnot part.\" His brother replied, \"Let us leave the house to-day. We\ncan pass the night in some place close at hand.\" So they left their\nfather's house, and concealed themselves in its vicinity. On the\napproach of evening they began to feel the pangs of hunger, and the\nyounger said to the elder, \"What shall we do? We have no food.\" After\na minute's thought, the elder replied, \"Although we have been sent\nadrift, we will take our elephants, and horses, and clothes, and\nmoney along with us.\" So when night had fallen, they entered the\npalace and brought out all that belonged to them, and at cock-crow,\nset forth on their journey. They travelled all day, and as the sun\nbegan to decline, they reached a dense jungle, and passing through\nit they came to a large city where they put up for the night. The\ncity pleased them much, and they hired quarters in the Sarai. After\nthey had gained a little acquaintance with their surroundings, Sit,\nattired in gorgeous apparel, and mounted on a splendid horse, rode\nevery evening through the principal streets of the city. One evening\nthe daughter of the raja of that country, from the roof of the palace,\nsaw him ride past, and fell deeply in love with him. She immediately\ndescended to her room, and feigning sickness, threw herself upon\nher couch. Her parents, on entering, found her weeping bitterly,\nand on enquiring the cause were informed by her attendants that she\nhad been suddenly seized with a dangerous illness, the nature of which\nthey did not know. The raja at once summoned the most famed physicians\nthat could be found, to cure his daughter. One after another, however,\nfailed to understand her complaint, and she grew worse daily. She was\nheard continually wailing, \"I shall never recover; I shall die.\" After\nthe doctors had retired baffled, she addressed her parents as follows;\n\"You, who gave me life, listen to my entreaty. There is one expedient\nstill, which if you will agree to put into execution, I shall recover,\nand be as well as formerly, and should you refuse to do as I say,\nand call it foolishness, then you shall never see my face again,\nI shall depart this life at once.\" On hearing these words, her\nparents said, \"Tell us, what it is, we will surely act agreeably\nto your wishes.\" She replied, \"Oh! father, promise me that you will\ncarry them out without reserve.\" Her parents then promised with an\noath, that they would do all she desired. Then she told her story,\n\"Of late we have daily seen a young man in dazzling white apparel,\nriding and curveting his horse through the city; if you betroth me\nto that young prince, I shall enjoy my accustomed health again.\"\n\nOn hearing this, her parents became greatly distressed, as they\nwere averse to betrothing their daughter to a stranger of whom\nthey knew nothing. After consulting together they said, \"He comes\nthis way in the evening, let us look out for him, and see what he is\nlike.\" About sunset, Sit, mounted on his horse, rode in the direction\nof the palace. The raja had given orders to some of his attendants\nto arrest the man who, every evening dressed in white, rode past the\npalace. So, on his appearing, they laid hold of him and led him into\nthe presence of the raja, who being pleased with his appearance, at\nonce introduced him to his daughter's room. She, on beholding him,\ninstantly became well, and that same evening the two were married.\n\nBosont having charge of the property remained in the Sarai, while\nhis brother went out riding. Sit not returning at his usual time,\nBosont was alarmed and waited anxiously for his return. At length,\nbeing wearied, he fell asleep. During the night a gang of thieves\nentered his room, and began to carry off all his valuables. Bosont\nslept so soundly that they had time to take away everything save his\nbed-clothes. To obtain possession of these they had to lift him, on\nwhich he awoke and gave the alarm. The thieves beat him with their\nclubs till he was half dead; then, senseless and with a broken leg,\nthey threw him into the dry bed of a river.\n\nIn the morning his servants became aware of the robbery, and also\nthat their master was missing. His groom found him some time after\nin the river bed, and carried him to a doctor who bound up his limb,\nand took care of him. He was soon well enough to move about, but\ndoomed to halt through life.\n\nThe raja of that country was very wealthy, and had ships on the\nsea. Whenever a ship left the port on its outward voyage, it was\ncustomary to carry a man on board, who, on the rising of a storm at\nsea, was cast over board to appease to wrath of the Spirit of the\nmighty Deep. Without such a victim on board, no ship could leave\nthe harbour. Now, it so happened that one of the raja's vessels was\nabout to sail to a foreign port, but no man suitable for the sacrifice\ncould be obtained. At last the raja ordered them to take the lame man,\nwhom he had seen limping about the city. He, not knowing the purpose\nthey had in view in asking him to accompany them on their voyage,\ngladly embraced the opportunity of seeing foreign lands. No sooner\nwas he on board than the ship began to move, and to obtain a better\nview he climbed up the mast, and sat on the top of it. In twelve\ndays they reached a port. Bosont, however, did not decend from his\nelevated station, but continued gazing on the country lying around.\n\nThe daughter of the raja of that city, while walking on the roof\nof the palace, enjoying the cool of the evening, saw Bosont seated\non the ship's mast. She at once fell violently in love with him,\nand descending to her room, feigned sickness. Her parents called in\nthe most famed physicians, but their skill was of no avail, the young\nlady's illness increased in intensity. At last, when her parents began\nto give up hope of saving her life, she said, \"The doctors cannot do me\nany good, but if you will do as I direct you, I shall recover.\" They\nsaid, \"Tell us what it is that we can do for you.\" She replied,\n\"Before I can make it known to you, you must take oath that you will\nnot seek to evade the performance of it.\" To this they agreed, and the\nprincess said, \"If you will betroth me to the man sitting on the top\nof the mast of the vessel in the harbour, I shall immediately regain\nmy health.\" The raja despatched messengers to the ship, and had Bosont\nbrought to the palace, and solemnized their marriage that same evening.\n\nA few days after the above occurrence, the ship was ready to set sail\non her homeward voyage, so they took the lame man on board, his wife\nalso following. After they had been a few days at sea, the vessel\nwas in danger of foundering in a storm. The sailors searched for\nthe victim, but he could nowhere be found. At last one of the crew\nlooking up, spied him seated on the mast and climbing swiftly up,\npushed him into the sea. His wife had brought a tumba with her, and\nseeing her husband in the sea, threw it to him. With this assistance he\nwas able to swim to the vessel, and laying hold of the stern, followed\nswimming all the way to port. When the vessel was brought to anchor,\nhe climbed up into it, and disguised himself as a fakir. The people of\nthe city noticed him daily walking on the shore in front of the ship,\nand believed him to be in reality a fakir.\n\nOne day the raja seeing Bosont's wife took a fancy to her, and caused\nher to be brought to his palace. She had apartments assigned to her\nin the best part of it, and was treated with great distinction. On the\nraja offering her marriage, she declined, saying, \"Speak not to me of\nit.\" After several days the raja enquired, \"Why do you still refuse to\nbecome my wife.\" She replied, \"Ask the fakir who is always to be seen\npacing the shore in front of a vessel lying in the harbour.\" The raja\ngave orders immediately to have the fakir brought to the palace. On\nhis being ushered into his presence, the raja said, \"What do you know\nregarding the woman, who on declining to be my wife, referred me to you\nfor an explanation?\" In reply Bosont related in the form of a fable,\nthe history of Sit and himself, and also what befell him after they\nwere parted from each other. Sit, who was now raja recognized his\nbrother in the fakir before him, and falling on his neck, wept for\njoy. The two brothers continued ever after to live together.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF A TIGER.\n\n\nA certain man had charge of a number of cattle. One day he took them\nto graze near a quagmire, and leaving them there went in search of\njungle fruits. It so happened that one of the bullocks was browsing\non the edge of the quagmire when a tiger came creeping stealthily up,\nand sprang upon it, but somehow or other missed his mark, and fell\ninto the quagmire and there stuck fast. When the herd come to drive\nhis cattle home, he found the tiger fast in the mud, and called a\nlarge number of people to come and see him. The tiger addressed those\nwho came to gaze upon him as follows, \"Oh men, pull me out. I am in\ngreat straits.\" They replied, \"We will not pull you out even to save\nyour life. You are a ravenous animal.\" The tiger said, \"I will not eat\nyou.\" So they pulled him out. When he was again on dry land, he said,\n\"I will devour you, for it is my nature to do so.\" They replied,\n\"Will you really eat us?\" \"Yes, I will,\" said the tiger. \"Well,\"\nthey rejoined, \"if you will devour us, what can we do to prevent\nyou? But let us first ask the opinion of some others as to whether\nit is right for you to eat us or not.\" So they requested the opinion\nof all the trees in the forest, and each said, \"Human beings are all\nbad.\" On asking the Mohwa tree, it replied, \"Men are not good. Behold\nevery year I give them my flowers to eat, and my fruit from which\nto make oil. In the hot weather I give them shade, and on leaving,\nwhen they have rested, they give me a parting slash with their axes,\ntherefore it is right to eat these people, as they return evil for\ngood.\" So said all the trees.\n\nFrom this forest they went to another in which they found a cow to whom\nthey said, \"We are come to ask your opinion on a certain matter about\nwhich we are at variance. This tiger was up to the neck in a quagmire,\nand we pulled him out. Now he wishes to return evil for good. Is it\nright for him to do so?\" The cow replied, \"Yes, yes, I have heard what\nyou have got to say. You human beings are not the correct thing. Behold\nme, how much I have contributed to the health and comfort of my master,\nyet he does not recognize my merit. Now that I am old, he has turned\nme out, and should I improve a little in condition, he will say, 'I\nwill take this cow to the market and sell it. I will at least get a few\npence for it.' Behold, when a man is well to do, he has many friends,\nbut when he is poor, no one knows him. Verily, you are worthy to be\ndevoured.\" The tiger then said to the men, \"Well, have you heard all\nthis? Are you convinced?\" They said, \"Hold on, let us ask one person\nmore.\" So as they walked along they saw a jackal and called to him, \"Oh\nuncle, stand still.\" The jackal said, \"No I cannot wait, my companions,\nwho are on their way to see the swinging festival, are far ahead of me,\nand I am hurrying to overtake them.\" They said to him, \"Wait a little\nand settle this matter for us. We pulled this tiger out of a quagmire,\nand now he wishes to devour us.\" The jackal then said to the tiger,\n\"Is this true? I cannot believe that a famed individual like yourself\nwould be fool enough to jump into a quagmire. Come, shew me the place,\nand how it happened.\" So the tiger led him to the quagmire, and said,\n\"This is the place from which I sprang, and this is how I did it,\"\nand he leaped into the quagmire. The jackal turning to the men, said,\n\"What are you staring at? Pelt him with stones.\" So they all set to\nand stoned the tiger to death.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF A LIZARD, A TIGER, AND A LAME MAN.\n\n\nOnce upon a time in a certain jungle, a lizard and a tiger were\nfighting, and a lame man, who was tending goats near by, saw them. The\ntiger being beaten by the lizard was ashamed to own it, and coming to\nthe lame man said, \"Tell me which of us won.\" The lame man being in\ngreat fear lest the tiger should eat him, said, \"You won.\" On another\noccasion the lizard was compelled to flee, and took refuge in an\nant hill. The tiger pursued him, but not being able to get him out,\nsat down to watch.\n\nThe lizard seeing his opportunity, crept stealthily up to his\ninveterate enemy, and climbing up his tail, fixed his teeth into his\nhaunch, and held firmly on. The tiger felt the pain of the lizard's\nbite, but could not reach him to knock him off, so he ran to the lame\nman, and said, \"Release me from this lizard.\" When he had caused the\nlizard to let go his grip, the tiger said, \"Oh lame man, which of us\nwon in the encounter?\" The poor man in great fear said, \"You won.\"\n\nThe same scene was enacted daily for many days. The tiger always came\nto the lame man and said, \"Knock off this lizard,\" and after he had\ndone so, would say, \"Which of us won?\" The lame man invariably replied,\n\"You won.\" This had happened so often that the lame man began to feel\nannoyed at having to tell a lie every day to please the tiger. So one\nday after an ignominious flight on the part of the tiger, he being,\nas usual, requested to give his opinion as to who won, said, \"The\nlizard had the best of it.\" On hearing this the tiger became angry,\nand said, \"I shall eat you, my fine fellow, because you say the lizard\ndefeated me. Tell me where you sleep.\" The poor lame man on hearing\nthe tiger threaten him thus, trembled with fear, and was silent. But\nthe tiger pressed him. He said, \"Tell at once, for I shall certainly\ndevour you.\" The lame man replied, \"I sleep in the wall press.\" When\nnight fell, the tiger set off to eat the lame man, but after searching\nin the wall press failed to find him. In the morning the lame man\nled his goats out to graze, and again met the tiger, who addressed\nhim as follows, \"You are a great cheat. I did not find you in the\nwall press last night.\" The lame man replied, \"How is it you did not\nfind me? I was sleeping there.\" \"No,\" said the tiger, \"you were not,\nyou have deceived me. Now, tell me truly where you sleep.\" \"I sleep\non a rafter,\" said the lame man. About midnight the tiger went again\nin search of him to eat him, but did not find him on the rafter, so\nhe returned home. In the morning the lame man as usual led his goats\nout to graze, and again encountered the tiger, who said to him, \"How\nnow! Where do you sleep? I could not find you last night.\" The lame\nman rejoined, \"That is strange, I was there all the same.\" The tiger\nsaid, \"You are a consummate liar. Now tell me plainly where you sleep\nat night, for I shall without doubt eat you.\" The lame man replied,\n\"I sleep in the fire-place.\" Again the tiger went at night, but could\nnot find him. Next morning he met the lame man, and said to him,\n\"No more tricks, tell me where you sleep.\" He, thrown off his guard,\nsaid, \"In the gongo.\" [4]\n\nThe tiger then withdrew to his den to wait till night came on, and\nthe lame man, cursing his indiscretion, with a heavy heart, drove his\ngoats homewards. Having made his charge safe for the night, he sat down\nfeeling very miserable. He refused the food that was set before him,\nand continued bewailing his hard lot. In the hope of inducing him to\neat, they gave him some mohwa wrapped in a sal leaf. This also failed\nto tempt him to eat; but he carried it with him when he crept into the\ngongo to sleep. At night the tiger came and lifting up the gongo felt\nit heavy, and said, \"Well, are you inside?\" He replied, \"Yes, I am.\" So\nthe tiger carried off the gongo with the lame man in it. By the time\nthe tiger had gone a considerable distance, the lame man became hungry\nand said within himself, \"I shall have to die in the end, but in the\nmeantime I will appease my hunger.\" So he opened his small parcel of\nmohwa, and the dry leaf crackled as he did so. The noise frightened the\ntiger and he said, \"What is it you are opening?\" The lame man replied,\n\"It is yesterday's lizard.\" \"Hold! hold!\" exclaimed the tiger, \"Do\nnot let him out yet, let me get clear away first.\" The lame man said,\n\"Not so, I will not wait, but will let him out at once.\" The tiger\nbeing terrified at the prospect of again meeting his mortal enemy,\nthe redoubtable lizard, threw down the gongo and fled, calling out,\n\"I will not eat you. You have got the lizard with you.\"\n\nIn this way the lame man by means of the lizard saved his life.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF A SIMPLETON.\n\n\nThere was once a certain simpleton who had never seen a horse, but\nhad heard that there was such an animal, and that men rode on his\nback. His curiosity was greatly excited, and he went here and there\nsearching for a horse, so that he might ride on its back. On his way\nhe fell in with a wag, and asked him, what horses were like, where\nthey could be found, and whence were they produced. The wag replied,\n\"They are very large, they are to be had at the weekly market,\nand they are hatched from eggs.\" He then asked, \"What is the price\nof the eggs?\" The other replied, \"Price! They are cheap, one pice\neach.\" So one day he went to the market and bought four eggs which he\nsaw exposed for sale, and brought them home with him. He then made\npreparations for a lengthened absence from his house, and started\nfor the jungle, taking with him rice, a cooking pot and fire, to\nget the eggs hatched. Having reached the jungle, he placed the eggs\nto hatch in what turned out to be a tiger's den, and then went some\ndistance off and sat down. After a short time he went to have a look\nat the eggs, and found one was missing. He was greatly distressed, at\nhaving as he fancied lost his horse, and cried out, \"It has hatched,\nand run away somewhere. But what has happened, has happened. What\ncan I do? I'll look out for the next one when it hatches.\" He then\nwent to cook his rice, and returning after some time missed another\nof the eggs. He was very much grieved over the loss of the two eggs,\nand mourning his misfortune, cried, \"Where have the two gone, after\nthey came out of the shell? There still, however, remain two eggs.\" So\nsaying, he returned to finish his cooking. After a few minutes'\ninterval, he went to have a look at the eggs, and saw that another had\ndisappeared; only one remained. His grief at the loss of three horses,\nwas intense. He cried out, \"Oh! where shall I find them? Three horses\nhave been hatched, and they have all run away.\" He then went to where\nhis cooking had been performed, and quickly ate his rice, and returned\nin all haste to look at his egg. It too was gone. On seeing this,\nhis sorrow and disappointment were acute. He bemoaned his ill luck\nas follows, \"After all the trouble I was at to procure my eggs, they\nhave all hatched, and the horses are lost. But what is, must be. I\nshall relieve my mind by taking a chew of tobacco.\" After putting the\ntobacco into his mouth he noticed the tiger's den, and said, \"It is\nin here, the horses have gone.\" So he went and broke from a tree a\nlong stick with which he tried to poke his horses out. For some time\nhis labours met with no reward, but at last he succeeded in forcing\nthe tiger out of his den. Just as he was coming out, the simpleton\nby some chance or other got astride of his back, and called out,\n\"At last I have found a horse.\" His delight was boundless. But the\ntiger would not go in the direction of his rider's house, but kept\ngoing further into the jungle. The simpleton then struck him about the\nhead and ears saying, \"As ghur ghur, as ghur ghur;\" [5] nevertheless\nthe tiger plunged deeper into the jungle. At last he bolted into a\nthicket of trailing plants, where he unseated the simpleton. The tiger\nhaving got rid of his rider fled. Afterwards he met a jackal who said\nto him, \"Where away, in such hot haste?\" \"Uh!\" he said, \"how much\nof it can I tell you! I have been greatly harassed, and distressed\nby As ghur ghur. It was with great difficulty I succeeded in giving\nhim the slip, and now I am fleeing for dear life.\" The jackal said,\n\"Come along and shew him to me, and I shall soon eat him up.\" The\ntiger replied, \"Oh dear! no. I cannot go. If he finds me again he\nwill do for me altogether.\" \"Nonsense,\" said the jackal, \"lead me to\nwhere he is, and I shall devour him.\" The tiger was persuaded, and\nled the way, and the jackal followed. After some little time they met\na bear, who said, \"Where are you two going?\" The jackal gave answer,\n\"This person has somewhere seen As ghur ghur and I am saying to him,\n'Take me to where he is, and I shall eat him,' but he will not push\nahead.\" Then the bear said, \"Come let us all go together, and I shall\neat him up.\" The tiger said, \"I will go no further.\" The jackal then\nsaid, \"Listen to me, I will put you upon a plan. Let us hold on by\neach other's tails, in this way you will have no cause to fear any\nevil.\" This suggestion pleased them well, and they cried out, \"Yes,\nlet us do that. You have hit upon a first rate expedient.\" Then the\nbear took hold of the tiger's tail, and the jackal that of the bear,\nand in this way they pursued their journey. But just as they drew near\nthe thicket in which the simpleton had been left, the tiger exclaimed,\n\"Look there, he is coming towards us,\" and being terribly frightened,\nfled at his utmost speed dragging the bear and jackal after him tearing\nthe skin from off their bodies on the rough stones and gravel. At\nlength the jackal cried out, \"Hold on uncle, hold on uncle, you have\nrubbed all the skin off my body.\" But he would not halt, but kept\ndashing on through wood and brake, dragging them after him, until the\nbear's tail broke, and the jackal was released. His body by this time\nwas all raw flesh, and he was swollen into a round mass. However,\nhe managed to pick himself up, and run for his life.\n\nAfterwards they met in with a pack of wild dogs who said,\n\"Hulloo! what's up, that you are fleeing in such a plight?\" They\nreplied, \"We are fleeing from As ghur ghur.\" \"Where is he?\" said they,\n\"We will eat him.\" The tiger said, \"There just in front of you, where\nyou see the dark spot in the forest.\" So they went in the direction\nindicated, and while they were yet some distance off, they saw the\nsimpleton standing in the shade of the trees. He also saw them, and\nbeing afraid hid himself in a hollow tree. On coming up to the tree\nin which he was, they surrounded it, and one of their number essayed\nto poke him out of his hiding place with his tail. The simpleton,\nhowever, taking hold of it twisted it round his hands, and pulled\nwith all his might. The pain caused by his tail being pulled, caused\nthe wild dog to grin. On seeing this, one of his companions said,\n\"Oh! Brother, wherefore do you grin.\" He said, \"I have got hold of\nhim, and I am smiling with pleasure.\" The simpleton from within\nthe tree continued to pull, till the tail of the wild dog broke,\nand he fell to the ground with a thud. The others on looking at him\nnoticed that he had lost his tail. So they all became panic stricken,\nand fled from the place with all possible speed.\n\nThe simpleton took up his residence in that part of the jungle in\nwhich the above occurred. He is said to be the ancestor of the Bir\nhors, or jungle Santals.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nA THIEF AND A TIGER.\n\n\nIn a certain country there lived a very wealthy man whose cattle\ngrazed on a wide plain. One day a tiger noticed them, and so did three\nthieves. At night the tiger came to where they were lying, and so did\nthe three thieves, but the tiger arrived first. The night was pitch\ndark, and the cows getting frightened fled to their owner's premises,\nand all entered the cattle shed. When the tiger saw the cattle flee\nhe ran after them, and entered the shed along with them. The thieves,\ncoming to where they expected to find the cattle, and not seeing them,\nalso went to the cattle shed; but the people of the house not having\nyet retired to rest, they hid themselves in the vicinity. When all\nbecame still, they entered the cattle shed, and began feeling for\nthe largest and fattest oxen. Two of the thieves, each finding one to\nhis mind, drove them away. But one man being more difficult to please\nthan his neighbours continued to go from one to another groping for a\ngood fat one. In this way he laid his hands on the tiger, it seemed a\nfat one, but lest there should be one still fatter, he left him for\na little. However, as he did not find one better than the tiger he\nreturned to him, and felt him all over again. He was without doubt the\nfattest in the shed, so he drove him out. On reaching the open field,\nthe tiger went in the direction of the jungle, and his driver had great\ndifficulty in getting him to go the road he wished. In this way,--the\ntiger going one direction, and the man pulling him another,--they\nspent the night. At cock-crow the thief became aware, that it was\na tiger he had been contending with in the dark, and not an ox. He\nthen said to the tiger, \"It is you then, whom I have taken possession\nof.\" He then released the tiger, who fled to the jungle at full speed.\n\nThe thief having been awake all night felt tired, and lying down in\nthe shade of a ridge of a rice field to rest, fell asleep.\n\nThe tiger as he ran encountered a jackal who exclaimed, \"Ho! Ho! uncle,\nwhere are you off to, at such a break-neck pace?\" The tiger replied,\n\"I am going in this direction. A mite kept me awake all night, I\nam fleeing through fear of him.\" The jackal then said, \"It is very\nstrange, uncle, that you did not vanquish him. We eat such as he. Tell\nme where he is, and I shall soon snap him up.\" The tiger said, \"He is\nover in the direction of those rice fields, asleep somewhere.\" The\njackal then went in search of him, and soon found him asleep in\nthe shade of a ridge of a rice field. He then went all round him\nreconnoitring, and when he had completed the circuit exclaimed,\n\"The tiger said he was a mite, but he turns out to be of immense\nsize, I cannot eat him all myself. I will gather my friends together\nto assist me, and then we shall devour him in no time.\" So he sat\ndown with his back towards the sleeping thief, so near that his tail\ntouched his neck, and began to yell as only a hungry jackal can. The\nnoise awoke the sleeper, and seeing the jackal sitting so near to him,\nhe quietly caught him by the tail, and springing on to his feet swung\nhim round and round above his head, and then flung him from him. The\njackal was severely stunned, but picking himself up, fled as fast as\nhis legs could carry him. After he had gone some little distance he\nmet a bear, who said, \"Where away in such hot haste?\" He made answer,\n\"Uh! What can I tell you more than that that barren tiger grossly\ndeceived me. He told me he was a mite, I went to see him and found he\nwas a ghur pank, [6] and without doubt he ghur panked me.\" The bear\nthen said, \"Oh! I'll eat him. Tell me where he is.\" The jackal said,\n\"You will find him over in these rice fields.\" So the bear went\nto find him and eat him. When still some distance off he spied him\nlaying asleep, and was greatly delighted, exclaiming, \"My belly will\nbe swollen with eating him before long.\" The thief accidentally lifted\nhis head, and saw the bear coming straight for him, so he jumped up\nand ran to the nearest tree into which he climbed. The bear saw him,\nand went up after him, and tried to get hold of him, but he jumped\nfrom one branch to another as the bear followed him. After this had\ngone on for some time, it so happened that the bear missed his footing\nand fell heavily to the ground. The thief immediately jumped on to his\nback. The bear was frightened, and getting to his feet fled as fast\nas he could; the thief clasped him tightly round the neck, saying,\n\"If I let go my hold he will eat me.\" The bear of course ran to the\njungle, where the thief was caught by the branches of the trees, and\ndragged off his back. He did not return to the rice fields to sleep,\nas he feared some other animal might come to eat him, but went to\nhis own home.\n\nAs the bear fled, he again met the jackal who asked him, \"Well! did\nyou eat him?\" The bear replied, \"You Sir, are a great cheat, you told\nme he was ghur pank. He is kara upar chap.\" [7] The two quarrelled\nover the matter, and the bear tried to catch the jackal to eat him,\nbut he managed to escape.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE MAGIC FIDDLE\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived seven brothers and a sister. The\nbrothers were married, but their wives did not do the cooking for\nthe family. It was done by their sister. The wives for this reason\nbore their sister-in-law much ill will, and at length they combined\ntogether to oust her from the office of cook and general provider,\nso that one of themselves might obtain it. They said, \"She does not\ngo out to the fields to work, but remains quietly at home, and yet\nshe has not the meals ready at the proper time.\" They then called\nupon their Bad Bonga, [8] and vowing vows unto him they secured his\ngood will and assistance; then they said to the Bad Bonga, \"At mid-day\nwhen our sister-in-law goes to bring water, cause it thus to happen,\nthat on seeing her pitcher the water shall vanish, and again slowly\nre-appear. In this way she will be delayed. May the water not flow into\nher pitcher, and you keep the maiden as your own.\" At noon when she\nwent to bring water, it suddenly dried up before her, and she began\nto weep. Then after a while the water began slowly to rise. When it\nreached her ankles she tried to fill her pitcher, but it would not\ngo under the water. Being frightened she began to wail as follows;--\n\n\n    \"Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my ankles,\n    Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my ankles,\n    Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not dip,\n    Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not dip.\"\n\n\nThe water continued to rise until it reached her knee, when she began\nto wail as follows;--\n\n\n    \"Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my knee,\n    Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my knee,\n    Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not dip,\n    Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not dip.\"\n\n\nThe water continued to rise, and when it reached her waist, she wailed\nas follows;--\n\n\n    \"Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my waist,\n    \"Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my waist,\n    \"Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not dip,\n    \"Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not dip.\"\n\n\nThe water in the tank continued to rise, and when it reached her\nbreast, she wailed as follows;--\n\n\n    \"Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my breast,\n    \"Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my breast,\n    \"Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not fill,\n    \"Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not fill.\"\n\n\nThe water still rose, and when it reached her neck she wailed as\nfollows;--\n\n\n    \"Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my neck,\n    \"Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my neck,\n    \"Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not dip,\n    \"Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not dip.\"\n\n\nAt length the water became so deep that she felt herself to be\ndrowning, then she wailed as follows;--\n\n\n    \"Oh! my brother, the water measures a man's height,\n    \"Oh! my brother, the water measures a man's height,\n    \"Oh! my brother, the pitcher begins to fill,\n    \"Oh! my brother, the pitcher begins to fill.\"\n\n\nThe pitcher filled with water, and along with it she sank and was\ndrowned. The bonga then transformed her into a bonga like himself,\nand carried her off.\n\nAfter a time she re-appeared as a bamboo growing on the embankment\nof the tank in which she had been drowned. When the bamboo had grown\nto an immense size, a Jugi, who was in the habit of passing that way,\nseeing it, said to himself, this will make a splendid fiddle. So one\nday he brought an axe to cut it down; but when he was about to begin,\nthe bamboo exclaimed, \"Do not cut at the root, cut higher up.\" When\nhe lifted his axe to cut high up the stem, the bamboo cried out,\n\"Do not cut near the top, cut at the root.\" When the Jugi again\nprepared himself to cut at the root as requested, the bamboo said,\n\"Do not cut at the root, cut higher up;\" and when he was about to\ncut higher up, it again called out to him, \"Do not cut high up,\ncut at the root.\" The Jugi by this time was aware that a bonga was\ntrying to frighten him, so becoming angry he cut down the bamboo at\nthe root, and taking it away made a fiddle out of it. The instrument\nhad a superior tone and delighted all who heard it. The Jugi carried\nit with him when he went a-begging, and through the influence of its\nsweet music he returned home every evening with a full wallet.\n\nHe now and again visited, when on his rounds, the house of the\nbonga girl's brothers, and the strains of the fiddle affected them\ngreatly. Some of them were moved even to tears, for the fiddle\nseemed to wail as one in bitter anguish. The elder brother wished\nto purchase it, and offered to support the Jugi for a whole year,\nif he would consent to part with his magical instrument. The Jugi,\nhowever, knew its value, and refused to sell it.\n\nIt so happened that the Jugi sometime after went to the house of a\nvillage chief, and after playing a tune or two on his fiddle asked\nsomething to eat. They offered to buy his fiddle and promised a\nhigh price for it, but he rejected all such overtures, his fiddle\nbeing to him his means of livelihood. When they saw that he was not\nto be prevailed upon, they gave him food and a plentiful supply of\nliquor. Of the latter he partook so freely that he presently became\nintoxicated. While he was in this condition, they took away his fiddle,\nand substituted their own old one for it. When the Jugi recovered,\nhe missed his instrument, and suspecting that it had been stolen\nrequested them to return it to him. They denied having taken it,\nso he had to depart, leaving his fiddle behind him. The chief's son\nbeing a musician, used to play on the Jugi's fiddle, and in his hands\nthe music it gave forth delighted the ears of all within hearing.\n\nWhen all the household were absent at their labours in the fields,\nthe bonga girl emerged from the bamboo fiddle, and prepared the family\nmeal. Having partaken of her own share, she placed that of the chiefs\nson under his bed, and covering it up to keep off the dust, re-entered\nthe fiddle. This happening every day the other members of the household\nwere under the impression that some female neighbour of theirs was in\nthis manner showing her interest in the young man, so they did not\ntrouble themselves to find out how it came about. The young chief,\nhowever, was determined to watch, and see which of his lady friends was\nso attentive to his comfort. He said in his own mind, \"I will catch\nher to-day, and give her a sound beating. She is causing me to be\nashamed before the others.\" So saying, he hid himself in a corner in\na pile of firewood. In a short time the girl came out of the bamboo\nfiddle, and began to dress her hair. Having completed her toilet,\nshe cooked the meal of rice as usual, and having partaken herself,\nshe placed the young man's portion under his bed, as she was wont,\nand was about to enter the fiddle again, when he running out from\nhis hiding place caught her in his arms. The bonga girl exclaimed,\n\"Fie! Fie! you may be a Dom, or you may be a Hadi.\" [9] He said,\n\"No. But from to-day, you and I are one.\" So they began lovingly\nto hold converse with each other. When the others returned home in\nthe evening, they saw that she was both a human being and a bonga,\nand they rejoiced exceedingly.\n\nThrough course of time the bonga girl's family became very poor,\nand her brothers on one occasion came to the chief's house on a visit.\n\nThe bonga girl recognised them at once, but they did not know who\nshe was. She brought them water on their arrival, and afterwards set\ncooked rice before them. Then sitting down near them, she began in\nwailing tones to upbraid them on account of the treatment she had\nbeen subjected to by their wives. She related all that had befallen\nher, and wound up by saying, \"It is probable that you knew it all,\nand yet you did not interfere to save me.\"\n\nAfter a time she became reconciled to her sisters-in-law, and no\nlonger harboured enmity in her mind against them, for the injury they\nhad done her.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGUMDA, THE HERO.\n\n\nThere was once a certain fatherless lad named Gumda. His occupation\nwas to tend the raja's goats. He, and his mother lived in a small house\nat the end of the street in which the raja's palace was situated. The\nraja's mahout was in the habit of taking his elephant along that\nstreet, and every time it passed, it rubbed itself against the wall\nof Gumda's house. One day at noon it so happened that Gumda was at\nhome when the elephant was being taken to the tank to drink, and as\nusual he rubbed his side against the house as he passed. Gumda was\nincensed with the elephant for thus destroying his house, and coming\nout quickly, said to the mahout, \"What although it is the raja's\nelephant! I could take hold of any person's elephant by the trunk,\nand throw it across seven seas.\" The elephant understood what Gumda\nhad said, and he refused to go down into the water, and would not even\ndrink. On being brought home he would not eat his grain, nor would he\nso much as look at water. He continued thus so long that he began to\ngrow lean and weak. The mahout knew that it was Gumda's curse that had\nso affected his charge. The raja one day noticing the altered condition\nof his elephant, said to the mahout, \"Why has the elephant become\nso emaciated?\" The mahout replied, \"Oh! raja, one day at noon Gumda\nabused him. He said, 'If you were not the raja's elephant, I would\ntake you by the trunk and throw you across seven seas.' 'Every day,'\nhe said, 'he rubs himself against my house.' Since then the elephant\nhas refused his food and water.\" The raja, on hearing this, commanded\nthat Gumda be brought before him. The messenger found him at home,\nand brought him into the presence of the raja who asked him, \"Is it\ntrue, Gumda, that you said you would throw the elephant as you would\na stone?\" Gumda replied, \"Yes, it is quite true that I said so. The\nelephant every time it passes along the street rubs itself against\nthe wall of my house, and being angry, I said these words. Now, do\nwith me whatsoever you please.\" The raja marvelled greatly on hearing\nGumda's reply, and addressing him said, \"Now my lad, prove your words,\nfor prove them you must. If you succeed in thus throwing an elephant,\nI shall present you with a large estate.\" The raja appointed the tenth\nday following as that on which Gumda should wrestle with the elephant;\nand he, after receiving permission from the raja, returned home.\n\nThe raja in the interval caused proclamation to be made to all his\nsubjects, ordering them to be present on the day when Gumda was to\nmeet the elephant in mortal combat. On the morning of the appointed\nday Gumda was found baking bread. As he did not appear punctually\nin the arena, the raja sent a messenger to bring him. On arriving\nat Gumda's house, he found him baking bread. He said to him, \"Come\nalong, the raja has asked for you.\" Gumda said, \"Wait a little till I\npartake of some refreshment.\" He invited the messenger to be seated,\nand he also sat down as if to eat, but instead of eating the bread,\nhe began to throw it at the man, and continued doing so until he had\nburied him under eight maunds of loaves. The poor fellow cried out,\n\"Oh Gumda, come and release me, of a truth I am almost crushed to\ndeath under this heap of bread.\" He removed the bread from above him,\nand he immediately returned to the raja. As he was leaving the house\nhe saw 12 maunds of cooked rice, evidently intended for Gumda's\ndinner. Coming into the presence of the raja he said, \"Oh! raja,\nI saw in Gumda's house twelve maunds of cooked rice, and he threw a\nloaf of bread weighing eight maunds at me, which almost crushed me\nto death. It is quite possible that he may win.\"\n\nAt length Gumda came bringing with him a sledge hammer weighing\ntwelve maunds, and a shield of the same weight. The contest was to\ntake place on a plain sufficiently large to accommodate an immense\nnumber of spectators.\n\nThen the fight began. The two combatants attacked each other so\nfuriously that they raised such a cloud of dust as to completely\nconceal them from the onlookers. The elephant could not long sustain\nthe unequal combat, and when he was beaten, Gumda seized him by the\ntrunk, and threw him over the seas. Owing to the darkness caused by\nthe clouds of dust, none of the thousands present noticed the elephant\nas he went, flying over their heads high up in the air.\n\nWhen the dust subsided, Gumda was found sitting alone, the elephant\nwas nowhere to be seen. The raja called the victor to him, and said,\n\"What have you done with the elephant?\" Gumda replied \"I flung him\nearly in the forenoon over seven seas.\" Hearing his answer and not\nseeing the elephant, they all marvelled greatly.\n\nThe raja then said to Gumda, \"Well, you have thrown the elephant\nsomewhere. You must now go in search of its bones.\" Gumda went home\nand said to his mother, \"Make up a parcel of food for me, I am going\nto find the elephant's bones.\" She complied with his request and he\nset out.\n\nAs he hurried along intent upon his quest, he found a man fishing with\na Palmyra palm tree as a rod, and a full grown elephant as a bait. On\nseeing him Gumda exclaimed, \"You are indeed a great hero.\" The man\nreplied, \"I am no hero, the widow's son Gumda is the great hero, for\ndid not he fling the raja's elephant across seven seas?\" Gumda said,\n\"I am he.\" The fisherman said,\" I will go with you.\" Gumda replied,\n\"Come along!\"\n\nAs Gumda and his attendant went on their way, they came to a field in\nwhich a number of men were hoeing, and their master, to shield them\nfrom the heat of the sun, stood holding over them, as an umbrella,\na large Pepul tree. [10] Gumda seeing him said, \"You are a hero\nand no mistake.\" The man replied, \"No indeed, I am no hero. Gumda,\nthe widow's son, threw the raja's elephant across seven seas. He is\nthe hero.\" Gumda said, \"I am he.\" \"Then,\" said the man, \"I also will\ngo with you.\" \"Follow me,\" said Gumda, and the three proceeded on\ntheir way.\n\nAs they journeyed they fell in with two men, who were raising water\nfrom a tank for irrigating purposes by merely singing. When Gumda\nsaw them, he exclaimed, \"You two are heroes indeed.\" They answered,\n\"What do you see heroic in us? There is one hero, Gumda by name, he\nthrew a raja's elephant across seven seas.\" Gumda said, \"I am he.\" The\nmen exclaimed, \"We also will follow you.\" Gumda said, \"Follow.\" And\nthe five men went forth to search for the elephant's bones.\n\nOn and on they went until they reached the sea, which they crossed,\nand entered the primeval forest beyond. Selecting a suitable place\nthey encamped, and began the search for the elephant's bones. The\nfirst day the fisherman was left in the camp to cook the food,\nwhile the others went out into the forest. Near by a certain jugi\nraja resided in a cave in a rock. He came to the camp just as the\nfood was cooked, and said to the fisherman, \"Give me some rice to\neat.\" He declined, and the jugi raja then said, \"Will you give me\nrice, or will you fight with me?\" He replied, \"I have prepared this\nfood with difficulty and prefer fighting to giving it up.\" So they\nfought, and the jugi raja was victor. He laid a heavy stone on the\nbreast of the cook, and then devoured all the food. There had been\ntwelve maunds of rice prepared, and he left none. After a long time\nhe released his victim, and then went his way. Being released the\nfisherman set about preparing more food, but before it was ready,\nhis companions returned and seeing the pot still on the fire, they\nenquired why he had not made haste with his cooking. He replied,\n\"I have not been idle, I have spent all the time in cooking.\" He did\nnot tell them about the jugi raja having been at the camp.\n\nThe next day another of the company remained as cook, while the\nothers went out to search in the forest for the elephant's bones. The\njugi raja again visited the camp, and the scene of the previous day\nwas re-enacted. But he also did not speak of the visit of the jugi\nraja to the others when they returned. In this way the jugi raja\nencountered each in turn till only Gumda was left, and he remained\nin the camp to cook. When he had got the rice cooked, the jugi raja\nmade his appearance and said, \"Will you fight with me, or will you\ngive up the food?\" Gumda replied, \"I will not give you the food. I\nhave spent much time in cooking it, and when those who have gone in\nsearch of the elephant's bones return, what shall I set before them,\nif I give it to you now? You have played this trick every day, and\nhave put my companions to much trouble, but to-day we have met.\" So\nthey fought. Gumda overpowered the jugi raja, and killed him with the\nstone he used to put upon the breast of those whom he vanquished. He\nthen espoused the jugi raja's wife, and took possession of his\nkingdom. Gumda's companions held him in great awe, because each in\nturn had been conquered by the jugi raja, but Gumda had experienced\nlittle difficulty in putting him to death.\n\nGumda became raja of that country, and when he had settled his affairs,\nhe sent for his mother to come and reside with him. The raja, whom\nGumda had previously served, sought his friendship, and withdrew his\ncommand to Gumda to search for the elephant's bones until he found\nthem. The prowess of Gumda caused him to deprecate his anger. He said,\n\"If I offend him, he will kill me as he did the jugi raja, and take\nmy wife and kingdom, as he did his.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLIPI, AND LAPRA.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there were seven brothers. At first they were\nvery poor, but afterwards they became comparatively rich, and were\nin position to lay out a little money at usury. The affairs of the\nyoungest prospered most, so that before long he became the wealthiest\nof them all.\n\nEach of the seven brothers planted fruit trees, and every day after\nthey returned from their work, before they sat down to meat, they\nwatered them. In process of time all the trees flowered, but the\nflowers on the eldest brother's trees withered and dropped off the day\nthey appeared. The trees of the other brothers failed to ripen their\nfruit, but those of the youngest brother were laden with delicious\nfruit which ripened to perfection. Five of the brothers said to him,\n\"You are very fortunate in having such a splendid crop;\" but the\neldest brother was envious of his good fortune, and resolved to be\nrevenged upon him.\n\nThe youngest brother brought up two puppies, whom he named Lipi and\nLapra. They turned out good hunting dogs, and by their aid their master\nused to keep the family larder well supplied. The others were pleased\nto see so much game brought to the house. One day they said to him,\n\"Take us also to where you get your large game.\" To this he agreed,\nand they accompanied him to his usual hunting ground. Game was\nplentiful, but they could kill nothing, although every time he shot\nan arrow he brought down his animal. Five of his brothers praised\nhim for his skill, and accuracy of aim, but the eldest brother, not\nhaving succeeded in bagging anything himself, envied him still more,\nand was confirmed in his desire for revenge.\n\nIt so happened that one day all the brothers, with the exception of the\neldest and the youngest, went out to their work. The eldest brother\nfinding himself alone with his youngest brother proposed that they\nshould go together to the hill for the purpose of procuring fibre to\nmake ropes. He said, \"Come let us go to the hill to cut lar.\" [11]\nHis brother replied, \"Come, let us set out.\" He, however, wished\nto take his dogs with him, but his brother said, \"Why should you\ntire them by taking them so far? Leave them behind.\" But he replied,\n\"I shall not go, unless you allow me to take them with me. How shall\nwe be able to bring home venison if they do not accompany us? They\nmay kill some game on the way.\" As he insisted, he was permitted to\ndo as he desired, and they set out for the hill.\n\nAs they went on their way they came to a spring, and the elder said,\n\"Tie up the two dogs here. I know all this forest, and there is no\ngame to be found in it.\" The younger was averse to leaving his dogs\nbehind him, but as his brother seemed determined he should do so,\nhe tied them with a stout rope to a tree. His brother said, \"See that\nyou make them secure, so that they may not break loose and run away,\nand be lost.\"\n\nA low hill lay between them, and the high one on which the trees\ngrew which yielded the lar. This they surmounted, and descending into\nthe valley that divided them began the ascent, and soon reached the\nplace where their work was to be. They soon cut and peeled sufficient\nlar, and sitting down twisted it into strong ropes. Just as they had\nprepared to return home, the elder brother seized the younger, and\nbound him with the ropes they had made. He then grasped his sickle\nwith the intention of putting him to death. The helpless young man\nthought of his dogs, and in a loud voice wailed as follows;--\n\n\n            Come, come, Lipi and Lapra,\n            Cross the low hill\n            On to the slope of the high.\n\n\nHe called them again and again. The dogs heard the voice, and\nstruggled to get loose, and at length, by a great effort, they\nsucceeded in breaking the ropes with which they were bound, and\nran in the direction from which the sound proceeded. Now and again\nthe cries ceased, and they stood still until they again heard them,\nwhen they ran as before. Having reached the valley that separated the\ntwo hills, they could no longer hear the wailing as before, and they\nwere greatly perplexed. They ran hither and thither, hoping to catch\nit again, but not doing so they directed their course to the large\nhill, on reaching the foot of which it again became audible. They\nnow recognized the voice of their master, and ran rapidly forward.\n\nWhen the elder brother saw the dogs approaching, he quickly aimed a\nblow with the sickle at his younger brother's head, but he, jerking\naside, escaped. Before there was time for him to strike again, the\ndogs had arrived, and their master hounded them upon his assailant\nand they quickly tore him to pieces. They then bit through the ropes\nwith which his brother had bound him, and set him at liberty. He\nthen returned home accompanied by his dogs, and when they enquired of\nhim where his brother was, he replied, \"He left me to follow a deer,\nI cannot say what direction he took. We did not meet again.\" He wept\nas he related this, and they enquired, \"Why do you weep?\" He said,\n\"My two dogs lay down on the ground, and howled, and fear possesses\nme that some wild beast has devoured my brother.\"\n\nThe next day a party went in search of him, and found him as the dogs\nhad left him. When they saw him lying torn and bloody, they said,\n\"Some wild beast has done this.\"\n\nThey brought the body home, and committed it to the flames of the\nfuneral pile, and sorrowfully performed all the ceremonies usual on\nsuch occasions.\n\nAfter the death of the elder brother, they all lived together in\npeace and harmony.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF LELHA.\n\n\nI.\n\nThere once lived a certain raja, who had three wives. The two elder had\ntwo sons each, and the younger only one, whose name was Lelha. [12]\nThe four sons of the first two wives were very friendly with each\nother, being seldom separate, but they despised Lelha, and never\npermitted him to join them in any of their pastimes or sports.\n\nThe raja had a plot of ground set apart for a flower garden, but\nthere was nothing in it. One day a certain Jugi came to him, and said,\n\"Oh! raja, if you fill your garden with all kinds of flowering plants,\nyour whole city will appear enchanting.\" Having said this, the Jugi\nwent to his home. The raja was greatly affected by what the Jugi had\nsaid, and was immediately seized with a fit of the sulks. There was\nan apartment in the palace set apart for the exclusive use of those\nwho happened to be in that state of mind. Such an one shut himself\nup in this chamber until the fit wore off, or until he was persuaded\nto be himself again.\n\nThe raja refused his evening meal, and as was his wont, when in this\nframe of mind, retired to the sulking apartment, and lay down. The\ntwo elder ranis having been informed of what had occurred, hasted\nto the raja, and said, \"Oh! raja, why are you sulking?\" He replied,\n\"This morning a Jugi came to me and said, that if I planted flowering\nshrubs in my garden the whole city would appear enchanting. If any\none will do this work for me, I will rise, if not, I shall remain\nhere.\" The ranis then addressed him thus, \"Oh! raja, rise up, and eat\nand drink.\" The raja replied, \"Let the young men come to me, I will do\nas you desire.\" The two ranis then left, and calling their sons, sent\nthem to their father. Coming into the presence of the raja they said,\n\"Wherefore father are you sulking?\" The raja replied, \"If you plant\nflowers in my flower garden I shall be comforted, and shall leave\nmy couch.\" They said, \"Is it on this account you are distressed? We\nshall cause the garden to be filled with flowers in a short time.\" On\nreceiving this assurance the raja left his bed, and partook of food,\nand was refreshed. Lelha's mother now appeared on the scene, and\naddressing the raja, said, \"Wherefore, raja are you sulky?\" He replied,\n\"Who told you I was sulky?\" She replied, \"A shopkeeper gave me the\ninformation.\" Then the raja got angry, and ordered her to leave,\nbut she said, \"If you do not tell me why you are sulking I will not\ndepart, am not I also your humble maidservant? Unless you tell me,\nI will not go, I will die here rather than leave.\" The raja relented,\nand related to her all the words of the Jugi. She then returned home.\n\nHer son Lelha entered the house soon after her arrival. He had been\nengaged in some field sports, and being wearied and hungry, said to\nhis mother, \"Give me some cooked rice.\" She was annoyed with him\nand said, \"Although the raja is ill, your first cry is for boiled\nrice.\" Lelha on hearing this went to his father, and enquired what\nwas wrong. But the raja flying into a rage scolded him, saying, \"Go\naway Lelha. What do you want here? Never come near me again. Did not I\nbuild a house for your mother and you at the extreme end of the street,\naway from here? Be off, or I shall beat you.\" To which Lelha replied,\n\"Oh! father raja, am not I also a son of yours? Let me be foolish\nor otherwise, still, I am your son, and unless you inform me of what\nhas grieved you, I shall die rather than leave this.\" Then the raja\ntold him also. He said, \"It is because I do not see flowers in the\ngarden.\" \"Oh!\" said Lelha, \"Is that what distresses you?\" He then left.\n\nThe raja's four elder sons caused all manner of flowering shrubs and\ntrees to be planted in the garden, and in a short time it was in a\nblaze of colour, so much so, that the whole city was as if lighted\nthereby.\n\nJust at this time, when every tree, shrub and plant was covered with\nblossom another Jugi, named Koema Jugi, came to the city and said\nto one and another, \"You, the citizens of this city, are covering\nyourselves with renown, but if you attach hiras [13] and manis [14] to\nthe branches, you will add renown to renown.\" The Jugi's words reached\nthe raja, and he was so much affected by them, that he immediately\nbegan to sulk, and on being questioned by his two ranis, he replied,\n\"Do you not remember the words of the Koema Jugi?\" They said, \"Yes,\nwe remember. He said, 'if you place hiras and manis in this garden\nthe whole country will be resplendent'.\" \"On that account then, I am\nsulking, and if I do not see hiras and manis, I shall not partake of\nany food.\" At the raja's words the two ranis returned sorrowfully to\ntheir apartments.\n\nAt that moment their four sons entered the house and asked for\nfood. The ranis were annoyed, and said, \"The raja, your father,\nis sulking, and you must have food and drink.\" On learning their\nfather's state the youths were distressed on his account, and went\nto him weeping, and enquired why he was sulking. He related to them\nthe words of Koema Jugi, and added, \"Unless I see hiras and manis\nattached to the branches of the trees in my flower garden, I shall\nnot rise from my couch.\" His four sons replied, \"Is it for this reason\nyou are grieving? We will search for, and bring them, and if we fail,\nthen sulk again, and refuse your food, and die of hunger, and we will\nnot prevent you, only listen to us this time and get up.\" The raja\nwas persuaded to rise, and having partaken of food he was refreshed.\n\n\n\n\nII.\n\nThe raja had planted flowering shrubs in his garden, but the Indarpuri\nSadoms [15] ate up all the flowers as they appeared, and so he again\nbegan to sulk. He said, \"I planted bushes, but I see no flowers. What\nreason is there for my remaining alive?\" And going to the sulking\nchamber he lay down, and as usual refused to eat. Then there was\nconfusion in the household, and running hither and thither. The two\nranis went to him, but he was annoyed, and ordered them to leave,\nsaying, \"I will not rise, by your telling me,\" so they returned\nweeping, each to her own apartment.\n\nJust then their four sons returned from hunting, and demanded\nfood. Their mothers were annoyed, and said, \"You young gentlemen\nare hungry, and must have food, that the raja is sulking is nothing\nto you, if you are fasting.\" On hearing this the sons went to their\nfather, and enquired, \"Oh! father, wherefore are you sulking?\" The\nraja replied, \"Oh! my sons, I am sulking because I see no flowers in\nmy garden. Unless I see flowers in my garden, I shall not remain in\nthis world.\" His sons replied, \"Give us three days, and if at the end\nof that time you see no flowers, then you may sulk.\" He was persuaded\nto rise, and having bathed, and partaken of food, he was refreshed.\n\nJust then Lelha arrived, and addressing the raja said, \"Oh! raja,\nwhat ails you?\" The raja on seeing Lelha was angry, and scolded him\nseverely. He said, \"Has Lelha come here? Drive him away at once.\" Lelha\nleft without uttering another word.\n\nAfter three days the raja began again to sulk, because there were still\nno flowers to be seen in his garden. The Indarpuri Sadoms came about\nmid-night and ate up all the buds. The raja's four elder sons when\nwatching could not remain awake for one hour, and so the Indarpuri\nSadoms came nightly and devoured all the buds that should have burst\ninto flower in the morning, so that not one solitary blossom was to\nbe seen. For this reason the raja again began to sulk, and no one\ndared to say anything to him.\n\nAt this juncture Lelha's mother went from her own house to a shop\nto buy rice. The shopkeeper refused to supply her. He said, \"The\nraja is sulking, and she comes here to buy rice. I will not weigh\nit, so go.\" Lelha's mother went hastily home, and encountered Lelha\nreturning from a stroll. Lelha asked for food. He said, \"Oh! mother,\ngive me cooked rice quickly.\" She rebuked him, and said, \"The raja is\nsulking. The shopkeeper refused to give me rice, how can I give you\nfood? I am a prey to grief, and here my young gentleman is hungry. Go\nto the raja.\"\n\nLelha did as his mother ordered him, and went to the apartment where\nthe raja was, and called several times, \"Oh! father, get up.\" At\nlength the raja asked, \"Who are you? Do not irritate me. Go away at\nonce.\" Lelha replied, \"I am your humble slave and son, Lelha.\" His\nfather said, \"Wherefore have you come here? Lelha, Go home, or else\nI shall beat you. What do you want here? If you go, go at once,\nif not, I shall have you chastised.\" Lelha replied, \"Because you,\nOh! raja, are sulking. The shopkeeper in the bazaar refused to\nsell to my mother rice, saying, 'something is amiss with the raja,\nI cannot let you have it.'\" The raja then said, \"Go, and bring the\nshopkeeper here.\" To which Lelha replied, \"Why are you sulking? If\nyou do not tell me, it were better for me to die here. I cannot leave\nyou. I have come here fasting, not having eaten anything to-day.\" The\nraja said, \"Your four brothers have not been able to do anything,\nand what can I hope from telling you about it, Lelha?\" Lelha replied,\n\"It is still possible that I may accomplish something, but although I\nshould not, yet I am a son of yours. Do tell me. If you die, I shall\ndie also. We will depart this life together. I cannot return home.\" The\nraja then thought within himself, I will tell him, and let him go. If\nI do not do so, Lelha may die along with me. Then addressing Lelha,\nhe said, \"It is nothing child, only I see no flowers in my garden,\nand therefore I am sulking. Although your four brothers watched\nthree nights, still I see no flowers.\" Lelha then said, \"If my\nbrothers watched three nights, see me watch one.\" The raja replied,\n\"Very good my son, let us leave this apartment.\"\n\nThe raja went to bathe, and Lelha going to the shopkeeper bought\nseveral kinds of grain, which he carried home and gave to his mother,\nsaying, \"Roast a seer of each, and cook some rice for me. I have\nsucceeded in persuading my father to rise. He has bathed and dined,\nand is refreshed. He was sulking because he can see no flowers in\nhis garden. It was with great difficulty that I prevailed upon him\nto get up.\" His mother said, \"What does my Lord want with roasted\ngrain?\" Lelha replied, \"Let me do with it as I chose, you prepare\nit. I will take it with me at night when I go to watch in the flower\ngarden.\" His mother said, \"Have you forgotten your brothers' threats\nto beat you?\" Lelha replied, \"My brothers may beat me, but no other\nperson. What help is there for it?\"\n\nAt nightfall, Lelha, having supped, tied up in the four corners of\nhis plaid four kinds of roasted grain, and entering the garden climbed\nup on a raised platform, and began his vigil.\n\nAfter a short time he untied one of his parcels of roasted grain,\nand began leisurely to eat it, one grain at a time. Just as he had\nconsumed the last one, an Indarpuri Sadom descended from the East and\nalighted in the garden to browse upon the flowers. Lelha seeing it,\ncrept noiselessly up, and laid hold of it, and at the same instant its\nrider, an Indarpuri Kuri, [16] exclaimed, \"Hands off! Lelha. Hands\noff! Lelha. Touch me not.\" Lelha replied, to the Indarpuri Kuri,\n\"Besides touching you, I will bind and detain you till morning. You\nhave become bold. You have caused my father to fast; but I have\ncaptured you to-night. Where will you go?\" \"Let me go,\" she said,\n\"I will bless you.\" Lelha rejoined, \"You are deceiving me.\" The\nIndarpuri Kuri made answer, \"I am not deceiving you. I shall give\nyou whatever blessing you may desire. Place your hand upon my head,\nLelha.\" He did so, and a lock of hair adhered to his hand, when he\nwithdrew it. The Indarpuri Kuri then said, \"When you desire anything,\ntake that lock of hair into your hand, and say, Oh! Indarpuri Kuri,\ngive me this or that, and instantly you shall receive it. Of a\ntruth it shall be so. I shall never fail you.\" Lelha then released\nthe Indarpuri Sadom, and it mounted up into the air, and he and his\nIndarpuri Rider vanished into space.\n\nBy the time Lelha had eaten all the roasted grain from another\ncorner of his plaid, another Indarpuri Sadom with his Indarpuri Kuri\nrider descended from the West. Lelha caught these as he had done the\nfirst. This Kuri was a younger sister of the other, and she gave a\nlike blessing to Lelha before he released her horse.\n\nLelha now began to eat his third parcel of roasted grain, and just as\nhe had finished it he saw another Indarpuri Sadom with an Indarpuri\nKuri rider descend from the North, and alight in the garden. Lelha\nalso captured these. The rider was a younger sister of the last. She\nalso gave Lelha a blessing, and was allowed to go.\n\nAt cockcrow, Lelha, having eaten the last grain of his fourth parcel,\nlooked up and beheld an Indarpuri Sadom with an Indarpuri Kuri rider\ndescend into the garden from the North. She was the youngest of the\nsisters. Lelha crept stealthily up, and laid hold of the horse's\nmane. The Indarpuri Kuri then exclaimed, \"Hands off! Lelha. Hands\noff! Lelha.\" Then Lelha replied, \"You Lelha greatly this morning. It\nis almost dawn, where can you go to escape punishment?\" Then the\nIndarpuri Kuri said, \"Oh! Lelha, We are four sisters, daughters of one\nmother, I will give you a blessing.\" Lelha replied, \"In this way three\npersons have fled. You also appear the same.\" The Indarpuri Kuri said,\n\"We four sisters have one blessing. Place your hand upon my head, and\nrelease me.\" Lelha did so, and the Indarpuri Sadom on being liberated\nsailed off into the sky with his Indarpuri rider. Lelha tied the four\nlocks of hair of the Indarpuri Kuris each in a corner of his plaid,\nas he had before done with the roasted grain. When the day fully\ndawned he returned to his home weeping, for his four brothers seeing\nthe bushes laden with blossom were envious of him, and had hurled him\nheadlong to the ground from off the raised platform on which he sat.\n\nOn reaching home his mother said to him, \"You see your brothers have\nbeaten you. I warned you against going.\" Lelha replied, \"What help\nis there for it? My brothers beat me. No one else did. I must bear\nit.\" His mother said, \"Then, why do you let others know?\"\n\nIn the morning the raja said, \"Last night Lelha was watching. I will\ngo and take a look at the garden.\" He went and found a perfect sea\nof blossom, the sight of which almost overcame him.\n\nIt so happened that as the raja gazed upon the fairy scene around him,\nKoema Jugi turned up, and addressing the raja said, \"You are lost\nin wonder, but if you hang hiras and manis on the branches the whole\ncountry will be resplendent. Then your wonder and amazement will be\nincreased twentyfold.\"\n\n\n\n\nIII.\n\nThe raja's garden was without an equal in the world, but the words of\nKoema Jugi had caused him to become discontented with it, and because\nthere were neither hiras nor manis hanging from the branches he, as\nbefore, began to sulk. They reasoned with him saying, \"Do not grieve\nover it. We will bring hiras and manis.\" So he rose, and having bathed\npartook of some refreshment.\n\nAbout this time Lelha's mother went to a shop to purchase food. On\nseeing her the shopkeeper said, \"Something is amiss with the raja,\nand she is hungry, and comes here giving annoyance. Go away. I will\nnot weigh anything for you.\" So she returned home empty-handed. As she\nentered the house she encountered Lelha just returned from hunting,\nwho said, \"Oh! mother, give me cooked rice.\" His mother replied,\n\"Something is wrong with the raja, and here my young lord is fasting,\nand cries for food. He is greatly concerned about his own affairs.\"\n\nLelha went at once to the raja, and enquired \"What ails you,\nfather?\" The raja replied, \"Is there anything ailing me? Has Lelha\ncome here? I will beat him shortly.\" Lelha said, \"Do with me what you\nplease. Why are you sulking? If you do not tell me, although it should\ncost me my life, I will not leave, rather slay me here at once.\" The\nraja thought within himself, \"He annoys me, I will tell him to get\nrid of him.\" So he said, \"Your brothers have gone in search of hiras\nand manis, and it is because I do not see the trees in my garden\nadorned with these precious stones that I am sulking. Lelha said,\n\"I will also go.\" His father said, \"Do not go child.\" But Lelha was\ndetermined, and disregarded his father's command.\n\nLelha went to the bazaar and purchased rice and dal, and his mother\nwhen she saw him bringing them home with him, said, \"What is wrong? You\nare completely out of breath.\" Lelha replied, \"My brothers have gone\nto search for hiras and manis, and I also am busy preparing to follow\nthem.\" She tried to dissuade him saying, \"Although the mean fellows\nbeat you, still you will not keep away from them.\" Lelha quickly\nreplied, \"What help is there for it, mother? Let my brothers beat\nme or not, what is that to me? I must bear it all.\" So his mother\nprepared food, and Lelha, having partaken of it, set out.\n\nHe went to the stable, and saddled the lame horse, as his brothers\nhad taken away the good ones, and mounting rode to the outskirts\nof the city. He then dismounted, and turned the lame horse loose,\nand went into the raja's flower garden, and said, \"Oh! Indarpuri\nKuri, give me a horse instantly. My brothers have left me behind,\nand gone I know not where. Give me such a horse as will enable me\nto reach them at once.\" Immediately a horse was at his side, and\nin a few seconds he was in sight of his brothers. He then alighted\nfrom his horse, and said \"Oh! Indarpuri Kuri, I return your horse,\"\nand instantly it disappeared, and he overtook his brothers on foot.\n\nWhen his brothers saw him, they said, \"He has overtaken us.\" Some of\nthem said, \"Catch him and beat him,\" others said, \"No, let him alone,\nhe will do our cooking. We can go in search of hiras and manis,\nand leave him to guard our camp. Come let us push on, we have now\ngot a good guard for our camp.\" This pleased all, and they said,\n\"It is now evening, let us pitch our camp for the night.\" They did\nso, and Lelha soon had supper ready, of which having partaken they\nall retired to rest.\n\nIn the morning Lelha again acted as cook, and while it was yet early\nset breakfast before his brothers, and they having eaten, mounted\ntheir horses, and went in search of hiras and manis. They were now\na month's journey distant from their own home, and the raja of the\ncountry in which they were, had just opened a new bazaar. It was a\nlarge and beautiful bazaar, and an Indarpuri Kuri had a stall it. This\nIndarpuri Kuri had given out, that whoever would go and come twelve\nkos seven times within an hour should be her husband.\n\nThe four sons of the raja, who had come in search of hiras and manis\nhearing this said, \"Some one from amongst us four brothers must marry\nthis girl. Let us exercise our horses, it is possible that some one\nof them may do the distance in the specified time.\" They had left\nhome in search of hiras and manis, and now were scheming to secure\nthe Indarpuri Kuri as the wife of one of them. So they returned\nto camp, and sitting down began to discuss the subject. They said,\n\"If our horses are well exercised, no doubt, but that they will be\nable to run the distance in the time. Therefore, let us diligently\ntrain our horses, so that they may be able to accomplish the task.\"\n\nWhile they were thus engaged, Lelha said, \"What is it, brothers,\nthat you are discussing?\" His brothers rebuked him, saying, \"Why are\nyou eavesdropping? We will beat you.\" They did not, however, beat him,\nas they feared he would return home, and leave them without a cook. So\nhe cooked the supper and set it before them, and when they had eaten,\nthey retired to rest.\n\nIn the morning Lelha again prepared the food, and his four brothers\nhaving breakfasted, mounted and rode off to the bazaar, and there\nexercised their horses. After they had left Lelha collected all the\nbrass vessels, and what other property there was, and carefully hid\nthem away. Then he called to the Indarpuri Kuri, \"Oh! Indarpuri Kuri,\ngive me a horse,\" and instantly, just such a horse as he desired\nstood beside him. He mounted and galloping away soon overtook his\nbrothers. He saluted them, but they did not recognize him. He said\nto them, \"Wherefore, brothers, have you brought your horses to\na standstill? Make them race.\" They replied, \"We were waiting for\nyou. We are tired. It is your turn now.\" Lelha immediately switched\nup his horse, and away it flew at such a pace, that it could scarcely\nbe seen. That day his horse ran twelve kos there and back three times\nwithin an hour. At the end of the race soldiers tried to lay hold\nof Lelha's horse, but he called out, \"Do not touch him. He will not\nallow you to lay a finger on me.\" The soldiers said, \"The raja has\ngiven orders, that the horse that ran three, or five, or seven times\nis to be brought before him.\" Lelha replied, \"Go, and tell the raja,\nthat the horse bites, so we could not stop him. The raja will not\nbe displeased with you.\" He then rode away to the camp, and having\nreturned the horse to the Indarpuri Kuri he began to prepare the\nevening meal, which was ready by the time his four brothers arrived.\n\nAfter supper they began to talk over the events of the day, wondering\nwho owned the horse that had run so well. Lelha drew near, and said,\n\"What is it, brothers, that you are talking about?\" Some said, \"Beat\nhim, what has he got to do listening?\" Others said, \"Do not beat him,\nhe cooks for us.\" So the matter ended, and all lay down for the night.\n\nIn the morning Lelha again prepared the food, and his brothers having\nbreakfasted, mounted their horses, and rode off to the bazaar, where\nthey raced as usual. After they had gone, Lelha gathered all their\nproperty together, and hid it as he had done on the day previous. Then,\nmounting an Indarpuri Sadom, he followed his brothers, and on coming\nup with them saluted them, but they did not recognize him as their\nbrother. Then a conversation similar to that of the previous day\npassed between Lelha and his brothers. This time Lelha's horse ran\nthe distance, there and back, five times within the hour. The raja's\nsoldiers again attempted to stop Lelha's horse, but he told them that\nit was in the habit of biting, so they allowed him to pass, and he\ngalloped off to the camp, and returning the horse to the Indarpuri\nKuri began to prepare the evening meal. When his brothers arrived\nLelha set food before them, and they ate and drank. After they had\nsupped they sat and talked about the wonderful horse, and its feat\nthat day. Lelha again enquired what they were talking about, but they\nrebuked him saying, \"Do not listen. It is not necessary for you to\nknow what we are speaking about.\" They all then retired for the night.\n\nEarly next morning Lelha set about preparing breakfast, and his\nbrothers, having partaken of it, set out for the bazaar. After their\ndeparture Lelha gathered everything together, and hid them as before,\nand then called upon Indarpuri Kuri for a horse. The horse came, and\nLelha mounted and galloped after his brothers. On overtaking them he\nsaluted, and then said, \"Wherefore, brothers, do you stand still? Race\nyour horses.\" They replied, \"It is your turn now. We have run, and our\nhorses are tired.\" Lelha then started his horse, and it ran twelve kos\nthere, and twelve kos back, seven times within the hour. The raja's\nsoldiers again attempted to capture Lelha's horse, but he prevented\nthem, and so returned to the camp. When he had returned the horse\nto the Indarpuri Kuri he resumed his office of cook, and had supper\nready by the time his brothers returned. They sat down together, and\nbegan to discuss the wonderful performance of the horse which had that\nday done the distance seven times in one hour. Lelha again enquired,\n\"What is it that you are talking about, brothers?\" Some one said,\n\"Beat him. He has no right to be listening,\" but another said,\n\"Do not beat him, he cooks our food.\" When the four brothers were\ntired talking Lelha set supper before them, and having supped, they\nlay down to sleep.\n\nNext morning Lelha cooked the breakfast as usual, and his brothers\nhaving partaken of it, mounted their horses, and rode off to the\nbazaar. After they had left Lelha put everything out of sight, as\nusual. Then he desired the Indarpuri Kuri to give him a horse, and\nhaving mounted, he followed his brothers, and on coming near saluted\nthem as before, but again they failed to recognize him.\n\n\n\n\nIV.\n\nOn the seventh day Lelha again followed his brothers to the\nbazaar. He begged the Indarpuri Kuri to give him a horse that\nwould do the distance there and back seven times within the hour,\nand at the end would fall down dead, and also to have another horse\nready for him to mount. The Indarpuri Kuri gave him his desire and\nhe rode off to the bazaar, and again saluted his brothers, and at\nthe same time pushed his horse close up to them. They called out,\n\"Keep your horse back, he will crush us.\" Lelha then enquired why\nthey were standing still. They replied, \"We were waiting for you.\" So\nLelha put his horse to the gallop, and did the distance there and\nback seven times within an hour. On his return the last time the\nsoldiers attempted to lay hold of the horse, but Lelha said, \"Let\nhim alone, I will go myself.\" At the same instant his horse fell,\nand he leapt from it, and having returned it to the Indarpuri Kuri,\nhe mounted the other, and rode from the race course to the bazaar,\nand was united in wedlock to the Indarpuri Kuri.\n\nAfter the marriage he informed his bride that he was in search of\nhiras and manis for his father's flower garden. She informed him,\nthat lying on the breast of her elder sister, who had been sleeping\nfor twelve years, was a large quantity of hiras. \"To obtain them you\nmust first,\" she said, \"buy two bundles of grass, two goats, and a\npair of shoes, and make two ropes each two hundred cubits long. My\nsister is guarded by an elephant, a tiger, and a dog. On entering you\nwill first encounter the elephant, and you must throw him a bundle of\ngrass. A little farther on you will meet the tiger, you must give him\na goat. Then you will see the dog, and you must throw him a shoe. When\nyou are returning you must do the same. Throw a shoe to the dog, a goat\nto the tiger, and a sheaf of grass to the elephant. You must lose no\ntime in possessing yourself of the hiras you will find on my sister's\nbreast. If you delay, her army may take you prisoner.\" She also said,\n\"My sister's house is situated on an island in a large lake, and you\ncan only reach it by hiring a boat. The door of her house is a large\nheavy stone, which you must remove before gaining an entrance. On the\nisland there is a Sinjo tree, [17] with branches on the North side,\nand on the South. On the branches of the South side there are the\nyoung of hiras and manis, but on those of the North side there is\nnothing. On the South side there are five branches, and within the\nfruit there are manis. Do not forget this. The large hira, which\nglitters on my sister's breast, is the mother hira.\" Just as she\nconcluded the foregoing instructions the cock crew, and she added,\n\"See that you remember all I have told you.\"\n\nThen Lelha left his bride to return to his brothers. As he went he\nremembered that they would be sure to abuse him for having been\nabsent, so he collected a large number of shells, and stringing\nthem together, hung them round his neck, and went dancing to the\ncamp. When his brothers saw him, in the dress of a merryandrew they\nrebuked him severely.\n\n\n\n\nV.\n\nLelha's excuse for his absence was as follows. He said, \"You,\nmy brothers, always leave me here alone in the camp. Yesterday\nseveral shepherds came, and forcibly carried me away. They kept me\nawake all night. They tied these shells round my neck and made me\ndance. They also made me drive cattle round and round. I had no rest\nall night. They also shewed me hiras and manis.\"\n\nLelha's brothers eagerly enquired, \"Where did you see the hiras and\nmanis? Come, show us the place at once.\" Lelha replied, \"We must first\nbuy food for the hiras and manis.\" So they went to the bazaar to buy\nfood for the hiras and manis. Lelha first bought two goats, and his\nbrothers abused him, and said, \"Will hiras and manis eat these?\" Some\none of them said, \"Slap him.\" Another said, \"Do not slap him, they\nmay perhaps eat them.\" Then he bought a pair of shoes, at which again\nthey reviled him. Then he bought two ropes, when they again reviled\nhim. Lastly he purchased two bundles of grass, and having provided\nthese necessary articles, they went and hired a boat. The horses of\nthe four brothers were dead, so they had to proceed on foot to where\nthe boat lay.\n\nAfter sailing for some time they reached an island, and landed. They\nquickly found the house of the Indarpuri Kuri. It was closed by a large\nstone lying over the entrance. Lelha ordered his brothers to remove\nit, but they were displeased and said, \"How do you expect to find\nhiras and manis under this stone.\" Lelha said, \"Truly, my brothers,\nthey are under the stone.\" He pressed them to attempt the removal\nof the stone, so they, and others to the number of fifty tried their\nstrength but the stone seemed immovable. Then Lelha said, \"Stand by,\nand allow me to try.\" So putting to his hand, he easily removed it,\nand revealed the entrance to the mansion of the Indarpuri Kuri. His\nbrothers were so astounded at the strength he displayed that they\nlost the power of speech.\n\nLelha then said to his brothers, \"Take one of these ropes, and bind it\nround me, and lower me down, and when you feel me shaking the rope,\nthen quickly pull me up. I go to find hiras.\" His brothers quickly\nbound the rope round his body, and he, taking the goats, the pair of\nshoes, and the bundles of grass, descended.\n\nA short distance from where he reached the ground, he found a door,\nwhich was guarded by an elephant bound by the foot to a stake. To\nhim he threw a bundle of grass and passed on. At the next door he\nfound a tiger, likewise chained, and as he approached, it opened its\njaws as if to devour him. To it, he gave a goat, and was allowed to\npass. At the third door was a dog. He threw a shoe to it, and when\nthe dog was engaged biting it, he passed through. Then he saw the hira\nsparkling upon the bosom of the sleeping Indarpuri Kuri. Going near,\nhe snatched it up, and fled. The dog, however, barred his exit but\nhe threw the other shoe to it, and passed on. The tiger had devoured\nthe goat he had given to it, and was now alert. To it he gave the\nother goat, and hurried on. The elephant then opposed him, but the\nremaining bundle of grass was sufficient to divert his attention,\nand he passed through the last door. Then violently shaking the rope\nhis brothers speedily hauled him up.\n\nThen they went to their boat, and rowed to another part of the island,\nwhere the Sinjo tree grew. They all climbed the tree, but Lelha plucked\nthe five fruits on the branch to the South, while his brothers plucked\na large number from the North side.\n\nThey then returned to their boat and rowed back to the place from\nwhich they had started. From there they went to the house of Lelha's\nbride. When she heard of their arrival she ordered refreshments to be\nprepared for them. Her servants also all came, and gave Lelha and his\nbrothers oil, and sent them to bathe. On their return from bathing,\ntheir feet were washed by servants, and they were then taken into\nthe house.\n\nAfter they were seated Lelha's brothers began to whisper to each\nother, saying, \"We do not know of what caste these people are, to\nwhose house he has brought us to eat food. He will cause us to lose\ncaste.\" Lelha heard what they were saying, and in explanation said,\n\"Not so, brothers. This is my wife's house.\" They replied, \"It is all\nright then.\" So they ate and drank heartily, and afterwards prepared\nto return home.\n\n\n\n\nVI.\n\nThe journey was to be by boat. Lelha sent his brothers on ahead in one\nboat, and he and his wife followed in another. There was a distance\nof two or three kos between the boats.\n\nLelha's brothers as they sailed along came to a certain ghat at which\na raja was bathing. He was raja of the country through which they\nwere passing. He demanded from Lelha's brothers to know what they had\nin their boat. They replied, \"We have hiras and manis with us.\" Then\nthe raja said, \"Shew them to me. You may be thieves.\" They replied,\n\"No, they are inside these Sinjo fruits.\" The raja said, \"Break one, I\nwish to see what they are like.\" So the brothers broke one, but nothing\nwas found in it. Then the raja called his soldiers, and ordered them\nto bind the four brothers. So the soldiers seized and bound them, and\ncarried them off to prison. Just then Lelha's boat arrived. He was in\ntime to see his brothers pass within the prison doors. Having seen the\nfour brothers in safe custody the raja returned to the bathing ghat,\nand seeing Lelha he demanded to know what he had in his boat. Lelha\nanswered, \"We have hiras and manis as our cargo.\" The raja then said,\n\"Shew them to me, I would fain look upon them.\" Lelha said, \"You wish\nto see hiras and manis without any trouble to yourself. If I show\nyou them, what will you give me in return? There are hiras and manis\nin this Sinjo fruit.\" The raja replied, \"Those who came before you\ndeceived me. I have no doubt, but that you will do so also.\" Lelha\nsaid, \"What will you give me? Make an offer, and I shall shew you\nthem at once.\" The raja replied, \"I have one daughter, her I will\ngive to you, and along with her an estate, if there are hiras and\nmanis in that Sinjo fruit, and if there are none in it, I will keep\nyou prisoner all your lifetime.\" Lelha immediately broke one of the\nSinjo fruits, and five hiras and manis rolled out. When the raja saw\nit he was confounded, but what could he do? According to his promise,\nhe gave him his daughter and an estate.\n\nThe marriage ceremony being over, Lelha was invited to partake of the\nraja's hospitality, but he refused, saying, \"If you set my brothers\nat liberty I shall eat, but not unless you do so.\" So the brothers\nwere released, and taken to the bath. After they had bathed, their\nfeet were washed, and they were led into the palace to the feast.\n\nThe brothers, after they were seated, began to whisper to each other,\nsaying, \"Whose house is this? Of what caste are the people? Does he\nwish to make us lose our caste?\" But Lelha reassured them by saying,\n\"Not so, my brothers. I have espoused the raja's daughter.\" Hearing\nthis they were relieved, and all enjoyed the marriage feast.\n\n\n\n\nVII.\n\nThen they made preparations to continue their journey. Lelha again\nsent his four brothers first, and he followed with his two wives.\n\nAfter a sail of a few hours they entered the territory of another\nraja, and came upon his bathing ghat. The raja was bathing there at\nthe time, and the boat passing, he enquired what her cargo was. The\nbrothers answered, \"We have hiras and manis on board.\" The raja said,\n\"I would see them.\" They replied, \"They are in the boat following\nus.\" The raja was displeased with their answer, and ordered them to\nbe seized as vagrants.\n\nLelha's boat came alongside the bathing ghat just as his four brothers\nwere led off to prison, and the raja seeing it, asked Lelha what\ncargo he carried. Lelha replied, \"Our cargo is hiras and manis.\" The\nraja begged Lelha to shew them to him, but he refused saying, \"What\nwill you give for a sight of them? Promise something, and you can\nsee them.\" The raja said, \"Of a truth, if you can shew me hiras and\nmanis I will give you my daughter. I have one, a virgin, her I will\ngive you, and I will also confer upon you an estate.\"\n\nThen Lelha, seizing a Sinjo fruit, broke it, and out rolled five\nhiras and manis, which when the raja saw he marvelled greatly. He\nhonourably fulfilled his engagement, and Lelha's marriage with his\ndaughter was celebrated forthwith.\n\nThe wedding over Lelha was conducted to the bath, and afterwards\ninvited to a banquet; but he declined saying, \"So long as you detain\nmy brothers in confinement, I cannot partake of your hospitality.\" So\nthey were brought to the palace, and their feet bathed, and then\nushered into the banqueting room. After they were seated they began\nto whisper to each other, \"What caste do these people belong to,\nwith whom he expects us to eat? Does he intend to make us break our\ncaste?\" Lelha hearing them, said, \"Not so, my brothers. This is my\nfather-in-law's house.\" Thus were their doubts removed, and they ate\nand drank with much pleasure.\n\n\n\n\nVIII.\n\nThe journey homewards was resumed in the morning, the boats in the\nsame order as previously.\n\nLelha's four brothers were envious of his good fortune, and on the way\nthey talked about him, and decided that he must be put to death. They\nsaid, \"How can we put him out of the way? If we do not make away with\nhim, on our return home, he will be sure to secure the succession to\nour father's kingdom.\" Having come to this conclusion the next thing\nwas, how could it be accomplished, for Lelha was far more powerful than\nthey were. It was only by stratagem that they could hope to accomplish\ntheir purpose, so they said, \"We will invite him to a feast and when\nhe stands with a foot on either boat, before stepping into ours,\nwe will push the boats apart and he will fall into the river and\nbe drowned. We must get his wives to join in the plot, for without\ntheir aid we cannot carry it into execution.\" During the day they\nfound means to communicate with Lelha's wives. They said to them,\n\"We will make a feast on our boat. Make him come on board first,\nand when he has a foot on each boat you push yours back, and we\nwill do the same to ours, and he will fall into the water, and be\ndrowned. We are the sons of a raja, and our country is very large. We\nwill take you with us and make you ranis.\" Lelha's wives pretended to\nagree to their proposal; but they afterwards told him all. They said,\n\"Do as they wish, but you will not be drowned. We will remain faithful\nto you, and you will reach home before us.\"\n\nSo the four brothers prepared a sumptuous feast, and the boats were\nbrought close to each other to enable Lelha and his wives to go on\nboard. One of Lelha's wives tied a knot on his waist cloth, as a\ntoken that they would remain true to him. He then preceded them in\ngoing into the other boat, and just as he had a foot on each gunwale,\nthe boats were pushed asunder, and Lelha fell into the water. Having\nthus got rid, as they thought, of Lelha, the brothers made all possible\nspeed homewards.\n\n\n\n\nIX.\n\nAt the bottom of the river a bell sprang into existence, and Lelha was\nfound lying asleep in it. Then he awoke and sat up, and loosening the\nknot which his wife had tied on his waist cloth, said, \"Oh! Indarpuri\nKuri, give me at once food and drink, tobacco and fire,\" and on\nthe instant his wants were supplied. So he ate and drank, and was\nrefreshed. Then he prepared his pipe, and when he had lit it he said,\n\"Oh! Indarpuri Kuri, give me a fully equipped horse that will carry\nme home before the tobacco in this pipe is consumed.\" The last word\nhad scarcely escaped his lips when a horse stood beside him. It was\na fierce animal, of a blue colour, and no fly could alight on its\nskin. It was fully equipped, and impatient to start. Lelha, still\nsmoking his pipe, mounted, and his steed at one bound cleared the\nriver, although it was seven or eight kos broad, and flying like the\nwind, landed him at home before the tobacco in his pipe was consumed.\n\nThe hiras and manis were in the possession of Lelha's wives. His\nbrothers wheedled them into giving them up, saying they will be safer\nwith us.\n\nLelha went to his mother's house and said to her, \"Tell no one of my\nbeing here.\" He had alighted from his horse on the outskirts of the\ncity, and returned it to the Indarpuri Kuri.\n\nA period of ten days elapsed before Lelha's brothers and his wives\narrived. The latter declined to accompany the former at once to the\nraja's palace. They said, \"Let your mothers come, and conduct us,\nas is usual when a bride enters her husband's house.\" The two elder\nranis then came, and the four sons went to the raja's flower garden\nand hung the hiras and manis on the branches of the trees, and the\nwhole countryside was instantly lighted up by the sheen of the precious\nstones. The saying of the Koema Jugi was fulfilled to the letter.\n\nLelha also sent his mother to welcome his wives, but when the elder\nranis saw her coming, they reviled her and drove her away. They would\nnot permit her to come near. She returned home weeping. \"You told me,\"\nshe said, \"to go and welcome your wives, and I have been abused. When\nwill you learn wisdom?\" Lelha ran into the house, and brought a ring,\nand giving it to his mother, said, \"Take this ring, and place it\nin the lap of one of them.\" She took the ring, and gave it to one\nof Lelha's wives, and immediately they all rose, and followed her\nlaughing, to their new home.\n\nThe elder ranis went and informed their sons of what had happened,\nbut they said, \"They are Lelha's wives. What can we do?\"\n\n\n\n\nX.\n\nThe Indarpuri Kuri whom Lelha had robbed of her hira now awoke, and\nat once missed her precious jewel. She knew that Lelha had stolen it\nfrom her, and summoning her army to her standard marched upon Lelha's\nfather's capital, to which she laid siege, and before many hours had\nelapsed, the raja was a prisoner in her hands.\n\nThis Indarpuri Kuri said to him, \"Will you give up the hiras and manis,\nor will you fight?\" The raja sent the following message to his four\nsons, \"Will you fight to retain possession of the hiras and manis,\nor will you deliver them up?\" They were afraid, so they gave answer,\n\"We will not. Lelha knows all about the hiras and manis. We do not.\"\n\nThe raja then sent and called Lelha, and enquired, \"Will you shew\nfight, Lelha, or will you give up the hiras and manis?\" Lelha replied,\n\"I will fight. I will not part with the hiras and manis. I obtained\nthem only after much painful toil, so I cannot deliver them up. Ask\nthem to agree to delay hostilities for a short time, but inform them\nthat Lelha will fight.\"\n\nLelha hurried to the further end of the garden, and taking the hair of\nthe first Indarpuri Kuri in his hand said, \"Oh! Indarpuri Kuri. Give me\nan army four times stronger than the one brought against me, so that\nI may make short work of my enemies.\" Immediately an army of 44,000\nmen stood in military array, awaiting his orders. The two armies\njoined battle, and Lelha discomfited the host of the Indarpuri Kuri,\nand she herself became his prize. She became his wife, and returned no\nmore to her cavernous home in the solitary island. Lelha thus became\nthe husband of four wives.\n\nThen the raja called his five sons together and said, \"In my estimation\nLelha is the one best qualified to became raja of this kingdom. I\ntherefore resign all power and authority into his hands.\" Lelha\nreplied, \"Yes, father, you have judged righteously. My brothers have\ncaused me much distress. First, they pushed off the raised platform\nin your flower garden, but of that I did not inform you. Then they\ncaused me, who was the finder of the hiras and manis, to fall into\nthe river. You saw how they refused to fight, and threw all the\nresponsibility upon me. They have used me spitefully. They have tried\nto make a cat's paw of me.\"\n\nSo Lelha was raja of all the country, and his brothers were his\nservants. One was in charge of Lelha's pipe and tobacco, another\nploughed his fields, and the other two had like menial offices assigned\nto them.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF SINDURA GAND GARUR.\n\n\nIn a certain village there lived a mother and her son. The boy tended\ngoats in the forest. One day he found a spot of ground, where he\nthought rice would grow well. So he went home, and asked his mother\nto give him some seed to sow there. She said, \"If you sow rice there\nit will all be destroyed. The elephants, or the wild jungle cattle,\nwill eat it.\" But he begged so hard that at length she gave him some\nseed rice, which he sowed on the small plot of ground in the jungle. It\nsprang up and grew luxuriantly. Every day he drove his goats there,\nand spent the long hours in driving the birds and insects away from\nhis little farm.\n\nWhen the rice had grown to a good height the raja's son with his\ncompanion came and set up a mark near by at which they shot with\ntheir bows and arrows. The orphan boy was asked to join them, which he\ndid, and so accurate was his aim, that he hit the mark every time he\nshot. The raja's son and his companion were astonished to see such good\nshooting, and they said, \"The fatherless boy hits the mark every time.\"\n\nThe boy ran home to his mother weeping, and said, \"Oh! mother, where is\nmy father?\" To keep him from grieving, she told a lie. \"Your father,\"\nshe said, \"has gone on a visit to his relations.\"\n\nThe next day after he had again shown great skill with the bow and\narrow the raja's son and his companion said, \"The fatherless boy hits\nthe mark every time.\" Hearing this he again went home weeping, and\nsaid to his mother, \"Oh! mother, where is my father?\" She replied,\n\"He has gone to visit his friends.\" Every day the boy came crying to\nhis mother asking where his father was, so at last she told him. She\nsaid, \"Your father, child, was carried away on the horns of a Gand\nGarur [18].\"\n\nThe boy then said to his mother, \"Prepare me some flour. I will\ngo in search of him.\" His mother tried to dissuade him, saying,\n\"Where can you go in such a jungle as this?\" He, however, insisted,\nand she prepared flour for him, and he set out.\n\nAfter travelling many hours he entered the primeval forest, and\npresently darkness came upon him. After a short time he came to\nthe dwelling of Huti [19] Budhi, and requested permission to pass\nthe night there. This was accorded to him, and he lay down and fell\nasleep. During the night he was awakened by the Huti Budhi eating\nhis bow and arrows. He called out to her \"Oh! old woman, What have\nyou been nibbling at since evening?\" The Huti Budhi replied, \"It is\nonly some roasted grain, which I brought a while ago from the house\nof the Chief.\"\n\nIn a short time the nibbling sound was again heard, and he again\nenquired what she was eating. She returned the same answer as\nbefore. \"Oh! my son, it is only roasted grain which the chief's people\ngave me.\" He did not know that all the time she was eating his bow\nand arrows.\n\nWhen morning dawned he requested her to give him his weapons, and\non his attempting to string the bow it broke in his hands. The Huti\nBudhi had eaten the heart out of the wood, and had left only the\nouter shell. He left her house planning revenge.\n\nDuring the day he had an iron bow and iron arrows made. All was iron\nlike the arrow heads. In the evening he returned to sleep at the Huti\nBudhi's house.\n\nDuring the night he heard the Huti Budhi trying to nibble his bow and\narrows. So he enquired what she was doing. The answer she gave was,\n\"Do you think the Huti Budhi can eat iron.\"\n\nWhen morning dawned he demanded his bow and arrows, and received\nthem uninjured, but the lower part of the Huti Budhi's face was all\nswollen. She had been trying to eat the iron bow and arrows. Her\nlodger strung his bow, and having saluted her, went his way.\n\nAs he journeyed he entered another unexplored forest in the midst of\nwhich he discovered a lake, to which all the birds and beasts resorted\nto quench their thirst. He obtained this information by an examination\nof its banks, on which he saw the footprints of the various beasts and\nbirds. He now took some flour from his bag, and having moistened it\nwith water made a hearty meal, and then sat down to wait for evening.\n\nAs the sun went down the denizens of the forest began to come to the\nlake to drink. They came in quick succession, and as each made its\nappearance, he sang assurance to it, that he harboured no evil design\nagainst it.\n\nThe quail led the way, and to it he sang,\n\n\n        \"Oh! quail, you need not fear to drink,\n        I'll not harm you, I you assure;\n        But I will slay on this lake's brink,\n        Cruel Sindura Gand Garur.\n\n\nHe sang in a similar strain to each bird as it came, naming it by\nits name.\n\nAt length the Gand Garur alighted on the edge of the lake to drink,\nand he at once drew his bow, and sent an arrow to its heart, for he\nhad seen the dried and shrivelled corpse of his father still adhering\nto its horns. The Gand Garur being dead, he detached what remained of\nhis parent's body from its horns, and taking it in his arms pressed\nit to his bosom and wept bitterly.\n\n\n\nAs he wept, Bidi and Bidhati descended from the sky and asked him\nthe reason of his sorrow. So he told them all. They spoke words\nof comfort to him, and said, \"Dip your gamcha cloth in the lake,\nand cover the corpse with it. And don't you cry, rather bathe and\ncook some food. And do not cook for one only, but prepare portions\nfor two. And when the food is ready, you partake of one portion,\nand set the other aside. Then tap your father on the back and say,\n'Rise father, here is your food.'\" He did as his kind friends bade\nhim, and the dead came to life again. The father sat up and said,\n\"Oh! my son, what a lengthened sleep I have had.\" The son replied,\n\"A sleep? you must be demented, you were pierced through by the horns\nof the Gand Garur, and your dried carcase was adhering to them. See\nI have killed it. It is lying here. Bidi and Bidhati instructed me\nhow to proceed, and I have brought you to life again.\n\nSo they returned joyfully home singing the praises of Bidi and Bidhati.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE TIGER AND ULTA'S MOTHER.\n\n\nA tiger cub was in the habit of playing under the shade of a certain\ntree, in which was a crane's nest with a young one in it. The parent\ncranes brought frogs and lizards to their young one, and what it could\nnot eat it used to throw down to the young tiger, and in this way the\ntwo became greatly attached to each other. After a time the tigress\ndied, and left the cub alone in the world. The young crane felt much\npity for its afflicted friend, and could not bear the thought of\nitself being in a better position. So one day it said to the tiger,\n\"Let us kill my mother.\" The tiger replied, \"Just as you please. I\ncannot say do it, nor can I say do not do it.\" When the mother crane\ncame to give its young one food, the latter set upon her and killed\nher. The friendship between the two increased so that they could\nnot be separated from each other. Day and night they spent in each\nother's society.\n\nAfter a time the two said, \"Come let us make a garden, and plant in it\nturmeric.\" So they prepared a piece of ground, and the crane brought\nroots of turmeric from a distance. They then discussed the matter as to\nwhich part of the crop each would take. The crane said to the tiger,\n\"You, my brother, choose first.\" The tiger said, \"If I must speak\nfirst, I will take the leaves.\" Then, said the crane, \"I will take\nthe roots.\" Having settled this point to their satisfaction, they\nbegan to plant. The tiger dug holes, and the crane put in the roots,\nand covered them over with earth.\n\nA year passed, and they again said to each other, \"Which of us will\ntake the roots, and which the leaves?\" The tiger said, \"I will take\nthe leaves.\" The crane replied, \"I will take the roots.\" So they began\nto dig up the plants, and cutting the leaves from the roots, placed\neach by themselves. The tiger collected an immense bulk of leaves,\nand the crane a large heap of roots. This done each surveyed the\nother's portion. That of the crane was of a beautiful, reddish tinge,\nand excited the envy of the tiger, who said to the crane, \"Give me half\nof yours, and I will give you half of mine.\" The crane refused, saying,\n\"I will not share with you. Why did you at first chose the leaves? I\ngave you your choice.\" The tiger insisted, but the crane was obdurate,\nand before long they were quarrelling as if they had been lifelong\nenemies. The crane seeing it was being worsted in the wrangle, flew in\nthe face of the tiger, and pecked its eyes, so that it became blind. It\nthen flew away, and left the tiger lamenting its sad fate. Having lost\nits sight it could not find its way about, so remained there weeping.\n\nOne day, hearing the voice of a man near by, the tiger called out,\n\"Oh! man, are you a doctor?\" The man stupefied with fear stared at\nthe tiger, and gave no reply. The tiger again said, \"Oh! man, why\ndo you not reply to my question? Although you are a human being,\nhave you no pity?\" The man then said, \"Oh! renowned hero, what did\nyou ask me? I am terror stricken, so did not reply. You may devour\nme.\" The tiger replied, \"If I had wished to kill you, I could have\ndone so, but I mean you no harm.\" The tiger again asked the man if he\npossessed a knowledge of medicine, but he replied, \"I do not.\" The\ntiger then asked, \"Is there one amongst you who does know?\" The\nman replied, \"Yes.\" The tiger enquired, \"Who is he?\" The man said,\n\"There is a certain widow with two sons, the name of one of whom is\nUlta, who possesses a knowledge of medicine, she will be able to cure\nyou.\" Having given the tiger this information the man went away.\n\nThe tiger went to the house of Ulta's mother, and hid himself behind\na hedge. He said within himself, \"When I hear any one call Ulta then I\nwill go forward.\" Shortly after the tiger arrived Ulta's mother called\nUlta, \"Ulta, come to your supper.\" Then the tiger ran hastily forward,\nand cried, \"Oh! Ulta's mother, Oh! Ulta's mother.\" But she was afraid,\nand exclaimed, \"This tiger has done for us to-day.\" The tiger said\nto the woman, \"Do you know medicine?\" She replied, \"Yes, Wait till\nI bring it.\" So hastily running out she said to her neighbours,\n\"A tiger has come to my house. He is blind, and wishes me to cure\nhis blindness.\" The neighbours said to her, \"Give him some of the\njuice of the Akauna [20] tree. It will increase his blindness.\" So\nshe quickly brought Akauna juice, and giving it to the tiger, said,\n\"Go to some dense jungle and apply it to your eyes. Do not apply it\nhere, or it will have no effect. Take it away. We are about to sit\ndown to supper, and then my children will go to sleep. The medicine\nwill cause you pain at first, but it will effect a complete cure.\"\n\nThe tiger hurried away to the jungle, and poured the akauna juice\ninto his eyes. The pain it caused was as if his eyeballs were being\ntorn out. He tossed himself about in agony, and at last struck his\nhead against a tree. In a short time, his blindness was gone. He\ncould see everything plainly, and was delighted beyond expression.\n\nOne day several traders were passing along a pathway through the jungle\nin which the tiger hunted. He was lying concealed watching for prey,\nand when the traders were passing he jumped out upon them. Seeing\nthe tiger they fled, and left behind them their silver, and gold,\nand brass vessels. The tiger collected all and carried them to Ulta's\nmother's house, and presenting them to her said, \"All this I give to\nyou, for through you I have again seen the earth. Had it not been for\nyou, who knows whether I should ever have been cured or not.\" Ulta's\nmother was delighted with the generosity of the tiger. He had made\nher rich at once. But she was anxious to get rid of him, and said \"Go\naway. May you always find a living somewhere.\" So the tiger returned\nto the jungle again.\n\nSometime afterwards the tiger was minded to take a wife, and sought\nhis old friend Ulta's mother. On arriving at her house he called out,\n\"Oh! Ulta's mother, where are you? Are you in your house?\" She replied,\n\"Who are you?\" The tiger answered, \"It is I, the forest hero. You\ncured my blindness.\" So Ulta's mother came out of her house, and said,\n\"Wherefore, Sir, have you come here?\" \"I wish you,\" replied the tiger,\n\"to find a bride for me.\" Ulta's mother said, \"Come to-morrow and I\nwill tell you. Do not stay to-day.\" So the tiger left.\n\nUlta's mother then went to her neighbours and said, \"The tiger has put\nme in a great difficulty. He wishes me to find a bride for him.\" They\nsaid to her, \"Is he not blind?\" She replied, \"No. He sees now, and it\nis that, which distresses me. What can I do?\" They said, \"Get a bag,\nand order him to go into it, and then tie up the mouth tightly, and\ntell him to remain still. Say to him, If you move, or make a noise,\nI will not seek a bride for you. And when you have him tied securely\nin the bag, call us.\" The next day the tiger appeared, and Ulta's\nmother told him to get into the bag, and allow her to tie it. So he\nwent in, and she tied the bag's mouth, and said, \"You must not move,\nlie still, or I shall not be your go-between.\" Having secured him,\nUlta's mother called her neighbours, who came armed with clubs,\nand began to beat the helpless animal. He called out, \"Oh! Ulta's\nmother, what are you doing?\" She said, \"Keep quiet. They are beating\nthe marriage drums. Lie still a little longer.\" The tiger remained\nmotionless, while they continued to beat him. At length they said,\n\"He must be dead now, let us throw him out.\" So they carried him to\na river, and having thrown him in, returned home.\n\nThe current bore the tiger far down the river, but at length he\nstranded in a cove. A short time afterwards a tigress came down to\nthe river to drink and seeing the bag, and thinking it might contain\nsomething edible she seized it and dragged it up on to the bank. The\ntigress then cut the bag open with her teeth, and the tiger sprang out,\nexclaiming, \"Of a truth she has given me a bride. Ulta's mother has\ndone me a good turn, and I shall remember her as long as I live.\" The\ntiger and the tigress being of one mind on the subject agreed never\nto separate.\n\nOne day the two tigers said \"Come let us go and pay a visit to Ulta's\nmother, who has proved so helpful to us. As we cannot go empty handed,\nlet us rob some one to get money to take with us.\" So they went and\nlay in wait near a path which passed through the forest in which they\nlived. Presently a party of merchants came up, and the tigers with\na loud roar sprang from their ambush on to the road. The merchants\nseeing them, fled, and left behind them all their property in money\nand cloth. Those they carried to Ulta's mother. When she saw the\ntigers approaching her throat became dry through terror.\n\nBefore entering the court-yard they called out to Ulta's mother\nannouncing their approach. Ulta's mother addressed the tiger thus,\n\"Why do you come here frightening one in this way?\" The tiger replied,\n\"There is no fear. It is I who am afraid of you. Why should you\ndread my coming? It was you who found this partner for me. Do you\nnot yet know me?\" Ulta's mother replied, \"What can you do Sir? Do\nyou not remember that we give and receive gifts on the Karam festival\nday? On the days for giving and receiving, we give and receive. Now,\nthat you are happily wedded, may you live in peace and comfort;\nbut do not come here again.\"\n\nThe tiger then gave Ulta's mother a large amount of money and much\ncloth, after which the two tigers took their leave, and Ulta's mother\nentered her house loaded with rupees and clothing.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE GREATEST CHEAT OF SEVEN.\n\n\nA great cheat married the cheating sister of seven cheats. One day\nhis father-in-law and seven brothers-in-law came on a visit to his\nhouse. After conversing with them for a little, he invited them to\naccompany him to the river to bathe. He carried a fishing rod with\nhim, and on arriving at the river cast his line into a pool, saying,\n\"Now, fish, if you do not instantly repair to my house, I shall not\nbe able to speak well of you.\" This he said to deceive the others,\nas before leaving home he had given a fish to his wife telling her\nto prepare it for dinner. When seated at table he said to his guests,\n\"the fish we are now eating is the one I, in your presence, ordered to\nproceed from the river to my house this forenoon.\" They were greatly\nastonished at the wonderful properties possessed by the fishing rod,\nand expressed a desire to purchase it, and offered to pay five rupees\nfor it. He accepted their offer, and they carried the wonderful\nfishing rod home with them.\n\nNext day they arranged to go a-fishing. They cast the line into a\npool as they had seen the cheat do, and said, \"Now fish, if you do\nnot repair at once to our home we shall not be able to speak well\nof you.\" Having bathed they returned home, and asked to see the\nfish. Their wives said, \"What fish? You gave us no fish. We have\nseen no fish. Where did you throw it down?\" They now knew that their\nsister's husband was a cheat, so they decided to go and charge him\nwith having deceived them.\n\nThe cheat had notice of their coming, and quickly taking his dog with\nhim went to hunt. He caught a hare and bringing it home gave it to\nhis wife, and said, \"When we reach the end of the street on our way\nhome from hunting, you make the dog stand near the house with the\ndead hare in his mouth.\"\n\nHe invited his visitors to accompany him for an hour's hunting,\nsaying, \"Come, let us go and kill a hare for dinner.\" So they went\nto the jungle, and presently started a hare. The cheat threw a stone\nat his dog, and frightened it so that it ran home. He called after\nit, \"If you do not catch and take that hare home, it will not be\nwell for you.\" He then said to his friends, \"Come, let us return,\nwe will find the dog there with the hare before us.\" They replied,\n\"We doubt it much.\" \"There is no mistake about it,\" he said, \"We are\ncertain to find both dog and hare.\" On reaching home they found the\ndog standing waiting for them with a hare in his mouth.\n\nHis brothers-in-law were astonished beyond measure at the sagacity\nof the dog, and they said, \"Sell this dog to us, we will pay a good\nprice for it.\" He demanded ten rupees, which they gladly paid. So\nthey returned home, and said nothing to him about his having cheated\nthem in the matter of the fishing rod.\n\nOne day, taking the dog with them, they went to hunt. It caught five\nhares, and its masters were greatly delighted with its performance.\n\nAfter this the cheat's house was accidentally burnt, and he gathering\nthe ashes together, set out for the bazaar, there to sell them. On the\nway he fell in with a party of merchants who had a large bag full of\nsilver with them. They enquired what his bag contained, to which he\nreplied, \"Gold.\" They agreed to pass the night in the same encampment,\nso having partaken of their evening meal, they lay down to sleep. At\nmidnight the merchants rose, and exchanged the bags, and then lay\ndown again. The cheat saw them, and chuckled within himself. In the\nmorning the merchants made haste to leave, as they feared the cheat\nmight find out the theft of his bag. The cheat asked them before they\nleft to help him to lift his bag on to his bullock's back, saying,\n\"It was to receive assistance from you that I encamped here last\nnight.\" So having helped him to load his bullock they hurried away\nlest they should be caught. The cheat carried his treasure home,\nbut being unable to count so much money borrowed a measure from his\nfather-in-law, and found he had four maunds of silver.\n\nOn returning the measure he sent along with it five seers of silver,\nsaying, \"For the ashes of my house I received four maunds of silver,\nif you reduce your houses to ashes and sell them, you will obtain very\nmuch more.\" So they foolishly burnt their houses, and collecting the\nashes went to the bazaar to dispose of them. The merchants to whom\nthey offered them directed them to go to the washermen, saying, \"They\nwill possibly buy.\" But they also refused, and they were compelled\nto return home without having effected a sale. They vowed vengeance\non the cheat, and set out to find him.\n\nWhen they reached his house the cheat was on the point of starting\non a journey. After mutual salutations he said, \"I have just killed\nmy second wife. I go to receive eight maunds of silver for her\ncorpse. Dead bodies bring high prices.\" They said to him, \"How about\nthe ashes? We could not sell them.\" He replied, \"You did not go far\nenough from home. Had you gone to a distance you would have made a\ngood bargain.\"\n\nThe cheat's youngest wife having died he washed the body, and anointed\nit with oil. He then put it in a large bag, and loaded it on the back\nof a bullock, and set out. On the way he came to a field of wheat, into\nwhich he drove the animal, and then hid himself near by. The owner of\nthe field finding the bullock eating his wheat, beat it unmercifully\nwith a cudgel. The cheat then came from his hiding place, and said,\n\"Have you not done wrong in beating my bullock? If you have killed my\nwife, where will you flee to? I fell behind, and for that reason my\nox got into your field. My wife, whom I have newly married, is weak\nand unable to go on foot, so I put her into a bag to carry her home\non my bullock.\"\n\nHaving opened the bag the wife was found dead, and her assailant\nstood self convicted of her murder. He gave her husband six maunds\nof rupees as hush money, so the cheat burnt the corpse and returned\nhome laden with spoil.\n\nThe cheat next sent for his brothers-in-law, and shewing them the\nmoney, said, \"I killed my second wife, and got all this money by\nselling the corpse.\" They enquired, \"Who are the people who buy dead\nbodies?\" He replied, \"They reside in the Rakas country.\"\n\nThen the seven brothers killed each his youngest wife, and carried\nthe bodies to a distant country to dispose of them. When the\npeople of that country knew the object for which they had come they\nsaid to them, \"What sort of men are you hawking corpses about the\ntowns and villages? You must be the worst, or else most stupid of\nmen.\" Hearing this the brothers were dismayed, and began to take in\nthe situation. They perceived that the cheat had again deceived them,\nand they retraced their steps homewards bitterly lamenting their\nfolly. On reaching their village they cremated the remains of their\nwives, and from that day had no more dealings with the cheat.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF TWO PRINCESSES.\n\n\nA certain raja had two daughters, who were in the habit of amusing\nthemselves out side of the palace walls. One day they saw a crow\nflying towards them with a ripe Terel [21] fruit in his beak. They then\nsaid to each other, \"What fruit is it? It looks nice and sweet.\" The\ncrow let the fruit fall in front of them. They ran and picked it\nup, and ate it. It tasted deliciously sweet. Then they said, \"From\nwhence did the crow bring such a good fruit?\" Then they remembered\nthe direction from which they had seen it coming, and said, \"If we\ngo this way we shall find it.\" So they went, but it was only after\nthey had travelled a great distance from home that they found the\nTerel tree with the ripe luscious fruit.\n\nThe elder of the two girls climbed up into the tree, and shook down\na large quantity of the fruit. They then feasted to their heart's\ncontent. Presently they began to feel thirsty, and the elder said to\nthe younger, \"You remain here while I go to drink, and I will also\nbring you water in a leaf cup.\" Having said this she went away to\nthe tank, and her sister remained under the Terel tree. The day was\nextremely hot, and they were very thirsty.\n\nThe elder having quenched her thirst was returning carrying water for\nher sister in a cup made of the leaves of a Terel tree, when a bhut\ncame flying along, and fell into the cup of water. Presently she became\naware that there was a hole in the bottom of her cup through which\nall the water had run out. What could she do now? There was no help\nfor it but to return to the tank, make another leaf cup, and filling\nit with water return to her sister. As she was returning with the cup\nfull of water the bhut again came flying up, and entering the water\npassed through the leaf, making a hole by which all the water escaped.\n\nAgain she made a leaf cup, and having filled it with water was\nreturning when the bhut again came, and destroyed her cup, and caused\nher to lose the water. In this way she was detained till very late.\n\nA raja who happened to be in the vicinity saw a beautiful girl carrying\nwater in a leaf cup, and a bhut come and make a hole in the cup, so\nthat it soon became empty. Having seen this several times repeated,\nhe drew near, and feasted his eyes on her beauty. Then he carried\nher away to his palace, where they were joined in wedlock, and the\nprincess, now the rani, cooked the food for herself and her husband.\n\nThe younger princess remained near the Terel tree, and although she\nhad given up hope of again meeting her sister, still she continued\nto wait. At length a herd of Hanuman monkeys came to feed upon the\nTerel fruit. When the girl saw them coming she was terrified and crept\ninto the hollow of the tree. The monkeys with the exception of an old\nfrail one, climbed into the tree and began to eat the fruit. The old\nmonkey remained below and picked up the fruit shells which the others\nthrew down.\n\nThe old monkey having noticed the girl hiding in the hollow of the\ntree called to the others, \"Throw me down some. If you do not I shall\nnot share the Setke chopot I have found.\" The monkeys in the tree\nsaid, \"Do not give him any. He is deceiving us. When his hunger is\nsatisfied he will run and leave us.\" So no fruit was thrown down to\nhim, and he was forced to be content with the shells. The monkeys in\nthe tree having fared sumptuously, left. The old monkey waited till\nthey were out of sight, and then entered the hollow of the tree,\nwhere the girl was, and ate her up. He then went to the tank to\ndrink, and afterwards went in the direction of the raja's garden,\non reaching which he lay down and died. One of the gardeners finding\nhim dead threw him on the dunghill.\n\nFrom the place where the monkey decayed a gourd sprang, and grew, and\nbore a fruit which ripened. One day a jugi, when on his rounds begging,\nsaw this fruit and plucking it took it away with him. Out of the shell\nhe made a banjo, which when played upon emitted wonderful music. The\nwords which seemed to proceed from the banjo were as follows:\n\n\n    Ripe terels, ripe terels, Oh! Sister mine.\n    Went in search of water, Oh! Sister mine.\n    Raja and Rani they became.\n    Seven hundred monkeys old,\n    Ate me up, ate me up. Oh! Sister mine.\n\n\nThe jugi was greatly pleased with the music of his new banjo, and\ndetermined to take it with him when he went a begging. So one day\nhe set out with his banjo the music of which so pleased the people\nthat they gave him large gifts of money and clothes. In course of\ntime he arrived at the palace where the elder sister was now rani,\nand, being admitted, began to play on his banjo. The instrument again\nproduced most wonderful music. It seemed to wail as follows:\n\n\n    Ripe terels, ripe terels, Oh! Sister mine.\n    Went in search of water, Oh! Sister mine.\n    Raja and Rani they became.\n    Seven hundred monkeys old,\n    Ate me up, ate me up. Oh! Sister mine.\n\n\nHaving listened to the music the rani said, \"It is wonderfully\nsweet,\" and she fancied she heard her sister's voice in every\nnote. She thought it possible that it was she who sang in the banjo,\nand she desired to obtain possession of it. So she invited the jugi\nto pass the night in the palace, saying, I would hear more of this\nentrancing music.\" The jugi listened to the words of the rani and\nagreed to remain till morning. So the rani made much of him with the\nintention of at length obtaining possession of his banjo. She caused\na goat to be killed, and she cooked a splendid supper for the jugi,\nwho finding the food so toothsome ate heartily. Wine was not withheld,\nand the jugi being in a festive frame of mind drank deeply, so that he\nsoon lay as one dead. The rani took the banjo, and placed another in\nits stead. She then threw filth over the unconscious jugi and retired\nto her own apartment.\n\nThe jugi on awaking before sunrise found himself in a pitiable\nplight. He felt so thoroughly disgusted with himself that, hastily\npicking up his staff, cloth, and banjo, he fled with the utmost\npossible speed from the palace. When dawn broke he saw that the banjo\nhe had was not his own, and although he felt keenly its loss he was\ntoo much ashamed of the condition he had been in to go back to seek it.\n\nThe rani hid the jugi's banjo in her own room, because she knew her\nsister to be in it. Whenever the raja and rani went out to walk the\ngirl left the banjo and having bathed and dressed her hair, cooked\nthe family meal, and then returned to the banjo. This happened so\noften that at last, it came to the knowledge of the raja that a fairy\nlived in the banjo, and when the way was clear used to come out and\nprepare food for the rani and himself. So he determined to lie in wait\nfor the fairy cook. He then sent the rani somewhere on an errand,\nand hid himself in a corner of the room from whence he could see\nthe banjo. In a short time the princess emerged from the banjo, and\nbegan to dress her hair, and anoint herself with oil, after which she\ncooked rice. She divided the food into three portions, one of which\nshe ate. As she was about to re-enter the banjo the raja sprang out\nand caught hold of her. She exclaimed, \"Chi! Chi! you may be a Hadi,\nor you may be a Dom.\" The raja replied, \"Chi! Chi! whether I be a Dom,\nor a Hadi, from to-day you and I are one.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSEVEN BROTHERS AND THEIR SISTER.\n\n\nIn a certain village there lived seven brothers and a sister. Their\nfamily was wealthy. Their father was dead. The brothers agreed to dig\na tank so that whatever happened their name would continue. So they\nbegan the work, but although they dug deep they found no water. Then\nthey said to each other, \"Why is there no water?\" While they were\nspeaking thus among themselves a jugi gosae on his rounds, came to\nthe tank in the hope of finding water, but he was disappointed. The\nseven brothers on seeing the jugi gosae went and sat down near him,\nand said, \"We have been working for many days, and have dug so deep,\nstill we have not reached water. You, who are a jugi gosae, tell us\nwhy water does not come.\" He replied, \"Unless you give a gift you\nwill never get water.\" They enquired, \"What should we give.\" The jugi\ngosae replied, \"Not gold, or silver, or an elephant, or a horse, but\nyou have a sister?\" They said, \"Yes, we have one sister.\" He replied,\n\"Then make a gift of her to the spirit of the tank.\" The girl was\nbetrothed, and her family had received the amount that had been fixed\nas her price. The brothers argued thus, \"We have laboured so long\nto make a name for ourselves, but have not found water, so where is\nour name? If we do not sacrifice our sister we shall never obtain the\nfulfilment of our wishes, let us all agree to it.\" So they all said,\n\"Agreed,\" but the youngest did not fully approve of their design.\n\nIn the evening they said to their mother, \"Let our sister wash her\nclothes, dress her hair, and put on all her ornaments to-morrow when\nshe brings us our breakfast to the tank.\" They did not, however,\nenlighten their mother as to why they desired their sister to be so\ncareful with her toilet.\n\nThe following day the mother addressed her daughter as follows,\n\"Oh! my daughter, your brothers yesterday said to me, let the\ndaughter, when she brings us our breakfast come with clean clothes,\nher hair dressed and all her ornaments on. So as it is nearly time,\ngo and dress, and put on all your ornaments, and take your brothers'\nbreakfast to where they are working.\" She complied with her mother's\norder, and set out for the tank, dressed in her best with all her\nornaments on, carrying boiled rice in a new basket.\n\nWhen she arrived at the tank her brothers said to her, \"Oh! daughter,\nset down the basket under yonder tree.\" She did so, and the brothers\ncame to where she was. They then said to her, \"Go bring us water from\nthe tank to drink.\" She took her water-pot under her arm, and went\ninto the tank, but did not at once find water. Presently, however, she\nsaw the sheen of water in the centre, and went to fill her pitcher,\nbut she could not do so, as the water rose so rapidly. The tank was\nsoon full to the brim, and the girl was drowned.\n\nThe brothers having seen their sister perish, went home. Their\nmother enquired, \"Oh! my sons, where is the daughter?\" They replied,\n\"We have given her to the tank. A certain jugi gosae said to us,\n'Unless you offer up your sister you will never get water'.\" On\nhearing this she loudly wailed the loss of her daughter. Her sons\nstrove to mitigate her grief by saying, \"Look mother, we undertook\nthe excavation of the tank to perpetuate our name, and to gain the\nfruit of a meritorious work. And unless there be water in the tank\nfor men and cattle to drink, where is the perpetuation of our name? By\nour offering up the daughter the tank is full to overflowing. So the\ncattle can now quench their thirst, and travellers, when they encamp\nnear by and drink the water, will say, 'The excavators of this tank\ndeserve the thanks of all. We, and others who pass by are recipients\nof their bounty. Their merit is indeed great'.\" In this way with many\nsuch like arguments they sought to allay their mother's grief.\n\nRight in the centre of the tank, where the girl was drowned, there\nsprang up an Upel flower the purple, sheen of which filled the beholder\nwith delight.\n\nIt has already been stated that the girl had been betrothed, and that\nher family had received the money for her. The day appointed for the\nmarriage arrived, and the bridegroom's party with drums, elephants and\nhorses, set out for the bride's house. On arrival they were informed\nthat she had left her home, and that all efforts to trace her had\nproved fruitless. So they returned home greatly disappointed. It so\nhappened that their way lay past the tank in which the girl had been\nsacrificed, and the bridegroom, from his palki, saw the Upel flower\nin the centre. As he wished to possess himself of it, he ordered his\nbearers to set down the palki, and stepping out prepared to swim out\nto pluck the flower. His companions tried to dissuade him, but as he\ninsisted he was permitted to enter the water. He swam to within a short\ndistance of the flower, but as he stretched out his hand to pluck it,\nthe Upel flower, moving away, said, \"Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi! You may be\neither a Dom or a Hadi, do not touch me.\" The bridegroom replied,\n\"Not so. Are not we two one?\" He made another effort to seize the\nflower, but it again moved away, saying, \"Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi! you\nmay be a Dom or a Hadi, so do not touch me.\" To which he replied,\n\"Not so. You and I are one.\" He swam after it again, but the flower\neluded his grasp, and said, \"Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi! You may be a Dom,\nor you may be a Hadi, so do not touch me.\" He said, \"Not so. You and\nI are bride and bridegroom for ever.\" Then the Upel flower allowed\nitself to be plucked, and the bridegroom returned to his company\nbearing it with him.\n\nHe entered his palki and the cortege started. They had not proceeded\nfar before the bearers were convinced that the palki was increasing\nin weight. They said, \"How is it that it is now so heavy? A short\ntime ago it was light.\" So they pushed aside the panel, and beheld\nthe bride and bridegroom sitting side by side. The marriage party on\nhearing the glad news rejoiced exceedingly. They beat drums, shouted,\ndanced, and fired off guns. Thus they proceeded on their homeward way.\n\nWhen the bridegroom's family heard the noise, they said, one to the\nother \"Sister, they have arrived.\" Then they went forth to meet the\nbridegroom, and brought them in with great rejoicing. The bride was\nshe who had been the Upel flower, and was exceedingly beautiful. In\nform she was both human and divine. The village people, as well as\nthe marriage guests, when they saw her, exclaimed, \"What a beautiful\nbride! She is the fairest bride that we have seen. She has no\npeer.\" Thus they all praised her beauty.\n\nIt so happened that in the meantime the mother and brothers of the\ngirl had become poor. They were reduced to such straits as to be\ncompelled to sell firewood for a living. So one day the brothers\nwent to the bridegroom's village with firewood for sale. They offered\nit to one and another, but no one would buy. At last some one said,\n\"Take it to the house in which the marriage party is assembled. They\nmay require it.\" So the brothers went there, and asked, \"Will you buy\nfirewood?\" They replied, \"Yes. We will take it.\" Some one informed the\nbride, that some men from somewhere had brought firewood for sale. So\nshe went out, and at once recognised her brothers, and said to them,\n\"Put down your loads,\" and when they had done so she placed beds\nfor them to sit on, and brought them water; but they did not know\nthat she was their sister, as she was so greatly changed. Then she\ngave them vessels of oil, and said, \"Go bathe, for you will dine\nhere to-day.\" So they took the oil, and went to bathe, but they\nwere so hungry that they drank the oil on the way. So they bathed,\nand returned to the house. She then brought them water to wash their\nhands, and they sat down in a row to eat. The bride gave her youngest\nbrother food on a brass plate, because he had not approved of what\nhad been done to her, but to the others she gave it on leaf plates.\n\nThey had only eaten one handful of rice when the girl placed herself\nin front of them, and putting a hand upon her head, began to weep\nbitterly. She exclaimed, \"Oh! my brothers, you had no pity upon me. You\nthrew me away as an offering to the tank. You saw me lost, and then\nwent home.\" When the brothers heard this they felt as if their breasts\nwere torn open. If they looked up to heaven, heaven was high. Then\nthey saw an axe which they seized, and with it they struck the ground\nwith all their might. It opened like the mouth of a large tiger,\nand the brothers plunged in. The girl caught the youngest brother by\nthe hair to pull him up, but it came away in her hand, and they all\ndisappeared into the bowels of the earth, which closed over them.\n\nThe girl held the hair in her hand and wept over it. She then planted\nit, and from it sprang the hair like Bachkom [22] grass, and from\nthat time Bachkom grass grows in the jungles.\n\nThe sister had pity on her youngest brother because he did not join\nheartily with the others in causing her death. So she tried to rescue\nhim from the fate which was about to overtake him, but in this she\nfailed, and he suffered for the sins of his brothers.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF JHORE.\n\n\nThere was a lad named Jhore, who herded goats, and every day while\nwith his flock he saw a tiger and a lizard fight. The lizard always\nvanquished the tiger, and the latter after each encounter came to Jhore\nand said, \"Which of us won?\" Jhore through fear every time replied,\n\"You won,\" and the tiger went away pleased.\n\nOne day Jhore said to his mother, give me some roasted matkom in a\nleaf, and put me into a bag and I will tell you something. So she\nwrapped up some matkom in a leaf, and Jhore crept into the bag and\nshe tied its mouth. Then she said, \"What is it, my son, which you\nwish to tell me?\" Jhore replied, \"Every day when I am tending my\ngoats I see a tiger and a lizard fight, and the tiger is vanquished\nby the lizard. The tiger then comes to me and asks, 'which of us\nwon?' Through fear I say, you won, then the tiger goes away satisfied.\"\n\nWhile Jhore was relating the foregoing to his mother the tiger was\nlistening at the door, and as he finished his story it rushed in, and\nseizing the bag carried it off to a dense unexplored forest, on a hill\nin the middle of which he placed it. Jhore was very uncomfortable,\nand was considering how he could best free himself from the bag. As\nhe was hungry he was reminded of the matkom he had with him wrapped\nin a leaf, so he began to open it, and the dried leaf crackled. The\ntiger hearing the noise, asked what produced it. Jhore replied,\n\"It is yesterday's lizard.\" The tidings of the presence of his\nmortal enemy so terrified the tiger that he exclaimed, \"Stop, stop,\nJhore. Do not release him. Let me first escape.\" After the tiger left\nJhore rolled down the hill side, and away into a still denser forest,\nin an open spot of which he came to a stop. The fastening of the bag\nwas loosed by this time, and Jhore crawled out. All round this open\nglade in which our hero found himself was dense forest never trodden\nby the foot of man, and tenanted by a herd of wild buffaloes. Jhore\ntook up his residence there, and subsisted on the roasted matkom as\nlong as it lasted.\n\nJhore in his explorations found a number of buffaloe calves left\nbehind by their mothers who had gone to graze. He tended these daily,\ncleaning the place where they lived, and taking them to the water,\nwhere he washed them. In this way a bond of friendship was established\nbetween him and the wild buffaloe calves.\n\nBefore the buffaloe cows left for their grazing grounds in the\nmornings the calves said, \"You stay away till so late at night that,\nwe are almost famished before you return. Leave some milk with us,\nso that when hungry we may drink it.\" So they left a supply of milk\nwith them, which they gave to Jhore. He took such care of his charges\nthat he soon became a great favourite with them.\n\nMatters went on thus for many days till at last the buffaloe cows\nsaid among themselves, \"We must watch for, and catch whoever it is\nwho keeps our calves so clean.\" So a very powerful wild buffaloe\nwas appointed to lie in wait, but he missed seeing Jhore when he led\nthe calves to the water and bathed them, and cleaned and swept out\ntheir stall. The next day another took his place, but he succeeded\nno better. The calves were taken to the water, bathed, brought back,\nand their stall cleaned and swept as usual without his seeing who\ndid it. When the others returned in the evening he informed them\nthat he had failed to solve the mystery. So they said, \"What shall\nwe do now? How shall we catch him? Who will watch to-morrow?\" A old\nbuffaloe cow replied, \"I will accept the responsibility.\" Hearing\nher speak thus the others said, \"What a good elephant and a good\nhorse could not do, will ten asses accomplish?\" By this they meant,\nthat two of the strongest of their number having failed, this weak\nold cow could not possibly succeed. However, she persisted, and in\nthe morning the others went to graze leaving her behind.\n\nIn a short time she saw Jhore emerge from the dunghill, in which he\nresided, and loose the calves, and take them to the water. When he\nbrought them back he cleaned and swept their stall, and then re-entered\nthe dunghill. In the evening the others enquired, \"Well, did you see\nhim?\" The old buffaloe cow replied, \"Yes, I saw him, but I will not\ntell you, for you will kill him.\" They pressed her, but she refused,\nsaying, \"You will kill him.\" They said, \"Why should we kill him who\ntakes so much care of our young ones?\" The old buffaloe cow led them\nto the dunghill, and said, \"He is in here.\" So they called to him to\ncome out, which he did, and when they saw him they were all greatly\npleased, so much so that they there and then hired him to continue\nto do the work he had been doing so well. They arranged also to give\nhim a regular daily supply of milk, so he was duly installed by the\nherd of wild buffaloes as care-taker of their calves.\n\nLong after this, he one day took his calves to the river and after\nhe had bathed them he said to the buffaloe calves, \"Wait for me till\nI also bathe.\" They replied, \"Bathe, we will graze close by.\" He\nhaving performed his ablutions sat down on the river bank to comb and\ndress his hair, which was twelve cubits long. In combing his tangled\ntresses a quantity was wrenched out, this he wrapped up in a leaf and\nthrew into the stream. It was carried by the current a great distance\ndown to where a raja's daughter and her companions were bathing. The\nraja's daughter saw the leaf floating towards her, and ordered one\nof her attendants to bring it to her. When the leaf was opened it\nwas found to contain hair twelve cubits in length. Immediately after\nmeasuring the hair the raja's daughter complained of fever, and hasted\nhome to her couch. The raja being informed of his daughter's illness\nsent for the most skilled physicians, who prescribed all the remedies\ntheir pharmacopoeia contained, but failed to afford the sufferer any\nrelief. The grief of the raja was therefore intense.\n\nThen his daughter said to him, \"Oh! father, I have one word to say\nto you. If you do as I wish, I shall recover.\" The raja replied,\n\"Tell me what it is, I shall do my best to please you.\" So she said,\n\"If you find me one with hair twelve cubits long and bring him to me,\nI shall rally at once.\" The raja said, \"It is well.\"\n\nThe raja caused diligent search to be made for the person with\nhair twelve cubits long. He said to a certain jugi, \"You traverse\nthe country far and near, find me the man with hair twelve cubits\nlong.\" The jugi enquired everywhere, but could obtain no intelligence\nconcerning him.\n\nThey then made up a parcel of flour and gave it to a crow, whom\nthey sent to try and find him. The crow flew caw cawing all over\nthe district, but returned at last and reported failure, saying,\n\"there is not such a man in the world.\"\n\nAfter this they again made up a small parcel of flour, and giving\nit to a tame paroquet, said, \"Find a man with hair twelve cubits\nlong.\" The paroquet, having received his orders, flew away screeching,\nand mounting high up into the sky, directed his course straight for\nthe unexplored forest. In the meantime the dunghill in which Jhore\nresided had become a palace.\n\nThe paroquet alighted on a tree near Jhore's palace, and began to\nwhistle. On hearing the unusual sound Jhore came out and saw the\nparoquet who was speaking and whistling. The paroquet also eyed him\nnarrowly, and was delighted to see his hair trailing on the ground. By\nthis he knew that he had found the object of his search, and with a\nscream of delight, he flew away to communicate the tidings to the raja.\n\nThe raja was overjoyed with his messenger's report, and ordered the\nbariat to set out immediately. In a short time they were on their\nway accompanied by elephants, horses, drums, and fifes. On reaching\nJhore's palace they were about to enter for the purpose of seizing\nhim, when he exclaimed, \"Do not pass my threshold.\" They replied,\n\"We will carry you away with us.\" He said, \"Do not come near.\" \"We will\ncertainly carry you away,\" they replied. Jhore then ran into his house,\nand seizing his flute mounted to the roof, and began to play. As the\nnotes of the flute resounded through the forest it seemed to say,\n\n\n            A staff of Pader [23] wood\n            A flute of Erandom [24]\n            Return, return, return,\n            Oh! wild buffaloe cows.\n\n\nThe sound of the flute startled the wild buffaloes, and they said\none to another, \"Sister. What has happened to Jhore?\" Then he played\nagain the same as before;\n\n\n            A staff of Pader wood\n            A flute of Erandom\n            Return, return, return,\n            Oh! wild buffaloe cows.\n\n\nAs the echoes of Jhore's flute died away in the forest glades the wild\nbuffaloes sprang forward, and rushed to his assistance. On arrival they\nfound the house and courtyard full of people, and large numbers outside\nwho could not gain admittance. They immediately charged them with\nall their force, goring many to death, and scattering the remainder,\nwho flung away their drums and fifes, and fled as for dear life.\n\nWhen the raja heard of their discomfiture he sent again for the\nparoquet, and giving a small parcel of flour to him said, \"Stay some\ntime with him until you gain his confidence, and watch your chance\nto bring away his flute.\" Having received his orders he flew off\nto Jhore's palace, and having gained access to where the flute was,\nwhen Jhore was out of the way he brought it away, and gave it to the\nraja. The raja was delighted at the sight of the flute, and again\nordered the bariat to go to fetch Jhore. A still more imposing array\nthan the former started with elephants, horses, drums, fifes, and\npalkis, and in due course arrived at Jhore's residence. On seeing them\nJhore called out, \"Do not approach, or you will rue it presently.\" They\nreplied, \"You beat us off the first time, therefore you now crow, but\nyou will not now be able to balk us, we shall take you with us.\" Again\nhe warned them to stay where they were, saying, \"Do not come near me,\nor you will rue it presently.\" They replied, \"We will take you with\nus this time, we will not leave you behind.\" Jhore then ran into his\nhouse, and searched for his flute, but as it had been carried away\nby the paroquet he could not find it, so seizing another he mounted\nto the roof, and began to play. The flute seemed to say;\n\n\n            A staff of Pader wood\n            A flute of Erandom\n            Return, return, return,\n            Oh! wild buffaloe cows.\n\n\nThe sound startled the wild buffaloes who said one to another\n\"Sister. What is it Jhore says?\" Again the music of the flute reached\ntheir ears, and the entire herd rushed off to Jhore's rescue. They\ncharged the crowd in and around the palace of their favourite with\nsuch determination that in a few minutes many lay gored to death,\nand those who were so fortunate as to escape threw down drums,\nfifes, and palkis, and fled pell mell from the place. The raja,\nbeing informed of the catastrophe that had befallen the bariat,\nagain called the paroquet, and after he had given him careful\ninstructions as to how he should proceed, dismissed him. He said,\n\"This time you must stay many days with him, and secure his entire\nconfidence and friendship. Then you must bring away all his flutes,\ndo not leave him one.\" So the paroquet flew swiftly, and alighted on\na tree near to Jhore's house, and began to whistle. Jhore seeing it\nwas a paroquet brought it food, and induced it to come down, and allow\nhim to take it in his hand. The two, it is said, lived together many\ndays, and greatly enjoyed each other's society. The paroquet when he\nhad informed himself as to where all Jhore's flutes were kept, one\nday tied them all up in a bundle, and carried them to the raja. The\nsight of the flutes revived the drooping spirits of his Majesty. He\ngave orders a third time for the bariat to go and bring Jhore, so they\nstarted with greater pomp and show than before. Elephants, horses, and\nan immense number of men with drums and fifes, and palkis formed the\nprocession. On their arrival Jhore came out of his palace and said to\nthem, \"Do not come near, or you will rue it.\" They replied, \"This time\nwe will have you. We will take you with us.\" Again Jhore warning them\nsaid, \"Come no nearer. If you do, you will see something as good as a\nshow. Do you not remember how you fared the other day?\" But they said,\n\"We will carry you away with us.\" Jhore ran inside to get his flute,\nso that he might call the wild buffaloes to his assistance; but no\nflute was to be found. Without the help of his powerful friends he\ncould offer no resistance, so they seized him, and bore him away in\ntriumph to the raja.\n\nWhen the raja's daughter heard of his arrival the fever suddenly\nleft her, and she was once more in excellent health. She and Jhore\nwere united in the bonds of marriage forthwith; but Jhore was kept\na close prisoner in the palace.\n\nIn course of time a son blessed the union, and when the child was\nable to walk Jhore's wife said to him, \"Where is the large herd of\nbuffaloes which you boast so much about? If they were here \"Sonny\"\nwould have milk and curds daily.\" Jhore plucking up courage, replied,\n\"If you do not believe me order a stockade to be constructed thirty-two\nmiles long and thirty-two miles broad, and you shall soon behold my\nbuffaloes.\" So they made a pen thirty-two miles long and thirty-two\nmiles broad. Then Jhore said, \"Give me my old flute, and you all remain\nwithin doors.\" So they brought him his flute, and he went up on to the\nroof of the palace, and played. The music seemed to call as follows:\n\n\n        A staff of Pader wood\n        A flute of Erandom\n        Return, return, return,\n        Oh! wild buffaloe cows.\n\n\nThe sound startled the wild buffaloes in their forest home, and they\nsaid one to another, \"Sister. What does Jhore say?\" Again the music\nseemed to say,\n\n\n        A staff of Pader wood\n        A flute of Erandom\n        Return, return, return,\n        Oh! wild buffaloe cows.\n\n\nAt Jhore's second call the herd of wild buffaloes dashed off at\ntheir utmost speed, and never halted till they reached the raja's\npalace. They came in such numbers that the pen could not contain them\nall, many remained outside.\n\nThose that entered the pen are the domesticated buffaloes of to-day,\nand those who were without are the wild buffaloes still found in the\nforests of India.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE GIRL WHO ALWAYS FOUND HELPERS.\n\n\nThere were once upon a time, six brothers and a sister. The brothers\nwere married. They were merchants, and their business often took them\nto a distance from home. On such occasions the wives were left alone\nwith their sister-in-law. For some reason or other they hated the girl,\nand took every opportunity to harass and worry her.\n\nOne day when the brothers were away on a journey they said to her,\n\"Oh! girl, go to the forest and bring a load of firewood without\ntying it.\" What could the girl do? She must obey her sisters-in-law,\nor else they would beat her, and give her no food. So she went to the\nforest with a heavy heart, bewailing her unhappy lot in the following\nplaintive song,\n\n\n        Woe is me! For I must bring\n        Unbound a fagot on my head.\n\n        Oh! brothers dear, I weeping sing\n        While business you far hence hath led.\n\n\nSeeing her grief a Jambro snake asked, \"Why daughter, do you cry?\" She\nreplied, \"My brothers have gone away on business, and my sisters-in-law\npersecute me. They have sent me to bring a bundle of firewood on\nmy head without tying it.\" The Jambro took pity on her and said,\n\"Gather firewood.\" Then the Jambro stretched himself full length upon\nthe ground and said to the girl, \"Lay the sticks on me.\" When she\nhad done so the serpent twined itself round the fagot like a rope,\nand said, \"Now lift it on to your head, but when you reach home,\nlay your burden down gently.\"\n\nWhen her sisters-in-law knew that she had done what they considered\nimpossible, they were still more angry with her, and ordered her to\ngo to the forest and get milk from a tigress. They gave her a small\nearthen vessel, saying, \"Go, bring us the milk of a tigress.\" What\ncould the girl do? She went to the forest with a heavy heart, bewailing\nher unhappy lot in the following plaintive song,\n\n\n        Woe is me! For I must bring\n        A brimful cup of tigress' milk\n        Oh! brothers dear, I weeping sing\n        While you far hence by trade are lured.\n\n\nShe went to the tiger's den, but only found two cubs, who seeing\nher sitting weeping at the entrance said, \"What are you seeking?\" She\nreplied, \"My sisters-in-law have sent me to bring some of your mother's\nmilk.\" The cubs took pity on her and hid her in the cave. They\nsaid to her, \"Our mother will devour you, so you must not shew\nyourself.\" In a short time the tigress returned, and entering the\nden said, \"I smell a human being. Where is he?\" The cubs replied,\n\"There is no one here.\" The cubs milked a little of their mother's\nmilk into the girl's vessel, and when the way was clear they gave it\nto her, and sent her home.\n\nHer sisters-in-law were greatly disappointed when she brought home\nthe milk, they had expected that the tiger would have devoured her,\non that she would return home empty handed, and so give them the\nopportunity of abusing her for not carrying out their order.\n\nAnother day when the brothers were absent they called her, and said,\n\"Go to the forest and bring us some bear's milk.\" What could the girl\ndo? If she did not do as she was bidden her sisters-in-law would beat\nher, and give her nothing to eat. So taking the vessel in her hand,\nshe went to the forest, bewailing her unhappy lot in the following\nplaintive strains;\n\n\n        Woe is me! For I must bring\n        A brimful cup of she bear's milk\n        Oh! brothers dear, I weeping sing\n        While you far hence by trade are lured.\n\n\nGoing to the bear's den she sat down and wept. The she-bear was not\nin the den, only two cubs were there, who, when they saw the girl,\ntook pity upon her, and asked why she wept. She replied, \"My brothers\nhave gone away on business, and my sisters-in-law, who hate me, have\nsent me to procure bear's milk in order to harass and annoy me.\" The\nbear cubs then said, \"Our mother will eat you, if she finds you,\nso we will hide you, and you must keep quiet while she is here.\" The\nshe-bear on entering the cave said, \"I smell a human being.\" The cubs\nreplied, \"There is no one here.\" The young ones succeeded in obtaining\na small quantity of their mother's milk in the girl's earthen vessel,\nand after the mother bear had left, the cubs dismissed her with their\nbest wishes for her welfare.\n\nHer sisters-in-law were extremely annoyed when she presented the bear's\nmilk to them. They had expected that the bear would have torn her to\npieces, or that she would have returned empty handed, and thus give\nthem another chance to abuse and reproach her.\n\nThe girl's sisters-in-law again took advantage of their husbands'\nabsence to send her to bring water from the spring in a water-pot with\na hole in it. They said, \"Go bring water in this water-pot.\" What\ncould the girl do? She placed it on her head, and went towards the\nspring bewailing her unhappy lot in the following plaintive song,\n\n\n        Woe is me! For I must bring\n        Spring water in a leaking jar\n        Oh! brothers dear, I weeping sing\n        While business you far hence hath lured.\n\n\nShe seated herself near the well, and exclaimed, \"How can I carry\nwater in this pot?\" At that moment a frog raised his head above the\nreeds, and said, \"Why do you sit here lamenting?\" The girl replied,\n\"My sisters-in-law, who hate me, have ordered me to bring water in this\npot which has a large hole in the bottom. How is it possible for me\nto obey their order?\" The frog replied, \"Do not worry yourself over\nit, I will help you.\" So he pressed himself tightly over the hole,\nand she filled her pot, and carried it home on her head.\n\nHer sisters-in-law, when they saw her place the water-pot on the\nground, full to the brim, were intensely mortified. They had looked\nfor her returning with an empty pitcher, thus affording them an\nostensible reason for maliciously upbraiding her.\n\nAnother time they scattered a large basketful of Mustard seed on\nthe ground, and ordered her to pick up every seed. They said to her,\n\"You must gather it all into the basket again.\" What could she do? If\nshe failed they would beat her, entreat her spitefully, and deprive\nher of food. As she gazed upon the seeds scattered all around her,\nshe bewailed her unhappy condition as follows:\n\n\n        Woe is me! I must refill\n        This basket with these scattered seeds\n        Oh! brothers dear, I weeping sing\n        While business you far hence hath lured.\n\n\nThe plaintive murmur of her song had scarcely died away when a\nlarge flock of pigeons alighted near her. They said, \"Why do you\nweep?\" She replied, \"My sisters-in-law, who hate me, have scattered\nall this mustard seed on the ground, and have ordered me to pick it\nall up. One solitary seed must not be left.\" The pigeons said, \"Do\nnot vex yourself, we will soon pick it up for you.\" As the pigeons\nwere very numerous they soon collected it all into the basket. They\ndid not leave one seed on the ground.\n\nWhen she called her sisters-in-law to come and see how efficiently the\nwork had been done, they were furious at being again balked by her,\nand vowed vengeance.\n\nOnce again, when the brothers were from home, her sisters-in-law\nordered her to go to the jungle, and bring a bale of leaves with\nwhich to make the family cups and plates. They said to her, \"Go to\nthe jungle and bring a large bale of leaves, but do so without in\nanyway tying them.\" What could the girl do? She had been ordered to\nperform an impossibility. If she refused, or failed to do it, her\nsisters-in-law would beat her, and deprive her of food. So she went to\nthe forest bewailing her unhappy lot in the following plaintive song;\n\n\n        Woe is me! For I must bring\n        Of forest leaves an unbound bale\n        Oh! brothers dear, I weeping sing\n        While business you far hence hath lured.\n\n\nAs she was sitting in the forest weeping a Horhorang serpent drew\nnear and said, \"Wherefore daughter do you grieve?\" She replied,\n\"My sisters-in-law hate me and have ordered me to bring leaves\nwithout tying them into a bundle. I cannot do this, and I fear their\nresentment, so I cannot help weeping.\" The Horhorang said, \"Vex not\nyourself. Go and pluck your leaves and bring them here.\" She did so,\nand the Horhorang twined himself round them binding them into a sheaf,\nwhich the girl placed upon her head, and carried home.\n\nWhen her sisters-in-law saw the leaves, and had looked to see that\nnone had fallen by the way they were greatly chagrined. They had\nexpected an opportunity to reproach her with disobedience, and a\nreason for punishing her.\n\nAlthough her sisters-in-law had imposed so many impossibilities upon\nher, yet they had been unable to defeat her. Just at the proper time\nsome one had appeared to help her.\n\nThey had seen a bunch of flowers on the top of a high tree, and one\nday when their husbands were away, they said to her, \"Climb up into\nthe tree and pluck the flowers, we wish to dress our hair with them on\nthe occasion of your marriage.\" No sooner had she clambered up into\nthe tree than her sisters-in-law placed thorny bushes all round in\nsuch a manner as to prevent her coming down again. They then went home.\n\nA few days afterwards, the brothers, when returning from a distant\nmarket to which they had gone rested for a little under this tree. A\ntear drop fell on the hand of one of them. Looking at it he said,\n\"Look brothers, this tear drop resembles those of the daughter.\" Then\nthey looked and saw her high up in the tree. They quickly brought\nher down, and she related how in time past she had been persecuted\nby her sisters-in-law whenever they were absent. The brothers were\nwroth with their wives for having used her so cruelly.\n\nThe brothers put their sister into a bag, and carried her home on a\nbullock's back. When the wives came out to welcome them, they asked,\n\"Where is the daughter?\" They gave no reply.\n\nAfterwards the brothers dug a deep well, and on the pretence of\npropitiating the water spirit induced their wives to stand round the\nwell with offerings of rice, &c., in their hands. At a given signal\neach hurled his wife head foremost into the well. They then placed\na cart over the opening.\n\nIn return for the persecution she had endured at their hands, the\ngirl used to go to the well and looking in, say, \"You treated me\ncruelly once, but now, boo sisters boo.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nA SIMPLE THIEF.\n\n\nOnce upon a time a man had some money given to him, and was told to\ngo and buy a foal with it. So he set out to search for one. After\na time he came to a village, and going to a house asked the people\nif they had a foal to sell, as he wished to buy one. They replied,\n\"There are no foals here, but we have mare's eggs. If you will take\nthem we will give them to you.\" He said, \"I will not take eggs, I\nwant a foal.\" He went to every house in the village asking if they\nhad a foal to sell, but none was to be had; but at each they offered\nto sell to him mare's eggs.\n\nHe then thought within himself, wherever I have gone they have told me\nthat they have not got a foal, but that they can let me have eggs. This\nbeing so, why should I give myself any further trouble? I will buy\nan egg. So he was given a large gourd, and told it was a mare's\negg. Having got, as he thought a mare's egg, he joyfully started\nto return to his home. The man who sold him the gourd informed him,\nthat a foal was certain to be hatched on the way. He was still far\nfrom home when the sun set, so he entered a village, and passed the\nnight there. In the morning he set out betimes, and about breakfast\ntime he came to a tank, on the embankment of which he laid down his\ngourd. He then went into the water to clean his teeth, after which he\nbegan to wash his face. While he was thus engaged a jackal came and\npushed the gourd down the embankment. The noise frightening the animal\nit ran away, but the man having caught a glimpse of it called out,\n\"My foal has hatched, and is galloping off.\" He pursued the jackal,\nwhich being terror stricken fled to the jungle, and took refuge in\nhis burrow. The man was pleased to see the creature enter his hole,\nand he said, \"He will soon come out again, and then I shall mount him,\nand gallop him home.\" Having said this, he placed himself in such a\nposition that when the jackal came out he could sit down on its back.\n\nHe continued standing thus until nightfall, but even then he had no\nintention of relinquishing his chance of capturing his foal. Late at\nnight some thieves came that way, and seeing him alone in the jungle\nasked him what he did there. He replied, \"I was sent by my friends to\nbuy a foal, but as I could not get one, I bought a mare's egg. I was\ninformed that the egg would hatch on my way home. I spent last night\nin a village on the way side, and resumed my homeward journey in the\nmorning. On arriving at a tank I laid down my egg on the embankment,\nand went down into the water, and having cleaned my teeth was washing\nmy hands and face, when the egg hatched and the foal immediately ran\naway. I followed it, and saw it enter this hole, and I am waiting\ntill it comes out, when I shall mount, and canter it home.\"\n\nThe thieves said, \"Leave it alone. Let it remain there. Will you kill\nyourself for this foal? Come with us, and we will give you a strong,\nbeautiful horse. This one has through fear of you riding on his back\ngone into this hole. Why should you wait for him? He will stay where\nhe is. Come with us, and we will supply you with a good one presently.\"\n\nAfter a little time spent in considering the offer the thieves had\nmade him, he decided to accompany them. The thieves were pleased\nto receive him into their gang, and at once they proceeded towards\na certain village. Having arrived there they went to a rich man's\nhouse, and dug a hole through the wall. They then said to our hero\nof the mare's egg, \"You creep in.\" He raised no objection, but went\nwillingly. They said to him, \"Bring out all the heavy articles you\ncan find, they are sure to be the most valuable.\" When inside he\nlifted up all he found to test the weight, but nothing seemed to be\nsufficiently heavy to be worth stealing. He said, \"everything is light,\nwhat can I take out to them?\" At length he came across a millstone,\nwhich he pushed through the hole in the wall to his confederates out\nside. Judging from its weight he expected they would be delighted to\nreceive it, but they said, \"Not this, Not this. Bring something worth\nstealing.\" So he went back, and finding a drum hanging from the roof he\ntook it down, and began to beat it. When the thieves heard the sound\nof the drum they decamped, saying, \"This fool is certain to betray\nus to-night.\" When he brought out the drum to make it over to them,\nthey were nowhere to be seen, so he re-entered the house and placed\nthe drum again where he had found it.\n\nHe then saw some milk near the fireplace, and being hungry he\ndetermined to cook some food. So helping himself to some rice he began\nto prepare it by boiling it in the milk. When it was nearly cooked,\none of the household turned over in his sleep, saying, \"I will eat. I\nwill eat.\" So he filled a ladle with the boiling rice and milk, and\npoured it into the sleeper's mouth. The hot food scalded him terribly,\nand he sprang up howling with the pain.\n\nThe other members of the family also jumped to their feet, and laid\nhold of the intruder, and bound him hand and foot.\n\nWhen the day broke a large number of people came to see the thief,\nand began to question him, as to who were his companions. So he\nrelated all that had occurred. Then they said, \"Of a truth, this\nman has been the means of protecting us. Had he not acted as he did,\nwe would have been robbed of all we have.\"\n\nSo they loosed his bonds, and set him free. They also allowed him to\neat the rice and milk he had cooked, which having done, he went home.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n[1] Jari is the Santali name for Crotalaria Juncea, a fibre yielding\nplant the seeds of which when ripe, rattle in the pods when the plant\nis shaken.\n\n[2] Bita is Santali for span, and Bitaram is span Ram, or span-long\nRam.\n\n[3] A small basket with a contracted opening.\n\n[4] Covering for the head and shoulders made of leaves pinned together,\nworn as a protection from the rain by women, while planting rice.\n\n[5] Said to bullocks when ploughing to cause them to turn at the end\nof a furrow.\n\n[6] Ghur pank is a phrase used by ploughmen when turning their bullocks\nat the end of a furrow.\n\n[7] Mount the buffalo.\n\n[8] The spirit believed to preside over a certain class of rice land.\n\n[9] Semi-Hinduised aborigines, whose touch is considered polluting.\n\n[10] Ficus religiosa, Willd. one of the hugest of India's many\nhuge trees.\n\n[11] The fibre yielded by Bauhinia Vahlii, W. and A. goes under that\nname among the Santals.\n\n[12] Lelha in Santali means foolish.\n\n[13] Diamonds.\n\n[14] A mythical gem, said to be found in the heads of certain snakes.\n\n[15] Celestial horses.\n\n[16] Celestial Maiden.\n\n[17] AEgle Marmelos, Correa.\n\n[18] A mythical bird which figures largely in Indian folk lore.\n\n[19] Huti is the name given by Santals to a certain timber boring\ninsect. Budhi is an old woman.\n\n[20] Calotropis gigantea, R. Br.\n\n[21] Diospyros tomentosa.\n\n[22] Ischoemum agustifolium, Hack.\n\n[23] Stereospermum suaveolens, D. C.\n\n[24] Recinus communis, Linn.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<pre id=\"pg-footer\">","title":"Santal folk tales","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":44024}