{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_56614/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_56614","id":"gutenberg_56614","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56614","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Tales -- Sri Lanka"],"text":"Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project\nGutenberg (This file was produced from images generously\nmade available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                      VILLAGE FOLK-TALES OF CEYLON\n\n                                 Vol. I\n\n\n                      Collected and Translated by\n\n                               H. PARKER\n\n               Late of the Irrigation Department, Ceylon\n\n\n                                 LONDON\n                               LUZAC & CO\n                     Publishers to the India Office\n                                  1910\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                                    PAGE\n\nIntroduction                                           1\n\n\nPART I.\n\nSTORIES OF THE CULTIVATING CASTE AND VAEDDAS.\n\n   NO.\n\n     1 The Making of the Great Earth                  47\n     2 The Sun, the Moon, and Great Paddy             52\n     3 The Story of Senasura                          54\n     4 The Glass Princess                             57\n     5 The Frog Prince                                67\n     6 The Millet Trader                              72\n     7 The Turtle Dove                                79\n     8 The Prince and the Princess                    93\n     9 Tamarind Tikka                                100\n    10 Matalange Loku-Appu                           108\n    11 The White Turtle                              113\n    12 The Black Storks' Girl                        120\n    13 The Golden Kaekiri Fruit                      129\n    14 The Four Deaf Persons                         134\n    15 The Prince and the Yaka                       137\n    16 How a Yaka and a Man fought                   146\n    17 Concerning a Man and Two Yakas                148\n    18 The Three Questions                           150\n    19 The Faithless Princess                        157\n    20 The Prince who did not go to School           160\n    21 Nagul-Munna                                   169\n    22 The Kule-baka Flowers                         173\n    23 Kurulu-gama Appu, the Soothsayer              179\n    24 How a Prince was chased by a Yaksani          186\n    25 The Wicked King                               191\n    26 The Kitul Seeds                               197\n    27 The Speaking Horse                            199\n    28 The Female Quail                              201\n    29 The Pied Robin                                206\n    30 The Jackal and the Hare                       209\n    31 The Leopard and the Mouse-deer                213\n    32 The Crocodile's Wedding                       216\n    33 The Gamarala's Cakes                          219\n    34 The Kinnara and the Parrots                   224\n    35 How a Jackal settled a Lawsuit                228\n    36 The Jackal and the Turtle                     234\n    37 The Lion and the Turtle                       241\n\n\nPART II.\n\nSTORIES OF THE LOWER CASTES.\n\n    38 The Monkey and the Weaver-Bird (Potter)       247\n    39 The Jackal Devatawa (Washerman)               249\n\nSTORIES OF THE TOM-TOM BEATERS.\n\n    The Foolishness of Tom-tom Beaters               252\n\n    40 A Kadambawa Man's Journey to Puttalam         253\n    41 The Kadambawa Men and the Hares               255\n    42 The Kadambawa Men and the Mouse-deer          256\n    43 The Kadambawa Men and the Bush                257\n    44 How the Kadambawa Men counted Themselves      258\n    45 The Kadambawa Men and the Dream               260\n    46 The Four Tom-tom Beaters                      262\n    47 The Golden Tree                               264\n    48 The Seven Princesses                          270\n    49 Mr. Janel Si\u00f1\u00f1a                               278\n    50 The Nikini Story                              284\n    51 The Aet-kanda Leniya                          291\n    52 The Wimali Story                              302\n    53 The Pots of Oil                               304\n    54 The Mouse Maiden                              308\n    55 Sigiris Si\u00f1\u00f1o, the Giant                      312\n    56 The Proud Jackal                              316\n\nSTORIES OF THE DURAYAS.\n\n    57 The Seven Robbers                             317\n    58 The Stupid Boy                                319\n    59 The Gamarala and the Washerman                322\n    60 The Two Thieves                               330\n    61 The Margosa Tree                              334\n    62 The Gamarala's Foolish Son                    336\n    63 The Jackal's Judgment                         339\n    64 The Heron and the Crab                        342\n    65 The Jackal and the Brahmana                   347\n    66 The Cat who guarded the Precepts              349\n    67 The Lizard and the Leopard                    355\n    68 The Lion and the Jackal                       359\n\nSTORIES OF THE RODIYAS.\n\n    69 The Roll of Cotton                            364\n    70 The Jackal and the Leopard                    367\n    71 How the Boars killed the Rakshasa             370\n    72 The Grateful Jackal                           373\n\nSTORIES OF THE KINNARAS.\n\n    73 Concerning a Monk and a Yaka                  375\n    74 The Three Suitors                             378\n    75 The Crocodile and the Jackal                  380\n\n\nIndex                                                383\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nWhen the forest and jungle of north-central or north-western Ceylon\nis viewed from the upper part of a hill of considerable height, it\nhas the appearance of a dark green sea, across which, if there be\nany wind, waves closely resembling those of the ocean roll along in\nparallel lines as the swaying tree tops bend under the gusts of the\nbreeze. As clouds pass between it and the sun their shadows of darker\ngreen follow each other over this seemingly illimitable ocean. The\nundulations of the ground are lost; all appears to be at one general\nlevel, except that here and there a little island is visible where\na low rocky mound succeeds in raising its head above the verdant waves.\n\nAny hills of lower elevation than our post of observation look\nstrangely dwarfed, while higher ones behind us stand out more\nprominently than ever. In the immediate neighbourhood, perhaps glimpses\nmay be obtained of one or two pale green rice fields, contrasting with\nthe darker foliage around them, and of the light blue reflection of\nthe sky in the water of a village tank; but further away there is no\nbreak in the uniformity of the forest sea. No houses are to be seen\nnor sounds heard, and the visible country appears to be an uninhabited\nsilent wilderness of vegetation.\n\nLet us descend from such an elevated post, and proceed to examine\nthe depths of the green ocean at closer quarters. I shall assume\nthat the reader is accompanying me on a visit to a Kandian village,\nwhere we can learn something of the mode of life and the ideas of\nthe dwellers in this jungle, and become acquainted with some of the\nanimals who are introduced into the stories which they relate.\n\nWe leave the dusty main roads, and follow a winding village path,\nnever straight for a hundred yards except by accident--not such a path\nas was constantly encountered thirty or more years ago, on which the\noverhanging thorny bushes often made it necessary to bend low or run\nthe risk of having one's clothes torn, but a track flanked with grass,\nhaving the bushes completely cleared away for a width of twelve feet.\n\nFor a long distance we journey under an exhausting, pitiless, brazen\nsun, which during all the middle part of the day the traveller\nfeels but never sees--never directing his gaze towards its blinding\nglare. The heat is reflected from the unsheltered path. Shut out from\nthe cooling breath of the wind, we have on each side only closely\ninterlaced jungle, a tangled growth, consisting chiefly of leafy thorns\nand creepers from ten to fifteen feet high, interspersed at varying\nintervals with a few large trees. This is the wild growth that has\nsprung up on the sites of abandoned chenas or jungle clearings, and\nwill be cut down again for them from five to seven years afterwards.\n\nAn occasional recent example of such a clearing may be passed,\nhaving a few large surviving scorched trees, and several smaller ones,\ninterspersed among the growing crop of green millet. Round this a rough\nfence made by laying sticks and blackened sapling trunks horizontally\nbetween pairs of crooked posts--part of the unconsumed remains after\nthe cut and dried up bushes had been burnt--protects the crop from\nthe intrusion of deer and pigs and buffaloes.\n\nNear the middle of the clearing, where two young trees grow in\nproximity, two thin posts have been fixed in the ground, and between\nthese four supports a floor of sticks has been constructed at a height\nof ten or twelve feet above the ground, reached by a rough stick\nladder with rungs two feet apart, and having a thatched roof overhead,\nand a flimsy wall of sticks, interwoven with leafy twigs or grass on\nthe windward side. A thin floor of earth, watered and beaten until it\nbecame hard, permits a small fire of sticks to be made in the shelter\nif the nocturnal air be chilly. In this solitary watch-hut a man, or\nsometimes two, sit or lie nightly, in order to drive away intruding\nanimals that may successfully evade or break through the protecting\nfence, and feed on the crop.\n\nIn such clearings are cultivated chiefly millet of different sorts,\nor edible grasses, sesame, and a small pulse called mun; while in\nthe richer soil around some scattered conical brown anthills are\nplanted maize, pumpkins, or red chillies, and a few small cucumbers\ncalled kaekiri, bearing yellow or reddish fruit some six inches\nlong. Climbing up two or three of the smaller trees are to be seen\ngourds, with their curious, hanging, pale, bottle-shaped fruit.\n\nAlong the path through the chena jungle there are not many signs of\nlife. A Monitor Lizard or \"Iguana,\" about four feet long, which we\nfrighten as it was licking up ants and other insects on the roadside\nwith its extensile thin tongue, scurries off quickly, and disappears\ndown a hole in the side of an anthill. Over the jungle come the slow\nmonotonous calls, \"Tok, tok, tok, tok,\" of a small Barbet, perched\non the topmost twig of one of the higher trees, jerking its body\nto the right and left as it repeats its single note. A Woodpecker\ncrosses the path with a screaming cry, three times repeated, and a\nfew other birds may appear at intervals, but otherwise there is not\nmuch to break the sameness.\n\nThen, if one be lucky, comes a tract of the original forest that\nhas escaped the chena clearer's destructive bill-hook and fires,\nin which is immediately experienced the welcome relief afforded by\nthe delightful cool shade cast by the forest trees of many species\nwhich stretch high above the lower bushes. This is the home of the\nElephant, traces of which are observed in the wide footprints and\nan occasional broken-down sapling or fractured branch. A slightly\nleaning tree on the side of the path has tempted one to rub his back\non it, and lower down are the scratches left by a Leopard's claws,\nas he scraped them on it like a cat.\n\nAs we pass along the leaf-strewn way, the loud hoarse cry, \"Ho, ho,\"\nof the large grey Monkeys (Semnopithecus priamus) whom we startle,\nresounds through the trees. They cease to feed on the succulent young\nleaves, and shake the rustling branches in their bold leaps among\nthe higher ones. This is soon followed by a sudden stillness as they\nmysteriously conceal themselves, vanishing as though by magic among\nthe denser foliage.\n\nBird calls unfamiliar to a stranger are heard, especially the short\ncry of two notes, rather than the crow, of the Jungle-cock--the wild\ngame-fowl of Ceylon,--the sheep-like bleats of the Lesser Hornbill,\nsometimes the rich notes of the Crested Drongo, or the often reiterated\nwhistle, \"To meet ye\u00b4-ou,\" of the Whistling Babbler. A charming\nGround Dove that was picking up seeds on the path, flies off quickly\ndown the path, and turns suddenly through the bushes. A few white or\nbrown or striped Butterflies, and sometimes the lovely, large, dark\nvelvety-green or steely blue Ornithoptera, flit about. A few sharp\nnotes, uttered as a small timid creature, little bigger than a hare,\ndarts off under the bushes, tell us that we have startled a little\nMouse-deer, Miminna. These fragile-looking animals always stand on\ntiptoe, appearing exactly, as Mr. R. A. Sterndale expressed it in\nhis work, The Mammalia of India, \"as if a puff of wind would blow\nthem away.\" But as a rule, there is not much animal life noticeable\neven in these forests, unless one can spare time to search for it.\n\nAnother patch of the chena jungle succeeds the forest, and then the\npath reaches one end of the embankment of a village tank or reservoir,\na shallow sheet of water varying in size from two or three acres to\nmore than one hundred, but commonly from twenty to fifty in area. The\ntrim, earthen, grass-sloped embankment, nearly straight, from an\neighth of a mile to half a mile long, from nine to sixteen feet high,\nand six feet wide on the top, rises a few feet above the water level.\n\nIn its contrast with the parched and heated ground along which we have\ncome, the scene always appears strikingly beautiful. There are few\nfairer spots on the earth than some of the village tanks when they\nare nearly full of water. Here we may sit in the cool shelter of an\numbrageous tree, and contemplate nature in its most idyllic aspect. The\nbusy world, with its turmoil and stress, its noisy factories and\nclanging machinery, its hurrying railway trains and motor-cars,\nits crowded cities full of an artificial and unhealthy existence,\nhas disappeared, as though it had been merely a fantastic vision of\nthe night. Here all is peace: an uneventful calm that has survived\nthe changes of perhaps two thousand years, and that may be unaltered\nin another two thousand. One may wonder if the fevered life of the\npresent western civilisation will last as long, or will have burnt\nitself out, and been swept away like that of the dead civilisations\nthat preceded it.\n\nAbandoning these day dreams, which the seclusion of the site induces,\nwe look around us. At both sides of the tank and along the outer toe of\nthe embankment grow lofty trees, with grey trunks often strengthened by\nwide buttresses, which are thrown out so as to afford their support in\nthe direction in which it is chiefly needed. If a branch become unduly\nexpanded on one side of the tree, always that on which it receives the\nrays of the sun, so as to displace the centre of gravity, the trunk\nat once proceeds to develop these thin triangular buttresses under\nit, wide at the base, and extending ten or fifteen feet upward. As\nthough designed by an engineer, there are usually two which act as\nstruts, and support the trunk below the overweighted branch; and on\nthe opposite side a broader one which acts as a tie, and assists in\nholding back the stem.\n\nThere is no lack of varied forms of animal life here. Often a party\nof brown Monkeys who have come to drink at the tank are to be seen\nin some of the trees, sitting quietly inspecting the visitors, or\nwalking leisurely along the branches, a few of the females carrying\nunder their bodies a young one tightly clutching them.\n\nIn many tanks, a low grey or dark-stained rock in the water affords a\nfavourite basking ground for the sluggish muddy-brown Crocodiles that\nmake their home in all but a few of the smallest of these tanks. They\nlie on it like stranded logs, exposed to the sun's rays, often with\nwide-open mouths, as though overcome by the heat, from which, however,\nthey make no effort to escape.\n\nA few black Cormorants and a white Egret or two may also be there,\nresting on another part of the rock; and close to the water even one\nor two little Black Tank Turtles, but not the edible White Tank Turtle\n(Kiri-ibba), which is much less common. On a stump in the water is\nusually perched a Darter, a bird that can outswim its fishy prey,\nwith long snake-like neck, drying its expanded wings under the fiery\ntropical rays. Its mate will be immersed in the water, in which it\nswims with only its head and neck visible above the surface.\n\nNear the upper margin of the tank wades, with long deliberate strides,\na lanky Great White Egret (Herodias alba), its neck outstretched\nin advance, and head held ready for a rapid spear-like thrust of\nits long tapering bill at any frog or small fish incautious enough\nto remain within its fatal reach. Nearer the edge of the shallowest\nwater Lesser Egrets step more hurriedly in search of frogs, and often\nchase them as they rush spluttering along its surface.\n\nAt the larger tanks the hoarse scream of a White-tailed Fishing Eagle\n(Polioaetus ichthyaetus), perched on one of the higher branches of\na tall tree overhanging the water, resounds across the open space,\nwithout frightening a flock of reddish-brown Whistling Teal that\nfloat motionless near some lotus leaves, watching the human intruders,\nwho monopolise all their attention.\n\nAs we proceed along the embankment, we disturb some of the large Frogs\nthat were sunning themselves on it, or catching flies near the edge\nof the water, and that plunge headlong into it with extended hind legs.\n\nWe now perceive on the low side of the tank a stretch of fields, a\ncouple of hundred yards, a quarter of a mile, or half a mile long, or\neven more, in which the clear uniform light green sheet of the paddy\nor growing rice affords a pleasant relief after the uninteresting\nchena jungle. A long group of feathery-fronded Coconut trees near the\ntank, fringing the far side of the field, indicates that we are close\nto a Kandian village. The thatched grey roofs of some of the houses\nare soon distinguishable below the palms, nearly concealed among the\nplantain trees and other bushes growing about them. Above these stand\nout several tall, deep green, pointed-leaved Mango trees, and higher\nstill a few wide-spreading Tamarinds and slender Halmilla trees.\n\nBefore we reach them, our attention is again arrested by the\nrepeated mewing calls of the light-coloured Jacanas (Hydrophasianus\nchirurgus), with pheasant-like tails and enormously lengthened toes,\nwhich distribute their weight over a wide area. This enables them to\nwalk on the round floating leaves of the lotus plants that cover one\nportion of the tank, picking unwary insects out of the water.\n\nNear the side of the tank are to be seen the upper parts of the dark\nheads of buffaloes, of which the bodies are immersed, as they lazily\nchew the cud. A White Egret is perched on one whose back appears above\nthe water. At intervals a head disappears quietly below the surface,\nand the dense crowd of small flies that had settled on it is driven\nto flight, only to return once more as soon as it rises again.\n\nIn the shallower water near them, and nearly stationary, or moving\na few feet only at a time, stands a small silent Pond Heron (Ardeola\ngrayi), avoiding observation as much as possible. Its shoulders are\nraised, and its head is drawn down, so that it appears to have no neck;\nits dorsal plumes spread over the closed wings and completely hide\nthem. When it stands still in this, its usual, attitude it is almost\nunnoticeable among the aquatic weeds. On our approach it flies off\nwith a croak, transformed into a bird displaying broad white wings\nand a long thin neck. It is far from being the voracious bird that\na well-known tale represents it to be.\n\nA Chestnut Bittern (Ardetta cinnamomea), that had stationed itself\nat the foot of the embankment, flits silently across the water, and a\nBlue or Pied Kingfisher is seen poising itself with down-turned bill,\nover a shoal of small fishes, on which it drops unexpectedly with\na sudden splash, and then wings its way to another position where\nothers have been detected.\n\nOn a patch of grass at the upper side of the tank we observe a couple\nof white-necked Black Storks (Ciconia leucocephala) promenading\nsedately in search of luckless frogs, but maintaining a careful\nwatch for human enemies who may be tempted to endeavour to approach\nwithin gunshot.\n\nNear this end of the embankment, a party of village women who have\nbrought their large, narrow-mouthed, brown earthen pots or \"chatties\"\nfor water, holding them on their hips by passing an arm round the\nneck, will probably take to flight on seeing the white strangers,\nor otherwise stand as far off the path as the space permits, until\nthey pass. A cry of rapidly shouted words is repeated through the\nvillage, announcing the arrival of \"gentlemen,\" and soon some of the\nmen emerge, and after saluting us with hands raised to the chest and\npalms touching each other, guide us into it.\n\nOn our way we pass by single houses or groups of two or three, built\nin the midst of each little paddock, fifty or one hundred feet wide\nor more, often with a very slight fence around it, of the scattered\narea under the coconut palms which forms the gardens of the Kandian\nvillage. Decently clad men and women come out of their mud-walled\nand often whitewashed dwellings to stare at the strangers, as well\nas children of all sizes, in varying stages of scanty clothing,\nfrom a short piece of white calico which reaches from the waist to\nthe ankles, down to its vanishing point. The men wear a plain white\ncloth from the waist to the ankles. The women have a white or coloured\none about twelve feet long, one end passing from the waist over the\nfront of the figure, with the corner thrown over the right shoulder,\nand hanging down behind as far as the waist; the rest of the cloth\nis wrapped twice round the lower part of the figure, from the waist\ndownwards. When they visit other villages many of the people of both\nsexes wear white jackets; in the women's jackets the sleeves are\ngathered and puffed out at the shoulder, and reach only to the elbow,\nand there is a wide, sometimes frilled, double collar.\n\nOur guides lead us on until we reach a dwelling possibly a little more\ncarefully constructed than the others, close to which is a thatched,\nopen, rectangular shed, about twelve feet long by nine feet wide,\nwith its roof resting on plain round wooden posts. Its raised earthen\nfloor is hastily swept, a heavy wooden mortar cut out of a piece of\ntree trunk, and used for pounding rice in order to remove the skin, is\nrolled away, and the shed is then ready for our temporary occupation.\n\nThis is a maduwa, or shed erected for travellers and strangers,\nas well as for the general use of the owner, in which the women may\nplait mats, or clean paddy or rice in the wooden mortar, with a long\nwooden pestle having an iron ring round the lower end. Here also the\nman's friends may sit and chat, and chew the leaf of the Betel vine\nwith broken-up bits of the nut of the Areka Palm, and a little lime,\nand a fragment of tobacco leaf, while they discuss the state of the\ncrops, or the local news.\n\nWhen such a shed is erected on the side of a path for public use, it\nmay have, but rarely, half walls four feet high; or the posts may be\ntenoned into a rectangle of substantial squared logs that are halved\ninto each other at the angles, where they rest upon large stones, so\nas to be clear of the ground, and thus partly protected from attacks\nby white ants. The squared beams act as seats for the tired passer-by.\n\nAt the end of the maduwa in the village there is sometimes a very small\nroom of the same width, in which is stored millet or pulse in bags,\nor ash-pumpkins, together with a few articles required about the house,\nsuch as surplus grass mats, and flat winnowing baskets. Under the roof\nof the maduwa, above the cross-beams and some sticks laid on them,\nwill be the owner's little plough, and board for levelling the mud of\nthe rice field before sowing, and some short coils of rope made from\nthe twisted inner bark of tough creepers, and one or two fish creels.\n\nWhen there is no suitable shed of this kind for the visitor, a hut,\nusually one belonging to the village headman, is swept out and\ntemporarily given up to our use. If information of the coming visit\nhad been sent beforehand, the hut or shed would have been provided\nwith a ceiling made of lengths of white calico borrowed from the\nfamily washerman, and perhaps the walls also would have been hung\nwith others, sometimes including such coloured ones as he had washed\nfor some of the villagers.\n\nWhile food is being prepared by our servants in a small shed or kitchen\nclose to the house, we stroll through the village, and observe as\nwe go that all the houses lie east and west, or north and south,\nand are thatched with straw or plaited Coconut leaves. They are all\nrectangular, usually eight or nine feet wide and some twelve feet\nlong, and are raised a couple of feet from the ground, on a solid\nearthen foundation. Each one has a low veranda, two feet six inches\nor three feet wide, along the front side, and one heavy door of adzed\nor sawn timber near the middle; but there is very rarely a window,\nand even then only one of the smallest size.\n\nNear the end of the house, and within sight of the veranda, there are\none or two round corn stores, considerably wider at the top than at\nthe base, with conical thatched roofs. They rest upon cross sticks\nplaced upon four horizontal adzed logs, which are supported by four\nsmall rough blocks of stone at the corners. Their walls are made of a\nwicker frame hung from four or five durable posts set in the ground,\nwhich are usually the heart wood of trees that are not eaten by white\nants. The upper part of the wicker frame is firmly tied to the tops\nof these, and the whole wicker work is then thickly overlaid and\nstiffened by successive coatings of mixed clay and sand, on which,\nas on all the walls and floor of the dwelling house, there is placed\na thin surface wash of cow-dung.\n\nThese corn stores contain the household supply of paddy or millet. They\nare entered only by raising the loose conical roof on one side by\na long prop, and getting inside by means of a rough ladder, at the\nopening thus made, over the top of the wall, which rises eight or\nnine feet above the ground. Sometimes, but rarely in the northern\nKandian districts, a small rectangular hut is used as a corn store,\nthe entrance in that case being made through a doorway in the middle\nof one side.\n\nThe open ground along the front of the house is clean, and free from\ngrass and weeds, and is swept every morning. In this space, called the\nmidula, there is a stand of peeled sticks supported on thin posts,\nand having a stick platform about four feet, or a little more, in\nlength and two feet in width, raised three feet from the ground,\nwith often another similar platform below it. On these are laid,\nafter being washed, the blackened earthenware cooking pots of the\nhouse, and spoons made of segments of coconut shell with long wooden\nhandles, which are used with them.\n\nIn the little kitchen at the end of the house, with a lean-to roof,\nthe hearths or fire-places called lipa are formed of three round stones\nfixed on the ground, about eight inches apart, on which are set the\ncooking pots, over a fire of dry sticks. Sometimes a separate small\nshed is built as a kitchen, but often the cooking is done inside the\nsingle apartment of the house, at one end of it.\n\nIn each garden are a number of Coconut trees, some thin Halmilla\ntrees, and often a Mango tree, or a dark-leaved Jak tree, with its\nenormous light green fruit hanging on pedicles from the trunk or larger\nbranches, as well as a Lime tree, and four or five clumps of Plantain\nstems nearer the dwelling. Round the base of one or two of the Coconuts\nor Halmilla trees are piled on end long bundles of firewood, nearly\ntwo feet thick and six or eight feet long, the unconsumed sticks\nfrom the chena, collected by the women, tied round with creepers,\nand carried home on their heads. Climbing up a small tree in front\nof the house is a fine Betel vine, which is watered every day during\nthe dry weather. We notice that a bleached skull of a bull is fixed\namong the leaves to guard the creeper from the unlucky glance of\nthe \"Evil Eye,\" which might cause its premature decay. In the damper\nground adjoining the rice field a few slender Areka palms are growing,\nwith their clusters of small fruit hanging below their leafy crowns.\n\nOn the outer side of the village, near the embankment of the tank,\nthere are the large, rough-stemmed Tamarind trees that we noticed\nas we came. A number of separate thin posts are fixed in the bare\nground below them, to which are tethered a few small Buffalo calves,\nwhich will be joined by their mothers at dusk, after their bath in\nthe tank is finished.\n\nFurther on, there is a small enclosure protected by a stick fence,\nround which a few thorns are placed. At the entrance, the halves\nof a split log, about nine inches wide, form gate posts; and five\nmoveable horizontal bars pass easily through holes cut through them,\na few loose thorns being rolled against them when the enclosure is\nshut up at night. This is a cattle-fold, or gala, into which the\nlittle harmless black humped cattle are driven each evening by some\nboys, with the repeated long-drawn cry, Gale, \"Into the fold.\" In some\ndistricts tobacco or chillies will be planted on this well-manured plot\nof ground in the following spring, a new cattle fold being then made.\n\nOn our return to the shed we see that our host's wife has cooked\nhis evening meal of boiled rice and vegetable curry, with a bit of\nsun-dried fish as a flavouring, these last being often made burning\nhot with red chillies. She serves it in the raised veranda to him and a\nrelative who has come from a distant village, after giving them water\nfor rinsing out their mouths. Both sit or \"squat\" on their heels,\nand convey the food to their mouths with their right hands, out of\nthe shallow, rather wide basins that act as plates. Where the supply\nof such household articles runs short, leaf plates made of a piece\nof plantain leaf, or two or three halmilla leaves pinned together,\nare used. When they have finished the meal, and have rinsed their\nright hands and drunk water--which is never taken while eating--and\nhave been served with a chew of betel leaf and its accompaniments,\nthe wife eats the remains of the meal alone, inside the house. If she\nand her husband were alone they would take it together, the husband\nbeing first served.\n\nThe men now sit on mats spread in the narrow veranda, where a little\noil lamp is perhaps hung, and the woman, after throwing out the remains\nof the food for the dog, and washing the basins and cooking utensils,\nand arranging them on their stand, joins the party, and shares in the\nevening's conversation. Sometimes, however, she finds it necessary\nto pound some paddy until bed-time, in order to remove the husk,\nin readiness for the meals of the following day; or millet or rice\nmay require grinding into flour in the stone quern.\n\nIf some intimate village friends were there, this would be the time\nwhen, after discussing the events of the day, or making arrangements\nfor the morrow, a member of the party might finish the evening's chat\nby relating one of the familiar old stories of which translations\nappear in this book.\n\nIn the end the woman retires, the visitor stretches himself on his\ngrass mat in the veranda, and the host extinguishes the lamp, if\none had been lit, and enters the single room of his house. On the\nnext night it will be his turn to occupy the watch-hut at the chena,\nwhere his partner is sitting now.\n\nAll take care to lie, if possible, in an east and west direction,\nand on no account with their heads to the south. This is the abode\nof Yama, the god of death, while the north is the quarter inhabited\nby demons. These directions are therefore exposed to evil influences\nwhich might affect the sleeper, and perhaps cause such unlucky omens\nas evil dreams.\n\nThe dog curls himself on the ground at the front of the house, the\ncat wanders off to join some village cronies, and all is silent in\nthe village, except the rustling of the Coconut fronds overhead,\nthe monotonous call, \"Wuk; chok-cho-tok,\" uttered by a small owl in\none of the higher trees, and the more distant chorus of the frogs in\nthe adjoining rice field.\n\nNow and again we hear at some villages the long-drawn, human-like cry,\n\"Hoo, hoo, hoo,\" of a large Wood-Owl (Syrnium indranee), that is flying\nround high in the air, and answering its distant mate. It is a weird\nunearthly sound, which is always firmly believed by the villagers to\nbe uttered by demons, as will be noticed in some of the stories.\n\nThe earliest cry of the morning is the deep booming note, three or four\ntimes repeated, of the large Ground Cuckoo (Centrococcyx rufipennis),\nwhich is heard soon after dawn appears. Our host's wife is at work\nbefore daylight, scraping into shreds the kernel of a half coconut,\nand preparing some milk-rice--rice boiled in milk made by squeezing\ngrated coconut in water until the latter assumes the colour of milk.\n\nBy sun-rise, the Crows of the village are astir, and the Parrakeets,\ncommonly called \"Parrots\" in the East, which have been sleeping in\nthe coconut trees, fly away in parties in search of food.\n\nThe notes of the double kettle-drum at a neighbouring wihara,\nor Buddhist temple, consisting of three deep-toned strokes at\nshort intervals, followed by five rapid blows on a higher key, once\nrepeated, the whole series being many times sounded, now announce to\nthe villagers within hearing that this is one of the four Poya days\nof the month, the Buddhist Sabbath, kept at each of the quarters of\nthe moon.\n\nAbout an hour later, our host's wife is joined by a party of eight or\nten women, and one or two men, all dressed in clean white clothes. They\nproceed to the temple, each carrying in a small bowl a present of\nmilk-rice and a few cakes, covered with a white cloth. There they\nchant three times, after the resident monk, the Buddhist creed,\n\"I go to the Buddha-refuge, I go to the Faith-refuge, I go to the\nCommunity (of Monks)-refuge\"; this is followed by some more stanzas\nin the ancient language, Pali, after which they return, and resume\nthe ordinary occupations of the day.\n\nOur host is about to leave his room after his night's rest, when the\nchirp of a little pale-coloured House Lizard on the wall causes him to\nturn back suddenly, in order to avoid the evil influences against which\nthe wise Lizard had uttered its warning voice. He occupies himself\nin the house for a short time longer, and then, at a luckier moment,\nmakes his appearance afresh, taking care to step over the threshold\nwith the right foot first.\n\nHe is cheered by finding that nothing obstructs his way in the\nleast after he comes out, and that we are the first living beings\non which his gaze rests. To begin the day by seeing first a person\nof superior status is a lucky omen of the favourable character of\nthe rest of the day, and one with which he is not often blessed. We\nincrease the auspicious impression by a few judicious friendly remarks;\nbut are careful not to offer any decided praise regarding any of his\npossessions, since we are aware of his opinion that one never knows if\nsuch sayings may not have a reverse effect through the malevolence of\njealous evil spirits. There is an Evil Mouth, as well as an Evil Eye.\n\nA man or two, and a few boys, come from the adjoining houses to watch\nour doings, from the open space in front of the house, or the veranda;\nbut all turn their faces away and ignore us from the moment when\nwe sit down to our \"early tea,\" and until it is finished. This is\ndone so as to avoid any risk of our food's affecting us injuriously,\nowing to a possible glance of the Evil Eye, which a person may possess\nwithout being aware of the fact.\n\nWe notice a little copper tube slung on the right upper arm of our\nhost's wife, by means of a yellow thread which passes through two\nrings on its under side. In reply to our carefully worded inquiry\nregarding it, he informs us that as she had been troubled with evil\ndreams they had thought it advisable to get a friend of his, a Vedarala\nor doctor, who was acquainted with astrological and magical lore, to\nsupply her with a magical diagram and spell against dreams, inscribed\non a strip of dried palm leaf, which was rolled up and placed in the\ntube. The thread, a triple one, was coloured with saffron, and nine\nknots were made on it before it was tied on her arm, a magical spell\nbeing repeated as each knot was made. Thanks to this safeguard the\ndreams had ceased, but it was considered advisable not to remove the\nthread and charm for a few weeks longer.\n\nOur host's relative, having eaten some milk-rice, and taken a chew of\nbetel and areka-nut in his mouth, is about to return to his distant\nvillage, and now leaves, saying only, \"Well, I am going.\" \"It is good;\nhaving gone come,\" is the reply. The latter word must not be omitted,\nor it might appear that his return in the future was not desired.\n\nSo he sets off on his journey, the host accompanying him to the garden\nfence. However, in a few minutes he is back again, and explains that\nhe had met with a bad omen which made it necessary to postpone the\ndeparture. A dog stood in the path, obstructing his way, and made no\nattempt to move even when he spoke to it. The host cordially agrees\nthat it would be most unwise to continue the journey after such an\nunfavourable omen on starting, and it is settled that he will leave\nearly in the afternoon, when the danger, whatever it may be, probably\nwill have passed away.\n\nAnd so on, like a perpetual nightmare haunting him during his\nwhole journey through life, the Kandian villager sees his dreaded\nportents in the simplest occurrences of his daily life. A few are\nprognostications of good luck; but far more in number are those which\nare to him obvious warnings, not to be disregarded with impunity,\nof some unknown but impending evil that he must avoid if possible.\n\nEvery evil is directly due to evil spirits, either specially\ninstigated to injure him by inimical magicians, or taking advantage\nof some accidental opportunity. The evil spirits are innumerable\nand malevolent, and ever ready to make use of any chance to annoy or\ninjure human beings. Thus it would be the height of foolhardiness to\nignore events that appear to be signs of some approaching unfavourable\naction on their part.\n\nOne man informed me that in the dusk one evening he was unable to find\nthe little exit path from his chena, and was compelled to remain all\nnight there before the clearing work was finished. He attributed this\nentirely to the malicious action of an evil spirit, who had blocked\nit up in order to annoy him. When daylight came the path was clear,\nand so plainly to be seen that he was certain that he could not have\nmissed it at night had it been in a similar state at that time.\n\nI knew of one instance in which a man who had arranged to make a\nlengthy trading journey, and had loaded his cart with produce ready\nfor an early start at daybreak, abandoned the trip because he had\na dream in the night which he considered indicated an unfavourable\nprospect. The reader will find a similar tale included among these\nstories; and although the villagers laugh at the foolish men of whom\nit is related, there are scores of others who would return home under\nsuch circumstances.\n\nIt is a holiday season for the villagers, during which they can devote\nthemselves to the congenial occupation of contemplating the growth of\nthe rice and the millet crop; but it was preceded by much hard work\nin the rice field and the chena. The felling of the thorny jungle at\nthe chena, the lopping and burning of the bushes, the clearing and\nhoeing of the ground, and the construction of the surrounding fence,\nwere carried on continuously under a scorching sun from morning to\nnight, until the work was completed shortly before the first light\nshowers enabled the seed to be sown, after a further clearing of the\nweeds that had sprung up over the ground.\n\nAs soon as the heavier rains had softened the hard soil of the rice\nfield, baked, where not sandy, by the tropical sun until it became\nlike stone, the work of ploughing and preparing the land for the\npaddy crop was one that permitted little or no intermission. Every\nmorning the men carried their little ploughs on their shoulders,\nand yoking a couple of buffaloes to each of them, spent many hours\nin guiding the blunt plough backwards and forwards through the soil,\novergrown since the last crop by a covering of grass. It requires no\nslight labour to convert such an apparently intractable material into\na smooth sheet of soft mud, eight inches deep. After that is done,\nall the little earthen ridges that form the raised borders of each\nof the rectangular plots into which the field is divided, and that\nare necessary for retaining the sheet of water which is periodically\nflooded over the rice, must be repaired and trimmed.\n\nWhen that is accomplished the ground must be sown by hand without\ndelay, with paddy which has already sprouted, and being merely\nscattered lightly on the surface of the thick mud, will grow at\nonce. The preparation of the paddy for this purpose is one of the\nduties of the women, who soak it in water, and spread it a few\ninches thick on large mats laid on the floor of the shed or the\nveranda. In three days it will be sprouted, and ready for immediate\nsowing. After the sowing is completed, there still remains the repair\nor reconstruction of the stick fence which protects the field from\ncattle, or, in some parts, deer.\n\nIt is thought to be essential for obtaining a satisfactory crop, that\neach of the more important operations of these or any other works\nshould be commenced on a day and at an hour that have been selected\nby the local astrologer as auspicious. There must be no unfavourable\naspects of the planets, which are held to have a most powerful and\noften deleterious influence on all terrestrial matters; planets or no\nplanets, certain days are also recognised by every person who claims\na modicum of intelligence, as being notoriously unlucky.\n\nAfter the time for beginning the ploughing, or commencing the clearing\nof the jungle at the chena, has been so chosen, a start must be made\nat that hour, even though it be nothing more than a beginning; and\nusually the plough is once run at that time through each little plot\nof the field, several days before the real ploughing is undertaken. In\nthe case of the chena, a few branches will be lopped off at the lucky\nmoment, and the remainder of the work can then be done when convenient.\n\nWithout such necessary precautions no village cultivator would be\nastonished at the subsequent failure or unproductiveness of the crops,\neither through excess or deficiency of the rainfall, or damage caused\nby wild animals, or, in the case of the rice, by an excessive irruption\nof \"flies\" or bugs, which suck out the milky juices of the immature\ngrains. The surprise would be felt, not at the failure of the crops\nunder such unfavourable conditions, but at the survival of any crop\nworth reaping.\n\nOf course, in the case of the \"flies\" on the rice the usual remedy of\ntheir forefathers will be tried. A Bali Tiyanna, a priest who makes\nofferings to arrest or avert the evil influences due to unpropitious\nplanets, will be summoned. After presenting a small offering,\nhe will march round the crop, blowing a perforated chank shell in\norder to alarm any unfavourable spirits; at each side of the field\nhe will formally exorcise the flies, and in a loud voice order them\nto depart. [1]\n\nBut on the whole, notwithstanding the thorough confidence of the\nexorcist in the efficacy of this treatment, it is felt to be a last\nresort, which ought to be, but often is not, altogether as successful\nas the owner of the crop might desire. Planets and flies are sometimes\nintractable, and will not hearken to the charmer. Besides, thinks the\ncultivator, who knows if the Bali Tiyanna was so foolish as to speak\nto some one on his march round the field, and thus break the spell?\n\nNow that he comes to consider the matter, the cultivator remembers\nthat he heard the cry of a Woodpecker [2] as he was leaving the\nhouse for the first ploughing. He thought at the time that, as the\nhour had been declared to be a fortunate one, that warning scream\nwas intended for some other person; but now he is of opinion that it\nmay have been addressed to him. It is unfortunate; it must have been\nsettled by Fate that he should neglect it, but he will exercise more\ncare another time. He feels that he can always place confidence in the\nHouse Lizards and Woodpeckers, because they receive their information\nfrom the gods themselves.\n\nWhen the chena crop is ripe, the wives of the owners collect a number\nof friends and relatives, and proceed with them to the place, each\ncarrying a light sack or two, and a diminutive sickle. With this\nthey cut off the heads of the millet, storing them in the sacks;\nthe straw is left as useless. All the party are rather gaily dressed,\nusually in white, and often have a broad strip of calico tied over the\nhead, with the ends falling down the back. This work is looked upon\nas a recreation, and is carried on amid a large amount of chatter\nand banter, and the singing of songs by first one and then another,\neach verse being repeated by the whole party. Some that are sung are\nsimple verses from the olden time, which probably are believed to\nhave a magical influence.\n\nAt noon and in the evening the bags full of millet are carried to the\nhouses of the owners of the crop. Meals are provided for the whole\nparty by them, and no payment is made for the work. In most districts\nthe men never take any part in this reaping, and their presence would\nbe thought objectionable. As one of them expressed it, they stay at\nhome and boil water.\n\nFor the reaping of the rice crop, the man to whom it belongs collects\na few assistants in the same way, the women also sometimes joining in\nthe work. The stems of the plants are cut near the ground, and are\ntied up in little sheaves, which are collected first at some of the\njunctions of the earthen ridges in the field. The whole are removed\nafterwards and built into larger stacks at the side of the field,\nnear a flat threshing-floor of hard earth, surrounded by a fence in\nwhich a few trees are planted as a shade.\n\nThe threshing of the stacks is a business of great importance, which\nmust be performed according to ancient customs that are supposed to\nhave a magical effect, and prevent injurious demoniacal interference\nwith the out-turn. After the floor has been thoroughly cleaned and\npurified, a magical circular diagram, with mystical symbols round it,\nis drawn on the ground round a central post, before the threshing\ncan be commenced.\n\nThe unthreshed rice is laid over the floor in a circle round the\ncentral post, and four buffaloes in a row are driven over it, round\nand round the post, following the direction taken by the sun, that is,\nfrom the east towards the south and so on through the circle, the stems\nof the rice being shaken up from time to time. After the corn has been\nthus trampled out of the ears it is collected and poured gradually\nout of baskets held high in the air, so that the wind may blow away\nthe chaff. The corn is then placed in sacks and carried to the store.\n\nAfter the crop of the chena or field has been gathered in, a small\noffering of the first-fruits is made at the local Dewala, or demon\ntemple, and cleaned rice is also presented to the resident monk at\nthe local Buddhist temple.\n\nWhen the crop is placed in the store, the household supply of food for\nat least a great part of the year, and commonly for the whole year,\nhas been provided for. Such additions as salt, sun-dried fish, and some\nof the condiments used in curries are obtained by bartering coconuts,\nor paddy, or millet, at little roadside shops which are established at\na few places along the main roads throughout the country. These are\nkept by Muhammadan trades--commonly termed Tambi, with, in village\ntalk, the honorific addition ayiya, \"elder brother,\"--or Sinhalese\nfrom the Low Country districts, or Tamils from Jaffna; and rarely or\nnever by Kandians. From these shops, also, clothes are procured at\nlong intervals in the same way, or a special journey is made to the\nnearest town or larger shopping centre.\n\nAs a general rule, in the interior it is all a matter of barter, and\nvery little money is used, so little indeed that if the crops be less\nsatisfactory than usual the villager often has difficulty in paying\nthe tax of a rupee and a half (two shillings), which is collected by\nGovernment each year from adult males, towards the cost of keeping\nthe roads in order. In the poorer districts, the payment of this,\nthe only direct tax of the villager, is like a recurring annual\nnightmare, which worries him for weeks together, and unfortunately\ncannot be charmed away, like his other nightmares, by a magic thread.\n\nVillage life is on the whole a dull one. Its excitements are provided\nby demon-ceremonies for the cure of sickness, occasional law-suits,\nand more especially by weddings, which afford a welcome opportunity\nfor feasting, and displaying clothes and jewellery, but sometimes also\ncause quarrels owing to caste or family jealousies. It would be too\nlong a digression to attempt to describe these here. Pilgrimages to\nimportant Buddhist temples are also undertaken, about nine-tenths of\nthe pilgrims being women, a proportion sometimes observable in church\nattendance in England.\n\nOne of the pleasantest features of village life is the family re-union\nat the Sinhalese New Year, April 11 or 12, when all the members meet\nat their old home if possible, and make little presents to each other,\nand pay ceremonial visits, dressed in their best clothes, to their\nrelatives and friends. The men also call on their local headmen,\nwho in the same way visit their superiors. I have known considerable\nnumbers of villagers tramp ninety miles on hot dusty roads, with an\nequally long return journey in prospect, in order to be present at\nthis home gathering.\n\nFor three weeks before the day, the whole village life is disorganised\nby preparations for this festival. The houses are furbished up,\nplantains and palm sugar are collected, often from places many\nmiles away, new clothes are purchased, and every one's mind is\ngiven up to anticipation of the event and provision for it, to the\ncomplete exclusion of all ordinary work. It is also a busy time for\nastrologers, who are required to fix a suitable day and a lucky hour\nfor the first lighting of the New Year's fire, the first cooking of\nfood, and, three or four days later, the hour at which the heads of\nall shall be anointed, pending which important ceremony no work is\nbegun or journey commenced.\n\nIn many villages the women produce from some dark hiding-place the\nlittle board with fourteen little cup-shaped hollows, in two rows each\nconsisting of seven cups, on which the ancient game called in Ceylon\n\"Olinda\" is played. Four bright red seeds of the Olinda creeper\nare placed in each cup, and the two players, who sit on opposite\nsides of the board, \"sow\" them one by one in the holes. As a rule,\nonly the women play at this game, at which many of them are adepts,\ncarrying it on for hours at a time with the greatest rapidity and\nskill. At the conclusion of the New Year's holiday, or soon after it,\nthe boards are returned to their hiding-places, and often are not used\nagain for another year. In the villages where Low Country influence has\npenetrated, many of the men find gambling a more attractive amusement,\nas well as a more exciting one, at this time.\n\nAbout once in a couple of years a party of Gypsies who speak Telugu,\nand broken Tamil and Sinhalese, come along the high road, and settle\ndown on a patch of open grass near a tank. The talipat palm leaves\nwith which their diminutive oblong huts are roofed, and strong creepers\nor bamboos curved in a semicircle, for making the skeleton framework,\nare transported on small donkeys, the women and children carrying the\nother few household goods and cooking utensils in bundles on their\nheads. Some take about with them large numbers of goats.\n\nAs soon as they have raised their little huts, each about four feet\nhigh, and surrounded by a shallow channel for carrying off rain\nwater, the adults leave them in charge of the children and old women,\nand spread through all the villages of the neighbourhood in order to\ncollect food or money. The man carries in a round, flat, black basket\nslung in a cloth from his shoulder, a cobra or two, which are made to\n\"dance,\" a term which means merely sitting coiled up (the head with\nthe hood expanded being raised about fifteen inches from the ground),\nand making attempts to strike the moving knee or hand of the crouching\nexhibitor. The women tell fortunes by the lines on the hands.\n\nAll the village girls endeavour to raise the requisite three halfpence\nor twopence so as to hear, often for the third or fourth time,\nof their past and future experiences, and to be promised handsome\nhusbands possessing fields and cattle. The adults pay a little rice\nfor the exhibition of the cobras.\n\nWhen the Gypsies have exhausted the contributory possibilities of the\nadjoining villages they move on again to another camping ground. They\nhave always a number of dogs which assist in catching animals for the\nfood supply, and it is few, whether provided with legs or without\nlegs, that are thought unfit to eat. The diet includes white ants,\nrat-snakes, owls, and munguses, as well as any stray village fowls\nthat can be acquired surreptitiously.\n\nThese Gypsies of Ceylon are an interesting race, and I may be permitted\na digression in order to furnish some details regarding them. I am\nnot aware how long they have settled in Ceylon; they are permanent\ndwellers in the island, and are especially found in the northern\nhalf and the eastern districts, but also in the south and in the hill\ndistricts. In the Sinhalese districts they have developed a dialect\nwhich appears to be a curious compound of Telugu and Sinhalese. Thus\nfowls, which in Telugu are termed Kollu, are known by them as Guglu,\nthe Sinhalese Kukulu.\n\nFrom a Gypsy with whom, by the aid of pecuniary intervention,\nI established friendly relations, cemented by my presenting him\none day with a fine newly-caught cobra, I learnt that they enjoy\ngeneral good health, notwithstanding the apparent hardships of their\nlife. They attribute this to their constant changes of drinking-water\nand camping-sites, no camp being maintained in one place for more than\nseven days in the Sinhalese districts. In the Eastern Province, where\nthe Gypsies possess very large herds of cattle, amounting sometimes\nto four or five hundred, they camp in one spot for a month if the\ngrazing be sufficiently good.\n\nThey do not keep their cobras for more than a month. After being kept\nfor that period, they not only become too tame to \"dance,\" but, what\nis far more important, their poison fangs grow afresh, and it would be\ndangerous to retain them. They are therefore always released at the\nend of that time, if not earlier. They are fed regularly upon fowls'\neggs and occasional rats.\n\nMy friend characterised as nonsense the idea of their handling and\nusing cobras which have not had their fangs excised. The reader\nmay remember Sir Bartle Frere's note in Old Deccan Days, p. 329,\nregarding a boy who continued to handle with impunity poisonous snakes\nwith unremoved fangs, until at last one killed him. The reader is\nalso referred to Drummond Hay's Western Barbary, 1844, pp. 105-108,\nin which an account is given of a snake-charmer who allowed a deadly\nsnake to bite him. A fowl that it bit immediately afterwards died in\na minute, while the man did not suffer from the bite. Hay saw the\nsnake's fangs. He mentions another instance at Tangier, in which a\nyouth who was sceptical regarding the poison allowed the snake to\nbite him, and died from the effect of it.\n\nI saw this Gypsy cut off the fangs of the cobra that I gave him. This\nwas done with a common pen-knife which he kept for the purpose. The\nhead being held sideways on a thick stick, so that the upper jaw lay\non it, the fang was cut off at the base. The head was then turned,\nand the other fang removed. The man then passed his fore-finger along\nthe jaw, and finding a slight roughness or projection, sliced off a\nlittle of the bone at each side. After this he released the cobra,\nwhich followed him and sprang at him furiously, time after time, and\nhad its first lesson on the ease with which he evaded its strokes. When\nit became tired of attempting the impossible, he consigned it to his\nbasket--another cobra ready for exhibition.\n\nSome of these men are extraordinarily expert in making pretended\ncaptures of cobras which they apparently fascinate by their pipes,\nso as to attract them from their holes or hiding-places. They perform\nthis feat so cleverly as to deceive many people, who insist that\nit is a real capture. I have twice got them to do it for me--in the\nSouthern and the North-western Provinces--and although I watched them\nfrom a very short distance, I was unable to see whence the cobra\nwas produced. On both occasions I examined the mouth of the cobra\nimmediately after it was captured, and in both instances I found that\nthe fangs had been removed. My Gypsy friend also assured me that it\nwas a mere trick which only a few learn.\n\nIn each case, the man, who was dressed only in a cloth extending\nfrom the waist to the calf, after piping for some time at the edge\nof the bushes in which the snake might possibly be found, bent\ndown suddenly, half entering the bush, and apparently endeavoured\nto seize a cobra which eluded him. After resuming the piping for\na few seconds more, he bent down again at the same spot, and drew\nout a large cobra--one was nearly six feet long; it extended to the\nfull length of his outstretched hands--holding it by the tail; then\nslipping his other hand rapidly along its body he grasped it tightly\nbehind the jaws. Probably when first bending down he placed a cobra\non the ground, afterwards seizing it by the tail as it was moving off.\n\nIn one case, a pretence at being bitten on the thumb on the way back\nfrom the bush was very effective. There were two bleeding punctures\nbetween the nail and the knuckle, at the right distance apart, and\nthe expressions of pain no doubt were not altogether simulated.\n\nThe supposed poison was extracted by means of the usual spells and\nremedial agents--a charmed piece of creeper and a tiny ball of lime,\nthe latter to check the progress of the poison along the arm, and the\nformer to draw it down to the wounds; and two \"snake stones\"--nearly\nflat rectangular pieces of horn slightly hollowed on one side--which\nwere placed on the wounds to extract the poison. These \"stones\" adhere\nby atmospheric pressure when wetted and pressed on the skin with the\nhollowed side downwards. I have been informed that the wounds are\nmade by pressing on the thumb a thorny seed capsule which has two\nsharp spikes at a suitable distance apart.\n\nOne of these men afterwards proceeded to a large village about a mile\naway, and appeared to capture three more cobras in the same manner\nat houses where the residents denied that any were to be found; but\nin the end I was told by the villagers that he had only two cobras\nin his basket, this being the number that I saw in his possession\nbefore these last pretended captures were made.\n\nThese people are said to live well, better, indeed, than the majority\nof the villagers. The women are given to lavish personal adornment\nof an inexpensive kind, chiefly articles of brass and glass. On one\nlady, perhaps considered a beauty, I counted sixteen bead necklaces;\ntwenty-four bangles, chiefly of common black glass, on the wrists;\nfour silver armlets on the upper arms; and six rings on each finger\nand thumb, excepting only the middle finger of each hand.\n\nThe Kandian village is a self-contained unit, producing everything\nthat the inhabitants require, with the exception of the few articles\npreviously mentioned. It hears a faint echo of the news of the great\nouter world, without feeling that this has any connexion with its own\nlife. It would listen with almost equal indifference to a statement\nthat the sky was blue, or that England was at war with a European\npower, or that a new Governor had been appointed. When I asked a\nvillager's opinion regarding the transfer of a Government Agent who\nhad ruled a Province for some years, he replied, \"They say one Agent\nhas gone and another Agent has come; that is all.\"\n\nThe supervision of the work of maintaining in order the embankment of\nthe village reservoir or \"tank,\" upon which the rice crops depend,\nas well as of the fencing of the rice field, is in the hands of\nthe Gamarala, now termed in other parts than the North-central\nProvince, the Vidane. The latter title is not recognised in any of\nthe folk-tales, in which (with one exception) the Gamarala is the\nonly headman represented. His jurisdiction extends over two or three\nclosely adjoining villages, or sometimes over one only.\n\nOf a higher rank and different functions is the Aracci (pronounced\nAratchy), who rules over five or six villages, and who is responsible\nfor the maintenance of order, arrests and prosecutes offenders, and\nacts as general factotum for seeing that the orders received from\nsuperior headmen are promulgated and obeyed.\n\nOf much more important authority are the Korale-Aracci and Korala,\nthe latter being the head of a considerable district, and above these\nagain is the Ratemahatmaya, who is the supreme and very influential\nchief of a large part of a Province. By successive steps in promotion\nthe members of influential or respectable families may rise to any of\nthese offices. Though all but the highest one are unsalaried, they are\ncompeted for with a good deal of eagerness on account of the power\nwhich they confer, the possibility of further promotion, and also\nfor the opportunities which they afford for receiving \"presents,\"\nwhich flow in a pleasing though invisible, but not therefore less\nremunerative, stream towards all but the Vidanes and Gamaralas.\n\nA few words may be added regarding the castes of the Kandian districts\nwhose stories are given in this work, or who are referred to.\n\nThe Smiths come next to the cultivating caste, sometimes occupying\nseparate hamlets, but often living in the same village as the superior\ncaste, though divided from it by an impassable gulf, of which only\nthe women preserve the outward sign. Those of the cultivating caste\nare alone permitted by social custom to dress in one outer robe in\none piece; all of lower rank must wear a separate garment from the\nwaist upward.\n\nThe Smiths are considered to be the highest class of their caste,\ncalled Nayide, the artificers. There are said to be five classes of\nNayides:--(1) Acari (pronounced Atchary), which includes the Smiths,\nPainters, and Sculptors; (2) Badahaela, Potters; (3) Mukkara or Karawa,\nFishers; (4) Madinna, Toddy-drawers (\"toddy\" is fresh palm-juice); (5)\nall \"Moormen,\" the descendants of Muhammadan settlers. All these, and\nthe other low castes, except the Rodiyas, cultivate rice and millet.\n\nThe Potters live by making all local forms of earthen pottery, and\ntiles and bricks if required. They build up large temporary kilns\nfilled with alternate layers of pots and fire-wood, and are often\nintelligent men. Some of them are priests or conductors of services\nfor the propitiation of planets and other evil astronomical bodies,\nas well as astrologers.\n\nNext in the villages come the Washermen (Radawa, or Henaya, or\nHenawalaya), who possess great power as the arbiters regarding cases\nof the violation of social etiquette or custom. The disgrace of a\nrefusal on their part to wash the clothes of objectionable persons is a\nform of social ostracism, and the offender soon has sad experience of\nthe truth of the statement of the Maha Bharata that there is nothing\n(except fire) that is so purifying as gold (or its value). Some of the\nwashermen are officiators at demon ceremonies. They are paid for their\nservices as washermen in produce of various kinds, each family giving\nan annual subvention in paddy, etc., in return for its washing. One\nwhom I knew could improvise four-line stanzas for an indefinite time,\non the spur of the moment, each verse being composed while the audience\nchanted the refrain after the preceding one.\n\nThe Tom-tom Beaters (Berawaya) are a peculiar and interesting caste,\nwho formerly combined their present duties with the weaving of cotton\nfabrics in frames. Although the arduous work of their profession--often\na whole night's hard dancing or tom-toming--leads at the time to a\nconsiderable consumption of \"arrack,\" the spirit distilled from palm\njuice, I believe that few of them take much liquor at other times.\n\nIn their own work many of them are very expert, the result of many\nyears of training. On one occasion three tom-tom beaters requested\npermission to give me an exhibition of their skill. The leader first\nplayed a short simple tune, which was repeated in turn by the second\nand third players. They continued to play in this way, in turn, the\ntunes becoming increasingly difficult and rapid; whatever impromptu\nchanges the leader introduced were all repeated in the same manner\nby the others. A number of villagers who were present, and listening\ncritically, stated that it was a clever performance; it was also a\nnoisy one.\n\nThe boys are taught to learn thoroughly, without using a tom-tom, the\nwhole of the complicated airs that are played, repeating a series of\nsounds such as ting, tang, etc., which with varying emphasis represent\nthe various notes to be played on the tom-tom. Not until they can give\nin this manner the whole of an air correctly, as regards notes, time,\nand emphasis, are they considered to know it. It is a tonic sol-fa\nsystem. To these professionals, every air has its name and meaning,\noften expressed in words which fit the notes; so that when a very few\nnotes have been heard they can state what is being said. The reader\nwill find one or two references to this in the folk-tales.\n\nThe Durayas are the carriers of baggage for the higher caste, and\nnearly always have tanks and fields of more than average quality. These\nhave been granted to them in former times by the cultivating caste in\nreturn for their services, which could be claimed at any time if a man\nwere about to proceed on a journey, and required himself or his luggage\ncarrying. They still occupy a very low social position. Formerly\nthe women were not allowed to wear above the waist more clothing\nthan a strip of calico of about a hand's breadth, across the breast;\na coloured handkerchief now generally takes its place.\n\nMuch has been written about the Rodiyas. They may be of partly\ndifferent descent from the Sinhalese, but I do not know how far\nthis matter has been investigated. Their hamlets are never called\ngama, \"village,\" but kuppayama. [3] I am not aware that any of them\ncultivate rice fields; they make ropes, and guard chenas and cattle\nfor others. They also partly subsist by begging, and, it is said,\nby theft; some are gamblers also. The women usually wear no clothing\nabove the waist. Their dialect differs from Sinhalese to some extent.\n\nNothing is known regarding the origin of the Kinnaras, the lowest\ncaste of all, in whose case there are several anomalies that deserve\ninvestigation. They do not hunt as a profession. They have village\ntanks and rice fields, own cattle, and have good houses and neat\nvillages. Their caste occupation is mat weaving in frames, with\nNiyanda fibre alone or combined with grass.\n\nSome have their heads covered with a mass of thick, short, very\ncurly hair, being the only people in the island possessing this\ndistinctive characteristic. The features and the colour of the skin\nare of the ordinary type of the lower castes, and would not enable\nthem to be recognised from others. Social rules forbid the growth of\nthe hair beyond the neck. The dress of the women is restricted like\nthat of the Durayas. Though they can never enter Buddhist temples,\nor the enclosures round them, they are all Buddhists. I was informed\nthat their social ceremonies, as well as the religious ones, that is,\nthose for propitiating evil spirits, whether demoniacal or planetary,\nclosely resemble those of the other castes; and that they, as well\nas the Rodiyas, have their own medical practitioners, astrologers,\nsoothsayers, and kapuwas or officiators at demon ceremonies.\n\nThe men of the Chetti caste, or Hettiyas, who are mentioned in some\nof the stories, are either Indians, or the descendants of Indian\nsettlers. The Chetti caste is one of great importance, and many of\nits members are persons of the highest respectability and often of\ngreat wealth. The persons referred to in these tales are only some of\nthe inferior members of the race, some of whom have little road-side\nshops or cultivate small fields and gardens.\n\n\n\nComing at last to the stories themselves, I may quote the words of\nthe late Mr. W. Goonetilleke, the learned editor of The Orientalist, a\njournal published during the years 1884-1892, in which many folk-tales\nof Ceylon were given. Mr. Goonetilleke said (vol. i. p. 36), \"What is\nreally wanted ... are the genuine stories of the Sinhalese [and other\nraces also], those which are quite free from foreign influences,\nand have existed among the people from time immemorial. These can\nonly be gathered from the inhabitants of villages and of the remoter\nparts of the island into which western civilization has not yet\npenetrated.\" It is an adherence to this advice, and, I may say also,\nthe complete absence of all attempts to give the tales a literary\nappearance that the originals do not possess, which constitute the\nspecial features of the present work.\n\nThough all have been collected by myself, I have only myself written\ndown a very limited number from dictation. All the rest have been\nwritten for me in Sinhalese by the narrators themselves, or by other\nvillagers employed by me to collect them, who wrote them just as\nthey were dictated. I preferred this latter method as being free from\nany disturbing foreign influence. Only three very short stories were\nwritten down by me in English; two of them were related in English\nby a Sinhalese gentleman, and the other, a variant of another story,\nwas written immediately after a Buddhist monk had related it to me\nin Sinhalese.\n\nThe stories, as they now appear, are practically literal translations\nof the written Sinhalese originals, perhaps it may be thought in some\nrespects too literal. My aim has been to present them as nearly as\npossible in the words in which they are related in the villages. The\nonly liberty of any importance that I have taken has been the insertion\nof an occasional word or phrase where it was evidently omitted by\nthe narrator, or was necessary in order to elucidate the meaning,\nor complete the sense.\n\nIt was unavoidable that many expressions, such as \"afterwards,\"\n\"after that,\" \"at that time,\" \"then,\" \"again,\" with which the\nvillage story-teller repeatedly begins his sentences, should be\ndeleted. Many past participles which Sinhalese grammar requires have\nbeen transformed into the past tense, and most of the tense errors\nhave been corrected, and in rare instances an unmanageable sentence has\nbeen cut in two. Such a word as \"came,\" when it expressed \"came back,\"\nis sometimes translated \"returned\"; and \"said,\" where it referred to an\nanswer, is occasionally turned into \"replied.\" The word translated as\n\"behead,\" is merely \"cut\" in the original; but the context sometimes\nshows that the other meaning is to be understood.\n\nIn other respects, the reader may rely on having here the tales in\ntheir true village forms, and expressed in the same simple manner. I\nhave even left one peculiar idiom that is often used, according to\nwhich a question is described as being asked, or a statement made, \"at\nthe hand\" of a person; but I do not follow the village story-teller in\nusing this form in conversations carried on with the lower animals. It\nis quite usual in Sinhalese to state that a question was asked by a\nperson \"at the hand\" (lit. \"from the hand,\" the same word meaning also\n\"fore-paw\") of a jackal, a deer, or a reptile. It will be seen that\nI have not attempted to translate the interjections into English.\n\nIt will be noticed that in the majority of the tales the characters\nare introduced in the present tense, which is then abandoned. The\nnarrators sometimes relapse into it afterwards, but as a rule, unless\naction is being emphasised, I have adhered to the past tense in such\ninstances, excepting in the stories told by the Village Vaeddas and\nthe lowest castes, in which it seemed advisable to make as little\nchange as possible.\n\nAttention may be invited to the tales told by the lowest castes,\nprobably the only stories of theirs that have ever been collected in\nCeylon. From the Tom-tom Beaters a considerable number were obtained,\nsome of which will appear in a later volume. The few tales that have\nbeen told by the Rodiyas and Kinnaras are very simple; the chief fact\nis that they have any to tell.\n\nIt appeared to be likely that some of the Sindbad series of adventures\nmight be found in Ceylon, but inquiries made in different districts,\nincluding part of the west coast, failed to reveal any tales belonging\nto the \"Arabian Nights,\" with the exception of one which probably\nwas derived from a printed work, and orally transmitted from one of\nthe towns. It is still possible that some may be found, as the Rukh\nis included in the Sinhalese tales, and the ogre called Rakshasa,\nwho is a familiar personage in them, is correctly described in his\nfolk-tale form, in one of the Sindbad voyages. In one story, which\nis not included in this work, there is the incident of the demon who\nwas imprisoned in a bottle. The demon was Mara, Death personified,\nand his captor was a Vedarala, or medical practitioner. The age of\nthe tale is uncertain.\n\nIt is evident that many of the stories belong to distant times,\nbut there is little to indicate their age more definitely. In one\ntale only, of this volume, the money mentioned is the kahawanuwa,\nin old Sinhalese kahawana, the Pali kahapana, a coin that ceased to\nbe current by the tenth or eleventh century A.D., if not considerably\nearlier. Commonly, we find that the coinage is the masurama, plural\nmasuran, which came into use in the eleventh century and was not coined\nafter the thirteenth; but of course this is far from proving that\nthe stories in which it occurs are not of much earlier date. There\nare no references to the Portuguese, who arrived in Ceylon at the\nbeginning of the sixteenth century, or to later foreign residents;\nbut a Tamil king is mentioned.\n\nAlthough a large number of the stories relate the adventures of\nKings, Queens, Princes and Princesses, it will be observed that these\npersonages sometimes behave like ordinary villagers. The Queen or\nPrincess often cooks the rice for the family meal; Sir Bartle Frere\nhas stated in the notes at the end of Old Deccan Days, p. 324, that\nthis \"would be nothing unusual in the house of a Rajah.... It is still\nthe most natural precaution he can take against poison, to eat nothing\nbut what has been prepared by his own wife or daughter, or under their\neye in his own zenana, and there are few accomplishments on which an\nIndian Princess prides herself more than on her skill in cookery.\"\n\nIt is not to be understood that such persons in these stories\nare supposed to be members of the family of the ruling monarch of\nCeylon. These so-called \"kings,\" ruling over a small district or even\na single city, are in reality some of the more important parumakas\nor feudal chiefs of the inscriptions of pre-Christian or early\npost-Christian years. This old title does not make its appearance in\nthe stories, however.\n\nVaedda rulers who are termed \"kings\" receive notice in three\nstories. In one which was given in Ancient Ceylon, p. 93, a Vaedda\nyouth was appointed the king of a Sinhalese district, which is stated\nto have prospered under his rule. In a tale in the present volume\n(No. 4) reference is made to a Vaedda \"king\" who dwelt in a forest,\nand who arrested some travellers and imprisoned them in what is\ntermed a house. In another story, which is not included here, there\nis an account of another Vaedda \"king\" who lived in a forest, and\nwho ordered his archers to kill a prince who had succeeded to the\nsovereignty of a neighbouring district on the death of his father,\nand was proceeding there in order to assume it. His offence lay in\ntravelling through the forest without first obtaining the permission\nof the Vaedda ruler. We also find references to Vaeddas who were\naccustomed to enter the towns; one of them laid a complaint before\na Sinhalese \"king\" that a person had threatened to kill him in the\nforest. Probably in all these instances we have a true picture of the\nactual position, in early times, of some of the Vaeddas who had not\nyet adopted, or had abandoned, the village life. Their chiefs were\npractically independent in their wild forests.\n\nThe Rakshasas (in village spelling Rasaya, Rasi) who are introduced\ninto many tales are ogres like those of Europe. The Yakas are always\ndemons or evil spirits, of little intelligence, often having a human\nappearance but black in colour. They live chiefly upon human flesh,\nlike the ogres, and possess like them some supernatural powers.\n\nWith regard to the animals mentioned, it is strange to find such\nprominence accorded to the Lion, which has never existed in a wild\nstate in Ceylon. Its characteristics are correctly described, even\nincluding its ear-splitting roar.\n\nThe place taken by the Fox of European tales is filled by the Jackal,\nfull of craft and stratagems, but sometimes over-reaching himself. The\nHare and Turtle are represented as surpassing all the animals in\ncleverness, as in African and American Negro stories.\n\nOf all the animals, the poor Leopard is relegated to the lowest place,\nboth as regards want of intelligence and cowardice; and in only one\nadventure does he come off better than the Jackal. Even in that one\nhis position is a despicable one, and he is completely cowed by a\nlittle Mouse-deer, the clever animal of Malay stories. In Ceylon the\nLeopard occupies the place taken in India by the foolish Tiger.\n\nIt is perhaps the chief merit of these stories, and certainly a\nfeature which gives them a permanent value, that we have in them the\nonly existing picture of the village life of ancient times, painted by\nthe villagers themselves. From the histories we can learn practically\nnothing regarding the life of those of the ancient inhabitants of\nCeylon who were not monks or connected with royalty, or the conditions\nunder which they existed. It is here alone that the reader finds the\ndaily experiences and the ideas and beliefs of the villagers gradually\nunfolded before him. In some of the stories we may see how the village\nlife went on in the early centuries after Christ, and how little it has\nchanged since that time. Others doubtless contain particulars which\nbelong to a much later period, and in some there is an incongruous\nmixture of the old and the new, as when the slates of school children\nare introduced into what is evidently a tale of considerable age.\n\nIn the case of stories like these, composed for the amusement of\nvillagers only, and related by villagers to other villagers, it might\nbe expected that a considerable number of objectionable expressions\nwould occur. So far from this being the fact, I am able to state\nwith much satisfaction that in only three or four instances in this\nvolume has it been thought desirable to slightly modify any part of\nthe stories. It is to be remembered that it is not the function of\nthese tales in general to inculcate ideas of morality or propriety,\nalthough kindness of heart is always represented as meeting with some\nadequate reward or success, and the wicked and cruel are punished\nin most cases. But successful trickery and clever stratagems are\nalways quoted approvingly, and are favourite themes in the tales\nwhich are most evidently of entirely local origin. In this respect\nthey do not differ from many Indian stories. Undaunted bravery, and\nalso self-abnegation and deep affection, are characteristics which\nare displayed by many of the heroes and heroines; but untruthfulness\nis practised, and is never condemned.\n\nThe instances of polygamy are almost confined to the members of\nthe royal families; there is one case of polyandry in which both\nthe husbands were brothers. Infanticide was practised; in one tale a\nwoman is recommended to kill her infant son because his horoscope was\nsaid to be unpropitious, and in another the parents abandoned their\nnewly-born infant in order to carry home some fruit. In a story that\nis not included in this volume, a king is described as ordering all\nhis female children to be killed immediately after birth. In another\ntale which is not given here, another king is stated to have sold\nhis children during a time of scarcity.\n\nThese \"kings,\" however, are almost always depicted in an unfavourable\nlight. They are represented as cowardly, selfish, licentious,\nunintelligent, and headstrong, ordering their sons or others to be\nexecuted for very slight faults, in sudden fits of anger. Murders\nare referred to as being commonly committed with impunity, and by no\nmeans of unusual occurrence. One man is said to have exchanged his\nwife for a bullock.\n\nYet although the story-tellers do not relate social events which were\nnot within the range of the common experience or traditions of the\npeople at the time when the tales were invented, it may be doubted\nif the great mass of the villagers differed much as regards crime\nand morality from those of the present day. The humdrum life of the\nordinary villager did not appeal to the story-teller, who required\nmore stirring incidents. It is not necessary to assume that such\nevents were of everyday occurrence.\n\nConsidering the situation of Ceylon and the Indian origin of the\npeople, it was certain that numerous tales would be similar to those\nof India, if not identical with them; but, with the exception of the\nstory of the Creation, there are merely bare references to the Indian\ndeities in about four of the tales in this volume.\n\nThe great majority of the folk-tales collected by me, and almost the\nwhole of those given in this volume, come from districts of the far\ninterior of the island, where story-books in Sinhalese, Tamil, [4]\nor Arabic do not appear to have penetrated, and English is unknown\nby the villagers. Such tales are therefore nearly free from modern\nextraneous influences, and must be looked upon as often of genuine\nSinhalese origin, even when they utilise the usual stock incidents\nof Indian folk-stories. A very few which resemble Jataka stories may\nowe their dissemination to Buddhist teaching, and doubtless some also\nwere orally transmitted by immigrants who were often of South Indian\nnationality--as their similarity to South Indian stories shows--or\nin some instances may have been settlers from the Ganges valley,\nor near it.\n\nWith regard to the latter, it is not probable that they consisted only\nof the early immigrants of pre-Christian times. King Nissanka-Malla,\nwho reigned from 1198 to 1207 A.D., has recorded in his inscriptions\nthat he was a native of Sinhapura, then apparently the capital of the\nKalinga kingdom, which extended far down the east coast of India,\nsouthward from the lower part of the Ganges valley; and he and his\nChief Queen Subhadra, a Kalinga Princess, must have brought into\nCeylon many of their fellow-countrymen. The Queens of two other\nearlier Kings of Ceylon were also Princesses from Kalinga.\n\nIn the Galpota inscription at Polannaruwa (Prof. E. M\u00fcller's Ancient\nInscriptions in Ceylon, No. 148), he stated that \"invited by the King\n[Parakrama-Bahu I], who was his senior kinsman, to come and reign\nover his hereditary kingdom of Lakdiva [Ceylon], Vira Nissanka-Malla\nlanded with a great retinue in Lanka\" [Ceylon]. Further on in the\nsame inscription he stated that \"he sent to the country of Kalinga,\nand caused many Princesses of the Soma and Surya races to be brought\nhither.\"\n\nA connexion with the Kalinga kingdom seems to have been maintained\nfrom early times. In his inscriptions the same king claimed that the\nsovereignty of Ceylon belonged by right to the Kalinga dynasty. He\ndescribed himself in his Dambulla inscription (Ancient Inscriptions,\nNo. 143), as \"the liege lord of Lakdiva by right of birth, deriving\ndescent from the race of King Wijaya,\" the first king of Ceylon,\nwho according to the Sinhalese historical works was also born at a\ntown called Sinhapura, which is stated to have been founded by his\nfather. In the Galpota inscription we read of \"Princes of the Kalinga\nrace to whom the island of Lanka has been peculiarly appropriate\nsince the reign of Wijaya.\"\n\nNissanka-Malla was succeeded by his elder half-brother, Sahasa-Malla,\nwho remarked in his Polannaruwa inscription (Anc. Inscriptions,\nNo. 156) that he also was born at Sinhapura. He, too, claimed that\nWijaya was a member of their family. He said, \"Because King Wijaya,\nhaving destroyed the Yakshas, established Lanka like a field made by\nrooting out the stumps, it is a place much protected by Kings from\nthis very family.\"\n\nThus it will be seen that stories which are current in Central\nIndia, or the lower part of the Ganges Valley, or even the Panjab,\nas well as tales of Indian animals such as the Lion, may have been\nbrought direct to Ceylon by immigrants from Kalinga, or Magadha, or\nBengal. Apparently it is in this manner that the evident connexion\nbetween the tales of Ceylon and Kashmir is to be explained, the\nstories passing from Magadha or neighbouring districts, to Kashmir\non the one side, and from Magadha or Kalinga to Ceylon on the other.\n\nTo show the connexion of the Sinhalese stories with those of India,\nthe outlines of some Indian parallels have been appended after each\ntale, as well as a very few from the interior of Western Africa;\nbut no European variants, except in two instances, where they are\ninserted for the benefit of readers in Ceylon.\n\nThe stories have been arranged in two parts. In the first one are those\ntold by members of the Cultivating Caste and Village Vaeddas; in the\nsecond one those related of or by members of lower castes. Those of\neach caste are given consecutively, the animal stories in each case\ncoming last.\n\nThe general reader is advised to pay no attention to diacritical marks\nor dots which indicate separate letters in the Sinhalese alphabet,\nor to note only the long vowels. In all cases ae is to be pronounced\nas a diphthong, like a in \"hat,\" and not to rhyme with \"me.\" It is\nshort where not marked long.\n\nEnough material has been collected for a second volume, which it is\nhoped may be published next year.\n\n\n\nAs reference has been made to the subject in the foregoing extracts\nfrom Sinhalese inscriptions, a few lines may be added regarding\nthe district from which Wijaya came, and his journey to Ceylon. The\nsentences that have been quoted prove that at the beginning of the\nthirteenth century A.D., it was claimed by two kings of Ceylon who\ncame from Sinhapura in the Kalinga country that they were of the same\nfamily as Wijaya.\n\nAt a very early date the lands along the southern bank of\nthe Ganges were divided into a series of states that once were\nindependent. Proceeding eastward in the lower part of the valley,\nthese were Magadha, occupying southern Bihar, with its capital Rajagaha\n(called also Rajagriha and Girivraja), afterwards abandoned in favour\nof Pataliputta, near Patna; Anga, separated from it by the river Campa\n(c pronounced as ch), on which was its capital Campa; Vanga or Banga,\nprobably extending on both sides of the Ganges, and forming part of\nthe modern Bengal; and Tamalitta, or Tamralipta, with a capital of the\nsame name at Tamluk, near the southern mouth of the Ganges. Extending\nalong the east coast was Kalinga; and between it and Magadha and Anga\ncame the Pundra and Odra states, the latter occupying part of Orissa.\n\nAn old legend recorded that several of these states had a common\norigin. It was said that the wife of a Yadava king Vali or Bali had\nfive sons, Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Pundra and Odra or Sunga, each of\nwhom founded a separate state. The names of the first four are grouped\ntogether several times in the Maha Bharata, as taking part with Kosala\nand Magadha in the great legendary fight against the Pandavas, and on\none day the troops from Magadha and Kalinga are said to have formed,\nwith another people, one wing of the Kuru army.\n\nRegarding Kalinga, Pliny gives the name of a race called the\nMaccocaling\u00e6, who have been thought to belong to Orissa, and he wrote\nthat the Modogaling\u00e6 occupied a very large island in the Ganges,\nthat is, apparently part of the delta.\n\nAt a later date there were said to be three districts called\ncollectively Trikalinga. Whether these were portions of the more\nsouthern part of the Kalinga country only, or included the land of\nthe Modogaling\u00e6, is not clear. If the Kalinga kingdom once included\nthe territory of the Modogaling\u00e6, the Tamalitta district would be\npart of the Kalinga country at that time; but apparently Vanga was\nunconnected with Kalinga, the two being mentioned as separate kingdoms.\n\nDivested of its impossibilities, the story of Wijaya's ancestry which\nis contained in the Sinhalese histories is that a king of Vanga,\nwho had married the daughter of a king of Kalinga, had a daughter who\njoined a caravan that was proceeding to Magadha. On the way, either a\nrobber chief called Siha, \"Lion,\" attacked and plundered the caravan,\nand carried off the Princess, or she joined a member of the caravan\nwho had that name. They settled down in a wild tract of country termed\nLala, near the western border of the Vanga territory. There she had two\nchildren--the eldest being Siha-Bahu--with whom she afterwards returned\nto the Vanga capital, where her cousin Anura, who became King of\nVanga, is said to have married her. Her son Siha-Bahu went back to his\nfather's district, Lala, founded a town called Sihapura or Sinhapura,\nand lived there as the ruler of the country around. Evidently it was a\nsubordinate district belonging to Vanga; it is stated that the Vanga\nking granted it to him (Mah. i. p. 31). It is not mentioned in the\nRamayana, the Maha Bharata, the Jataka stories, or in the lists of\ncountries given in the Puranas to which I have access; but the people\nof Lata are referred to in a tenth century grant from Bhagalpur,\na town on territory that once formed the eastern part of Magadha\n(Indo-Aryans, by Dr. R. Mitra, ii. 273).\n\nThe first marriage or elopement of the Princess does not appear\nto have affected the status of her son Siha-Bahu. According to the\nhistories, his eldest son, Wijaya, eventually married the daughter of\nthe Pandiyan king of the southern Madura, and his second son, Sumitta,\nwho succeeded him, married the daughter of the King of Madda or Madra,\nprobably a small eastern state of that name, rather than the distant\nMadda in the Panjab.\n\nThe Sinhalese histories record that Wijaya was exiled on account of\nhis lawless behaviour, but the truth of this statement may be doubted,\nand it is a suspicious fact that this part of the story resembles\nfolk-tales from Kashmir. [5] We are informed in those works not only\nthat he was exiled, but that he was also forcibly deported by sea,\ntogether with seven hundred followers, and their wives and children,\nthat is, two or three thousand persons.\n\nAll that is actually credible in this incident is that for a reason\nwhich is unknown, perhaps a love of adventure, or possibly at the\nsolicitation of traders who had settled there, he proceeded by sea\nto Ceylon, where he became the first Sinhalese king. Most probably\nhe accompanied a party of Magadhese or other merchants.\n\nIt is recorded that from an early period vessels sailed across the Bay\nof Bengal from various ports on the Ganges. In the Jataka stories some\nare mentioned as passing down the Ganges from Benares with traders,\nand being far out at sea for several days, and even going to Suvanna\nBhumi (Burma) and back. Tamalitta was a famous port in early times and\nfor many centuries; and there is a definite and credible statement\nthat vessels sailed direct from it to Ceylon in the reign of Asoka,\nin the third century B.C. There is no reason to suppose that similar\nvoyages were not undertaken long prior to the period during which the\nJatakas were being composed. If they are not mentioned in earlier\nBuddhist works, this may have been merely owing to the fact that\ntheir authors felt no interest in the trade of the countries near\nthe mouth of the Ganges.\n\nIn the presence of such evidence of the sea-going capabilities of the\nvessels which sailed from the ports on the Ganges, the statement of\nthe Sinhalese histories that Wijaya embarked at Baroach, on the western\ncoast, whether accompanied by a large party of followers and numerous\nwomen and children or not, cannot be credited. It is impossible to\nbelieve that any travellers who wished to proceed to Ceylon in the\nfifth century B.C., from a district lying between Anga and Vanga,\nand probably within a few miles of a port from which vessels sailed,\nwould not step on board a ship at their own doors, so to speak, rather\nthan undertake an arduous journey across several other countries,\nin order to embark at a port more than eight hundred miles away in a\ndirect line, which when reached was still no nearer their destination.\n\nIn any case, there is no likelihood that a large number of women and\nchildren were taken, unless we are prepared to accept the improbable\nhypothesis that a fleet of ships was expressly chartered for the\nvoyage. In the case of the small vessels which ventured on such long\ntrading expeditions, every foot of storage space would be required for\nthe goods that were carried, and for the accommodation of the merchants\nwho went to exchange these for the products of the ports at which\nthey called. It is most unlikely that many other passengers were ever\ncarried so far in Indian ships in early times, notwithstanding fanciful\ntales of imaginary ships with hundreds on board, in the Jataka stories.\n\nNissanka-Malla and his brother do not claim that the Sinhapura at\nwhich they were born was the city founded by Wijaya's father. It\nis possible, however, that they could trace some distant connexion\nwith the Lala family, and it has been noted already that Wijaya's\ngreat-great-grandfather was said to be a king of Kalinga.\n\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nWith regard to the exorcism of the flies, I give a relation of the\nsimilar treatment of locusts in Abyssinia, by Father Francis Alvarez,\nwho visited that country in 1520, in the suite of a Portuguese\nAmbassador. The account is appended in Pory's translation of the\nHistory of Africa, by Leo Africanus, 1600, p. 352. An appeal having\nbeen made to Alvarez to drive away an enormous flight of locusts,\n\"which to our iudgement couered fower and twentie miles of lande,\"\nthe following is his own record of the proceedings:--\n\n\"And so I went to the Ambassadour, and told him, that it would be very\ngood to goe on procession, beseeching God that hee woulde deliuer the\ncountrie, who peraduenture in his great mercie might heare vs. This\nliked the Ambassadour very well: and the day following we gathered\ntogither the people of the land, with all the priests, and taking\nthe consecrated stone, and the crosse, according to their custome,\nall we Portugals sung the Letanie, and appointed those of the land,\nthat they should lift vp their voices aloud as we did, saying in their\nlanguage Zio marina Christos, which is as much to say, as Lord God\nhaue mercy vpon vs: and with this manner of inuocation we went ouer a\npeece of grounde, where there were fieldes of wheate, for the space\nof a mile, euen to a little hill: and heere I caused many of these\nlocustes to be taken, pronouncing ouer them a certaine coniuration,\nwhich I had about me in writing, hauing made it that night, requesting,\nadmonishing, and excommunicating them, enioining them within the space\nof three howers to depart towards the sea, or the lande of the Moores,\nor the desert mountaines, and to let the Christians alone: and they\nnot performing this, I summoned and charged the birdes of heauen,\nthe beasts of the earth, and all sorts of tempests, to scatter,\ndestroy, and eate vp their bodies: and to this effect I tooke a\nquantitie of locusts, making this admonition to them present, in the\nbehalfe likewise of them absent, [6] and so giuing them libertie,\nI suffered them to depart. It pleased God to heare us sinners,\nfor in our returne home, they came so thicke vpon our backes, as it\nseemed that they woulde haue broken our heads, or shoulders, so hard\nthey strooke against vs, as if we had beene beaten with stones and\ncudgels, and in this sort they went towards the sea: The men, women,\nand children remaining at home, were gotten vpon the tops, or tarrasses\nof their houses, giuing God thankes that the locusts were going away,\nsome afore, and others followed. In the meane while towardes the sea,\nthere arose a great cloude with thunder, which met them full in the\nteeth, and continued for the space of three howers with much raine,\nand tempest, that filled all the riuers, and when the raine ceased,\nit was a fearefull thing to behold the dead Locustes, which were more\nthen two yardes [marginal note, or fathomes] in height vpon the bankes\nof the riuers, and in some riuers there were mightie heapes of them,\nso that the morning following there was not one of them found aliue\nvpon the earth.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPART I\n\nSTORIES TOLD BY THE CULTIVATING CASTE AND VAEDDAS.\n\n\nNO. 1\n\nTHE MAKING OF THE GREAT EARTH\n\n\nFrom the earliest time, the whole of this world, being filled up\nand overflowed by a great rain, and being completely destroyed,\nwas in darkness. There were neither men, nor living beings, nor\nanything whatever.\n\nDuring the time while it was in this state, Great Vishnu thought,\n\"In what manner, having lowered the water, should the earth be\nestablished?\" Having thought this, Great Vishnu went to the God\nSaman. Having gone there, he asked at the hand of the God Saman,\n\"What is the way to establish this earth?\"\n\nThe God Saman replied, \"There is no one among us [gods] who can\nestablish this earth.\"\n\nThereupon the God Great Vishnu asked, \"Then who is able to do it?\"\n\nThe God Saman said, \"You must go to the residence of Rahu; he can\ndo it.\"\n\nAfter that, the God Great Vishnu went to the abode of Rahu, and spoke\nto Rahu, the Asura Chief [7]: \"Rahu, Asura Chief, our residence has\nbeen swallowed up by water; on account of that can even you make us\nan earth?\"\n\nThen Rahu, the Asura Chief, said, \"Countless beings having gone\nto the world of Brahma (i.e., having been destroyed in the water),\nhow can I descend into the water which is there?\"\n\nThe God Great Vishnu asked, \"In what way, then, can you make the\nearth?\"\n\nRahu told him to put a lotus seed into the water.\n\nAfter that, the God Great Vishnu, having returned to this world,\nplaced a lotus seed in the water. Having placed it there, in seven\ndays the lotus seed sprouted.\n\nThen the God Vishnu again went to the dwelling-place of Rahu. Having\ngone there, he spoke to Rahu, the Asura Chief: \"The lotus plant has\nnow sprouted.\"\n\nAfterwards Rahu arose, and came with the God Vishnu to this\nworld. Having made ready to descend into the water, he asked Great\nVishnu, \"What thing am I to bring up from the bottom of the water?\"\n\nThen Great Vishnu said, \"I do not want any [special] thing; bring a\nhandful of sand.\"\n\nRahu, having said \"Ha\" (Yes), descending along that lotus stalk\nproceeded until he met with the earth. Having descended to the earth\nin seven days, taking a handful of sand he returned to the surface\nagain in seven days more. Having come there, he gave the handful of\nsand into the hand of the God Great Vishnu.\n\nAfter it was given, taking it and squeezing it in his hand, the God\nGreat Vishnu placed it on the water. Having placed it there the God\nGreat Vishnu made the resolution: \"This water having dried up, may\nthe Earth be created.\"\n\nAfterwards, that small quantity of sand not going to the bottom, but\nturning and turning round on the surface of the water, the water began\nto diminish. Thus, in that manner, in three months and three-quarters\nof the moon, the water having diminished, the earth was made.\n\nAfter it was formed, this world was there in darkness for a long\ntime. [After the light had appeared], the God Great Vishnu thought:\n\"We must make men.\"\n\nHaving gone to the God Saman he said, \"What is the use of being the\nowner of this world when it is in this state? We must make men.\"\n\nThe God Saman said, \"Let us two make them.\"\n\nThen those two spoke to each other: \"Let us first of all make a\nBrahmana.\"\n\nSaying that, they made a Brahmana from that earth, and having given\nbreath to the Brahmana those two told him to arise. Then the Brahmana\narose by the power of those Gods; and having arisen, that Brahmana\nconversed with those Gods.\n\nThen the God Vishnu said, \"Brahmana, for thy assistance thou art to\nmake for thyself a woman.\"\n\nAfterwards the Brahmana by the power of those very Gods made a woman,\nand from that time men began to increase in number up to to-day.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThis is evidently a story of the last creation. In Hinduism there is\na series of four ages termed Yugas, each ended by a destruction of\nthe world by fire, which is quenched by cataclysmal rainfall. These\nare the Krita, Treta, Dwapara, and Kali Yugas, their periods being\nrespectively 4,000, 3,000, 2,000, and 1,000 divine years. There are\nalso intermediate periods equal to one-tenth of each of the adjoining\nYugas. A divine year being 360 times as long as a human year, the\nwhole series, called a Maha Yuga, amounts to about 4,320,000 years\n(Vishnu Purana, Wilson, p. 24). When a series is ended the order\nis reversed, that is, the Kali Yuga, which is the present one, is\nfollowed by the Dwapara.\n\nThe Vishnu Purana, p. 12, thus describes the state of things before\nthe original creation: \"There was neither day nor night, nor sky\nnor earth, nor darkness nor light, nor any other thing, save only\nOne\"--\"the Universal Soul,\" the All-God, Vishnu in the form of Brahma.\n\nHis action is thus summarised: \"Affecting then the quality of activity\nHari [Vishnu], the Lord of all, himself becoming Brahma, engaged in\nthe creation of the universe.\"\n\nAt the end of the Yuga, \"the same mighty deity, Janarddana, invested\nwith the quality of darkness, assumes the awful form of Rudra,\nand swallows up the universe. Having thus devoured all things,\nand converted the world into one vast ocean, the Supreme reposes on\nhis mighty serpent couch amidst the deep: he awakes after a season,\nand again, as Brahma, becomes the author of creation (V.P., p. 19).\n\nIn the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. ii, p. 583, there were two\nDanavas, a form of Asura, \"invincible even by gods,\" who impeded\nPrajapati in his work of creation. The only way which the Creator\ncould hit upon to destroy them was to create two lovely maidens, one\nblack and one white. Each of the Danavas wished to carry off both,\nso they fought over them and killed each other.\n\nIt is only in the Sinhalese story that we find an Asura assisting\nin the creation. Rahu is usually known as a dark planetary sign,\na dragon's head, which endeavours to swallow the sun and moon,\nand thus causes eclipses, at which time, only, it is seen. In the\naccount of the great Churning of the Ocean, it is evident that he\nwas supposed originally to have, or to be able to assume, a figure\nindistinguishable from those of the Gods.\n\nThe story of the application of Vishnu for Rahu's assistance is based\non the Indian notion that the Asuras were of more ancient date than\nthe Gods. The Maha Bharata states that they were the elder brothers\nof the Gods, and were more powerful than the Gods, who were unable\nto conquer them in their strongholds under the sea. The God Saman is\nIndra, the elder brother of Vishnu.\n\nAccording to the Maha Bharata, Vishnu assuming the form of a boar\nraised the earth to the surface of the waters (which covered it to\nthe depth of one hundred yojanas), on his tusk, without the aid of\nany other deity.\n\n\n\nThe following accounts of the state of things in very early times\nare borrowed from The Orientalist, vol. iii., pp. 79 and 78, to which\nthey were contributed by Mr. D. A. Jayawardana.\n\n\"In the primitive good old days the sky was not so far off from the\nearth as at present. The sun and moon in their course through the\nheavens sometimes came in close contact with the house-tops. The\nstars were stationed so close to the earth that they served as lamps\nto the houses.\n\n\"Once upon a time, there was a servant-maid who was repeatedly\ndisturbed by the passing clouds when she was sweeping the compound [the\nenclosure round the house], and this was to her a real nuisance. One\ncloudy morning, when this naughty girl was sweeping the compound as\nusual, the clouds came frequently in contact with the broom-stick\nand interfered with her work.\n\n\"Losing all patience she gave a smart blow to the firmament with the\nbroom-stick, saying, 'Get away from hence.' The sky, as a matter of\ncourse, was quite ashamed at the affront [8] thus offered to it by\na servant-girl, and flew away far, far out of human reach, in order\nto avoid a similar catastrophe again.\"\n\nThe second account is as follows: \"Till a long period after the\ncreation, man did not know the use of most of the vegetables now used\nby him for food. His food at first consisted of some substance like\nboiled milk, which then grew spontaneously upon the earth. This\nsubstance since disappeared, and rice took its place, and grew\nabundantly without the husk.\n\n\"The Jak fruit (Artocarpus integrifolia), one of the principal articles\nof food of the Sinhalese, was not even touched, as it was thought to be\npoisonous. The God Sakra [Indra] bethought himself of teaching mankind\nthat Jak was not a deadly fruit, but an article of wholesome food.\"\n\nThe story goes on to relate that, assuming the form of an old man,\nhe got a woman to boil some Jak seeds for him, with injunctions not\nto eat them or she would die; but the smell being appetizing she\nfirst tasted one, and then ate a quantity.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 2\n\nTHE SUN, THE MOON, AND GREAT PADDY\n\n\nIn a certain country there are a woman and a man, it is said. There are\nalso the children of those two persons, the elder brother and younger\nbrother and elder sister. Well then, while these three persons were\nthere, the man having died those children provided subsistence for\nthe mother of the three.\n\nOne day the three persons went to join a party of friends in assisting\na neighbour in his work. [9] That mother stayed at home. For that\nwoman there was not a thing to eat. Should those persons bring food,\nshe eats; if not, not.\n\nWhen the three persons were eating the food provided for the working\nparty, the elder sister and the elder brother having eaten silently,\nwithout even a [thought of the] matter of their mother, came away\nhome. The younger brother thought, \"Ane! We three persons having\neaten here, on our going how about food for our mother? I must take\nsome.\" Placing a similar quantity of cooked rice and a little vegetable\ncurry under the corner of his finger nail, the three came back.\n\nThen the mother asked at the hand of the elder sister, \"Where,\ndaughter, is cooked rice and vegetable curry for me?\" She said,\n\"I have not brought any. Having indeed eaten I came [empty-handed].\"\n\nThen the mother said to the daughter, \"Thou wilt be cooked in hell\nitself.\"\n\nHaving called the elder son she asked, \"Where, son, is the cooked\nrice and vegetable curry for me?\"\n\nThe son said, \"Mother, I have not brought it. Having indeed eaten,\nI came [empty-handed].\"\n\nThen the mother said to the son, \"Be off, very speedily.\"\n\nHaving called the young younger brother she asked, \"Where, son,\nis cooked rice and vegetable curry for me?\"\n\nThen that son said, \"Mother, hold a pot.\" After that, the mother\nbrought it and held it. The son struck down his finger nail in it. Then\nthe pot was filled and overflowed.\n\nAfterwards the mother, having eaten the rice and curry, gave authority\nto those three persons, to the elder brother, to the younger brother,\nand to the sister older than both of them.\n\nFirstly, having called the elder sister she said, \"Thou shalt be cooked\neven in hell.\" That elder sister herself now having become Great Paddy,\n[10] while in hell is cooked in mud.\n\nShe told the eldest son to go speedily. That elder brother himself\nhaving become the Sun, goes very speedily. For the Sun, in very truth\n(aettema), there is no rest. In the little time in which the eyelids\nfall, the Sun goes seven gawwas, [11] they say. At the time when\nthe Great Paddy is ripening, the Sun goes across (harahin). [12]\nBecause it is older than the Sun, [13] the Great Paddy represents\nthe elder sister.\n\nHaving called the younger son she said, \"My son, go you in the very\nwind (pawanema) [14].\" That one himself having become the Moon, now\ngoes in the wind. For the Moon in very truth there is not a difficulty,\nby the authority given by the Mother.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 3\n\nTHE STORY OF SENASURA [15]\n\n\nIn a certain country a man having been stricken by the evil influence\n(apale) of Senasura, any cultivation work or anything whatever which\nthe man performs does not go on properly.\n\nThe man having become very poor said, \"I cannot stay in this country;\nI must go to another country\"; and having gone away from that country\nhe sat down at a travellers' shed. During the time while he was\nthere a friend of the man's came there. That man, sitting down in\nthe travellers' shed, said, \"Friend, where are you going?\"\n\nThen the man said, \"What is it, friend? Well then, according to my\nreckoning there is no means of subsistence for me. I am going away to\nsome country or other, to look if I shall obtain a livelihood.\" [He\ntold him how everything that he did failed, owing to the ill-will\nof Senasura.]\n\nThen the friend said, \"Friend, don't you go in that way; I will tell\nyou a good stratagem. Having gone back to your village, when dry\nweather sets in cut chenas; when rain falls do rice field work.\"\n\nThe man having come back again to his village, began to cut a chena. At\nthe time when he was cutting the chena rain rained. Then, having\ndropped the chena cutting, he went to plough the rice field. Then\ndry weather again began to set in. Again having gone he chops the\nchena. Then rain rained. Again having gone he ploughs the rice\nfield. In that manner he did the chena and rice field works, both\nof them. Having done the work, the [crops in the] chena and the rice\nfield, both of them, ripened.\n\nAfter that, Senasura said at the hand of the man, \"What of their\nripening! I will not give more than an amuna (5\u00b77 bushels) from a\nstack. Let it be so settled (aswanu).\"\n\nAfterwards, having cut the rice crop, the man began to make the stacks\nseparately of two or three sheaves apiece. Then having trampled out\n[the corn in] the stacks [by means of buffaloes] at the rate of the\namuna from the stack--should there be one sheaf in it, an amuna; should\nthere be two sheaves, an amuna--in that manner having trampled out\n[the corn in] the stacks he filled up two corn stores. Having cut\nthe millet in the chena he filled up two corn stores of millet.\n\nIn that very country there is an astrologer (naekatrala). Having gone\nto him, he informed the astrologer of the evil influence that there was\nfrom Senasura [and how he had outwitted him]. Then the astrologer said,\n\"Until the time when you die the evil influence of Senasura over you\nwill not be laid aside.\"\n\nThe man said, \"Can you tell me the place where Senasura is [and what\nI must say to him]?\"\n\nThe astrologer replied, \"Senasura having taken a man's disguise and\ncome to your house, will talk with you. Then say, 'The evil influence\nof Senasura has been over me. I did a good trick for it. I worked\nin both a chena and a rice field. I got the things into the corn\nstores. While staying here eating them I can do cultivation again\n[in the same way].'\"\n\nAfterwards this man came home. While he was there, on the day foretold\nby the astrologer Senasura came. The man having given him sitting\naccommodation asked, \"Where are you going?\"\n\nThen Senasura said, \"It is I indeed whom they call Senasura, the\nDivine King. Because of it tell me any matter you require.\"\n\nSo the man said, \"What is the matter I require? I have become very\npoor, having been stricken by the evil influence of Senasura. Now then,\nI want an assistance from you for that.\"\n\nAfterwards Senasura, the Divine King, having given the man a book said,\n\"Without showing this book to anybody, place it in your house. Remain\nhere, and make obeisance [to me] three times a day, having looked\nand looked into [the instructions in] the book. From any journey on\nwhich you may go, from any work you may do, you will obtain victory\n[that is, success].\"\n\nHaving said this, Senasura, the Divine King, went away. After that,\nhaving remained there in the very manner told by Senasura, the man\nbecame a person of much substance.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn Indian Folk-Tales (Gordon), p. 61, a Jackal is represented as\noutwitting the great deity Siva or Mahadeo, by telling him that he was\nSahadeo, the father of Mahadeo. See the notes at the end of Nos. 39\nand 75.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 4\n\nTHE GLASS PRINCESS\n\n\nIn a certain country there are seven Princes, the sons of a King. When\nthe seven persons had grown up, messengers were sent to find the\nplaces where there were seven Princesses to be taken in marriage by\nthem. They obtained intelligence that there was a kingdom where they\nwere to be met with.\n\nAfter that, the seven portraits of the seven Princes having been\npainted, two or three ministers were summoned, and sent with\nthe instructions, \"Go to that kingdom, and observe if the seven\nPrincesses are there. If they are there, take the portraits of the\nseven Princesses and come back with them.\"\n\nThe ministers having gone there and looked, found that seven\nPrincesses were there. So they went to the King, the father of the\nPrincesses. After they had come, the King having given quarters to\nthe ministers, and having given them food and drink, asked, \"Where are\nyou going?\" Then the ministers said, \"On account of news that you have\nseven Princesses, as there are seven Princes of the King of our country\nwe have come, bringing the portraits of the seven Princes to show you,\nin order to marry the Princesses to those seven.\" The King and the\nPrincesses having looked at the portraits were pleased with them.\n\nAfterwards, a suitable occasion for the marriage having been appointed,\nthe portraits of the Princesses were painted, and given into the\nhands of the ministers, and they were sent away with them.\n\nThe party having brought them, showed them to the King and the seven\nPrinces. The King and the seven Princes being pleased with those\npersons after they had shown the portraits, the King of that city, on\nthe very day appointed as the date for setting out for the marriage,\nhaving decorated an elephant for the King and Queen, and both of them\nhaving mounted on it, and having decorated seven other elephants for\nthe seven Princes, the party made ready to go.\n\nThen the youngest Prince of all, having placed his sword on the back\nof the elephant, and made obeisance to his father, said, \"I will\nnot go. Should the Princess come after being married to the sword,\nlet her come. If not, let her simply stop there.\" Having said this\nhe did not go; he sent only the elephant, and the elephant and all\nthe other persons went.\n\nHaving gone there the six Princes were married to the six\nPrincesses. Then the King whose Princesses they were, asked, \"Is\nthere not a Prince for the youngest Princess?\"\n\nWhen he asked this, the King whose son was the Prince replied, \"There\nis my youngest Prince. He has not come. If she will come after being\nmarried to the sword placed on the back of this elephant, he said\nshe is to come; if not, he said that she is to remain here.\"\n\nThe King whose Princess she was, was not satisfied with that. What\nof that? The youngest Princess was contented, and said, \"Even a deaf\nman or a lame man would be good enough for me. Therefore I must be\nmarried.\" So having been married to the sword she came away with\nthe others.\n\nThe Prince who did not go, but stayed at home, knew that there was\na pool on the way, and that there was also a Cobra which had charge\nof that pool. The Prince was well aware that if the people who went\nto the marriage came there, and being thirsty drank the water, that\nCobra would ask for a human offering. How was that? A deity came to\nthe Prince in a dream and told him. Having learnt this, the Prince\nwent, and at the time when they were coming hid himself near the pool,\nand remained there.\n\nThen all the party having come there drank the water. Having drunk it,\nwhen they were setting out to come away, a large Cobra which had been\nin a rock cave near by, came out, and said, \"Because you drank water\nfrom my pool one person must remain here as an offering to me. If not,\nI shall not permit even one of you to go.\"\n\nAfter that, the youngest Prince who had gone near and hidden himself\ncame forward, and saying, \"I will stay as the human offering; go you\naway,\" he started off all that marriage party, and sent them to their\nvillage. He said to the Princess who had come after being married to\nhis sword, \"Until whatever time it may be when I return, go and stay\nat the palace of mine which is there. There are servants at it. Set\nthe party of them to work, and eat and drink in great contentment just\nas though I were there.\" After he had said this, the party returned\nto the city, and the youngest Prince went with the Cobra to the cave.\n\nAfter they had gone there, the Cobra said to the Prince, \"There is\nan ulcer on my forehead. You may go after curing the ulcer. Because\nof your curing it I shall not require a human offering.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"It is good,\" and continuing to eat the things for\nwhich it provided the expenses, stayed there. Twice a day he washed and\nwashed the ulcer, while applying medicine to it, but it did not heal.\n\nAfterwards the Cobra said, \"There is a certain daughter of the King\nof a city, called the Glass Princess. The Princess takes any disguise\nshe likes and goes through the sky, supported by her power of flying\nthrough the air. The Princess knows a medicine by which, if it should\nbe applied by her own hand, my ulcer will become healed; otherwise\nit will not heal, and there will be no going to your village for you.\"\n\nThe Prince replied, \"It is good. I will go and bring the Glass\nPrincess.\"\n\nHaving said this, he set off to go to the city where the Glass Princess\nlived. Having hurried along the road which led in that direction,\nthere was a river to which he went. When he looked up the river he\nsaw some rats coming floating in the water. Then what does he do? He\nseizes all those few rats, and goes and places them on the bank.\n\nAfter he had put them there the rats said, \"Ane! O Lord, if Your\nMajesty should require any assistance, be pleased to think of us;\nthen we will come and stay with you, and assist you.\" The Prince said,\n\"It is good,\" and went to the city in which the Glass Princess dwelt.\n\nHaving come there, being without a place to stay at he went to the\nspot where a widow-mother was stopping, and said, \"Ane! Mother,\ngive me a mat to sleep on.\"\n\nThe widow-mother said, \"It is good, son. Remain here. I am alone here,\ntherefore it will be good for me also.\"\n\nThen the Prince said, \"If so, mother, cook and give me a little\nrice. Having obtained some money to-morrow, I will bring it and give\nyou it.\" The old woman having heard his words, cooked and gave him\na little rice.\n\nWhen she had given it and he had eaten, the Prince asked that old\nwoman, \"Mother, what are the new things that are happening at this\ncity?\"\n\nThe old woman replied, \"What! Son, the new matters at this city are\nlike those of other cities indeed; but there is one new affair at this\ncity. If so, what is it? The daughter, called the Glass Princess, of\nthe King of this city remains an [unwedded] Princess. The Princess,\ncreating any disguise she wants, can go through the sky sustained by\nher power of flight through the air. Through the beauty of her figure\nshe is a very celebrated person. Because of that, many royal Princes\nhave come to ask to marry the Princess. Having come, they are asked,\n'What have you come for?' When they have said, 'We have come to take\nthis Princess in marriage,' the King puts on the hearth a very great\ncauldron of water, and having made it boil tells them to bathe in it\nwithout making the water lukewarm. There is a large iron tree in the\nopen space in front of the palace. Having bathed in the water, he\ntells them to saw the iron tree in two. If they do not bathe in the\nwater and cut it in two, he does not permit the Princes to go away;\nhe beheads them there and then, and casts them out.\"\n\nThe Prince asked the old woman, \"Mother, can no one go to the place\nwhere the Glass Princess is staying?\"\n\nThe old woman said, \"Ane! Son, even a bird which passes along in the\nair above cannot go to the place where the Glass Princess is.\"\n\nThen the Prince asked, \"Mother, why do they say that the Princess is\nthe Glass Princess?\"\n\nThe old woman said, \"O son, they call her the Glass Princess. The bed\non which the Princess sleeps is a bed of glass throughout. Glass is\nfixed all round the bed in such a manner that even the wind cannot get\nto her. [16] Because of that, they say that she is the Glass Princess.\"\n\nThe Prince asked, \"Mother, at what time does the Princess eat rice\nat night?\"\n\nThe old woman said, \"O son, at night water for bathing, and cooked\nrice, having gone there for the Princess, they are placed in the\nupper story where the Princess sleeps alone. When the Princess has\nbeen sleeping at night, at about eight she awakes, and after bathing\nin the water eats rice. Before that she does not get up.\"\n\nThen the Prince, after listening to all these words, asked for a mat,\nand went off to sleep at the travellers' shed which was in front of\nthe old woman's house. Having gone there, while he was lying down he\nthought, \"Ane! O Gods, in any case you must grant me an opportunity of\ngoing to the place where that Princess is.\" Then while he was thinking,\n\"Ane! Will even those rats that I took up that day out of the river\nand placed on the bank, become of assistance to me in this matter?\" he\nfell asleep.\n\nAfter that, those rats, collecting thousands of rats besides, came\nthere before the Prince awoke, and having come near the Prince while he\nwas sleeping, waited until he awoke. When the Prince awoke and looked\nabout, he saw that rats, thousands in number, had come and were there.\n\nThe rats asked the Prince: \"O Lord, what assistance does Your Majesty\nwant us to give?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"I want you to excavate a tunnel, of a size so that\na man can go along it erect, to the upper story of the house in which\nthe Glass Princess is staying, and to hand it over without completing\nit, leaving a very little unfinished. It was on account of this that I\nthought of you.\" Then the rats went, and having dug it out that night,\nfinished it and handed it over, and went away.\n\nThe Prince having been in the travellers' shed until it became light,\ntook the mat and went to the widow-mother. He gave her one masurama and\nsaid, \"Here, mother, this is given for the articles I obtained. Bring\nthings for you and me, and in order that I may go and get something\nto-day also, quickly cook and give me a little rice.\" The old woman\nspeedily cooked and gave it. The Prince having eaten it, during the\nwhole day walked round about the city.\n\nAt night he went along the tunnel to the upper story where the Princess\nwas. Having gone there, when he thought of looking in the direction\nof the Princess he could not through diffidence, it is said. The\nPrincess was asleep on the glass bed; a lamp shone brightly.\n\nAfter that, the Prince having rubbed soap in the water which was\nready for the Glass Princess, and washed in it, and eaten half the\nrice that was set on the table, and having eaten a mouthful of betel\nthat was in the betel box, left the room without speaking, and went\naway after closing the opening through which he had come.\n\nThe Princess arose at about eight, and having gone to bathe in the\nwater, when she looked at it saw that soap had been rubbed in the\nwater, and some one had washed in it. Then she went to the table\non which was the rice, and when she looked half the rice had been\neaten. So the Princess having returned without eating the rice, lay\ndown and thought, \"A much cleverer person than I, indeed, has done\nthis work. Except a deity, no man can come to the place where I am\nstaying. I shall seize that thief to-morrow.\" Having thought that,\nshe went to sleep.\n\nThe Prince having come away, and having been asleep in the travellers'\nshed, in the day-time went to the old woman and ate. Then having\nreturned to the tunnel and slept there, he went that night also,\nand washed in the water and ate, and came away. That night, also,\nthe Princess being asleep was unable to seize him.\n\nThe Prince came back, and having slept that night, also, at the\ntravellers' shed, in the day time asked the old woman for rice and\nate it. Then he returned to the tunnel, and after sleeping in it, at\nabout twelve went and washed in the water, and ate the rice. After\neating betel he came away. The Princess being asleep on that night\nalso, was unable to seize him.\n\nAfter that, what does the Princess do? At night, pricking her finger\nwith a needle, and rubbing lime-juice in the place, she remained awake\nblowing it [on account of the smarting]. That night, also, the Prince\nwent. The Princess having seen the Prince enter, took a sword in her\nhand, after awaking as though she had been asleep. Having seen that\nthe figure of the Prince was beautiful, and being pleased with it,\nshe closed her eyelids, pretending to be asleep.\n\nThe Prince knew very well that the Princess was awake. Now, as on other\nnights, he went looking on the ground, and having soaped himself,\nwashed himself in the water. Then having come to the table, he ate\nthe rice. While he was eating it, the Princess, taking the sword,\narose, and having come towards him, asked, \"Who are you?\"\n\nThe Prince asked, \"Who are you?\"\n\nThe Princess said, \"I am she whom they call the Glass Princess.\"\n\nThen the Prince also said, \"I am he whom they call the youngest Prince\nof the King of such and such a city.\"\n\nAfter that, the Prince and Princess ate the food, and having talked\nmuch, the Princess asked, \"For what purpose have you come?\"\n\nThe Prince replied, \"I have not come for anything else but to take\nyou away.\"\n\nThe Princess said, \"Our hiding and going off would not be proper. Here,\nput away this jewelled ring and lock of hair. To-morrow morning, having\ngone to our father the King, say, 'I have come to marry your Princess.'\n\n\"Then saying, 'It is good,' he will boil a cauldron of water and\ngive you it, and tell you to bathe in it. And he will show you an\niron tree, and tell you to saw it. When he has given you the water,\nput this jewelled ring in the water and bathe; it will be like cold\nwater. When he has shown you the iron tree, pull this lock of hair\nacross it; then it will saw it in two. After that, we two having been\nmarried, let us go to your city.\"\n\nThen taking the ring and the lock of hair, the Prince went back to\nthe travellers' shed.\n\nNext day, the Prince in the very manner the Princess told him, came\nand spoke to the King. The King said, \"It is good,\" and gave him\nthose two tasks. The Prince performed both the tasks.\n\nAfter that, the King, being pleased, publicly notified the celebration\nof their marriage, and said, \"If you wish to live here, stay here;\nif you wish to go, summon the Princess [to accompany you] and\ngo.\" Afterwards, having performed the marriage ceremony, he called\nthe Princess, and went to the place where that Cobra was staying.\n\nThere she applied the medicine to the Cobra's ulcer, and it\nhealed. The Cobra, being pleased, gave the two persons a hidden\ntreasure consisting of gold, silver, pearls, and gems. After that,\nthey went to the Prince's city.\n\nThus, by bringing this Princess the Prince had two Princesses. The\nKing, the Prince's father, was pleased because the Prince who went as\nthe offering and the Princess had got married, and had returned. Having\neaten the marriage feast they remained there.\n\nWhen those six elder brothers looked they saw that their Princesses\nwere not so beautiful as the Glass Princess. Because of it, the six\npersons spoke together about killing the youngest Prince and taking\nthe Glass Princess; and they tried to kill the Prince. The Glass\nPrincess, knowing of it, told that Prince, and the two Princesses\nand the Prince set off to go to another King.\n\nWhile they were going in the midst of a forest, the Vaedda King\nwho dwelt in that forest saw this Glass Princess. In order to take\npossession of the Princess, he seized the three persons, and having\nput them in a house, prepared to kill the Prince.\n\nSo the Glass Princess, knowing this, became a mare, and placing the\nPrince on her back, and telling the other Princess to hang by her tail,\nwent through the sky, and descended near another city. Having gone to\nthe city and taken labourers, they engaged in rice cultivation. When\nthey had been there a little while the King of the city died.\n\nAfter his death they decorated the royal tusk elephant, and set off\nwith it in search of a new King. While they were going along taking it\nthrough the streets, the elephant went and knelt near this Prince. Then\nall the men having made obeisance, and caused the Prince to bathe,\nplacing the Prince and the two Queens on the back of the elephant,\nwent and stopped at the palace, and he became King.\n\nWhen he had been ruling a little time, there was no rain at the city of\nthe King the Prince's father, and that country became abandoned. Those\nsix Princes and their six Queens, and his father the King, and his\nmother, all these persons, being reduced to poverty, came to an\nalmshouse which this King had established, bringing firewood to sell.\n\nThere this King having seen them, recognising them, came back after\nsummoning his father the King, and his mother, to the palace. He told\nthem, \"Because those six elder brothers and their six Queens tried to\nkill me in order that my elder brothers might seize and carry off the\nGlass Princess, I came away from the city, and was seized by a Vaedda\nKing, but I escaped and came here.\" Then saying, \"There is the place\nwhere I was cultivating rice. Go there, and cultivate rice and eat,\"\nhe sent the brothers to that place. Having sent them, he gave them\nthis advice: \"For the crime that you tried to commit by killing me,\nthat has befallen you. Therefore behave well now.\"\n\nAfter that, his father the King, his mother the Queen, the King and\nthe two Queens, those five persons, remained at the palace.\n\n\n                                                 North-central Province.\n\n\n\nAlthough the whole story apparently has not been found in India,\nseveral of the incidents in it occur in Indian folk-tales.\n\nI have not met with the marriage to the sword in them, but in The\nIndian Antiquary, vol. xx, p. 423, it is stated by Mr. Prendergast that\nin southern India, among two Telugu castes, \"the custom of sending a\nsword to represent an unavoidably absent bridegroom at a wedding is\nnot uncommon. It is considered allowable among other Hindus also.\"\n\nIn The Story of Madana Kama Raja (called by the translator, Pandita\nNatesa Sastri, The Dravidian Nights), p. 43, the Kings of Mathurapuri\nand Vijayanagaram caused the portraits of their respective son and\ndaughter to be painted, and sent envoys with them in search of royal\npersons resembling them. The envoys met at a river, exchanged pictures\nthere, and returned to their masters, who were satisfied with the\nportraits, and caused the wedding of the Prince and Princess to be\ncelebrated at the latter's home, Vijayanagaram.\n\nIn the same work, p. 12, a Prince in the form of a parrot, which\nwas confined in a cage in the sleeping apartment of a Princess, on\ntwo successive nights resumed his human form, and smeared sandal and\nscent over the Princess while she slept, and then became a parrot once\nmore. On the third night she was awake, and he told her his history.\n\nAt page 103, also, the King of Udayagiri, father of a Prince who had\nrun off when about to be beheaded, having been deprived of his kingdom\nby the King of the Otta country, was reduced to selling firewood\nfor a living, together with his wife and six sons. They came for\nthis purpose to the city over which the Prince had become sovereign,\nand were discovered by him and provided for.\n\nIn the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. ii, p. 93, a thief gained\naccess to the bedroom of a Princess by means of a tunnel.\n\nIn Indian Fairy Tales (Thornhill), p. 122 ff., a Prince, riding a\nmagical wooden horse, visited a Princess nightly while she was asleep,\nand pricking his arm each night, wrote \"I love you,\" in blood on her\nhandkerchief. Although she tried to keep awake, for six nights after\nthe first one she was asleep when he came. On the next night she\nscratched her finger with a needle and rubbed salt into the wound,\nso that the pain might keep her awake. When he entered the room she\nstarted up and inquired who he was, and how and why he had come.\n\nIn Indian Fairy Tales, Ganges Valley (Stokes), p. 163, the cutting\nof the tree trunk with the hair of the Princess occurs.\n\nIn the Panchatantra (Dubois), an elephant released rats when caught\nand imprisoned in earthen pots, and the rats in their turn served\nhim by filling up with earth the pit in which he had fallen.\n\nIn the Katha Sarit Sagara, p. 360 ff., a Rakshasa King gave three tasks\nto the Prince who wished to marry his daughter. She assisted him by\nmeans of her magical powers, and he accomplished them successfully.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 5\n\nTHE FROG PRINCE\n\n\nAt a city there is a certain King; a widow lives at a house near his\npalace. She subsists by going to this royal palace and pounding rice\nthere; having handed it over she takes away the rice powder and lives\non it.\n\nDuring the time while she was getting a living in this way she bore\na frog, which she reared there. When it was grown up, the King of\nthat city caused this proclamation to be made by beat of tom-toms:\n\"I will give half my kingdom, and goods amounting to an elephant's\nload, to the person who brings the Jewelled Golden Cock [17] that is\nat the house of the Rakshasi (Ogress).\"\n\nEvery one said of it that it could not be done. The widow's Frog\nhaving heard the King's proclamation, said to the widow, \"Mother, I\nwill bring the Jewelled Golden Cock. Cook a bundle of rice and give\nme it.\" Having heard the Frog's words, the widow cooked a bundle of\nrice and gave it to him.\n\nThe Frog took the bundle of rice, and hanging it from his shoulder\nwent to an Indi (wild Date) tree, scraped the leaf off a Date spike\n(the mid-rib of the leaf), and strung the rice on it. While going\naway after stringing it, the Frog then became like a very good-looking\nroyal Prince, and a horse and clothing for him made their appearance\nthere. Putting on the clothes he mounted the horse, and making it\nbound along he went on till he came to a city.\n\nHearing that he had arrived, the King of that city prepared quarters\nfor this Prince to stay at, and having given him ample food and drink,\nasked, \"Where art thou going?\"\n\nThen the Prince said: \"The King of our city has made a proclamation by\nbeat of tom-toms, that he will give half his kingdom and an elephant's\nload of gold to the person who brings him the Jewelled Golden Cock\nthat is at the Rakshasi's house. Because of it I am going to fetch\nthe Jewelled Golden Cock.\"\n\nThe King, being pleased with the Prince on account of it, gave him a\npiece of charcoal. \"Should you be unable to escape from the Rakshasi\nwhile returning after taking the Jewelled Golden Cock, tell this\npiece of charcoal to be created a fire-fence, and cast it down,\"\nhe said. Taking it, he went to another city.\n\nThe King of that city in that very manner having prepared quarters,\nand made ready and given him food and drink, asked, \"Where art thou\ngoing?\" The Prince replied in the same words, \"I am going to bring the\nJewelled Golden Cock that is at the house of the Rakshasi.\" That King\nalso being pleased on account of it gave him a stone, \"Should you be\nunable to escape from the Rakshasi, tell this stone to be created a\nmountain, and cast it down,\" he said.\n\nTaking the charcoal and the stone which those two Kings gave him, he\nwent to yet another city. The King also in that very manner having\ngiven him quarters, and food and drink, asked, \"Where art thou\ngoing?\" The Prince in that very way said, \"I am going to bring the\nJewelled Golden Cock.\" That King also being greatly pleased gave him\na thorn. \"Should you be unable to escape from the Rakshasi, tell a\nthorn fence to be created, and cast down this thorn,\" he said.\n\nOn the next day he went to the house of the Rakshasi. She was not\nat home; the Rakshasi's daughter was there. That girl having seen\nthe Prince coming and not knowing him, asked, \"Elder brother, elder\nbrother, where are you going?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"Younger sister, I am not going anywhere whatever. I\ncame to beg at your hands the Jewelled Golden Cock which you have got.\"\n\nTo that she replied, \"Elder brother, to-day indeed I am unable to\ngive it. To-morrow I can. Should my mother come now she will eat you;\nfor that reason come and hide yourself.\"\n\nCalling him into the house, she put him in a large trunk at the bottom\nof seven trunks, and shut him up in it.\n\nAfter a little time had passed, the Rakshasi came back. Having come\nand seen that the Prince's horse was there, she asked her daughter,\n\"Whose is this horse?\"\n\nThen the Rakshasi's daughter replied, \"Nobody's whatever. It came\nout of the jungle, and I caught it to ride on.\"\n\nThe Rakshasi having said, \"If so, it is good,\" came in. While lying\ndown to sleep at night the sweet odour of the Prince having reached\nthe Rakshasi, she said to her daughter, \"What is this, Bola? [18]\nA smell of a fresh human body is coming to me.\"\n\nThen the Rakshasi's daughter said, \"What, mother! Do you say so? You\nare constantly eating fresh bodies; how can there not be an odour\nof them?\"\n\nAfter that, the Rakshasi, taking those words for the truth, went\nto sleep.\n\nAt dawn on the following day, as soon as she arose the Rakshasi went to\nseek human flesh for food. After she had gone, the Rakshasa-daughter,\ntaking out the Prince who was shut up in the box, told that Prince a\ndevice on going away with the Jewelled Golden Cock: \"Elder brother,\nif you are going away with the Cock, take some cords and fasten them\nround my shoulders. Having put them round me, take the Cock, and\nhaving mounted the horse go off, making him bound quickly. When you\nhave gone I shall cry out. Mother comes when I give three calls. After\nshe has come, loosening me will occupy much time; then you will be\nable to get away.\"\n\nIn the way she said, the Prince tied the Rakshasa-daughter, and\ntaking the Jewelled Golden Cock mounted the horse, and making it\nbound quickly came away.\n\nAs that Rakshasa-daughter said, while she was calling out the\nRakshasi came. Having come, after she looked about [she found that]\nthe Rakshasa-daughter was tied, and the Jewelled Golden Cock had\nbeen taken away. After she had asked, \"Who was it? Who took it?\" the\nRakshasa-daughter said, \"I don't know who it was.\" After that, she\nvery quickly unfastened the Rakshasa-daughter, and both of them came\nrunning to eat that Prince.\n\nThe Prince was unable to go quickly. While going, the Prince\nturned round, and on looking back saw that this Rakshasi and the\nRakshasa-daughter were coming running to eat that Prince.\n\nAfter that, he cast down the thorn which the above-mentioned King of\nthe third city gave him, having told a thorn fence to be created. A\nthorn fence was created. Having jumped over it they came on.\n\nAfter that, when he had put down the piece of stone which the King\nof the second city gave him, and told a mountain to be created, a\nmountain was created. They sprang over that mountain also, and came on.\n\nAfter that, he cast down the charcoal which the King of the first\ncity gave him, having told a fire fence to be created. In that very\nmanner a fire fence was created. Having come to it, while jumping\nover it both of them were burnt and died.\n\nFrom that place the Prince came along. While coming, he arrived at\nthe Indi tree on which he had threaded the rice, and having taken\noff it all that dried-up rice he began to eat it. On coming to the\nend of it, the person who was like that Prince again became a Frog.\n\nAfter he became a Frog, the clothes that he was wearing, and the horse,\nand the Jewelled Golden Cock vanished. Out of grief on that account\nthat Frog died at that very place.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 159 (vol. ii, p. 23) there is a tale of a\nGolden Peacock which lived upon a golden hill. A King got it caught\nand informed it that the reason was because \"Your colour is golden;\ntherefore (so it is said) those who eat your flesh become young and\nlive so for ever.\"\n\nIn the story No. 491 (vol. iv, p. 210) the chick is described as \"of\nthe colour of gold, with two eyes like gunja fruit, and a coral beak,\nand three red streaks ran down his throat and down the middle of his\nback.\" On p. 212, it is said that \"they who eat his flesh will be\never young and immortal.\" This one lived in the Himalayas for seven\nthousand years.\n\nIn The Story of Madana Kama Raja (Natesa Sastri), p. 56, a Queen bore\na Tortoise Prince who had the power of leaving his shell. At p. 141,\na Queen also bore a Tortoise, which was reared by her, and eventually\nwent in search of divine Parijata flowers (Erythrina indica) from a\ntree which grew in Indra's heaven. He seems to have been a turtle and\nnot a tortoise, being described as swimming for weeks across the Seven\nSeas. He climbed Udayagiri, the Mountain of the Dawn, and blocked the\nway of the Sun-god (who rises from behind it), in honour of whom he\nuttered 1,008 praises. Pleased with this, the deity gave him a splendid\ndivine body like a man's, and the power to resume his tortoise shape\nat will; he directed him to a sage, who sent him to another, and this\none to a third, by whose advice he secured the love and assistance\nof a divine nymph, an Apsaras, by concealing her robes when a party\nof them were bathing. With her aid he obtained the heavenly flowers.\n\nIn Old Deccan Days, Ganges Valley (Frere), p. 69, a Prince, using a\nwand belonging to a Rakshasi, created in order to stop her pursuit,\na river, a mountain, and apparently a forest. Lastly, by throwing\ndown three of her hairs that he had secured he set the trees on fire,\nand she was burnt in the flames.\n\nIn the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), p. 360 ff., the daughter of a\nRakshasa King gave the Prince who wanted to marry her \"some earth,\nsome water, some thorns, and some fire, and her own fleet horse,\"\ntelling him how to use them. He was chased by the brother of the King,\nwhom he went to invite to the wedding. When he threw down the earth\na mountain was produced behind him; the water became a great river;\nthe thorns a dense thorny wood. When the Rakshasa emerged from the\nwood and was coming on, the Prince threw down the fire, which set the\nbushes and trees in front of him ablaze, and finding this difficult\nto cross he returned home, \"tired and terrified.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 6\n\nTHE MILLET TRADER\n\n\nAt a certain city two men were cutting jungle, it is said. Having\ncut it for many days, one man said, \"Friend, I will go and bring\nmillet [19] to sow in this chena clearing; you continue to cut the\njungle.\" The other man said \"Ha\" (Yes), and that man went to seek\nmillet.\n\nHaving gone to a village, he went along asking the way to a house\nwhere there was millet. After he had gone there it became night,\nso he remained in a shed at the house. A lucky hour had been fixed\nby astrology for cutting the hair [for the first time] of a child at\nthe house, on the following day after that.\n\nHaving told at the hand of his wife to put rice in water [to clean\nit], and to cook cakes from it, the man of the house that evening\nwent to the watch-hut in his chena. The woman having pounded the\nrice and cooked cakes, selected the best cakes and put them in the\nrice mortar in order to give them to another man. The millet trader\nin the shed remained there looking on.\n\nAfterwards the man who went to the watch hut returned, and when\nhe was eating the cakes said, \"Give a couple of cakes from them\nto that millet trader.\" Then the woman having selected burnt, very\nburnt ones, and given them to the millet trader, the trader saying,\n\"I cannot bite these,\" put the cakes on the others in the rice\nmortar, and pounded them. The woman scowled at the millet trader,\nbut because her husband was present she was unable to say anything,\nso she remained silent. The millet trader, having pounded all the\ncakes and eaten, tied up the surplus ones and put them aside.\n\nAfter that, the man went again to the watch hut. Then that woman\nquickly put a gill of rice in water, and having pounded it into\nflour and very hurriedly cooked cakes, placed them in the house,\nand lay down in it.\n\nThe millet trader awoke, and while he was there looking about, saw a\nman coming. Arising quickly, he came to the open space in front of\nthe house and coughed. Then the man, thinking, \"Perhaps the man is\nat the house,\" went back again.\n\nAfter that, the millet trader went inside the house. That woman taking\nthose cakes gave them in the dark to the millet trader, and said,\n\"Ando! When I was cooking cakes I put the best cakes in the rice mortar\nin order to give them to you. Then, after being in the watch hut he\n(the husband) came, and while eating the cakes said to me, 'Give a\ncouple of cakes to that millet trader'; so I gave them. After that,\nthe millet trader, that Rodiya, having put the cakes in the rice\nmortar that was full of the best cakes, pounded them and ate. Then\nI again put a gill of rice into water, and pounded it into flour,\nsaying that you will come; and only just now finished cooking.\"\n\nThe millet trader said, \"Ha. It is good,\" and ate.\n\nAfterwards the woman said, \"Now then, are we not cutting the child's\nhair to-morrow? Now, what will you give on account of it?\"\n\nThe millet trader said, \"What have I got to give? When coming for\nmillet I only brought four tuttu.\" [20]\n\nThen the woman, saying, \"Be off! Be off! Rodiya! Are you the millet\ntrader, Bola?\" drove him away.\n\nWhen he had gone back to the shed, she again put a gill of rice in\nwater, and having pounded it and very rapidly cooked cakes and brought\nthem into the house, lay down.\n\nAfterwards, while the millet trader was there looking about, he again\nsaw that man coming, so he arose quickly, and came to the open space\nin front of the house and coughed. That man again went away.\n\nAfter that, the millet trader went into the house again. That woman\nrose quickly, and gave those cakes to him, and said to the man,\n\"Ando! When I was cooking cakes to give to you I put the best cakes\nin the rice mortar. Afterwards he came from the watch hut, and while\neating the cakes said to me, 'Give a couple of cakes to that millet\ntrader.' So I gave them. Afterwards that Rodiya, putting the cakes\nin the rice mortar which was full of the best cakes, pounded them\nand ate. Then I again put a gill of rice in water, and cooked more\ncakes. Then, while I was looking out for you, some one like you came\nin the dark. I gave them to him. While he was eating them I said,\n'Now then, are we not cutting the child's hair to-morrow? What will\nyou give?' That Rodiya said, 'Only the four tuttu that I brought for\nmillet.' Then I got to know who it was. I drove him away, and again\nput a gill of rice in water, and pounded it, and I have only just\nfinished cooking more cakes.\"\n\nThe millet trader, saying, \"Ha. It is good,\" ate the cakes.\n\nThen the woman said, \"Now then, are we not cutting the child's hair\nto-morrow? What will you give?\"\n\nThe millet trader said, \"If you should ask me even another time,\nstill the same four tuttu.\"\n\nThe woman saying, \"Be off! Be off! Millet trader, Rodiya! Hast come\nagain, thou!\" drove him away. Then it became light.\n\nAfterwards, the man who went to the watch hut came, and handed over\nthe millet to the millet trader. On his giving it, the millet trader,\ntying it up in two bundles and placing them on his head, set off to\ngo into the house.\n\nThat man saw it, and asked, \"Where are you going there?\"\n\nThe millet trader replied, \"I don't know. During the whole of last\nnight they were going and coming along this very way, so I thought,\n'Maybe this is a high road.'\"\n\nThe man said, \"Put down the packages of millet there,\" and having\ngone to the millet store-room, and handed over a greater quantity\nfrom the millet in it, beat that woman.\n\nFrom there the millet trader went to another village, and sitting down\nat a house unfastened that package of pounded cakes, and was eating\nthem. A woman who was looking on said, \"Ade! What are you eating?\"\n\nThe trader said, \"They are pounded cakes of our country.\"\n\nThe woman saying, \"The colour of them is good indeed; give me some\nto look at,\" begged and got some.\n\nAfter eating them she said, \"Ade! These millet cakes have a sweet\ntaste; they are indeed good.\"\n\nThe trader replied, \"In our quarter the millet is of that very sort;\nlet us go there together if you like.\"\n\nThe woman said, \"Ha\" and having taken out all the effects in the\nhouse placed them in the jungle, ready for taking when she went.\n\nAfterwards, taking those things, as they were getting very far away\nthe man said, \"What have you forgotten? Consider well.\"\n\nThe woman replied, \"I have not forgotten anything. I only forgot my\nflowered hair comb. It is of the pattern of my flowered hair pin.\"\n\nThe trader said, \"To be without a flowered hair comb is\nnot proper in my country. I shall be here; you go and fetch\nit. If I should not be here on your return, call me, saying,\n'Day-before-Yesterday! Day-before-Yesterday!' My name is\nDay-before-Yesterday (Pereda).\"\n\nThen the woman came running home. When she returned, taking\nthe flowered hair comb, the man was not there. So saying,\n\"Day-before-Yesterday! Day-before-Yesterday!\" the woman called and\ncalled. The man was not there.\n\nThe woman returned home, weeping and weeping. While she was there,\nher husband, having gone somewhere or other, came back, and asked,\n\"What are you crying for?\"\n\nThe woman said, \"He who was taking millet, Day-before-Yesterday,\nplundered the house.\"\n\nThe man said, \"If he plundered the house day before yesterday, why\ndidst thou not tell me yesterday?\"\n\nThe woman replied, \"Not day before yesterday. He who was taking millet,\nDay-before-Yesterday.\"\n\nThen the man said, \"Isn't that just what I'm saying? When he\nplundered the house day before yesterday, why didst thou not tell me\nyesterday?\" Having said this, he beat the woman.\n\nWhen the millet trader, taking the effects and the bundles of millet,\nwent from there carrying his load, he came to another village. On\ngoing to a house, a woman was there weeping and weeping.\n\nAs the man was placing the effects and the millet bundles on the\nveranda of the house, he said, \"Appe! I have been to the other world\nand back,\" [21] and laying them on the veranda, said, \"What are you\ncrying for, mother?\"\n\nThe woman said, \"My daughter died six days ago. When I think of her\nI am weeping.\" Then she asked the millet trader, \"Ane! My Latti went\nto the other world; did you meet her there?\"\n\nThe millet trader said, \"Don't cry, mother. I did meet her there. She\nis now in the other world. I have taken in marriage that very Latti. I\nhave come for Latti's things that she puts on her arms and neck. She\ntold me to come.\"\n\nThe woman quickly arose, and having cooked abundantly for the trader,\nand given him to eat, he said, \"Mother, I must go immediately. Where\nis father-in-law?\"\n\n\"He went to plough; wait till he comes,\" she said.\n\n\"I cannot,\" he said. \"It is our wedding feast to-morrow. I must be\noff now to go to the wedding.\"\n\nSo she gave the trader the silver and golden things for placing on her\ndaughter's arms and neck, also. Then the trader taking the bundles of\nmillet, the effects, and the things for the arms and neck, went away.\n\nAfter that, when the woman's husband who had gone to plough came, the\nwoman was laughing. Seeing it, he asked, \"What are you laughing at?\"\n\nThe woman replied, \"Bolan, why shouldn't I laugh? Our son-in-law came.\"\n\n\"What son-in-law?\" the man asked.\n\nThe woman said over and over again, \"Latti's man came, Latti's man\ncame. Our son-in-law, to whom our daughter is given in the other\nworld. It is true.\"\n\nThe man asked, \"Bola, can any one in the other world come to this\nworld? Didst thou cook and also give him to eat?\"\n\nThe woman replied, \"What! Didn't I cook and give him to eat! After\nI had given him to eat he said that Latti had told him to take away\nthe things for her arms and neck. So I gave him those also.\"\n\nThen the man said, \"Where is now, Bola, the horse that was here?\" and\nasking, \"Which way did he go?\" and mounting on the horse's back,\nwent to seek that millet trader.\n\nAs the trader was going along in the rice field he looked back, and\nhaving seen a man coming on horseback, said, \"That one is coming to\nseize me.\"\n\nThere was a Timbiri tree very near there into which he climbed. While\nhe was there, that man making the horse bound along, having come up,\ntied the horse to the root of the Timbiri tree. After he had climbed\nup the tree to catch the trader, the trader, descending from the ends\nof the Timbiri branches and cutting the fastening, mounted the horse,\nafter placing on it also the bundles of millet and the other goods,\nand went off on the horse.\n\nThen that man descended slowly from the tree, and having called \"Hu\"\nto the millet trader [to arrest his attention], said, \"Tell Latti that\nyour mother-in-law gave you a few things to put on her arms and neck,\nbut your father-in-law gave you a horse.\"\n\nHaving returned to the house, he said to the woman, \"It is true. He\nis really Latti's man. I said 'Don't go on foot,' and having given\nhim the horse I came back.\"\n\nThe woman said, \"Isn't it so indeed! I told you so.\"\n\nThen the millet trader having gone to his village, and divided the\ngoods with the chena cultivator, sowed the millet in the chena,\nand remained there.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThe story about Latti's husband occurs in The Orientalist, vol. i,\np. 62, the dead girl's name being Kaluhami. Her father was a Gamarala,\nand the man who carried off the things for her was a beggar.\n\nThis part of the story is also given, with slight variations, in Tales\nof the Sun, Southern India (Kingscote and Natesa Sastri), p. 135 ff.\n\nIn Folklore in Southern India (Natesa Sastri), p. 131 ff., the\nrogue did not pretend to be married to the woman's daughter, but\nrepresented to her that her parents were living in the other world\nin a very miserable state, without proper clothing, and without the\nmeans of purchasing food. She handed over to him the clothing, jewels,\nand cash in the house, and he went off at once with them. The ending\nof the incident is the same as in Ceylon.\n\nIn The Indian Antiquary, vol. xviii, p. 120, there is a story from\nSouthern India, by Pandita Natesa Sastri, in which a youth obtained\nwork under an appa [22] (or \"hopper\") woman, giving his name as\n\"Last Year.\" When he absconded with her cash-box she gave the alarm\nin the village by saying, \"Last Year (he) stole and took my box,\"\nand was thought to be out of her mind.\n\nIn The Orientalist, vol. ii, p. 182, the incident of the cakes pounded\nin the mortar is related. After eating part of the pounded cakes,\nthe traveller was about to enter the corn-store in which the woman\nhad concealed her lover. On the woman's stopping him, the husband's\nsuspicions being aroused he examined the corn-store, and finding the\nman in it, beat him well, and his own wife also.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 7\n\nTHE TURTLE DOVE\n\n\nIn a certain city there are two Princes, it is said. A flower-mother\n[23] cooks and gives food to the two Princes. The mother of the\nPrinces is dead; the father is alive. The King has married another\nQueen, and because the Queen is not good to the Princes they live\nwith the flower-mother.\n\nOne day, while they were living in that manner, the two Princes having\ngone to shoot birds with bows and arrows, walked until night-fall,\nbut were unable to find any birds. As they were coming back, there was\na Horse-radish tree (Murunga) [24] at the front of the King's palace,\nin which was a turtle dove. The younger brother saw it, and said to\nthe elder brother, \"Elder brother, there! There is a turtle-dove.\" The\nelder brother shot at the turtle-dove, and it fell dead.\n\nAfterwards, the younger brother having picked it up and come back, said\nat the hand of the elder brother, \"Elder brother, are we to give this\nto our father the King, or are we to give it to the flower-mother?\"\n\nThen the elder brother said, \"Why should we give it to our father\nthe King? We will give it to the flower-mother who gives us food and\nclothing.\" Taking the turtle-dove, the two Princes came to the house\nof the flower-mother, and gave it into the flower-mother's hand.\n\nOn that day the King was not at the palace; only the Queen was\nthere. The Queen remained listening to all that the two Princes said,\nand stayed looking [to see] if they gave the turtle-dove into the\nhand of the flower-mother.\n\nThat being so, after the King's return to the palace in the evening\nthe Queen told at the hand of the King what the Princes said, and the\nfact that they gave the turtle-dove into the hand of the flower-mother.\n\nAfter that, the King settled to behead both Princes on the morrow. The\nflower-mother on hearing of it said at the hand of the Princes,\n\"Children, the King said that he must behead you two to-morrow. To\nsave both your lives go away somewhere.\"\n\nHaving cooked a bundle of rice in the night, she placed gem-stones\nat the bottom of the bag and the cooked rice above them; and having\ntied up the bag she gave it into the hands of the Princes before it\nbecame light, and told them to go.\n\nThe two Princes took the bundle of cooked rice and went away. Having\ngone on and on, being hungry they sat down in the shade of a great\nforest. For rinsing their mouths after chewing betel, before eating\nrice, there was no water.\n\nWhile they were seated there, a turtle-dove came and fell down, making\na noise, \"tas,\" as it struck the ground. The younger brother asked,\n\"Elder brother, what shall we do with this turtle-dove?\" Then the\nelder brother said, \"Hide it in a heap of leaves, for us to eat it\nyet.\" The younger brother hid it.\n\nThereupon a Vaedda came, and asked at the hand of the two brothers,\n\"Ane! Didn't a turtle-dove fall here?\"\n\nThe two Princes said, \"No.\"\n\nSo the Vaedda sought for it, continuing to say, \"Ane! After trying\nfor seven years, I shot the turtle-dove with my bow and arrow.\"\n\nThen the Princes said, \"Ane! Vaedi-elder-brother, why is the\nturtle-dove such a good one?\"\n\nThe Vaedda replied, \"Why shouldn't it be good? The person who has eaten\nthe right portion at that very time will receive the sovereignty. The\nperson who has eaten the left portion will receive the sovereignty\nafter seven years have gone by.\"\n\nHaving said thus, the Vaedda sought and sought it; he was unable to\nfind the turtle-dove, and he went away. Then, having cooked it, the\nelder Prince ate the right half; the younger Prince ate the left half.\n\nHaving eaten it, the elder Prince, taking the small copper water-pot\nwhich the flower-mother gave them, went to seek for water. The younger\nbrother remained there.\n\nThe elder brother, breaking and throwing down branches all along the\npath, having gone on and on, came to a large stream. Hearing a beating\nof tom-toms while getting water in the pot, he stayed there, looking\n[to see] what it was about. While he was there, the tom-toming having\ncome near him, a tusk elephant came close to the Prince and knelt down.\n\nThe Prince knew that the royal elephant had selected him for the\nsovereignty, and said, \"Ane! A younger brother of mine is there;\nhow can I go without him? I will go there and come with him.\"\n\nThen the men who were there said, \"You cannot seek your younger\nbrother; you must mount now.\" Afterwards the Prince having mounted\non the elephant, went to the city of that kingdom, and became the king.\n\nThe younger brother, after having looked and looked for a long time,\ntaking the bundle of cooked rice, came along the path on which the\nbranches were broken, and descended to the stream. Then, having seen\nthe elephant's footprints, continuing to say, \"Ane! It is this very\nelephant that has killed elder brother,\" weeping and weeping he drank\nwater; and having eaten part of the cooked rice, tied up the other\npart and went away.\n\nWhile going along the path on which were the elephant's footprints,\nhe saw that his Prince's robes were torn and torn, and repeating,\n\"Ane! Elder brother has been killed. It is this very elephant. Kill me\nalso, O Gods,\" weeping and weeping, going on and on, he went after\nnightfall to a Hettiya's house at some city or other, and said,\n\"Ane! You must give me a resting-place for the night.\"\n\nThe Hettiya was not at home; only his wife was there. The woman said\nto the Prince, \"No resting-place will be given here. We do not allow\nany one to come to our house. The Hettirala goes to the King, to fan\nhis face. On that account the Hettirala does not permit any one to\ncome to this house. To-day the Hettirala went to the King, to fan\nhis face. He will come at this time. Before he comes go away quickly.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"Ane! Don't say so. There is not a quarter to which\nI can go now. In some way or other you must give me it.\"\n\nThen the woman, taking a bit of mat, gave it into the Prince's hand,\nsaying, \"If so, go to that calf house. When the Hettiya comes don't\neven cough or anything. You must be silent.\"\n\nAfterwards, when the Prince was sitting in the calf house, the Hettiya\nreturned, and while he was eating rice a cough came to the Prince. The\nPrince tried and tried to be silent. He could not. He coughed.\n\nThe Hettiya having heard it said to his wife, \"What is that, Bola,\nI hear there?\"\n\nThe woman said, \"Ane! A youth, not vicious nor low, came and asked\nfor a resting-place. I told him to go to the calf house. Do nothing\nto him. I told him to get up before daylight and go away.\"\n\nThen the Hettiya, saying, \"I told thee, 'Do not give a resting-place to\nany one'; is it not so? Why didst thou give it?\" beat the woman. Having\nfinished eating rice he came into the raised veranda.\n\nWhen he was there, that Prince took the remains of his rice, and\nwhile eating it and thinking in his mind, \"Ane! Was I not indeed a\nroyal Prince before; why must I stop now in a calf house?\" he saw\nthe gem-stones at the bottom of the rice, and placing one on his knee\nate the rice by its light.\n\nThe Hettiya having seen the light, asked at the hand of the woman,\n\"Ade! Did you go and give a light also to that one?\" The woman said,\n\"It is not a light that I took and gave him.\"\n\nThen the Hettiya got up and went to look, and having seen the\ngem-stone, scolded the woman. \"Ade! When my friend from a foreign town\ncame dost thou give him a resting-place in this way? What hast thou\ngiven it at the calf house for? Was there no better place to give?\"\n\nHaving said this, and again beaten the woman, \"Quickly warm water,\"\nhe said. After waiting while she was warming it, he took the water\ninto the house, and having placed it there, said to the Prince,\n\"Let us go, younger brother, to bathe,\" and gave him a bath. After\nfinishing bathing him, having cooked food abundantly and laid the\ntable, he gave him to eat.\n\nWhen that was finished, he prepared a bed for sleeping, and said,\n\"Younger brother, come and sleep.\" The Prince came. Afterwards the\nHettiya said to the Prince, \"Younger brother, if there are any things\nof value in your hands give them into my hands. I will return them to\nyou at the time when you ask for them. If they be kept in your hands\nthey may be lost. There are thieves hereabouts; we cannot get rid of\nthem. They will not let us keep anything; they carry it off.\"\n\nThen the Prince said, \"Ane! There is nothing in my hands.\"\n\nThe Hettiya said, \"Nay, there was a gem-stone in your hand; I saw\nit. It will be there yet; give me it. I shall not take it in that\nway. I will give you it at the time when you ask for it.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"Ane! Hetti-elder-brother, I know your Hetti\nslumber. It is necessary for me to arise early, while it is still\nnight, and go away.\"\n\nThen the Hettiya said, \"I shall give you it when you ask for it,\nno matter if I should be asleep. You can awake me; then I will give\nit.\" Having said thus and thus, the Prince gave all the gem-stones\ninto the hands of the Hettiya. The Hettiya taking them and placing\nthem in a house in the middle of seven houses, went to sleep.\n\nAfterwards, the Prince having been asleep, arose while it was still\nnight, and awoke the Hettiya, saying, \"Ane! Hetti-elder-brother,\nit is necessary for me to go expeditiously. Quickly give me those\nfew gem-stones.\"\n\nThus, in this manner he asks and asks. It is no affair of the\nHettiya's. Then the woman said, \"What is this! One cannot exist for\nthis troubling. Must not persons who took a thing give it back? Must\nnot this youth who is not vicious nor low go away? Why are you keeping\nthem back?\"\n\nAfter that, the Hettiya, having got up, opening the seven doors of\nthe seven houses came out into the light, and saying, \"When, Bola,\ndid I get gem-stones from thee?\" he cut off the hair-knot of the\nPrince, and took him for his slave. So the Prince remained there,\ncontinuing to do slave work for the Hettiya.\n\nAfterwards, one day the Hettiya and the Prince having gone on a journey\nsomewhere, as they were coming to a stream the seven Princesses of\nthe King of that country having been bathing in the stream, saw the\nHettiya and the Prince going on the road.\n\nThe youngest Princess said to the other Princesses, \"Elder sisters,\nthat one going there is indeed a Prince.\"\n\nThe six Princesses said, \"So indeed! The Hettiya's slave has become\na Prince to thee!\"\n\nThen the Princess said another time, \"However much you should say it\nis not so, that is indeed a Prince going along there.\"\n\nThe six Princesses said, \"It is not merely that to thee the Hettiya's\nslave has become a Prince; he will come to call thee [to be his wife].\"\n\nThen the Princess replied still another time, \"It is really so;\nhe is inviting me indeed. However much you should say that, it was\nreally a Prince who went there.\"\n\nThe six Princesses said, \"If he is inviting thee go thou also. The\nHettiya's slave is going there; go thou before he departs.\"\n\nThe Princess replied, \"I shall really go. You look. What though I\nhave not gone now! Shall I not go hereafter?\"\n\nAfter the seven Princesses had come to the palace, the youngest\nPrincess said at the hand of her father the King, \"When we were\nbathing now, a slave youth went along with the Hettiya. That slave\nyouth is really a Prince.\"\n\nThen the King sent an order to the Hettiya that the Hettiya's slave\nand the Hettiya should come to him. Afterwards the Hettiya and the\nHettiya's slave went to the King.\n\nThe King asked, \"Whence this slave youth?\"\n\nThen before the Hettiya said anything the Prince replied, \"I\nwas formerly a royal Prince; now I am doing slave work for this\nHetti-elder-brother.\"\n\nThe King asked at the hand of the Hettiya, \"Is he doing slave work\nfor you?\"\n\nThe Hettiya said, \"Yes.\"\n\nAfter that, the King decided that he would give his youngest daughter\nto the slave youth (as his wife), so he sent away the Hettiya, and\nthe Princess with the slave youth.\n\nAs those three were going to the Hettiya's house, the Hettiya,\nbecoming hungry while on the way, gave money into the hand of the\nPrince, and said, \"With this money get three gills of rice, and with\nthese ten sallis (half farthings) get a sun-dried fish, and come back\nand cook them.\" He gave money for it separately into the Prince's hand.\n\nThe Prince having bought three gills of rice with the money given\nfor it, and placed it on the hearth to boil, took the ten sallis and\nwent to the shops for the dried fish. When he looked at the dried\nfish there was none to get for ten sallis.\n\nAs he was coming back bringing the ten sallis, a man was on the road,\nhaving laid down a heap of dried fish. When the Prince came there\nthe man asked him, \"Where, younger brother, are you going?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"I came for a dried fish; I have ten sallis. There\nbeing no dried fish to get for ten sallis I am going away.\"\n\nThen the man said, \"Give me the ten sallis. Take any dried fish\nyou want.\"\n\nSo the Prince having given the ten sallis to the trader, selected a\nlarge dried fish, and putting it on his shoulder, as he was coming\nnear the river the dried fish was laughing. After laughing, it asked,\n\"Are you taking me in this manner to cook?\"\n\nThe Prince replied, \"Yes, to cook indeed.\"\n\nThe dried fish said, \"Do not take me. You are going to die now. From\nthat I will deliver you. Put me into the river.\"\n\nThe Prince having placed the dried fish in the river, and come back\n\"simply\" (that is, without it), made sauce and cooked the rice. When\nhe had finished, the Hettiya said, \"Separate and give me the cooked\nrice boiled from two gills.\" So the Prince separated the rice from two\ngills and gave it. Then the Hettiya asked, \"Where is the dried fish?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"I could not get a dried fish for ten sallis; I walked\nthrough the whole of the bazaar. I came back empty-handed ('simply').\"\n\nAfterwards, the Hettiya having eaten half the rice in silence, heaped\nup the other half in the direction of the Princess (thus inviting her\nto eat it). The Princess saying, \"Go thou! Have I come to eat rice\nout of the Hettiya's bowl?\" [25] went to the place where the Prince\nwas eating, and ate rice from the Prince's plate.\n\nThen the Hettiya said, \"If it is wrong for thee to eat from my bowl,\nhow is it thou art eating from my slave's bowl?\"\n\nThe Princess said, \"Hettiya, shouldst thou any day say 'slave' again, I\nwill tell it at the hand of my father the King, and get thee quartered\nand hung at the city gates.\" After that the Hettiya was silent.\n\nThe whole three having finished eating rice, went on board the vessel\nthat was to carry them along the river. While going along in the\nvessel, the Hettiya said to the Prince, \"Cut me a mouthful of betel\nand areka-nut, and give me it.\"\n\nThe Princess said, \"Now then, having already cut betel and areka-nut,\nhis food is done.\"\n\nThe Prince saying, \"It is not wrong; I will cut and give it,\" cut\nand gave it to the Hettiya.\n\nAfterwards the Hettiya again said to the Prince, \"Get a little water\nand give me it.\"\n\nThe Princess saying, \"Now then, your doing slave work is stopped,\"\ntold the Prince not to give it.\n\nThe Prince said, \"When there is thirst, how can one not give water? I\nwill give him a little.\"\n\nWhile he was bending down over the side of the vessel to get the water,\nthe Hettiya raised him, and threw him into the river.\n\nAs the Prince fell into the river, the dried fish that he had\npreviously put in the river took him on its back, and having brought\nhim to the shore, left him there. The Hettiya and the Princess went\non in the ship to the Hettiya's house.\n\nThe Prince was in the sun, on a sandbank. Then, as a flower-mother\nwas coming to the river for water, she saw the Prince, and said,\n\"What is this, son, that you are in the sun? Come away and go with\nme.\" Inviting him, and going to her house with him, she warmed some\nwater and made him bathe, and gave him food.\n\nWhile he was there, the Prince told all at the hand of the\nflower-mother. After telling it, when he said, \"I must go again to\nthe Hettiya's house,\" the flower mother said, \"O son, let him do what\nhe likes. Don't you go. Stop here.\"\n\nThe Prince replying, \"I cannot stay without going, O flower-mother;\nI will go there and come back to you,\" went there. After he had gone\nto the Hettiya's house he found that men had collected together there,\nand were saying that the Hettiya and the Princess were to be married\non such and such a day. He stayed listening to them, and went again\nto the flower-mother's house.\n\nAfter he returned, asking for four sallis at the hand of the\nflower-mother he went to the potters' village, and giving them the\nfour sallis told them, \"When I come to-morrow you must have ready\na kettle having three zig-zag lines round it and twelve spouts.\" So\nsaying, he came back to the flower-mother's house.\n\nOn the morning of the following day he walked to the potters' village,\nand taking the kettle, came to the Hettiya's house. As he arrived,\nmen were dancing, and the King was looking on. At the time when they\nwere finishing dancing he got on the raised veranda, and looked\non. The dancing being ended he came out to the wedding hall. Then\nthe Princess saw him and laughed. At that moment the Hettiya trembled.\n\nThe Prince having gone there said, \"Stop that. It is necessary for\nme to dance a little.\" Then he began to tell them all from the very\nbeginning: \"We were of such and such a city, the sons of the King\nof such and such a name. We were two Princes, an elder brother and\na younger brother. Our mother was dead. A flower-mother gave us food\nand clothing.\"\n\nHaving thus said a little of the story that he was relating, he danced,\nand while dancing sang to the kettle that he held in his hand--\n\n\n    Possessing three bent lines, a dozen spouts as well,\n    Little kettle, hear this our trouble that befel. [26]\n\n\nThen he said, \"While living thus we said one day, 'Let us go and shoot\nbirds,' and elder brother and I went. Having walked till night-fall\nwe did not meet with a single one. While we were returning home,\nas it was becoming night, there was a Horse-radish tree in front of\nthe palace of our father the King. In that Horse-radish tree was a\nturtle-dove which elder brother shot; at the stroke it fell dead.\n\n\"Afterwards I asked at elder brother's hand regarding it, 'Elder\nbrother, to whom are we to give this?' Then elder brother said,\n'There is no need to give it to our father the King; let us give\nit to the flower-mother who gives us food and clothing.' So saying,\nwe took it home and gave it to the flower-mother.\"\n\nAgain he danced, and sang while dancing--\n\n\n    Possessing three bent lines, a dozen spouts as well,\n    Little kettle, hear this our trouble that befel.\n\n\n\"Our Pu\u00f1ci-Amma (step-mother, lit. 'little mother') after hearing this,\non the return of our father the King told him of it, and our father\nthe King appointed to behead us. Afterwards our flower-mother to\nsave the lives of us both told us to go away. Having cooked a bundle\nof rice, and tied up a bag of it, placing gem-stones at the bottom\nand the cooked rice above, she gave it into the hand of both of us,\nand told us to go away somewhere before it became light. So we both\ncame away. Walking on and on, we came to a great forest, and both of\nus sat down in the shade.\"\n\nThen he danced again, and sang while dancing--\n\n\n    Possessing three bent lines, a dozen spouts as well,\n    Little kettle, hear this our trouble that befel.\n\n\nAfter that, he told a further part of his tale, and then danced\nagain. Thus, in that way he related all the things that had occurred.\n\nThe King who had come to celebrate the wedding was the Prince's elder\nbrother. While the Prince was relating all these things the King wept.\n\nThen the King asked at the hand of the Hettiya, \"Is what he has said\nregarding the gem-stones, and the taking him as a slave, true?\" The\nHettiya replied, \"It is true.\"\n\nThen the King caused the Hettiya to be quartered, and hung at the\nfour gateways of the city.\n\nAfter the King had caused the Prince and Princess to be married, and\nhad given that kingdom to the Prince, both the King and the Prince\nwent to their cities.\n\nThe elder brother who had eaten the right portion of the turtle-dove\nshot by the Vaedda, at that very time obtained the sovereignty. The\nyounger brother having eaten the left portion, when seven years had\npassed, on that day obtained the sovereignty.\n\nSo the Prince and Princess remained at their city.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThe notion that the persons who ate two birds, or the halves of one\nbird or of a fruit, would become Kings, or a King and his minister,\nis found throughout India in folk-tales.\n\nIn the Jataka stories No. 284 (vol. ii, p. 280), and No. 445 (vol. iv,\np. 24), two cocks were overheard to say that whoever ate one would\nget a thousand pieces of money, and the person who ate the other\nwould become King, Chief Queen or Commander-in-Chief, and Treasurer\nor King's favourite cleric. The second one was selected and eaten,\nwith the corresponding result.\n\nIn The Orientalist, vol. ii, p. 150, there is a story by Miss\nS. J. Goonetilleke, in which a blind man, sitting under a tree, heard\na Rakshasa who was in the tree saying to others that if the fruit of\nthe tree were rubbed on the eyes of a blind man he would recover his\nsight, and that a person who ate the fruit on the top of the tree\nwould become a King within seven days. The man regained his sight\nin this way, and having also eaten the fruit was selected as King by\nthe royal elephant, which knelt before him. The man who had blinded\nhim married his Prime Minister's daughter; and ascertaining how the\nKing recovered his sight and obtained his position, he got his wife\nto treat him in the same way and leave him under a tree, where he died.\n\nIn The Indian Antiquary, vol. xvii, p. 75, there is a tale of two\nPrinces who were ordered to be blinded because of a false charge made\nby the Queen, their step-mother. They escaped, and killed a Chakwa\n(Sheldrake) which they heard informing its mate that he who ate its\nhead would become a King, and he who ate the liver would be very happy\nafter twelve years' wanderings. The elder brother went for food to\na city, where the royal elephant threw a garland over his neck, and\nhe became King. The younger brother being unable to find him worked\nfor a potter, then travelled on and took the place of a woman's son\nwho was going to be offered to an Ogre, who had forced a King to give\nhim daily a cart-load of sweet cakes, a couple of goats, and a young\nman. The Prince killed the Ogre while he was eating the cakes. The King\ngave him his daughter in marriage, and half the kingdom. The elder\nbrother came to the wedding, and they recognised each other. When\nthey visited their father he sent the Queen into exile.\n\nIn the Tamil work, The Story of Madana Kama Raja (Natesa Sastri),\np. 125 ff., a Mango tree growing in a thick forest bore a magical\nfruit once in one hundred years. A sage waited for it, and went to\nbathe in order to purify himself before eating it. As two Princes\nwhose parents had been reduced to poverty, were passing, the younger\none picked up the fruit and placed it in their packet of rice. The\nsage followed them, but they denied all knowledge of the fruit. He\ninformed them that the person who ate the outer part would become a\nking, and that from the mouth of the person who ate the seed, gems\nwould drop whenever he laughed. The brothers divided the fruit in\nthis way, and a royal elephant coming in search of a new King placed a\ngarland on the neck of the elder one, and depositing him on its back\nwent off with him. The younger one, thinking he was carried off by\na wild elephant, left the wood, and was received at the house of a\ndancing girl. One day when he laughed gems fell from his mouth, and\nafter getting many more, they gave him a purgative pill and secured\nthe magic stone. After other adventures he was united to his brother,\nrecovered the mango stone, and became a King himself.\n\nIn Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 138 ff., Tales of the\nPunjab (F. A. Steel), p. 129, two Princes ran away on account of their\nstep-mother's cruelty, and while resting under a tree heard a Maina\n(Starling) and a Parrot telling each other that the two persons who ate\nthem would become a King and a Prime Minister. They shot the birds with\ncrossbows, and ate them. The younger one went back for the other's\nwhip, which was left at a spring, and was bitten and killed by a\nsnake. The elder was selected as King, by a royal elephant. A magician\nfound the dead Prince, drained the spring into his wife's small brass\npot, and the snakes being waterless gave back the Prince's life. After\nstirring adventures, the younger Prince married a Prime Minister's\ndaughter, who went on a ship with him. There he was thrown overboard,\nbut caught a rope and got back to his wife's cabin unobserved. He\nmet his brother the King at last, and was made to relate his life\nstory. This he did in sections, on seven days, and at the end the\nKing claimed him as his brother, and he became Prime Minister.\n\nIn Indian Nights' Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 276 ff., a step-mother\ngot two Princes exiled. At night while they were under a tree two birds\nwere heard predicting that those who ate them would become a King and\na Minister, so they shot and ate them. The whip and snake incident\nare as above, the guilty snake being brought up by a cowry shell,\nof which the magician had despatched four to the four quarters. The\nsnake breathed into the Prince's mouth and revived him. He had\nwonderful adventures, and married a Princess, went on a ship with\nher, was thrown overboard, and assisted a gardener. The Princess had\nbeen sold at the palace, where the King, who was the elder brother,\nwished to marry her. The younger brother went disguised as a woman,\nand related his story by sections in three days, when the Princess\nclaimed him as her husband. His brother made him Chief Counsellor,\nand at last he succeeded to his father's kingdom.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Kashmir (Knowles), 2nd ed., p. 78, the persons who\nate the head and breast of a bird became Kings.\n\nAt p. 159, the King's elephant selected a person as King, the elephant\nbowing down to him, and the royal hawk perching on his hand.\n\nAt p. 167 ff., two Princes who escaped their death sentence, which was\ndue to their step-mother's plotting, heard two birds say of two others\nthat they who ate them would become a King and Minister. They shot\nand ate them. The whip and snake incident occurred, the latter being a\ndragon. The elder brother was selected as King by the royal elephant\nand hawk. A jogi emptied the spring and made the dragon restore the\nPrince, who was captured by robbers, saved by the daughter of one,\nwent with her on board a ship, was pushed overboard, and was saved by\nthe girl. They landed at the city where the elder brother was reigning,\nand he was made Minister, and eventually King when the elder brother\nsucceeded their father.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 99, a royal elephant with a rich\nhowdah on its back selected a Prince as King, and took him to the city.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 8\n\nTHE PRINCE AND THE PRINCESS\n\n\nIn a certain city there are a Prince and a Princess, it is\nsaid. Because these two go together to the school the teacher said,\n\"You two came together to-day; on another day you must not do it\nagain.\"\n\nWhen they were coming separately on that account, the Princess,\nbeing in front, one day went to the well, and having bent down while\ntrying to drink water, her writing style fell into the well. Being\nthere alone the Princess was unable to get the writing style.\n\nAfter the Prince came up she said, \"Ane! My writing style fell into\nthe well; get it and give me it.\"\n\nThen the Prince said, \"I will get it and give you it if you will\nswear that you will not marry another person.\"\n\nThe Princess said, \"I will not marry another; I will only marry you\nyourself.\" Having touched the Prince's body she swore it, and the\nPrince having touched the body of the Princess also swore it. Then\nhe got and gave her the writing pin, and one of them went in front\nand one went behind.\n\nThose two learnt their letters excellently. Afterwards, both having\ngrown up, when they inquired about arranging the marriage for\nthe Prince he said, \"You must bring me in marriage such and such\na Princess, of such and such a village. If not, I do not want a\ndifferent marriage.\"\n\nThen the King said, \"Do you want the kingdom, or do you want the\nPrincess?\"\n\nThe Prince replied, \"I do not want your kingdom at all; I want the\nPrincess.\"\n\nAfterwards the King went and asked for the Princess. Then the father\nof the Princess said, \"I will give the Princess to the persons who\ngive me this well full of gold.\"\n\nSo the Prince filled it and gave it, and the Prince and Princess\nhaving got married stopped many days at the Prince's house.\n\nThen the King said to the Prince, \"Because at first you said that\nyou did not want the kingdom, that you only wanted the Princess,\nyou shall not live at my house. Go where you want.\"\n\nThen having gone to the Princess's house, after they had been living\nthere many days the father of the Princess said, \"Taking a well of\ngold, I sold the Princess. You shall not live at my house. Go where\nyou want.\"\n\nSo those two went away. As they were going the Princess went along\nsewing a jacket. Having gone very far, after they sat down at a\ntravellers' shed near a city, the Princess gave the jacket that she\nhad sewn into the Prince's hand, and said, \"Take this, and having\nsold it at the bazaar bring something to eat.\"\n\nThe Prince having taken it to the bazaar, after he had told the bazaar\nmen to buy it they said, \"We are unable to say a word about buying\nthis. It is so valuable that we have not got the means to purchase it.\"\n\nThe guards of the King of that country having been present looking on,\nand having seen this, told the royal servants to bring the jacket to\nthe King. After they had brought it the King took it, and gave the\nPrince two bags of money. The Prince left one and took one away.\n\nThe King having called his servants, ordered them, \"Look at the place\nwhere that Prince goes and stays, and come back.\" Well then, the\nservants having gone and having seen that the Princess was stopping at\nthe travellers' shed, came running, and said at the hands of the King,\n\"There is a good-looking Princess at such and such a travellers' shed.\"\n\nThe Prince having left at the travellers' shed the bag of money which\nhe took, came for the other bag of money. While he was coming, the\nKing, taking a horse also, went to the travellers' shed by a different\nroad, and placing the Princess on horseback brought her to the palace.\n\nWell then, when the Prince, taking the other bag of money went to the\ntravellers' shed the Princess was not there. He called and called;\nshe did not come. Afterwards, taking both bags of money he comes away\nalong the road.\n\nThe Princess, while she was looked after by the guards, having\nseen from afar that the Prince was coming, said to the servants,\n\"I am thirsty,\" and told them to bring an orange quickly. After it\nwas brought and given to her, she opened the skin and wrote a letter\nthus: \"Give even both those bags of money, and buying two horses come\nnear the palace, and having tied up the two horses stay there without\nsleeping. After the King has gone to sleep I shall descend down robes\ntied together, and having come to you, when I mount a horse you mount\nthe other horse, and we will go off.\"\n\nHaving placed the letter inside the skin of the orange and shut it\nup completely, so as to appear like a whole orange fruit, she threw\nit behind the guards, in front of the approaching Prince. The Prince\nthinking, because he was hungry, \"I must eat this,\" picked it up,\nand having gone into the shade of a Timbiri tree, sat down. When he\nopened the skin of the orange, having seen that there was a letter\ninside it he took it to the light, and read it aloud.\n\nA Karumantaya (a Kinnara, a man of the lowest caste) who was in the\nTimbiri tree heard all that was written in the letter. Well then,\nthe Prince having given the two bags of money and taken two horses,\nand having come near the palace on the appointed day, tied the two\nhorses there. While he was there the Karumantaya also came, saying,\n\"Ane! I also must stop here at this resting place.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"Do not stay here. Should the King hear of it he\nwill drive us both away.\"\n\nThe Karumantaya replied, \"Don't say so. I also am going to stop here\nto-day,\" and stayed there. The Prince went to sleep; the Karumantaya\nremained awake.\n\nAfter the King had gone to sleep, the Princess, descending down some\nrobes, came there. When she was mounting a horse, the Karumantaya\nmounted the other horse, and both of them went off together.\n\nHaving gone off, when the Princess looked after it became light, she\nsaw the Karumantaya. Afterwards she stopped the horse, and said to the\nKarumantaya, \"Get and give me a little water.\" The Karumantaya said,\n\"I will not; get it to drink yourself.\"\n\nAfter the Princess had said it yet another time, the Karumantaya\ndismounted from the back of the horse. When he had gone for water,\nthe Princess cut with her sword the throat of the horse on which the\nKarumantaya came, and went off, making the horse bound along. The\nKarumantaya having run and run a great distance, returned again\nbecause he could not come up to her.\n\nWhile the Princess was going on horseback, she came to a place where\nseven Vaeddas were shooting with bows and arrows. Those seven persons\nhaving seen the Princess coming, said to each other, \"That Princess\nwho is coming is for me.\" The Princess having heard that saying,\nstopped the horse and asked, \"What are you saying?\"\n\nThen each of the seven said, \"The Princess is for me, for me.\"\n\nAfterwards the Princess said, \"You seven persons shoot your arrows\ntogether. I will marry the one whose arrow is picked up in front of\nthe others.\"\n\nAfter that, they all seven having at one discharge shot their arrows,\nwhile the seven persons were running to pick up the arrows the Princess\nwent off, making the horse bound along. Those seven persons having\nrun and run for a great distance, returned again because they could\nnot come up to her.\n\nThe Prince having awoke, when he looked the two horses were not there,\nand the Princess was not there. So he walked away weeping and weeping.\n\nThen, while the Princess was going near yet another city, putting\non Brahmana clothes she went to the school at that city, and there\nhaving begged from a child a slate [27] and slate pencil, [27] she\nwrote a name in Brahmana letters (Devanagari).\n\nWhen she had given it to the children who were at the school, nobody,\nincluding also the teacher, was able to read it. Then the teacher\ntook it to the King of that country, and showed him it. The King also\ncould not read it. So the King appointed her as a teacher, saying,\n\"From to-day the Brahmana must teach letters at the school.\"\n\nNow, when the Brahmana had been teaching letters for a long time, men\ntold the King tales about her: \"That is a woman indeed; no Brahmana.\"\n\nThen the King having said, \"Ha. It is good,\" told the servants,\n\"Inviting that Brahmana, go to my flower garden. If it be a woman,\nshe will pick many flowers and come away after putting them in her\nwaist pocket. If it be a Brahmana, he will pick one flower, and come\naway turning it round and round near his eye.\"\n\nThat Brahmana had reared a parrot. The parrot heard from the roof of\nthe palace the words said by the King, and having gone to the school\nsaid to the Brahmana, \"The King says thus.\"\n\nNext day, the Ministers having come to the school said, \"Let us go to\nthe flower garden,\" and inviting the Brahmana, went there. Keeping in\nmind the words said by the parrot, the Brahmana broke off one flower,\nand holding it near the eye came away turning it round and round. The\nKing looking on said, \"From to-day no one must say again that it is\na woman.\"\n\nAgain, in that manner, when she had been there a long time, people\nbegan to say to the King, \"No Brahmana; that is a woman indeed.\"\n\nThen the King again said to the servants, \"To-morrow, inviting the\nBrahmana, go to my betel garden. If it be a woman, she will pluck many\nbetel leaves, and go away after putting them in her waist pocket. If\nit be a Brahmana, he will pluck one betel leaf, and holding it near\nhis eye he will come away turning it round and round.\" Hearing that\nalso from the roof of the palace, the Brahmana's parrot having gone\nto the Brahmana said, \"The King says so and so.\"\n\nNext day, the King's Ministers having gone to the school said, \"Let us\ngo to the betel garden,\" and inviting the Brahmana, went there. Keeping\nin mind the words said by the parrot, in that very manner breaking off\none betel leaf, and holding it near the eye, she came away turning it\nround and round. The King, looking on at it also, said, \"From to-day\nI shall cut with this sword the one who says again that it is a woman.\"\n\nAfter that, the Brahmana having carved a figure like the Princess,\ngave it into the hands of the scholars, and said, \"Taking this, go and\ncollect donations (samadama). After you have gone, inviting to come\nwith you him who on seeing this figure recognises it, return with him.\"\n\nAfter the scholars, taking the figure, had gone to a city, the seven\nVaeddas saw it, and said, \"Here is the Princess.\" Having drawn near\nthey asked, \"How is it that she has gone away for such a long time\nsince she went from here that day? Where is she now?\"\n\nThen the scholars, saying, \"She is now at our city; let us go there,\"\ninviting those seven persons, returned with them. After they had come\nto the school the Brahmana said, \"Cut them down, the seven persons.\"\n\nAfter they had cut them down, the Brahmana said to the scholars,\n\"Take this again. Again inviting him whom you meet, return with him.\"\n\nThe scholars took it again, and while they were going to another city\nmet that Karumantaya. After he had said, \"Ane! Amme! Where did you\ngo for such a long time? Where is she now?\" the scholars replied,\n\"The Princess is now at our city; let us go there.\" After they had\ncome to the school the Brahmana said, \"Cut down that one also.\"\n\nAfter they had cut him down, she said to the scholars, \"Take this\nagain.\" The scholars, taking it, and having gone to another city,\nmet with the Prince. Having come in front of it, the Prince fell\ndown weeping. The scholars said, \"Do not weep. She is in our city;\nlet us go there.\"\n\nAfter they had come to the school, the Brahmana arose quickly,\nand having thrown off the Brahmana clothing, dressed herself in her\nPrincess's robes. Having prepared warm water and made the Prince bathe,\nthe Princess cooked ample food, and gave him to eat.\n\nWhile she was doing this, the scholars having gone to the King said,\n\"It was a Princess who was there. After we went to a city to collect\ndonations, having met with the Princess's Prince he came back with\nus. Both of them are now at the school.\"\n\nAfter that, the King, having come to the school, and having asked\nabout those things from those two, built a house with a tiled roof,\nand gave it and half the village to the Princess as a present.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Kashmir (Knowles), 2nd ed., p. 86, a Prince induced\nthree persons who were quarrelling over the ownership of some wonderful\narticles left by their master, a Fakir, to run for three arrows\nwhich he discharged in three directions. While they were absent,\nhe took three of the articles, and seating himself on a magic seat\nwhich was one of the things, was conveyed away by it.\n\nAt p. 306 ff. of the same work, a Prince and Princess eloped when the\nlatter was about to be married to another Prince. While on their way,\nshe remembered some jewels which she required, and he returned for\nthem. In the meantime a robber had come up in the dark, and finding\nher servant asleep had ridden off with the Princess, who thought he\nwas the Prince. When daylight came she found out her mistake, sent\nhim to a village for food, and then rode off alone; and calling at a\ngoldsmith's house for a drink, was detained and requested to marry\nhim. On her agreeing, he gave her gold ear-rings and her jewels,\nwith which she rode off, and stayed with a married couple, disguising\nherself as a man. An elephant selected her as King. Then she got\nan artist to paint her portrait, and she hung it in a thoroughfare\nof the city, with a guard who seized all who recognised her. These\nproved to be the robber, her servant, the goldsmith, and the two\nwho befriended her, and lastly the Prince. When the Prince saw her\nportrait he fainted. He was first made Prime Minister, and afterwards\nthe Princess revealed herself to him, and he became King. The robber\nand goldsmith were imprisoned, and the others rewarded. The resemblance\nto the Sinhalese story is striking.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 9\n\nTAMARIND TIKKA\n\n\nIn a certain city there are seven elder brothers and younger brothers,\nit is said. The seven have a younger sister, who cooks and gives food\nto all seven.\n\nWhile the seven brothers were cutting and cutting the sides of an\nearthen ridge (nira) in the rice field, they saw seven women coming,\nand said to them, \"Where are you going?\"\n\nThe seven women replied, \"We are seven elder sisters and younger\nsisters; and we are going to seek seven elder brothers and younger\nbrothers.\"\n\nThen the seven brothers said, \"We are seven elder brothers and younger\nbrothers. Stop with us.\"\n\nThe seven sisters said, \"Ha.\"\n\nThe seven brothers having brought the seven sisters to their house,\nleaving them there went again to the rice field, and chopped the\nridges. Those seven sisters having boiled seven pots of paddy and\nspread it out to dry, said to their sister-in-law, \"We are going for\nfirewood; you stay at home and look after these things.\"\n\nAfter they had gone, that sister-in-law fell asleep. Then rain having\nfallen, the seven large mats (magal) on which the paddy was spread\nwere washed away. When the seven sisters came, and saw that the mats\nand paddy had been washed away, they seized that woman, and having\nbeaten her, drove her away from the house. So she went to the foot\nof a Tamarind tree on the roadside, and stayed there.\n\nWhen a long time had passed after she went there, all those seven\nwomen bore girls. The woman under the Tamarind tree bore a boy.\n\nAs the eldest brother was going along the road on which was the tree,\nthe woman said, \"Ane! Elder brother, look at my boy's horoscope.\" He\nsaid, \"I will not.\"\n\nAs the next brother was going she said, \"Ane! Elder brother, look at\nmy boy's horoscope.\" He said, \"I will not.\"\n\nThus, in that way all the six elder brothers refused.\n\nAfterwards, when the youngest brother was going, on her saying,\n\"Ane! Elder brother, look at my boy's horoscope,\" he said, \"Ha,\"\nand went.\n\nWhen he looked at it, the astrologer said, \"He is born such that\nhe will bring misfortune to those seven girls. The child will be so\nlucky that he might obtain a kingdom.\"\n\nThen the brother having returned, said to that woman, \"That one has\nbeen born such that he will eat thee. Knock his head on a stone or\nroot, and kill him.\"\n\nThe woman saying, \"It is good. Let him eat me,\" reared him.\n\nThe child having become big, said at the hand of the woman, \"Mother,\nnow then, oughtn't you to bring me an assistant (i.e. a wife)?\" The\nwoman replied, \"Ane! Son, who will give in marriage to us?\"\n\nAfterwards the youth went to a place where they were grinding\nflour, and having put a little flour under his finger nail, came\nback. \"Mother, mother, quickly hold a basin,\" he said. The woman held\none. Then, when he put into the basin the little flour that was under\nhis finger nail, it filled it and ran over.\n\nHaving gone again to a place where they were expressing coconut oil,\nin the same way he took a little coconut under his finger nail, and\ncame back. \"Mother, mother, hold that quickly,\" he said. The woman\nheld it. That also was filled and overflowed.\n\nAgain, having gone to a place where they were warming Palm-tree\nsyrup, in the same way he took some under his finger nail, and came\nback. \"Mother, mother, hold that quickly,\" he said. That also was\nfilled and overflowed.\n\nAfterwards the youngster said, \"Mother, cook cakes with those things,\nand give me them.\" So the woman having cooked them, tied up a pingo\n(carrying-stick) load, and gave it to him.\n\nThe youngster, taking the pingo load, went to his eldest uncle\n[28]. After he asked him for his daughter's hand in marriage, the uncle\nsaid, \"Be off! Be off! Who would give in marriage to Tamarind Tikka?\"\n\nFrom there he went to the next uncle, and asked him. That uncle spoke\nin the same manner. All the six elder uncles spoke in the same manner.\n\nThen he went to the youngest uncle, and when he asked him the uncle\nsaid, \"Put the packages of cakes there, then.\" (Intimating by this\nthat he accepted him as a son-in-law. He alone knew of the nature of\nthe boy's horoscope.)\n\nAfterwards, having cooked and given Tamarind Tikka to eat, the uncle\nsaid, \"My buffalo cow has died, Tamarind Tikka. Let us go and bury it,\nand return.\"\n\nTamarind Tikka said \"Ha,\" and having gone to the place where the dead\nbuffalo was lying, said, \"Uncle, shall I make that get up?\" The uncle\nsaid \"Ha.\" So Tamarind Tikka went to the low bushes at the edge of\nthe jungle, and came back cutting a white stick. Then calling out,\n\"Into the cattle-fold, Buffalo cow! Into the cattle-fold!\" he struck\nthe buffalo. Then the buffalo cow that had been dead got up, and came\nrunning to the cattle-fold. By the calves from that buffalo cow the\ncattle herd was increased.\n\nOne day, while the six uncles and Tamarind Tikka were watching cattle\nin the field, the uncles said, \"Tamarind Tikka, we will watch. You go\nand eat, and come back.\" After he had gone home, the six uncles cut all\nthe throats [29] of his cattle. When he returned the six uncles said,\n\"Ane! Tamarind Tikka. Some men came, and having tied us all and thrown\nus down in the dust, cut all the throats of your cattle. Not a thing\ncould we do.\" Tamarind Tikka said, \"Ha. It is good.\"\n\nAs he was going away, having seen people burying a corpse he waited\nwhile they were burying it, and after they had gone he dug out the\ngrave, and raised the dead body to the surface. Then lifting up the\nbody and taking it to a tank, he bathed it, dressed it in a cloth,\ntied a handkerchief round its waist, tied a handkerchief on its head,\nput a handkerchief over its shoulder, [30] and placing it on his\nshoulder went away with it.\n\nAfter nightfall, having gone to a village, Tamarind Tikka set the\nbody upright against a clump of plantain trees, and asked at a house,\n\"Ane! You must give us a resting-place to-night.\"\n\nWhen he said this the men in the house replied, \"There will be no\nresting-place here. Go away, and ask at another house.\"\n\nThen he said, \"Ane! Don't say so. Our great-grandfather is coming\nthere.\"\n\nWomen were driving cattle out of that garden. Tamarind Tikka said to\nthem, \"Ane! Our great-grandfather is coming there. His eyes cannot\nsee anything. Don't hit him, any one.\"\n\nThen a woman at the raised terrace of the shop, having knocked down\na stump, when she was throwing it at the cattle the dead body was\nhit, and fell down. At the blow Tamarind Tikka went running there,\nand cried out, \"Appe! Great-grandfather is dead.\"\n\nThe men came out of the house and said, \"Tamarind Tikka, don't cry. We\nwill give you a quart measure of money.\"\n\n\"I don't want either a quart measure of money or two. Our\ngreat-grandfather is dead,\" Tamarind Tikka said, and cried aloud.\n\nAgain the men said, \"Appa! Tamarind Tikka, don't cry. We will give\nyou three quart measures of money.\"\n\nTamarind Tikka said, \"I don't want either three or four. I want our\ngreat-grandfather.\"\n\nAgain the men said, \"Tamarind Tikka, don't cry. We will give you five\nquart measures of money.\"\n\nTamarind Tikka said, \"I don't want either five or six. Give me my\ngreat-grandfather.\"\n\nThe men said, \"Tamarind Tikka, don't cry. We will give you seven\nquart measures of money.\"\n\nThen Tamarind Tikka said, \"Ha. It is good. Give me them. What of\nthat! Will our great-grandfather come to his senses again?\"\n\nTaking the seven quart measures of money, and returning to his village,\nTamarind Tikka spread a mat on the raised veranda of his house, and\nhaving put the seven quart measures of money on it, was counting\nit. The six uncles having come, said, \"Whence, Tamarind Tikka,\nthis money?\"\n\n\"O! Will people with cattle hides to sell become in want of money?\" he\nsaid.\n\nAfter that, the six uncles having cut the throats of all the cattle\nthey had, and tied the skins into pingo loads, taking them to the\nvillages asked, \"Will you buy cattle hides?\"\n\nThe men said, \"Go away. Go away. Who will give money for cattle hides?\"\n\nThen the uncles having come to their village, becoming angry with\nTamarind Tikka, spoke together, \"We must kill him.\" So they went to\nhim and said, \"Tamarind Tikka, let us go on a journey together.\" He\nasked, \"Where?\" The six uncles said, \"A daughter of ours has been\nasked in marriage. On that account we must go to-day to eat betel at\nthe house of the people who have asked for her. Tamarind Tikka said\n\"Ha,\" and went with the uncles.\n\nHaving gone very far, they came to a foot-bridge made of a tree trunk\n(edanda), and on seeing it the uncles spoke together, \"Let us hang\nTamarind Tikka under this, and go away.\" So they put him in a sack,\nand having hung it under the foot-bridge, went off.\n\nWhile he was under it, as a washerman bringing a bundle of clothes was\ngoing over the bridge, Tamarind Tikka said, \"Appe! The lumbago is a\nleetle better since I have been hanging here.\" Then the washerman said,\n\"Tamarind Tikka, I also have lumbago; hang me up a little.\"\n\nTamarind Tikka said, \"If so, unfasten this sack.\" After the washerman\nunfastened it, Tamarind Tikka came out, and having put him in the\nsack, and again tied it in the same manner under the foot-bridge,\ntook his bundle of clothes, came to the rice field with it, and spread\nthe clothes out to dry.\n\nAs the six uncles were returning, they cut the fastenings of the sack\nthat hung under the bridge (thus letting it fall into the stream).\n\nWhile coming along afterwards to the village, they saw Tamarind\nTikka in the rice field spreading clothes out, and asked, \"Whence,\nTamarind Tikka, these clothes?\"\n\nThen he said, \"O! Will people who have to be under foot-bridges become\nin want of clothes?\"\n\nThe six uncles said, \"Hang us there also, Tamarind Tikka,\" and they\nbrought six sacks and gave them to him. So he put the six uncles into\nthe six sacks, and hung them under the foot-bridge, and afterwards\ncut the fastenings of the sacks. Then the six uncles were carried\naway down the river, and died in the sea.\n\nThe six women (their wives) ran away; their six girls, saying, \"Our\nfathers are going for clothes to wear. Let us go also,\" also ran away.\n\nSo the six uncles, and the six women, and the six girls all\ndied. Tamarind Tikka, and his wife, and uncle, and aunt, and mother,\nthese five remained.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 432 (vol. iii, p. 304), a similar incident\nto the last one is related. A woman whom her son and his wife thought\nthey had burnt while asleep, frightened a robber when he came to the\ncave in which she had taken refuge, and thus got his bundle containing\njewels. When she returned home next day with the jewels, and was asked\nby her daughter-in-law where she got them, she informed her that all\nwho were burnt on a wooden pile at that cemetery received a similar\npresent. So she went there, and burnt herself.\n\nIn The Story of Madana Kama Raja (Natesa Sastri), p. 97 ff., a Prince\nwas requested to deliver letters to the departed relatives of all at\nthe palace of the King under whom he was employed, who twice before\nhad endeavoured to kill him by giving him apparently impossible\ntasks. By the aid of the magical powers of his wives, he jumped into\na pit of fire with the letters, and was saved by Agni, the Fire God,\nwho sent him back next day out of the fire, with costly jewels and a\nsplendid dress. All the persons who were hoping to kill him decided\nto follow his example, and were burnt up. The Prince then became the\nruler of the kingdom.\n\nIn The Indian Antiquary, vol. iii, p. 11, in a Bengal tale by\nG. H. Damant, six men burnt a farmer's house. He loaded two bags of\nthe ashes on a bullock, and on the way met some men driving bullocks\nladen with rupees, changed two of their bags for his own, met the six\nmen who burnt his house, and told them he got the money by selling the\nashes. They burnt their houses and were beaten by people for trying\nto sell ashes. Then they went to the farmer's house, tied him, put\nhim in a sack, and threw him into a river. He was saved by a man who\nwas riding past, on his offering to cut grass for his horse without\npay. He rode off on the horse, overtook the six men, and informed them\nthat he found the horse in the river, where there were many more. They\npersuaded him to throw them in, tied in sacks, and all were drowned.\n\nIn the same journal, vol. iv, p. 257, the incident is given as found\namong the Santals. A man who was in a sack, about to be drowned,\ninduced another, a shepherd, to take his place. The man then took\npossession of the shepherd's cows, and when those who thought they\nhad killed him heard from him that there were many more in the river,\nthey allowed themselves to be tied up and thrown in.\n\nIn vol. xviii, p. 120, in a South Indian story by Pandita Natesa\nSastri, a man who had cheated some persons was carried off, tied up in\na bag, to be burnt alive. While firewood was being fetched, he induced\na cow-watcher to take his place, and he himself drove off the 1,001\ncows of which the man had charge. When his enemies returned to his\nhouse after burning the watcher, they found him there to welcome them,\nthe cows being all around. He informed them that on going to Kailasa,\nthe residence of the God Siva, after being burnt, he met his father\nand grandfather, who stated that his allotted time on earth had not\nexpired, and sent him back with the cows. The others decided to go\nalso, and were tied up and burnt.\n\nA variant of the last incident is also found in West Africa, and is\ngiven in Contes Soudanais (C. Monteil), p. 121. A sorceress captured\na youth, whom she wished to destroy enclosed in three goat skins,\nand she set her daughter to watch the package while she dug a pit and\nfilled it with wood, which she set on fire. The girl heard the boy\napparently eating food inside, and questioned him about it. He said,\n\"I have better than that; I have some dainties.\" As she wanted some she\nreleased him and was tied up in his place, while he escaped clothed\nin her dress. The sorceress returned, and threw the bundle into the\nfire. Although she heard a voice inside saying the boy had tied up\nthe girl in it, she believed it was only a trick of his.\n\nA similar incident is related in another story in the same volume,\np. 164.\n\nIt also occurs in a folk-tale of the Southern Province which I\ncontributed to The Orientalist (vol. ii, p. 53). As other incidents\nin that story resemble some in the tales given below, I give it in\nfull here.\n\nI may add that however improbable the marriage of seven brothers\nto seven sisters may appear, it has been nearly matched in recent\nyears in England. The Daily Mail of January 20, 1908, contained the\nfollowing words regarding an old lady who had just died:--\"She was one\nof seven members of her family who married seven sons and daughters\nof a neighbouring farmer.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 10\n\nMATALANGE LOKU-APPU\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a man and a woman, whose son was a youth\nnamed Matalange Loku-Appu.\n\nOne day the mother went to the river to fetch water, telling her son to\nallow nothing whatever to enter the house in her absence. While she was\naway a small lizard (hikanala) ran into the house. As it approached,\nthe boy called out to it to stop, but it took no notice of him, and\nclimbed up into the roof, whereupon Loku-Appu set fire to the roof\nand burnt the house down. When his mother returned, and asked him\nhow the house came to be burnt, he informed her that he had done it\nin driving the lizard out of the roof.\n\nAfterwards the father came home, and on learning what had occurred set\noff into the forest with his son to cut sticks, in order to build a new\nhouse. While he cut the sticks he ordered Loku-Appu to collect them.\n\nA river flowed through the forest, and Loku-Appu asked him where it\nran. \"To your house,\" he replied. The son, taking this literally,\nthrew all the sticks into the river, so that it might transport them\nhome. When the father discovered that all the sticks were lost in\nthis way, he flew into a passion, tied the boy on a log, and set him\nafloat in the river, saying, \"Go thou also.\"\n\nAt a short distance down the river there was a sweet-potato garden. The\ngardener saw the log and boy floating past, and rescued Loku-Appu. He\ninquired the boy's name, and was told it was \"Uprooter-of-Creepers,\nSweet-Potato-Eater.\" Nevertheless, he placed the boy in charge of\nhis garden.\n\nAfter two or three days, the gardener returned to inspect his garden,\nand found all the sweet potatoes pulled up and eaten. So he tied the\nboy on the log again, and set him afloat once more.\n\nFurther down the river there was a plantain garden, the owner of\nwhich saw Loku-Appu on the log, and drew him ashore. When asked\nhis name, Loku-Appu replied, \"Eater-of-the-first-Comb-of-Plantains,\nCrusher-of-young-Plantain-Shoots.\" The man gave him charge of the\ngarden.\n\nIn a few days, the man came to see how his garden progressed, and\nfound everything broken down and eaten. On this, he at once dismissed\nLoku-Appu.\n\nHaving nothing to live upon, Loku-Appu now began to borrow from some\ntom-tom beaters. After a few months, these men, finding that he did not\nrepay them, called on him to make him come to a settlement. Loku-Appu\nsaw them at a distance, and guessing their errand, put a young girl\ninto the corn store-room, and began to trim a club with his knife.\n\nWhen the creditors arrived he requested them to be seated. Soon\nafterwards he fetched up an old woman who lived in the house, gave\nher a smart blow with the club, and put her also into the corn-store.\n\nAfter a few minutes, he called for betel to be brought, and the little\ngirl came out with it. At this, the tom-tom beaters were greatly\nastonished, and made inquiries regarding the miracle, for such they\nthought it. Loku-Appu told them that the virtue lay in the club,\nwith which all old women could be converted into young girls.\n\nWhen they heard this, they became exceedingly anxious to possess the\nwonderful club, but Loku-Appu refused to part with it on any terms. At\nlast, finding persuasion useless, the tom-tom beaters took it from\nhim by force, and went straight home with it.\n\nThere they called up part of the old women of their village, and after\nbeating them well with the club, put them into the corn store-rooms. To\ngive the charm time to work they waited three days. Then they went\nto examine the old women, expecting to find them become young again;\nbut all were dead.\n\nFull of anger, they went to Loku-Appu to tell him that he had deceived\nthem, and that the women were all dead. While they were still at a\ndistance, Loku-Appu cried out, \"Alas, alas! They have taken hold of\nthe wrong end of the stick!\" When they came near he explained to them\nthe blunder they had made. As they took the stick from him by force\nhe was not responsible for it.\n\nThis time he cut a mark on the right end of the stick to be used,\ntelling the tom-tom beaters that if the wrong end were used the women\nwould certainly die, while the proper end would as certainly change\nthem into young girls.\n\nWhen the tom-tom beaters returned to their village they fetched up\nall the rest of the old women, and after belabouring them well with\nthe proper end of the club, put them also into the corn-stores. Yet\nafter three days they found that the result was just the same as at\nfirst; all the women were dead.\n\nDetermined to revenge themselves on Loku-Appu, they came to his house,\ntied him up in a sack, and set off to the river with him, intending to\ndrown him. On the way, they heard the beating of tom-toms, whereupon\nthey set the sack down on the road, and went to see what it was about.\n\nDuring their absence, a Muhammadan trader in cloth who was coming\nalong the road, found the sack, and heard a voice proceeding from it:\n\"Alas! What a trouble this is that has come upon me! How can I govern\na kingdom when I cannot either read or write?\"\n\nThe trader immediately untied the sack, and questioned Loku-Appu as\nto how he came there. Loku-Appu explained to the trader that he was\nabout to be made a king, but not possessing the requisite amount of\nknowledge for such a high position he had refused the dignity; and\nnow he was being carried off in this way to be put on the throne. \"By\nforce they are going to make me king,\" he said.\n\nThe trader remarked to him, \"It will be a great favour if you will\nlet them do it to me instead\"; and eventually they changed places,\nLoku-Appu tying the trader in the sack, and he himself taking the\nman's clothes and bundle of cloth. Loku-Appu then hid himself.\n\nIn a short time the tom-tom beaters came back, carried away the sack\nwith the would-be king, and threw it into the river.\n\nAs they were returning past a part of the river, they saw, to their\nintense surprise, Loku-Appu washing clothes in it. They came to him\nand said, \"What is this, Loku-Appu? Where have you come from? Where\ndid you get all this cloth?\" He replied, \"These are the things which\nI found in the river bottom when you threw me in with the sack. As\nthey are rather muddy I am cleaning them.\"\n\nThe tom-tom beaters said that they would be greatly obliged if he\nwould put them in the way of getting such treasures, so he requested\nthem to bring sacks like that in which he had been tied.\n\nThey soon came back with the sacks, were tied up in them, and were\nthrown into the river by Loku-Appu.\n\nThen Loku-Appu went to the tom-tom beaters' village, and took\npossession of their lands and houses.\n\n\n\nSome of the incidents of this story are found in No. 58 also.\n\nIn The Indian Antiquary, vol. iii, p. 11, in a Bengal story, by\nMr. G. H. Damant, some men who had been cheated by a farmer, called\nat his house regarding the matter. He offered them food, and when they\nsat down to the meal struck his wife with his bullock goad, and said,\n\"Be changed into a girl, and bring in the curry.\" She went out, and\nsent back their little daughter with the food. He then sold the men the\nmagic stick for one hundred and fifty rupees, telling them that if they\nbeat their wives well with it they would all recover their youth. They\nacted accordingly, and beat them so thoroughly that the wives were all\nkilled. Then they returned and burnt the farmer's house down, as noted\nat the end of the last story, where the later incidents are given.\n\nIn The Indian Antiquary, vol. xviii, p. 120, there is a South Indian\nstory by Pandita Natesa Sastri, in which, when three persons who had\nbeen cheated by a man came to interview him regarding the frauds,\nthey were welcomed by him. According to arrangement, he beat his wife,\nwho was dressed as an old woman, with a pestle and put her inside\nthe house, explaining to his guests that he had only done it to make\nher young again. Soon afterwards she reappeared as a young woman. He\nlent them the magic pestle for a week, but by its use they only killed\ntheir relatives. Then they returned in order to square up accounts with\nhim, tied him in a bag, and carried him up a mountain, intending to\nburn him alive. When they went for the firewood, a cow-herd came up,\nlearnt from him that he was about to be forcibly married to a girl,\ntook his place, and was burnt, the impostor himself driving off the\n1,001 cows which the man was watching. When the three cheated persons\nreturned and learnt that he had been sent back from Kailasa with the\ncattle, as his time on earth had not expired, two of them got him to\nburn them in a similar way.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 11\n\nTHE WHITE TURTLE\n\n\nAt a village there are an elder sister and a younger sister, two\npersons. The two are going away, it is said.\n\nWhile going, they saw two bulls going along. Then the cattle asked,\n\"Where are you going?\"\n\n\"We are going to a country where they give to eat and to wear\"\n(meaning that they were in search of husbands).\n\n\"Are we good enough for you?\" [31] the cattle asked.\n\n\"What do you eat?\" they asked.\n\n\"Having been put in those chenas we eat paddy and jungle vegetables.\"\n\nSaying, \"We don't want you,\" the two women go on.\n\nAs they were going, they met with two jackal-dogs. \"Where are you\ngoing?\" they asked the two women.\n\n\"We are going to a country where they give to eat and to wear,\"\nthey said.\n\n\"Are we good enough for you?\" they asked.\n\n\"What do you eat?\" they asked.\n\n\"We eat a few fruits and crabs,\" the two jackals said. \"What do\nyou eat?\"\n\n\"We eat dried-fish fry,\" they said. Saying, \"We do not want two\njackals,\" the two women still go on.\n\nWhile they were going, an elder brother and a younger brother were\nploughing. They asked the two women, \"Where are you going?\"\n\n\"We are going to a country where they give to eat and to wear,\"\nthey said.\n\n\"Are we good enough for you?\" they asked.\n\nThe two women asked, \"What do you eat?\"\n\n\"We eat dry-fish fry,\" they said.\n\n\"Then both parties eat it,\" they said. \"It is good.\"\n\n\"If so, it is good. Go to our house,\" the men said. [32]\n\nAfterwards those two men, having given the two keys of their houses\ninto the hands of the elder sister and the younger sister, said,\n\"The cooking things are in such a place; go there, and having opened\nthe doors cook until we come.\"\n\nThen the two women went to the houses, and the elder sister opened the\ndoor of the elder brother's house and cooked; and the younger sister\nopened the door of the younger brother's house and cooked. Afterwards\nthe two men came home, and having eaten, stopped there [with the\nsisters, as their husbands].\n\nAfter many days had passed, the two sisters bore two girls. The\nyounger sister had many things at her house; the elder sister had\nnone. On account of that, the elder sister through ill-feeling thought,\n\"I must kill younger sister.\"\n\nOne day, the two sisters having cooked rice, while they were taking\nit to the rice field the younger sister went in front, and the elder\nsister went behind. On the way, they came near the river. Then the\nelder sister said, \"Younger sister, didst thou never bathe? The skin\non thy back is dirty. Take off that necklace and the clothes on thy\nbody, and lay them down, and let us bathe and then go.\"\n\nThey put down the two mat boxes of cooked rice, and having descended\ninto the river, she called, while bathing, to her sister, \"Younger\nsister, come here for me to rub thy back.\" While rubbing she threw her\ninto the middle of the river. Then she took the two boxes of cooked\nrice and went to the rice field. The younger sister died in the river.\n\nAfter the elder sister went to the rice field, the younger brother\nasked at the hand of the elder sister, \"Why has no one come from\nour house?\"\n\nThen the elder sister said, \"Ando! Catch her coming! [33] Isn't she\nplaying [illicit] games at home?\" Having given the two boxes of rice\nto the elder brother and the younger brother, that woman returned home.\n\nAfterwards that younger sister's girl asked, \"Loku-Amma, [34] where\nis our mother?\"\n\nThen the woman said, \"Ando! Catch her coming! When I came she was\nstill stopping in the rice field.\"\n\nAfter it became night, the elder brother and the younger brother having\ncome home, the younger brother asked, \"Girl, where is thy mother?\"\n\nThen the girl said, \"At noon she took cooked rice to the rice field\nwith Loku-Amma; she has not come yet.\"\n\nThe younger brother said, \"Where? She did not go to the rice field.\"\n\nThen the girl said, \"At the time when I asked at the hand of Loku-Amma,\n'Where is our mother?' she said, 'She is at the rice field.'\"\n\nAfterwards the elder sister, calling the elder brother and the younger\nbrother, both of them [to be her husbands], took her sister's goods,\nand remained there with them. From the next day, having cooked she gave\nthe rice into the hands of the two girls to take to the rice field.\n\nAfter the girls had gone near the river for two or three days, they\nsaw one day a White Turtle in it, and approached and tried to catch\nit. When the elder sister's girl went to catch it, it went to the\nmiddle of the river; when the younger sister's girl went, it came to\nthe bank, and rubbed itself over the whole of her body.\n\nAfter the elder sister's girl had gone home, she told the elder sister\nof it: \"Mother, there is a White Turtle in the river. When that girl\ngoes it comes to her; when I go it swims far away,\" she said.\n\nThat elder sister said, \"Ha. It is good. I shall eat it,\" and lay down.\n\nThe younger sister's girl hearing it, went near the river, and said,\n\"Mother, she must eat you, says Loku-Amma.\"\n\nThen the White Turtle said, \"Ha. It is good, daughter. Let her\neat. After she has cooked she will give you, also, a little gravy,\nand a bone. Drink the gravy, and take the bone to the cattle-fold,\nand having said, 'If it be true that you are our mother, may you be\ncreated a Mango tree,' throw it down.\"\n\nAfterwards, when those two men came home, having seen that the woman\nwas lying down, \"What are you lying down for?\" they asked.\n\nThen the woman said, \"It is in my mind to eat the White Turtle that\nis in the river.\" So the men went to the river, and having caught\nthe White Turtle, and brought it home, and cooked it, gave it to the\nwoman. Then the woman got up and ate it.\n\nShe gave the girl a little gravy, and a bone. The girl having drunk\nthe gravy, took the bone to the cattle-fold, and saying, \"If it\nbe true that you are our mother, may you be created a Mango tree,\"\nthrew down the bone.\n\nAfter that, a Mango tree being created, in a day or two grew large and\nbore fruit. As the two girls were going near the Mango tree they saw\nthat there were Mangoes on it, and went close to it. When the elder\nsister's girl went to pluck the Mango fruits, the branches rose up;\nwhen the younger sister's girl went to pluck them, the branches bent\ndown, and spread over her body and head. Well then, after that girl\nhad plucked and eaten as many as she wanted, the branches rose again.\n\nThat also the elder sister's girl, having come home, told her: \"Mother,\nthere are fruits on the Mango tree at the cattle-fold. When I try to\npluck them the branches rise; when that girl tries to pluck them the\nbranches rub the ground.\"\n\nThe woman said, \"Ha. It is good. I will split that and warm it in\nthe fire.\"\n\nAfter hearing that also, that girl, having gone to the Mango tree\nsaid, \"Mother, having split you she must warm you in the fire,\nLoku-Amma says.\"\n\nThen the Mango tree said, \"Ha. It is good, daughter. Let her split. A\nsplinter having fallen will remain here. Take it, and having said,\n'If it be true that you are our mother, may you be created a Kaekiri\ncreeper,' put it down at the back of the house.\"\n\nAfterwards, when the elder sister's two men came, having seen that she\nwas lying down, \"What are you lying down for to-day also?\" they asked.\n\nThen the woman said, \"Having split the Mango tree at the cattle-fold,\nit is in my mind to have a few splinters warmed for me in the fire.\" So\nthe two men having gone to the cattle-fold, and having cut and split\nup the Mango tree, and brought a few splinters home, put them in the\nfire and fanned it. After that, the woman got up, and warmed herself\nat the fire.\n\nThen that girl went to the place where the Mango tree was, and when\nshe looked a splinter was there. Taking it, she came to the back of\nthe house, and having said, \"If it be true that you are our mother,\nmay you be created a Kaekiri creeper,\" she put it down. In a day or\ntwo a Kaekiri creeper was created there, and bore fruits.\n\nOn going there, the younger sister's girl said, \"There is fruit,\" and\nhaving plucked and eaten as many as she wanted, she came home. When the\nelder sister's girl went to pluck them there was not a single fruit.\n\nHaving returned home, the girl said regarding that also, \"Mother,\non the Kaekiri creeper which is at the back of the house there are\nmany fruits when that girl goes to it; when I go, not a single one.\"\n\nThe woman said, \"Ha. It is good. Having uprooted it I will eat it in\na dry curry.\"\n\nThat girl after hearing that also, went near the Kaekiri creeper and\nsaid, \"Mother, having uprooted you and cooked you in a dry curry,\nshe must eat you, says Loku-Amma.\"\n\nThe Kaekiri creeper said, \"Ha. It is good, daughter. Let her eat. At\nthe place where I am uprooted there will be a Kaekiri root. Take it\nto the river, and having said, 'If it be true that you are our mother,\nbe created a Blue-Lotus flower,' throw it into the river.\"\n\nThe elder sister having uprooted the Kaekiri creeper, took it home,\nand having cooked the curry, ate. After that, the girl went to the\nplace where the Kaekiri creeper had been, and when she looked a\nKaekiri root was there. Having taken it to the river, and said, \"If\nit be true that you are our mother, be created a Blue-Lotus flower,\"\nshe threw it into the river. Then a Blue-Lotus flower was created.\n\nWhen the two girls were going together to the river to bathe, having\nseen that there was a Blue-Lotus flower, that younger sister's girl\nwent and held out her hands in a cup shape. Then the flower which\nwas in the middle of the river came into the girl's hands, and opened\nout while in her hands. When the elder sister's girl was holding her\nhands for it, it goes to the middle of the river.\n\nThat girl having come home, said of it also, \"Mother, there is a\nBlue-Lotus flower in the river. When that girl goes it comes to her\nhands; when I go it moves far away.\"\n\nThe woman said, \"Ha! It is good. That also I shall seize, and take.\"\n\nThe girl after having heard that also, went and said, \"Mother, she\nmust pluck you also, says Loku-Amma.\"\n\nThen the Blue-Lotus flower said, \"Let that woman say so, daughter. She\nis unable to pluck me.\"\n\nAfterwards the woman having told at the hands of the two men, \"Pluck\nthe flower and come back,\" the two men having gone to the river\ntried to pluck it; they could not. When they are trying to pluck it,\nit goes to the middle of the river.\n\nAfterwards, the men having told it at the hand of the King of the\ncountry, and having told the King to cause the flower to be plucked\nand to give them it, the King also came near the river on the back\nof an elephant, together with the King's servants. The elder sister,\nand the two girls, and the two men stayed on this side.\n\nThen the people on this side and the people on that side try and try\nto take that flower; they cannot take it. That younger sister's girl\nhaving gone to one side, after looking on said, \"Indeed I am able\nto take it, that flower.\" The King on the other side of the river\nhaving heard that, while he was on the back of the elephant, said,\n\"What is it, girl, that you are saying?\"\n\nThen that girl said, \"O Lord, I am greatly afraid to speak; I indeed\nam able to take it, the flower.\"\n\n\"Ha. Take it,\" the King said. Afterwards, when the girl was holding\nher hands in a cup shape, the flower that was in the middle of the\nriver came into her hands.\n\nAfterwards the King, taking that flower, and placing the girl on the\nelephant, went to the King's city.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 67 (vol. i, p. 164), a woman went to a King\nand begged for \"wherewith to be covered,\" by which she meant her\nhusband, who had been arrested. She explained that \"a husband is a\nwoman's real covering.\"\n\nIn Indian Fairy Tales (Stokes), p. 144, a girl who was supposed to\nbe drowned became a pink-lotus flower which eluded capture, but came\nof its own accord into the hand of a Prince.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 12\n\nTHE BLACK STORKS' GIRL\n\n\nIn a certain country there are a woman and a man, it is said. The man\ncuts jungle at a chena clearing; the woman is weaving a bag. After\nthe man comes home, the woman asks, \"Is the jungle cut yet?\" The man\nsays, \"A couple of bushes are cut; is the bag woven?\" The woman says,\n\"A couple of rows are woven.\"\n\nContinuing in that way, after the end of two or three days the man,\nwhile returning from cutting jungle, saw a Kaekiri creeper at a\nthreshing-floor, and having come near, and seen that there was a fruit\non it, plucked and ate it. A Kaekiri seed remained fixed in his beard.\n\nAfter he came home, the woman, seeing it, asked, \"Where did you\neat Kaekiri?\"\n\nThe man said, \"When I was coming home there was a Kaekiri creeper at\na threshing-floor on the way; on it there was a fruit. I ate it.\"\n\nThen the woman said, \"There will be more on that creeper. After I\nhave woven the bag let us go there.\"\n\nAfterwards, having gone with him to the threshing-floor, she saw that\nthe Kaekiri creeper had spread completely over the floor, and that\nthere were as many fruits as leaves. While plucking them, she bore\na girl there.\n\nAfterwards, the man having plucked Kaekiri, and filled and tied up\nthe bag, said to the woman, \"Shall I take the girl, or shall I take\nthe bag?\"\n\nThe woman told him to take the bag, leaving the girl there. So the\ngirl was left at the threshing-floor, and the man and woman went home,\ntaking the bag of fruit with them.\n\nWhile a Black Stork (Mana) and a female Black Stork (Mani) were\ngoing about seeking food, the female Stork saw that a girl was at the\nthreshing-floor, and having gone near it, cried out, \"Ade! A thing\nfor me! Ade! A thing for me!\" When the male Stork heard this he came\nrunning to the spot. Having looked at the girl, the two Black Storks\ntook her to their house, and reared her there.\n\nAfter a time, the girl having become big, the female Black Stork and\nthe male Black Stork said, \"Daughter, we must go for golden bracelets\nand golden anklets for you.\"\n\nAt that house there were a Parrot, a Dog, and a Cat, which were\nreared there. The two Storks told the girl, \"Daughter, after we\nhave gone, do not reduce the food of either the Parrot, or the Dog,\nor the Cat. Until we return, be careful not to put out the fire on\nthe hearth, and not to go anywhere whatever.\" After saying this,\nthey went to bring the golden bracelets and golden anklets.\n\nThat girl having been careful for two or three days in the way\nthe female Stork and male Stork told her, lessened the food of the\nCat. That night the Cat extinguished the fire on the hearth.\n\nNext morning, the girl having gone to the hearth to cook, when she\nlooked there was no fire on the hearth. So she said to the Parrot,\n\"Younger brother, last night I reduced the food of the Cat a\nlittle. For that, the Cat has extinguished the fire on the hearth,\nand now there is no fire for cooking. You go and look from which\nhouse smoke is rising, and come back.\"\n\nThen the Parrot having gone flying, looked and looked. There was not\nany coming from any other houses; from the house of the Rakshasa,\nonly, there was a smoke. The Parrot having come home, said, \"Elder\nsister, I looked at the whole of the houses. There was not any; only\nfrom the house of the Rakshasa the smoke came.\" Afterwards the girl,\nhaving said, \"If so, younger brother, you stop at home until I go\nand bring fire,\" went for the fire.\n\nThe Rakshasa was not at home; only the Rakshasa's wife was there. The\ngirl having gone to that house, said, \"Give me a little fire.\" Then\nthat woman made the girl boil and dry seven large baskets of paddy\n(unhusked rice), and pound the paddy in those seven, and bring seven\nlarge pots of water, and bring seven bundles of firewood. Then taking a\npiece of coconut shell with a hole in it, she put ashes at the bottom,\nand having placed a fire-charcoal on them, gave it to her. While\nthe girl was going home, the ashes fell through the hole all along\nthe path.\n\nAfterwards, when the Rakshasa came home, \"What is this, Bolan?\" he\nasked the woman; \"there is a smell of a human body, a human body that\nhas been here.\"\n\nThe woman said, \"A girl came for fire. Thinking you would come, I\nemployed that girl, and having made her boil seven baskets of paddy,\nand dry it, and pound it, and bring seven large pots of water,\nand seven bundles of firewood, when I looked you were not to be\nseen. Afterwards, having placed ashes in a piece of coconut shell\nwith a hole in it, I put a fire-charcoal on them, and gave her it. By\nthis time she will have gone home. There will be ashes along the path\non which that girl went. Go, looking and looking at the ashes-path,\"\nshe said.\n\nAfterwards the Rakshasa went along the ashes-path. The Parrot having\nseen him coming in the rice field, said, \"Elder sister, the Rakshasa\nis coming. Shut the door,\" he said. So the girl, shutting the door\nand bolting it, stopped in the house.\n\nThe Rakshasa having come near the house, said, \"Here are golden\nbracelets, O daughter. Here are golden anklets, O daughter. Open the\ndoor, my daughter.\"\n\nThen the Parrot said, \"No golden bracelets, O elder sister. No golden\nanklets, O elder sister. Open not the door, wise elder sister.\"\n\nThen the Rakshasa ran to catch the Parrot. He could not catch it;\nthe Parrot went into the forest and stayed there.\n\nAfterwards the Rakshasa having come again near the house said,\n\"Here are golden bracelets, O daughter. Here are golden anklets,\nO daughter. Open the door, my daughter.\"\n\nThen the Dog, which was in the open space at the front of the house,\nsaid, \"No golden bracelets, O elder sister. No golden anklets,\nO elder sister. Open not the door, wise elder sister.\"\n\nThe Rakshasa having gone running after the Dog, and having caught and\nkilled the Dog, came again near the house, and said, \"Here are golden\nbracelets, O daughter. Here are golden anklets, O daughter. Open the\ndoor, my daughter.\"\n\nThen the Cat that was in the raised veranda said, \"No golden bracelets,\nO elder sister. No golden anklets, O elder sister. Open not the door,\nwise elder sister.\"\n\nThe Rakshasa, having gone running, killed also the Cat, and again\nhaving come near the house, said, \"Here are golden bracelets,\nO daughter. Here are golden anklets, O daughter. Open the door,\nmy daughter.\"\n\nThen the Gam-Murunga [35] tree said, \"No golden bracelets, O elder\nsister. No golden anklets, O elder sister. Open not the door, wise\nelder sister.\"\n\nAfterwards the Rakshasa, having cut down and broken up the Gam-Murunga\ntree, again went near the house, and said, \"Here are golden bracelets,\nO daughter. Here are golden anklets, O daughter. Open the door,\nmy daughter.\"\n\nThen the Murunga logs said, \"No golden bracelets, O elder sister. No\ngolden anklets, O elder sister. Open not the door, wise elder sister.\"\n\nThe Rakshasa, having set fire to the logs, and gone near the house\nagain, said, \"Here are golden bracelets, O daughter. Here are golden\nanklets, O daughter. Open the door, my daughter.\"\n\nThen the ashes of the burnt Murunga tree said, \"No golden bracelets,\nO elder sister. No golden anklets, O elder sister. Open not the door,\nwise elder sister.\"\n\nThe Rakshasa, having collected the ashes, and taken them to the river\nand placed them in it, and again having gone to the house, said,\n\"Here are golden bracelets, O daughter. Here are golden anklets,\nO daughter. Open the door, my daughter.\"\n\nThen the water of the river said, \"No golden bracelets, O elder\nsister. No golden anklets, O elder sister. Open not the door, wise\nelder sister.\"\n\nAfterwards, the Rakshasa, having gone to the river, and having drunk\nand drunk, could not finish the water, and at last he burst open\nand died.\n\nAfter that, the female Black Stork and the male Black Stork brought\nthe golden bracelets and golden anklets, and having given them to\nthe girl, remained there.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn a variant of this story, related by a Duraya in the North-western\nProvince, the persons who abandoned the child were a Gamarala and\nhis wife, the Gama-mahage.\n\nOn the Storks' finding it, they cried, \"Ada! I have met with a\ngem!\" Their home was in a rock-cave. When the Parrot warned the girl\nthat the Rakshasa was coming, \"having gone running, and having sprung\ninto the cave, she shut the door. The Rakshasa says, 'Having brought\nbracelets for the arms, jackets for the body, cloths for the waist,\nO daughter, open the door, my daughter.'\n\n\"Then the Parrot said, 'It is false that there are bracelets for the\narms, jackets for the body, cloths for the waist. Open not the door,\nmy elder sister.'\n\n\"Then the Rakshasa tried to kill the Parrot. Having flown away it\nsettled on a tree. The Rakshasa having smashed the Parrot's cage,\nagain says, 'Having brought bracelets for the arms,'\" etc.\n\nThe Cat warned the girl and was killed, then the Dog, next the\nAsh-plantain tree, and lastly the Katuru-Murunga tree. I now translate\nagain.\n\n\"After that, he struck a finger-nail into the lintel, and having\nstruck another finger-nail into the threshold, the Rakshasa went away.\n\n\"After that, the male Black Stork and female Black Stork came. Having\ncome, they say, 'Having brought bracelets for the arms, jackets for\nthe body, cloths for the waist, open the door, my daughter.'\n\n\"Then the Parrot says, 'It is true that there are bracelets for the\narms, jackets for the body, cloths for the waist, elder sister. Open\nthe door, my elder sister.'\n\n\"As she was coming out opening the door, her foot was pricked by a\nfinger-nail, and the crown of her head by a finger-nail. Then becoming\nunconscious she fell down, the finger-nails having entered her. Both\nStorks together drew out the finger-nails.\"\n\nShe recovered, and they gave her the things they had brought, but\nsent her away. The rest of the story is an evident modern addition\nof no interest. She went to a large chena, and was taken home by a\nwidow who was there.\n\n\n\nIn another variant of the Western Province the two birds which\nreared the child were Crows. After the child was born, the mother,\na Gamarala's wife (Gama-Mahage or Gama-Mahayiya) said, \"Are we to take\nthe child, or are we to take the bag of Kaekiri?\" Her husband replied,\n\"Should we take the child it will be [necessary] to give it to eat\nand to wear; should we take the bag of Kaekiri we shall be able to\neat it for one meal.\" \"So the Gama-Mahage, having put the child\namong the Kaekiri creepers, taking the bag went home.\" The Crows\ncarried away the infant, and called it Emal Bisawa, Queen of the\nFlowers. When the girl had grown up, the birds went to bring pearls\nfor her to wear, after giving her the usual injunctions regarding the\nfood of the Dog, the Cat and the Parrot. She reduced the Dog's food,\nand it put out the fire. The Parrot found smoke rising from the house\nof a Rakshasi, and guided her to the place. The Rakshasi was absent;\nher two daughters gave the girl two amunas (nearly twelve bushels)\nof paddy to pound. \"She thought, 'Having been pounded, go into the\nhouse,' and it became pounded of its own accord.\" Then they gave\nher seven perforated pots to be filled with water and brought. She\nfilled them and handed them over. They gave her a piece of coconut\nhusk with a hole in it, and a perforated coconut shell, and filled\nthe former with sesame seeds, and the latter with ashes on which was\nplaced burning charcoal. She hurried home with these, being warned\nby the Parrot that the Rakshasi was coming.\n\nWhen the Rakshasi asked her daughters who had been to the house,\nthey replied that the female Crow's girl had taken some fire, and\nthat there would be sesame and ashes along the path by which she\nhad gone. The Rakshasi ran along it, found the door shut, and said,\n\"Mother has come. Father has come. We are bringing pearls of the sea;\nwe are bringing also wire for stringing the pearls. Open the door,\nO daughter.\" The Katuru-Murunga tree warned her that it was false;\nwhen it was burnt, its ashes repeated the warning, then the Dog, the\nCat, and the Parrot. Then the Rakshasi, \"having broken her finger\nnails, and having fixed one above and one below in the door-frame,\nwent away. After that, her mother and father came, and said, 'Mother\nhas come. Father has come. We are bringing pearls of the sea; we\nare bringing also wire for stringing the pearls. Open the door,\nmy daughter.' The Parrot said the same. As she opened the door,\na finger-nail having entered the crown of her head she died. When\nthey asked the Parrot, 'What has happened?' 'Because of the Rakshasi\nelder sister died,' he said.\"\n\n\n\nIn a fourth variant of the North-western Province the aspect of\nthe story is partly changed, and I give a translation of the latter\nportion, because it contains an account of a runaway match, such as\nstill sometimes occurs.\n\nIn this story, a Gamarala's wife went with another woman to the chena\nwhile the Gamarala was asleep, and after eating as much fruit as\npossible they filled a bag also. As they were proceeding home rapidly\nwith it, the Gamarala's wife gave birth to a child at a hollow in which\npigs wallowed. She asked the other woman to carry it home for her,\nbut this person refused, and took the bag of Kaekiri fruit instead,\nso the child was abandoned.\n\nThen the two Storks came, and carried the child to their cave, and\nreared it. After the girl grew up, they went off to seek bracelets and\nnecklaces for her, instructing the girl to \"give an equal quantity of\nfood to the Cock, the Dog, the Cat, the Parrot, the Crow, the Rat,\nand the other creatures,\" and warning her that if she gave less to\nthe Rat it would extinguish the fire. After some days she reduced\nthe Rat's food, so it put out the fire.\n\nThe Parrot found a house--not a Rakshasa's--from which smoke was\nrising, and guided the girl to it. The woman who was at it gave her\nsome fire without delaying her, and she returned home with it. I now\ntranslate the concluding part.\n\n\"After the son of the woman who had the fire came home, the woman says\nto her son, 'To-day a good-looking Princess came to the house.' Then\nthe son asks, 'Mother, by which stile did the Princess go?' His mother\nsays, 'Here, by this stile,' and showed him it.\n\n\"Then the man having set off, and having gone near the cave, and seen\nthe Princess, when he said, 'Let us go to our house,' the Princess\nsaid, 'Because my parents are not here [to give their consent]\nI cannot go.' This man says, 'No matter for that,' and seizing the\nhand of the Princess, they came to his house.\n\n\"Afterwards the two Black Storks which went seeking bracelets and\nrings, having come near the cave, when they looked the Princess was not\nthere. The Black Storks ask the Dog, the Cat, the Crow, the Parrot,\nthe Rat, and the Cock, 'Where is the Princess?' They all say, 'A man\ncame, and while the Princess was saying she could not go he seized her\nhand and took her away.' When the Storks asked, 'By which stile did he\ntake her?' saying, 'There, by that stile,' the animals showed them it.\n\n\"Then the two Black Storks having gone flying, when they looked the\nPrincess was staying at the house. Afterwards the two Storks gave\nthe Princess the bracelets, rings, and coral necklaces which they had\nbrought; and having handed her over to the man, the two Black Storks\nwent to their dwelling.\"\n\n\n\nIn Old Deccan Days, Ganges Valley (Frere), p. 87 ff., there is a\nvariant according to which the child was carried off to their nest\nby two eagles, from the side of the mother. After the eagles went to\nbring a ring for her, the cat stole some food, and on being punished\nby the girl put out the fire.\n\nThe girl went to a Rakshasa's house for a light, and was detained by\nhis mother, pounding rice and doing other housework. She left at last\nwith instructions to scatter corn along the path.\n\nThe Rakshasa followed the track and climbed to the nest, but the outer\ndoor was bolted, and he could not enter, so he left his nail in a crack\nof the door. When the girl opened the outer door--there were seven\nin all--the nail wounded her hand, and being poisonous apparently\nkilled her. The eagles returned, and seeing this flew away. When a\nKing arrived and drew out the nail, she recovered, and he married her.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 13\n\nTHE GOLDEN KAEKIRI FRUIT\n\n\nIn a certain city there are a man and his daughter, it is said. The\nman's wife being dead, the girl cooks food for the man. The man\ncuts jungle at a chena clearing. The girl every day having cooked,\nand placed the food ready for her father, goes to rock in a golden\nswing. [36] Then a Mahage [37] comes and says, \"Daughter, give me a\nlittle fire.\" The girl sitting in the swing says, \"Is it here with\nme? It is at the hearth; take it.\" The Mahage goes into the house,\npulls out and takes the things which that girl has cooked and placed\nthere, and having eaten, carries away the fire.\n\nSo, after two or three days had passed in that manner, the man asked,\n\"Who, daughter, while I am coming home has eaten the rice that you\nhave cooked and placed for me?\"\n\nThen the girl said, \"I don't know, father. Every day when I have\ncooked the food and placed it ready for you, and gone to rock in the\ngolden swing, a Mahage comes and begs fire from me. Then I say, 'Is\nit here with me? It is at the hearth; take it.' It will be the Mahage.\"\n\nThen the man, having said, \"Ha. Daughter, cook and arrange the food\nto-day also, and go to the golden swing,\" got onto the shelf, and\nstayed there.\n\nAfterwards the girl, having cooked and placed the food exactly as on\nother days, went to the golden swing. Then the Mahage having come on\nthat day also, begged, \"Daughter, give me a little fire.\" The girl\nsaid, \"Is it here with me? It is at the hearth; take it.\"\n\nThen the Mahage having gone into the house, and drawn out the pots,\nand eaten part of the rice, when she was about to rise after taking the\nfire, the man on the shelf asked, \"What is that you have been doing?\"\n\nThe Mahage said, \"What indeed! Why don't you invite me [to be your\nwife]?\"\n\nThe man said, \"Ha. Stop here.\" So the woman stayed.\n\nAfter a great many days had passed, the woman lay down. \"What are\nyou lying down for?\" asked the man.\n\nThe woman said, \"It is in my mind to eat your daughter's two eyes.\"\n\nAfterwards the man called the girl, and said, \"Daughter, a yoke of\ncattle are missing; let us go and seek them.\" While he went with the\ngirl, taking a cord, the dog also followed behind.\n\nHaving gone into a great forest, he said, \"Daughter, come here in\norder that I may look at your head.\" [38] While he was looking and\nlooking at it, the girl fell asleep. Then the man placed the girl\nagainst a tree, and tied her to it; and having cut out her two eyes,\ncame home and placed one on the shelf and one in the salt pot. The\ndog that went with the man having come home, howled, rolling about\nin the open space in front of the house.\n\nThere was also a child. That little one having gone somewhere, on\ncoming back bringing a mango, asked that Mahage, \"Loku-Amma, give me\na knife.\" The woman said, \"Have I got one here? It is on the shelf;\nget it.\"\n\nThen the child, going into the house, and putting his hand on the\nshelf, caught hold of the eye placed there by the man, and said, \"This\nis indeed our elder sister's eye. Loku-Amma, give me a piece of salt.\"\n\nThe woman said, \"Have I got any here? Take it from the salt pot.\"\n\nWhen the child put his hand into the salt pot the other eye was\nthere. He took it also. When he stepped down from the veranda of the\nhouse into the compound, the dog went in front, and the child followed\nafter him.\n\nHaving gone on and on, the dog came to the place in the great forest\nwhere the girl was, and stopped there. When the child looked, his elder\nsister was tied to the tree. He saw that red ants were biting her from\nher eyes downward, and having quickly unfastened her he took her to a\ntank, and bathed her. Then taking both her eyes in his hand, he said,\n\"If these are our elder sister's eyes, may they be created afresh,\"\nand threw them down. After that, they were created better than before.\n\nAfterwards the girl said, \"Younger brother, we cannot go again to that\nhouse. Let us go away somewhere.\" So they went off. While they were\ngoing along the road, a King was coming on horseback, tossing and\ntossing up a golden Kaekiri fruit. The child, after looking at it,\nsaid, \"Elder sister, ask for the golden Kaekiri.\"\n\nThe girl replied, \"Appa! Younger brother, he will kill both of us. Come\non without speaking.\"\n\nThen the child another time said, \"Elder sister, ask for it and give\nme it.\"\n\nThe King having heard it, asked, \"What, Bola, is that one saying?\"\n\nThe girl replied, \"O Lord, nothing at all.\"\n\n\"It was not nothing at all. Tell me,\" the King said a second time.\n\nThen the girl replied, \"O Lord, I am much afraid to say it. He is\nasking for that golden Kaekiri.\"\n\nThe King said, \"I will give the golden Kaekiri if thou wilt give me\nthy elder sister.\"\n\nThe child said, \"Elder sister and I, both of us, will come.\"\n\nSo the King, having placed the girl on horseback, went to his city\nwith the child, and married the girl.\n\nAfter many days had passed, when the King was about to go to a war\nthe girl was near her confinement. So the King said, \"If it be a girl,\nshake an iron chain. If it be a boy, shake a silver chain.\" Afterwards\nthe girl bore a boy, and shook a silver chain.\n\nBefore the King came back, the girl's father and Loku-Amma\n(step-mother), having collected cobras' eggs, polangas' [39] eggs,\nand the like, the eggs of all kinds of snakes, and having cooked\ncakes made of them, came to the place where the girl was.\n\nThe girl's Loku-Amma told her to eat some of the cakes. When she\ndid not eat them, that woman, taking some in her hand, came to her\nand rubbed some on her mouth. At that very moment the girl became a\nfemale cobra, and dropped down into a hole in an ant-hill. Her father\nand Loku-Amma went home again. The infant was crying on the bed.\n\nAfterwards, when the girl's younger brother was saying to the golden\nKaekiri:--\n\n\n    They'll me myself to kill devise;\n    In bed the gold-hued nephew cries;\n    As a lady, gold-hued sister rise,\" [40]\n\n\nthe cobra returned [in her woman's form], and having suckled and\nbathed the infant, and sent it to sleep, again [becoming a snake]\ngoes back to the ant-hill.\n\nThen the King having returned, asked the younger brother, \"Where,\nBola, is thy elder sister?\"\n\nThe child said, \"Our father and Loku-Amma having cooked a sort of\ncakes came and gave us them, and Loku-Amma told elder sister to\neat. Afterwards, as she did not eat, Loku-Amma, taking some, rubbed\nthem on elder sister's mouth. At that very moment elder sister became\na female cobra, and dropped down into an ant-hill.\"\n\nThen the King asked, \"Did she not return again, after she had dropped\ndown into the ant-hill?\"\n\nThe child replied, \"While I was calling her she came back once.\"\n\nThe King said, \"Call her again in that very way.\"\n\nSo the boy said to the golden Kaekiri,\n\n\n    They'll me myself to kill devise;\n    In bed the gold-hued nephew cries;\n    As a lady, gold-hued sister rise.\"\n\n\nAfterwards, the cobra came [in her woman's form], and having suckled\nand bathed the child, and sent it to sleep, cooked for the King,\nand apportioned the food for him.\n\nThen when she tried to go away [in her cobra form], the King cut the\ncobra in two with his sword. One piece dropped down into the ant-hill;\nthe other piece became the Queen, and remained there.\n\nAfter that, the King collected cobras, polangas, all kinds of snakes,\nand having, with the Queen, put them into two corn measures, they\ntook the two boxes, and went to the house where the Queen's father and\nLoku-Amma were. There they gave them the two boxes, and said, \"We have\nbrought presents for you. Go into the house, and having shut the door,\nand lowered the bolt, open the mouths of the two boxes. Otherwise, do\nnot open the mouths in the light.\" The King and Queen remained outside.\n\nThe Queen's father and Loku-Amma, taking the two boxes, went into the\nhouse, and having shut the door and bolted it, opened the mouths of\nthe two boxes. At that moment, the snakes that were in them came out,\nand bit both of them, and both of them died.\n\nAfterwards, the King and Queen came to the city, and stayed there.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 132, a girl received a fan, the\nshaking of which summoned a Prince, however far away he might be.\n\nAt p. 239 also, a Queen received a golden bell, the ringing of which\nsummoned the absent King.\n\nIn the Sinhalese story, it is evidently to be understood that the\nshaking of the chain would be heard by the King while he was away,\nalthough the narrator omitted to mention this.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 14\n\nTHE FOUR DEAF PERSONS\n\n\nIn a certain city there were a woman and a man, it is said. Both of\nthem were deaf. A female child was born to that man, and this child\nwas also deaf. The man to whom she was given in marriage when she\ngrew up was also deaf.\n\nThe girl's husband went to plough a rice field at the side of the\nhigh road. While he was ploughing, a man who was going along the road\nasked the way. Continuing to plough with the yoke of bulls, the deaf\nman said, \"I brought this bull from the village. This other bull is\nfrom father-in-law's herd.\"\n\n\"What are the facts about the bulls to me? Tell me the way,\" the\nman said.\n\nThe deaf man replied, \"The bull is from my herd.\"\n\nThe man said again, \"What are the facts about the bulls to me? Tell\nme the way.\"\n\nThen the deaf man, replying, \"Don't say that another time,\" beat the\nman with the goad, and the man having received the blows went away.\n\nAfterwards, the deaf man's wife having brought cooked rice to the\nfield, he unfastened the cattle which had been ploughing, and while\nhe was eating said to the woman, \"A man came just now, and saying,\n'Whose is the yoke of bulls?' quarrelled with me about them.\"\n\nThe woman replied, \"Through seeking firewood and water and vegetables,\nand cooking, I was a little late in the day in coming.\"\n\nHaving quarrelled with him over it, she bounded off, and having gone\nhome, went to the place where her mother was plaiting a mat, and said\nto her, \"Mother, our house man quarrelled with me, saying that I was\nlate in taking the rice.\"\n\nThe woman said, \"Marry thy father! What is it to thee whether my\nworks are good or not good now?\" and she quarrelled with her.\n\nThe woman having gone to the place where her husband was watching\na sweet-potato chena during the day time, on account of thieves\nuprooting the plants, said, \"To-day my daughter having taken cooked\nrice to the field, and having given it and returned, quarrelled with\nme, saying that the plaiting of my mat was bad. I also indeed scolded\nher a great deal, saying, 'What is it to thee whether my works are\ngood or not good now?' I have come to tell you about it.\"\n\nThen the man said, \"Bola, you infamous woman! Because I stopped in\nthe chena you cooked and ate three sweet-potatoes, did you?\" and he\nbeat and drove away the woman.\n\nThen saying that it was useless to go on with the chena when his\nwife was eating the crop, he cut the fence, and abandoned it to the\ncattle. And the man left the village and the district, and went away.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThe quarrels of deaf persons through misunderstanding each other's\nremarks form a common subject of folk-tales. The mistakes of three\ndeaf people are related in Folklore in Southern India (Natesa Sastri),\np. 3 ff., and Tales of the Sun (Kingscote and N. Sastri), p. 1 ff.\n\nThe Abb\u00e9 Dubois published another amusing South Indian variant,\nwhich recounted the mistakes of four deaf men (le Pantcha-Tantra,\n1872, p. 339 ff.). The four persons in it were a shepherd, a\nvillage watchman, a traveller who was riding a stolen horse, and\na Brahmana. The shepherd requested the watchman to look after his\nflock during his temporary absence. In reply the latter refused to\nlet him have the grass that he had cut. On the shepherd's return,\nhe offered him a lame lamb as a reward for the trouble he thought\nthe man had taken, but the watchman fancied he was being accused of\nlaming it. They stopped a horseman who was riding past, and asked him\nto decide their quarrel. In reply, he admitted that the horse was not\nhis. Each thought the decision was against him, and cursed him for it;\nand while the quarrel was at its height they referred it to a Brahmana\nwho came up, who replied that it was useless for them to stop him,\nas he was determined never to return to his wicked wife. \"In the crew\nof devils I defy any one to find one who equals her in wickedness,\"\nhe said. The horse-thief, observing men coming in the distance,\nmade off on foot, the shepherd returned to his flock, the watchman,\nseeing the lamb left, took it home in order to punish the shepherd\nfor his false charge, and the Brahmana stayed at a rest-house, and\nwent home again next day.\n\nIn the Contes Soudanais (W. Africa), by C. Monteil, p. 18 ff.,\nthere is a story which resembles both this South Indian one and the\nSinhalese one, in part. A shepherd in search of a lost sheep asked\na cultivator about it. He replied, \"My field begins before me and\nends behind me.\" The shepherd found the sheep, and offered it to the\ncultivator in payment for quarters for the night. The latter thought\nhe was being charged with stealing it, and took him before a village\nheadman, who remarked, \"Still another story about women! Truly this\ncan't continue; I shall leave the village.\" When he told his wife\nto accompany him, she said she would never live with a man who was\nalways talking of divorcing her.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 15\n\nTHE PRINCE AND THE YAKA\n\n\nA king of a single city had one son, who was a Prince of five\nyears. At that time, a Yaka [41] having settled in that kingdom began\nto devour the people of the city, and by reason of this the whole city\nwas like to be abandoned. At last, the King and the men of the city,\nmaking great efforts, seized the Yaka, and having made an iron house,\nput him in it, and shut the door.\n\nAt that time it became necessary for the King of the city to go to\nwar. After he had gone off to the war, when the King's son one day\nhad opened the door of the house in which was the man-eating Yaka,\nand was looking at him, the Yaka fell down, and made obeisance to him,\nand signifying his misery to the Prince, began to weep. So the Prince,\npitying him, told the Yaka to go away. Then the Yaka, saying to the\nPrince, \"It is good. I will assist you, too,\" went away.\n\nAfter he had left, when the Prince had gone home the King who had\ngone to the war returned, having conquered. When he looked at the\nroom in which the Yaka had been, the door was open. The King asked\nwho had opened the door. The Queen replied that the Prince opened\nit. Then the King said, \"To-morrow I must behead that wicked Prince.\"\n\nThe Queen, being sorry at this, having tied up a packet of cooked\nrice, and given it and money to the Prince, and having given him a\nhorse and sword, said, \"The King has settled to behead you to-morrow\nfor letting the Yaka escape. Go away at night to any country you like.\"\n\nSo the Prince, taking the money and the bundle of cooked rice, and the\nsword, mounted the horse, and set off to go to another country. There\nwas a travellers' shed at the road along which he was going. As he\nwas unable to go further on account of weariness, he went that night\nto the travellers' shed; and having fastened the horse to one of the\nposts of the shed, he lay down, placing the bundle of rice at his side.\n\nThen seeing a youth running along the road, he called him, and asked,\n\"Boy, where art thou going?\"\n\nThe boy said, \"I am going to a place where they give to eat and\nto wear.\"\n\nThen the Prince said, \"I will give you pay. Stop and look after\nmy horse.\"\n\nThe youth said, \"It is good. I will stay.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"I do not know the fords in this country; therefore\ntell me of a path by which we can go to another country.\"\n\nThe youth replied, \"There is a river here. On the other side of\nit there is a city, to go to which there is not a short road from\nhere. However, there is another road further on. By it we must pass\nover a bridge.\"\n\n\"If so,\" said the Prince, \"having bathed here let us go.\"\n\nHaving seen that three Princesses who were at the city on the other\nside were bathing, he also was pleased at bathing there. After he\nhad gone to bathe, the three Princesses of the King of the country\non the other side, when they looked saw the good figure of this Prince.\n\nAfter that, as the Prince wished to go after bathing, the youth who\nwas to look after the horse having mounted it, began to ride away,\nwearing the Prince's clothes, and taking the sword.\n\nWhen the Prince, having bathed, and seen the Princesses on the other\nbank putting on their clothes, came ashore to put on his clothes, on\nhis looking for them there were no clothes, no sword, no horse. The\nyoungest Princess of the three who had bathed on the other side well\nknew what had happened.\n\nThis Prince, having on only his bathing cloth, bounded off, and while\nrunning along overtook the horse and youth. When he was still far\naway, the youth said, \"Do not come near me; should you come I will\ncut you with the sword. If you are willing to look after this horse,\ntake hold of its tail and come.\"\n\nThen because that one in any case must go to the city, he said,\n\"It is good,\" and having taken hold of the horse's tail went with\nhim. Going thus from there, they arrived at the city.\n\nIt was a custom of the King of that country that, having sent a guard,\nwhen any one of the men of another country arrived, he was to write\nthe names of those persons, and come to the King. When these persons\narrived, a guard being there asked their names. The youth who came\non the horse said, \"My name is Manikka Settiya; except the youth who\nlooks after my horse, there is no one else with me.\"\n\nThe guard having gone, said to the King, \"Lord, a person called\nManikka Settiyare has come and is there, together with a horse-keeper.\"\n\nThen the King thought, \"Because the man called Manikka Settiyare has\nthis name, Manikka, he will be able to value my gem\" (manikya). A\ngem of the King's having been taken through the whole country, no\none had been able to value it.\n\nSo having summoned that Manikka Settiyare, the King, after giving\nhim food and drink, showed him it, and said, \"Manikka Settiyare,\nthere is my gem. Can you value it?\"\n\nThat Manikka Settiyare replied, \"My horse-keeper will tell you\nthe value.\"\n\nThe King became angry because he said, \"My horse-keeper will tell you\nit,\" and indignantly caused the horse-keeper to be brought speedily,\nand asked, \"Can you value this?\" The horse-keeper Prince said,\n\"If I try hard I can.\" Then the King gave it into his hands.\n\nTaking it and weighing it, and learning when he looked at it that\nthere was sand inside the gem, he said, \"As it now appears to me,\nthe value of this gem is four sallis\" (half-farthings).\n\nThe King becoming angry asked, \"How do you know?\"\n\nThe Prince replied, \"There is sand inside this gem.\"\n\nThen the King asked, \"Can you cut it, and show me it?\"\n\nThe horse-keeper said, \"If you will ask for the sword belonging to\nthat Manikka Settiyare, I will cut it and show you it.\"\n\nAfter that, the King gave him the sword that was in the hand of the\nSettiyare. Then the horse-keeper, taking the sword, and remembering the\nname of his father the King, and thinking, \"By the favour of the Gods,\nif it be appointed that it will happen to me to exercise sovereignty\nover this city, I must cut this gem like cutting a Kaekiri fruit,\"\nput the gem on the table, and cut it with the sword. Then the sand\nthat was in the gem fell out, making a sound, \"Sara sara.\"\n\nAfterwards the King, thinking, \"When this horse-keeper knows so much,\nhow much doesn't this Settirala know!\" having given food and drink\nto the horse-keeper, and also to the Settiyare, and having greatly\nassisted them, made them stay there a little time.\n\nThe youngest Princess well knew the wicked things that this Settiyare\nwas saying about the horse-keeper youth. On account of her great\nsorrow concerning this horse-keeper, the Princess instructed the\nbutler who gave the food at the royal house: \"Give the horse-keeper\nwho accompanied that Manikka Settiyare, food like that you prepare\nfor me, and a bed for sleeping on, and assist him a little.\"\n\nAfter that, the butler and the rest helped him. The Prince was\nunwilling to enjoy that pleasure. \"Ane! I am a horse-keeper. Do not\nyou assist me in that way,\" he said.\n\nAfter that, the King's youngest Princess, for the sake of sending the\nPrince away from the post of looking after the horse, went to the King,\nand wept while saying thus: \"Ane! Father, [42] because of this youth\nwho looks after them, my sheep are nearly finished. On that account,\ntaking the horse-keeper who came with that Settiyare, to look after\nmy sheep, let us send the youth who looks after the sheep to look\nafter the horse.\"\n\nThe King replied, \"Having asked the Settiyare we can do it.\"\n\nThe King having asked the Settiyare the thing she told him, \"You can\ndo it,\" he said; and after he had thus spoken to the Settiyare it was\ndone. So the horse-keeper went to look after the sheep. Having gone\nthere, while he was looking after them for a long time, the sheep\nincreased in number by hundreds of thousands.\n\nOne day, when the King had gone for hunting sport into the midst of\nthe forest, he was seized there by a Yaka. After being seized, he\nundertook to give the Yaka the King's three Princesses, and having\nescaped by undertaking this charge he came back.\n\nNext day he made a proclamation through the whole city by beat\nof tom-toms. What was it? \"Having been seized yesterday in the\nforest by a Yaka, I only escaped by promising to give him my three\nPrincesses. To-morrow a Princess, on the day after to-morrow a\nPrincess, on the day after that a Princess; in this manner in three\ndays I am giving the three Princesses. If a person who is able to do\nit should deliver them, having married that person to them, I will\nappoint him to the kingdom.\"\n\nThen Manikka Settiyare said, \"I can do it.\"\n\nOn that day, that Prince who was looking after the sheep went to look\nafter them. While he was there, a man, taking a sheep, ran off into the\nchena jungle. While bounding after him in order to recover it, having\ngone very far, the Prince saw him go down the hole of a polanga snake.\n\nAfter going near the polanga's hole, and looking down it, and seeing\nthat the hole descended into the earth, the Prince went along that\ntunnel. Having gone on from there it became dark, and going on in\nthe darkness he saw a very great light. Having gone to the light,\nwhen he looked about there was a man asleep, wearing very many clothes.\n\nThen it was in the mind of this shepherd to go away, and in his mind\nnot to go. If you should say, \"Who was sleeping there?\" it was the\nYaka who had formerly been in that iron house, and had left it. That\nYaka at that very time saw in a dream that the Prince who had sent\nhim out of that house had come to him, and was there. While seeing\nhim in the dream, the sleeping Yaka awoke, and when he looked up the\nPrince was beside him.\n\nThe Yaka, getting up from there, went to the Prince, and while he\nwas embracing him the Prince became afraid. Then the Yaka said,\n\"Lord, let not Your Majesty be afraid. The Yaka whom you sent away\nfrom that house is I indeed.\"\n\nAfter that, the Prince sat down. Then the Yaka asked, \"Where are\nyou going?\"\n\nThe Prince replied, \"That I sent you away, our father the King decreed\nas a fault in me, and appointed that I should be beheaded. Then our\nmother, having tied up and given me a bundle of cooked rice, told me\nto go anywhere I wanted.\" Having said this he told him all the matter.\n\nAfter that, the Yaka brought the lost sheep, and having given it to\nthe Prince, asked, \"What more do you want?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"I want another assistance.\"\n\n\"What is the assistance?\" he asked.\n\nThe Prince replied, \"After I had remained in this way, the King,\nthe father of the Princess who looks after the sheep, and of two more\nPrincesses, having gone hunting and been caught by a Yaka, is giving\nthe three Princesses to him as demon offerings. If there should be\na person who can deliver them, he has made proclamation by beat of\ntom-toms that having given to him the three Princesses in marriage,\nhe will also give him a part of the kingdom.\"\n\nThe Yaka said, \"It is good. I will bring and give you victory in\nit. Be good enough to do the thing I tell you. After you have eaten\nrice in the evening, be good enough to come to this palace.\" He then\nallowed the Prince to return home.\n\nThe Prince having eaten his rice in good time, went to the Yaka. After\nhe had gone there, the Yaka having given him a good suit of clothes,\nand a horse, and a sword, instructed him: \"As you go from here there\nwill be a path. Having gone along that path, there will be a great\nrough tree. Go aside at it, and while you are waiting there the\nYaka from afar will make a cry, 'Hu.' Having come to the middle of\nthe chena jungle he will say again, 'Hu, Hu, Hu.' At the next step,\nhaving bounded to the place where the Princess is stopping, he will\nagain say, 'Hu.' After he has said this, as he comes close to the\nPrincess you will be good enough to step in front. Then the Yaka,\nbecoming afraid, will look in the direction of your face; then be\ngood enough to cut him down with the sword.\"\n\nThe Prince having gone in that manner to the tree, when he looked\nabout, Manikka Settiyare having climbed aloft was in a fork of the\ntrunk, lamenting, having turned his back. While he was lamenting he\nsaw this Prince coming, and [thinking it was the Yaka], trembled and\nlost his senses.\n\nThen, in the very manner foretold, the Yaka came, crying and crying\nout. As he came near the Princess, the Prince cut him down, and\nhaving drawn out and cut off his tongue, and also asked for a ring\noff the hand of the Princess, came away to the palace of the friendly\nYaka. Having arrived there, and placed there the clothes, the horse,\nand the tongue, all of them, he returned to his house before any\none arose.\n\nManikka Settiyare, having descended in the morning, chopped the Yaka's\nbody into bits, and smeared the blood on his sword. While he was\nthere, the King went in the morning to see if the Princess was dead or\nalive. Having arrived there, he saw Manikka Settiyare there looking on,\nand he returned to the city, taking Manikka Settiyare and the Princess.\n\nOn the next night, also, they went and tied another Princess. The\nPrince that night also having gone there, killed a Yaka who came,\nand cut off the Yaka's tongue, and after asking for a jewelled ring\ncame away. That time, also, Manikka Settiyare went there, and after\nsmearing blood on his sword remained there. The King went there in\nthe morning, and calling the two persons came away.\n\nOn the following day he did the very same to the other Princess. This\nPrince, having taken away the three jewelled rings that were on the\nhands of the three Princesses, and the three tongues of the three\nYakas that he had cut off, remained silent.\n\nAs Manikka Settiya had come falsely smearing blood on his sword each\nmorning, as though he had killed the Yakas, the King sent letters to\nall royal personages: \"Manikka Settiya has cut down three such powerful\nYakas, and has delivered the three Princesses who had been devoted\nto be given as a demon offering to the Yaka who seized me when I went\nhunting. Because of that, I am giving the three Princesses to him in\nmarriage. You must come to the festival, and look at the Yakas who have\nbeen killed.\" After that, the royal persons came from those countries.\n\nWhile they were there, that Prince went to the palace of the friendly\nYaka. The Yaka having given that Prince golden clothes, and a golden\ncrown and necklace, and a golden sword, told him to go, taking those\nrings and tongues, and mounted on a white horse. The Prince putting\non those things, and mounting the white horse, went.\n\nWhen he went to the palace where the royal persons were who had come\nto fulfil the object of the occasion, those royal persons became\nafraid, and having made obeisance to him, asked, \"Lord, where is Your\nMajesty going?\"\n\n\"'I have cut down a very powerful sort of Yaka.' Letters went through\nforeign countries to this effect, and that there is a marriage\nfestival for the person who killed the Yaka. On account of the news\nI also have come to look,\" he said.\n\nAfter that, those royal persons said, \"It is good, Lord,\" and with\npleasure showed him the heads of the Yakas.\n\nThen this Prince asked, \"Is there or is there not a tongue to every\nliving being whatever?\"\n\nEvery one said, \"Yes, there is one.\"\n\nThe Prince having looked for the tongues in the mouths of the Yakas,\nasked, \"What is this, that there are not tongues for these Yakas?\"\n\nAfter that, every one asked it of Manikka Settiya. Manikka Settiya\nbeing afraid, remained without speaking.\n\nThen he asked it of the two eldest Princesses. The two Princesses said,\n\"We do not know.\"\n\nAt the time when he was asking it of the youngest Princess, she\nreplied, seizing the hand of the Prince who split off the tongues\nand took the jewelled rings, \"This one went away after taking in his\nhand the ring, and cutting off the tongue of the Yaka.\" After that,\nthe Prince brought to light the three rings and the three tongues,\nand showed them.\n\nSpeedily having beheaded and cast out Manikka Settiya, they carried\nout the wedding festival of the marriage of the three Princesses to the\nPrince. After that, those royal personages went to their own kingdoms,\nand the kingdom having been bestowed on this Prince he remained there\nruling it.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 510 (vol. iv, p. 305), an iron house was\nbuilt, in which a King's son was confined for sixteen years in order\nto preserve him from a female Yaka who had carried off two children\nborn previously. The demon was unable to break into it.\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 513 (vol. v, p. 13), there is an account of a\nKing who was seized by an Ogre while hunting. The latter allowed the\nKing to go home on a promise to come back next day to be eaten. His\nheroic son returned in his place, but was spared by the Ogre. The\nPrince said of these beings, \"The eyes of Ogres are red, and do not\nwink. They cast no shadow, and are free from all fear.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 16\n\nHOW A YAKA AND A MAN FOUGHT\n\n\nIn a certain country three men went shooting, [43] it is said. At\nthe time when the three persons were going, one man was obliged to\ngo aside for a certain purpose. The man went aside without telling\nthose two men.\n\nA Yaka saw the man separate from those two persons. Having seen it, the\nYaka seized the man, and began to push against him. At that time those\ntwo men were very distant. The men having said, \"What has happened\nto this man?\" came to look for him. When they came [they saw that]\nthere was a black one near the man. The two persons spoke together,\n\"Let us shoot this black one.\" So they shot [43] him. Then the black\none went out of the way.\n\nAfterwards the men went to look near at hand. When they went the man\nhad fallen. After that, having taken hold of the man and raised him,\nwhen they looked at him the man's body having gone quite slimy he\nwas unconscious also.\n\nAfterwards, while the two men, raising [and carrying] that man, were\n[endeavouring] to come away, the Yaka did not allow them to come. He\nshakes the bushes; he breaks the trees; he blocked up the path all\nalong. One man of the two men looked upward. Then the Yaka spit into\nthe man's eye, and the man's eye became blind.\n\nWell then, the two men having uttered and uttered spells, with pain\nlifting up [and carrying] that man, came to the village. Having\ncome there, and summoned a Yaksa Vedarala [44] to restore the man to\nconsciousness, when he arrived they showed him this man. Then the Yaksa\nVedarala told them to warm a large pot of water. So they warmed the\nwater. After that, having bathed the man, and having uttered spells,\nafter the Vedarala had tied protective written spells and diagrams\n[45] on him the man became conscious.\n\nAfter that, the Yaksa Vedarala and those two men asked about the\ncircumstances that had occurred. The man said, \"A Yaka having\ncome, seizing me pressed against me for me to roll over on to the\nground. What of that? I did not fall [on account of it]. After you two\nfired, indeed, I fell. Then the Yaka bounded off, and went away. Well,\nI don't know anything after that. Whether you came and lifted me up,\nor what, I do not know.\"\n\nThe man having recovered from that, again the Yaka came, and\nhaving possessed the man he began to have the powers conferred by\n\"possession.\" [46] Afterwards that Yaksa Vedarala having come again,\nand given the Yaka many offerings placed on frames (dola pideni),\nthe Yaka went out of the way. The man remained very well [afterwards].\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 17\n\nCONCERNING A MAN AND TWO YAKAS\n\n\nIn a certain country there was a man who had cut a chena. The man,\nwithout any one joining with him, went one day and made ready to cut\na fresh chena at a place where there was a large tree.\n\nThen the Yaka who dwelt in the tree became afraid, and having descended\nto the ground, and having said, \"Lord, do not cut a chena here. At\nevery eventide I will bring and give you rice, coconuts, chillies,\netc.,\" he made obeisance. The man said, \"It is good,\" and went home.\n\nThat very evening the Yaka brought and gave him rice and all things\nsufficient for curries, and went away. After that, in no long time\nthe man became in a good position and wealthy, through the Yaka's\nbringing him his provisions.\n\nWhen coming afterwards, the Yaka met another Yaka, who asked, \"Where\nare you taking those things?\"\n\nThe Yaka replied, \"A man came to cut the residence in which I stay. On\naccount of it, I promised to give him food and goods.\"\n\nThen the Yaka said, \"Do thou give the things to-day only. I will kill\nthe man to-morrow.\"\n\nThe other Yaka said, \"It is good.\"\n\nOn the following day, when the man of that house was going somewhere\nor other, the Yaka who said, \"I will kill him,\" came to the house,\nand having crept under the bed remained there. At that time the man\nreturned, and sitting on the bed, said to his wife, \"Bola, I am hungry\nenough to eat a Yaka.\"\n\nHis wife had placed the knife on the shelf, and having plucked a\npine-apple had put it under the bed. The woman [not seeing the Yaka],\nsaid, \"Look there! On the shelf. Look there! Under the bed.\"\n\nSo the man, taking the knife that was on the shelf, went near the\nbed to get the pine-apple. Then the Yaka, thinking he was coming to\nkill and eat him, said, \"Lord, do not eat me. I will bring and give\nyou each month anything you want.\"\n\nSo the man saying, \"It is good,\" sent away the Yaka.\n\nThen the Yaka met that other Yaka, and said, \"When I went to set you\nfree I also was caught. Both of us are in the same state.\"\n\nAfter that he gave the things monthly. Then this man having become\na great wealthy person, remained so.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn a variant in Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), pp. 258-260, a barber\nfrightened a Bhuta (evil spirit) who was going to eat him, by\nthreatening to put him in his bag. He took out his looking-glass,\nand showed the Bhuta his reflection, which the evil spirit thought was\nanother imprisoned one. The Bhuta promised to obey the barber's orders,\nand provided money, and a granary filled with paddy. The Bhuta's uncle\ntold him that he had been cheated; but he was treated in the same way,\nand made to build another granary, and fill it with rice.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 18\n\nTHE THREE QUESTIONS [47]\n\n\nIn a certain country, as a man was going through the middle of a\ncity he met a man of the city, and asked him, \"In what manner does\nthe King of this city rule?\"\n\nThe man said, \"It does not appear to us that he has any fault.\"\n\nThen the man said [sarcastically]: \"Does the King of this city know\nthese three matters--the centre of this country, the number of the\nstars in the sky, and the work which the King of the world of the Devas\n[48] does?\" Having asked this, that wicked man went through the midst\nof the city.\n\nAfterwards, the man of the city came to the palace, and declared\nto the King that there were three matters regarding which a man\nhad wanted information. After he had informed him, the King asked,\n\"What are the three matters?\"\n\nThe man said, \"The centre of the country, the number of the stars in\nthe sky, and the work which the King of the world of the Devas does;\nthese three matters,\" he said.\n\nThen the King, having caused the Ratemahatmayas--(the highest\nprovincial Chiefs)--to be told that he ordered them to come, after he\nhad asked them concerning these three matters, the Chiefs said that\nthey could not tell him the answers. When they said that, the king\ncommanded that the Ratemahatmayas should be beheaded. Thereupon the\nexecutioners came and beheaded them.\n\nAfter that, he caused the Adikaramas--(the Ministers)--to be brought,\nand asked them if they knew these three matters. Those persons also\nsaid that they could not explain them. He commanded that party also\nto be beheaded, and the executioners came and beheaded them.\n\nHaving beheaded all the people of both parties, there remained still\nthe Royal Preceptor [49] only, so he caused the Royal Preceptor to\nbe brought, and asked him regarding these matters. Then the Royal\nPreceptor said, \"I cannot tell you about them to-day. I will tell\nyou to-morrow.\" After he had said this he returned to his house, and\nhaving come there, lying down prone on the bed he remained without\nspeaking a word.\n\nThe youth who looked after the Royal Preceptor's goats came at that\ntime, and asked, \"For what reason are you lying down, Sir?\"\n\nThe Royal Preceptor said, \"They beheaded the Adikarama party and the\nRatemahatmaya party to-day; they will behead me to-morrow. The post\nthat I have told thee of [under the executioner] will be made over\nto one's self.\"\n\nThe youth said, \"Lord, you must tell me the reasons for it.\"\n\nThe Royal Preceptor replied, \"If I should be unable to-morrow to say\nwhich is the centre of the country, the number of the stars, and the\nwork which the God of the world of the Devas does, they will behead\nme to-morrow.\"\n\nThen the youth said, \"Are you so much troubled about that? I will\nsay those very things for you.\"\n\nAfterwards, at the time when the Royal Preceptor, on the morning of\nthe following day, was setting off to go to the palace, he called\nthe youth, and went with him to the palace. The King asked for\nthe answers to these three sayings. Then the Royal Preceptor said,\n\"What is there in these for me to tell you? Even the youth who looks\nafter the goats for me knows those three sayings.\" Then he told the\nyouth to come forward, and the youth came near the King.\n\nThe King asked, \"Dost thou know the centre of the country, and the\nnumber of the stars, and the work which the God of the world of the\nDevas does?\"\n\nThe youth fixed a stick in the ground, and showed it. \"Behold! Here\nis the centre of one's country. Measure from the four quarters, and\nafter you have looked at the account, if it should not be correct be\ngood enough to behead me,\" he said. The King lost over that.\n\nThen he told him to say the number of the stars in the sky. Throwing\ndown on the ground the goat-skin that he was wearing, \"Count these\nhairs, and count the stars in the sky. Should they not be equal be\ngood enough to behead me,\" he said. The King lost over that also.\n\nThirdly, he told him to say what work the God of the world of the\nDevas does.\n\nThe youth said, \"I will not say it thus.\"\n\nThe King asked, \"If so, how will you say it?\"\n\nThe youth said, \"Should you decorate me with the Royal Insignia, and\nput on me the Crown, and give the Sword into my hands, and place me\non the Lion-throne, I will say it.\"\n\nThen the King, having caused that youth to bathe, and having decorated\nhim, placed him upon the Lion-throne.\n\nAfter that, he called the executioners, and said to them, \"Ade! This\none beheaded so many [innocent] people; because of that take him and\ngo, and having beheaded him, cast him out. Behold! That indeed is\nthe work which the King of the world of the Devas does,\" he said.\n\nThus, having killed the foolish King, the youth who looked after the\ngoats obtained the sovereignty; and ruling the kingdom together with\nthe Royal Preceptor, he remained there in prosperity.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThe dramatic, and apparently improbable, ending of this Kandian story\nis founded upon an historical fact. It is recorded in the Mahavansa,\nthe Sinhalese history (Part I, chapter 35), that King Yasalalaka-Tissa,\nwho reigned in Ceylon from 52 to 60 A.D., had a young gate porter or\nmessenger called Subha, who closely resembled him in appearance. The\nMahavansa relates the story of the King's deposition by him as follows\n(Turnour's translation):--\n\n\"The monarch Yasalalaka, in a merry mood, having decked out the said\nSubha, the messenger, in the vestments of royalty, and seated him\non the throne, putting the livery bonnet of the messenger on his own\nhead, stationed himself at a palace gate, with the porter's staff in\nhis hand. While the ministers of state were bowing down to him who\nwas seated on the throne, the King was enjoying the deception.\n\n\"He was in the habit, from time to time, of indulging in these\nscenes. On a certain occasion (when this farce was repeated),\naddressing himself to the merry monarch, the messenger exclaimed:\n'How does that messenger dare to laugh in my presence?' and succeeded\nin getting the King put to death. The messenger Subha thus usurped\nthe sovereignty, and administered it for six years.\"\n\n\n\nA variant was related to me by the resident monk at a Buddhist temple\nto the south of Colombo. Its tenour was as follows:--\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOUR DIFFICULT QUESTIONS.\n\nA certain King put four questions to a Sangha-raja, or Superior of\nthe Buddhist monks. The first one was, \"How deep is the sea?\" the\nsecond, \"How many stars are there?\" the third, \"Which is the centre\nof the earth?\" and fourthly, he must tell the King what he, the King,\nthought. The Sangha-raja was allowed a certain time in which to find\nanswers to the questions.\n\nOne day a monk seeing him sad, asked him the reason, and was told\nthat the King had put these questions to him, and had threatened to\ntake his life if he could not answer them.\n\nThe monk told him not to have any fear, and said that he would go\non the appointed day, and answer the King. When the day came round,\nthe monk dressed himself in the Sangha-raja's robes, and appeared\nbefore the King, saying that he was ready to answer the questions.\n\nThe King asked him, \"How deep is the sea?\" He replied, \"At first it\nis knee-deep; as you go on it is waist-deep; further on it is up to\nthe neck; and beyond that it is over the head.\" The King was satisfied.\n\nHe next asked, \"How many stars are there?\" \"Twenty lakshas (two\nmillions),\" said the monk. \"If you do not believe it, count them.\" With\nthis answer, also, the King was satisfied.\n\nHe then inquired, \"Where is the centre of the earth?\" The monk took\na staff which he had brought with him, and fixed it upright in the\nground. \"Here is the centre,\" he said. \"Measure each way from it,\nand you will find the distance the same.\" The King was satisfied with\nthis answer also.\n\n\"Lastly, you must tell me what I am thinking,\" the King said. The\nmonk replied, \"You think I am the Sangha-raja, but I am only one of\nhis monks.\" So the four questions were all answered satisfactorily.\n\n\n\nI heard the following version in Cairo:--\n\n\n\nA certain King said to his Chief Minister, \"Find me a man who can\nmeasure the world and show me the centre of it, and who can count me\nthe number of the stars.\"\n\nThe Minister considered the matter carefully, but could think of\nno way of complying with the King's orders. At last his wife said,\n\"I can see that something is troubling you. Tell me what it is;\nperhaps I can assist you.\" Then he told her the orders of the King,\nand that he did not know where to look for any one who could do what\nthe King desired. \"Go,\" she said, \"to the coffee-dealer's shop. You\nwill find there a man who is always taking hashish. He may be able\nto help you\" [his mental powers being exalted by the drug].\n\nSo he went to the coffee-dealer's, and told the hashish-eater his\ndifficulty. \"I can soon solve these questions for you,\" replied the\nhashish-eater. \"Take me to the King.\"\n\nThereupon they proceeded to the palace, and the Minister introduced\nthe hashish-eater to the King. He came with a donkey, which was\ndrawing a great load of rope.\n\n\"First show me the centre of the world,\" said the King.\n\n\"This place is the centre,\" said the hashish-eater. \"If you doubt\nit, send your men to drag the other end of this rope up to the sky,\nand I will prove to you that you are just in the middle.\"\n\n\"Very well,\" said the King, \"that is a satisfactory answer. Now give\nme the number of the stars.\"\n\n\"Let your people count the hairs on my donkey. You will find that\nthey are exactly equal to the stars in number,\" said the man. The\nKing admitted that he could not prove that he was answered incorrectly.\n\n\n\nThe English version is given in the ballad termed \"King John and\nthe Abbot of Canterbury,\" and is found in Bishop Percy's Reliques\nof Ancient English Poetry (ed. 1844, ii, 328). I give some extracts,\netc., for the benefit of readers in Ceylon, because of its resemblance\nto the second Sinhalese story.\n\nWith a view to seizing the Abbot's wealth, the King put three questions\nto him, the penalty for failing to answer them being beheading. The\nAbbot received three weeks' grace in which to discover the replies,\nbut the wisest doctors could not assist him:\n\n\n    Away rode the Abbot all sad at that word;\n    And he rode to Cambridge and Oxenforde;\n    But never a doctor there was so wise,\n    That could with his learning an answer devise.\n\n\nHowever, as in the Kandian version, the shepherd came to his\nassistance, and took his place on the appointed day, robed as the\nAbbot, whose features resembled his, and accompanied by the usual\ntrain of servants and monks.\n\n\n    Now welcome, sire abbot, the king he did say,\n    'Tis well thou'rt come back to keepe thy day;\n    For and if thou canst answer my questions three,\n    Thy life and thy living both saved shall bee.\n\n    And first, when thou seest me here in this stead,\n    With my crown of golde so fair on my head,\n    Among all my liege-men so noble of birthe,\n    Tell me to one penny what I am worth.\n\n    \"For thirty pence our Saviour was sold\n    Amonge the false Jewes, as I have bin told;\n    And twenty-nine is the worth of thee,\n    For I thinke, thou are one penny worser than hee.\"\n\n    The king he laughed, and swore by St. Bittel,\n    I did not think I had been worth so littel!\n    --Now secondly tell me, without any doubt,\n    How soone I may ride this whole world about.\n\n    \"You must rise with the sun, and ride with the same,\n    Until the next morning he riseth againe;\n    And then your grace need not make any doubt,\n    But in twenty-four hours you'll ride it about.\"\n\n    The king he laughed, and swore by St. Jone,\n    I did not think, it could be gone so soone!\n    --Now from the third question thou must not shrinke,\n    But tell me here truly what I do thinke.\n\n    \"Yea, that shall I do, and make your grace merry:\n    You thinke I'm the abbot of Canterbury;\n    But I'm his poor shepheard, as plain you may see,\n    That am come to beg pardon for him and for mee.\"\n\n    The king he laughed, and swore by the masse,\n    Ile make thee lord abbot this day in his place!\n    \"Now naye, my liege, be not in such speede,\n    For alacke I can neither write, ne reade.\"\n\n    Four nobles a weeke, then, I will give thee,\n    For this merry jest thou hast showne unto mee;\n    And tell the old abbot when thou comest home,\n    Thou hast brought him a pardon from good king John.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 19\n\nTHE FAITHLESS PRINCESS\n\n\nIn a certain country there is a Prince, it is said. The Prince,\nsaying that women are faithless, does not marry.\n\nThe God Sakra having ascertained this, came in the appearance of a man,\nand asked at the hand of the Prince whether if he created a Princess\nout of his own very body, and gave her to him, he would be willing\nto take her in marriage. The Prince said, \"It is good.\"\n\nAfterwards the God Sakra created a Princess from the Prince's body,\nand gave her to him.\n\nWhen the Prince and Princess, having got married, had been living\ntogether for a very long time, the Princess associated with a\nNagaya. [50] When they had been thus for a long time, the Princess and\nthe Nagaya spoke together as to how to kill the Princess's Prince. Then\nthe Nagaya said, \"Ask at the hand of the Prince where the Prince's\ndeath is. After you have got to know the place where his death is,\nI will bite [51] him there.\"\n\nAfter that, the Princess asked at the hand of the Prince, \"Where is\nyour death?\" The Prince did not tell her. Every day the Princess was\nasking it. On a certain day the Prince said, \"To-day my death is in\nmy thumb.\"\n\nThen the Princess told the Nagaya, \"He said that his death is in\nhis thumb.\"\n\nSo the Nagaya went [in his snake form, as a cobra], and stopped on\nthe path on which the Prince was going for his bath, in order to\nbite [51] him.\n\nAfterwards, the Prince's people went first; the Prince went in the\nmiddle. Then the people who went first saw the Nagaya, and killed it.\n\nAfterwards, the people and the Prince having returned from bathing,\nthe Prince told at the hand of the Princess, \"As we were going to bathe\nto-day a cobra was on the path; my people killed it.\" The Princess,\nclasping her hands with grief, asked, \"Where was it?\" The Prince told\nher of the place where the cobra was staying, and she knew that it\nwas the Nagaya.\n\nAfterwards the Princess having given gold to the goldsmith, and having\ngot a waist-chain made, told him to make a case for it. The goldsmith\nmade it, and gave it. Then the Princess went to the place where the\ncobra was, and cut off its hood; and placing the cobra in the case\nof the golden waist-chain, the Princess put it round her waist.\n\nHaving it there, when they had eaten and drunk in the evening, and\nlighted the lamp in the house, both of them went into the house.\n\nThen the Princess said to the Prince, \"I will ask you a riddle. Should\nyou be unable to explain it, I will kill you. Should you explain it,\nyou shall kill me.\"\n\nThe Prince said \"Ha,\" and both of them swore it.\n\nThe Princess saying,\n\n\n    The Naga belt                      Naga patiya\n    (Is) the golden waist-chain.       Ran hawadiya.\n    Explain (it), friend.              Tora, sakiya.\n\n\ntold the Prince to solve it. For fifteen paeyas (six hours), without\nextinguishing the lamp, he tried and tried to explain it. He could\nnot. So she was to kill the Prince next day.\n\nA Devatawa (godling) who drank the smoke of the lamp of that house,\nwas there looking on [invisibly] until the lamp was extinguished. After\nthe lamp was put out, having drunk a little smoke, he took a little\nthat was only slightly burnt with him for his wife. The Devatawa and\nDevatawi lived in an Ironwood tree on the roadside.\n\nThis Prince's elder sister, and the man to whom she was given in\nmarriage, having set off to come to the Prince's city, stayed that\nnight at the resting-place under the Ironwood tree.\n\nThen that Devatawa having brought a little of the under-burnt smoke\nof the lamp, after he had given it to the Devatawi she quarrelled\nwith him until fifteen paeyas (six hours) had gone, saying, \"Where\nhave you been?\"\n\nThe Devatawa said, \"Do not quarrel. In such and such a city, such\nand such a Prince's Princess having associated with a Nagaya, the\nPrince's people killed the Nagaya. Having cut off the Nagaya's hood,\nand laid aside her golden waist-chain, putting it round her waist in\norder to kill the Prince, because of her anger at the killing of the\nNagaya, the Princess told a riddle to the Prince. Having sworn that\nshould the Prince be unable to solve it she is to kill the Prince:\nshould he solve it he is to kill the Princess, the Princess said,\n\n\n    The Naga belt\n    Is the golden waist-chain.\n    Explain it, friend.\n\n\n\"From the evening, without extinguishing the lamp, he tried to solve\nit. The Prince could not explain it. After fifteen paeyas had gone\nby, he put out the light. Up to the very time when he extinguished\nthe lamp, so long I remained there. She said that she will kill the\nPrince to-morrow.\"\n\nHearing it, there stayed below the Ironwood tree the Prince's elder\nsister, and the man to whom she was given. After having heard it, as\nit became light, when they were coming along to the Prince's house,\nthey saw from afar that they were going to behead the Prince. The elder\nsister said from afar, \"A! Don't behead him. I will solve that riddle.\"\n\nHaving come near, the Prince's elder sister explained the riddle in\nthe manner stated by the Devatawa. So the Prince was saved, and they\nbeheaded the Princess.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Kashmir (Knowles), 2nd ed., p. 227, a Fakir split a\nKing, and made a wife for him from half his body, but warned him that\nshe would be unfaithful. She fell in love with one of his wazirs,\nbut they were detected, and she was killed.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 20\n\nTHE PRINCE WHO DID NOT GO TO SCHOOL\n\n\nIn a certain country there is a King, it is said, and there are two\nPrinces of the King. The two Princes are sent to school, and as they\nare going from the palace the two go along together. After they have\nwalked a little way, the younger brother goes along the path to the\nschool, and having arrived at the school, learns his letters and\nreturns home. The elder brother, after playing and playing in the\nwater of the river, puts the school aside, it is said; and having\ncome round that way and joined the younger brother, again comes to\nthe palace with him.\n\nAfter many days had gone by in that manner, the King one day told\nthe two Princes, \"To-day I must look at your lessons.\"\n\nThe younger brother said, \"Father-King, I indeed go to the school,\nand having said my lessons return. Elder brother and I having met here,\nand set off together, after we have gone part of the way, where elder\nbrother goes I do not know. Having gone somewhere or other, when\nI have left the school and am returning, elder brother meets me on\nthe road, and we two come again to the palace. I can say my lessons;\nelder brother indeed cannot.\"\n\nAfter that, the King looked into the lessons of the two Princes. When\nhe looked, the younger Prince's lessons were good. When he asked\nthe elder Prince, he knew nothing. So the King settled to behead the\nelder Prince.\n\nThe King had, besides, a Prince older than that Prince. He said to\nthat elder Prince, \"Behead this one.\"\n\nThen the Prince having taken a sword to the chena jungle, and killed a\n\"Blood-sucker\" lizard (Calotes sp.), returned after rubbing the blood\non the sword, and showed it to the King. \"Behold! Father-King, I cut\nyounger brother,\" he said. Afterwards their mother having cooked a\nbundle of rice, and given it, and also a sword, to the Prince who\nwas ordered to be beheaded, said, \"Go to any place you like.\"\n\nAs the Prince was going away taking the bundle of cooked rice and the\nsword, he met with a man. The man having uprooted Palmira trees and\nCoconut trees, was taking them away and tying a fence. Having seen\nthis, the Prince said to that man, \"Come thou and go with me.\"\n\nThe man having said \"Ha,\" as the two persons were going along together,\nanother man was cutting the earthen ridges in a rice field. The\nblade of the man's digging hoe was as large as a liyadda (one of the\nsquares into which the rice field was divided). Having seen that,\nthe Prince said to that man who was cutting the ridge in the field,\n\"Come thou and go with me.\"\n\nThe man having said \"Ha,\" and laid down his digging hoe at that very\nplace, came away with those two persons. As the three were going\nalong together, they saw yet a man ploughing. Having seen that the\nman ploughed a liyadda at one ploughing (furrow), the Prince said,\n\"Come thou and go with me.\" The man said \"Ha,\" and laying down his\nplough at that very place, went with the three persons. The three\npersons whom the Prince had met with on the way were three giants.\n\nThe four persons having gone on and on, went near the house of a\nRakshasi at a city. Sitting down there, the Prince said to one of\nthe giants, \"There! Go to that house and bring thou cooking pots and\nfire.\" So that giant went to the house of the Rakshasi.\n\nAs he arrived there, the Rakshasi was pouring water over (i.e. bathing)\na child. The giant went near the Rakshasi, and said, \"Ane! Give me\nfire and cooking pots.\" The Rakshasi told him the way to the house in\nwhich she ate human flesh, and said, \"There! They are in that house;\ntake them.\" After that, at the time when the giant was going into\nthe house, the Rakshasi went running and shut the door, so that the\ngiant could not come out.\n\nThose two giants and the Prince remained a long time looking out; the\ngiant did not come. Afterwards the Prince again told a giant to go. The\ngiant having gone, asked the Rakshasi, \"Didn't a man come here?\"\n\nThe Rakshasi said, \"He did not come here.\"\n\nThen the giant said, \"If so, give me cooking pots and fire.\" Then the\nRakshasi, in the same manner in which she told that giant, showed him\nthe way to the house in which she ate human flesh. As the giant was\ngoing into the house, the Rakshasi, having gone running, shut the door.\n\nThat Prince and the third giant having been there a long time, neither\nof the giants came. Afterwards the Prince told the other giant to\ngo. The giant went, and asked the Rakshasi, \"Didn't two men come here?\"\n\nThe Rakshasi said, \"They did not come here.\"\n\nSo the giant said, \"If so, give me cooking pots and fire.\" The\nRakshasi, in that very way having told him the path to the house in\nwhich she ate human flesh, at the time when the giant was going into\nit shut the door.\n\nThe Prince remained looking out for a long time; the three giants\ndid not come. Afterwards the Prince, taking his sword, came near the\nRakshasi, and asked, \"Didn't three men come here?\"\n\nThe Rakshasi said, \"They did not come here.\"\n\nThen the Prince, seizing the Rakshasi's hair knot, prepared to chop\nat her with the sword. \"Give me quickly my three men; if not, I shall\nchop thy head off,\" he said.\n\nThen the Rakshasi, saying, \"Ane! Do not kill me. At any place where\nyou want it I will assist you,\" gave him the three men.\n\nAfter that, the Prince and the three giants having gone away without\nkilling the Rakshasi, the Prince caused the three giants to stay at\na city; and having given into their hands a Blue-lotus flower, said,\n\"Should I not be alive, this Blue-lotus flower will fade, and the\nlime trees at your house will die.\" So saying, the Prince, taking\nhis sword, went quite alone.\n\nAfter going a long way he came to a city, and having gone to the\nhouse of a Rakshasa, when he looked, the Rakshasa had gone for human\nflesh as food and only a girl was there. The Prince asked the girl\nfor a resting-place.\n\nThe girl said, \"Ane! What have you come here for? A Rakshasa lives\nat this house. The Rakshasa having eaten the men of this city they\nare now finished.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"I will kill him. Are there dried coconuts and meneri\n[52] here?\" The girl said there were. The Prince told her to bring\nthem, and the girl brought them.\n\nThen the Prince asked, \"How does he come to eat men?\"\n\nThe girl said, \"Having come twelve miles--(three gawwas)--away, he\ncries, 'Hu'; having come eight miles away, he cries, 'Hu'; and having\ncome four miles away, he cries, 'Hu'; and then he comes to this house.\"\n\nAfter that, the Prince having spread out, from the stile at the fence,\nthe meneri seed and the dried coconuts, over the whole of the open\nground near the front of the house, went to sleep in the veranda,\nplacing the sword near him, and laying his head on the waist pocket\nof the girl.\n\nThen the Rakshasa, when twelve miles away, cried, \"Hu.\" Tears fell\nfrom the girl's eyes, and dropped on the Prince's head. The Prince\narose, and said to the girl, \"What are you weeping for?\"\n\nThen the Rakshasa cried, \"Hu,\" eight miles away. The girl said,\n\"There! The Rakshasa cried, 'Hu,' eight miles away.\" Continuing to say,\n\"He will cry, 'Hu,' the next time, and then come here,\" the girl wept.\n\nThe Prince, having told the girl not to weep, took the sword in his\nhand, and while he was there the Rakshasa, crying \"Hu,\" came into\nthe open space near the house.\n\nThen the Prince chopped at the Rakshasa with his sword, and the\nRakshasa went backward. Thereupon the Prince said, \"Will not even\nthe Rakshasi whom I set free that day without killing her, render\nassistance in this?\"\n\nThe Rakshasi came immediately, and struck a thorn into the crown of\nthe Rakshasa's head, and at that very instant the Rakshasa died. After\nthat, the Prince buried the body, and marrying the girl remained there.\n\nWhen he had been there a long time, a widow-mother came and said to\nthe Prince and the girl, \"Children, I will come and live with you,\nas you are alone.\" Both of them said \"Ha,\" so the woman stayed there.\n\nAfter she had lived there a long time, the woman said to the girl,\n\"Daughter, ask in what place is the life of the Prince.\"\n\nAfterwards the girl said to the Prince, \"Mother is asking where your\nlife is.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"My life is in my neck.\"\n\nThe girl told the woman, \"I asked him; he said his life is in his\nneck.\"\n\nThe woman said, \"It is not in the neck. He is speaking falsely. Ask\nagain.\" So the girl asked again.\n\nThe Prince said, \"My life is in my breast.\"\n\nThe girl told the woman, \"He said it is in his breast.\"\n\nThe woman said, \"It is not in the breast. Tell him to speak the truth.\"\n\nAfterwards she said again to the Prince, \"Mother says it is not in\nyour breast. She said that you are to speak the truth.\"\n\nThen the Prince said, \"My life is in my sword.\"\n\nSo the girl told the widow-mother, \"He said it is in his sword.\"\n\nWhen a long time had gone by, one day the Prince, laying down the\nsword, went to sleep. After the Prince had gone to sleep, the widow\nwoman and that girl having quietly taken the sword, put it in the fire\non the hearth. Then as the sword burnt and burnt away the Prince died.\n\nAfter that, the widow woman took the girl, and gave her to the King,\nand the woman also stayed at the palace.\n\nThen the Blue-lotus flower which the Prince gave to those three giants\non going away, faded, and the lime trees died. When the giants saw\nthis they said, \"Ade! Our elder brother will have died,\" and having\nspoken together, the three giants came to seek the Prince.\n\nHaving come there, and asked the men of the city at which the Prince\nstayed, regarding him, they went to the house in which he lived,\nand searched for him. As they were digging in a heap of rubbish, they\nfound that a little bit of the end of the sword was there, and they\ntook it. Afterwards the giants placed it on a bed, and after they had\ntended it carefully, the sword little by little became larger. When\nthe sword became completely restored, the Prince was created afresh.\n\nAfterwards, when the Prince looked to see if the girl whom he had\ntaken in marriage was there, neither the girl nor the widow-mother\nwas there. Then the Prince went with the three giants to the King's\npalace, and on looking there they learnt that the girl was married\nto the King, and that the widow woman also was there. So the Prince\nsaid to the widow woman, \"Quickly give me the Princess whom I married.\"\n\nThe woman said, \"Ane! The Princess whom I knew is not here. She did\nnot come with me.\"\n\nThen the Prince cut off the woman's head with his sword, and having\ngone to the King, asked, \"Where is my Princess? You must give her\nto me.\"\n\nThe King said, \"No Princess will be here.\"\n\nThereupon the Prince cut off the King's head with his sword; and he\nand the three giants having cut down all the servants who were in\nthe palace, summoning the Princess, remained in that very palace.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThe giving a plant or flower as a life index, which fades when illness\nor danger besets the giver, and dies at his death, is a very common\nincident in folk-tales.\n\nIn Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 52--Tales of the Punjab\n(Steel), p. 47--it was a barley plant.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 189, a Prince planted a tree as\nhis life index, and said, \"When you see the tree green and fresh then\nyou know that it is well with me; when you see the tree fade in some\nparts, then you know that I am in an ill case; and when you see the\nwhole tree fade, then know that I am dead and gone.\"\n\nIn Tota Kahani (Small), p. 43, when a man was about to leave his wife,\nshe gave him a nosegay of flowers which would retain their freshness\nif she were faithful to him, and fade if she misconducted herself.\n\nIn The Indian Antiquary, vol. xvii, p. 54, a plant was given to each\nof two persons, as a Prince's life index. He said, \"If this plant\nshould fade, know that I am sick or in danger; if it should die know\nthat I also am dead.\"\n\n\n\nThe notion that a person's life may be concealed in some external\nobject, usually a bird or a bee, is one of the commonest features\nof folk-tales.\n\nIn the story numbered 24 in this volume, the King's life was in a\ngolden parrot.\n\nIn Wide-Awake Stories, p. 59--Tales of the Punjab, p. 52--a Jinni's\nlife was in a bee, which was in a golden cage inside the crop (?) of\na Maina [bird].\n\nAt pp. 62, 63, Tales of the Punjab, p. 55, a Prince's life was in his\nsword. When this was placed in the fire he felt a burning fever, and\nwhen it was made red-hot and a rivet came out of the hilt, his head\ncame off. Afterwards, when the sword was repaired and repolished,\nthe Prince was restored to life.\n\nAt p. 83, Tales of the Punjab, p. 75, the life of a Princess was in a\nnine-lakh necklace, which was in a box inside a bee that lived in the\nbody of a fish. When asked about it, she first said that her life was\nin each of the seven sons of the wicked Queen who wanted to kill her,\nall of whom were murdered by the Queen.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Kashmir (Knowles), 2nd ed., p. 49, the lives of\nRakshasas were in seven cocks, a spinning-wheel, a pigeon, and\na starling.\n\nAt p. 134, the life of one was in a veranda pillar at his house;\nwhen it was broken he died.\n\nAt p. 383, the life of one was in a queen-bee in a honey-comb hanging\non a tree.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), pp. 2 and 6, the life of a Prince was\nin a golden necklace deposited in a wooden box which was in the heart\nof a fish.\n\nAt pp. 85 and 86, the lives of seven hundred Rakshasas were in two\nbees which were on the top of a crystal pillar, deep in the water\nof a tank. If a drop of their blood fell on the ground, a thousand\nRakshasas would start up from it.\n\nAt p. 121, the life of a Rakshasi was in a bird that was in a cage. As\nits limbs were torn off, a corresponding limb dropped off the Rakshasi\nwho had been made the Queen.\n\nAt p. 253, the lives of two Rakshasas (m. and f.) were in two bees\nthat were in a wooden box at the bottom of a tank. If a person who\nkilled them allowed a drop of their blood to fall on the ground,\nhe would be torn into seven hundred pieces by the Rakshasas.\n\nIn The Indian Antiquary, vol. i, p. 86, in a Dardu legend\n(G. W. Leitner), the life of a King of Gilgit was in snow, and he\ncould only die by fire.\n\nAt p. 117, in a Bengal story (G. H. Damant), the lives of Rakshasas\nwere in two bees in a gourd which was inside a crystal pillar at the\nbottom of a tank. If one drop of the bees' blood fell on the ground,\nthe Rakshasas would be twice as numerous as before. The bees were\nkilled by being squeezed to death.\n\nAt p. 171, in a Bengal story (G. H. Damant), the lives of Rakshasas\nwere in a lemon, and a bird. When the lemon was cut in Bengal,\nthe Rakshasas in Ceylon died. As the bird's wings were broken, the\nRakshasi Queen's arms were broken; when the bird died, she died.\n\nIn vol. xvi, p. 191, the life of a giant was in a parrot; when it\nwas killed he died.\n\nIn vol. xvii, p. 51, a Prince's life was in a sword; if it rusted he\nwas sick, and if it broke he died.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Hindustan, Allahabad (Shaik Chilli), p. 51, the life\nof a Prince was in the brightness of his sword. When it was placed in\na furnace and lost the brightness, he died. A giant who was his friend\nfound it, and discovering that a little brightness remained at the tip,\nrubbed it until it regained its lustre, on which the Prince revived.\n\nAt p. 114, the lives of Rakshasas were in a number of birds; they\ndied when these were killed.\n\nIn a tale of the interior of W. Africa in Contes Soudanais\n(C. Monteil), p. 154, the life of a King was in a little box inside\na small goat-skin, which was in a little pot placed inside a large\npot. When the King was told this he died.\n\nDoubtless this strange notion of a life safeguarded by being hidden\naway, is of early date, and may be due originally to the early magical\nidea prevalent in Egypt, Assyria, and India, that a person might be\nkilled from any distance by piercing the heart of a figurine formed\nto represent him. This action is mentioned in the Commentary on the\nAtharva Veda (Bloomfield's translation, p. 359); and in the Rigveda,\ni, 29, 7 (Griffith's translation), prayer is made to Indra for the\ndestruction of \"him who in secret injures us.\"\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 208 (vol. ii, p. 111), a monkey escaped from\na crocodile that was going to kill it in order to get its heart,\nby telling it that monkeys kept their hearts hanging on trees.\n\nIn the Maha Bharata, Vana Parva, 135, 52, a Rishi caused buffaloes\nto shatter a mountain, and thereby killed a child whose life was\ndependent on its existence, if not supposed to be actually in it.\n\n\n\nThe recovery of the three giants from the house of the Rakshasi is\nevidently based on the story of Wijaya, the first King of Ceylon, and\nKuweni, a female Yakkha or aboriginal Princess, who, taking the form of\na devotee, had captured his followers one by one, and imprisoned them.\n\nThe story is given in the Mahavansa, chapter vii, as follows:--\"All\nthese persons not returning, Wijaya becoming alarmed, equipping himself\nwith the five weapons of war, proceeded after them; and examining the\ndelightful pond [to which they had gone to bathe], he could perceive\nfootsteps leading down only into the tank; and he there saw the\ndevotee. It occurred to him: 'My retinue must surely have been seized\nby her.' 'Woman, hast thou seen my attendants?' said he. 'Prince,' she\nreplied, 'what need hast thou of attendants? Do drink and bathe ere\nthou departest.' Saying to himself, 'Even my lineage, this Yakkhini\nis acquainted with it,' proclaiming his title, and quickly seizing\nhis bow, he rushed at her. Securing the Yakkhini by the throat with\na 'naracana' ring, with his left hand seizing her by the hair, and\nraising his sword with his right hand, he exclaimed, 'Slave! restore me\nmy followers, or I will put thee to death.' The Yakkhini, terrified,\nimplored that her life might be spared. 'Lord! spare my life; on thee\nI will confer this sovereignty; unto thee I will render the favours\nof my sex, and every other service according to thy desire.' In order\nthat she might not prove herself treacherous, he made the Yakkhini\ntake an oath. While he was in the act of saying, 'Instantly produce\nmy followers,' she brought them forth\" (Mahavansa, i, p. 32).\n\n\n\nThe idea of the thorn which was driven into the head of the Rakshasa,\nis borrowed from magical practice. In the case of a figurine made for\nthe destruction or injury of a person, pins or nails or thorns were\nrun into various parts of the body, one being inserted in the crown\nof the head. In a variant of the story numbered 73 in this work,\na female Yaka was kept in subjection by means of an iron nail that\nwas driven into the crown of the head.\n\nIn Indian Fairy Tales (Stokes), p. 12, a pin was fixed in the head\nof a woman who had been transformed into a bird. When it was drawn\nout she resumed her human form.\n\nIn The Illustrated Guide to the South Indian Railway, 1900, p. 232,\nit is stated regarding the great stone Bull, 12 feet high, at the\nTanjore temple, that \"it was popularly supposed by the natives that\nthis bull was growing, and as they feared it might become too large\nfor the mandapam [stone canopy] erected over it a nail was driven\ninto the back of its head, and since this was done the size of the\nmonolith has remained stationary.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 21\n\nNAGUL-MUNNA\n\n\nIn a village there were two persons called Nagul-Munna and Mun-aeta\nGuruwa. While those two were living there they spoke together,\n\"Friend, while we two are remaining in this way matters are not going\non properly.\" At the time when they spoke thus, Mun-aeta Guruwa replied\nto Nagul-Munna's talk, and said, \"It is good, friend. If that be so\nlet us two cut a chena.\"\n\nHaving spoken thus, the two persons went to the chena jungle, and\nthere being no watch-hut there, built one; and taking supplies week\nby week, began to chop down the bushes while they were living at the\nhouse in the jungle. Having chopped down the jungle, and burnt it,\nand sown the chena, the millet plants grew to a very large size.\n\nWhen the two persons were at the watch-hut they remained talking one\nnight for a long time, and said, \"To-morrow we must go to the village\nto bring back supplies.\" After talking thus, they went to sleep,\nboth of them.\n\nDuring the time while they were sleeping, Mun-aeta Guruwa's clothes\ncaught fire. Then Nagul-Munna awoke, and jumped down to the ground,\nand ran away. Mun-aeta Guruwa was burnt in the shed and died. On\naccount of his being killed, through fear of being charged with\ncausing his death, Nagul-Munna bounded off into the jungle, and did\nnot return to the village.\n\nThat day the relatives of those people who were in the village,\nthinking, \"Nagul-Munna and Mun-aeta Guruwa will be coming to fetch\nsupplies,\" getting ready the supplies, stayed looking for them. On\nthat day the two persons did not come; because they did not come two\nmen went from the village to look for them.\n\nThe two having gone and looked, and seen that the watch-hut had been\nburnt, spoke together concerning it: \"Both these men have been burnt\nand died. Let us go back to the village.\" So they returned.\n\nNagul-Munna, who sprang into the jungle that night, having come home\nduring the night of the following day, spoke to his wife, who was\nin the house. The woman, thinking that he had died, was frightened\nat his speech, and cried out, \"Nagul-Munna has been born as a Yaka,\nand having come here is doing something to me.\" At that cry the\nmen of the village came running; when they looked he was not there,\nhaving run off through fear of being seized.\n\nIn that manner he came on two days. The woman, being afraid, did not\nopen the door. On the third day he arose, and hid himself at the tank\nnear the village. While he was there, a tom-tom beater having gone\nto a devil-dance, [53] came bringing a bit of cooked rice, and a box\ncontaining his mask and decorations. [54]\n\nAs he was coming along bringing them, this Nagul-Munna having\nseen him, went and beat the tom-tom beater, and taking the bit of\ncooked rice and the box of devil-dancer's things, bounded into the\njungle. Having sprung into the jungle, and eaten the bit of rice,\nhe unfastened the box of devil-dancer's goods, and taking the things\nin it, dressed himself in them, putting the jingling bracelets [55]\non his arms and the jingling anklets [56] on his legs.\n\nThere was a large mask in it. Taking it, and tying it on his face,\nhe went to the village when it became night, and having gone to\na house there, broke the neck of a calf that was tied near it, and\nsprang into the rice-field near by. Having made a noise by shaking the\njingling bracelets, and given three cries, \"Hu, Hu, Hu,\" he shouted,\n\"If you do not give a leaf-cup of rice and a young coconut at dawn,\nand at night a leaf-cup of rice and a young coconut, I will kill all\nthe cattle and men that are in your village, and having drunk their\nblood, go away.\"\n\nThe men of the village becoming afraid on account of it, began to give\nrice every day in the way he said. Having given it for about four\nor five years in this manner, the men spoke together, \"Let us fetch\na sooth-sayer to seize that Yaka.\" After having said concerning it,\n\"It is good,\" they fetched a doctor (Veda).\n\nWhen the doctor went to the tank to catch that Yaka, Nagul-Munna came,\nand seizing that doctor, cut his bathing cloth, and having taken\nhim to the place where he was staying, killed him, and trampled on\nhis bathing cloth. Through the seizing and killing of the doctor,\nthe men of the village became afraid to a still greater degree.\n\nAfter that, having talked about bringing another sooth-sayer they\nfetched one. In the same manner, when he went to the tank the Yaka\nkilled the sooth-sayer. At that deed the men of the village became\nmore afraid still.\n\nHaving fetched a Sannyasi (a Hindu religious mendicant) from Jaffna,\nthey went to him, and told him to seize the Yaka. That man said,\n\"It is good\"; and having gone to the aforesaid tank to look for him,\nthe Yaka was in a tree. So the sooth-sayer repeated incantations to\ncause the Yaka to descend. The Yaka did not descend.\n\nAfter that, because he did not descend, that person got to know that\nhe was a man, and on his calling \"Hu,\" to the men of the village\nthe men came. Afterwards, seizing Nagul-Munna, who was in the tree,\nthey went to the village.\n\nBecause Mun-aeta Guruwa had died, the relatives of Mun-aeta Guruwa\ncame for their [legal] action against him.\n\nSaying that he had cheated them, and eaten food wrongly obtained from\nthem, the men of the village came for their action.\n\nBecause he had stolen the rice and the box with tom-tom beater's\nthings in it, the tom-tom beater came for his action.\n\nSaying that he killed the first sooth-sayer, his people came for\ntheir action.\n\nThe second sooth-sayer's people also in the same way came for their\naction.\n\nFor his killing the calf the owner came for his action.\n\nAfter all who had brought these actions had came to one spot, the\nman, saying, \"Because my wife told me to cut the chena together\nwith Mun-aeta Guruwa, and through my cutting the chena with him,\nthis happened,\" killed his own wife.\n\nThen, while he was going for his trial a bear bit that man on the way,\nand he died.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn The Orientalist, vol. iii, p. 31, there is a nearly similar\nstory of a tom-tom beater who was supposed to be burnt in his watch\nhut. In reality, it was a beggar who was burnt. The man being afraid\nof being charged with murdering him, got hid in the jungle. He came\nto his house at night, but was supposed to be the Mala upan Yaka,\n\"the evil spirit born from the dead,\" and was refused admittance\nby his wife, who gave an alarm. As men were coming on hearing it,\nhe ran off. On another night when he came, his wife assailed him with\na volley of invectives, as demon-scarers; so carrying off his dancing\nparaphernalia, he again retired, and afterwards robbed travellers, and\nfrightened the people till they threatened to leave the district. The\nKing offered a handsome reward for his apprehension, but he tied up\na Kattadiya or devil priest who came to exorcise him. In the end he\nwas captured by a Buddhist monk, taken before the King, and after\nrelating his adventures, appears to have been allowed to go unpunished.\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 257 (vol. ii, p. 209), there is an account\nof four actions brought against one man on the same day. It is a\nfolk-tale in Ceylon also.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 22\n\nTHE KULE-BAKA FLOWERS\n\n\nIn a certain country a King was ruling; the King was without\nchildren. The King having performed many meritorious deeds, five\nchildren were born.\n\nWhen they looked into the Naekata (or prognostics resulting from the\npositions of the planets) at the time when the children were born,\nthose of four were good, but that of the fifth child was that on\nseeing him his father's two eyes would become blind. The King told\nthem to take the Prince and put him down in the forest. So having\ntaken the Prince they put him in the forest.\n\nAfter that, animals having come through the favour of the Prince's\nguardian deity, gave him milk, and reared him.\n\nAfter much time had passed, the Prince's father, the King, went to have\nthe jungle driven (for shooting); and having gone, while they were\ndriving the jungle that Prince came, and bounded round the King's\nenclosure. Then, the King having seen him his eyes became blind,\nand he went away without his eyes seeing anything. The people who\nwent with the King, lifting him up, carried him to the palace.\n\nHaving arrived there, various medical treatments were applied; he\nwas not cured. After that, he caused sooth-sayers to be brought,\nand after he had asked them regarding it, they said, \"By applying\nmedical treatment you will not meet with a cure. In the midst of the\nForest of the Gods there is a flower called Kule-baka. Having brought\nthat flower, and burnt it on your eyes, your eyes will see.\"\n\nAfterwards the King asked the people, \"Who is able to bring this\nflower?\" All the people said they could not do it. Then the four\neldest Princes of the King, having said, \"Let us go,\" asked permission\nof the King; the King told them to go. So the four persons having\nstarted, went.\n\nAs they were going, the four persons went to a city. A courtesan\nstayed in that city; her name was Diribari-Laka. [57] She gambled\n(i.e. kept a gambling house). These four persons went to her house,\nand having gone there prepared to gamble. Then the woman said, \"Should\nyou lose by this game, I shall make you four persons prisoners (that\nis, slaves).\" The four persons having said, \"It is good,\" gambled,\nand all four having lost remained there as prisoners.\n\nThe Prince who was in the forest, having got to know all these matters,\nalso set off to seek the flower, and on his way arrived at the city\nat which the Princes who were made prisoners were staying. This one,\nhaving gone to the King of the city, was appointed to do messenger's\nwork there. While he was living thus, this one obtained news that the\ncourtesan was gambling, and thereupon this Prince asked the King for\nleave of absence. Having obtained it, he went to the house of an old\nwoman near the courtesan's house.\n\nHaving gone there, this Prince having fallen down near the feet of that\nold woman and made obeisance, weeping and weeping, these words are what\nhe said, \"Mother, are you in the enjoyment of health? Do not you let\nyour face be even visible (to) scrofulous offspring. When lightning\nhas struck you (may it) take your progeny.\" [58] Having spoken and\nspoken with these honours he remained weeping. The woman's child,\nnot of small age, was there, and having said similar things to the\nchild also, and while weeping having paid respect, the woman made that\nPrince rise, and asked him, \"Where were you for such a long period?\"\n\n\"I was with a King,\" the Prince said. \"Mother, whose is that house?\" he\nasked.\n\nThe woman said, \"Why, son? Do not say anything about it. That house\nis the house of a courtesan. There is a gambling game of that woman's,\nand by it many persons, having lost, remain as prisoners.\"\n\nThe Prince asked, \"Mother, how does one win by that game?\"\n\nThen the woman said, \"A bent lamp having been lighted, is placed at\nthe gambling place. Below the lamp a cat is sitting. While the woman is\ngambling the cat raises its head; then victory falls to the woman. When\nanother person is playing the cat lowers its head; then defeat falls\nto that man. If you are to win, having extinguished the bent lamp,\nand driven away the cat, and brought and placed there another lamp,\nif you should then play you can win.\"\n\nAfter that, the Prince went to gamble. Having gone there, when he was\nready to gamble she said, \"Should you lose in gambling, you will be\ncondemned to imprisonment; should you win you marry me.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"It is good,\" and gambled. When he was losing, he\nextinguished the lamp, and having beaten and driven away the cat, he\ntold the woman to bring another lamp. After that, the woman brought\na lamp. Having brought and placed the lamp there, they gambled. The\nwoman having lost all, the Prince won. Afterwards, that woman married\nthis Prince.\n\nDuring the time while he was living there, as this Prince was starting\nto go and bring the Kule-baka flower, the woman said, \"Don't go.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"I did not come for this gambling; I came for the\nKule-baka flower. I must indeed go, after having set off for this\npurpose,\" he said. So the Prince went to bring the flower. Before this,\nhe had allowed the imprisoned men to go, and said to the four Princes,\n\"Stop until I return.\"\n\nHaving thus gone, he entered into the midst of a forest. While he\nwas there, human-flesh-eating serpents and forest animals that were\nin the midst of the forest sprang to devour this Prince, but he made\nsupplication to his deity, so they were unable to do it, and went away.\n\nThen the Yaka who was guarding the Kule-baka garden, having seen the\nPrince, and having arisen and come near the Prince, asked, \"Have you,\na man born in the world of men, come into my presence to be a prey\nto me?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"My father the King for a fault said he must behead\nme. On account of it, having made my way into the midst of the forest,\nI have come to you for you to eat indeed. If you are going to eat me,\neat me; if you are going to keep me, keep me alive.\"\n\nAfter that, the Yaka asked, \"What do you eat?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"We eat wheat flour, ghi, sugar, and camels'\nflesh. [59] These indeed we eat.\"\n\nAll these requisites having been brought by the Yaka, after he had\ngiven them to the Prince, the Prince made the food, and gave to the\nYaka also.\n\nThe Yaka having eaten the food, sprang up into the air, and said to the\nPrince, \"I never ate a meal like this. I will do anything you tell me.\"\n\nThen the Prince said to the Yaka, \"Where is the path to go to the\nKule-baka garden?\"\n\nThe Yaka sprang up into the air, and fell on the ground, and beating\nhis head, said, \"If you had said so before this, by this time I\nshould have eaten you. What can I do now that I have promised to help\nyou?\" Having said, \"Go away from here,\" he told him about the path.\n\nThen the Prince went along it. There, also, a Yaksani [60] (female\nYaka) was guarding it, and the Prince came to her. The Yaksani asked\nthe Prince, \"Where are you going?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"Having delayed in the midst of a forest, as I was\nreturning I was unable to find the country with my village. Now I\nhave met with you here.\"\n\nAs he appeared good to the Yaksani she caused him to stay there,\nand married her daughter to him. The name of the girl to whom the\nPrince was married was Maha-Muda. [61]\n\nDuring the time while he was there the Prince remained angry.\n\nThe girl asked, \"What are you angry for?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"I must go to look at the Kule-baka garden.\"\n\nThen the girl spoke about this matter to her mother. So that woman\nhaving fetched rats, caused a tunnel to be made by them to the\nKule-baka garden. Along that tunnel the Prince went to the flower\ngarden, and having gone there, and plucked the flowers, came back\nagain.\n\nHaving returned there, calling Maha-Muda he came to the house of\nDiribari-Laka. Having arrived there, he burnt on the lower part of\nthe back the four Princes who had remained as prisoners. The Prince\nwho went for the Kule-baka flowers having burnt in this way the four\nPrinces, who stayed as slaves at the house of Diribari-Laka, these\nfour persons were freed from imprisonment.\n\nThen the Prince, Maha-Muda, and Diribari-Laka, taking the flowers,\ncame to the Prince's native country. Having arrived there, he burnt\nthe Kule-baka flowers on the two eyes of his father the King, and\nthe two eyes of the King became well.\n\nAfter that, the King having asked the Prince regarding these matters,\nlearnt that he was the King's Prince, [and he and his two wives\ncontinued to live there with him].\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 276 ff.--Tales of the\nPunjab, p. 263, 264--a rat assisted King Sarkap in games at Chaupur\n(the Pachis game), until it was frightened by a kitten that Prince\nRasalu had rescued from a potter's kiln.\n\nAt p. 250 of the former work it was predicted that if his father saw\nthe Prince during the twelve years after his birth, he (the father)\nwould die.\n\nIn Indian Nights' Entertainment, Panjab (Swynnerton), p. 319, a\nrat which had been saved from drowning assisted a girl to defeat a\nPrincess at Chaupur, by attracting the attention of a cat that moved\nthe pieces for the Princess. The cat was struck by the girl while\ntrying to seize the rat which she held; when it ran off she won.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Kashmir (Knowles), 2nd ed., p. 149, the cat belonging\nto a female gambler, at a sign from her mistress, extinguished the\nlamp whenever the game was going against her.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 277, a Princess, in order to get back\nher husband, started a gambling establishment at which they gambled\nwith dice, the stake being one hundred thousand rupees, together with\nthe imprisonment of the loser at her house. Her ruse was successful. A\nrich merchant's son, the Prefect's son, the Minister's son, and the\nPrince, all came in turn and lost.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 23\n\nKURULU-GAMA APPU, THE SOOTH-SAYER\n\n\nIn a certain city a man was stricken by a scarcity of food to eat,\nand he went to another country. Having gone there, during the time\nwhile he was residing in a village, the village men asked, \"What sooth\ncan you tell?\" [62] He said, \"I can tell one sooth; to do that sooth\nI want Jak-tree gum, Coconut oil, and Euphorbia milk\" (the milky sap\nwhich exudes from cuts or bruises in the bark). Thereupon the men\nhaving collected those things that he mentioned, gave them to him.\n\nThen he went and warmed these things [making bird-lime] and placed\n[limed] twigs, and catching birds and coming with them, he gave them\ndaily, two by two at each house, and thus ate. The man's name was Appu;\nhis village was Kurulu-gama (Birds' village).\n\nWhile he was continuing to eat in this manner, the men of that\nvillage started to go to Puttalam, carrying produce for sale. That\nman also said, \"I also must go.\" Then the men of the village asked,\n\"You have nothing; what will you take?\" Thereupon this one tying up\na pingo load of chaff and coconut husks, goes with the men.\n\nThen the men who were going on that journey, having come down to the\nhigh road, set off to go. While they were going, the men having said\n[in fun] \"Vedarala\" (Doctor) to that man, he kept the name.\n\nHaving gone very far, the Vedarala, telling the men who went with\nhim to wait on the road, placed his pingo (carrying-stick) on the\nroad, and went into an open place in the jungle. While going along\nin it, when he looked about, a yoke of cattle were entangled in\nthe bushes. Then this Vedarala having gone near the yoke of cattle,\nlooked at the letter marks branded on them, and having come back and\ntaken up the pingo load, while they were going on it became night.\n\nThis party having halted on the road near a village, sent the Vedarala\nto get a resting-place for the night. Having gone to a house in the\nvillage, when he asked for it the house men said, \"What giving of\nresting-places is there for us! We are lamenting in sorrow for the\ndifficulty we are in. Our yoke of cattle are missing.\"\n\nThe Vedarala said, \"Now then, what have we to do with your losing a\nyoke of cattle? Give us a resting-place.\"\n\n\"If you want one, look there! There is the shed, come and stay there,\"\nthey said.\n\nThen the Vedarala having come back, says to the people of the party,\n\"There is a shed indeed. Stay if you like; go on, if you want to go,\"\nhe said. So this party having come to the shed sat down.\n\nThe people of the party said to the Vedarala, \"Vedarala, why are\nyou staying looking about? Night is coming on. We must seek a little\nfirewood and water,\" they spoke together.\n\nThe house persons having heard these words, said, \"What is this, that\nyou are saying 'Vedarala'? Does he know sooth and the like?\" they\nasked. [63]\n\nThe persons of the party said without a reason for it (nikamata),\n\"To a certain extent he can tell matters of sooth.\"\n\n\"If so, don't be delayed on account of anything you want. We will\nbring and give you rice, firewood, and water.\" So they brought and\ngave them five quarts of rice, a dried fish, a head of ash-plantains.\n\nThis party, cooking amply, and having eaten, said at night to the\nperson who owned the house, \"Now then, bring a packet of betel leaves\nfor him to tell you sooth.\" So the house person having brought the\nbetel, gave it to the Vedarala.\n\nThereupon the assumed (lit. \"face\") Vedarala, having taken the betel,\nafter having looked at it falsely becoming \"possessed,\" said, \"It is\na yoke of oxen of yours that have been lost, isn't it?\"\n\nThen the house person said, \"You have said the sooth very correctly. I\nasked it of the deities of many dewalas (demon-temples), and of\nsooth-sayers. There wasn't a person who told me even a sign of it.\"\n\nThereafter the Vedarala asked, \"What will you give me for seeking\nand giving you the yoke of cattle?\"\n\nThat person said, \"Even if you can't give the full yoke of cattle,\nI will give a half share of the value\"; thus he promised.\n\nThe Vedarala having said, \"It is good,\" and told him to get and bring\na torch, cunningly having gone near the yoke of cattle that remained\nentangled in the bush at that place where he went on coming, asked if\nthese were his oxen. Then the man said, \"These are indeed my cattle,\"\nand having unfastened them and come back, in the morning gave him a\nhalf share [64] of the value of the cattle. Taking it, and throwing\naway the chaff and coconut husks, he went away.\n\nThat day also, having gone on until the time when it was becoming\nnight, he got a resting-place in the very way in which, having\nspoken before, he got one. At the time when they were in the shed the\npersons of the party said, \"Vedarala, what are you staying looking\nabout for? We must seek and get firewood and water.\"\n\nThen the house people say, \"What are you saying 'Vedarala' for? Does\nhe know to say sooth and the like?\"\n\nAfter that, this party say, \"He can also tell sooth. Last night he\nsought and gave a yoke of cattle.\"\n\nThen the house persons quickly having brought rice, fish, firewood,\nwater, gave them to the men.\n\nThis party having amply cooked and eaten, while they were sleeping,\nthe house person, having brought a packet of betel leaves, spoke to\nthe Vedarala: \"How am I to ask sooth?\"\n\nThe Vedarala rebuked him. \"All these persons being now without memory\nor understanding, what saying of sooth is there?\" [65] Then that one\nhaving gone, he went to sleep.\n\nA woman of the house was there; her name was Sihibuddi. The woman\nhaving heard the words which the Vedarala said, came and having softly\nawakened the Vedarala, said, \"The Sihibuddi you mention is I indeed. It\nwas I indeed who stole this house person's packet of waragan. [66]\nI will give you a share; don't mention it.\"\n\nThereupon the Vedarala says, \"Where is it? Bring it quickly, and\nhaving brought it place it near that clump of plantains.\"\n\nThen this woman having brought the packet of waragan, and placed it\nat the foot of the plantain clump and gone away, he went to sleep.\n\nAfterwards the Vedarala called the house person. \"Now then, bring\nbetel for me to say sooth.\" The man having brought betel gave it to\nthe Vedarala.\n\nThen the Vedarala, having taken the betel and looked at it, said,\n\"It is a packet of waragan that has been lost, isn't it.\"\n\nThat man said, \"It is that indeed. Should you seek and give what has\nbeen lost of mine, I will give you a half share.\"\n\nThen the Vedarala having told him to get a light, becoming \"possessed,\"\nwent and took and gave him the packet of waragan that was at the foot\nof the plantain clump.\n\nHaving taken from it a half share, at the time when the party were\ngoing on, thieves having broken into the box at the foot of the King's\nbed, [67] he made public by beat of tom-toms that many offices would\nbe given by the King to a person who should seek and give it to him.\n\nAt that time this party said, \"In our party indeed, there is a\nsooth-sayer. On the night of the day before yesterday he sought\nout and gave a yoke of cattle. Yesternight he sought out and gave a\npacket of waragan.\" Thereupon the persons took this Vedarala near the\nKing. Then the King asks, \"Can he catch and give the thief who broke\ninto the box at the foot of my bed?\" The party said that he could.\n\nThen the sooth-sayer, having become afraid, thought, \"I will tie a cord\nto my neck and die.\" So he said, \"After tying white cloths in a house\n(as a decoration, on the walls and under the roof), and a piece of\ncord to the cross-beam, and placing a bed, chairs, and table in it, and\nsetting on end a rice mortar, you must give me it in the evening.\" The\nKing having prepared them in that very way, gave him them.\n\nAfterwards, the Vedarala, after it became night, having gone inside the\nhouse, told them to shut the door from the outside, and lock it. Then\nhaving mounted on the rice mortar, when he tried to put the cord round\nhis neck it was too short. On account of it he said, \"Both the cord\nis too short and the height is insufficient. What shall I do?\" [68]\n\nAs the Vedarala was saying this word Kumandaeyi, a citizen, Kumanda,\nan old thief, was there [listening outside]. Having heard this, he\nthought, \"He is calling out my name\"; so becoming afraid he came near\nand spoke to the Vedarala, and said, \"It is I indeed whom you call\nKumanda. It is I indeed who committed the theft. Don't say anything\nabout it to the King.\"\n\nThen the Vedarala said, \"If so, bring the things and put them in\nthis house.\"\n\nThereupon the old thief, having brought to the house all the things\ntaken out of the box which was at the foot of the King's bed, gave\nthem to the sooth-sayer through the window.\n\nThen the Vedarala slept until light having come it became daylight.\n\nAfterwards, the King having sent messengers in the morning, they awoke\nthe Vedarala. Then the Vedarala, thinking it unseasonable, said,\n\"Who is talking to me without allowing me to sleep?\" and silently\nwent to sleep again. So the messengers returned and told the King.\n\nAfterwards the King came and spoke to him, and opened the door. The\nVedarala having come out, said, \"O Lord, Your Majesty, I was unable\nto seize the thieves; the things indeed I met with.\"\n\nThen the King said, \"The thief does not matter; after you have met\nwith the things it is enough.\"\n\nThen the King, catching a great many fire-flies and putting them in\na coconut shell, asked the Vedarala, \"What is there in this?\"\n\nThe sooth-sayer, becoming afraid, went as far as he could see him, and\nthinking, \"I will strike my head against a tree and die,\" came running\nand struck his head against a tree. [69] Then the sooth-sayer said,\n\"O Father! It was as though a hundred fire-flies flew about.\"\n\nThe King said, \"That is true. They are indeed fire-flies that are in\nmy hand.\"\n\nAfter that, the King caught a bird, and clenching it in his fist,\nasked the sooth-sayer, \"What is there in this fist?\"\n\nThe sooth-sayer, having become afraid, began to beat his head on\na stone. Then he said, \"Kurulu-gama Appu's strength went (this\ntime).\" [70]\n\nThe King said, \"Bola, it is indeed a bird that is in my hand\"; and\nhaving called the Vedarala, and given him many offices, and a house,\ntold him to stay at that very city.\n\nAfterwards the Vedarala, thinking, \"They will call me again to tell\nsooth,\" having put away the things that were in the house, and having\nset fire to the house, said, \"Kurulu-gama Appu's sooth-saying is\nfinished from to-day. The sooth books have been burnt.\" Having made\nit public he stayed at that very city.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThe second discovery of the sooth-sayer is extracted from a variant\nby a washerman, the rest of the story having been written by a man\nof the cultivating caste.\n\nIn the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. i, p. 272, there is an account\nof a pretended sooth-sayer, a poverty-stricken Brahmana. He first hid\na horse, and when application was made to him to discover it, he drew\ndiagrams and described the place where it would be found. After that,\nwhen a thief stole gold and jewels from the King's palace he was sent\nfor and shut up in a room, where he began to blame his tongue, jivha,\nwhich had made a vain pretence at knowledge. The principal thief, a\nmaid called Jivha, overheard him, and told him where she had buried\nher share of the plunder. Afterwards the King tested him by placing\na frog in a covered pitcher. He expected that he would be killed, and\nsaid, \"This is a fine pitcher for you, Frog (his father's pet name for\nhimself), since suddenly it has become the swift destroyer of yourself\nin this place.\" He was thought a great sage, and the King presented\nhim with \"villages with gold, umbrella, and vehicles of all kinds.\"\n\nThere is another story of a pretended sooth-sayer in vol. ii,\np. 140, of the same work, but it does not, like the last, resemble\nthe Sinhalese tale.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 24\n\nHOW A PRINCE WAS CHASED BY A YAKSANI, AND WHAT BEFEL\n\n\nA prince went for hunting-sport. As he was going, a Yaksani (female\nYaka) who was living in the midst of the forest, chased him, saying\nthat she was going to eat the Prince, and drove the Prince down the\npath. The Prince having gone running, went bounding through the middle\nof a city. The Yaksani followed him in the disguise of a woman.\n\nThe King of the city having seen them, sent the Ministers, and told\nthem to look what it was about. The Ministers asked the Yaksani who\nwas bounding behind him, \"What is that for?\"\n\nThe Yaksani said, \"My husband having quarrelled with me and left me,\nis running away. I am running after him because of it.\"\n\nThe Ministers then brought her before the King, and having seen the\nbeauty of the Yaksani, the King was pleased with her, and said, \"If\nyou should not go with him it does not matter; stay here.\" So the King,\nhaving prepared another house for the Yaksani, and having married her,\nestablishing her in the office of Chief Queen, she remained there.\n\nWhile she was there, this Yaksani having gone like a thief during the\ntime when all were sleeping, and killed and eaten the men of the city,\nbrought a few of the bones, and placed them in a heap at the back of\nthe houses in which the twelve Queens of the King slept.\n\nWhen a little time had gone by in this manner, the men of the city\ncame to the King, and saying, \"Since you have brought and are keeping\nthis Yaksani this city is altogether desolate,\" made obeisance. Then\nthe King made inquiry into the matter.\n\nThen that Yaksani said, \"Ane! O Lord, Your Majesty, I indeed do not\nknow about that, but I did indeed see that thief who eats human flesh,\nalthough I did not tell you.\"\n\nThe King asked, \"Who is it?\"\n\nThe Yaksani said, \"If Your Majesty should look behind the houses of\nthe twelve Queens you can ascertain.\"\n\nWhen the King went there and looked, he found that it was true, and\ngave orders for the twelve Queens to be killed. Then the Yaksani told\nhim not to kill them, but to pluck out their eyes, and send them into\nthe midst of the forest. Having heard the words which the Yaksani said,\nhe acted in that very manner.\n\nSo all this party of Queens went and stayed in one spot, and there all\nthe twelve bore children. As each one was born, they divided and ate\nit. The youngest Queen put aside all the flesh that was given to her,\nand while she was keeping it she, also, bore a son. Then those eleven\nQueens made ready to eat that Prince, so that Princess gave them the\nflesh which she had kept, and the party ate it.\n\nAs time went on that Prince having grown a little, began to bring and\ngive them fruits that were lying on the ground. Then the Prince met\nwith a bow and an arrow that had been concealed there. After that\nhe began to shoot various kinds of small animals, and to bring and\ngive them to the Queens. Afterwards he shot large animals, and having\nbrought fire and boiled them, he gave the flesh to them. By this time\nthe Prince understood all things thoroughly.\n\nAfter that, one day this Prince asked, \"Mother, what is the reason\nwhy your eyes have become blind, and my eyes are well?\"\n\nThe party said, \"We were the Queens of such and such a King;\nhaving taken a Yaksani in marriage, this was done to us through her\nenmity.\" Then the Prince remained thinking of killing the King.\n\nOne day, as he was going hunting, he met with a Vaedda. Thinking\nhe would kill the Vaedda, the Prince chased him along the path. The\nVaedda, being afraid, went running away, and having met with the King\nsaid, \"O Lord, Your Majesty, there is a very handsome Prince in the\nmidst of this forest. One cannot say if the Prince is the son of a\ndeity or a royal Prince. He does not come near enough to speak. When\nhe sees a man he drives him away, saying he is going to eat him.\" He\nspoke very strongly about it.\n\nSo the Ministers were sent by the King, who told them to seize and\nbring him. As the party were going to seize him, he sprang forward,\nsaying that he was going to eat them. At that, the party became afraid,\nand ran away. Having come running, they told the King, \"O Lord, Your\nMajesty, we cannot seize him. He comes springing at us saying he is\ngoing to eat us.\"\n\nThen the King came, bringing his war army. Thereupon the Prince,\nwho before that was angry with the King in his mind, threw a stone\nin order to kill the King, and struck him. Being struck by the stone,\nthe King's head was wounded (lit. split), so the King and all of them\nbecame afraid, and ran away.\n\nThe King, having returned, wrote letters to foreign countries: \"There\nis a wicked Prince in the midst of the forest in my kingdom. Who he\nis I cannot find out. Because of it you must come to seize the Prince.\"\n\nThe Prince having got to know of it, and thinking, \"It is not good\nfor me to be killed at the hands of these men; having met with the\nKing I will kill him,\" went to the royal palace. When he arrived\nthere the King saw him, and asked, \"Who are you?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"I am a royal Prince; I stay in the midst of this\nforest.\"\n\nThe King said, \"Would it be a bad thing if you remained at this\npalace?\"\n\nThe Prince asked, \"What work would there be for me?\"\n\nThe King said, \"Remain and do the work of the First Minister of\nthe Ministers.\"\n\nThe Prince asked, \"How much pay would there be for me for the day?\"\n\nThe King replied, \"I will give fifty masuran.\"\n\n\"Fifty masuran are insufficient for me. Will you give me every day\nin the evening a hundred masuran?\" he asked.\n\nThe King said, \"It is good,\" and after that he stayed there. While\nremaining there he came twice a day and assisted his twelve mothers.\n\nWhen no long time had gone by, some one was heard crying out in the\nnight near the city. The King told him to look who was crying. The\nPrince having gone, taking his sword, when he looked, a dead body\nwas hanging in a tree, and a Yaksani was springing up to eat the dead\nbody. Being unable to seize it she was crying out.\n\nThe Prince went and asked, \"What is that for?\"\n\nThe Yaksani replied, \"My son having gone into the tree cannot descend;\nbecause of it I am crying out.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"Mount on my shoulders and unfasten him.\"\n\nThe Yaksani having got on his shoulders, as she was about to eat the\nPrince he chopped at her with his sword. A foot was cut off, and she\nfled. Taking the foot and returning with it, the Prince showed it to\nthe King. The King having seen the Prince's resoluteness, in order\nto cause him to be killed said that unless he should bring the other\nfoot he could not take charge of this one.\n\nAfter that, the Prince went to the palace where the Yakas dwelt. There\nthis Yaksani whom he had wounded came, and having made obeisance,\nfell down and said, \"Lord, do not kill me. I will do anything you\ntell me.\" Summoning her to accompany him and returning, he showed\nher to the King.\n\nAfterwards he employed this Yaksani, and caused her to make a city\nat the place where his mothers were, and having made her construct\na palace, he told the Yaksani and his mothers to dwell there.\n\nWhile they were there the Yaksani said to the Prince, \"I know the\nplace where the King's life is. Whatever you should do to the King\nhimself you cannot kill him.\"\n\nThe Prince asked, \"Where is it?\"\n\n\"It is in a golden parrot in such and such a tree,\" she said.\n\nAfter that he went there and caught the parrot and killed it. Then\nthe King died.\n\nAfter he died, the Prince having set fire to the palace there, and\ncut down the Yaksani who stayed with the King, left his mothers in\ncharge of the city formed by the maimed Yaksani, and remained ruling\nthe kingdom.\n\n\n                                                       Western Province.\n\n\n\nFor some variants, see the notes at the end of the story numbered 48.\n\nIn Indian Nights' Entertainment, Panjab (Swynnerton), p. 355, a\nPrincess in man's disguise, acting as the King's guard, found a ghul\nin the form of a woman howling under a corpse that was hanging from\na gallows. She stated that it was her son whom she could not reach,\nand she asked to be lifted up. When raised up to it by the Princess\nshe began to suck the blood, on seeing which the Princess made a cut at\nher, but only severed a piece of her clothing, which proved to be of so\nrich a quality that the King ordered her to procure more for his wife.\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 96 (vol. i, p. 235) an Ogress in the disguise\nof a woman followed a man into Takkasila, intending to devour him. The\nKing saw her, was struck by her beauty, and married her. When he had\ngiven her authority over those who dwelt in the palace, she brought\nother Ogres at night, and ate the King and every one in the place.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 25\n\nTHE WICKED KING\n\n\nIn a certain country there are a King and a Queen, it is said. The\nQueen has no children. During the time while she was rearing another\n(adopted) Prince, a child was born to the Queen.\n\nAfter it was born, the King and Queen having spoken together, \"Let us\nkill the Prince whom we have brought up,\" said to the King's Minister,\n\"Take this Prince and put him down in a clump of bamboos.\" The Minister\nhaving taken the Prince, and put him down in a clump of bamboos,\nreturned. The Prince was seven years old.\n\nAfter that, a man having gone to the bamboo clump to cut bamboos,\nand having seen, when he looked, that this Prince was there, without\nstopping to cut bamboos took away this Prince.\n\nOn the following day the King said to the Minister, \"Look if the\nPrince is in the bamboo bush, and come back.\" Afterwards he went,\nand when he looked, the Prince was not there. So he came to the King,\nand said, \"The Prince is not there.\"\n\nThen the King said, \"The man who went away after cutting bamboos will\nhave taken him. Give these thousand masuran, and bring him.\" Having\nsaid this, he gave him a thousand masuran. The Minister, having taken\nthe thousand masuran, and given them to the man who took away the\nPrince, brought him and gave him to the King.\n\nAfterwards the King said to the Minister, \"Take this one and put him\ndown in the middle of the path to a cattle fold in which five hundred\ncattle are collected, and return, so that, having been trampled on\nas the cattle are going along the path, he may die.\" So the Minister\nhaving taken that Prince, and put him down in the middle of the path to\na cattle fold in which five hundred cattle were collected, came away.\n\nAfter that, as the five hundred cattle were setting off to go into the\ncattle fold, when the great chief bull which went first was about to go\nin, having seen this Prince he placed him under his body, and allowing\nthe other cattle to go in, this bull went afterwards. Subsequently,\nas the herdsman who drove the cattle was going along he saw this\nPrince, and taking the Prince the herdsman went away.\n\nOn the following day the King said to the Minister, \"Look if the\nPrince is at the cattle fold, and come back.\" The Minister went,\nand when he looked the Prince was not there. So the Minister came\nand said to the King, \"He is not there.\"\n\nThen the King having given a thousand masuran into the Minister's hand\nsaid, \"The herdsman who drove the cattle will have taken him. Give\nthese thousand masuran and bring him.\" So the Minister having taken\nthe thousand masuran, and given them to the herdsman, brought the\nPrince and gave him to the King.\n\nAfter that, the King said, \"Take this one and put him down in the\nroad on which five hundred carts are coming.\" So the Minister having\ntaken the Prince, and put him down in the road on which five hundred\ncarts were coming, returned.\n\nThen the carters, having seen from afar that the Prince was there,\ntook the Prince, and placed him in a cart, and went home with him.\n\nOn the following day the King said to the Minister, \"Go and look\nif the Prince is in the road on which the five hundred carts come,\nand return.\" The Minister went, and when he looked the Prince was\nnot there. So the Minister came and told the King, \"The Prince is\nnot there.\"\n\nThen the King gave the Minister a thousand masuran, and said, \"The\ncarters will have taken him. Give these thousand masuran and bring\nhim.\" The Minister having given the thousand masuran to the carters,\nbrought the Prince and gave him to the King.\n\nAfter that, the King said to the Minister, \"Speak to the potter and\ncome back. There is no other means of killing this one but surrounding\nhim with pottery in the pottery kiln, and burning him.\" So the Minister\nwent and spoke to the potter, \"Our King tried thus and thus to kill\nthis Prince; he could not. Because of that, how if you should surround\nhim even in the pottery kiln?\"\n\nThe potter said, \"Should you bring him I will surround him.\"\n\nSo the Minister came and said to the King, \"The potter told me to\ntake the Prince.\"\n\nAfter that, the King wrote a letter: \"Immediately on seeing the Prince\nwho brings this letter, surround him in the pottery kiln, and kill\nhim.\" Having written that in the letter, and given the letter to the\nPrince who had been adopted, he said, \"Take this letter to such and\nsuch a potter, and having given it come back.\"\n\nAfterwards, as the Prince was going along taking the letter, the King's\nPrince having played at \"Disks,\" [71] and the counters having been\ndriven out, was dragging along the hop counters. Then, having seen this\nPrince, the King's Prince asked, \"Where, elder brother, are you going?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"Father gave me this letter, and told me to give it\nto such and such a potter. Having given it I am going to return.\"\n\nThe King's Prince said, \"If so, elder brother, I will give that letter\nand come back. You drag these hop counters.\"\n\nThen this Prince having said \"Ha,\" and given the letter into the\nhands of the King's Prince, dragged the hop counters.\n\nWhile the King's Prince was taking the letter, the potter was making\nready the pottery kiln. After the Prince had given the letter to\nthe potter, when the potter looked at it there was in the letter,\n\"After you have seen this letter, surround in the pottery kiln the\nPrince who brings this letter, and set fire to it.\" So the potter\ntaking the Prince surrounded him in the pottery kiln, and set fire\nto it. While it was burning in the pottery kiln the King's Prince died.\n\nAfter the adopted Prince finished dragging the hop counters, and came\nto the palace, the King asked, \"Did you give the letter to the potter?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"As I was going there, younger brother having played\nat 'Disks,' and the counters being driven out, was dragging the hop\ncounters. Having seen me going, younger brother asked, 'Where, elder\nbrother, are you going?' I said, 'Father gave me this letter to give\nto such and such a potter; having given it I am going to return.' Then\nyounger brother said, 'Elder brother, I will give that letter and come;\nyou draw these hop counters.' So I gave the letter into the hand of\nyounger brother, and I myself having drawn the hop counters came back.\"\n\nThen the King quickly said to the Ministers, \"Go to the potter,\nand look if the Prince is there, and return.\"\n\nThe Ministers went and asked the potter, \"Is the Prince here?\"\n\nThe potter said, \"I killed the Prince.\"\n\nSo the Ministers came and told the King that the Prince was dead.\n\nThe King immediately wrote a letter to the King of another city, that\nwhen he saw the Prince who brought the letter he was to kill him; and\nhaving given the letter into the hand of this adopted Prince, he said,\n\"Give this letter to the King of such and such a city, and come back.\"\n\nThe Prince having taken the letter went to the palace of the King\nof the city. At that time the King was not in the palace; the King's\nPrincess was there. This Prince having grown up was beautiful to look\nat; the Princess thought of marrying him. Asking for the letter in\nthe hand of the Prince, when she looked at it there was written that\non seeing the Prince they were to kill him.\n\nThen the Princess having torn up and thrown away the letter, wrote\na letter that on seeing the Prince they were to marry him to the\nPrincess. Having written it and given it into the hand of the Prince,\nshe said, \"After our father the King has come give him this letter.\"\n\nAfter that, while the Prince, having taken the letter, was there, the\nKing came. The Prince gave him the letter. When the King looked at the\nletter he learnt that on seeing the Prince he was to marry the King's\nPrincess to him. So the King married the King's Princess to the Prince.\n\nHaving married her, while the Prince was there, illness seized the\nKing who brought up the Prince, and they sent letters for this Prince\nto come. The Prince would not. Afterwards they sent a letter: \"Even\nnow the King cannot be trusted [to live]; he is going to die even\nto-day. You must come.\" To that also the Prince replied, \"I will not.\"\n\nThe Princess said, \"Having said 'I will not,' how will it be? Let us\ntwo go to-day.\" So the Prince and Princess came. When they arrived,\nthe King was about to die, and breathing with difficulty. The Prince\ncame and sat near the King's feet; the Princess sat near the King's\nhead. The King told the Prince to come near in order to give him an\noath [to repeat], in such a manner that he would be unable to seize\nany article of the King's.\n\nWell then, as the King was coming to mention the King's treasure\nhouses and all other things, while he was opening his mouth to say the\ntruth-oath to the Prince, the Princess, the King's daughter-in-law,\nbeing aware of it, stroked the King's neck, saying, \"If so, father,\nfor whom are they if not for us?\" Then that which the King was about\nto say he had no opportunity of saying; while she was holding his\nneck he died.\n\nAfter that, the Prince having obtained the sovereignty, and the\ntreasure houses, and the other different houses that were there,\nthe Prince and Princess stayed at that very palace.\n\n\n                Anun nahanda yanakota tamumma nahinawa.\n\n        While they are going to kill others they die themselves.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 26\n\nTHE KITUL SEEDS\n\n\nA certain man and his son, who was a grown-up youth, were walking\nalong a path one day, when they came to a place where many seeds had\nfallen from a Kitul Palm tree.\n\nThe man drew his son's attention to them, and said, \"We must gather\nthese Kitul seeds, and plant them. When the plants from them grow\nup we shall have a large number of Kitul trees, from which we will\ntake the toddy (juice), and make jaggery (a kind of brown sugar). By\nselling this we shall make money, which we will save till we shall\nhave enough to buy a nice pony.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said the boy, \"and I will jump on his back like this, and ride\nhim,\" and as he said it he gave a bound.\n\n\"What!\" said the father, \"would you break my pony's back like\nthat!\" and so saying, he gave him a blow on the side of the head\nwhich knocked him down senseless.\n\n\n                                              E. G. Goonewardene, Esqre.\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThere is another story of this type in the tale No. 53, below.\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 4 (vol. i, p. 19), there is a tale of a young\nman who acquired a fortune and became Lord Treasurer by means of a\ndead mouse which he picked up and sold for a farthing, subsequently\nincreasing his money by careful investments.\n\nIn the Katha Sarit Sagara, vol. i, p. 33, a nearly identical mouse\nstory is given.\n\nIn Indian Fairy Tales (Stokes), p. 31, there is a different one. A\nman who was to receive four pice for carrying a jar of ghi, settled\nthat he would buy a hen with the money, sell her eggs, get a goat,\nand then a cow, the milk of which he would sell. Afterwards he would\nmarry a wife, and when they had children he would refuse some cooked\nrice which they would offer him. At this point he shook his head as\nhe refused it, and the jar fell and was broken.\n\nIn Indian Nights' Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 23, a man who was\ncarrying a jar of butter on his head, and who expected to get three\nhalfpence for the job, was going to buy a hen, then a sheep, a cow,\na milch buffalo, and a mare, and then to get married. As he patted\nhis future children on the head the pot fell and was broken.\n\nIn The Arabian Nights (Lady Burton's ed., i, p. 296) there is a\nwell-known variant in which the fortune was to be made out of a tray\nof glass-ware.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 27\n\nTHE SPEAKING HORSE\n\n\nThere was once a certain King who was greatly wanting in common sense,\nand in his kingdom there was a Panditaya who was extremely wise. The\nKing had a very beautiful white horse of which he was very proud. The\nPanditaya was respected and revered by all, but for the King little\nor no respect was felt, on account of his foolish conduct. He\nobserved this, and became jealous of the Panditaya's popularity,\nso he determined to destroy him.\n\nOne day he sent for him. The Panditaya came and prostrated himself\nbefore the King, who said, \"I hear that you are extremely learned and\nwise. I require you to teach my white horse to speak. I will allow\nyou one week to consider the matter, at the end of which time you must\ngive me a reply, and if you cannot do it your head will be cut off.\"\n\nThe Panditaya replied, \"It is good, O Great King,\" [72] and went home\nin very low spirits.\n\nHe lived with a beautiful daughter, a grown-up girl. When he returned\nshe observed that he was melancholy, and asked the reason, on which\nthe Panditaya informed her of the King's command, and said that it\nwas impossible to teach a horse to speak, and that he must place his\naffairs in order, in preparation for his death.\n\n\"Do as I tell you,\" she said, \"and your life will be saved. When you\ngo to the King on the appointed day, and he asks you if you are able\nto teach his horse to speak, you must answer, 'I can do it, but it\nis a work that will occupy a long time. I shall require seven years'\ntime for it. You must also allow me to keep the horse by me and ride\nit, while you will provide food for it.' The King will agree to this,\nand in the meantime who knows what may happen?\"\n\nThe Panditaya accepted this wise advice. He appeared before the King\nat the end of the week, and prostrated himself. The King asked him,\n\"Are you able to teach my white horse to speak?\"\n\n\"Maharajani,\" he replied, \"I am able.\" He then explained that it would\nbe a very difficult work, and would occupy a long time; and that he\nwould require seven years for it, and must have the horse by him all\nthe time, and use it, while the King would provide food for it.\n\nThe King was delighted at the idea of getting his horse taught to\nspeak, and at once agreed to these conditions. So the Panditaya took\naway the horse, and kept it at the King's expense.\n\nBefore the seven years had elapsed the King had died, and the horse\nremained with the Panditaya.\n\n\n                                              E. G. Goonewardene, Esqre.\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 28\n\nTHE FEMALE QUAIL\n\n\nA female Quail having laid an egg on a rock, went to eat food. Then\nthe [overhanging] rock closed over it, and when the bird returned\nthere was no egg. \"Ando! There is no egg,\" she said.\n\nWell then, she went to the Mason. The Mason said, \"Sit down, O Bird.\"\n\n\"What is [the use of] sitting and staying? What is [the use of]\nbetel leaf and areka nut at the corner of the bed? Cut the rock,\nand give me the egg, O Mason,\" she said.\n\nThe Mason said, \"I will not.\"\n\nFrom there she went to the Village Headman. [73] The Village Headman\nsaid, \"Sit down, O Bird.\"\n\n\"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel\nleaf and areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Village Headman, tie up\nthe house-door [74] of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock,\nand give me the egg,\" she said.\n\nThe Village Headman said, \"I will not.\"\n\nFrom there she went to the Pig. The Pig said, \"Sit down, O Bird.\"\n\n\"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel\nleaf and areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Pig, feed in the rice\nfield of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie\nup the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock,\nand give me the egg,\" she said.\n\nThe Pig said, \"I will not.\"\n\nFrom there she went to the Vaedda. The Vaedda said, \"Sit down, O Bird.\"\n\n\"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel\nleaf and areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Vaedda, shoot (with\nbow and arrow) the Pig, the Pig who did not feed in the rice field\nof the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie up the\nhouse-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give\nme the egg,\" she said.\n\nThe Vaedda said, \"I will not.\"\n\nFrom there she went to the Timbol creeper. [75] The Timbola said,\n\"Sit down, O Bird.\"\n\n\"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel leaf\nand areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Timbola, prick the body of\nthe Vaedda, the Vaedda who did not shoot the Pig, the Pig who did not\nfeed in the rice field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman\nwho did not tie up the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did\nnot cut the rock, and give me the egg,\" she said.\n\nThe Timbola said, \"I will not.\"\n\nFrom there she went to the Fire. The Fire said, \"Sit down, O Bird.\"\n\n\"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel leaf\nand areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Fire, burn the Timbola,\nthe Timbola that did not prick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda\nwho did not shoot the Pig, the Pig who did not feed in the rice\nfield of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie\nup the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock,\nand give me the egg,\" she said.\n\nThe Fire said, \"I will not.\"\n\nFrom there she went to the Water-pot. The Water-pot said, \"Sit down,\nO Bird.\"\n\n\"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel leaf\nand areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Water-pot, quench the Fire,\nthe Fire that did not burn the Timbola, the Timbola that did not\nprick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda who did not shoot the Pig,\nthe Pig who did not feed in the rice field of the Village Headman,\nthe Village Headman who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason,\nthe Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg,\" she said.\n\nThe Water-pot said, \"I will not.\"\n\nFrom there she went to the Elephant. The Elephant said, \"Sit down,\nO Bird.\"\n\n\"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel\nleaf and areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Elephant, make\nmuddy the Water-pot, the Water-pot that did not quench the Fire,\nthe Fire that did not burn the Timbola, the Timbola that did not\nprick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda who did not shoot the Pig,\nthe Pig who did not feed in the rice field of the Village Headman,\nthe Village Headman who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason,\nthe Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg,\" she said.\n\nThe Elephant said, \"I will not.\"\n\nFrom there she went to the Rat. The Rat said, \"Sit down, O Bird.\"\n\n\"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel leaf\nand areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Rat, creep into the ear of\nthe Elephant, the Elephant who did not make muddy the Water-pot, the\nWater-pot that did not quench the Fire, the Fire that did not burn\nthe Timbola, the Timbola that did not prick the body of the Vaedda,\nthe Vaedda who did not shoot the Pig, the Pig who did not feed in the\nrice field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie\nup the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock,\nand give me the egg,\" she said.\n\nThe Rat said, \"I will not.\"\n\nFrom there she went to the Cat. The Cat said, \"Sit down, O Bird.\"\n\n\"What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel leaf\nand areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Cat, eat the Rat, the Rat\nwho did not creep into the ear of the Elephant, the Elephant who did\nnot make muddy the Water-pot, the Water-pot that did not quench the\nFire, the Fire that did not burn the Timbola, the Timbola that did not\nprick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda who did not shoot the Pig,\nthe Pig who did not feed in the rice field of the Village Headman,\nthe Village Headman who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason,\nthe Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg,\" she said.\n\nThe Cat said \"Ha\" (Yes).\n\nWell then, the Cat went to catch the Rat, the Rat went to creep into\nthe ear of the Elephant, the Elephant went to make muddy the Water-pot,\nthe Water-pot went to quench the Fire, the Fire went to burn the\nTimbola, the Timbola went to prick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda\nwent to shoot the Pig, the Pig went to feed in the rice field of the\nVillage Headman, the Village Headman went to tie up the house-door of\nthe Mason, the Mason went to cut the rock, and take and give the egg.\n\nHere the story ends. \"Was the egg given?\" I asked. \"It would be given,\"\nthe narrator said. \"No, he gave it,\" said a listener.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn a variant which I heard in the Southern Province, a bird laid two\neggs in a crevice between two stones, which drew close together. She\nwent to a Mason or Stone-cutter; (2) to a Pig; (3) to a Hunter;\n(4) to an Elephant, which she requested to kill him; (5) to a Lizard\n(Calotes), which she told to crawl up the Elephant's trunk into its\nbrain; (6) to a Jungle Hen, which she told to peck and kill the Lizard;\n(7) to a Jackal, who, when requested to kill the Jungle Hen, at once\nagreed, and said, \"It is very good,\" and set off after her.\n\n\n\nIn Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 209--Tales of the Punjab,\np. 195--there is a variant. While a farmer's wife was winnowing corn,\na crow carried off a grain, and perched on a tree to eat it. She threw\na clod at it, and knocked it down, but the grain of corn rolled into\na crack in the tree, and the crow, though threatened with death in\ncase of failure, was unable to recover it.\n\nIt went for assistance, and requested (1) a Woodman to cut the tree;\n(2) a King to kill the man; (3) a Queen to coax the King; (4) a Snake\nto bite the Queen; (5) a Stick to beat the Snake; (6) Fire to burn the\nStick; (7) Water to quench the Fire; (8) an Ox to drink the water;\n(9) a Rope to bind the Ox; (10) a Mouse to gnaw the Rope; (11) a\nCat to catch the Mouse. \"The moment the Cat heard the name Mouse,\nshe was after it, for the world would come to an end before a Cat\nwould leave a Mouse alone.\" In the end the Crow got the grain of corn,\nand saved its life.\n\nIn Indian Folk Tales (Gordon), p. 53, there is an allied variant. A\nbird had bought three grains of corn for three cowries, and while\nshe was on a new cart eating them one fell into a joint of the cart\nwhere she was unable to get it.\n\nShe appealed to (1) the Carpenter to take the cart to pieces, so that\nshe might obtain it; (2) the King to make him do it; (3) the Queen\nto persuade the King; (4) a Deer to graze in the Queen's garden;\n(5) the Stick to beat the Deer; (6) the Fire to burn the Stick;\n(7) the Lake to quench the Fire; (8) the Rats to fill up the Lake;\n(9) the Cat to attack the Rats; (10) the Elephant to crush the Cat;\n(11) an Ant to crawl into the Elephant's ear; (12) the Crow, \"the\nmost greedy of all creatures,\" to eat the Ant. The Crow consented,\nand the usual result followed.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 29\n\nTHE PIED ROBIN\n\n\nAt a certain city, while a female Pied Robin [76] was digging and\ndigging on a dung-hill, she met with a piece of scraped coconut refuse,\nit is said. She took it, and put it away, and having gone again, while\nshe was digging and digging there was a lump of rice dust. Having\ntaken it, and put it to soak, she said, \"Sister-in-law at that house,\nSister-in-law at this house, come and pound a little flour.\" [77]\n\nThe women, saying, \"No, no, with such a fragment you can pound that\nlittle bit yourself,\" did not come.\n\nThe Pied Robin pounded the flour, and cooking a cake of the size of\na rice mat (wattiya), and tying a hair-knot of the size of a box,\nand putting on a cloth of the breadth of a thumb, while she was going\naway she met with a Jackal.\n\nThe Jackal asked, \"Where are you going?\"\n\n\"Having looked for a [suitable] marriage, I am going to get married,\"\nshe said.\n\nThe Jackal said, \"Would it be bad if you went with me?\" [78]\n\nThe bird asked, \"What do you eat?\"\n\nThe Jackal said, \"I eat a land crab, and drink a little water.\"\n\nThen the bird said, \"Chi! Bullock, Chi!\" and while going on again\nshe met with a blind man.\n\nThe blind man asked, \"Where are you going?\"\n\n\"Having looked for a [suitable] marriage, I am going to get married,\"\nshe said.\n\nThe blind man said, \"Would it be bad if you went with me?\"\n\nThe bird asked, \"What do you eat?\"\n\nThe blind man said, \"Having chewed an eel, I drink a little water.\"\n\nThen the bird said, \"Chi! Bullock, Chi!\" and while going on again\nshe met with a Hunchback, chopping and chopping at a bank (nira)\nin a rice field.\n\nThe Hunchback said, \"Where are you going?\"\n\n\"Having looked for a [suitable] marriage, I am going to get married,\"\nshe said.\n\nThe Hunchback said, \"Would it be bad if you went with me?\"\n\nThe bird asked, \"What do you eat?\"\n\nThe Hunchback said, \"I eat rice cakes.\"\n\nThen the bird having said, \"Ha. It is good,\" the Hunchback said, \"I put\nrice on the hearth to boil, and came away. You go and look after it.\"\n\nAfter the bird had gone to the Hunchback's house, she found that the\nwater was insufficient for cooking the rice, and except that it was\nmaking a sound, \"Kuja tapa tapa, kuja tapa tapa,\" it was not cooking.\n\nSo the bird went to the Hunchback, and said, \"The water is\ninsufficient for cooking the rice. It only says 'Kuja tapa tapa,\nkuja tapa tapa.' [79] Bring water, O Hunchback.\"\n\nThe Hunchback became angry [at the nicknames], and having come home,\nwhen he was taking a water-pot to the well, a frog sitting on the\nwell mouth jumped into the well, making a sound, \"Kujija bus.\" [80]\n\nThen the Hunchback, having drawn and drawn up the water from the\nwell, caught and killed the frog, and tried to fill the water-pot\nwith water. The water continuing, as he poured it, to make a sound\n\"Kuja kutu kutu, kuja kutu kutu,\" [81] except that it splashed up\ndoes not fill the water-pot.\n\nThrough anger at it, he took the water-pot and struck it against the\nmouth of the well, and smashed it.\n\nWhile he was coming home he met a Village Headman. The Village Headman\nasked, \"Where, Mr. Hunchback, did you go?\"\n\nThe Hunchback said, \"What is the journey on which I am going to thee,\nBola, O Heretic?\" and having come home, killed the Pied Robin, and\nate the cakes that the bird brought.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn Indian Folk Tales (Gordon), p. 59, a large grain measure (paila)\nhaving quarrelled with his wife, the small grain measure (paili),\nand beaten her, she ran off, and on her way met with a Crow, which\ninvited her to stay with him. She inquired, \"What will you give me\nto eat and drink, what to wear and what to spend?\" The reply being\nunsatisfactory, she went on, and met a Bagula (crane or heron), which\nalso invited her to stay, and when asked the same question gave an\nunsatisfactory answer. She next met a King, who said, \"I will place\none cushion below you and one above, and whatsoever you desire you\nmay have to eat.\" She refused this, and met a dog, who told her that\nin the King's store there was much raw sugar, of which they would\neat as much as they pleased. She accepted this offer, and they lived\nin the store; but one day the King's daughter threw in the scales,\nwhich wounded the dog on the head, so the measure jumped out.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 30\n\nTHE JACKAL AND THE HARE\n\n\nIn a certain country there are a Jackal and a Hare living together,\nit is said.\n\nOne day when the Jackal was rubbing himself in the morning in the\nopen space at the front of the house, there was a pumpkin seed in his\nhair. He took it and planted it. Afterwards, when the Hare went to the\nopen ground, and was rubbing himself, he also had a pumpkin seed in his\nhair. He, too, took it and planted it. That which the Jackal planted,\nbeing without water, died. The Hare having brought water in his ears,\nand watered his seed, it sprouted, grew large, and bore a fruit.\n\nAfter the fruit had become large, the Jackal and Hare spoke together,\n\"Friend, with that pumpkin fruit let us eat pumpkin milk-rice.\" They\nalso said, \"Whence the rice, coconut, and the like, for it?\"\n\nThen the Hare said, \"We two will go to the path to the shops. You\nstay in the bushes. I will be lying down in the grass field (pitiya)\nat the side of the path. Men going along the road, having placed on\nthe path the articles which they are carrying to the shops, will come\nto take me. Then you take the goods, and go off to the bushes.\"\n\nWhen the Jackal and Hare had gone to the path that led to the shops,\nand seen a man coming, bringing a bag of rice, the Hare lay down in\nthe grass field as though dead. The Jackal hid himself and waited.\n\nThat man having come up, and seen that the Hare was dead, said,\n\"Appa! Bola, there is meat for me.\" So he placed the bag of rice on\nthe road, and went to get the Hare. Then the Jackal came running,\nand carried off the bag of rice into the bushes. When the man was\napproaching the Hare, it got up and ran away. So the man had neither\nthe bag of rice nor the Hare. He went home empty-handed (nikam).\n\nAgain when the Jackal and Hare were looking out, they saw a man come,\nbringing a pingo (carrying-stick) load of coconuts, and the Hare\nwent and lay down again in the grass field. The Jackal hid himself\nand looked out.\n\nAfterwards that man came up, and as he was going on from there he\nsaw that the Hare was lying dead, and saying, \"Appa! Bola, there is\na Hare,\" placed the pingo load of coconuts on the path, and went\nto get the Hare. The Jackal, taking the pingo load of coconuts,\nwent into the bushes. As that man approached the Hare it got up and\nran away. So the man had neither the pingo load of coconuts nor the\nHare. He went home empty-handed.\n\nAs the Jackal and Hare were looking out again, they saw that a man\nwas bringing a bill-hook and a betel-cutter, which he had got made\nat the forge. So the Hare went and lay down again in the field.\n\nThe man came up, and when going on from there, having seen that the\nHare was dead, placed the bill-hook and betel-cutter on the path, and\nwent to get the Hare. Then the Jackal carried the bill-hook and the\nbetel-cutter into the bushes. As that man was coming near to take the\nHare, it got up and ran away. So that man had neither the bill-hook,\nnor the betel-cutter, nor the Hare. He went home empty-handed.\n\nAs the Jackal and Hare were looking out again, they saw a potter\ncoming, bringing a pingo load of pots, so the Hare went and lay down\nagain in the grass field. The Jackal hid himself and waited.\n\nWhen the potter was going on from there, he saw that the Hare was\ndead, and having placed the pingo load of pots on the path, he went\nto get it. Then the Jackal, taking the pingo load of pots, went off\ninto the bushes. As the man was coming near the Hare it got up and\nran away. So that man had neither the pingo load of pots nor the\nHare. He went home empty-handed.\n\nThen the Jackal and Hare took home the bag of rice, and the pingo\nload of coconuts, and the bill-hook, and the betel-cutter, and the\npingo load of pots. After that, having plucked and cut up the pumpkin\nfruit, and washed the rice, and put it in the cooking pot, and placed\nit on the fire, and broken the coconut, and scraped out the inside,\nwhile squeezing it [in water in order to make coconut-milk], the\nJackal said to the Hare, \"Friend, I will pour this on the rice, and\nin the meantime before I take it off the fire, you go, and plucking\nleaves without a point bring them [to use] as plates.\"\n\nWhile the Hare was going for them, the Jackal ate all the rice,\nand placed only a little burnt rice in the bottom of the cooking\npot. Then he lay down on the ash-heap.\n\nAfterwards the Hare returned, and saying, \"Friend, there is not a leaf\nwithout a point. I have walked and walked through the whole of this\njungle in search of one,\" gave into the paws of the Jackal two leaves\nwith the ends bitten off. Then, without getting up, the Jackal said,\n\"Ando! Friend, what is the use of a leaf without a point now? The rice\npeople, the coconut people, the bill-hook and betel-cutter people, the\npots people having eaten the rice, and beaten me also, rolled me over\non this ash-heap. There will still be a little burnt rice in the bottom\nof the cooking pot. Scrape it off, and putting a little in your mouth,\nput a little in my mouth too.\" So the Hare having scraped off the burnt\nrice, and eaten a little of it, put a little in the Jackal's mouth.\n\nThen the Jackal said, \"Friend, a tick is biting my nose; rid me\nof it.\" When the Hare was coming near to rid him of it, the Jackal\nvomited all over the Hare's body. Then the Hare bounded off to the\nriver, and jumped into it, and having become clean returned to the\nplace where the Jackal was.\n\nThe Jackal asked, \"How, Friend, did you become clean?\"\n\nThe Hare said, \"I went to a place where a washerman-uncle is washing\nclothes, and got him to wash me.\"\n\nThe Jackal asked, \"Where is he washing?\"\n\nThe Hare said, \"Look there! He is washing at the river.\"\n\nAfterwards the Jackal went to the river, and said to the\nwasherman-uncle, \"Ane! Washerman-uncle, wash me too, a little.\"\n\nWhen the washerman-uncle, having taken hold of the Jackal's tail,\nhad struck a couple of blows with him on the stone, the Jackal said,\n\"That will do, that will do, washerman-uncle, I shall have become\nclean now.\" But the washerman-uncle, saying, \"Will you eat my fowls\nagain afterwards? Will you eat them?\" gave him another stroke. Then\nthe washerman-uncle, having washed the clothes, went home.\n\nFrom that time the Jackal and Hare became unfriendly, and the Jackal\nsaid that whenever he saw Hares he would eat them.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nAccording to a variant, the washerman struck the Jackal on the stone\nuntil he was dead.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 31\n\nTHE LEOPARD AND THE MOUSE-DEER\n\n\nIn a jungle wilderness in the midst of the forest there is a rock\ncave. In the cave a Leopard dwells. One day when the Leopard had\ngone for food a lame female Mouse-deer (Miminni) crept into the cave,\nand gave birth to two young ones.\n\nAfterwards the Mouse-deer having seen that the Leopard, having got wet\nat the time of a very great rainfall, was coming to the cave, began\nto beat the young ones, so the young ones began to squall. Then the\nMouse-deer came out, saying, \"There is fresh Leopard's flesh, there\nis dried Leopard's flesh; what else shall I give you? Having eaten\nthese, still you are crying in order to eat fresh Leopard's flesh!\"\n\nAs the Mouse-deer was saying it, the Leopard heard it, and thought,\n\"They are going to eat me,\" and having become afraid, sprang off and\nran away, thinking, \"I will go to my Preceptor, and tell him.\"\n\nHaving gone to him, the Jackal said, \"What is it, Sir? You are running\nas though afraid. Why?\" he asked.\n\nThe Leopard then replied, \"Preceptor, the danger that has happened to\nme is thus: A Mouse-deer having crept into the cave that I live in,\nand having borne young ones there, as I was returning came shouting\nand springing to eat me. Through fear of it I came running away,\"\nhe said to the Jackal.\n\nThe Jackal then said, \"What of that! Don't be afraid. I will come with\nyou and go there. As soon as I go I will bite her and cast her out.\"\n\nAs they went near the cave, the Leopard having lagged a very little\nbehind, said, \"Friend, I cannot go, I cannot go.\"\n\nThen the Jackal said, \"If you are afraid to that extent, be so good\nas to go after tying a creeper to my neck, and tying the other end\nto your waist, Sir,\" he said to the Leopard.\n\nSo bringing a creeper, and tying one end to the Jackal's neck, and\ntying the other end to the Leopard's waist, they set off to go to\nthe cave.\n\nAs they were going there, the Mouse-deer, having seen that the Jackal\nwas bringing the Leopard, began to beat the young ones. When the\nyoung ones were squalling, the Mouse-deer having come out, says,\n\"Don't cry; the Jackal is bringing another Leopard for you.\" Then\nshe says to the Jackal, \"Jackal-artificer, after I told you to bring\nseven yoke of Leopards, what has the Jackal-artificer come for,\ntying a creeper to only this one lean Leopard?\"\n\nAfter she had asked this, the Leopard thought, \"They have joined with\nthe Jackal, and are going to kill me,\" and began to run off. Then the\ncreeper having become tightened round the Jackal's neck, the Leopard\nran away, taking him along, causing the Jackal-artificer to strike\nand strike against that tree, this tree, that stone, this stone.\n\nThe Leopard having gone a great distance in the jungle, after he\nlooked [found that] the creeper had become thoroughly tightened on the\nJackal-artificer's neck. Having seen that he was grinning and showing\nhis teeth, the Leopard says, \"The laugh is at the Jackal-artificer. I\nwas frightened, and there is no blood on my body,\" he said.\n\nWhen he looked again, the Jackal was dead, grinning with his teeth\nand mouth.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThis story is given in The Orientalist, vol. iv, p. 79\n(D. A. Jayawardana), but the animals that went to the cave are wrongly\ntermed tiger and fox, which are not found in Ceylon.\n\nIt is also related in vol. iv, p. 121 (S. J. Goonetilleke), the\nanimals being a hind and a tiger.\n\nIn vol. i, p. 261, there is a Santal story (J. L. Phillips), in which\na goat with a long beard, which had taken refuge in a tiger's cave\nfrightened it when asked, \"Who are you with long beard and crooked\nhorns in my house?\" by saying, \"I am your father.\" A monkey returned\nwith it, their tails being tied together. When they came to the cave,\nthe monkey asked the same question, and received the same answer,\nwhich frightened both animals so much that they fled, the monkey's tail\nbeing pulled off. When the tiger stopped, and began to lick himself, he\nfound the monkey's tail so sweet that he went back and ate the monkey.\n\nIn the Panchatantra (Dubois), a bearded goat frightened a lion that\nhe found in a cave in which he took refuge, by saying, \"I am the Lord\nHe-goat. I am a devotee of Siva, and I have promised to devour in his\nhonour 101 tigers, 25 elephants, and 10 lions.\" He had eaten the rest,\nand was now in search of the lions. A jackal persuaded the lion to\nreturn, but the goat frightened them again.\n\nIn Old Deccan Days (Frere), p. 303, a pandit frightened a demon in\nthis manner, by scolding a wrestler who brought for dinner an apparent\ngoat which the pandit recognised as a demon.\n\nIn Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 132 ff.--Tales of the\nPunjab, p. 123 ff.--a farmer's wife frightened a tiger that was going\nto eat a cow. A jackal persuaded it to return, their tails being tied\ntogether. On the tiger's running off again, the jackal was jolted\nto death.\n\nIn The Indian Antiquary, vol. iv, p. 257, there is a Santal story by\nRev. E. T. Cole, of a tiger which was frightened by two brothers. The\nthree sat round a fire and asked riddles. The tiger's was, \"One I\nwill eat for breakfast, and another like it for supper.\" The men\nexpressed their inability to guess the answer, and their riddle was,\n\"One will twist the tail, the other will wring the ear.\" When the\ntiger was escaping, they held the tail till it came off.\n\nIn Tota Kahani (Small), p. 98, a lynx took possession of a tiger's\ncave, and behaved like the mouse-deer when the tiger came up. When\nthe tiger returned with a monkey, the lynx frightened it like the\nmouse-deer, by telling its young ones that a monkey friend had sworn to\nbring a tiger that day. On hearing this, the tiger killed the monkey,\nand fled.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 32\n\nTHE CROCODILE'S WEDDING\n\n\nIn a certain country there is a Crocodile in the river, it is said. On\nthe high ground on the other bank there was a dead Elephant. A Jackal\nof the high ground on this side came to the river bank, and on his\nsaying \"Friend,\" the Crocodile rose to the surface.\n\nThen the Jackal said, \"Now then, how are you getting on, living in\nthat [solitary] way? I could find a wife for you, but to fetch you\na mate I have no means of going over to the land on that bank.\"\n\nThe Crocodile said, \"Ane! Friend, if you would become of assistance\nto me in that way can't I put you on the other bank?\"\n\nThe Jackal said, \"If so, Friend, put me on the ground on the other\nside, so that I may go to-day and ask for a mate for you, and come\nback again.\"\n\nThen the Crocodile, placing the Jackal on his back, swam across the\nriver, and after placing the Jackal on the other bank returned to\nthe water.\n\nThe Jackal went and ate the body of that dead Elephant. Having eaten it\nduring the whole of that day, he returned again to the river. Having\narrived there, when he said \"Friend,\" the Crocodile rose to the\nsurface and asked the Jackal, \"Friend, did you ask for a mate for me?\"\n\nThen the Jackal said, \"Friend, I did indeed ask for a mate; we have\nnot come to an agreement about it yet. To-morrow I must go again to\nsettle it. On that account put me on the ground on the other side.\" So\nthe Crocodile, placing the Jackal on his back, swam across the river,\nand placed the Jackal on this bank.\n\nNext day, as it became light, the Jackal went to the river, and\nas he was saying \"Friend,\" the Crocodile rose to the surface. The\nJackal said, \"Friend, in order that I may go and make a settlement\nof yesterday's affair and return again, put me on the other bank.\"\n\nThen the Crocodile, placing the Jackal on his back crossed the river,\nand having placed the Jackal on the other bank went again into\nthe water.\n\nThe Jackal having gone to the dead body of the Elephant, and eaten\nit even until nightfall, came to the river after night had set in. As\nhe was saying \"Friend,\" the Crocodile rose to the surface, and asked,\n\"Friend, did you get it settled to-day?\"\n\nThe Jackal said, \"Friend, I have indeed settled the matter. They told\nme to come to-morrow in order to summon her to come. On that account\nput me on the far bank.\"\n\nAfter that, the Crocodile, placing the Jackal on his back, went across\nthe river, and having placed the Jackal on the ground on this side\nreturned to the water.\n\nThe Jackal next day also, as it became light, went to the river. When\nhe said \"Friend,\" the Crocodile rose to the surface. The Jackal said,\n\"Friend, if I must bring and give you your mate to-day, put me on\nthe other bank.\"\n\nAfter that, the Crocodile, placing the Jackal on his back, went across\nthe river, and having placed the Jackal on the ground on the other\nside, went into the water.\n\nThe Jackal went that day to the dead body of the Elephant, and having\neaten it until nightfall the Elephant's carcase became finished. In\nthe evening the Jackal came to the river, and when he was saying\n\"Friend,\" the Crocodile rose to the surface, and asked, \"Friend,\nwhere is the mate?\"\n\nThen the Jackal said, \"Ando! Friend, they made a mistake about it\nto-day; they told me to return to-morrow to invite her to come. Because\nof that put me on the other bank again. Having come to-morrow I will\nbring and give you the mate.\"\n\nAfter that, the Crocodile, placing the Jackal on his back, swam across\nthe river, and having put down the Jackal on the ground on this side,\nwent into the water.\n\nThen the Jackal, sitting down on the high ground on this bank, said\nto the Crocodile, \"Foolish Crocodiles! Is it true that a Jackal King\nlike me is going to ask for a wedding for thee, for a Crocodile who\nis in the water like thee? I went to the land on that bank to eat the\ncarcase of an Elephant which died on that side. To-day the carcase\nwas finished. So now I shall not come again. Thou art a fool indeed.\"\n\nHaving said this, the Jackal came away.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThis story is known by the Village Vaeddas.\n\nIn The Orientalist, vol. ii, p. 46, this story is given by\nMr. E. Goonetilleke, the Crocodile being termed an Alligator.\n\nIn Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 243--Tales of the Punjab,\np. 230--there is a variant in which the Jackal was attracted by a\nfruit-laden wild plum tree. He made love to a lady Crocodile, and\nwas carried across the river by her.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 33\n\nTHE GAMARALA'S CAKES\n\n\nAt a village there are a Gamarala (a village headman or elder) and\na Gama-Mahage (his wife) and their four sons, it is said.\n\nOne day while they were there the Gamarala said to his wife, \"Bolan,\nit is in my mind to eat cakes. For the boys and for me fry ample cakes,\nand give us them,\" he said.\n\nThe Gamarala was looking out for them for many days; the Gama-Mahage\ndid not cook and give him the cakes.\n\nAgain one day the Gamarala thought of eating cakes. That day, also,\nthe Gamarala reminded her of the matter of the cakes. On the following\nday the Gama-Mahage having fried five large cakes, placed them in the\ncorn store. The boys having gone to the chena and come back, after\nthey had asked, \"Is there nothing to eat?\" the Gama-Mahage said to\nthe boys, \"Look there! There are cakes in the corn store. I put them\nthere for father, too; eat ye also,\" she said. The boys having gone\nto the corn store, all four ate the cakes.\n\nAfter they had eaten them, the Gamarala, having gone to the watch-hut,\ncame back. After he came the boys said, \"Father, we ate cakes.\" When\nthe Gamarala asked, \"Where are [some] for me?\" \"Mother puts them in\nthe corn store,\" they said.\n\nWhen the Gamarala went to the corn store for the cakes to eat, there\nwere no cakes. \"Where, Bolan, are the cakes?\" he asked.\n\nSaying, \"Why are you asking for them at my hands? If there are none\nthe boys will have eaten them,\" the Gama-Mahage pushed against the\nGamarala.\n\nThen the Gamarala said, \"Now I shall not remind you again. You do not\nmake and give me the food I tell you about.\" Having said, \"It is good,\"\nand thinking, \"Having pounded and taken about half a quart of rice,\nand given it at a place outside, and got the cakes fried, I must eat\nthem,\" pounding the rice he took it away.\n\nAs he was going he saw a poor house. Having seen it the Gamarala\nthought, \"Should I give it at this house, these persons because they\nare poor will take the rice, and I shall not be able to eat cakes\nproperly.\" So having gone to a tiled house near it, and given a little\nrice, he said, \"Make and give me five cakes out of this, please.\"\n\nThe people of the house replied, \"It is good,\" and taking a little\nof the rice fried some cakes. The woman who fried them then looked\ninto the account. \"For the trouble of pounding the rice and grinding\nit into flour, I want ten cakes,\" she said. \"Also for the oil and\ncoconuts I want ten cakes, and for going for firewood, and for the\ntrouble of frying the cakes, I want ten cakes.\" So that on the whole\naccount for cooking the cakes it was made out that the Gamarala must\ngive five cakes.\n\nNext day the Gamarala, having eaten nothing at home, came to eat the\ncakes. Having sat down, \"Where are the cakes?\" he asked.\n\nThen the woman who fried the cakes said, \"Gamarala, from the whole\nof the rice I fried twenty-five cakes. For pounding the rice and\ngrinding it into flour I took ten cakes. For the oil and coconuts I\ntook ten cakes. For going for firewood, and for the trouble of frying\nthe cakes ten more having gone, still the Gamarala must bring and\ngive me five cakes.\"\n\nThen the Gamarala thought, \"Ada! What a cake eating is this that has\nhappened to me!\"\n\nAfter thinking thus, having gone outside and walked along, and come to\nthat poor house, he sat down. As he was thinking about it that poor man\nasked, \"What is it, Gamarala, that you are thinking about in that way?\"\n\nThe Gamarala said, \"The manner in which they fried and gave me cakes\nat that house,\" and he told him about it.\n\nThen the man of that poor house said to the Gamarala, \"Since we\nare poor you did not give the rice to us. If he had given it to us\nwouldn't the Gamarala have been well able to eat cakes? The Gamarala\nhaving given us the rice would have had cakes to eat, and still five\ncakes to give for that debt.\n\n\"For those cakes I will teach the Gamarala a trick,\" that poor man\nsaid to the Gamarala. \"The husband of the woman who fried the cakes\nhas gone to his village. The woman is now connected with another\nman. Every day the man having come at night taps at the door when\nhe comes. After she has asked from inside the house, 'Who is it?' he\nmakes a grunt, 'Hum.' Then having opened the door he is given by her\nto eat and drink. To-day she will give the cakes made for the Gamarala.\n\n\"After the Gamarala has gone at night in that manner, and tapped\nat the door, she will ask, 'Who is it?' Then say, 'Hum.' Then she\nwill open the door. Having gone into the house without speaking, she\nwill give to eat and drink. Having eaten and drunk, and been there a\nlittle time, open the door and come away.\" Thus the poor man taught\nhis lesson to the Gamarala.\n\nIn that manner, the Gamarala having gone after it became night,\ntapped at the house door. [82] \"Who is it?\" she asked. \"Hum,\" he\nsaid. Then having opened the door and taken the Gamarala into the\nhouse, she gave him cakes and sweetmeats to eat.\n\nAs he was eating them, some one else having come taps at the door. The\nGamarala became afraid. \"Don't be afraid,\" she said, and sent the\nGamarala to the corn loft [under the roof of the house, at the level\nof the top of the side walls].\n\nHaving sent him there she asked, \"Who tapped at the door?\" \"Hum,\"\nhe said. Then she opened the door, and after she had looked it was\nthe Tambi-elder-brother, [83] who was trading in the village. She\ngot him also into the house, and gave him sweetmeats to eat.\n\nWhen a little time had gone, again some one tapped at the door. Then\nthe Tambi-elder-brother, having become afraid, prepared to run off\nwithout eating the sweetmeats. \"Don't be afraid,\" she said, and she\nput the Tambi also in another part of the corn loft [and he lay down].\n\nHaving come back, after she had opened the door and looked, it\nwas the man of the house who, having been to the village, had come\nback. She gave him water to wash his face, hands, and feet. After\nhe had finished washing, she gave him cakes and the like to eat,\nand water to drink. The man afterwards lay down to sleep.\n\nWhen a little time had gone, the man who went first to the corn loft,\nthe Gamarala, asked for water, saying, \"Water, water.\" Then the man\nof the house having opened his eyes, asked, \"What is speaking in the\ncorn loft?\"\n\n\"When you went to the village, as you were away a long time, I made\nan offering of a leaf-cup of water to the deity. Perhaps the deity\nis asking for it now,\" she said.\n\nThen the man told her to put a coconut in the corn loft. So the woman\nput a coconut in the corn loft.\n\nThe Gamarala, taking the coconut in his hand, sought for a place\non which to strike it [in order to break it, so that he might\ndrink the water in it]. As he was going feeling with his hand, the\nGamarala's hand touched a lump like a stone in hardness, the head\nof Tambi-elder-brother. After he touched it, the Tambi-elder-brother\n[not knowing what it was] through fear trembled and trembled, and did\nnot speak. Then the Gamarala, taking the coconut, struck it very hard\non the head of the Tambi-elder-brother, thinking it was a stone.\n\nThe man of the house thought [before this], \"The water in the coconut\nis insufficient for the deity. He will be ascending [and leaving\nus].\" After he had quickly opened the door, and gone out to get more\nwater to give him, the Tambi-elder-brother sprang from the corn loft,\nbreaking his head, and ran away.\n\nThen the man who came out to get the water said, \"My deity! Here is\nwater, here is water,\" holding the water kettle in his hand. While\nhe was calling out to him, the woman having opened her eyes said,\n\"What is it, Bolan?\" As she was coming outside the man said, \"The\ndeity jumped down and ran away.\"\n\nAt that very time, breaking out from the corn loft, the Gamarala also\njumped down and ran off. Then the man of the house asks the woman,\n\"Who is that running away?\"\n\nThe woman says, \"Why, Bolan, don't you understand in this way? Didn't\nthe God Saman also run behind him?\"\n\n\n                                            Village Vaedda of Bintaenna.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 34\n\nTHE KINNARA AND THE PARROTS\n\n\nIn a large forest there is a great Banyan tree. In that tree many\nParrots roost. While they were doing so, one day, having seen a Crow\nflying near, a Parrot spoke to the other Parrots, and said, \"Bolawu,\n[84] do not ye ever give a resting-place to this flying animal,\"\nhe said.\n\nWhile they were there many days after he said it, one day, as a\ngreat rain was falling at night, on that day the flying Crow, saying,\n\"Ka, Ka,\" came and settled on the tree near those Parrots.\n\nThat night one Parrot out of the flock of Parrots was unable to come\nbecause of that day's rain. Having seen that this Crow was roosting\non the tree, all the Parrots, surrounding and pecking and pecking\nthe Crow, drove it out in the rain.\n\nAgain, saying, \"Ka, Ka,\" having returned it roosts in the same tree. As\nthe Parrots getting soaked and soaked were driving off the Crow in this\nway, an old Parrot, sitting down, says, \"What is it doing? Because it\ncannot go and come in this rain it is trying [85] to roost here. What\n[harm] will it do if it be here this little time in our company?\" thus\nthis old Parrot said. So the other Parrots allowed it to be there,\nwithout driving away the Crow.\n\nWhile it was there, the Crow in the night left excreta, and in the\nmorning went away. At the place where the excreta fell a tree sprang up\n[from a seed that was in them]; it became very large.\n\nAs it was thus, one day as Kinnaras were going near that [Crows']\nvillage, having seen that another tree was near the tree in which\nthe Parrots roosted, the Kinnaras spoke with each other, \"In these\ndays cannot we catch the Parrots that are in this tree?\" they said.\n\nBefore that, the Kinnaras were unable to catch the Parrots in the\ntree. There was then only that tree in which the Parrots roosted. When\nthe Kinnaras were going along the tree to catch the Parrots, the\nParrots got to know [owing to the shaking of the tree], so all the\nParrots flew away. Because of that they were unable to catch the\nParrots.\n\nThe Kinnaras having [now] gone along the tree which had grown up\nthrough the Crow's dropping the seed under the tree, easily placed\nthe net [over the Parrots' tree]. All the Parrots having come in the\nevening had settled in the tree. Having settled down, and a little\ntime having gone, after they looked, all the Parrots being folded in\nthe net were enclosed. The Parrots tried to go; they could not.\n\nWhile they were under the net in that way, the Parrot Chief says to\nthe other Parrots, \"How has another tree grown up under this tree\nthat we live in?\" thus the Parrot Chief asked the other Parrots. \"At a\ntime when I was not here did ye give a resting-place to any one else?\"\n\nThen the Parrots say, \"One day when it was raining at night, a Crow\nhaving come and stayed here, went away,\" they said.\n\nThen the Parrot Chief says, \"I told you that very thing, 'Don't give a\nresting-place to any one whatsoever.' Now we all have become appointed\nto death. To-morrow morning the Kinnaras having come and broken our\nwings, seizing us all will go away.\"\n\nWhen a little time had gone, the Parrot Chief [again] spoke to the\nParrots, and said, \"I will tell you a trick. Should you act in that\nway the whole of us can escape,\" the Parrot Chief said. \"When the\nKinnaras come near the tree, all of you, tightly shutting your eyes\nand mouths, be as though dead, without even flapping your wings. Then\nthe Kinnaras, thinking we are dead, having freed us one by one from\nthe net, when they are throwing us down on the ground, and have taken\nand placed all there, fly away after they have thrown down the last\none on the ground,\" he said.\n\n\"That is good,\" they said.\n\nWhile they were there, a Kinnara, tying a large bag at his waist,\nhaving come to the bottom of the tree, says, \"Every day [before],\nI couldn't [catch] ye. To-day ye are caught in my net.\"\n\nHaving ascended the tree, as he was going [along it] the Kinnara says,\n\"What is this, Bola? Are these dead without any uncanny sound?\" Having\nclimbed onto the tree, after he looked [he saw that] a part having\nhung neck downwards, a part on the branches, a part in the net,\nthey were as though dead.\n\nThen the Kinnara saying, \"Ada! Tell ye the Gods! Yesterday having\nclimbed the tree I had no trouble in spreading the net; to-day having\ncome to the tree I have no trouble in releasing the net. Ada! May the\nGods be witnesses of the event that has occurred! What am I to do with\nthese dead bodies!\" and freeing and freeing each one from the net,\nthrew it down on the ground.\n\nAs he threw them to the ground he said \"One\" at the first one that he\nthrew to the ground, and having taken the account [of them], after all\nhad fallen, at the time when the Kinnara, freeing the net, was coming\ndescending from the tree, the whole flock of Parrots went flying away.\n\n\n                                            Village Vaedda of Bintaenna.\n\n\n\nA version of this story from the North-western Province, by a Duraya,\nthough shorter, contains the same incidents, the tree, however,\nbeing another Fig, the Aehaetu, Ficus tsiela. It ends as follows--\n\n\"As he [the Kinnara] was throwing them down in this way, having been\ncounting and counting 'One,' the Parrot which he counted last having\nflapped its wings and screamed, [according to a pre-arranged plan,\nto show] that the man was cheated and that it had escaped, flew\naway. All the Parrots having gone, after they had looked into the\naccount of the whole flock [found that] they were all correct.\n\n\"Then the Parrots said, 'Let us not give a resting-place to the\nCrow. At the places where he goes he is a dangerous one. To us also,\nthis danger came now [through him]. Ada! Because we gave this one a\nresting-place. O Vishnu, burst thou lightning on him who did this to\nus! Ada! Where shall we all go now?' After flying and flying in the\nmidst of the forest, all went to each place where they had relatives.\"\n\n\n\nThe story is given in Old Deccan Days (Frere), p. 114, with the\nvariations that a thousand crows came to the tree instead of one,\nand that snares of thread were used in place of the net. The last\nparrot did not escape, but was taken away and sold.\n\nIn Tota Kahani (Small), p. 64, when a parrot and its young ones were\ncaught in a net they feigned death. All the young ones escaped by\nthis means. The mother was captured and sold to the King, and regained\nher liberty by pretending to fetch some medicine to cure his illness.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 35\n\nHOW A JACKAL SETTLED A LAWSUIT.\n\n\nIn a village there is a rich foolish man. One son was born to the\nman. When they had been there in that way for a long time, as the rich\nman's son was growing up, his father died. Then all this wealth came\ninto the hands of his son. The son was a fool just like the father.\n\nOne day, having seen a wealthy man going in a carriage in which a horse\nwas yoked, that rich man's son thought he ought to go in that way in\na carriage in which a horse was yoked. This rich man having gone home\nspoke to a servant, and said, \"I will give thee thy expenses for going\nand coming. Go thou, and buy and bring me a horse,\" he said. Having\nsaid it, he gave him a hundred masuran, and having given them sent\nhim away.\n\nThis servant having gone on and on, went to a great big country. Having\ngone there, he made inquiry throughout the country--\"Are there horses\nto sell in this country?\"\n\nThen a man of that country said, \"The Gamarala of this country has\nmany horses,\" he said. This servant who went to bring horses having\ngiven a masurama to the man whom he had met, said, \"Please show me the\nhouse of the Gamarala who has the horses,\" he said. So the man, calling\nthe servant, having gone to the Gamarala's house, sent him there.\n\nThe Gamarala asked these men, \"What have you come here for?\"\n\nThe servant who went to get horses said, \"I have come to take a horse\nfor money,\" he said.\n\n\"For whom?\" he asked.\n\n\"For a rich man in a village,\" he said.\n\nHaving given fifty masuran he got a horse. After he got it he again\ngave a masurama to that man who went with him. Having given it, and\nthe two persons having gone a considerable distance, [86] this man\nleft both the horse and the man to go [alone], and went home.\n\nWhen the servant had taken the horse, and gone a considerable\ndistance, after he looked [he found that] night was coming on. On\nseeing it, taking the horse and saying, \"This night I cannot go,\"\nhaving sought and sought for a resting-place, he met with a place\nwhere there were chekkus (mills for expressing oil). There this man\nfound a resting-place; and having tied the horse to an oil-mill, this\nservant went to a village, and ate and drank, and having returned went\nto a shed at the side of the oil-mill, and lay down to sleep. Having\nbecome much fatigued because he had brought this horse very far,\nthe servant went to sleep.\n\nAt dawn, the man who owned the oil-mill, having arisen and come\nnear the oil-mill, when he looked saw that a horse was tied near the\noil-mill. So this man thought, \"Last night the oil-mill gave birth to\na horse\"; and unloosing it from the place where it was tied, the owner\nof the oil-mill, having taken the horse home, tied it in the garden.\n\nThen the servant having opened his eyes, after he looked, because the\nhorse was not near the oil-mill went seeking it. Having seen it tied\nin a garden close to a house, he spoke to the [people in the] house,\n\"Having tied this horse near the oil-mill, in the night I went to\nsleep. This one breaking loose in the night came here.\" Unfastening\nit, as he was making ready to go, the man who owned the house came\nrunning, [and saying], \"Where did my oil-mill give birth to this\nhorse for thee last night?\" he brought the horse back, and began to\nscold the servant. Then the servant thought, \"Now I shall not be\nallowed to go and give this horse to the rich man. Because of it,\nI must go for a lawsuit.\"\n\nAs he was going seeking a trial he met with a place where lawsuits\nwere heard. The servant having gone [there] told the judge about the\nbusiness: \"When I was bringing yesterday the horse that I am taking\nfor a rich man, it became night while I was on the road. As there was\nno way to go or come, I tied and placed the horse at this oil-mill,\nand went to sleep. Having arisen in the morning, after I looked,\nbecause the horse that I brought was not there I went looking and\nlooking along its foot-prints. Having seen that it was tied in the\ngarden near the house of the oil-mill worker, thinking, 'This one\nbreaking loose has come here,' I unfastened it. As I was making ready\nto bring it away, having scolded me and said that the oil-mill gave\nbirth to the horse, he took it,\" he said to the judge; and stopped.\n\nThen the judge says, \"If the oil-mill gave birth to the horse, the\nhorse belongs to the man who owns the oil-mill,\" the judge said.\n\nThe servant having become grieved says, \"What am I to do now? Without\nthe masuran which the rich man gave me, and without the horse that I\ngot after giving fifty masuran, having gone to the village what shall\nI say to the rich man, so that I may escape?\" he said with much grief.\n\nThen a Jackal having come there along the same road, and having seen\nit, asks the servant, \"Because of what matter are you going sorrowing\nin this way?\"\n\nThe servant says to the Jackal, \"Jackal-artificer, [87] is the trouble\nthat happened to me right to thee, according to what was said?\"\n\nAs they were going along, the Jackal, having gone behind him, asks\nagain, \"Tell me a little about it, and let us go. More difficult\nthings than that have happened to us--folds [full] of scare-crows\ntangled together. As we cleared up those with extreme care there is\nno difficulty in clearing up this also.\" So the Jackal-artificer said\nto the servant.\n\nThen the servant told the Jackal the way in which the rich man gave\nthe servant one hundred masuran; the way in which, having given fifty\nmasuran, he got the horse; the way in which, having brought the horse,\nhe tied and placed it at the oil-mill; the way in which the oil-mill\nowner, unfastening the horse, went and tied it; the way in which,\nafter he went to ask for it he would not give it, saying that the\noil-mill gave birth to the horse, and came to scold him; then also\nwhat the judge said. The servant told [these] to the Jackal-artificer,\nmaking all clear.\n\nThen the Jackal-artificer says, \"Ane! That's thick work. I'll put that\nright for you. You must assist me also,\" he said. \"You yourself having\ngone near the judge again, and made obeisance, you must say, 'The\noil-mill did not give birth to the horse. The owner of the oil-mill,\nunfastening it from the place where I tied it, took it away. I have\nevidence of it. Having heard the evidence please do what you want,'\"\nso the Jackal taught him.\n\nSo the servant having gone, made obeisance to the judge. \"What have\nyou come again for?\" the judge asked.\n\nThen the servant says, \"The oil-mill did not give birth to the\nhorse. Unfastening it from the place where I tied it, and having gone,\nhe tied it up. I have evidence of it. Having heard the evidence do\nwhat you want, Sir,\" he said.\n\nThe judge says, \"It is good. Who is your witness?\"\n\n\"The Jackal-artificer,\" he said. So the judge sent a message to the\nJackal to come. That day the Jackal did not come. On the following\nday, also, he sent a message. He did not come. Next day he sent a\nmessage. That day the Jackal, having thoroughly prepared himself,\ncame to the judgment court.\n\nAfter the judge asked, \"Dost thou know about this lawsuit?\" \"Yes,\nSir,\" the Jackal-artificer said.\n\n\"Why didst thou not come yesterday,\" the judge asked the Jackal.\n\n\"Yesterday I did not come; I saw the sky,\" he said. While saying it\nthe Jackal was sleepy.\n\nAgain he asked, \"Why didst thou not come on the first day?\"\n\n\"On that day I saw the earth,\" he said. While saying it the Jackal\nwas sleepy.\n\n\"Why hast thou come to-day?\" he asked.\n\n\"To-day I saw the fire,\" he said.\n\n\"Having seen the sky why didst thou not come?\" the judge asked.\n\nThen the Jackal says, \"O Lord, the sky cannot be trusted. Sometimes it\nrains, sometimes it clears up. Because of that I did not come.\" Having\nsaid it he was sleepy.\n\n\"Having seen the earth why didst thou not come?\" he asked.\n\n\"That also cannot be trusted,\" he said. \"In some places there are\nmounds, in some places it is flat; in some places there is water, in\nsome places there is not water,\" he said. Having said it he was sleepy.\n\n\"What hast thou come to-day for?\" the judge asked.\n\n\"To-day I saw the fire,\" he said. \"Because of that I came,\" he\nsaid. Then the Jackal says, \"After the fire has blazed up you do not\nlook after your cold hut. I do not look after my palace also.\" [88]\nHaving said it the Jackal was sleepy.\n\nOn account of that saying the judge having become angry, \"Being here\nwhat art thou sleeping for?\" he asked.\n\n\"Ane! O Lord who will become a thousand Buddhas [in future existences],\nI am very sleepy indeed,\" he said.\n\n\"Why, Bola?\" he asked.\n\n\"Last night I went to look at the fishes sporting on the land. Because\nof that I am sleepy,\" he said.\n\nThen the judge having become angry with the Jackal, says very severely,\n\"Having beaten him, cast ye him out.\"\n\nThis rascally Jackal having prayed with closed paws, saying, \"O Lord,\nwho will become a thousand Buddhas,\" fell down and made obeisance.\n\n\"In what country, Bola, Jackal, do the fish who are in the water\nsport on the land?\" the judge asked the Jackal.\n\nThe Jackal said, \"I must receive permission [to ask also a question],\nO Lord. How does an oil-mill which expresses the kinds of oils give\nbirth to horses?\"\n\nThen the judge, having become ashamed and his anger having gone,\ntold the rich man's servant to take away the horse.\n\n\n                                            Village Vaedda of Bintaenna.\n\n\n\nIn Indian Fables, p. 45, Mr. P. V. Ramaswami Raju gives a South Indian\nvariant of the latter part of this story. A thief stole a horse that\nwas tethered to a tree, and then stated that he saw the tree eat the\nhorse. The case was referred to a fox [jackal]. The fox said he felt\ndull. \"All last night the sea was on fire; I had to throw a great deal\nof hay into it to quench the flames, so come to-morrow and I shall hear\nyour case.\" When he was asked how hay could quench flames, he replied,\n\"How could a tree eat up a horse?\"\n\nIn Indian Nights' Entertainment, Panjab (Swynnerton), p. 142, there is\na story about a foal that was born in the night while a mare was left\nnear an oil-press, and was claimed by the oil man. The King who tried\nthe case decided that the \"mare could not possibly have had this foal,\nbecause, you see, it was found standing by the oil-press.\" A jackal\nassisted the owner to recover it, and fell down several times in the\ncourt, explaining that during the night the sea caught fire, and he was\ntired out by throwing water on it with a sieve, to extinguish it. When\nasked how this could be possible, the jackal retorted by inquiring\nif any one in the world ever heard of an oil-press's bearing a foal.\n\nIn the interior of West Africa there is a variant, given in Contes\nSoudanais (C. Monteil), p. 23. A mare was buried near a house, and\na pumpkin spread from the adjoining piece of land, until it extended\nround the stake to which she was formerly tied. When the owner of the\npumpkin split open a fruit that grew near the stake, there were two\nfoals inside it, which the owner of the mare claimed. The judgment was\nthat as a dead mare could not bear foals nor a pumpkin contain horses,\nneither of the claimants had a right to the foals; but as one sowed\nthe pumpkin, and the other had watered it, each should take one foal.\n\nIn another tale in the same volume, p. 141, a hyaena had a bull\nand a hare a cow, which bore a calf in the hare's absence. This was\nclaimed by the hyaena, as having been borne by the bull. The dispute\nwas referred to a male rat, which sent its young ones to say that it\ncould not leave its hole, as it was about to bear young ones. When\nthe hyaena laughed at the idea, and inquired when such an occurrence\nhad been known, the rat replied, \"Since it has been the bulls which\nbore calves.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 36\n\nTHE JACKAL AND THE TURTLE\n\n\nAt a village there is a large pond. At the margin of the pond two\nStorks [89] live. When they had been eating the small fishes in that\npond in that way for a long time, the pond became dried up by a very\ngreat drought. These two Storks having eaten the small fishes in the\npond until they were becoming finished, one day a Stork of these two\nStorks having spoken to the other Stork, says, \"Friend, now then,\nthat we have been here is no matter to us. Because of it let us go\nto another district.\" Thus he spoke.\n\nNow, a Turtle stayed in the pond. The Turtle having heard the speech\nof these two Storks, the Turtle says, \"Ane! Friends, I also now have\nbeen staying in this pond a long time. The pond having now dried\nup, I also have nothing to eat, nor water to be in, and nowhere to\ngo. Because of it, friends, having taken me to the village to which\nyou two go, put me down there,\" the Turtle said to the two Storks.\n\nThen one Stork says to the Turtle, \"Ane! Bola, foolish Turtles! How\nwilt thou go with us to another village?\"\n\nThen the Turtle says, \"Ane! Friends, I indeed cannot go flying to\nthe village to which you go. You two somehow or other having gone\nwith me must put me there.\"\n\nThen the two Storks say to the Turtle, \"If thou, shutting thy mouth,\nwilt remain without speaking anything, we two having gone to the place\nwhere there is water will put thee down there,\" the two Storks said.\n\nHaving said this they brought a stick, and said to the Turtle, \"Grasp\nthe middle of this stick tightly with the mouth, and hold it tightly.\"\n\nHaving said this, the two Storks [holding the stick near the ends]\ntook the Turtle. While they were going flying, as they were going\nabove a dried field a Jackal saw the shadow going with the two Storks\ncarrying the Turtle. Having seen it the Jackal says, \"Isn't this a\ntroublesome comrade they are taking?\"\n\nThen the Turtle having become angry, says, \"The troublesome comrade\nwhom they are taking is for thy mother.\" So the Turtle's mouth was\nopened. Then the Turtle fell on the ground. The two Storks left him\nand went away.\n\nThe Jackal having come running, after he looked saw the Turtle,\nand turning and turning it over to eat, when he tried to eat it the\nTurtle says, \"I have now for a long time been staying dried up without\nwater. In that way you cannot eat me. Having gone with me to a place\nwhere there is water and put me in it, should I become soaked you\nwill be able to eat me,\" he said to the Jackal.\n\nThen the Jackal having taken hold of the Turtle with his mouth, and\nplaced it in a pond containing water, when he had been treading on\nit [to prevent it from escaping] for a little time, the Turtle says,\n\"Now every place is soaked. Under the sole of your foot, Sir, I have\nnot got wet. Should you raise the sole of your foot a little it would\nbe good,\" it said. So the Jackal raised the foot a little. Then the\nTurtle crept to the bottom of the mud. The Jackal quickly seized the\nTurtle [by its leg] again.\n\nAfter he had caught it the Turtle says, \"The Jackal-elder-brother\nbeing cheated has got hold of the Ketala [plant] root.\" The\nJackal-elder-brother quickly having let go the Turtle, speedily got\nhold of the Ketala root that was near by. Then the Jackal being unable\n[to go deeper], the Turtle going yet a little further in the water,\nsays, \"Bola! Even to-day you are Jackals! When didst thou eat us?\"\n\nMany Jackals prated to the Jackal about the Turtle. On account of the\nJackal's being unable to eat the Turtle or to seize it, he became much\nashamed. While he was there, having contrived and contrived a trick,\nsaying he must somehow or other kill the Turtle, another Jackal came\nthere to drink water. Having drunk water, he asks the other Jackal,\n\"What, friend, are you thinking of and clenching your nails about?\"\n\nThen the Jackal who was unable to seize the Turtle, says, \"Friend,\na Turtle cheated me, and went into this pond. Having become angry on\naccount of that, I am looking for it in order to kill that one should\nthat one come onto the land,\" he said to the other Jackal.\n\nThat Jackal says, \"Ae, Bola! Fool! How many Turtles are there yet\nin the pond? How canst thou seek out the one that cheated thee?\" the\nJackal that came to drink water said.\n\nEvery day in that manner this Jackal comes to the pond to drink\nwater. One day when he came to drink water, having seen that a crowd\nof Turtles are grimacing on the lotus, the Jackal says, \"If ye and\nwe be friends, how much advantage we can gain by it!\" Having spoken\nthus on that day the Jackal went away.\n\nHaving gone, when he met the Jackal whom the Turtle cheated he said,\n\"Friend, having met with a crowd of Turtles while they were in the\npond to-day, I spoke words [to them]. We must devise together a trick\nto kill them.\" Having said this the two Jackals talked together.\n\nAgain, on a day when the Jackal went to the pond to drink water,\nhaving seen in the [same] way as on that day the Turtles grimacing\non the lotus, the Jackal says, \"How can ye and we remain in this\nmanner? Should ye and we, both parties, take wives [from each other]\nwouldn't it be good?\" the Jackal asked the Turtles.\n\nThen the Turtles say, \"If so, indeed how good it would be!\"\n\n\"Then one day we will come and speak with ye [about] the\nwedding.\" Having said this the Jackal went away.\n\nHaving gone he says to the Jackals, \"[After] speaking words with the\nTurtles who are in that pond regarding taking and giving wives I have\ncome away.\"\n\nThen the other Jackals said, \"It is very good. Some day let us all\ngo.\" So they spoke.\n\nAgain on a day, after the Jackal had gone to the pond to drink water,\non that day, having seen that Turtles more than on the other day were\n[there], he says, \"Friends, to-day about all of you are [here]. Because\nof it, on what day will it be good to come and summon [our wives]?\" he\nasked.\n\n\"We will say in a day or two days,\" they said.\n\nThe Jackal having drunk water and having gone, said to the other\nJackals, \"They said they will say in a day or two days [on which day\nwe are to go to summon our wives].\"\n\nThen the Jackal whom the Turtle cheated said, \"In some way or other\nwe must completely destroy them. Friends, somehow or other having\ngone and spoken about this wedding, make ready quickly,\" he said.\n\nOn the following day this Jackal went to drink water, and to speak\nabout the wedding. Having drunk water the Jackal asked the Turtles,\n\"When will it be good to come?\"\n\n\"To-morrow will be good,\" the Turtles said.\n\nThen the Jackal says, \"We shall all come. All ye also having got\nready be present.\"\n\nHaving said this, the Jackal quickly came running, and after all the\nJackals had collected together, said, \"Let nobody of ye go anywhere\nto-morrow. We must all go to call the Turtles for the wedding,\nand return.\"\n\nThe Jackal whom the Turtle cheated said, \"Somehow or other having\nsought out the Turtle that cheated me and called it to the wedding,\nI must torture it and kill it,\" he said.\n\nAfter that, all the Jackals having collected together, started to go\nto call the Turtles for the wedding. Having set off, the Jackal who\ndrank water at the pond having gone in front to invite the Turtles\n[to be ready], said, \"They are coming to summon you to the wedding. All\nye having prepared for it be pleased to be quite ready,\" he said.\n\nThen all the Turtles having come and climbed onto the branches of\ntrees fallen in the pond, were looking out.\n\nThe Jackal who came with the message having gone back near the Jackals,\nsaid, \"All the Turtles having climbed on the trees and the branches,\nare present looking out till we come.\"\n\nWell then, all the Jackals having started, while they were going with\nthe tom-tom beaters, the Jackal who drank water at the pond said,\n\"You stay here. I will go and look if the Turtles are coming or what.\"\n\nHaving gone, after he looked [he saw that] all the Turtles in\nthe trees, more than the Jackals, all having climbed onto the\nbranches, were looking out. Having seen [this] the Jackal says,\n\"Haven't you tom-toms, drums, kettle-drums?\" the Jackal asked the\nTurtles. \"There! we indeed are coming beating well the tom-toms,\nkettle-drums, drums, and [blowing] trumpets,\" he said.\n\nThen the Turtle Chief said, \"Beat our tom-toms,\" he said.\n\nThen all the Turtles began to beat tom-toms by singing, \"Gaja, Gaja;\nGora, Gora; Baka, Baka,\" enough to destroy the ears.\n\nThen the Jackal having come running to the front of the Jackals, said,\n\"All the Turtles having climbed completely along the branches of the\ntrees are there. We all having gone near the Turtles must go along\nthe trees that we can mount onto, and seize the Turtles,\" he said.\n\nThen the Jackal Chief said, \"Not so. As we come very near the Turtles\nbeat this tom-tom verse,\" he said. Then all at a leap having jumped\nonto the trees where the Turtles are he told them to seize them. The\nvery tom-tom verse that he told the tom-tom beaters to beat on the\ntom-toms is, \"Ehe; Kata, kata, kata. Ehe; Kata, kata, kata.\"\n\nThen when they were far off, the Turtles having seen the Jackals\ncoming, said, \"There they are, Bola. Now then, get ready.\"\n\nAs they were coming near, beating the tom-toms, \"Ehe; Kata, kata,\nkata. Ehe; Kata, kata, kata,\" the Turtles having heard all this,\nall the Turtles began to cry out, \"Baka, Baka,\" as they came near.\n\nThen, as they came very near, singing \"Baka, Baka,\" all the Turtles\nsprang into the pond [and disappeared].\n\nOn account of this thing that they did, the Jackals became still\nmore ashamed. \"These Cattle-Turtles have cheated us,\" they said;\nand having become angry, went away.\n\nThe way the Jackal-artificers called the Turtles to the wedding\nis good.\n\n\n                                            Village Vaedda of Bintaenna.\n\n\n\nThe first part of this tale is found in the Jataka story No. 215\n(vol. ii, p. 123). In it two Hansas or sacred Geese asked a Turtle\nto accompany them to their home, a golden cave in the Himalayas. They\ncarried it like the Storks. The Jackal is not introduced at all. Some\nvillage children saw the Turtle in the air, and made a simple remark\nto that effect. The Turtle, wishing to reply, opened its mouth,\nand was smashed by falling in the King's court-yard.\n\nIn the Panchatantra (Dubois), as well as in a variant of the\nNorth-western Province of Ceylon, and elsewhere in the island, the\nstory does not end at this point, but with the escape of the Turtle\nafter the Jackal had soaked it in the water.\n\nIn the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. ii, p. 37, the story ends\nwith the fall of the Turtle, which was being carried to a lake in\nwhich there was water. In this case, as in the Jataka story, the\npoint to be illustrated only required the Turtle to fall and be killed.\n\n\n\nThe variant of the North-western Province is practically identical\nwith the first part of the Vaedda tale, but the drought is stated\nto have lasted for seven years. The Jackal was about to howl, and on\nturning his head upward for the purpose saw two Black Storks carrying\nthe Turtle.\n\nHe asked, \"Where are you taking a present?\" (referring to the way\nin which a considerable load is sometimes carried slung on a stick,\nthe ends of which rest upon the shoulders of two men, one in front and\nthe other behind). The Turtle replied, \"For your mother's head.\" When\nthe Jackal tried to eat it he heard the Turtle laughing inside the\nshell, and said, \"Friend, what are you laughing at?\" The Turtle said,\n\"I am laughing at your thinking you can eat me in that way. I have\nbeen dried up for seven years, and if you want to eat me you must\nfirst soak me in water.\" The Jackal did this, and the Turtle escaped\nin the way related by the Vaeddas.\n\n\n\nThe rest of the story is, I think, found only among the\nVaeddas. Although it is clear that it must have been invented by the\nsettled inhabitants of villages, the marriage custom according to which\nthe bride was to be taken to the bridegroom's house to be married is\nnot that of the modern Sinhalese, but is in accordance with the story\nrelated in the Mahavansa, i, p. 33, regarding the marriage of a Vaedi\nPrincess at the time of Wijaya's landing in Ceylon. The Sinhalese\ncustom is found in the story of the Glass Princess (No. 4), in which\nsix Princes accompanied by their parents, went to their brides'\ncity to be married, returning home with their brides afterwards.\n\nIt is probable that the original story ended with the escape of the\nTurtle from the Jackal after it was placed in the water. It is a\nfolk-tale, and not a story written to illustrate a maxim. It appears\nto have been invented to show the folk-lore superiority of the Turtle's\nintelligence over that of the Jackal. The Turtle is always represented\nas a very clever animal, not only because of the ease with which he can\nprotect himself by withdrawing his head and legs inside the shell--of\nwhich Mr. A. Clark, formerly of the Forest Department of Ceylon, and\nI once had an amusing illustration at a pool in the Kanakarayan-aru,\nwhen his bull-terrier made frantic attempts to kill one, like the\nJackal--but possibly also because, as I was told of another amphibious\nanimal in West Africa, \"he lives both in the water and on the land,\ntherefore he knows the things of both the land and the water.\"\n\nIn The Orientalist, vol. i, p. 134, the story as far as the escape of\nthe Turtle was given by Mr. H. A. Pieris, the animals concerned being\nwrongly termed Tortoise, Cranes, and Fox; the two latter animals are\nnot found in Ceylon. To this the Editor added the story found in the\nHitopadesa, in which the animals were a Turtle and two Geese, which\nagreed to carry the Turtle to another lake in order that it might not\nbe killed by some fishermen next day. Some herdsmen's boys saw it,\nand remarked that if it fell they would cook and eat it. The Turtle\nreplied, \"You shall eat ashes,\" fell down, and was killed by the men.\n\nIn the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. ii, p. 37, the birds were\n\"Swans\" (probably Hansas, which are always represented as geese in\nancient carvings in Ceylon). Some men made remarks to each other on the\nstrange object that was being carried, and the Turtle, on asking the\nbirds what the chattering was about, fell and was killed by the men.\n\nIn Old Deccan Days (Frere), p. 310, a Jackal escaped from an Alligator\n[Crocodile] in the same manner as the Turtle.\n\nIn Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 155--Tales of the Punjab,\np. 147--an Iguana or Monitor Lizard outwitted a Jackal who had caught\nhim by the tail as he was entering the hole in which he lived. Both\npulled for a long time without any result. At last the Lizard said\nhe gave in, and requested the Jackal to allow him to turn round and\ncome out. When released he disappeared into the hole.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 37\n\nTHE LION AND THE TURTLE\n\n\nIn a jungle there is a Lion King. While he was there, one day there\nwas no prey for the Lion King when he was walking about seeking it. He\nobtained nothing as prey that day. As the Lion through fatigue was\nstaying below a great big tree, avoiding the heat, he went to sleep.\n\nWhile he was sleeping, a Turtle came out [of the bushes], having\nset off to go away from there. As he was going along, a \"sara, sara\"\nsound was heard, having been made by the dry leaves. The Lion King\nhaving opened his eyes [90] at the sound of this Turtle's going,\nafter he had looked saw the Turtle, and having become angry sprang\nat once near the Turtle. Having said, \"Bola! What art thou going\non a rapid journey in this manner for? Didst thou not see that I am\n[here]?\" the Lion King pushed against the Turtle.\n\nThen the Turtle says, \"O Lord who will become a thousand Buddhas\n[in future existences], I didn't come to cause you alarm, Sir; I am\nwalking to procure my food,\" the Turtle said to the Lion King.\n\n\"What art thou going to seek and eat in this forest?\" the Lion asked.\n\nThen the Turtle says, \"O Lord, I am walking to obtain and eat any\nsort of things that I can eat,\" the Turtle said.\n\nThen anger having gone to the Lion, he sprang to eat the Turtle. Then\nthe Turtle, having brought his head inside, became like a stone. After\nhe became thus, the Lion turning the Turtle to that side and to this\nside, and having clawed him and bitten him, looked at him, having been\nunable to do anything to him. After he had been looking the Lion says,\n\"Having been like a what-is-it stone, didn't you preach to me in\noverbearing words?\"\n\nWhen he had been looking at him a little time, as the Turtle,\nhaving put his head outside again, was going off, the Lion says,\n\"Bola, art thou a being who can do anything?\"\n\n\"O Lord, the things that you, Sir, can do you do. I do the things\nthat I can do,\" the Turtle said.\n\n\"Bola, canst thou, who endest by drawing slowly and slowly what is\nlike a lump of stone, run, jump, roar, swim in rivers that way and\nthis way, equal to me? And what canst thou do to me, who having roared\nand caused the bottom of the ears to burst, and killed every animal,\neats it?\" the Lion said.\n\nThen the Turtle says, \"You, Sir, frighten and eat even all. You cannot\nfrighten and kill, nor eat, me except on land. In the water, you,\nSir, cannot swim that side and this side equal to me,\" the Turtle\nsaid to the Lion.\n\nAfter the Lion, having become angry, said, \"Wilt thou come to swim\nthat side and this side with me? If not, I will put thee under a\nlarge stone,\" the Turtle having become afraid that he would kill him,\nhaving given his word to swim with the Lion that side and this side\nin a river, went near the river.\n\nHaving gone [there] the Turtle met with yet a Turtle, and said,\n\"Friend, a great trouble has befallen me to-day.\" After the friendly\nTurtle asked, \"What is it, friend?\" the other Turtle says, \"The Lion\nKing has come and wagered with me to swim that side and this side,\"\nhe said.\n\nThen the Turtle says, \"Why are you afraid of that, friend? Say, 'It\nis good.' I will tell you a good trick; you act in that way. What is\nit? You place a red flower in your mouth. I will place a red flower\nin my mouth. You having been on this side with the Lion King, and\nhaving sprung into the river and hidden at the bottom of the water\nvery near there, remain [there]. I having hidden near the river bank\non that side will be [there]. The Lion King having come swimming,\nas he is going to land on that side, I being near the river bank and\nhaving said, 'Kurmarsha,' [91] taking the flower will land [before\nhim]. You also in that way having been hidden near the bank on this\nside, as the Lion King is going to land, having said, 'Kurmarsha,'\nquickly land [before him].\" The friendly Turtle having said [this],\nhid at the bottom of the water near the bank on that side of the river.\n\nThe Turtle that spoke with the Lion went near the Lion. Then the Lion\nasks, \"Art thou coming to swim?\" he asked.\n\n\"Yes, Your Majesty,\" the Turtle said.\n\nThen [after they had gone to the river] the Lion said to the Turtle,\n\"Thou, having swum in front, be off. I having come slowly shall get\nin front of thee,\" he said.\n\nThen the Turtle, also holding a red flower in his mouth, having\ndescended to the river, and having gone a little far, got hid\nat the bottom of the water. While it was hidden, as the Lion was\ngoing swimming near the river bank, the other Turtle which stopped\nat that side, having got in front before the Lion landed, and said,\n\"Kurmarsha,\" having placed a red flower also in his mouth, landed on\nthe river bank at once.\n\nThe Lion having seen him, again sprang into the river. As he came\nto this side, the Turtle that remained at the bank at this side,\nhaving got in front of the Lion at once, taking the flower also, said,\n\"Kurmarsha,\" and landed.\n\nAgain the Lion swam to the other side. In that very way the Turtle\nhaving been there and said, \"Kurmarsha,\" landed [in front of him].\n\nThus, in that way, when swimming seven or eight times, the Lion,\nwho was without even any prey that day, having become unable to swim,\nand being without strength in the middle of the river, died.\n\n\n                                            Village Vaedda of Bintaenna.\n\n\n\nIn a variant of the North-western Province, the Lion lived in a cave,\nand met the Turtle when he went to the river to drink. He told the\nTurtle that it was unable to travel quickly because it always lived in\none place. The Turtle shrugged its shoulders, and replied, \"Can you\ntravel better than I?\" The Lion challenged it to race with him, and\nthe Turtle accepted the challenge, fixing the time eight days later.\n\nThe race of the two animals was not across the river, but along it,\na series of Turtles having been stationed at various points where\nit was arranged that the Lion should come to the bank and call out,\n\"Friend.\" At each place a Turtle rose on hearing this, and said,\n\"What is it, friend?\" At the fifth stage, the Lion leapt over two\nstages as quickly as one, and broke his neck.\n\n\n\nThe resemblance of the race in this variant to that between Brer\nRabbit and Brer Tarrypin in Uncle Remus is striking; it even extends\nto the number of stages, five in both stories.\n\nIn The Orientalist, vol. i, pp. 87, 88, Mr. W. Goonetilleke gave\na variant from Siam, by Herr A. Bastian, in which the animals were\nthe Garuda [or Rukh] and the Turtle; and two others by Lord Stanmore,\nfrom Fiji, where the animals were a Crane and a Crab in one instance,\nand a Crane and a Butterfly in the other, the insect being perched\non the bird's back during the race.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                                PART II\n\n                              STORIES TOLD\n                                OF OR BY\n                            THE LOWER CASTES\n\n\nNO. 38\n\nTHE MONKEY AND THE WEAVER-BIRD\n\n\nIn the midst of a forest there were a Wandura (a large grey Monkey,\nSemnopithecus) and a Weaver-bird.\n\nOne day the Monkey came to the tree in which the Weaver-bird lodged,\nand after that a great rain-storm began. The Weaver-bird without\ngetting wet remained in much comfort in its nest; the Monkey stayed\nin a fork of the tree, getting thoroughly soaked.\n\nThen the Weaver-bird said, \"Why does a person endowed with hands and\nfeet, and strength, like thee, get soaked in this rain? Such a small\nanimal as I am having built a house stays in it without getting\nwet. Not a drop of rain leaks into it. If I were equal to thee I\nshould build a good house.\"\n\nOn account of that remark the Monkey became angry, and saying,\n\"What is my business to thee?\" broke down the nest of the Weaver-bird.\n\nThen the Weaver-bird went to the [Monkey] King, and instituted an\naction [against the Monkey]. Afterwards, orders were issued by the\nKing to seize the Monkey. After remaining in concealment, the Monkey,\nthinking, \"If I should be caught they will kill me,\" plucked a Jak\nfruit, and went with it to the King. After that [the King] caused\nthe Weaver-bird to be brought, so that he might try the case.\n\nAs he was inquiring into the case, it came to be accepted that\non account of his breaking down the nest the fault lay with the\nMonkey. Then the Monkey said, \"The action is coming to an end. Will\nthe Maharaja be pleased to look behind me?\"\n\nAt that very time, when the King having considered [his judgment],\nlooked around, he saw that there was a Jak fruit behind the\nMonkey. Then the King, thinking, \"The Jak fruit has been brought\nto be given to me for the sake of obtaining my favour,\" said to the\nWeaver-bird, \"The fault is in thy hands. Whether he gets soaked or\nhowever he may be, it is no affair of thine.\"\n\nHaving said this, the King drove her away; and the Monkey, having\ngiven him the Jak fruit, went away.\n\nAt that time animals were able to talk.\n\n\n                                         Potter. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThe first part of this story is given in the Hitopadesa, but not the\ntrial before the Monkey King.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 39\n\nTHE JACKAL DEVATAWA\n\n\nIn a certain country there was a dead Elephant, it is said. A Jackal\nhaving gone to eat the Elephant's carcase, and having eaten and eaten\na hole into the Elephant from behind, passed inside it. While he was\neating and eating the carcase of the Elephant as he remained inside\nit, the skin [dried and] became twisted up, and the path by which\nthe Jackal entered became closed.\n\nA man who was a tom-tom beater was going near it, taking a tom-tom\nfor a devil-dance. Then among the bones the sound of tom-tom beating\nwas heard. So the Jackal asked, \"Who is going here?\"\n\nThe tom-tom beater said, \"I am going to this devil-dance.\"\n\nThe Jackal said, \"What art thou going this way for, without\npermission?\"\n\nThe tom-tom beater replied, \"O Lord, I am going without knowing about\nthis [permission's being necessary].\"\n\nThe Jackal asked, \"What wilt thou obtain for the dancing?\"\n\nThe tom-tom beater said, \"I receive presents and the like.\"\n\nThen the Jackal said, \"I will give thee a present better than\nmoney. It is owing to thy good luck that thou hast come this way. I\nam a Devatawa (deity) who is guarding his own treasure here. If I am\nto give thee the treasure, split one eye (end) of the tom-tom which\nis in thy hand, and having filled it with water and brought it here,\npour it on this Elephant.\"\n\nAfter that, the tom-tom beater having plucked out the eye of the\ntom-tom, filling it with water brought it, and poured it on the\nElephant's dried up carcase. The Jackal, also, sitting inside it,\nworked and worked it into the skin with its muzzle. Having made the\nskin pliable it sprang out, and went away.\n\nWhen this man looked inside, no deity was there, but there were many\nmaggots. So the man, taking his broken tom-tom, went home.\n\nIn a few days afterwards, a rain having fallen, the Elephant's carcase\nfloated, and went down into the water-course. From the water-course\nit passed down to the stream. A flock of crows covered the carcase. As\nthey were going eating and eating the dead body, it descended into the\nriver, and from the river it passed down to the great sea. There the\nskin having rotted began to fall to the bottom. After the crows had\nlooked [around], there was not even a tree [to be seen], and before\nthey were able to fly to a place where there were trees their wings\nwere broken, and they died.\n\n\n                                      Washerman. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nA variant related in another village is nearly the same. Some tom-tom\nbeaters passing the Elephant's carcase were accosted by the Jackal,\nto whom they replied that they were going to \"a poya tom-tom beating,\"\nthat is, one given on the Buddhist sabbath, at the quarter of the\nmoon. When he inquired what profit they would get from it, they\nstated that they would receive cakes and milk-rice. \"You don't want\ncakes and milk-rice,\" he said, \"I will give you gold. Bring water\nto this Elephant's carcase.\" They did so, breaking open the \"eyes\"\nof their tom-toms for the purpose, and the Jackal escaped.\n\nThe story concludes: \"For the tom-tom beaters there was neither gold,\nnor cakes and milk-rice. Having broken their tom-toms, lamenting and\nlamenting they went to their village.\"\n\n\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 148 (vol. i, p. 315), a Jackal became\nimprisoned in the same way, but escaped when a tempest soaked the\nskin. The tale is also given in No. 490 (vol. iv, p. 206).\n\nIn the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. i, p. 77, a man crept inside\nthe skin of an Elephant from which jackals had eaten the flesh. A\nrain-storm caused it to contract (?) and closed the aperture. The flood\ncarried it into the Ganges and thence to the sea. There a Garuda [Rukh]\npicked it up, and took it to Ceylon, where the man escaped when it tore\nopen the hide. I insert the following as an account of the supposed\nstate of things in Ceylon under the rule of Vibhisana, the Rakshasa\nKing of Ceylon, after the death of Ravana: \"Two Rakshasas contemplated\nhim from a distance with feelings of fear.\" They reported his arrival\nto Vibhisana, who sent for him and entertained him in a friendly and\nhospitable manner. When asked how he came to Ceylon, the Brahmana\ncunningly replied that he had been sent by Vishnu, who had informed\nhim that Vibhisana would present him with wealth. He stayed some time\nin the island, and was allowed a young Garuda on which to ride about\nthe country, and at last he was carried back to Mathura by it.\n\nIn Old Deccan Days (Frere), p. 179, a Jackal got inside a dead bullock,\nand informed the scavengers who came to bury it that he was the god\nof their village. They poured water on the hide, and he escaped.\n\nIn Indian Folk Tales (Gordon), p. 61, a live Elephant swallowed a\nJackal. The Jackal fed on the heart and killed the Elephant, but was\nimprisoned inside when the skin dried up. When the God Mahadeo (Siva),\nwho was passing, heard cries and inquired who was there, the Jackal,\nafter ascertaining who it was, said that he was Sahadeo, father of\nMahadeo, and induced the latter to prove his identity by causing a\nheavy rainfall, owing to which the skin was softened and he escaped.\n\n\n\nIt is said in the Southern Province that all tom-tom beaters are\nfools. [92] In the North-western Province the same opinion is held\nregarding some of them. To what extent it is justified I am unable to\nsay, but an example which supported the general notion fell under my\nown observation. Some jungle was being cut for an irrigation channel,\nat the side of an uncultivated field belonging to a tom-tom beaters'\nvillage, and one of the men came to watch the progress of the work. I\nquestioned him regarding eggs. He stated at first that only things\nwhich could fly laid eggs, but he admitted that this rule did not apply\nto crocodiles, lizards, and snakes. About bats he was not certain, but\nthought they do not lay eggs. Rats certainly do not lay them, he said.\n\nI had seen a Green Bee-eater flying near us, and I observed a small\nhole such as this bird makes as its nest-hole, in the sandy ground. I\ndrew his attention to it, and he at once asserted that it was a\nrat-hole; of that he had no doubt whatever. \"Well then, let us see\nif there are any eggs in it,\" I said, knowing that it was then the\nbreeding season of the Bee-eaters.\n\nHe looked on, smiling ironically, while I got one of my men to open\nthe tunnel carefully. When he came to the end, there on the sand,\nin a little saucer-shaped cavity, were four shining, spherical white\neggs of the bird. The man was astonished, but was quite satisfied\nthat they were rat's eggs. \"I saw them with my two eyes,\" he said to\nmy men, who all laughed at him.\n\nThe following stories were written for me as the foolish doings\ntraditionally attributed to the tom-tom beaters of a village in the\nNorth-western Province. Apparently the village is at the side of a\nrice field.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 40\n\nA KADAMBAWA MAN'S JOURNEY TO PUTTALAM\n\n\nIn order to go to Puttalam, a Kadambawa man having yoked his bull in\nhis cart, sent it in advance with the cart, saying, \"My bull knows\nthe way to Puttalam.\" He himself walked behind the cart.\n\nThe bull [being without guidance], having gone completely round the\nrice field, came again to the path leading to the man's house. There\nthe man's children came out, saying, \"Ade! Has our father been to\nPuttalam and come back?\"\n\nThe man [thinking he had come to another village] said, \"What are\nyou saying 'Father' to me for? I am a Kadambawa man. I am going to\nPuttalam.\" Then he again sent on the bull in front [as before].\n\nIn the same manner as before, the bull having gone round the rice\nfield came again to the house. Then those children saying, \"Ade! Has\nour father been to Puttalam and come back?\" went on in front.\n\nThen the man said, \"Ha! At each place that I go to, the boys call me\n'Father.' I am a Kadambawa man. I am going to Puttalam. At a village\non the road, also, certain boys said 'Father' to me.\" So saying,\nhe again sent on the bull in front.\n\nIn the same way as before, the bull turning round the rice field\ncame again to the village. Again the man's children said, \"Ade! Has\nour father been to Puttalam and come back? Have you come on in front\n[of the others who went]?\"\n\nThen the man said, \"Ha! At each place that I go to, the boys say\n'Father' to me. I am a Kadambawa man. I am going to Puttalam. At two\nvillages on the road the boys called me 'Father.'\"\n\nAs he was setting off to go again, the man's wife came and spoke\nto him. Then the man having recognised that it was his own house,\nunfastened the bull, and having sent it off to eat food stayed quietly\nat home.\n\n\n\nIn The Orientalist, vol. ii, p. 102, there is a story by\nMr. A. E. R. Corea, in which a man who was going to a village in order\nto hire out his bull, allowed the animal to take its own way while he\ntrudged behind it. The bull wandered about eating, and at last lay\ndown near a stream. The man being tired out also lay down, and fell\nasleep. He was close to his own house, and was found by his children\nwhen they went for firewood. When they spoke to him, he denied that he\nwas their father, and drove them away; but his wife afterwards came,\nand by means of her broom-stick convinced him that he was at home.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 41\n\nTHE KADAMBAWA MEN AND THE HARES\n\n\nThe Kadambawa men having gone to set nets, a great many hares were\ncaught in the nets. Afterwards the men, having seized the hares,\ndoubled up the hind legs of the hares at the joints, and the fore-legs\nat the joints, and threw them on the ground, in order to make a heap\nof them in one place afterwards. Then all the hares ran away into\nthe jungle.\n\nAfter all the hares in the nets had been finished, when they looked\nfor the dead hares there was not even one hare. Then the men were\nastonished at the coming to life of the hares which they had killed,\nsaying, \"How thoroughly we killed the hares!\" After having become\nfixed like stone [with astonishment] until nightfall, they went in\nthe evening to their houses.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 42\n\nTHE KADAMBAWA MEN AND THE MOUSE-DEER\n\n\nThe Kadambawa men having appointed a wedding-[day], and having caught\na great many Mouse-deer [for eating at it], tied clappers on their\nnecks like those on goats, and having made an enclosure put them in\nit, and came away. The Mouse-deer escaped into the jungle.\n\nHaving gone to it on the wedding-day, when they looked there was not\none Mouse-deer left. Then the men, saying, \"Ane! The Mouse-deer that\nwe reared have all gone,\" came back to the village, much astonished.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 43\n\nTHE KADAMBAWA MEN AND THE BUSH\n\n\nAs the Kadambawa men were going away with some drums one night, to\nattend a devil-dance, they met with a Wara [93] bush on the path,\nwhich looked like an elephant. The men became afraid, thinking,\n\"Maybe an elephant has come onto the path.\" At the shaking of the\nleaves of the Wara bush they said, \"He is shaking his ears.\"\n\nBeing afraid to go past the elephant, they beat the drums until it\nbecame light, to frighten the Wara bush. When they looked after it\nbecame light, it was not an elephant; it was a Wara tree. After that,\nthey came back to their village. So they had neither the devil-dance\nnor went to sleep.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 44\n\nHOW THE KADAMBAWA MEN COUNTED THEMSELVES\n\n\nTwelve Kadambawa men having gone to cut fence sticks, and having\ncut and tied up twelve bundles of them, set them on end leaning\nagainst each other [before carrying them home]. Then a man said,\n\"Are our men all right? Have all come? We must count and see.\"\n\nAfterwards a man counted them. When he was counting he only counted\nthe other men, omitting himself. \"There are only eleven men; there\nare twelve bundles of fence sticks,\" he said.\n\nThen another man saying, \"Maybe you made a mistake,\" counted them\nagain in the same way. He said, \"This time also there are eleven men;\nthere are indeed twelve bundles of fence sticks.\"\n\nThus, in that manner each one of the twelve men counted in the\nsame way as at first. \"There are eleven men and twelve bundles of\nfence-sticks. There is a man short,\" they said, and they went into\nthe jungle to look for him.\n\nWhile they were in the chena jungle seeking and seeking, a man of\nanother village, hearing a loud noise of shouting while he was going\nalong the road, having come there to see what it was, found these\ntwelve men quarrelling over it. Then this man asked, \"What are you\nsaying?\"\n\nThe men said, \"Twelve of our men came to cut fence sticks. There are\nnow twelve bundles of sticks; there are only eleven men. A man is\nshort yet.\"\n\nWhen this man looked there were twelve men. So he said, \"All of you\ntake each one his own bundle of fence sticks.\" Then the twelve men\nhaving taken the twelve bundles of sticks came to their village.\n\n\n\nIn Indian Fables (Ramaswami Raju), p. 61, twelve pigs crossed a stream,\nand counting themselves in the same way on the opposite bank, thought\nthat one had been drowned.\n\nIn Indian Nights' Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 305, seven Buneyr men\n[weavers] counted their number as six, and were so delighted when a\nshepherd proved that there were seven that they insisted on doing a\nmonth's free labour for him. Next day, however, one killed his mother\nin driving a fly off her face, and another chopped off the heads of\nseveral goats for mocking him by chewing their cud while he was eating,\nso he dispensed with the rest of their services.\n\nIn the Adventures of the Guru Paramarta (Dubois, 1872) the Guru and\nhis five foolish disciples, after long delay because of the danger,\ncrossed a river in which the water was only knee-deep. On reaching\nthe far bank one of them counted the party several times, omitting\nhimself, and they concluded that one had been drowned in the river,\nwhich they had heard was a treacherous one. They lamented, and cursed\nthe river, one after another, until a traveller arrived. When he had\nheard their story he offered to restore the missing man to them by\nmeans of magic, for which service they agreed to pay him all the money\nthey had, forty panams of gold. He said to the Guru, \"It is a very\nlittle thing in comparison with the service that I promise to render\nyou. However, as you say it is all that you possess, and as you are\nin other respects a good man who does not intend any malice thereby,\nI consent.\" He set the six persons in a row, and struck each one a\ngood blow on the back with his stick as he counted him in a loud voice.\n\nIn the Laughable Stories, of Bar-Hebraeus (Budge), the counting tale\nis No. 569. A man counted his asses and found there were ten, then\nhaving mounted on one he omitted it, and made the number nine. He\ndismounted and found there were ten; mounted again and counted only\nnine. He got down again, and saw that there were ten. Then saying,\n\"Verily there is a devil in me, for whenever I mount an ass I lose\none of them,\" he went on foot for fear of losing one permanently.\n\nThe counting incident is found in China also. In A String of Chinese\nPeach-Stones, by W. A. Cornaby, p. 276, a stupid Yamun underling\nwho was taking a rascally monk to prison, kept counting the things\nhe had with him, \"Bundle, umbrella, cangue (the heavy wooden collar\non the prisoner's neck), warrant, monk, myself.\" On the way he got\ndrunk and went to sleep. The monk took advantage of the opportunity\nto shave his head and place the cangue on his neck, after which\nhe absconded. When the man awoke, and began to count the things,\nhe found everything there but himself.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 45\n\nTHE KADAMBAWA MEN AND THE DREAM\n\n\nWhen some Kadambawa men, having joined together, were going away to\nPuttalam, it became night while they were on the road. Having got a\nresting-place, and cooked and eaten, while they were sleeping a tusk\nelephant appeared to a man in a dream.\n\nOn the morning of the following day the man said to the other men,\n\"Friends, last night I saw an evil dream.\"\n\nThe men asked, \"What was in the dream?\"\n\nThe man said, \"I saw a tusk elephant.\"\n\nThen the men began to interpret the dream. They said, \"What is the\nmeaning? If there is a tusk elephant there will be elephant's dung;\nif elephant's dung, paddy [which the elephant has eaten]; if paddy,\nuncooked rice; if uncooked rice, cooked rice; if cooked rice, it is\na thing [found only] in the village. Therefore the elephant means\nthe village. Something must have happened. It is useless for us to\ngo on. Let us go back to the village.\" So all, weeping and weeping,\nset out to return to the village.\n\nAs they came to the rice field of the village, the women and boys of\nthe village having heard the men coming crying and crying aloud, said,\n\"Ane! Our men are coming crying and crying. What is it? It will be a\ndreadful thing.\" So the women and boys, having come from the houses to\nthat side of the field before those men came across, began to cry also.\n\nOn seeing them, the man who saw the dream said to those other men,\n\"Look there! Did I tell you falsely?\" Then the men cried the\nmore. Having seen it, these boys and women, they also cried more\nand more. The two parties having come quite near each other still\ncried. The women and boys on that side of the stile [at the edge of\nthe field], these men on the field side of it, except that they cried\nsaid nothing.\n\nWhile they were crying and crying until it became night, as a man\nfrom another village was going along the path he heard this uproar,\nand came to see what it was. He asked at the hand of the men, \"What\nis it? Who is dead?\"\n\nThen the men, crying and crying, said, \"Who is dead we don't know.\"\n\nAfter that, the man having gone near those women and boys, asked,\n\"What is it? Who is dead?\"\n\nThen those persons also said, crying and crying, \"Who is dead we\ndon't know.\"\n\nAfterwards the man having stopped the crying of both parties, when he\nhad asked them about it, there was nothing dreadful. So the man went\naway, and these men and women and boys, they also went to their houses.\n\n\n\nIn Indian Nights' Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 348, a weaver girl\nsaid to herself that it would be a good thing if she married in her own\nvillage, but if she had a son and he were to die, how her relatives\nand friends would lament! The thought of it made her cry. When her\naunts and friends observed it they all cried too, and her father and\nuncles and brothers coming up and seeing all these people crying,\nalso cried. When a neighbour asked the men what it was about, who was\ndead? they could not tell him, but referred him to the women. He then\nlearnt that these also did not know, but cried because they saw the\ngirl crying.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 46\n\nTHE FOUR TOM-TOM BEATERS\n\n\nThis story is told in the Southern Province to illustrate the\nfoolishness of this caste.\n\nFour Tom-tom Beaters when proceeding along a road together,\nmet a man of lower caste than themselves. Before passing them he\nmade an obeisance, and (as usual in such cases) said, \"Awasara,\"\n\"Permission\"--that is, \"Have I permission (to pass)?\"--and then\nwalked away.\n\nWhile the Tom-tom Beaters were going along afterwards a dispute\narose over it, each person claiming that he was the one who had been\naddressed, and to whom the obeisance had been made, as being the\nsuperior man of the party. Each maintaining his own view, and being\nunable to settle it in any other way, the four persons decided to refer\nthe matter to the man himself. They therefore turned back and ran after\nhim, and on overtaking him requested him to state from which of them\nhe had asked the permission. As the question plainly indicated the sort\nof persons they were, he replied, \"From the biggest fool among you.\"\n\nThis left matters just where they were, as each one, in order to prove\nhis claim to the obeisance, then declared himself to be the greatest\nfool; and at last they related their foolish actions. These were\npointless, and I did not preserve the details. Each, however, had two\nwives, this being one of the grounds on which all based their claims,\nand the details they gave consisted of accounts of the ill-treatment\nthat they received from these women.\n\n\n\nIn Indian Nights' Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 65, a traveller threw\nfour pence to four weavers, each of whom claimed all the money. A\nsecond traveller's reasonable suggestion that each should take a\npenny was rejected, and they ran after the man, and asked for whom\nhe had given them. When he inquired which was the wisest they told\nstories that only indicated their extreme stupidity, and in the end\nhe gave them four pence each, all being equal in this respect.\n\nThe Abb\u00e9 Dubois gave a similar story from the Tamil of Southern India,\nthe men being four Brahmanas to whom a soldier said, \"Saranam, eiyar\"\n(\"Homage, Sir\"). The four replied, \"Asirvatam\" (\"Benediction\"),\nand the man went off. After disputing about it, they ran after him\nfor a league, and asked him whom he saluted. He said, \"Well, it is\nthe biggest fool of four whom I intended to salute.\" Eventually the\nmatter was referred to the headmen of the next village, who after\nhearing their accounts of their silly deeds, decided that each one\nmight claim superiority over the others. \"Thus,\" said they, \"each one\nof you has gained his case.\" The men were satisfied, as each had won.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Hindustan (Shaik Chilli), p. 1, there is a version in\nwhich two men were saluted by an old woman as they passed her. After a\ndispute over it, when they ran back and asked her about it, she replied\nthat she saluted the greater fool of the two. Then they related their\nexperiences to her, and she adjudged one to be a bigger fool than\nthe other.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 47\n\nTHE GOLDEN TREE\n\n\nAt a certain city there is a King, it is said; there are three Princes\nof that King. The King, while sleeping, saw in a dream that a Golden\nTree sprang up, and on that Golden Tree a Silver Flower blossomed. A\nSilver Cock that was sitting on the Silver Flower crowed.\n\nAfterwards the King caused the three Princes to be fetched. When the\neldest Prince had been brought he asked him, \"Son, can you explain\nthis dream which I have had?\"\n\nThe Prince asked, \"What appeared in the dream, Father-King?\"\n\nThe King said, \"A Golden Tree having been created, on it a Silver\nFlower blossomed, and a Silver Cock crowed while sitting upon the\nflower.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"Ane! Father-King, I cannot interpret it; perhaps\nmy two younger brothers will explain it.\"\n\nThen the King having caused the next Prince to be fetched, asked him,\n\"Son, can you explain this dream?\"\n\nThe Prince asked, \"Father-King, what appeared in the dream?\"\n\nThe King told him the manner in which the things appeared in the dream.\n\nThe Prince said, \"Father-King, I cannot explain it; perhaps younger\nbrother will interpret it.\"\n\nThen the King having caused the youngest Prince to be brought asked\nhim, \"Son, can you explain this dream?\"\n\nThe Prince asked, \"Father-King, what appeared in the dream?\"\n\nThe King told him the manner in which the things appeared in the dream.\n\nThen the Prince said, \"O Lord, Your Majesty, I will interpret that\ndream, but I must first go in search of the explanation.\"\n\nAfter that, the three Princes obtained leave of absence for three\nyears. Having got it, the three persons, cooking a bundle of rice,\nand taking from their father permission to depart, started to go in\nsearch of the interpretation. Having gone on and on, they came to a\njunction of three roads. Having arrived at it, and eaten the bundle\nof cooked rice, the eldest Prince said, \"I will go along this road;\nyou go on those two roads.\" So the eldest Prince went along one road,\nthe second Prince went along another road, and the youngest Prince\nwent on the remaining road.\n\nHaving gone on and on, the youngest Prince arrived at the house of\na widow woman. The woman said, \"Ane! Son, what have you come here\nfor? We have not even firewood for cooking.\"\n\nThe Prince asked, \"Why, mother, is that?\"\n\nThe widow woman said, \"There is a Yaka in the jungle in which is\nthe firewood. The Yaka has now eaten all the people of this city;\nfew people are now in it.\"\n\nThe Prince asked, \"How does that Yaka seize the men?\"\n\nThe widow woman said, \"When they go to the jungle and are cutting\nfirewood, he comes saying 'Hu,' and eats them.\"\n\nAfterwards the Prince, taking his sword, went to the jungle, and\nchopped a piece of firewood. The Yaka came, saying \"Hu.\" Then the\nPrince chopped at the Yaka with that very sword, and the Yaka died\nthere. After that, the Prince, taking a bundle of firewood, returned\nto the house of the widow woman.\n\nThe widow woman asked, \"Son, did you meet with the Yaka?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"I met with him; I killed the Yaka.\"\n\nThen having cooked with the firewood, she gave the Prince to eat.\n\nOn the morning of the following day the King went to the jungle,\nand chopped firewood. That day the Yaka did not come, saying\n\"Hu.\" Afterwards, through the Yaka's not saying \"Hu,\" the King went\nto look for him, and saw that the Yaka was dead. So the King returned\nto the city, and saying, \"I must find now, in a moment, the man who\nkilled the Yaka,\" caused proclamation to be made by beat of tom-toms\nto that effect.\n\nHaving heard it, this widow woman, summoning the Prince, went to the\npalace, and told the King that he had killed the Yaka. After that\nthe King asked at the hand of the Prince, \"How did you kill the Yaka?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"I went to the jungle, and while I was chopping\nfirewood the Yaka having come crying \"Hu,\" sprang onto me. Then I\nspeedily chopped at him and killed him.\" Having heard this, the King\ngave the Prince a district of that kingdom, and an elephant's load\nof goods.\n\nAfterwards the Prince gave all those things to the widow woman,\nand having gone away to another city, came to the house of a\nwidow-mother. Having arrived there, the Prince said to her,\n\"Ane! Mother, you must give me a resting-place to-day.\"\n\nThe widow-mother said, \"I can indeed give you a resting-place,\nbut there is no place to sleep in. You cannot sleep in the veranda;\na light falls there during the night, and any person who sees that\nlight dies. Nobody can stop the light. In order to stop it, the King\nhas made public proclamation by beat of tom-toms that to any person\nwho stops it he will give an elephant's load of goods, and a district\nof the kingdom.\"\n\nThe Prince asked her, \"Mother, where does the light fall first?\"\n\nThe widow-mother said, \"In an open grass field in the middle of\nthe city.\"\n\nThe Prince then said, \"If so, go and tell the King to fix a raised\nplatform at the place where the light falls, and having placed there\na winnowing basket made of cow-dung, and a large pot of water, to\ncome away. I will go there to-night and stop it.\"\n\nSo the widow-mother went and told the King. After that, the King\nprepared the things in that very manner, and came away.\n\nIn the evening, the Prince, having eaten food, went onto the\nplatform. Near midnight, while he was there the light fell there. When\nthe Prince looked, the Naga King of the world of the Nagas, having\ncome there, had ejected from his mouth the Cobra Stone, and having\ngone far away was eating food [as a cobra].\n\nThen this Prince put the cow-dung winnowing basket on the stone,\nwhereupon the Naga King came crying out to the water-pot, taking it\nfor the person [who had done it]. The Prince then chopped at him with\nhis sword, and the Naga King died. After that, taking the Cobra Stone,\nthe Prince washed it with water from the pot, and put it away in the\nwaist pocket of his cloth.\n\nWhile he was there it became light. Then the King came to see if he\nhad stopped the light. When he looked he saw that the cobra was lying\nin a heap. The King asked at the hand of the Prince, \"Did you stop\nthe light?\" The Prince said, \"Look there! The very one that made the\nlight has been killed there.\" Afterwards the King gave the Prince an\nelephant's load of goods, and a district of that kingdom.\n\nAfterwards, the Prince having given to the widow woman all the things\nthat had been given to him, went along the path on which the Naga\nKing had come, to the world of the Nagas. When he got there, all\nthe three Princesses of the Naga King whom he had killed were there,\nsitting in one spot.\n\nThe Princesses said to this Prince, \"What have you come for? Should\nour father the King return now he will eat you.\"\n\nThe Prince saying, \"Your father the King cannot come. I have come\nhere after killing your father the King,\" showed them the Cobra Stone.\n\nThen the Princesses asked, \"What have you come here for?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"I have come on account of a sooth-saying, in order\nto get it explained.\"\n\nThe Princesses asked, \"What is the sooth?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"At the time when our father the King was sleeping,\na Golden Tree having sprung up, and a Silver Flower having blossomed\non it, a Silver Cock which was sitting upon the flower crowed.\"\n\nThe three Princesses said, \"We cannot explain it here. Let us go to\nyour father the King.\"\n\nThe Prince said \"Ha,\" and the three Princesses and the Prince set\noff to come to him.\n\nThey came to the junction of the three roads at which at first the\nthree Princes separated. Having arrived there they went along the\nroad on which the eldest brother of the Prince had gone, and having\nmet with him the Prince said, \"Let us go back, elder brother, these\nthree Princesses will explain the dream\"; so they returned. Then\nthey all went along the road on which the next brother had gone,\nand having found him the Prince said, \"Let us go back.\"\n\nHaving summoned him to go with them, those three Princes and the\nthree Princesses, six persons, having met together in this manner,\ncame to the Princes' city. Having arrived there, this youngest Prince\ncaused their father the King to be called. So the King came to them.\n\nThen these three Princesses who had come from the world of the Nagas\nsaid to this youngest Prince, \"Cause us three persons to stand at\nthe thread\" (that is, to toe the line). So this Prince caused them\nto stand at the thread.\n\nThen the three Princesses said, \"Cut off our three heads at one\nstroke.\" So this youngest Prince cut off their three heads at one\nstroke. Thereupon the Golden Tree was created, and the Silver Flower\nhaving blossomed on it, the Silver Cock that was sitting on the top\nof the flower crowed.\n\nThen this youngest Prince chopped down the Golden Tree with his sword,\nand the three Princesses came to life again. Having come to life,\nthe three Princesses asked at the hand of the King, the father of\nthe Princes, \"Was it thus in the dream that appeared to you?\" The\nKing said \"Yes.\" Then the three Princesses told him that they were\nthe Golden Tree, and the Silver Flower, and the Silver Cock.\n\nAfter that, the three Princesses, having been married to the three\nPrinces, remained there.\n\n\n                                 Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThe Cobra King with the gem, a diamond, which he laid down while\nfeeding, and swallowed afterwards, occurs in Old Deccan Days (Frere),\np. 36. A girl, disguised as a Prince, hung in a tree a large iron\ntrap fitted with knives underneath. Below it she scattered flowers and\nsweet scents \"such as cobras love,\" and when the Cobra came at night\nshe dropped the trap on him, and killed him. When she went to wash the\ndiamond in the lake, the water on being touched by it rolled aside,\nand revealed a path which led to the garden at the Cobra's palace. In\nthe garden she found a tree with a silver stem, golden leaves, and\nclusters of pearls as fruits. In the end, the Cobra's daughter came\naway with her.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 18, a Cobra rose out of a tank, with\na brilliant gem on its hood, which shone \"like a thousand diamonds,\"\nand lit up everything around. The snake put it down and went in search\nof food, and swallowed the two horses of a Prince and his friend, the\nson of the Minister, who were belated, and sitting in a tree. While the\nsnake was at some distance, the Minister's son descended, covered the\ngem with horse dung, and climbed back. The snake rushed to the spot,\nbut could not find the gem, and eventually died. Next morning they\ndescended, washed the gem in water, and saw by its light a palace under\nthe water, in which they found a Princess whom the Prince married.\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 253 (vol. ii, p. 197) we learn that the Naga\nKing called Mani-Kantha, \"Jewel-throat,\" appears to have kept the\ngem in his throat. He said--\n\n\n    Rich food and drink in plenty I can have\n    By means of this fine jewel which you crave.\n\n\nIn the story No. 543 (vol. vi, p. 94), the Naga gem is mentioned as\n\"the jewel which grants all desires.\" Naga youths are described as\nplacing it on a hillock of sand, and \"playing all night in the water\nby its radiance.\" One on the head of the Naga King is referred to on\np. 97 as being one which, \"bright-red like a lady-bird, glows on his\nhead a diadem.\"\n\nIn the Panchatantra (Dubois), three jogis when killed while eating\nbecame three large copper pots filled with gold and valuable jewels.\n\nIn Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 176--Tales of the Punjab\n(Steel), p. 166--a Princess was brought to life by cutting off,\nat one blow of the Sword, the heads of a pair of ducks.\n\nIn The Indian Antiquary, vol. i., p. 115, in a Bengal story by\nMr. G. H. Damant, a King dreamt of a silver tree, with golden\nbranches, diamond leaves, and pearl fruits; peacocks were playing in\nthe branches and eating the fruits. The tree was a girl, imprisoned\nby Rakshasas. When a Prince cut her in two she became the tree;\nwhen he dropped the knife she took her own shape again.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 48\n\nTHE SEVEN PRINCESSES\n\n\nIn a certain country there are a King and a Queen, it is said; there\nare seven Princesses [the daughters] of the King. A Prince younger\nthan those seven is born.\n\nThe King went to a war, and having gone there the King was defeated\nin the war. When he returned, the royal food was not made ready for\nthe King. Having arrived, he asked the Queen, \"Why did you not prepare\nthe royal food for me?\"\n\nThen the Queen said, \"I cannot bring up your children, and prepare\nthe royal food for you also.\"\n\nThe King asked, \"Why? What have the Princesses done?\"\n\nThe Queen replied, \"They go to the river, and after bathing there\ncome back and rub oil on their heads, and comb their hair, [instead\nof assisting me to prepare the food].\"\n\nOn account of that the King settled to behead the seven royal\nPrincesses next day.\n\nThe Queen having cooked a bundle of rice and given it to those\nseven said, \"Go to any place you like, or the King will behead you\nto-morrow.\"\n\nAfter that, they went off to the river, and after sitting there and\neating the bundle of rice, the seven went away.\n\nHaving gone on and on, they went to the house of a Rakshasa. When they\ngot there the Rakshasa was not at home. The seven persons asked for\nand obtained a resting place from the Rakshasi (female Rakshasa). Then\nthe youngest Princess said, \"We have no food; give us something to\ncook.\" So the Rakshasi gave them a little paddy.\n\nThe youngest Princess, taking the paddy, said to the other six\nPrincesses, \"Elder sisters, come and pound this small quantity of\npaddy.\" The six persons refused.\n\nAfter that, the Princess having pounded it, when she went out\nto winnow it saw that there was a heap of human bones behind the\nhouse. The Princess bearing that in mind winnowed it, and returned\nwithout speaking about them. Then she called the Princesses to come\nand cook it; they did not come.\n\nAfterwards the Princess having cooked, summoned those six persons to\neat the rice. The six persons refused. Thereupon the Princess fed the\nsix Princesses [by dividing the rice and giving each one her share\nof it].\n\nNow, in the evening the seven Princesses went to sleep. There were\nseven girls at the house, the daughters of the Rakshasa, and the seven\nwore white clothes. The seven Princesses wore blue clothes. Then the\nyoungest Princess having awoke in the night, took the seven white\ncloths of the seven Rakshasa girls, and put them on the Princesses,\nplacing the dark cloths of the Princesses on the girls.\n\nThe Rakshasa having returned during the night, and having learnt from\nhis wife of the arrival of the Princesses, put one of the girls out\nof those who wore the dark cloths, in a large cooking-pot, and having\nboiled her the Rakshasa ate his own daughter.\n\nAfter seeing this, when the Rakshasa had gone to sleep, the little\nPrincess, awaking those six Princesses, told them about it, and all\nthe Princesses escaped together during the night. Having come to a\nriver they remained there lying on a sandbank.\n\nA King having come that way while they were there, asked, \"Are you\nYakas or human beings?\"\n\nThe Princesses asked, \"Is it a Yaka or a human being who asks?\"\n\nThe King replied, \"It is indeed a human being who asks, not a Yaka.\"\n\nThen the Princesses said, \"We indeed are human beings, not Yakas,\"\n[and they told him how they had escaped from the house of the Rakshasa\nand had come there].\n\nOn hearing this the King said, \"Can you go with me?\"\n\nThe Princesses having said, \"We can,\" went with the King to his palace,\nand became his Queens. [94]\n\nOn the night of the following day, a daughter of the Rakshasa,\nhaving heard how the King had taken away the Princesses, came there,\nand remained lying on the sandbank.\n\nOn the next day, also, the King having come that way asked, \"Are you\na Yaka or a human being?\"\n\nThe Rakshasa's daughter said, \"Is it a Yaka or a human being who asks?\"\n\nThe King replied, \"It is indeed a human being who asks, not a Yaka.\"\n\nThe Rakshasa's daughter said, \"I also am indeed a human being, not\na Yaka.\"\n\nThen the King said, \"If so, can you go with me?\"\n\nThe Rakshasi having said, \"I can,\" went with the King to the palace,\n[and also became his wife.]\n\nAfter a long time had gone by, all those seven Princesses were about\nto have children. One night, when the Princesses were asleep, the\nRakshasi plucked out the eyes of the seven Princesses by magic, without\nawaking them, and having done so hid all the eyes. Then when the seven\nPrincesses, having arisen, tried to go about, they were unable to go;\nthey found that they could not see, so they lay down again.\n\nAfterwards the King came to awake them. \"Why are you sleeping\nyet?\" he said.\n\nThe seven Princesses replied, \"We are unable to get up; we have\nno eyes.\"\n\nThe King asked, \"How have your eyes become displaced?\"\n\nThe seven Princesses said, \"What has happened we do not know; they\nhave been plucked out while we were asleep.\"\n\nAfterwards the King having said, \"If so, go where you like,\" drove\nthem away. The King allowed only the Rakshasi to stay.\n\nThe seven Princesses, having gone on and on, and having fallen down\nat a pool, gave birth to seven Princes there. Now, there was no food\nfor the seven, so having cut up the Prince of the eldest Princess, and\ndivided the body into seven parts, they ate for a day. On the next day,\nhaving cut up the next Princess's Prince and divided the body, they ate\nit. Thus, in that manner they ate the six Princes of the six persons.\n\nOn the next day they settled to cut up the Prince of the youngest\nPrincess. Then the youngest Princess, on each of the days having\nput away her portions of flesh, said, \"You shall not cut up my\nPrince. Look, here is your flesh,\" she said, and gave them the six\nportions of flesh. The six persons ate them.\n\n[The narrator did not state how they subsisted after that.]\n\nWhile this youngest Princess was rearing that Prince there, after the\nPrince went to the chena jungle one day, he met with a Vaedda. The\nVaedda said, \"Let us go together to the King's city.\" [95] The\nPrince said \"Ha,\" and went with him. There the King saw him, and\nbeing pleased with him gave him food and the like. The Prince having\neaten, after he had come again to the pool the Prince's mother asked,\n\"Where did you go?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"I went to the King's city.\"\n\nHis mother asked, \"What did you go for?\"\n\nThe Prince replied, \"I went 'simply'\" (that is, for no special\npurpose).\n\nThe Princess having said, \"Aha!\" while she was still there the Prince\nsaid, \"I am going to the forge.\"\n\nHaving gone to the forge he said to the smith, \"Make and give me a bow\nand an arrow.\" The smith said, \"Cut a stick and come with it.\" So the\nPrince went to the chena jungle to cut a stick. There was no suitable\nstick, but a golden shoot had fallen down there, and having taken it\nhe gave it to the smith. The smith said, \"This is not good; bring\nanother stick,\" so the Prince went and brought another stick. The\nsmith made a good bow and arrow out of the stick, and gave them to him.\n\nThen the Prince having taken the bow and arrow, and shot a deer,\ncarried it to the city. After he had gone there they gave him paddy,\nrice, flesh, and cooking-pots, and the like for it. Then the Prince\nhaving taken them to the pool where the Princesses were, gave them to\nhis mother the Queen. Afterwards he shot a deer every day, and having\ntaken it to the city carried back to the Princesses the things that\nhe received for it.\n\nOne day having shot a deer, as he was about to take it to the city\nthe Prince's mother told him to carry it to the palace. While he\nwas there the Rakshasi saw him, and having made inquiry got to know\nthat he was the son of the youngest Princess. So she said to him,\n\"Take a letter to our house for me,\" and gave it to him.\n\nAs the Prince was going that day taking the letter, it became night,\nso he went to a city, and asked a widow woman for a resting-place for\nthe night. The woman of the house said, \"Ane! What have you come to\nthis city for? A Yaka has eaten all who were in this city. To-night\nhe will be coming for my daughter.\"\n\nThe Prince asked, \"How will the Yaka come?\"\n\nThe woman said, \"Four miles away he says, 'Hu'; then a mile away he\nsays, 'Hu'; and having come from there near the stile at the road,\nhe says, 'Hu'.\"\n\nThe Prince asked, \"Are there Kaekuna [96] seeds here?\"\n\nThe daughter said, \"There are,\" and she gave him a sackful of them.\n\nThen he told the daughter, whose father had been the King of the\ncity, not to be afraid. \"If the Yaka should come I will kill him,\" he\nsaid. So the Prince went to sleep, placing a sword that he had brought\nat his side, and laying his head on the waist pocket of the Princess.\n\nAfterwards the Yaka cried \"Hu,\" when four miles away, and tears fell\nfrom the eyes of the Princess on the breast of the Prince when she\nheard it. Next, the Yaka cried \"Hu,\" when a mile away. The Princess\nhaving spoken words to him on hearing it, he arose. \"What is it?\" he\nasked. The Princess said, \"The Yaka is coming.\" Then the Prince\nemptied the sack of Kaekuna seeds at the door, and took up his sword.\n\nAs the Yaka, having come, was springing into the doorway, he slipped\non the seeds, and fell. Thereupon the Prince cut and killed the Yaka\nwith his sword, and having put his body in a well which was there,\ncovered it up with earth.\n\nAfter the Prince had told the Princess about himself and the seven\nPrincesses, he said, \"I must go now.\"\n\nThe Princess asked him, \"What else is there in your hands?\"\n\nThe Prince replied, \"There is a letter which the Queen has ordered\nme to take to her home.\"\n\nThe Princess having said, \"Where is it? Let me look at it,\" took\nit, and when she looked at it there was written in it, \"Mother,\neat the Prince who brings this letter, and eat the eyes of those\nseven persons.\"\n\nThen the Princess having torn up the letter, wrote another letter,\n\"Mother, having taken care of the Prince who brings this letter,\nsend medicine for the eyes of those seven persons.\" Having written\nit she gave it into the hands of the Prince.\n\nThe Prince carrying the letter, and having taken a bundle of cooked\nrice to eat on the way, went to the house of the Rakshasi. As he was\ncoming near the house he saw a Rakshasi sitting at the road. When\nshe saw him she said, \"The flesh of that one who is coming is for me.\"\n\nThe Prince asked, \"What art thou saying?\" and gave the letter to\nthe Rakshasi, and asked for the medicine for the eyes. After reading\nthe letter the Rakshasi prepared abundant food for him, and gave him\nlodgings that day.\n\nNext day, showing him a tree, she said, \"After you have rubbed the\njuice of this tree on the eyes of the persons who are blind, their\neyes will become well.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"If so, tie a little of it in a packet and give me\nit.\" So the Rakshasi having tied up a packet of it gave him it.\n\nThen the Prince having taken it back, rubbed it on the eyes of those\nseven persons, and their eyes became well.\n\nAfterwards, the Prince having gone with them to the city where he\nkilled the Yaka, married the Princess, and remained there.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThis story does not appear to have been met with among the people of\nSouthern India, but variants are well-known in other parts of the\ncountry. In all these forms of the tale the wicked Rakshasa Queen\nis killed.\n\nIn Indian Fairy Stories (Ganges Valley), by Miss Stokes, there are\ntwo variants, pp. 51 and 176. In both, a demoness or Rakshasi whom the\nKing married induced him to cause the eyes of his other seven Queens\nto be plucked out, and six of the infants whom they bore were eaten,\nthe seventh being saved as in Ceylon.\n\nIn one story the boy was sent for the milk of a tigress, an eagle's\nfeather, and night-growing rice; in the other he went for rose-water,\nflowers, and a dress. A friendly Fakir in one tale, and a Princess in\nthe other, substituted other letters for those in which the demons\nor ogres were instructed to kill him, so that he was well received\nand succeeded in his errands. In one case he got the blind Queens'\neyes, and ointment to make them as before; in the other he brought\nback magic water that cured them.\n\nIn Tales of the Punjab (Steel), p. 89, and Wide-Awake Stories (Steel\nand Temple), p. 98, the demoness Queen persuaded the King to give\nher the eyes of the seven Queens, which she strung as a necklace\nfor her mother. The seventh boy, who was shooting game for the blind\nQueens' food, was sent for the eyes and got thirteen, one having been\neaten. The written message which requested that he should be killed\nwas changed by a Princess. On two other journeys he obtained the\nJogi's white cow which gave milk unceasingly, and rice that bore a\nmillion-fold, by the aid of which the seven Queens became the richest\npeople in the kingdom. After he had married the Princess who assisted\nhim, the King heard the whole story, and killed the demoness.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 117, the Rakshasa Queen, after\ngetting the seven Queens' eyes plucked out, ate up all the people,\nand no one remained to attend on the King. At last the boy offered\nhis services. He always left before night, the time when the Ogress\ncaught her victims. She sent him to her mother for a melon, with a\nletter which he tore up. He got back safely, bringing a bird in which\nwas the life of the Ogress Queen; when he killed it she died.\n\nIn The Indian Antiquary, vol. i, p. 170, there is a Bengal story by\nMr. G. H. Damant. The Ogress or Rakshasa Queen obtained the eyes of\nthe seven Queens from the King, and sent the boy for sea-foam, and\nafterwards for rice grown in Ceylon, \"the home of the Rakshasas,\"\nthat ripened in one day. A Sannyasi, or Hindu religious mendicant,\nchanged him into a kingfisher on one trip and a parrot on the other,\nwhich brought the things, being re-converted into a Prince on the way\nback. Lastly, he was sent to Ceylon for a cow a cubit long and half\na cubit high. The King paid him heavily for getting these things, and\nfor the last one was obliged to sell his kingdom and give the proceeds\nto the boy. The Sannyasi instructed him to conciliate a Rakshasi by\naddressing her as \"Aunt,\" and to deliver a pretended message from the\nOgress Queen. He was well received, and learnt that the Rakshasas'\nlives were in a lemon and the Ogress Queen's in a bird. He cut the\nlemon and thus killed all the Rakshasas, brought back the blind Queens'\neyes, and killed the bird, and with it the Ogress Queen.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Hindustan, Allahabad (Shaik Chilli), p. 105,\nthe seven Queens were thrown into a large dry well; it is not\nstated that their eyes were plucked out. The seventh boy got his\ngrandfather, a carpenter, to make him a wooden flying horse. He was\nsent for singing-water, magic rice, and news of the Rakshasa Queen's\nrelatives. He met a lion, a wolf, and various other savage animals,\nwhich he appeased by addressing them as \"Uncle,\" \"Cousin,\" etc. A\nkind Yogi changed his letter, and he was welcomed by the Rakshasas,\nwhose lives he learnt were in a number of birds. These he killed,\ntaking back a pea-hen in which lay the life of the Ogress Queen,\nas well as the magic water and rice. Each of the animals sent a cub\nwith him, and on his return these performed a dance, at the end of\nwhich he killed the pea-hen and the Ogress died. The persons who had\nbeen eaten by the Ogress revived when the magic water was sprinkled\non their bones. The magic rice plant, called Vanaspati, grew into a\ntree forty yards high, and bore cooked rice.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Kashmir (Knowles), 2nd ed., p. 43, the seven Queens'\neyes were put out, and they were thrown into a large dry well. The\nseventh boy was sent for the milk of a tigress, and then to the\ngrandparents of the Ogress Queen. A friendly Fakir having altered\nthe messages, he was well received, got medicine that cured the blind\nQueens' eyes, and also killed the birds and smashed a spinning-wheel\nin which were the lives of the Ogress Queen and her relatives.\n\nAt p. 446, also, the eyes of a Queen which had been plucked out were\nreplaced and healed.\n\nA variant of the Western Province of Ceylon, in which there were\ntwelve Queens, whose sight was not regained, however, has been given\nalready. See No. 24.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 49\n\nMR. JANEL SI\u00d1\u00d1A\n\n\nIn a certain city there are a King and a Queen, it is said. There are\nsix Princes. The youngest Prince of the six plays with (lit. beats)\nthe ashes on the ash-heap at the corner of the hearth; the other five\nPrinces are doing work, and going on journeys together.\n\nThe King said at the hands of the Queen that he must behead the Prince\nwho was [idling] on the ash-heap. Then the Queen said, \"What is the\nuse of beheading him? Let us send the Prince whom we do not want to\nany place where he likes to go.\"\n\nHaving come to the Prince, the Queen says, \"Son, the King says that\nhe must behead you; on that account go away to any place you like.\"\n\nThen the Prince said, \"If so, give me a bundle of cooked rice, and\na thousand masuran, in order to go and trade.\"\n\nSo the Queen gave him a package of cooked rice and a thousand masuran.\n\nThe Prince took the masuran and the package of cooked rice, and having\ngone on and on, when he was coming to a travellers' shed [saw that]\na man was taking a brown Monkey, [97] in order to throw it into the\nriver. This Prince called the man, and the man thereupon brought the\nMonkey and came to the travellers' shed.\n\nThe Prince asked, \"Where are you taking that Monkey?\"\n\nThe man said, \"I am taking this to sell.\"\n\nThe Prince asked, \"For how much will you give it?\"\n\nThe man said he would give it for a thousand masuran. The Prince\ngave the thousand masuran that were in his hands, and got the Monkey,\nand that man having taken the thousand masuran went away.\n\nThe Prince having unfastened the package of cooked rice, and given\nsome to the Monkey also, and the Prince himself having eaten, took\nthe Monkey and came back to the very city of the King. When he came\nthere the King was not at the palace; only the Queen was there. The\nQueen asked, \"What sort of goods have you brought?\"\n\nThe Prince says, \"Mother, having given that thousand masuran I have\nbrought a Monkey.\"\n\nThen the Queen says, \"Ane! Son, should the King and the rest of them\nget to know that, he will behead you and behead me. As you have taken\nthat Monkey put it away somewhere.\"\n\nSo the Prince took the Monkey and put it in a rock cave in the\njungle, and shutting the door came to the palace. While he was there\nthe King saw him, and having seen him, called the Queen and said,\n\"I shall not allow that one to stay in my palace for even a paeya\n(twenty minutes). I shall behead him to-morrow.\"\n\nAfterwards the Queen came to the Prince and said, \"Son, the King says\nhe must behead you to-morrow, therefore go to any place you like,\nand do not come back.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"Give me a package of rice, and a thousand masuran.\"\n\nAfterwards the Queen having cooked a package of rice gave him it,\nand a thousand masuran. The Prince taking them, and having gone to\nthe rock cave where the Monkey was, took it and went to [another]\ncity. At that city he ate the package of rice at the travellers'\nshed, and having gone to the hearth the Prince slept on the ash-heap.\n\nThe Monkey went away to dance in cities. Having gone and danced,\ncollecting requisite articles, he came back to the place where the\nPrince was, and the Prince cooked some of the things he brought, and\ngave him to eat. The Monkey goes every day to dance; and having danced,\nthe Prince and Monkey, both of them, eat the things he brings. In\nthat way the Monkey brings things every day.\n\nOne day, the Monkey having gone to a city and danced, fell down at\nthe palace at that city. Then the King came and asked, \"What is it,\nMonkey? Why have you fallen down there?\"\n\nThe Monkey says, \"I have come to beg and take the measure [98] in\nwhich masuran are measured.\"\n\nAfterwards the King gave him the measure for measuring masuran. The\nmonkey having taken it and having been absent for as much as a month,\nbrought the measure back.\n\nThen the King asked, \"What is this, Monkey, that having taken the\nmeasure thou hast been such a time [in returning it]?\"\n\nThe Monkey says, \"For just so much time I measured masuran.\"\n\nThe King asked, \"Having measured them did you finish?\"\n\nThen the Monkey said, \"Ando! Could it be finished? Not even a quarter\nwas finished.\"\n\nThe King said, \"Aha!\" and was silent.\n\nThe Monkey that day also having danced in that city, the King gave\nhim many presents. Taking them, and stealing a cloth from a field\nwhere clothes were spread out [to dry], while he was coming a man\nhaving met him in the road asked the Monkey, \"Monkey, to whom dost\nthou give the articles that thou art taking every day?\"\n\nThe Monkey says, \"I give them to our Mr. Janel Si\u00f1\u00f1a. I am supporting\nthat gentleman.\"\n\nThe Monkey having gone to the place where the Prince was, says,\n\"Here is a cloth. It is good for the gentleman, is it not?\" and he\nshowed him the cloth which he had stolen.\n\nThe Prince threw it aside, and said, \"This cloth which I have is\nenough.\"\n\nNext day the Monkey having come to that city and danced, lay down\non the lawn of the palace. Then the King asked, \"What is it, Monkey,\nthat you have fallen down there for?\"\n\nThen the Monkey says, \"Our Mr. Janel Si\u00f1\u00f1a burnt his cloth while\ndrinking. I have come to ask you to cause the cloth to be woven for\nhim [anew].\"\n\nThe King said, \"If so, bring it.\"\n\nAfterwards the Monkey having gone to the place where the Prince was,\nbrought a thin cloth and gave it to the King. Afterwards the King\ncaused one to be woven, and gave it to him.\n\nThen the Monkey says at the hand of the King, \"You ought to marry\nyour Princess to our Mr. Janel Si\u00f1\u00f1a.\"\n\nThe King said, \"Ha. It is very good.\"\n\nThe Monkey, begging two copper pots, [99] went away, and having gone,\nheated water in the two copper pots, and having made the Prince bathe,\nsaid to the Prince, \"Do not eat largely of the sorts [of food] after\nI have cooked and given [the food] to you [at the palace]. I have\nasked for a [Princess in] marriage for you after I went there.\"\n\nAfterwards the Monkey, summoning the Prince also, went to the palace\nof the King of that city. Having gone there, and prepared a seat at\nthe King's table, and made ready the food, after the Prince sat down\nto the food seven Princesses themselves began to divide [and serve] it.\n\nThen that Prince began to eat very plentifully. The Monkey having come\nand nudged him with his finger, said, \"You have eaten enough.\" Taking\nno notice of it, the Prince went on eating. Having eaten that, he\nshaped his hand [into a cup] and reversing it there [when full],\nate in excess.\n\nThen the King asked the Monkey, \"What, Monkey, is [the reason of]\nthat?\"\n\nThe Monkey said, \"Our Mr. Janel Si\u00f1\u00f1a having been overheated [by his\nbath] could not eat. Through that indeed it has befallen that he has\nlost his senses.\" That also the King kept in mind.\n\nThen the Prince and the King's eldest daughter were married.\n\nAfter that, the Monkey said that he wanted a thousand bill-hooks, and a\nthousand digging-hoes, and a thousand axes, and a thousand people. The\nKing gave him a thousand bill-hooks, and a thousand digging-hoes,\nand a thousand axes, and a thousand people. [With these the royal\nparty set off to deliver the Princess at the Prince's palace.]\n\nAfterwards, having given the tools to those people, the Monkey goes in\nfront. The King and the Princess and the Prince come after. That Monkey\ngoes [in the trees] jumping and jumping, and changing branches. The\nthousand people went footing and footing the road.\n\nWhile going thus they met with a city. Then the King quietly told\nthe Monkey to halt; it stopped. Then the King asked the Monkey,\n\"Whose is that city that is visible?\"\n\nThe Monkey says, \"This city is our Mr. Janel Si\u00f1\u00f1a's. It has been\nrented out to his work-people.\" Afterwards the King went on, keeping\nthat also in his mind.\n\nThe Monkey again went in front. Then again they met with a city. Again\nthe King having called the Monkey asked, \"Whose is that city?\"\n\nThen the Monkey says, \"It is our Mr. Janel Si\u00f1\u00f1a's. It has been rented\nout to his work-people. In that way are the cities belonging to our\nMr. Janel Si\u00f1\u00f1a [given out].\"\n\nAgain the Monkey went off in front. Having gone thus, he went to the\nhouse of a Rakshasa, and having made the house ready in a second,\nwhen he stepped aside the King and the Prince and Princess went in.\n\nThe King made the thousand work-people stay there, and having handed\nover the Princess, next day went back to his city.\n\nAfterwards the Monkey asked at the hand of the Prince, \"For the help\nthat you gave me I also am assisting you. What favour besides will\nyou give me?\"\n\nThen the Prince says, \"When you have died I shall weep abundantly,\nand having made a coffin, and put you in the coffin, I will bury you.\"\n\nThen the Monkey said, \"So much indeed is the assistance I want.\"\n\nOne day the Monkey lay down, trickishly saying that he was getting\nfever. The Prince did not even go in that direction. Next day and\nthe next day he stayed there; on those days he did not go.\n\nOn the third day the Monkey cunningly shutting his eyes remained as\nthough he had died. The Prince said to a man, \"Look if that Monkey\nis dead.\"\n\nThe man having gone near the Monkey, when he looked it was dead [in\nappearance]; he said at the hand of the Prince that it was dead. The\nPrince said, \"Having put a creeper round its neck, drag it in the\ndirection of that jungle, and having thrown it there come back.\"\n\nWhen the man tried to put the creeper on the Monkey's neck the Monkey\ngot up. \"Don't put the creeper on my neck,\" he said.\n\nHaving gone near the Prince he said, \"After I was dead [apparently],\nyou were taking me without having put me in a coffin. Why do you\n[arrange to] drag me, having put a creeper on my neck? Don't take\neven so much trouble.\"\n\nHaving said this, the Monkey went off to the midst of the forest,\nand died.\n\n\n                                 Tom-Tom Beater. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nOf course, this is an Eastern form of Puss-in-Boots.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 226 ff., there is an account of a\nclever match-making Jackal which induced a King to marry his daughter\nto a weaver.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 50\n\nTHE NIKINI STORY [100]\n\n\nIn a certain country there are a man and a woman, it is said. There\nis a girl (daughter) of those two persons.\n\nThe girl was asked [in marriage] for a Gamarala of another country who\nhad much wealth in money. The girl having been summoned, and having\ngone to the Gamarala, and been with him for a long time, he went to\nchop jungle [for making a chena]. There he met with a fawn, and having\nreturned home said to the girl, \"Bolan, there was a fawn in the chena.\"\n\nThe girl said, \"Ane! After you have gone to-morrow bring it.\" On the\nfollowing day the Gamarala brought it.\n\nWhen the girl had reared it for a long time, a longing came to her,\nand she lay down. Afterwards the Gamarala asked the Deer, \"What,\nDeer, is thy elder sister's illness?\"\n\nThen the Deer said, \"Our elder sister has a longing.\"\n\nThe Gamarala said, \"What can she eat for it?\"\n\nThe Deer replied, \"Our elder sister can eat the stars in the sky.\"\n\nAfterwards the Gamarala, having gone to seek the stars, and to seek\nfor the corner of the sky [where it joined the earth, so as to ascend\nto them], searched until he became aged, but was unable to find the\ncorner; and the Gamarala died.\n\nThen the girl, having sold the Gamarala's village, took the money that\nwas obtained there, and the wealth that he possessed [and left]. While\nthe girl and the Deer were going on their way they met with a King. He\nasked the Deer, \"Where, Deer, are ye going?\"\n\nThe Deer said, \"Our elder sister on account of thirst is going to\nseek a little water.\"\n\nThen the King said, \"Wilt thou give thy elder sister to me [in\nmarriage]?\"\n\nThe Deer said \"Ha\"; so having placed the Deer and the Deer's elder\nsister on the back of the King's elephant, they went to the palace.\n\nWhen a long time had passed, a longing came again to the girl, and\nshe lay down.\n\nThe King asked the Deer, \"What is thy elder sister's illness?\"\n\nThe Deer said, \"Our elder sister has a longing.\"\n\nThe King asked, \"What can she eat for it?\"\n\nThe Deer said, \"Should you bring for our elder sister the sand which\nis at the bottom of the ocean, if she slept upon it she would be well.\"\n\nAfterwards, when the King was going to the bottom of the sea to take\nthe sand, he was soaked with the water, and died.\n\nAfter this, when the Deer and the Deer's elder sister, taking all\nthe King's things, and cooking a bundle of rice, were on their way\nagain, they met with a man. The man asked the Deer, \"Where, Deer,\nare ye going?\"\n\nThe Deer said, \"We are going to seek a man for our elder sister.\"\n\nThe man said, \"If so, give thy elder sister to me.\"\n\nThe Deer said \"Ha,\" and the Deer and the Deer's elder sister went to\nthe man's house.\n\nWhen they had been there a long time, a longing came to the woman,\nand she lay down. The man asked, \"What, Deer, is thy elder sister's\nillness?\"\n\nThe Deer said, \"Our elder sister has a longing.\"\n\nThe man asked, \"What can she eat for it?\"\n\nThe Deer said, \"Our elder sister must eat Nikini. Should she not\neat it, it will not only be very difficult for her [to recover];\nher life will be lost.\" Now the sort called \"Nikini\" is not in any\nplace whatever in the world. That ignorant man, not knowing of its\nnon-existence, on account of the love that he bore for his wife went\naway on a search for Nikini.\n\nAfterwards, when the foolish man was on his way to seek for Nikini,\na man was ploughing. The man who was ploughing asked, \"Where are\nyou going?\"\n\nThis man said, \"I am going to seek for a little Nikini.\"\n\nThen the man said to this man, \"If so, come here [and help me to\nplough].\"\n\nThose two having ploughed during the whole of that day, went in the\nevening to the house of the man who had been ploughing. Both of them\nhaving eaten cooked rice, the man who went to seek for Nikini asked\nthat man, \"Ane! Now then, tell me the place where there is Nikini.\"\n\nThe man said, \"Ane! I don't know. Go you away.\"\n\nAfter that, when he had slept there that night, that man gave him a\nlittle cooked rice. Having eaten a little, while he was going on his\nway to seek for Nikini, a man was chopping earthen ridges in a rice\nfield. The man asked, \"Where are you going?\"\n\nThis man said, \"I am going to seek for a little Nikini.\"\n\nThen that man said, \"If so, come here [and help me].\"\n\nAfter those two persons had chopped the ridges during the whole day,\nthey went in the evening to the man's house. While they were [there],\nhaving eaten cooked rice this man who went to seek for Nikini said,\n\"Ane! Tell me the site where there is Nikini.\"\n\nThe man said, \"Ane! I don't know. Go and ask at the hand of another\nperson.\"\n\nWhen this man had slept there that day night, on the next day that man\ngave him a little cooked rice. Having eaten it he set off to go and\nseek Nikini. Then a man was sowing a rice field. The man asked him,\n\"Where are you going?\"\n\nThis man said, \"I am going to seek for a little Nikini.\"\n\nThe man asked, \"What for?\"\n\nThis man replied, \"A longing has come to our house-mistress, so she\ntold me to go and bring a little Nikini.\"\n\nThe man said, \"If so, come here and sow.\"\n\nFor the whole of that day those two sowed. In the evening they came\nto the man's house, and both of them having eaten cooked rice, while\nthey were there this man said, \"Now then, tell me the place where\nthere is Nikini.\"\n\nThen the man said, \"Yako, [101] that was not [asked for] through\nwant of Nikini. That was said through wanting to cause you to be\nkilled. Your wife has a paramour.\"\n\nThe man quarrelled with him, saying, \"Not in any way. My wife is\nvery good. She has great love for me. If you again say such a thing\nas that one is there, I shall strike you.\"\n\nThe other man asked, \"What will you give me to catch that paramour\nfor you?\"\n\nThe person who went on the search for Nikini said, \"I have a gem which\nhas continued with us from generation to generation. I will give you\nthat gem.\" [The man accepted this offer].\n\nThen the two persons made a cage called, \"The Cage of the God\nSivalinga,\" and tied white cloth in it [as a lining], and trimmed a\nwooden cudgel and placed it inside. The man [who had gone for Nikini]\nwas also placed inside the cage with a cloth on his shoulders, and\nclosed in with similar cloths. Men having been fetched [and engaged to\ncarry it]--saying that he was bringing the God Sivalinga--took it on\ntheir shoulders, and going off with it they went to a Hettirala's shop.\n\nThen that man said [to the person inside the cage], \"After I have\nplaced it inside the shop, take the cash-box which is in it, and put\nit inside the cage.\"\n\nThe Hettirala asked, \"What is that cage?\"\n\nThe man said, \"Our deity, the God Sivalinga.\"\n\nThe Hettirala asked, \"What is it, then, that is necessary for offering\nto that deity?\"\n\nThe man said, \"The cooked rice from two quarts of raw rice, and sweet\nplantains are wanted.\"\n\nSo the Hettirala brought and gave him the cooked rice from two quarts\nof raw rice, and ripe sweet plantains. After that, the man gave to\nthe man in the cage the cooked rice from a quart of the raw rice, and\nhalf the plantains. The other man ate the rice from the other quart,\nand the remaining plantains.\n\nIn the evening the man gave the cage into the hands of the Hettiya,\nand told him to place it in the house. So the Hettiya put the\ncage in the house. [During the night the man inside it stole the\ncash-box.] When it got near midnight the man asked for the cage,\nsaying, \"Hetti-elder-brother, give me my cage so that I may go.\" The\nHettirala gave it.\n\nAs the man, taking the cage, was going along he met with a city. Then\nthat man said [to the man in the cage], \"After I have taken this cage\nand placed it in the palace, you get the things in it and put them\ninside the cage.\" Having said this they went to the palace. The King\nasked, \"What is that?\"\n\nThe man said, \"Our deity, the God Sivalinga. We are able to say sooth\nand the like.\"\n\nThe King asked, \"What do you require for him?\"\n\nThe man said, \"Rice cooked from raw rice, and sweet plantains are\nnecessary.\"\n\nSo the King gave him cooked rice and sweet plantains. The man having\ngiven [a share of them] to the man in the cage, said, \"It is necessary\nto place this cage inside the palace [for the night].\"\n\nThe King having said \"Ha,\" he brought it, and placed it inside the\npalace. As it was becoming light the man said, \"Now then, I want the\ncage in order to worship the deity.\" So the King gave him the cage.\n\nAfterwards, as the man was taking the cage near a tank it became\nlight. He remained there until it was night, and then went to the\nhouse of the man who went to seek Nikini, and found that the woman had\ncalled in another man who was there. That man asked, \"What is that?\"\n\nThe man said, \"This is our deity, the God Sivalinga. We are able to\ntell sooth.\"\n\nThe man said, \"Ha. It is good. There is a sooth that we, too, require\nto ask about.\"\n\nThen the [pretended] Kapurala, whom the God Sivalinga was [supposed to\nbe] goading [102] to it, became possessed. When he was saying sooth,\nthe wife of the man who went to seek Nikini and the false husband\nwho had joined her, came with their arms interlaced, and saying to\nthe deity that a long time had elapsed since her husband had gone in\nsearch of Nikini, they asked, \"Has anything happened to him now?\"\n\nAt that time the God Sivalinga said through the person possessed by\nSivalinga, \"The man has now become blind. Besides that, he will not be\npermitted to return to his village. He will die while in that state.\"\n\nThen because he said this in the manner that was in the mind of the\nwoman, she took the food off the fire, and together with the false\nhusband brought the deity to her house, and gave the rice cooked\nfrom two quarts of raw rice, and sweet plantains, in order that the\nKapurala might present an offering.\n\nThat night, when he had eaten, the Kapurala said, \"We must place this\nour cage inside that [room].\"\n\n\"You may do it,\" they said, and they placed it in the house.\n\nThen when the wife of the man who was inside the cage and the\nfalse husband were spreading mats [to lie upon], and making ready\nfor sleeping, the Kapurala who remained outside said, \"Except that\n[cage], there is no room for two.\" Thereupon the man who was inside\nthe cage came out, and beat the false husband even on the cheeks with\nthe cudgel that he had taken. So the man died.\n\nAfter that, the man, as it was becoming light, went and threw the\nDeer's elder sister into the river. Having returned, and gone to\nthe village with the Deer, the man who went for Nikini cooked for\nthe other man, and gave him to eat. Then the two divided the money,\nand he gave the man the gem which he had, as a present for him,\nand sent that man back to his village.\n\nAfterwards this man, taking another wife, remained there. [According\nto another version, however, he became a Buddhist monk.]\n\n\n                                 Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThe story is also related in a contracted form in the Western Province.\n\n\n\nIn a variant by a Tom-tom Beater of the North-western Province, a\nyoung Boar takes the place of the Deer, and the woman married first a\nKing, and afterwards a Rakshasa who was sent for the Nikini. At the\nBoar's suggestion he died by jumping into a fire made by the girl,\nand the Boar then followed his example, and was burnt up. The girl is\nrepresented as \"smearing a great deal of gold on herself\" before this,\napparently becoming gilded.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 51\n\nTHE AET-KANDA LENIYA [103]\n\n\nAt a certain city there are the King and the Queen, it is said. They\nhad one son, and while the Prince was living there the Queen bore yet\n[another] Prince.\n\nOne day the two Princes having gone to the river to bathe, a Princess\nfrom another city came to bathe [at the same place], and the eldest\nPrince hid the robes of the Princess. Afterwards, on his inviting\nthe Princess she went with the Prince to his city.\n\nAfter they had gone there, when the King got to know of it he said,\n\"Should this rascal stay with me the kingdom will be destroyed,\" and\nhe ordered them to behead the Prince. Then the Queen, the Prince's\nmother, having cooked a bundle of rice and given it to him, said,\n\"Go away where you like [or the King will behead you].\"\n\nThe Prince having taken the packet of cooked rice to the river, ate\nit with the Princess. After eating it the two persons went to the\nhouse of a widow woman. The Prince made the Princess stay with her,\nand having given the Princess's robes into the hands of the widow\nwoman, said, \"Mother, put those robes into that box and this box\"\n(that is, here and there, not all in one place, so that the Princess\nshould not be able to find them).\n\nAfterwards, when the Prince had gone to the forge to get a sword made,\nthe Princess said to the widow woman, \"Mother, give me my robes to\nlook at.\"\n\nThe widow woman said, \"Ane! Daughter, I don't know where they are.\"\n\nThe Princess said, \"Why are you telling me lies? Give them to me.\"\n\nOn account of that, the widow woman opened the boxes, and gave the\nrobes to the Princess. The Princess took the robes, and saying,\n\"Should he see me again it will be as [wonderful as] if he should\nsee the young of the Aet-Kanda Leniya, or white where charcoal has\nbeen rubbed,\" went away to the city of the Princess.\n\nWhen the Prince came after getting the sword made, he asked at the\nhand of the widow woman, \"Where is the Princess?\"\n\nThe woman said, \"On her asking for her robes I gave them. Taking them,\nshe said, 'Should he see me again it will be as [wonderful as] if he\nshould see the young of the Aet-Kanda Leniya, or white where charcoal\nhas been rubbed' [and then she went away].\"\n\nThe Prince on that account rubbed and rubbed charcoal, and when he\nlooked there was a little white [colour]. Having seen it, he told the\nwidow woman to cook cakes. When they were cooked he took some and ate;\nand tying up a cloth package of them, and taking it, and the sword,\nhe went off.\n\nAs he was passing through the middle of a forest, he saw a cobra\nbeginning to climb a tree in which were the little ones of the\nAet-Kanda Leniya, and he cut it in two with the sword. While he was\nclimbing the tree after killing it, the little ones of the Aet-Kanda\nLeniya came to eat him. Then he said to the little ones, \"O unrighteous\nones! Why are ye coming to eat me? Look ye on the ground.\"\n\nWhen the Aet-Kanda little ones had looked on the ground, and seen the\ncobra that he had cut in two, they said, \"[As you have saved us from\nthe cobra] we will render you any possible assistance.\"\n\nThen the Prince after going to the nest where they were, unfastened the\npackage of cakes, and having given to them also, ate. After eating,\nthe little ones of the Aet-Kanda Leniya said, \"Mother will indeed\neat you to-day when she has come.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"Ane! Somehow or other you must save me.\"\n\nThey said \"Ha,\" and made him creep among their wings.\n\nWhile he was there the Aet-Kanda Leni (the female Rukh, their mother),\nhaving pierced with its claws a tusk elephant, came bringing it, after\nflying round the sea in three circles. After she had come she said,\n\"What is this, children! Here is prey for you; are you delaying to\neat? On other days you come screaming for it.\"\n\nThose young ones said, \"Mother, to-day we are not hungry. Food has\nbeen given to us.\"\n\n\"Whence?\" she asked.\n\nThe little ones said, \"There is a man with us; [he gave it to us].\"\n\n\"Show me him,\" the Aet-Kanda Leni said.\n\n\"You will eat him, mother,\" they replied.\n\nThe Aet-Kanda Leni said, \"I will not eat him.\"\n\n\"If so, take us and swear,\" [104] the little ones said.\n\nThen the Aet-Kanda Leni swore, \"I will not eat him.\"\n\nAfter that, the little ones showed the Aet-Kanda Leni the Prince. The\nPrince said to the Aet-Kanda Leni, \"Look at the foot of the tree;\n[I have saved your little ones by killing the cobra].\"\n\nAfter having looked, the Aet-Kanda Leni said, \"I will give you any\npossible assistance because you have done this.\"\n\nAfterwards, the Prince having descended from the tree was unable to\ncross the river. So the Aet-Kanda Leni broke a stick, and bringing\nit in her mouth told the Prince to hang from it. While the Prince\nwas hanging, the Aet-Kanda Leni flew to the other side of the river;\nafter [leaving him there] she returned to the nest where the little\nones were.\n\nThe Prince went on. As he was going along, some men were taking a great\nmany elephants. \"What are you taking those elephants for?\" he asked.\n\nThose men said, \"We are taking them to kill at the city.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"I will give you these hundred masuran; let them go.\"\n\nThose men, saying \"Ha,\" took the hundred masuran, and let the\nelephants go.\n\nAfter that, when he had gone much further still, he saw men taking\na great many pigs. The Prince asked, \"Where are you taking these pigs?\"\n\n\"We are taking them to kill at the city,\" the men replied.\n\nThe Prince said, \"I will give you these hundred masuran; let them go.\"\n\nThe men said \"Ha,\" and taking the hundred masuran let them go.\n\nWhen the Prince had gone still a little further, men were taking\na great quantity of turtle-doves. \"Where are you taking those\nturtle-doves?\" he asked.\n\n\"We are taking them to the city to kill,\" the men replied.\n\nThe Prince said, \"I will give you these hundred masuran; let the\nturtle-doves go.\"\n\nThe men said \"Ha,\" and taking the hundred masuran let them go.\n\nWhen he had gone a little further still, men were taking a great many\nfire-flies. \"Where are you taking them?\" the Prince asked.\n\nThose men replied, \"We are taking them to the city to fry.\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"I will give you these hundred masuran; let them go.\"\n\nThe men said \"Ha,\" and taking the hundred masuran let them go.\n\nWhen he had gone a little further yet, seven widow women came to the\nwell for water [which they said they wanted in order] to pour water\non the head of that Princess, who had become marriageable. A widow\nwoman said to that Prince, \"Take hold of this water-pot [and help me\nto lift it up].\" Then the Prince having taken the jewelled ring that\nwas on his hand, put it in the water-pot [unobserved]; after that he\ntook hold of the water-pot [and helped her to lift it].\n\nWhen they had taken the water, and were pouring it on the head of the\nPrincess, the jewelled ring fell down. Having seen it [and recognised\nit], the Princess ordered the woman to tell the Prince to come. So\nthe Prince went there.\n\nAfter he had gone there [and told her that he had made a white mark\nwith charcoal, and had saved the lives of the little ones of the\nAet-Kanda Leniya], that Princess said to the Prince, \"[Before I will\nmarry you, you must perform the tasks that I shall give you. First\nyou must] cut a chena suitable for sowing one and a half amunas [105]\nof mun\" (a small pulse).\n\nThe Prince said \"Ha,\" and having gone and cut a branch or two at the\nchena, thought, \"Ane! Will the elephants that I set free by giving a\nhundred masuran render an assistance?\" Those elephants that he freed,\nhaving come at this word, broke down all that jungle and went away.\n\nAfter that, the Prince went to the Princess, and said, \"The chena\nhas been cut.\"\n\n\"Then set fire [to it],\" the Princess said. So the Prince went and set\nfire [to the bushes]. The chena burnt excellently; nothing remained,\nso well it burnt.\n\nHaving gone to the Princess he said, \"I set fire to the chena.\" Then\nthe Princess gave him one and a half amunas of mun, and said, \"Sow\nthis and come back.\"\n\nWhen the Prince had gone he took the mun and sowed it at the\nchena. Afterwards the Prince said, \"Ane! Will the pigs that I set\nfree by giving a hundred masuran render an assistance?\" Then the\npigs that he had freed by giving the hundred masuran all came and dug\n[with their snouts] the whole of the chena.\n\nThe Prince went to the Princess, and said, \"I have sowed the\nchena.\" After that, the Princess told him to collect and bring back\nthe mun that he had sown in the chena.\n\nSo the Prince having gone to the chena, and collected a little mun,\nsaid, \"Ane! Will the turtle-doves that I freed by giving a hundred\nmasuran render an assistance?\" Then the turtle-doves that he had set\nfree having all come, picked up the whole.\n\nThe Prince, collecting it and taking it to the city said to the\nPrincess, \"After collecting the mun that I sowed in the chena I have\ncome back.\"\n\n\"Then measure it,\" she said. When he was measuring it there was\none mun seed less. As she said this a turtle-dove dropped it at the\nmeasuring place.\n\nAfter that, the father of the Princess put that Princess and seven\nwidow women in a dark room. Having put them [there] the King said,\n\"Unless you select and take out the Princess, or if you take out any\nother person, I shall behead you.\"\n\nWhen the Prince had gone into the room [he thought], \"Will the\nfire-flies that I freed by giving a hundred masuran render an\nassistance?\" Then all the fire-flies having come, fastened on the body\nof the Princess, as a lamp. After that, the Prince took the Princess\nout into the light.\n\n[As he had performed all the tasks, the Prince was married to the\nPrincess]. Afterwards the Prince, calling the Princess, went to the\nhouse of that widow woman.\n\n\n                                 Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn a variant of the first part of this story, a youth whose father was\ndead, and whose mother, finding him in the way, wanted to get rid of\nhim in order to marry another man, was sent by his mother to bring some\nmilk, to be used medicinally for curing a pretended illness of hers.\n\nHe was sent first to the Aet-Kanda Lihiniya (Leniya is an alternative\nspelling), and had the same experiences at its nest, before he got\nthe milk. The young birds told their mother that he was their elder\nbrother, the son of their Pu\u00f1ci-Amma. [106] When he stated that he\nhad come to ask for the milk, the Lihini (the female Rukh) said,\n\"Ando! Son, when did any one get milk from me, and cure a sick\nperson with it? She has done that to kill you, not through want of\nit. However, since you have come I will give you a little milk.\" One\nof the young birds accompanied him to his home. After his mother had\ndrunk the milk she pretended to be still ill, and sent him for the\nmilk of the Demon Hound, [107] which lived in a cave in a forest. I\ntranslate this part:--\n\nThe woman cooked and gave him a packet of rice. This youth, taking\nthe packet of cooked rice and his sword, and making the little one\nof the Aet-Kanda Lihini stay at the house, went to the cave where\nthe Demon Hound was. When he arrived, the Demon Hound was not there;\nonly the little ones of the Demon Hound were there.\n\nAs the youth was going [to the cave] the little ones came growling to\neat him. When this youth unfastened the packet of cooked rice, and\nshowed them it, they stopped. Afterwards, the youth, having divided\nthe packet of cooked rice, gave [part] to the Demon Hound's little\nones, and taking some himself, they ate.\n\nAfter they had eaten, the young dogs said, \"When mother has come she\nwill indeed eat you.\"\n\nThen this youth said, \"Ane! To-day you must somehow or other save\nme. Do not let her eat me.\"\n\nThe young dogs said \"Ha,\" and putting the youth in the hollow of\nthe cave, the young dogs came to this side, [towards the entrance],\nand remained there lying down.\n\nWhile they were there the Demon Hound came. After she had come she\nsaid, sniffing twice, \"Where does this smell of fresh human flesh\ncome from?\"\n\nThe little ones of the Demon Hound replied, \"You eat fresh human flesh,\nand you bring fresh human flesh; what is this that you are saying?\"\n\nThe Demon Hound said, \"No, children, a fresh human smell is coming\nto me. Tell me [how it is]. Tell me.\"\n\nThe little ones said, \"You will eat him.\"\n\nThe Demon Hound said, \"No, children, I will not eat him. Tell me.\"\n\nThe little ones said, \"Take us and swear.\"\n\nAfter that, the Demon Hound took her little ones and swore, \"I will\nnot eat him.\"\n\nThen the little ones showed her that youth, saying, \"Here he is,\nmother; our little mother's son has come, our elder brother.\"\n\nThe Demon Hound asked at the hand of this youth, \"What, son, have\nyou come for?\"\n\nThis youth replied, \"Mother, our mother is ill. On account of it\nshe said, 'Should you go and bring a little milk, when I have drunk\nit I shall become well.' Because of that I have come to ask for a\nlittle milk.\"\n\nThe Demon Hound said, \"Ando! Son, when did a sick person get milk\nfrom me and become well! To [get] you killed is the explanation of\nthat. However, since you have come, take a little milk and go.\" So\nsaying she gave him a little milk.\n\nAfterwards, as this youth was preparing to set off with it, a young\ndog said, \"I also want to go with our elder brother,\" and howling [on\naccount of it was allowed by his mother] to come away with the youth.\n\nHaving arrived and given the milk to the woman, after she had drunk\nit he asked, \"Now then, mother, is your illness cured?\"\n\nThe woman said, \"Ando! Son, it is not cured.\"\n\nThe youth asked, \"If so, what shall I do?\"\n\nThe woman replied, \"Bring a little milk from the Bear that is in the\ncave in the forest, and give me it.\"\n\nHe went for it, leaving the young Demon Hound at the house, and his\nadventures and the conversations were a mere repetition of those at\nthe cave of the Demon Hound. One of the young Bears returned to the\nhouse with him.\n\nLastly, he was sent to bring the milk of the Crocodile that was in\nthe Sea, \"the reservoir [108] for the sky, and the reservoir for the\nearth.\" He ate his rice on a mound in the sea, after which, as he was\ndescending into the sea, he observed a blue-lotus flower, and found\nthe Crocodile at it. It came to eat him, but he held out his sword\nin front of him, so it asked him why he had come, and after hearing\nhis explanation, in the very same words as before, gave him a little\nmilk. It warned him, like the other animals, that the sending him\nfor it was only a device to get him killed. He took the milk home,\nand after drinking it his mother informed him that she was cured. The\nstory is then concluded as follows:--\n\nHaving said this, the woman went to the man [whom she wanted to marry],\nand said, \"Now then, there is no means of killing that one. From the\nplaces to which he went he has escaped and come back. What, then,\nshall we do to that one?\"\n\nThat man said, \"Cook to-day after it has become night. I will break\nsomething in the lower part of the garden. Then say, 'Son. There! Did\nyou hear something break in the lower part of the garden? Maybe\ncattle have come in.' He will come to see, and when he has come,\nI will chop him with the bill-hook, and kill him.\"\n\nAfterwards, this woman having returned to the house, as she was\ncooking when it became night, the man came and broke a stick in the\nlower part of the garden. The woman said, \"Ando! Son, maybe cattle\nhave come in. Go quickly [and drive them out].\"\n\nThen, as this youth, having gone into the house and taken his\nsword, was going out, that little one of the Aet-Kanda Lihini,\nand the little one of the Demon Hound, and the little one of the\nBear went with him. The three of them having gone [in front] to the\nlower part of the garden, bit the man who waited there, and having\nkilled him returned. When this youth went and looked, the man had\nbeen killed. Then the youth came back, and having killed his mother\nstayed quietly there. So that little one of the Aet-Kanda Lihini,\nand the little one of the Demon Hound, and the young Bear, and the\nyouth remained at the house together.\n\n\n                                 Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThere are Indian versions of several of the incidents of these stories.\n\nIn Old Deccan Days (Frere), p. 15, a Prince killed a cobra that was\nabout to ascend a tree in order to destroy two eaglets. They assisted\nhim afterwards.\n\nIn the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. i, p. 221, the Garudas or\nRukhs are described as being \"of the nature of vultures.\" A Brahmana\ngot hid among the back feathers of one while it was asleep, and was\ncarried by it to the Golden City next day. These birds are referred\nto (vol. i, p. 78) as breeding on a mountain called Swarnamula, in\nCeylon. Compare also the account of Bharunda birds in The Kathakosa\n(Tawney), p. 164. According to Prof. Sayce, the original idea of the\nRukh is to be found in Zu, the storm-bird or god of the Sumerians\n(The Religions of Ancient Egypt and Babylonia, p. 353).\n\nA lion-headed eagle with outspread wings, holding a lion by each\nof its feet, formed the symbol of Lagash or Shirpurla, one of the\nearliest Sumerian cities. It was the emblem of Ningirsu, the god of\nthe city (A History of Sumer and Akkad, by L. W. King, 1910, pp. 98,\n100). According to Mr. King's revised chronology, this takes back\nthe notion of this gigantic eagle, which carried off and devoured\nthe largest quadrupeds, to the fourth millenium B.C. Its Sumerian\nname was Imgig.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 134, a Prince's wife, disguised\nas a Sannyasi, or Hindu religious mendicant, on her way to join her\nhusband who was ill--poisoned by lying on powdered glass that was\nspread over his bed--rested under a tree in which a pair of Rukhs (in\nthis story called Bihangama and Bihangami) had their nest, containing\ntwo young birds. She cut in two a snake that was about to climb the\ntree, and that was accustomed to kill the young ones each year. She\noverheard the conversation of the birds, which was to the effect\nthat some of their droppings would cure the Prince, if reduced to\npowder and applied with a brush to the Prince's body, after bathing\nhim seven times, with seven jars of water and seven jars of milk. One\nof the birds carried her on his back to the Prince, with the rapidity\nof lightning. At p. 219, we learn that the dung of the young of this\nbird, when applied fresh to the eyeballs, would cure blindness.\n\nAt pp. 189 and 192, a puppy and a young hawk joined a Prince on his\njourney, but apparently owing to the omission of some incident of\nthe tale they were of no service to him. Such omissions are common;\nthey can only be supplied by collecting variants.\n\nIn Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), pp. 74, 75--Tales of the\nPunjab, pp. 66, 67--a crow, peacock, and jackal in turn warned a girl\nagainst a robber with whom she was going.\n\nAt p. 273--Tales of the Punjab, p. 259--Prince Rasalu was given\nthe task of separating a hundred-weight of millet seed from a\nhundred-weight of sand with which it had been mixed. This was done\nfor him by crickets in return for his saving a cricket from a fire.\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 444 (vol. iv, pp. 19, 20), a man laid his\nhand on the head of a boy who had been bitten by a snake, and then\nrepeated a spell to restore him to health. The boy's father laid his\nhand on the boy's breast while saying a second spell.\n\nIn the Tamil Story of Madana Kama Raja, or \"Dravidian Nights\" (Natesa\nSastri), p. 21 ff., a Prince purchased for a hundred pagodas apiece,\na kitten and a snake, which he reared for twelve years. They assisted\nhim afterwards.\n\nAt p. 91 ff., a Prince was ordered by a King to bring snake's poison,\nand afterwards whale's fat.\n\nAt p. 109 ff., a Prince who had four heavenly wives lost them through\nhis mother's returning to one of them her celestial garment, which\nhad been concealed. When in search of a way to his wives, he saved\nan Ant-King, a Frog-King, and a Cricket-King. He went to Indra,\nwho gave him four tasks, of which one was that after an acre of\nland had been sown with sesame seed and ploughed one hundred times,\nhe was to collect all the seeds. The Ant-King brought his subjects\nand collected them for him. Another of the tasks, the last one, was\nthe selection of Indra's daughter, who was one of his wives, from\nthe four, who were all given the same appearance. The Cricket-King\nenabled him to do this, by hopping onto her foot.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 52\n\nTHE WIMALI STORY\n\n\nAt a certain city there are a man and a woman, it is said. That woman\nwas about to have a child. She cooked cakes to eat. While she was\neating, a crow came, and stayed there looking on. \"She will throw\nme a piece of cake, at least,\" it thought. The woman did not give it\neven a bit of the cakes.\n\nAfterwards the crow went to the house of the Rakshasa, and breaking\noff a mango fruit came to that house, and ate it in front of the\nwoman who ate the cakes. While the crow was eating, the woman thought,\n\"It will throw down a piece of it, at least.\" The crow did not give\nher any of it; it ate the whole and flew away.\n\nAfter the man of the house came, the woman said, \"The crow brought\na mango fruit, and turned it round and round, and ate the whole of\nit. [Somehow or other you must get me a mango.]\"\n\nAfter that, the man went to the house of the Rakshasa, and having\nascended the mango tree, tried to pluck a mango fruit. As he was\nplucking it the Rakshasa came home. Seeing the man in the tree,\nhe asked, \"Who is that in the tree?\"\n\n\"Ane! I am in the tree,\" said the man.\n\n\"What are you plucking mangoes for?\" he asked.\n\n\"For our house-girl to eat. [She is about to have a child, and has\nasked for one,]\" he said.\n\n\"Well then, pluck one and descend,\" the Rakshasa said.\n\nSo the man plucked one, and came down. After he had descended the\nRakshasa said, \"Should she bear a son he is for thee; should she bear\na daughter, she is for me.\"\n\nThe man said \"Ha,\" and taking the mango fruit went home.\n\nNews afterwards reached the Rakshasa that she had borne a girl. On\naccount of it the Rakshasa went to the house [and took the girl]. As\nhe was returning carrying the girl, he saw two boys going to school,\nand said, \"Boys, boys, say a name for my daughter.\"\n\nThe boys saying, \"Wimali, Wimali\" (pure or beautiful one), ran away.\n\nSo the Rakshasa took the girl to his house, and shared it with her.\n\nAfterwards, when he had gone to eat human flesh, the Rakshasa heard\nthe sound of tom-toms saying, \"Wimali,\" [and thought they were calling\nthe girl]. So he came home, and asked Wimali, \"Have you been out?\"\n\n\"No, I have not been out. I have just got up,\" Wimali said.\n\nNext day he went again to eat human flesh. After he had gone he\nheard the sound of tom-toms saying, \"Wimali.\" The Rakshasa came home,\nand asked Wimali again, \"Have you been out?\"\n\n\"No, I have just put on my cloth,\" Wimali said.\n\nThe Rakshasa having gone to eat human flesh on the following day,\nagain heard the sound of tom-toms saying, \"Wimali.\" He came home and\nasked Wimali, \"Have you been out?\"\n\n\"No, I have only just combed my hair,\" Wimali said.\n\nAfter that, news reached the King that a girl called Wimali was at\nthe Rakshasa's house. Having learnt this, the King came to take away\nWimali. When he arrived there [the Rakshasa was out, so] he formed\na figure of Wimali out of rice flour, and after placing that figure\nin the Rakshasa's house, took Wimali to the city.\n\nThe Rakshasa came to the house and [finding that she was not there]\nsaid, \"Wimali will not stay at home.\" Then he tried to eat her figure,\nand ate a great part of the flour figure. After he had eaten this\n[his mouth was choked with the flour, so] he said, \"May a mouth be\ncreated on the top of my head.\" When he had said this [the mouth was\ncreated, and] the Rakshasa's head being split in two by it, he died.\n\n\n                                 Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 53\n\nTHE POTS OF OIL\n\n\nA man having gone to the Lower Twelve Pattus (the name of a district)\nto seek for coconuts, and having collected fifty or sixty coconuts at\na shed [where he was lodging, found that] because of their great weight\nhe was unable to bring them; and so he expressed [the oil from] them.\n\nHaving expressed it, on the morning of the following day he asked for\ntwo large pots, and filling them with the oil he tied them as a pingo\n(carrying-stick) load (one below each end of the stick), and set off\nwith them.\n\nDuring the time while he was coming on his way to his village, he met\na man in the road, and having given him betel, etc., to eat, said,\n\"Ane! Friend, you must assist me a little. Take this pingo load\nsomewhat far, and hand it over to me. I will give you four tuttu\"\n(three halfpence). [The man agreed to help him, and took the load.]\n\nThen the man, as he was going along the road, thought, \"With the funds\nprovided by these four tuttu I shall buy a hen chicken. Having taken\nit home, after it has become large and laid twelve eggs I shall [set\nthem under it and] get twelve chickens. After the twelve chickens\nhave become big, I shall sell them for sixpence apiece. With that\nmoney I shall get a he-goat and a she-goat, and that she-goat will\nbear two kids.\n\n\"When the kids have become large I can sell them for five rupees\napiece, and having given the ten rupees I shall get a buffalo\ncow. While I am rearing the buffalo cow she will bear a calf. At\nthat time I shall go to ask about a lucky hour (fixed by astrology)\nfor taking the [first] milk.\n\n\"After I have got to know the lucky hour and gone to take the milk,\nthe buffalo cow, becoming afraid, will kick at me.\" Saying this,\nhe jumped aside in order to avoid it.\n\nAs he was coming on the path, at this time he had reached a foot-bridge\nformed of a single tree trunk (edanda), and while going along at\nthe middle of it he made the jump [to escape the cow's kick]. As he\njumped, he fell off the tree trunk, taking the load of oil with him\n[and the two pots were smashed].\n\nAt his fall, the owner of the oil asked, \"Having come so far taking\ncare of this oil, why did you throw it down and break the pots at\nthis foot-bridge, friend?\"\n\nThe man said, \"With the funds provided by the four tuttu I thought\nof buying a chicken. This happened owing to that.\"\n\nAfterwards the owner of the oil, saying, \"Never mind the spilling of\nthe oil; you must go with me,\" invited the man to accompany him, and\nthey went together. Having arrived at the village, because he was a\ncapable man [the owner of the oil] gave him his daughter [in marriage].\n\nNot a very long time afterwards, the men of the village said that\nthey must go to Puttalam to load salt and sun-dried fish, and bring\nthem back [bartering part of them on the way home]. The man said,\n\"Father-in-law, I also must go to Puttalam.\" So the father-in-law made\nready a cart load of goods, and giving them to him told him to go with\nthe other men, and said, \"[When disposing of the goods] the things\nwhich they count you also count and give; the goods which they give\n'simply' (that is, without counting), you also give 'simply.'\" [109]\n\nAfterwards the men who went from the village, while coming back from\nPuttalam, from place to place gave the goods they were bringing, and\ntook [in exchange] the things they wanted. The man having observed\nwhich goods they counted, counted and gave the same goods, without\n[taking] money. The goods which the other men gave without counting,\nthat man also gave without counting. Thus, in that manner he gave\nall the goods loaded into the cart, until at last only the cart and\nthe yoke of bulls remained over.\n\nAfterwards the men who went in the party gave goods, and each one\ngot a horse. This man gave the cart and yoke of bulls and got a horse.\n\nWhile they were coming bringing the horses, the men of the party\ngave goods, and each one got a goat of foreign breed. So this man\ngave his horse, and got a goat.\n\nWhile they were bringing the goats, the men of the party, saying,\n\"We must each one get a dog with a party-coloured body,\" gave goods,\nand got one apiece. So this man gave the foreign goat that he was\nbringing, and got one.\n\nHaving come to a shop where they were selling foreign pots, the men\nof the party gave goods, and each one got a foreign water-pot. This\nman giving the parti-coloured dog, also got one.\n\nAfterwards having come very close to their village, each of the\nmen of the party, saying, \"I will give four tuttu and get shaved,\"\ngot shaved. So this man gave that foreign water-pot, and got himself\nshaved.\n\nIn the end the man returned home without either cart, or yoke of bulls,\nor goods.\n\n\n                                 Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nSome Eastern variants have been mentioned above in the story of the\nKitul seeds, No. 26.\n\nIn The Orientalist, vol. ii, p. 102, there is a story by\nMr. A. E. R. Corea, in which a man who was going in search of\nwork gathered some leaves on the road-side, which are eaten as a\nvegetable. In another district where there were no vegetables he\nexchanged them for fishes, a leaf for a fish. Going on, he bartered\nthese for digging hoes, and these again for oxen, with which he set\noff on his return home. Having nothing to eat, he continued to give\ntwo oxen for two rice cakes, until at last he arrived at his house\nempty-handed.\n\nIn the Panchatantra (Dubois), a Brahmana who had been at two feasts on\nthe same day, carried away from the second some pots of ghi--or liquid\nbutter,--milk, and flour, and began to consider how he would acquire\nwealth by means of them. He would sell them, and buy a she-goat, which\nwould have kids, and in a short time he would possess a flock. He\nwould then sell the goats and buy a cow and a mare, by selling the\ncalves and foals from which he would become a rich man. He would get\nmarried and have numerous children, who would be well educated and\nwell dressed. His wife would become inattentive to her duties at the\nhouse. During her absence the children would run about near the cows,\nand the youngest one would be injured by them. For neglecting them he\nwould beat his wife, and taking up his stick to beat her he smashed\nthe pots containing his provisions.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 54\n\nTHE MOUSE MAIDEN [110]\n\n\nThere are a King and a Queen of a certain city, and there is a daughter\nof the Queen.\n\nThey asked [permission] to summon the daughter to go [in marriage]\nto the Prince of another city. The King said \"Ha,\" so they came\nfrom that city to summon the King's Princess. After coming, they\ntold the bride to come out [of her chamber] in order to eat the rice\n[of the wedding-feast]. The Queen said, \"She is eating cooked rice\nin the house.\"\n\nThen they told her to come out in order to dress her in the robes\n[sent by the bridegroom (?)]. The Queen said, \"She is putting on robes\n[in her chamber].\"\n\nThen they told her to come out in order to go [to the bridegroom's\ncity]. So the Queen told two persons to come, and having put a female\nMouseling [110] in an incense box, brought it, and gave it into the\nhands of the two persons, and said, \"Take ye this, and until seven\ndays have gone by do not open the mouth of the box.\" Having taken it\nto the city, when they opened the mouth of the box after seven days,\na mouse sprang out, [and hid itself] among the cooking pots.\n\nThere was also a (servant) girl at the Prince's house. The girl\napportioned and gave cooked rice and vegetable [curry] to the Prince,\nand covered up the cooking pots [containing the rest of the food]. Then\nthe Mouseling came, and having taken and eaten some of the cooked\nrice and vegetables, covered up the cooking pots, and went again\namong the pots.\n\nOn the following day the same thing occurred. The Prince said to the\ngirl. \"Does the Mouseling eat the cooked rice? Look and come back.\" The\ngirl having gone and looked, came back and said, \"She has eaten the\ncooked rice, and covered the cooking pots, and has gone.\" The Prince\nsaid, \"Go thou also, and eat rice, and come back.\" So the girl went\nand ate rice, and returned.\n\nNext day the Prince said, \"I am going to cut paddy (growing\nrice). Remain thou at the house, and in the evening place the articles\nfor cooking near the hearth.\" Then the Prince went. Afterwards, in\nthe evening the girl placed the things for cooking near the hearth,\nand went out of the way.\n\nThe Mouseling came, and cooked and placed [the food ready], and again\nwent behind the pots. After evening had come, that girl apportioned\nand gave the rice to the Prince. The Prince ate, and told the girl,\n\"Go thou also, and eat rice, and come back.\" So the girl went and\nate rice, and having covered the cooking pots came to the place where\nthe Prince was.\n\nThen the Mouseling came and ate rice, and covered up the pots. After\nthat, she said to the [other] mice, \"Let us go and cut the paddy,\"\nand collecting a great number of mice, cut all the paddy, and again\nreturned to the house, and stayed among the pots. Next day when the\nPrince went to the rice field to cut the paddy, all had been cut.\n\nAfterwards the Prince came back, and saying, \"Let us go and collect and\nstack [the paddy],\" collected the men, and stacked it, and threshed it\nby trampling [it with buffaloes]. Then they went and called the women,\nand having got rid of the chaff in the wind, brought the paddy home.\n\nAfter they had brought it, the Prince went near the place where the\ncooking pots were stored, at which the Mouseling was hidden, and said,\n\"Having pounded this paddy [to remove the husk], and cooked rice,\nlet us go to your village [to present it to your parents, as the\nfirst-fruits].\"\n\nThe Mouseling said, \"I will not. You go.\" So the Prince told the girl\nto pound the paddy and cook rice, and having done this she gave it\nto the Prince.\n\nThe Prince took the package of cooked rice, and went to the Mouseling's\nvillage, and gave it to the Mouseling's mother.\n\nThe Queen asked at the hand of the Prince, \"Where is the girl?\"\n\nThe Prince said, \"She refused to come.\"\n\nThe Queen said, \"Go back to the city, and having placed the articles\nfor cooking near the hearth, get hid, and stay in the house.\"\n\nAfter the Prince returned to the city, he did as she had told him. The\nMouseling having come out, took off her mouse-jacket, and [assuming\nher shape as a girl] put on other clothes. While she was preparing\nto cook, the Prince took the mouse-jacket, and burnt it.\n\nAfterwards, when the girl went to the place where the mouse-jacket\nhad been, and looked for it, it was not there. Then she looked\nin the hearth, and saw that there was one sleeve in it. While she\nwas there weeping and weeping, the Prince [came forward and] said,\n\"Your mother told me to burn the mouse-jacket.\" So the Mouseling\nbecame the Princess again, and the Prince and Princess remained there.\n\n\n                                 Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThe notion of a skin dress that could be put off and on, and that\ntransformed a person into one of the lower animals, is well-known in\nfolk-tales. It is found in Old Deccan Days (Frere), pp. 183, 193,\nwhere a King had a jackal-skin coat which turned him into a jackal\nwhen he put it on, until it was burnt.\n\nAt p. 222, a Princess concealed herself by putting on the skin of an\nold beggar woman. She was discovered when she removed it in order to\nwash it and herself. In the end it was burnt by the Prince she had\nmarried, and she retained her true form as a Princess.\n\nIn Indian Fairy Tales (Stokes), p. 41 ff., there is a Prince who had\na monkey skin, which he could put on and off as he wished.\n\nIn Indian Nights' Entertainment, Panjab (Swynnerton), p. 344, four\nfairies came in the form of doves, and took off their feather dresses\nin order to bathe. A Prince concealed one dress, and the fairy was\nunable to resume her bird form and fly away.\n\nIn The Story of Madana Kama Raja, or \"Dravidian Nights\" (Natesa\nSastri), pp. 56, 57, there is an account of a tortoise Prince who\nhad the power of leaving his shell and assuming his human form. His\nmother one day saw the transformation, and smashed the shell, after\nwhich he remained a Prince.\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Hindustan, Allahabad (Shaik Chilli), p. 54 ff.,\nthe daughter of the King of the Peris had the form of a monkey while\nshe wore a monkey's skin, and her own form at other times. When a\nPrince burnt the skin she took fire, and flew away in a blaze to her\nfather's palace. While she was ill there, the Prince discovered her\nand cured her, and she did not resume her monkey form.\n\nThe feather-vest of the Dove-maidens--female Jinn--in the Arabian\nNights (Lady Burton's ed.), iii, p. 417 ff., is well known. They\nremoved it for bathing, and could not fly without it.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 55\n\nSIGIRIS SI\u00d1\u00d1O, THE GIANT\n\n\nIn a country there was a great person called Sigiris Si\u00f1\u00f1o. He was\na very wealthy person; under him ten hired labourers worked.\n\nDuring the time while he was in this state, Sigiris Si\u00f1\u00f1o having\nthought he would drink arrack (spirit distilled from palm juice),\nbegan to drink a very little. In that way he became accustomed to drink\nvery largely. Afterwards having come [home] drunk he went to beat the\nlabourers; also he did not give them their wages properly. When he had\nacted in this manner for many days, they, after speaking together,\ngave Sigiris Si\u00f1\u00f1o a good beating, and on account of their [short]\npay took the goods of Sigiris Si\u00f1\u00f1o, and went away. Then no one would\ngive work to Sigiris Si\u00f1\u00f1o, so he drank until the goods in his house\nwere finished.\n\nThen, there being nothing for this one to drink or eat, and having\nbecome like a madman, at the time when he was walking and walking\nabout he saw a man carrying a young coconut. Begging, \"Give me that,\"\nand taking it, he went to a travellers' resting-shed.\n\nWhile he was there eating the young coconut after breaking it,\na great number of flies began to settle there. After he had struck\nat the flies with his hand, twenty died. Thereupon this one went to\na person who did tin work, and said, \"Ane! Friend, do a little work\nfor me and give me it.\"\n\n\"What is it?\" the tin worker asked.\n\nThis one said, \"Cut on a sheet of tin in Tamil and Sinhalese,\n'I killed twenty,' and give me it.\"\n\nHaving said, \"It is good,\" he cut it and gave it.\n\nAfter he had cut and given it, this one took it, and preparing a\nhanging board, and hanging the sheet of tin on it, put the cord on\nhis neck, and walked along the roads. Men who saw this stepped on\none side through fear, and went away.\n\nCertain Tamils having seen this at a city, said to Sigiris Si\u00f1\u00f1o,\n\"In our country the King has a giant. Should any one fight with him\nand win, the King said he will give him a present of five hundred\nmasuran, and the post of Prime Minister. This being so, can you go\nthere with us [and fight him],\" they asked.\n\nThen Sigiris Si\u00f1\u00f1o, thinking, \"Let me go even should I be struck by\nlightning,\" said, \"I am able to fight with the giant,\" and went to\nthat city with the Tamils.\n\nHaving arrived there, these Tamils handed him over to the King\nunder whom that giant had a post. The King asked this one, \"I have\na giant. Canst thou fight with the giant and win?\"\n\nSigiris Si\u00f1\u00f1o said instantly, \"A son who has killed twenty giants\nbetter than that one am I.\"\n\nSo the King said to his giant, \"Now then, do what fighting thou\nknowest, and conquer that one.\"\n\nThen the giant said to Sigiris Si\u00f1\u00f1o, \"To-day you must come and swim\n[against me] in the great sea for eight days. We require from the King\nten rupees in order to get things to eat while we are swimming.\" Having\nsaid this and got them, the two giants went to the shops, and got\nthings for the ten rupees.\n\nThen Sigiris the Giant said to that giant, \"What are these few\nthings! For one meal I want six quarts of rice and I want three\nbottles of arrack. I can swim for eight or ten months.\"\n\nAfter that, this giant thought, \"I can't eat as much as this\none, and I can't drink as much, and I can't swim for eight or ten\nmonths. Therefore I am indeed unable to swim with this giant and beat\nhim.\" He told the King so.\n\nThe King said, \"If so, thou wilt lose.\"\n\nThe giant said, \"At swimming I shall lose. We must fight each other.\"\n\n\"It is good,\" said the King. Then the King asked Sigiris Si\u00f1\u00f1o,\n\"Canst thou fight with this one?\"\n\nSigiris Si\u00f1\u00f1o replied, \"I will give that one one blow.\"\n\nSo the King said, \"Fight ye each other to-morrow.\"\n\nThereupon Sigiris the Giant said, \"Not to-morrow. After a month has\ngone both giants will fight each other. Having proclaimed it, and\nput both of us into two houses under one roof, you must give us to\neat until the month is finished.\"\n\nThe King said, \"It is good.\"\n\nSigiris the Giant having sought for an iron nail, from that day dug\ninto the wall of the house in which the giant was [which separated\ntheir two rooms]. Having dug [nearly through] it, when the month\nwould be finished to-morrow Sigiris the Giant said to that giant,\n\"Ade! Giant, give me a little tobacco.\"\n\nThat giant said, \"How can I give you tobacco there?\"\n\nSigiris the Giant replied, \"Knock a hole through that wall with your\nhand, and give me it.\"\n\n\"I cannot,\" that one said.\n\nThen Sigiris the Giant said, \"What sort of a giant art thou,\none who can't make a hole through that wall and give me a little\ntobacco!\" Saying, \"Look there! Give me it through there,\" Sigiris\nthe Giant struck with his hand at the place which he had previously\nbored. When he struck it his hand made a hole through to the other\nside. That giant becoming afraid at the blow, began to tremble,\nand thought, \"I can't win in fighting with this one.\"\n\nOn the following day they made them come out to fight. The place was\nfilled with people who had come to look on. Sigiris the Giant thinks in\nhis mind, \"To-day is indeed my Fate. How shall I escape?\" That giant,\nthrough fear his thoughts were the same.\n\nThe King said, \"Strike ye each other.\"\n\nHaving said, \"It is good,\" each one being afraid of the other, said,\n\"Strike thou.\" Sigiris says to the other, \"Thou strike,\" he says. By\nthat one and by this one not a blow was struck.\n\nThen the King says to Sigiris the Giant, \"Strike thou first.\"\n\nSigiris the Giant said, \"It is good,\" and thinking of running away,\nand saying to the people, addressing them loudly, \"Get to both sides,\nand stop there,\" looked round to run off. At that, the other giant,\nrolling the people over, began to run away, and the people who were\nthere cried \"Hu,\" after him.\n\nThen the King having become pleased with Sigiris Si\u00f1\u00f1o, and having\ngiven him a present of five hundred masuran, established him in the\npost of Prime Minister.\n\n\n                                 Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 89--Tales of the Punjab,\np. 80--a weaver who killed a mosquito thought himself a hero, and\neventually became the ruler of half the country.\n\nIn Indian Nights' Entertainment, Panjab (Swynnerton), p. 208, a\nweaver killed nine flies on his arm, and called himself Nomar Khan,\nthe Nine-killing Prince. He became Commander-in-Chief.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 56\n\nTHE PROUD JACKAL\n\n\nIn the midst of a certain forest a Lion stayed. Having joined with\nthat very Lion, a Jackal was eating and eating the flesh of animals\nkilled by the Lion.\n\nAfter a few days had gone by, the Jackal, becoming arrogant, said to\nthe Lion, \"Don't say 'Jackal' to me.\"\n\nThereupon, \"What shall I say?\" the Lion asked.\n\nThen the Jackal says, \"You must call me, saying to me,\n'Jackal-artificer' (Nari nayide).\"\n\nIn this way, when the Lion had said, \"Jackal-artificer,\" for many days,\nhe said, \"Don't say 'Jackal-artificer.'\"\n\n\"What name am I to say?\" the Lion asked.\n\n\"Say to me, 'Small Lion'; don't say, 'Jackal-artificer,'\" he said.\n\nAfter the Lion had been saying, \"Small Lion,\" for a few days, \"Say\nto me, 'Great Lion'; don't say, 'Small Lion,'\" he said to the Lion.\n\nThen the Lion says, \"For me to say, 'Great Lion,' you must make the\nLion's roar,\" the Lion said.\n\nThen the Jackal having gone near a tusk elephant, after he had\ncried out, as the Lion's roar, \"Hokkiye, Hokkiye\" (the beginning of\nthe customary yelping cry of the Jackal), the tusk-elephant kicked\nthe Jackal.\n\nThereupon the Jackal died.\n\n\n                                 Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn the Jataka stories 143 (vol. i, p. 306) and 335 (vol. iii, p. 75),\na Jackal who acted as a Lion's servant induced his master to let him\ngo out in the latter's place, in order to kill animals. He howled\nand sprang at an elephant, but was crushed to death by it.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORIES OF THE DURAYAS\n\n\nNO. 57\n\nTHE SEVEN ROBBERS\n\n\nIn a country there are seven robbers. Among them, in the same gang,\nthere is a fool. One day they went to commit robbery. While they\nwere there, they got a devil-dancer's box, containing his mask and\nornaments. Having brought it, the seven persons went into a rock cave\nto sleep.\n\nWhen they had gone there that foolish man became hungry. After the\nothers went to sleep that fool took out the devil-dancer's clothes,\nand having looked at them put them on.\n\nAfter he had put them on, one of those men opened his eyes. Then\non account of the noise of the bells [of the devil-dancer] the\nothers opened their eyes also. When they saw the man dressed in the\ndevil-dancer's clothes they were frightened, and saying, \"Ade! The\nKohomba deity is coming,\" the other six persons ran away.\n\nAs they were running, that man who had the clothes ran after them,\nsaying, \"Stay there, stay there.\" While they were running those\nsix persons leaped over a well [in the path]. This one also jumped,\nbut being held back by the clothes he fell into the mouth of the well.\n\nAfter he had fallen into the well, a woman came to draw water. Then\nhe placed his weight in the bucket when she lowered it. After the\nwoman had got to know of the weight, striving and striving she got\nthe bucket near the mouth of the well. The man who had fallen, and\nwas in it, said, \"A little more, my mother.\" Then the woman hearing\nthis [and seeing what she thought was a demon in the well], let go,\nand bounded away.\n\n\n                                         Duraya. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn The Orientalist, vol. i, p. 136, a story is given regarding\ntwenty-five idiots, in which is a variant of this tale. Some robbers\nwhom one of them was assisting left him outside a house with a basket\nthat he had brought out of it. While they were inside searching for\nbooty, he found in the basket the dress worn in representations of\na demon termed Gara Yaka, and put it on. When the robbers came out\nthey thought he was the demon himself, and ran off, with the idiot\nat their heels. In the end, they jumped into a well, were followed\nby him, and all were drowned.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 58\n\nTHE STUPID BOY\n\n\nIn a certain city there are a Gamarala, a Gama-gaeni (his wife),\nand a son of theirs. The Gamarala went to the chena. The Gama-gaeni\nlay down, and told the Gama-puta (the son) to examine her head [for\ninsects]. While he was looking through the hair she fell asleep, and\na fly settled on her head. \"Ade! Fly, do not bite our mother's head,\"\nhe said, \"mother will scold me.\"\n\nThe fly having gone flying away, settled again on her head. Saying,\n\"Now then, this fly is biting mother's head again,\" he placed his\nmother's head gently on the ground. Then having gone and taken a rice\npestle, and come back with it, he said, \"Is the fly still biting the\nhead?\" and struck at the fly with the rice pestle, killing his mother\nwith the blow.\n\nThe boy's father having come, tried to arouse her. \"How is it that\nmother is dead?\" he asked. The boy said, \"A fly was biting our mother's\nhead. I struck it with the rice pestle. Because of it she died.\" So\nthe Gamarala took the woman away and buried her.\n\nThen he came home with the boy. Having arrived, the Gamarala told the\nboy to make a pot of gruel. Having made the pot of gruel he told the\nboy to take it, and they went to the jungle to cut fence sticks. The\nman, cutting and cutting the fence sticks, told the boy to draw them\nout, and throw them down. Then the boy, taking the fence sticks,\nthrew them into the river.\n\nTaking the pot of gruel, and making a raised platform of sticks,\nhe placed it on it. The Gamarala said to the boy, \"Now then, as you\nhave come here, go and drink gruel.\" Then the boy having gone under the\nstick frame, and pierced the bottom of the pot, and made a hole through\nit, placed his mouth under it, and drank a sufficient quantity. Still\nthe gruel comes from the pot, so the boy said to the pot of gruel,\n\"Father is there. Don't come out, gruel.\"\n\nHaving cut the fence sticks, the Gamarala came to drink gruel. There\nwas nothing in the gruel pot. He asked at the hand of the boy,\n\"Where, Ada! is the gruel?\"\n\n\"The gruel went out while I was saying don't go,\" he said.\n\nThen the Gamarala thought, \"There is no need to keep this boy,\"\nand having beaten him he drove him away.\n\nAs the boy was going, weeping and weeping, he met with a Buddhist\nmonk. [111] There were two bundles in the Lord's hand. He told the\nboy to take the couple of bundles. As the boy was carrying them he\nasked at the hand of the Lord, \"What is there in the bundles?\"\n\n\"Palm-sugar packets, [112] and plantains,\" he said.\n\nThe Lord asked at the hand of the boy, \"What is thy name?\"\n\nThe boy said, \"My name is Aewariyakka Mulakka.\"\n\nAs he was coming along from there the boy lagged behind. So the\nmonk spoke to the boy, \"Aewariyakka Mulakka, Ada! Come on quickly,\"\nhe said. Then the boy ate some packets of sugar, [113] and rows of\nplantains. [114]\n\nThe monk having gone to the pansala (monk's residence), when he\nlooked [found that] packets of sugar and rows of plantains were\nmissing. \"Ada! where are the other plantains and palm-sugar that were\nin these?\" he asked.\n\n\"Lord, I am a packet eater (Mulakka), and a first-row-of-plantains\neater (Aewariyakka),\" he said. \"I ate them.\" There and then, having\nbeaten the boy, he chased him away.\n\nThen, as a washerwoman-aunt was washing clothes, she saw the boy\ngoing along, and asked him, \"Can you live at our house?\" \"I can,\"\nhe said. She asked his name; Giya (\"He went\") he said was his name.\n\nHaving taken the washed clothes, and placed them in the house,\nhe asked at the hand of the mother for the [unwashed] clothes that\nwere in the house. She told him to come [and take them]. After the\nboy had come in, the mother asked at the hand of the boy, \"What is\nyour name?\" The boy said, Awo (\"He came\"), and took the clothes away.\n\nAfterwards, because both the clothes and the boy were missing,\n[the washer-woman] having searched and looked for him, went home. On\naccount of her going late the washerman called her [and asked the\nreason]. She said, \"It is because of Giya\" (the words might also mean,\n\"It is because he went\"). A man who was in the house having heard it,\nsaid, \"Ada! He said Awo.\"\n\nWhile both were saying, \"Giya,\" \"Awo,\" (\"He went, he came\"), the boy\ntook the clothes, and went to his village.\n\n\n                                         Duraya. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThe fly-killing incident occurs in Indian Nights' Entertainment\n(Swynnerton), p. 306, in which a Buneyr man killed an old woman by\nthrowing a stone at a fly that was on her face.\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 44 (vol. i, p. 116), a boy killed his father\nby striking with an axe at a mosquito that had settled on his pate,\nsplitting his head at the blow. In the next Jataka tale, a girl\nkilled her mother by aiming a blow with a pestle at the flies that\nhad settled on her head when she was lying down.\n\nIn The Orientalist, vol. i, p. 284, there is a Kashmir story by the\nRev. J. H. Knowles, in which a bear who had become friendly with a man,\nkilled him by throwing a piece of rock at a bee which had settled on\nhis mouth. Reference is also made to a similar story in the Journal\nA.S.B., vol. iii, part i, 1883.\n\nA considerable part of the story now given is a variant of No. 10\nabove. I have inserted it on account of the low caste of the narrator.\n\nWhen the monk repeated the boy's name on ordering him not to lag\nbehind, he was in reality telling him to eat the plantains and sugar,\nthe meaning of Aewariyak ka Mulak ka being, \"Eat thou a first row of\nplantains; eat thou a packet (of the sugar).\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 59\n\nTHE GAMARALA AND THE WASHERMAN\n\n\nIn a certain country there are a Gamarala and a Washerman. [115] Those\ntwo persons cut a chena. As they were cutting the chena a jungle-cock\ncrowed. The Gamarala said to the Washerman, \"Please catch that crowing\njungle-cock, and come back.\"\n\nThen the Washerman said, \"Will you do the chena work until I catch\nthe jungle-cock and come back?\" he asked.\n\n\"Until you come I will do the chena work,\" he said.\n\nFrom there that man came home, and remained there. When the chena\n[crop] was ripening he caught the jungle-cock, and went back.\n\n\"I shall not give thee a share of the chena,\" the Gamarala said.\n\nThereupon the Washerman instituted a lawsuit against him.\n\nWhen they were going for it on the day of the trial, he borrowed\na cloth from the Gamarala, and went after putting it on. When the\naction was being heard the Washerman said, \"He will say next that\nthis cloth is that gentleman's.\"\n\nThen the Gamarala said, \"It is so indeed. If not, Bola, whose is that\ncloth?\" he asked.\n\nThe Washerman said, \"There! I said so. O Lord, when coming on account\nof this day of the trial, was it necessary for me to ask for a cloth\nfrom that gentleman? Am I without clothes to that extent?\"\n\nAfter that, the judge told them to divide the chena in two, [and each\ntake half of it]. Afterwards, having come there they divided it in two.\n\nAgain, this Washerman and the Gamarala sowed a paddy field (rice\nfield). Of the paddy plants in the field, those things that were above\nthe ground were for the Washerman, they said. Those which were below\nthe ground were for the Gamarala, they said. Having cut the paddy\nwhen the crop ripened, they threshed it by trampling [with cattle],\nand the Washerman took the paddy. Afterwards they cut the ground;\nthere was nothing for the Gamarala.\n\nAgain, these two persons planted onions. This time, those things\nthat were above the ground were for the Gamarala, they said. Those\nthat were below the ground were for the Washerman, they said. When\nthe crop was ready, the Gamarala having cut off the onion stumps,\nheaps them up together; the Washerman dug up and got the onions.\n\nAfter that, those two persons got a buffalo bull. The front part of\nthat bull was for the Washerman, they said; the after part for the\nGamarala, they said.\n\nNext, the two persons got a buffalo cow. The front part was for the\nGamarala; the after part for the Washerman, they said. Thereupon\nthe calves which the buffalo cow bore belonged to the Washerman,\nhe said. When the Gamarala asked for calves because the front part\ndid not give birth to calves, \"There is nothing for you,\" he said.\n\nAfter that, the Gamarala, in order to build a house, cut Waewarana,\nKaetakala, Milla, Kolon trees (good timber trees commonly used in\nbuilding houses). The Washerman, also, saying, \"I also must build\na house,\" cut Paepol, Eramudu, Murunga trees (all of which are soft\nwoods, quite useless for any kind of work).\n\nWhen the Gamarala's wife was coming near his house, the Washerman,\ntaking the Naekat Pota (an astrological book which deals with\nprognostications), read aloud from it [these sham prognostications\nregarding the results to the occupiers if these woods be used in\nhouse building]: \"For a house of Waewarana, diarrhoea; for a house\nof Kaetakala, quarrel; for a house of Milla, hanging; for a house of\nEramudu, purity; for a house of Paepol, land.\"\n\nThen the Gamarala's wife having heard this, goes and says to the\nGamarala, \"You have done a foolish thing again. We shall have only\nsickness and trouble if we build the house with those trees. In the\nNaekat Pota it is so written. If we use the trees that the Washerman\nhas cut we shall be fortunate.\" So the Gamarala went to the Washerman,\nand persuaded him to exchange trees with him. Then the Washerman built\nhimself a good house with the Gamarala's trees. The trees which the\nGamarala got were of no use to him.\n\n\n                                         Duraya. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThe incident at the trial in the first part of this story occurs in\na slightly different form in a folk-tale that I heard in Cairo. As\nI am not aware that it has been published I give it here, condensing\nthe first portion (see No. 60).\n\nThe planting incidents are related by Rabelais, in Pantagruel, chapters\n45 and 46. For the benefit of readers in Ceylon, I give the account:--\n\n\n\n\nTHE DEVIL AND THE HUSBANDMAN\n\nThis devil having arrived at the place, addressed a husbandman and\nasked him what he did. The poor man replied to him that he sowed that\nfield of early wheat to assist him in living during the following\nyear. \"But really,\" said the devil, \"this field is not thine; it is\nmine and belongs to me ...; however, I leave thee the field. But it is\non condition we shall share the profit.\" \"I agree to it,\" replied the\nhusbandman. \"I mean,\" said the devil, \"that of the coming profit we\nshall make two shares. The one shall be what grows above the ground,\nthe other what shall be covered in the earth. The choice belongs\nto me, for I am a devil of a noble and ancient race; thou art only\na villein. I choose that which will be in the ground, thou shalt\nhave that above. When will the reaping be?\" \"In the middle of July,\"\nreplied the husbandman. \"Now,\" said the devil, \"I need not be present\nhere. In other respects do thy duty. Work, villein, work.\"\n\nThe middle of July having come, the devil presents himself again at the\nplace, accompanied by a squadron of little chorister devilets. Meeting\nthere the husbandman, he said to him, \"And now, villein, how hast\nthou been since my departure? It is requisite to make our division\nnow?\" \"That is right,\" replied the husbandman.\n\nThen the husbandman, with his people, began to reap the corn. The\nlittle devils similarly drew the stubble from the ground. The\nhusbandman threshed his corn in the air, put it in sacks, and carried\nit to the market to sell. The devilets did the same, and at the market\nseated themselves near the husbandman to sell their stubble. The\nhusbandman sold his corn very well, and with the money filled an old\nsock which he carried at his belt. The devils sold nothing, but on\nthe contrary the peasants jeered at them in the midst of the market.\n\nThe market being over, said the devil to the husbandman, \"Villein, thou\nhast cheated me this time; at another thou shalt not deceive me.\" \"My\nLord Devil,\" replied the husbandman, \"how have I cheated you who have\nchosen first? True it is that in that choice you thought of cheating\nme, hoping that nothing would come out of the ground as my share,\nand to find, below, the whole of the corn that I had sown.... But\nyou are very young at the trade.\"... \"Leave this discourse,\" said the\ndevil; \"with what canst thou sow our field this following year?\" \"For\nprofit,\" replied the husbandman, \"and good economy it is expedient to\nsow radishes.\" \"Now then,\" said the devil, \"thou art an honest man;\nsow plenty of radishes. I shall protect them from tempests, and shall\nnot hail at all on them. But, understand thoroughly, I keep as my\nshare what shall be above ground; thou shalt have what is below. Work,\nvillein, work.\"\n\nThe time for the reaping having come, the devil was present at\nthe spot with a squadron of household devilets. There, meeting the\nhusbandman and his people, he began to reap and collect the leaves\nof the radishes. After him the husbandman dug and drew out the large\nradishes, and put them into sacks. So they went all together to the\nmarket. The husbandman sold his radishes very well. The devil sold\nnothing. What was worse, they jeered at him publicly.\n\n\"I see well, villain,\" the devil then said, \"that I am cheated by\nthee. I want to make an end of the field between thee and me.\"\n\n\n\nI add a variant of the cultivating caste, as some incidents are new.\n\n\n\n\nTHE GAMARALA AND THE WASHERMAN. (VARIANT.)\n\nIn a certain country there is a Gamarala, it is said. A Washerman,\nhaving come there, became friendly with the Gamarala. Having become\nfriendly, he takes charge of the Gamarala's cattle for grazing. During\nthe time while he was grazing them the two persons chop chenas and\ndo rice field work.\n\nWell then, the two persons having become very thoroughly friends,\nat the time while they were thus, the cattle grazed by the Washerman\nincreased by a buffalo bull and a buffalo cow. Afterwards, the\nWasherman having come [to the other man] said, \"Now then, Gamarahami,\n[116] we must divide the two cattle between us.\" The Gamarala said,\n\"Ha. Let us divide them.\" Afterwards the Washerman having gone and\ncaught the two cattle, tied them up.\n\nThe Gamarala went there. Then the Washerman said, \"Now then, the\nGamarahami indeed has cattle. I myself have no cattle. Because of\nit, let the after portion of this buffalo cow be for me. The front\nportion the Gamarahami will be good enough to take.\" The Gamarala,\nhaving consented to that, said, \"Ha. It is good.\" Well then, in\ncomplete agreement they shared the buffalo cow.\n\nAgain, to share the buffalo bull the Washerman said, \"Gamarahami,\nlet the front side of the buffalo bull be for me, the after side\nthe Gamarahami will be good enough to take.\" Well then, the Gamarala\nhaving consented to that also, by the agreement of the two persons\nthey divided the buffalo bull also.\n\nDuring the time while they were thus, the Washerman having taken the\nbuffalo bull ploughs for himself. The Gamarala also one day was going\nto take the buffalo bull to plough. Then the Washerman quarrelled\nwith him: \"The front part belongs to me; the after part belongs to\nyou. I will not allow you to plough with my side,\" he said. [117]\nThe Gamarala having become angry came home.\n\nThe buffalo cow having gone to the Gamarala's house eats by\nstealth. Men having come told the Gamarala, \"Gamarala, your buffalo\ncow comes to our rice field [and eats the crop]. On that account\nattend well to its grazing.\"\n\nThen the Gamarala said, \"Don't tell me. Tell that to the Washerman.\"\n\nThen the men having gone, told the Washerman, \"Washerman, the\nbuffalo cow that you are causing to graze eats by stealth [in our\nrice field]. Attend well to its grazing.\"\n\nThe Washerman said, \"What are you telling me? Doesn't the front half\nbelong to the Gamarahami? Isn't it the Gamarahami who must attend to\nthe grazing?\" [118]\n\nThe Washerman having come to the Gamarala's house, quarrelled with\nthe Gamarala [over it]. The Gamarala became very angry.\n\nAfterwards, the Gamarala went to institute a lawsuit against the\nWasherman [on account of these matters]. That day, having entered the\nsuit, and having come back to the village, he went to the Washerman to\ntell him the day of the trial. Having told him, the Gamarala came home.\n\nOn the following day, the Washerman came to the Gamarala. Afterwards,\nthe Gamarala having given the Washerman to eat and drink, and having\nmade ready to go for the day of the trial, the Washerman said,\n\"Gamarahami, I have no [suitable] cloth to wear when going.\" The\nGamarala gave (that is, lent) him a cloth. The Washerman putting on\nthe cloth, both of them went for the trial-day.\n\nAfter they went, the assessors [119] having assembled heard the\nlawsuit. When they asked the Gamarala [regarding the matter], the\nGamarala said, \"The after portion of the buffalo cow belongs to the\nWasherman; the front portion belongs to me.\"\n\nWhen they asked the Washerman he said, \"Because the front portion\nof the buffalo bull belongs to me, I will not allow him to plough\nwith the buffalo bull. Because the front portion of the buffalo cow\nbelongs to the Gamarahami, the Gamarahami must attend to the grazing,\"\nhe answered.\n\nThen after the assessors had thus asked him they said, \"What the\nWasherman said is true.\"\n\nThereupon the Washerman says, \"That gentleman (Rahami) will now say\nthat this cloth which I am wearing is the gentleman's, maybe!\"\n\nThe Gamarala asked, \"Yes, indeed. Whose is it, Bola, if that cloth\nis not mine?\"\n\nThen the Washerman says to the assessors, \"There! Be good enough to\nlook. Didn't that gentleman just now say that the cloth I am wearing\nis the gentleman's. In that manner, indeed, he has brought this\nlawsuit, also.\"\n\nAt that time the assessors said to the Gamarala, \"There is not a thing\nfor us to say regarding this [except that] he is to gain [the action]\nagainst you.\"\n\nThen the Gamarala having lost, came back with the Washerman to the\nvillage.\n\nAt that time, while the Gamarala was angry with the Washerman,\nthe Gamarala, having said that he must build a house for himself,\nand having gone to the jungle, cut Halmilla, Milla, Waewarana trees;\nthese three sorts [of good timber trees].\n\nThen the Washerman, having got news that he had cut these woods,\nalso went to the jungle, and having said, \"I also must build a house\nfor myself,\" cut Paepol wood, Murunga wood, Eramudu wood; those three\nsorts [of soft useless woods]. After heaping them together, he wrote\na book [of sham prognostications]: \"For the house [built] of Halmilla,\nbegging; for the house of Waewarana, killing; for the house of Milla,\nbegging; for the house of Paepol, land; for the house of Eramudu,\npurity; for the house of Murunga, purity.\"\n\nAfter writing these, the Washerman taking up the book while the\nGama-Mahage (the Gamarala's wife) was going past for water, says them\nover every day for the Gama-Mahage to hear. The Gama-Mahage having\nheard them, said to the Gamarala, \"A book of the Washerman's says\nthus. Because of it, come with the Washerman, and having given him\nour small quantity of timber speak with him to allow us to take his\nsmall quantity of timber.\"\n\nAfterwards, the Gamarala having gone to the Washerman, asked at the\nhand of the Washerman, \"Washerman, give me your small quantity of\ntimber, and take for yourself my small quantity of timber.\"\n\nThen the Washerman says, \"I don't know [if I can do it], Sir\n(Rahamiye). I cannot [willingly], through sorrow [at the loss to me],\ngive you my small quantity of timber, indeed; but because the gentleman\nsays it, any way whatever is good. Be good enough to take it.\"\n\nAfterwards the Gamarala brought [home] the Washerman's small quantity\nof timber. The Washerman brought the Gamarala's small quantity of\ntimber. Having brought it, the Washerman with the small quantity of\nthe Gamarala's timber thoroughly built the house for himself, the\nGamarala also building the house for himself from the Washerman's\ntimber. When only three months had gone, the Gamarala's house fell\ndown, and the Gama-Mahage, having been underneath it, died. The house\nwhich the Washerman built from good timber remained in good condition.\n\n\n                                                 North-western Province.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 60\n\nTHE TWO THIEVES\n\n\nTwo thieves at Cairo were in love with the same girl, who promised\nto marry the one who showed the greatest cleverness.\n\nThe first one assisted a rich merchant in purchasing some cattle, and\neventually purloined a bag of money which the merchant was carrying\nin the large pocket in the front of his gown, and put a similar bag\nin its place containing an orange or two.\n\nThe theft was discovered when the merchant was about to pay the money\nfor the cattle. The robber assumed the r\u00f4le of the sympathising\nfriend, and suggested that a mistake might have been made by the\nmerchant's wife, and the wrong bag given to him. The merchant went\nhome to inquire about it, and on his return the robber ran up to him,\nand embraced and kissed him, saying, \"Hallo, Friend! I am very glad\nto see you again. I hope you have succeeded in finding your money.\" As\nhe said this he put back the purse, and took the bag of oranges.\n\nThe merchant replied, \"I hope God will hear what you say.\"\n\nThe thief said, \"You are playing me a trick; put your hand in your\npocket, and feel if your purse is not there.\"\n\nSo he put his hand in his breast pocket, and found his bag of money\nthere. The thief explained the matter, and requested him to relate\nthe particulars to the girl, who then decided that she would marry\nthis thief.\n\nI give the rest of the story in full, as it was dictated to me:--\n\nThe second thief said, \"Oh! that is nothing. I can play a better trick\nthan that. Will you be kind enough to come to-morrow morning to the\nGovernment offices to see me?\" The merchant man said, \"I also will\ncome to see the trick.\" Then the merchant went away, and the three\nremained there till evening.\n\nAfter dinner, the second robber went out to the caf\u00e9 to spend the time,\nand there he met one of the higher class people. The robber said,\n\"Salam,\" and sat down next this merchant. They both smoked hashish\ntogether, and the thief told him, \"I have just arrived from outside\nthe city. The four gates are now shut, and I cannot return. I do not\nknow where to go to sleep.\"\n\nThe merchant told him, \"Don't you feel ashamed to say that to me when\nyou know what size my house is?\"\n\nThe robber said, \"Thank you for the favour,\" and at the end of their\nsmoke they went together to the merchant's house. When the two entered,\nlights were put in the writing room, with two beds for them, so that\nthey might sleep together there.\n\nWhile the merchant was fast asleep and snoring, the robber awoke, and\ntook the key of the money-box and the seal from the merchant's pocket,\nopened the box, counted the money, wrote a promissory note giving\nthe amount of each kind of money, signed it with the merchant's seal,\nand put all back again as before, keeping the note. He then went to\nsleep again.\n\nNext morning they breakfasted together, becoming very friendly, and the\nrobber said, \"Please can you lend me your horse and a clean suit of\nclothes, because I must go to report a person to the Government?\" So\nthe merchant gave him a clean suit and a horse, and told him, \"You\ncan change your clothes and wash here. I must go to my office.\" He\nthen left.\n\nThe robber put on the clothes, and rode off to the Government office,\nand explained his case, and asked for a man to be sent to fetch the\nmerchant, as he had to recover a large sum of money from him. The\nChief of the Police sent a man to call him.\n\nWhen the merchant came, the Chief of the Police asked him, \"Why don't\nyou pay this gentleman the money you owe him?\"\n\nHe says, \"Which gentleman?\"\n\n\"This gentleman,\" said the Chief of the Police, pointing to the robber.\n\n\"This one!\"\n\n\"Yes, I am the one,\" said the robber.\n\nThe merchant said, \"Don't you feel ashamed at saying I owe you\nsome money?\"\n\n\"Of course,\" he replied, and then he took out the promissory note,\nand handed it to the Chief of the Police.\n\nThe Chief of the Police looked at it, and said, \"Hallo! That is a\nbig amount.\"\n\nThe merchant asked to see it, and he looked at the list, and said,\n\"I have not got so much money in my box. If I have so much in my\nhouse it must really be yours.\"\n\nThe Chief of the Police sent some men to bring the box to the station,\nand on counting the money in it, he found it was exactly the amount\nwritten in the promissory note. The woman, and the other robber,\nand the merchant who was tricked on the previous day were all present\nand listening, and were all astonished.\n\nThe Chief of the Police said, \"Well, it must be the claimant's money,\"\nand he gave it to him.\n\nThe merchant was angry, so the robber said, \"I suppose you will be\nsaying next that the horse is yours, and the suit I am wearing\";\nand when the merchant angrily demanded them the robber requested the\nChief of the Police to lock the man up, because he was now trying to\nsteal his horse and clothes.\n\nThen the merchant was locked up, and the robber left the money in\nthe box at the Police Station, and rode off to his own home, where\nhe met the woman and the first robber. He asked them, \"How do you\nlike that trick?\"\n\nShe said, \"A very clever man you are,\" and she agreed to marry him.\n\nAfter three days they both went to the merchant, and told him the whole\nstory, and returned him the money, and the horse and clothes. And\nthe merchant was so pleased to get them back that he gave them some\nmoney to live upon.\n\n\n\nIn Folk-Tales of Kashmir (Knowles), 2nd ed., p. 297 ff., two thieves\nhad one wife, who agreed that she should belong only to the one who\nbrought her the most valuable spoil in two days. The King executed her,\nas being the instigator of the robberies they committed.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 61\n\nTHE MARGOSA TREE\n\n\nIn a certain city there is a King, it is said. The King thought of\ngrowing a Margosa tree without bitterness [in the fruit], so one day\nhe made proclamation accordingly by beat of tom-toms.\n\nWhile two friends of one village were coming to seek a means of\nsubsistence they heard this sound of tom-toms. When they asked at the\nhand of a tom-tom beater, \"What is the sound of tom-toms for?\" he said,\n\"What is it? His Majesty our King will give presents to any person\nwho should grow and give him a Margosa tree without bitterness.\" One\nof the friends, saying, \"I can [do it],\" went to the royal palace.\n\n\"Canst thou grow and give me a Margosa tree without bitterness?\" the\nKing asked.\n\n\"Yes, your Majesty,\" he said.\n\n\"What things dost thou want for it?\" the King asked.\n\n\"I want monthly a hundred-weight of sugar and a large pot of cow's\nbutter,\" he said.\n\nAfter that, the King asked, \"Where wilt thou grow it?\"\n\n\"I must grow it on the edge of a river,\" he said.\n\nHaving built and given him a house on the edge of the river, he gave\nhim a hundred-weight of sugar and a large pot of butter monthly.\n\nSeven times in succession he planted seven trees. Seven times the\nseven trees were washed away by the river.\n\nDuring the time while he was there in that way, the other friend\nhaving come, asked, \"Where is the tree?\"\n\nThen the friend who had planted the tree says, \"Either the King,\nor I, or the river.\" [120]\n\nThe words that he said meant, \"Either His Majesty the King will die;\nif not, I shall die, because of no means of subsistence.\"\n\n\"Having cheated the King I get a living. When it is so, the foolish\nKing has been caught by my trick.\"\n\n\n                                         Duraya. North-western Province.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 62\n\nTHE GAMARALA'S FOOLISH SON\n\n\nWhile a Gamarala and a Gama-gaeni (his wife) were at a village,\nas there were no children to those two for a long time they went to\na Dewala, and worshipped the Gods in order to obtain a child. After\nthat they obtained a child. As that child was growing up the Gamarala\nand Gama-gaeni were becoming very old.\n\nSo one day the Gamarala says to the Gama-gaeni, \"Before we die we\nmust summon and give a bride to the youth.\" Having said this they\nsummoned and gave him a small girl.\n\nDuring the time while they were living thus, the Gamarala had\nan illness. After that the Gamarala died. Afterwards, while the\nGama-gaeni, and the son, and the son's wife were there, one day the\nwife of the Gama-puta (son of the Gamarala) said, \"Now then, let us\ngo to my village, and having gone there, sowing our rice field lands\nlet us do cultivation\"; and both of them went.\n\nWhile they were there, one day, as an illness settled on the\nGama-puta's wife, the Vedarala (village doctor) went to see her. The\nVedarala asked, \"What is the illness?\"\n\nThen he said, \"My wife has tumours which are growing large.\" The\nVedarala having made a medicine which was to be rubbed [on the places],\nand having come to the house gave it, saying, \"Rub thou this medicine\non them.\"\n\nWhen he had been rubbing it for four or five days they grew larger. The\nGama-puta having seen this, said, \"Ada! These tumours are becoming\nvery severe. I cannot go for medicine every day if they go on like\nthis. Let us go to my village.\" So they set off to come to the\nGama-puta's village.\n\nAs they were coming, a man was driving a bull on the road. This\nGamarala's son asked, \"Where are you taking the bull?\"\n\nThe man said, \"I am taking it to my village,\" he said. \"Where are\nyou going?\" he asked.\n\n\"We are going to my village. My wife has tumours. We are going to\napply medical treatment,\" he said.\n\n\"Where? Let us look at them. I also know a little medical art,\"\nhe said.\n\nThen he showed them. When the man who was taking the bull saw them he\nsaid, \"They are growing larger; they will never become well,\" he said.\n\nThen the Gama-puta thought, \"This woman does not matter to me.\" So\nhe said, \"It would be good for you to give me that bull and take this\nwoman.\" So taking the bull he gave the woman.\n\n\"This one has water in his stomach (i.e., he had drunk water); you\nwill be careful,\" the man said.\n\nThen having taken the bull, as he was going to the village he took\na large cloth and tied it round the middle of the bull. While he\nwas there after tying it, a man came, carrying a bill-hook on his\nshoulder. When he saw it he asked, \"What is this doing?\"\n\n\"This one has water in his stomach; on that account I have tied the\ncloth round it,\" he said.\n\nHaving seen the bill-hook, \"What is that?\" he asked.\n\n\"This is a bill-hook,\" the man said.\n\nAfter he asked, \"What do you do with the bill-hook?\" the man said,\n\"Taking a packet of cooked rice and a water-gourd, it is for cutting\nthe jungle,\" he said.\n\nWhen he asked, \"Will you take this bull and give me the bill-hook,\"\nthe man said, \"It is good,\" and having given the bill-hook went away\ntaking the bull.\n\nThen the Gama-puta, having taken the bill-hook, and gone to the\nvillage, during the time while he was there thought he would go to\ncut jungle. Having thought so, he took a packet of cooked rice and a\nwater-gourd, and the bill-hook, and having placed them upon a rock\nhe remained looking on. Seeing that the bill-hook stayed [there]\nwithout cutting the jungle, and thinking that it was because he was\nlooking at it, he came home.\n\nHaving come and eaten rice, and having gone back afterwards, when he\nlooked, the bill-hook having been put in the sun had become extremely\nhot. So the Gama-puta thinks, \"The bill-hook having got fever, is\nit on that account it did not eat the cooked rice and did not cut\nthe jungle?\"\n\nHe went quickly for medicine. Having gone he told the Veda (village\ndoctor). The Veda having looked [at it] told him to bury it under the\nframe on which the water pots were set. Afterwards, having come home,\nhe buried it under the water-pots' frame. On the following day, after\nhe had looked [he found that] having become thoroughly wetted by the\nwater it was cold. Having seen that, he got into his mind [the notion],\n\"Ada! The medical treatment is very good.\"\n\nWhen a little time had gone, one day the Gamarala's wife had a severe\nillness, having got fever. The Gama-gaeni said, \"Son, I have much\nfever. Having gone for medical advice and brought a little medicine,\ngive me it,\" she said.\n\nHe said, \"It is good,\" and speedily having cut a hole under the\nwater-pots' frame, and put the Gama-gaeni in the hole, he covered\nher with earth.\n\nAfterwards when he looked, the fever having thoroughly gone down\nshe had become cold like a plantain tree; and saying, \"Ada! Mother's\nfever is completely well,\" he went away.\n\n\n                                         Duraya. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn Indian Fables (Ramaswami Raju), p. 71, a variant of the last\nincident is given. A man with severe fever having cooled a red-hot\npoker in cold water, thought he could cool himself in the same way,\nso he sat in a tub of cold water, with a fatal result.\n\nIn Indian Nights' Entertainment, Panjab (Swynnerton), p. 83, a weaver\ngot a smith to make a sickle that would cut corn of itself. He\nlaid it beside the standing corn, which he ordered it to cut; but\non returning he found no work done, and the sickle ill with fever,\nthrough being in the sun. The smith to whom he applied for advice\nrecommended him to tie a string to it, and lower it into a well;\nthis cooled it. When his mother caught fever he treated her in the\nsame way until she died and became cold.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 63\n\nTHE JACKAL'S JUDGMENT\n\n\nAt a village there is a tank. A Crocodile, making a burrow in the\n[foot of the] embankment, stayed in it. Afterwards the mud having\ndried and become hard, the Crocodile being unable to get out of the\nhole was going to die.\n\nAs a man was going past to fetch a midwife-mother to attend to his\nwife, the Crocodile, hearing him, said to the man, \"Somehow or other\nmanage to save me by breaking up the earth so that I may get out.\" The\nman broke up the earth, and let it out.\n\nAfter that, as there was no water left in the tank, the man, placing\nthe Crocodile on his shoulder, went to the edge of the river. Having\ngone there, after he had placed it in the water, the Crocodile seized\nthe arm of that man in order to eat him.\n\n\"Why wilt thou eat me?\" he asked. \"Dost thou not know the help I gave\nthee? Yet thou art going to eat me!\"\n\nThe Crocodile said, \"It is true, indeed, regarding the assistance. It\nis because I am hungry that I am going to eat thee.\"\n\nThe man said, \"It is good. Eat thou me. There are my witnesses,\ntwo or three persons. First ask them [regarding the justice of it],\nand then eat me.\" So they went to ask the witnesses about it.\n\nHaving met with a Kumbuk tree, [121] he said to the Kumbuk tree,\n\"This Crocodile is going to eat me. I ask this one's opinion of it.\"\n\n\"What is that about?\"\n\nThe man said, \"This Crocodile was going to die. I saved it. It is\nnow going to eat me. Is that right?\"\n\nThen the Kumbuk tree says, \"O Crocodile-cultivator, do not let that\nman go. There is no animal so wicked as that man. He stays near the\ntree in the shade, and having broken off the bark and the leaves he\ntakes them away. At last he cuts down and takes the tree.\"\n\nFrom there he goes and asks it of the Cow. \"O Cow, I saved this\nCrocodile from death. This Crocodile is now going to eat me. Do you\nthink it right?\"\n\nThe Cow says, \"O Crocodile-cultivator, do not let that man go. That\nman is a wicked man. He takes our milk, and at last kills and eats\nus. Do not let him go.\"\n\nAfter that he asks it of the Jackal. The Jackal asks, \"What is\nit about?\"\n\nHe says to the Jackal, \"O Jackal-artificer, without letting this\nCrocodile die, I saved it. Now it is going to eat me.\"\n\nThe Jackal-artificer says, \"I cannot give this decision, not having\nseen what is the meaning of it. You must show me the whole affair\nfrom the beginning.\"\n\nThen the man, placing the Crocodile on his shoulder, and having gone\nwith it and put it in the house in which the Crocodile was at first,\n[and closed the entrance], and made the soil hard, the Jackal says,\n\"Now then, don't you be afraid. I am on your side.\"\n\nThen the man says, \"Jackal-artificer, hear this case.\"\n\n\"I am both the judge and the witness,\" the Jackal said. \"Now then,\ntaking a cudgel beat thou him until he dies. I saw thy excellence\nand this one's wickedness.\"\n\n\n                                         Duraya. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThis is one of the best-known of folk-tales. A Malay variant is given\nin Mr. W. Skeat's Fables and Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest,\np. 20. A tiger, being released from a cage-trap by a man, seized\nhim in order to eat him. When appealed to, the road and tree were\nagainst him. The Mouse-deer, which in Malaya fills the place of the\nclever animal in folk-tales, got the tiger to return to the cage,\nand called the neighbours to kill it.\n\nThe tiger story is given in Old Deccan Days (Frere), p. 198 ff.,\nand the appeal was made to a banyan tree, camel, bullock, eagle,\nand alligator [crocodile], which were against the man. The Jackal\nsettled it in his favour.\n\nIn Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 116--Tales of the\nPunjab, p. 107--the matter was referred to a pipal (or bo) tree,\na road, and the Jackal, who induced the tiger to re-enter the trap,\nand left him there.\n\nIn Indian Fairy Tales (Stokes), p. 16, the matter was not referred to\nothers, but the Jackal told the tiger a good way of eating the man,\nby getting inside a large bag and having him thrown in to it. When\nit was inside the bag, the Jackal, a dog who was present, and the\nman tied it up, and beat the tiger to death.\n\nThe Panchatantra (Dubois), as in several other instances, comes\nnearest to the Sinhalese story. A Brahmana carried a Crocodile in a\nsack from a stream to the Ganges, and was then seized by it. In reply\nto his appeal to the Crocodile's virtue and gratitude, he was told,\n\"The virtue and gratitude of our days is to devour those who nourish\nus and who do good to us.\" Reference was made to a mango tree, an old\ncow (both of which agreed with the Crocodile), and a Jackal, who,\nstating that he wished to get to the bottom of the matter, induced\nthe Crocodile to re-enter the sack, after which the Jackal broke his\nhead with a stone.\n\nIn Indian Nights' Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 134, a boy on his\nway to fetch his bride, killed a mungus that was attacking a snake,\nwhich then turned on him, to eat him, but gave him eight days' grace\nto get married. When he returned with his wife she remonstrated\nwith the snake, and was referred to some trees. One had preserved a\nthief in its hollow interior, but he found sandalwood there, and cut\nit down; and now it had become a rule to do evil for good. For the\nfuture widow's protection, the snake gave her magic powder capable of\nreducing to ashes whatever it fell on, so she applied it to the snake,\nand burnt it to dust.\n\nThe tale is found in West Africa also, in a form which is very\nclose to the South Indian and Sinhalese one. In Contes Soudanais\n(C. Monteil), p. 53, a child found a tired Crocodile, and carried\nit back to water. The Crocodile asked if he knew how goodness was\nrewarded. \"By evil,\" the child said. The Crocodile was going to eat\nhim, but referred the matter to an old horse and an old ass (both of\nwhich recommended it to do so), and lastly to a Hare, which refused\nto believe that the child could have carried it. When this was proved,\nand the Crocodile taken back, the Hare said to the child, \"Doesn't thy\nfather eat Crocodile?\" \"Yes.\" \"And thy mother?\" \"Yes.\" \"Hast thou not\nan axe?\" \"I have one,\" the child replied. \"Then break the Crocodile's\nhead and eat it,\" the Hare said. In many West African tales the Hare\nis the clever animal who outwits the others.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 64\n\nTHE HERON AND THE CRAB\n\n\nThere is a great big mountain. On the mountain there is a rock-hole\n[containing water]. In it there are some small fishes. At all other\nplaces a Heron [122] eats the small fishes. In this rock-hole the\nHeron cannot eat the small fishes; he goes along [in the air], above\nthe rock cave.\n\nOn account of it, the Heron puts on a false appearance. \"I am indeed\nan ascetic,\" he said. \"I do not kill living creatures,\" he said.\n\nThereupon the small fishes came for a talk. After they came he said,\n\"Being in this hole ye cannot go up and down,\" he said. \"Because it\nis so, I will take you and put you in a river possessing length and\nbreadth,\" he said.\n\nAfter that, having taken them one by one he ate them. At the time when\nhe was taking the Crab which remained over from them, the Crab took\nhold of the neck of the Heron. While on the way, when the Heron was\npreparing to kill the Crab, the Crab getting to know of it, cut the\nneck of the Heron with his claws and killed it.\n\n\n                                         Duraya. North-western Province.\n\n\n\n\nTHE POND HERON. (VARIANT.)\n\nAt the time of a great drought the water of a pool having nearly\ndried up, the fishes [123] saw that they were coming near dying. A\nPond Heron [124] which saw it, having very speedily come flying,\nspoke to the fishes: \"Friends, I will go and conduct you to a pool\nin which there is much water,\" he said. They were pleased at it.\n\nThe Pond Heron holding one by his bill, and having gone and put it\ndown at the pool in which there was water, again brought it near\nthose that were in the pool at which the water had dried up, and let\nit go. The fish which he brought informed them that there was a pool\nin which there was water, in the way the Heron said. All the fishes\nthat were in the dried-up pool became wishful to go.\n\nNow then, the Pond Heron having taken them one by one, leaving aside\nthe pool in which there was water, took them to a tree near it,\nand ate them. After not many days the fishes were finished; the Pond\nHeron ate all. Having eaten them, below the tree on which he put them\nthere was a heap of bones to the extent of a tree in height.\n\nAfterwards having seen that a Crab was in the dried-up pool, the Pond\nHeron spoke to it: \"Friend, you also come to be conducted there,\"\nhe said.\n\nThe Crab also spoke to the Pond Heron: \"Friend, my shell is very thin,\"\nhe said.\n\n\"I will take you carefully,\" the Pond Heron said. After he had said\nit the Crab became wishful to go.\n\nThe Pond Heron took hold of his shell, and the Crab took hold of the\nneck of the Pond Heron with his two claws. Having taken hold of him the\nPond Heron flew away. Having seen that, leaving the pool on this side,\nhe was flying to the tree, the Crab spoke to him. \"The pool is here,\"\nhe said.\n\n\"I am taking thee to eat,\" the Pond Heron said.\n\nAt that time having seized the two claws the Pond Heron killed him.\n\n\n                                      Washerman. North-western Province.\n\n\n\n\nTHE POND HERON. (VARIANT.)\n\nIn a certain country a Pond Heron stayed, it is said. At the time\nwhile the Pond Heron was there, seeking small fishes in the tanks,\na great general drought befel. On account of it all the tanks dried\nup. The Pond Heron ate all the small fishes that stayed in them.\n\nHaving eaten them, he remained hungry for two or three days, there\nbeing no more small fishes. Having been in that state, and having\nflown away to seek food, as he was going along he saw that a tank\nhaving dried up, small fishes were there, being unable to go elsewhere.\n\nThe Pond Heron having gone there, asked the small fishes, \"What,\nfriends, are you there for?\"\n\nThen the small fishes said, \"Ane! Friend, the little water that there\nwas for us having dried up, we are without water.\"\n\nAfter that, the Pond Heron said, \"If so, friends, there is a good\nriver for you. I will take you to it, and put you down there.\"\n\nThe little fishes said, \"It is good, friend. If so, take us and put\nus down there.\"\n\nThe Pond Heron said, \"If so, let one come [first, and see the river],\"\nand holding it with his bill he took it to the river, and put it down.\n\nThat small fish going in the water all round the river came near\nthe Pond Heron. Then the Pond Heron having said to the small fish,\n\"Let us go, friend,\" the small fish said, \"Friend, I cannot go.\"\n\nThe Pond Heron said, \"No, friend, let us go. Can you remain, without\ngoing? Your other people are to come.\"\n\nAfterwards the small fish said \"Ha.\" So the Pond Heron, taking the\nsmall fish with his bill, came flying back. Having come to a great\nrough tree, and settled on a branch of the tree, he ate the small fish.\n\nAgain he went flying to the place where the small fishes were. The\nsmall fishes asked, \"Friend, one of us went with you. Where is he?\"\n\nThe Pond Heron replied, \"Friends, he said he would not come. He stayed\nin the river.\"\n\nThen those small fishes said, \"If so, go with us, and put us down\nin it.\"\n\nAfter that, the Pond Heron, taking one of them, settled on the tree\nat which he ate that small fish, and ate it. Again he came to the\nplace where the other small fishes were. Then those small fishes said,\n\"Friend, take us also, and put us in the river.\"\n\nThe Pond Heron again having taken a small fish and settled on that\nvery tree, ate it. Thus, in that way having taken the small fishes\nuntil they were finished, he ate them all.\n\nHaving finished the small fishes, a Crab was omitted outside. The Pond\nHeron came and asked the Crab, \"What, friend, are you here alone for?\"\n\nThe Crab said, \"Ane! Friend, the small fishes of this tank went to\nthe quarters where they went. I alone remain.\"\n\nThen the Pond Heron said, \"Friend, shall I take you also to the river,\nand put you down in it?\" The Crab said \"Ha.\"\n\nAfterwards the Pond Heron, holding the Crab with his bill, took it\nand settled on the tree on which he ate the small fishes. While he\nwas there the Crab asked, \"What, friend, have you delayed here for?\"\n\nThen the Pond Heron said, \"It is here that I ate also the few small\nfishes that stayed in the tank. It is here I shall eat you also.\"\n\nAfterwards the Crab, having stiffened his claws a little, seized the\nneck of the Pond Heron. Then the Pond Heron with his bill tightened\nhis hold of the Crab. Thus, in that way holding each other, both of\nthem died, and fell on the ground below the tree.\n\n\n                                 Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThe Jataka story No. 38 (vol. i, p. 96), about a Crane and a Crab,\nnearly agrees with the second of these tales, but the ending is like\nthat of the first one, the Crab killing the Crane. It is also much\nmore artificial and developed in the conversations.\n\nIt is possible that the story related by the Duraya may represent a\nvery early form of the tale, or perhaps the original one. If the story\nwere derived from the Jataka tale, it is very improbable that in a\ncountry where ponds are more numerous than in any other, we should\nfind the pool of the Jataka, to which the fishes were to be taken,\ndisplaced in two of these by a river.\n\nThe story is given in Indian Fables (Ramaswami Raju), p. 88. A Crane\npretended to carry the fish to a pond, and was killed by a Crab.\n\nIn Skeat's Fables and Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest, p. 18,\nthe bird was a Pelican, which was killed by a Crab.\n\nIn the Panchatantra (Dubois), a Cormorant came to the fishes at a pool,\nand allayed their suspicions by putting on an appearance of piety and\nby alleging that he had become a religious devotee. He informed them\nthat he foresaw a twelve years' drought, in which the pools would\ndry up and they would perish, and he offered to transport them to a\nmountain pool fed by a perennial spring. They were eaten on a rock,\nand the Crab strangled the bird.\n\nIn the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. ii, p. 31, the animals were\na Crane and a Makara, which is said by the translator to generally\nmean a crocodile, though in early carvings in Ceylon and India it\nis a fabulous animal with two short legs and a tail usually curved\nupon its back. The bird frightened the fish by saying that a man was\ncoming to catch them with a net, and he offered to convey them to a\nlake. When the Makara was taken to the rock at which the others were\nkilled, he cut off the Crane's head.\n\nThis story nearly agrees with that in the Hitopadesa, in which a Crab\nkilled the bird.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 65\n\nTHE JACKAL AND THE BRAHMANA\n\n\nIn a certain city a Jackal according to custom was eating the fowls,\nit is said. Now, as the Jackal was there eating the fowls, by degrees\nhe finished all the fowls in that manner. There was still one fowl\nat the royal palace.\n\nSo this Jackal went to the royal palace to eat the fowl. After he\nhad come there the Jackal tried to catch it, and while he was there\nstriving to eat the fowl it became light. There being no means\nof going away because of the people, he sought a place in which\nto remain hidden. As he was seeking it, except that there was open\nground and no jungle, when he looked there was only a clump of weeds\nas a hiding place.\n\nWhile he was in it peeping out, a Brahmana comes near. This Jackal\nasked, \"You Brahmana! Where art thou going?\" he asked.\n\nThe Brahmana says, \"I am going in search of a livelihood.\"\n\nThe Jackal says, \"I will give thee a means of subsistence; carry me\nhere and there,\" he said.\n\nThen the Brahmana taking the Jackal slung him by his four legs. \"Dost\nthou carry me by the legs to some place to give a livelihood to\nthee?\" he said.\n\n\"If not, how shall I carry thee?\" the Brahmana asked.\n\nThen the Jackal says, \"Having placed me in thy upper garment take me\nup and go,\" he said. \"Look here! Take me and go thou along the road\nwhich leads to this jungle,\" he said. \"Having taken me and gone on\nit there will be a clump of wild dates. Do thou put me down near the\nclump of wild dates,\" he said.\n\nSo the Jackal came to the open ground in the bundle. Then the Jackal\ntold this Brahmana, after he had placed the bundle on the ground,\nto stay looking in the direction of the sun. Having remained looking\nin the direction of the sun, he told him to look in the direction\nof the clump of wild dates, and to take the kahawanas (coins) which\nwere placed in it. When he had looked in the direction of the clump\nof wild dates, the rays of the sun having entered his eyes a yellow\ncolour went into everything, and he thought he saw some money in it.\n\nSo the Brahmana crept into the clump of wild dates and passed his\nhand through it, and looked through it. Then because there were no\nkahawanas, he came out into the open ground.\n\nWhen he looked on the path there was no Jackal. Then the Brahmana\nsaid, \"There is neither the journey that I came for, nor the\nkahawanas. Ada! Ada!\" So he went away.\n\n\n                                         Duraya. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn this story we find one of the lowest castes of the Chandalas making\nfun of the highest caste of all, a mild revenge for their treatment\nby the latter. As part of the joke, the Jackal is represented as\naddressing the Brahmana in the manner in which the latter would have\nspoken to a Duraya, and as being carried about by him, thus turning\nthe tables completely, the chief duty of the Durayas being carrying\nloads for others.\n\n\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 113 (vol. i, p. 255) a Jackal having overslept\nhimself in some bushes in Benares, concealed himself until a Brahmana\ncame near. By promising him two hundred gold pieces he induced the\nman to carry him concealed under his robe until they reached the\ncremation ground. There he told him to dig up a tree in order to\nget the treasure, and then ran off while the man was occupied with\nthe work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 66\n\nTHE CAT WHO GUARDED THE PRECEPTS\n\n\nA Cat having seen that a sun-dried fish was in a bag of rice, at\nthe time when he was going to it to eat it, a rosary [hanging there]\nfell on his neck.\n\nAfter it had fallen, as he was going away with it on his neck a\nJungle-hen met him, and ran off. The Cat then says, \"I am guarding\n(that is, keeping) the Precepts (of Buddha, sil rakinawa). Tummal\nKitti, [125] come here and go with me.\"\n\nWhile he was taking her with him they met with a Ground Cuckoo. He\ncalled this one: \"'Bug-bug'-singing Kaccale, [126] I am guarding the\nPrecepts. Come here and go with me.\"\n\nAs they were going they met with a Hare. He called him also: \"Tokka\n[127] the Devil-dancer, come here and go with me. I am guarding\nthe Precepts.\"\n\nHaving gone to a rock cave [as a pansala or monk's residence], while\nthey were there the Cat said, \"Tokka the Devil-dancer, Tummal Kitti\nhaving scratched [the ground] in the pansala has defiled it. I must\nkill this one,\" he said.\n\nWhen the Hare said, \"It is good,\" he killed her.\n\nAfter the Cat had said, \"It is not a fault to eat a dead one, is\nit?\" when the Hare replied, \"No, there is not any fault in it,\"\nhe ate her.\n\nAfterwards the Cat said, \"Tokka the Devil-dancer, this\n'Bug-bug'-singing Kaccale has been drinking arrack (palm spirit)\nuntil his eyes have become red.\" When he said, \"I must kill this one,\"\nhe killed it. Then saying, \"There is no fault in eating a dead one,\"\nhe ate it.\n\nThen he said, \"Tokka the Devil-dancer, thou having dropped dung\nin the pansala art defiling it.\" When he said, \"I must kill thee,\"\nthe Hare said, \"Yes, killing me is virtuous and proper. I must first\nperform a great gallop [128] and a little gallop, two gallops. [129]\nAfter that there will be no fault if you kill me,\" he said.\n\n\"Yes, perform them,\" the Cat said.\n\nThen the Hare having run round [the cave], \"There! The small gallop,\"\nhe said. Again having gone running round, and [then] having jumped\nover the Cat's head, while he was running away he said, \"There! The\ngreat gallop,\" and ran off.\n\n\n                                         Duraya. North-western Province.\n\n\n\n\nHOW THE CAT BECAME AN UPASAKA. [130] (VARIANT.)\n\nAt a certain time, at the house of a Gamarala, milk having been\ntaken and placed on the shelf by him [to curdle], the Gamarala went\nto the chena.\n\nThere is a Cat at the house. The Cat having looked [to see] when\nthe Gamarala was not there, went to the shelf to eat the curds by\nstealth. Having gone there and eaten them by stealth, as he was\ncoming away the Gamarala came home from the chena, and the Cat,\nbecoming afraid, sprang down.\n\nThe Gamarala's rosary was hanging on the shelf. As the Cat deceitfully\nwas springing down, the rosary fell on the Cat's neck. Then while the\nrosary was on its neck it goes away. Why? Should the Gamarala get to\nknow about its eating the curds he would thrash it inordinately.\n\nWell then, as it was going it met with a Rat. The Rat [seeing the\nrosary] asked the Cat, \"Upasakarala, [131] where are you going?\"\n\n\"I am going to guard the Precepts,\" he said. \"You also come and go\nalong with me,\" he said.\n\nAt the time when the two were going they met with the Squirrel called\nthe Three-lined Chief. [132] \"Upasakarala, where are you going?\" he\nasked.\n\n\"We are going to guard the Precepts. You also come and go with us,\"\nhe said. The Squirrel having said, \"Ha. I will come,\" the three went\nalong [together].\n\nAs they were going they met with the Ground Cuckoo called Bum-bum\nthe Tom-tom Beater. \"Where, Upasakarala, are you going?\" he asked.\n\n\"We are going to guard the Precepts. You also come,\" he said.\n\nThe Ground Cuckoo having said, \"Ha. If so, I also will come,\" the\nfour went together.\n\nAt the time when they were going they met with the Hare called Tokkan\nthe Devil-dancer. \"Upasakaralas, where are you going?\" he asked.\n\n\"We are going to guard the Precepts. You also come and go with us,\"\nhe said.\n\nWell then, the five went to the jungle. Having gone on and on, there\nwas a rock cave. Having said, \"Look there! Our pansala,\" he told\nthe people to creep inside. \"In order that I may go and rehearse the\nPrecepts, let no single other person besides cause any disturbance,\"\nhe said.\n\nThen the Rat, being hungry during the night, was wriggling about. So\nthe Upasaka Cat said, \"Ade! While Bum-bum the Tom-tom Beater stays\nthere quietly, while the Three-lined Chief stays there [quietly],\nwhile Tokkan the Devil-dancer stays there [quietly], this one does\nnot take [to heart] the things that were said. Being on guard over\nit I must put it out of the way.\" [133] Saying this, he ate the Rat.\n\nAt the daybreak watch the Ground Cuckoo crowed [as usual]. After it\nhad crowed, the Cat said, \"While the Three-lined Chief stays there\n[quietly], while Tokkan the Devil-dancer stays there [quietly],\nbecause this one is making noises, and as I am on guard over it,\nI must put it out of the way,\" and seizing that one also he ate it.\n\nAs it became light in the morning, at the time when the Squirrels\nwere singing, \"Tin-Tin,\" the Three-lined Chief also sang, \"Tin-Tin.\"\n\nThen the Cat said, \"While Tokkan the Devil-dancer stays there quietly,\nand I stay here [quietly], this one having said it through arrogance,\nand as I am on guard over it, I must put it out of the way.\" Having\nsaid this he ate that one also.\n\nNow then, the Hare called Tokkan the Devil-dancer ascertaining that\nhe was eating it, began to cry in the morning.\n\n\"What, Tokkan the Devil-dancer, are you crying for?\" he asked.\n\n\"I know thoroughly how to dance dances. Because there is no one to\nlook at the dances I was sorry,\" he said.\n\nAfter he had said, \"If so, dance a little for me to look at it,\"\nthe Hare said, \"Upasakarala, open the doorway so that a little light\nmay fall into the cave. Having seen my dance you must eat me also,\"\nthe Hare said.\n\nWhen he moved from the door, out of the way, for a little light to\nfall inside, the Hare, having jumped to the four corners of the cave,\nspringing over the head of the Cat went away.\n\n\n                P. B. Madahapola, Ratemahatmaya. North-western Province.\n\n\n\n\nHOW THE CAT PERFORMED BELL WORSHIP. (VARIANT.)\n\nIn a certain country a man reared a Cat, it is said. The Cat every day\ngoes to eat by stealth in the villages. On account of it the man one\nday caught the Cat, and having tied a hawk's bell [134] on its neck,\nlet it go.\n\nAfter that, the Cat, without going that day into the village, went\naway along the path. As it was going along it met with a Rat. The\nRat asked the Cat, \"Where, O Cat-Lord, are you going?\"\n\nThen the Cat said, \"I am going for Bell Worship.\"\n\nThe Rat asked, \"Shall I come too?\"\n\nThe Cat said, \"It is good.\"\n\nThe Rat also having set off, as the two were going away they met\nwith a Squirrel. The Squirrel asked the Cat, \"Where, O Cat-Lord,\nare you going?\"\n\nThen the Cat said, \"I am going for Bell Worship.\"\n\nThe Squirrel asked, \"Shall I come too?\"\n\nAfter that, the Cat said, \"It is good.\"\n\nNow then, the Squirrel having set off, as the three were going away\nthey met with a Jungle-cock. The Jungle-cock asked the Cat, \"Where,\nO Cat-Lord, are you going?\"\n\nThen the Cat said, \"I am going for Bell Worship.\"\n\nThe Jungle-cock said, \"I shall come too.\"\n\nTo that the Cat said, \"It is good.\"\n\nThe Jungle-cock having set off, the four persons went to a great rock\ncave in the jungle. Having made those three remain in the direction\nof the corner, the Cat stayed at the doorway.\n\nAfter being there [a short time], the Cat first of all said to the Rat,\n\"O Rat, [135] I am hungry.\"\n\nThen the Rat said, \"Let it be according to the wish of the\nCat-Lord.\" After that, the Cat, seizing the Rat, ate it.\n\nIn a little more time the Cat said to the Squirrel, \"O Squirrel,\n[136] I am hungry.\"\n\nAt that time the Squirrel also said, \"Let it be according to the wish\nof the Cat-Lord.\"\n\nSo the Cat having seized the Squirrel also, ate it.\n\nIn a little more time the Cat said to the Jungle-cock, \"O Jungle-cock,\n[137] I am hungry.\"\n\nAt that time the Jungle-cock said falsely, \"Let it be according to\nthe wish of the Cat-Lord.\"\n\nAfterwards, when the Cat was approaching very near the Jungle-cock,\nhaving sprung at the Cat's face and with his spurs having plucked out\nboth his eyes, the Jungle-cock flew away. The Cat there and then died.\n\n\n                              Cultivating Caste. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThe Precepts of Buddha to which reference is made in the first two\nstories, are the Ata-sil, or Eight Precepts, the keeping of which\nby lay devotees, called Upasakas, is a necessary obligation. The\nfirst one prohibits the taking of life. The others are against\ntheft, immorality, lying, drinking intoxicants, eating after noon,\nattendance at theatrical amusements, dancing, singing, etc., and\npersonal adornment.\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 128 (vol. i, p. 281) there is an account of\na Jackal who pretended to lead a saintly life, standing on one leg\nbecause the earth could not support his weight if he stood on all four,\nhe said. He ate the rats which came to pay their respects to him,\nalways seizing the hindmost as they left. The King of the Rats waited\ntill the others had gone, and then sprang at the Jackal's throat and\nkilled him. The next story, No. 129, is similar.\n\nIn No. 384 (vol. iii, p. 170) a Crow pretended to be a saint, and\nalso stood on one leg for the same reason, saying that it fed only\non wind. When the other birds left it in charge of their young ones\nit ate them. At last it was killed by the other birds.\n\nIn the Maha Bharata (Udyoga Parva) a Cat which pretended to be an\nascetic killed the mice that placed themselves under its protection.\n\nIn the Hitopadesa a Cat which gained the confidence of the birds by\nits pious demeanour ate their young ones.\n\nIn the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. ii, p. 67, a pious Cat killed\na hare and a bird.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 67\n\nTHE LIZARD AND THE LEOPARD\n\n\nAt a village there are a Leopard and a Lizard. [138] The Lizard and\nLeopard cut a chena, it is said. Afterwards both having quarrelled\nthey divided the chena between them. In the part which the Lizard got\nhe planted Kaekiri creepers, which became large; in the part which\nthe Leopard got the Kaekiri died, and he abandoned it.\n\nThen the Leopard ate the Kaekiri fruit in the Lizard's chena, and\nafter eating rubbed himself on his hams over the fruits that were on\nthe ground. So the Lizard gave some Kaekiri fruits to the smith, and\nhaving got a small knife made took it away. After getting it made, the\nLizard ran it through some plucked Kaekiri fruits [and left it there].\n\nAfterwards the Leopard came to eat Kaekiri. Having eaten, he rubbed\nhimself on the plucked Kaekiri fruits. Then the knife pierced him. Over\nthis matter the Leopard and Lizard quarrelled. Afterwards the Leopard,\nhaving eaten cattle flesh, became strong again.\n\nOne day the Leopard told the Lizard that the Gamarala had a chena. The\nLizard said, \"Ade! Where is it? Let me look at it.\" Having gone with\nhim to it, the Leopard shows him the fruits and says, \"Ade! Lizard,\neat thou there. Lizard, eat thou here.\" The Gamarala having heard it\nand having gone home, began to laugh. The Gama-Mahage (his wife) asked,\n\"What are you laughing at?\" The Gamarala said, \"A Leopard sitting\nin the chena was saying and saying to a Lizard, 'Eat thou there,\nLizard. Eat thou here, Lizard.'\"\n\nAfterwards, when the Lizard was in the chena the Leopard goes to the\nhouse of the Gamarala and says, \"Gamarala, see! The Lizard is eating\nthy chena.\" Then the Gamarala scolded him and said, \"I heard thee\ntelling the Lizard, 'Eat thou there, Lizard. Eat thou here, Lizard.'\"\n\nThen the Leopard went to the Lizard, and said, \"Friend, take thou my\npiece of chena, and give me thy piece of chena.\" Because the Lizard\nwas afraid he said, \"It is good,\" and they exchanged chenas. The\nLizard planted the abandoned piece in a thorough manner. The Leopard\nate the fruits in the part which he got, until they were finished.\n\nAfter that, the Leopard went to the Lizard again, and said, \"Friend,\nlet us exchange chenas again.\" The Lizard felt anger which he could\nnot bear, but because he was afraid he said again, \"It is good,\"\nto that also.\n\nAfterwards, the Lizard went to a man, and asked him to tell him a way\nof succeeding, so as to fight the Leopard. The man said, \"When he asks\nyou again, say you will not. The Leopard will come and quarrel with\nyou. Then say, 'We cannot fight in that manner. You go, and after\nasking your mother about a means of success, return. I will go, and\nafter asking my mother about a means of success, will return.' Having\nsaid it and come away, and having rolled in the mud and dried it,\nand again rolled in the mud and dried it, by rolling in the mud and\ndoing thus you will become big. After that go to fight. The Leopard's\nclaws will not enter your body.\" All this the man told the Lizard.\n\nAfterwards, one day the Leopard said, \"Let us exchange chenas.\" The\nLizard told him as the man said. When the Leopard went to his mother\nshe told him to rub coconut oil over his body.\n\nThe Lizard having gone to a mud hole, jumps into it, and climbs onto\na post to dry the mud. Again it jumps into the mud and climbs onto\nthe post. Thus, having acted in that manner he caused much mud to be\nsmeared on his body.\n\nAfter that, having met each other, the Leopard and Lizard quarrelled\nagain, and struck each other on the face. Then the Lizard springs on\nthe Leopard's back and scratches his flesh. The Leopard jumps about,\nbut only scratches mud off the Lizard.\n\nHaving fought in that way, the Leopard, becoming afraid, went\naway. The Lizard went and washed off the mud. The Leopard having gone\nand crawled under the corn store at a house, while sitting there says,\n\"Bite thou me here, too, Lizard. Bite thou me here, too, Lizard.\" [139]\nWhile he was there saying it he saw a boy [near him]. Then the Leopard\nsays, \"Ade! Do not tell any one, or I will kill thee.\" Because of it,\nthe boy being afraid did not tell any one.\n\nAfterwards the Leopard, thinking, \"The boy will tell it,\" came while\nthe boy [140] was asleep on the bed [in the veranda], and having\ncrept under the bed, lifted it on his back and went off with it,\nin order to eat him. When the boy awoke and saw that the Leopard\nwas going along carrying him, he caught hold of a branch and hung by\nit. After the Leopard, having gone a long distance, looked back the\nboy was not there.\n\nThen the Leopard came running back to seek him. Having seen that the\nboy was on a branch, the Leopard asked, \"Art thou descending to the\nground, boy? I shall eat thee.\"\n\nThe boy said, \"Ade! Bola, art thou saying Bana? [141] I have no means\nof stretching out my hands to descend,\" he said.\n\n\"What is in thy hands?\" he asked.\n\n\"In this hand I have small Lizard's eggs; in this other hand I have\nlarge Lizard's eggs,\" he said. \"A sort of Lizards as big as Talipat\ntrunks and Coconut trunks will be coming.\"\n\nThen the Leopard, saying, \"Stay thou there, boy, until I have run a\nlittle far,\" bounded off and ran away.\n\n\n                                         Duraya. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn The Orientalist, vol. i, p. 117 ff., the latter part of this\ntale was given by Miss J. A. Goonetilleke, containing the fight of\nthe animals and the incidents that follow it. The animals were a\n\"Bloodsucker\" Lizard and a \"tiger,\" a word often used in Ceylon where\n\"leopard\" is intended to be understood. There are no tigers in Ceylon.\n\nAn incident like that in the chena, in which the knife wounded the\nLeopard, is found in Old Deccan Days (Frere), p. 177. In it a barber\ntied a knife to a cucumber, and it wounded a Jackal who began to eat\nthe fruit.\n\nIn Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 240--Tales of the Punjab,\np. 227--a woman who was being carried off by robbers while on her bed,\nseized a branch and climbed up a tree when they paused under a Banyan\ntree. The same incident is given in The Orientalist, vol. i, p. 40.\n\nWith regard to the fear of the lizard which the leopard is described\nin the Sinhalese story as exhibiting, I am able to state that it is\nnot much exaggerated. Many years ago, on returning to my bungalow one\nday, at a tank in a wild part of the jungle, I found that a lizard of\nthe species mentioned in this tale--a Katussa or \"Bloodsucker\"--had\nentered my bedroom. I brought up a tame, full-grown leopard which\nI then had, and introduced it to the lizard, as a new experience for\nit. At first it was inclined to play with the lizard, but on pretending\nto seize it with its mouth it felt the spikes on the lizard's back,\nand immediately showed the greatest fear of it. The attempts which\nit made to escape when the lizard came in its direction were quite\nridiculous, and it became so terrified that I was obliged to take it\naway to the security of its den, a large packing-case under a tree\nto which it was tethered, leaving the lizard the complete master of\nthe situation, though probably nearly equally alarmed.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 68\n\nTHE LION AND THE JACKAL\n\n\nWhile an old Lion was in a rock cave, after a Jackal went there the\nLion says, \"Ane! Bola, I have been thinking of eating fresh pig's\nflesh.\" When he said, \"When I ran and sprang at some Boars now I\ncouldn't catch one,\" the Jackal said, \"If it come near this cave\ncan't you seize it, Sir?\"\n\n\"In that way I can still do it. But will a Boar come near me? The\nthing you are saying would be a wonder.\"\n\nThe Jackal says, \"Somehow or other I will bring a Boar.\"\n\nThe jackal having walked about in the jungle, and having seen a Boar,\nsays, \"How many days have I now been seeking thee!\" After he had said,\n\"Why should I be of assistance to thee?\" the Boar says, \"Uwah! Why\nis there so much need of it by me? Thou wilt not be of any assistance\nto me.\"\n\nThe Jackal said, \"Our King is there, having now become old. Is it\ntrue or not, Cultivator, that as he told me to seek a person to give\nthe sovereignty to, I have been going about seeking thee? If not,\nam I telling lies? Come along and go there with me.\"\n\nHaving gone near the Lion, taking him with him, the Jackal says,\n\"Now then, having gone near the King and made obeisance, take the\nsovereignty.\" As the Boar was approaching in great fear the Lion\nsprang at him. After he had seized him, the Boar, pushing off his paws,\nbounded away.\n\nThen the Jackal says, \"Did a thunderbolt strike you, Sir? Why didn't\nyou hold the Boar?\"\n\nThe Lion says, \"Ane! Bola, did I fail? Are you saying it falsely? When\nwill such a Boar come near me again?\"\n\nAs the King was sorrowful the Jackal says, \"Are you mad, Sir, that\nyou doubt my powers? I will bring that one again now.\"\n\nThe Jackal having gone on the path on which the Boar went, and\nhaving seen the Boar says, \"What is the matter with thee? Ade! Did\na thunderbolt strike thee, that thou camest bounding away?\"\n\nThe Boar says, \"What did I come away for? Truly, I was running away. If\nI had stayed there it would be seen why!\"\n\nThen the Jackal says, \"If thou hadst stopped he wouldn't eat thee. Art\nthou a person afraid to have the sovereignty bestowed on thee? What\nwas it? Except that he merely looked at thee he did not attempt to\neat thee, Cultivator. If he had done so wouldst thou be thus? [142]\nNo. Did he attempt the crime of eating thee?\" [At last the Boar agreed\nto return to the Lion.]\n\nAfterwards, when they went near the Lion together, the Jackal\nsays, \"Friend, go without fear, and tell him to hand over the\nsovereignty.\" In that manner the Boar went near the Lion.\n\nHaving sprung with great force on the neck of the Boar, and broken\nthe neck, and broken the bone of the head, as he was going to eat\nthe brains the Jackal said, \"Don't.\"\n\nWhen the Lion asked, \"Why not, Bola?\" the Jackal says, \"Though you,\nSir, exercise the sovereignty your wisdom is less than ours. Do kings\neat and drink in that manner?\" After he had said, \"Blood has fallen\non your body, Sir. Having gone to the river, bathing and drying your\nbody there, and having returned, be good enough to eat sitting down,\"\nthe Lion went to bathe.\n\nAfter he had caused him to go, the Jackal ate the Boar's brains,\nand remained there silently. The Lion having come back, and taken the\nskull in his paws, sought for the brain in order to eat it. When he\nsaid, \"There is no brain,\" the Jackal said, \"Sir, don't you know so\nmuch? Having once escaped death and gone away, would he again be caught\nfor killing if he had had brains? That one had no brains,\" he said.\n\n\n                                         Duraya. North-western Province.\n\n\n\n\nHOW THE JACKAL CHEATED THE LION. (VARIANT.)\n\nIn a more ancient time than this, a Lion King dwelt in a certain\nforest. A Jackal who lived in that very forest, establishing a friendly\nstate with the Lion began to reside near him. Should I state the mutual\ntrust of them both [it was this]--the Lion knew that although by the\naid of the Jackal's means of success (that is, advice and stratagems),\nthe Lion was seizing and eating the flesh of other animals, he did\nnot get from the Jackal any other assistance that ought to be given.\n\nWhen a little time had passed in that way, it was evident that the\nJackal's body was becoming very fat. The Lion saw it, and assuming\na false illness remained lying down at the time when the Jackal\ncame. Having seen it, the Jackal made obeisance to the Lion, and asked,\n\"What, O Lord, are you lying down for? Has some ailment befallen Your\nMajesty? Are you not going to hunt to-day?\"\n\nThen the Lion said, \"My friend Jackal, a headache having afflicted me\nto-day, I am in a very serious state. From this time onward, having\nhunted, and eaten only the small amount of the brains of the animals,\nI will give thee all the rest of the flesh. Do thou subsist on it. For\nthe reason that I am not well enough to go to hunt this day, thou\nand I, both of us, must remain hungry. Art thou unable to go hunting\n[alone] this day only?\" he asked.\n\nThereupon the Jackal said to the Lion, \"O Lord, is that which should\nbe done a difficult thing? Your Majesty will stay thus. I will go,\nand will return calling some animal or other [to come] near Your\nMajesty.\" Having instructed him to spring up and seize it as soon as\nit comes, the Jackal went to seek animals.\n\nWhile going for this purpose [it saw that] a Goat was tied in a\nfield. Having told many falsehoods to the Goat it returned, inviting it\n[to come] near the Lion. Then the Lion sprang to seize it. Thereupon\nthe Goat, having become afraid, ran away. The Jackal went [after it],\nand causing it to turn back again, returned [with it].\n\nThen the Lion, having killed the Goat, went to bathe in order [to\npurify himself, so as] to eat the small quantity of brains. In the\nmeantime the Jackal removed the brains, and having eaten them replaced\nthe skin.\n\nThe Lion having returned after bathing, when he came to split open the\nskin in order to eat the brains, saw that there were no brains. Having\nseen it, the Lion asked the Jackal, \"Where are my brains?\"\n\nThereupon the Jackal said, \"O Lord, if this one had any brains would\nit have come twice near Your Majesty? It came twice because it had\nno brains.\" So saying the Jackal ate the small quantity of flesh also.\n\n\n                                                       Western Province.\n\n\n\nImprobable as the notion appears that an animal, other than insects or\nfishes, would return into the same danger shortly after escaping from\nit, one instance of this has come under the observation of myself and\na friend, with whose approval I insert this account of the occurrence.\n\nAs Mr. H. E. H. Hayes, late of the Public Works Department, Ceylon,\nwas walking one day near the water, at the embankment of the Vilankulam\ntank in the Northern Province, a crocodile made its appearance suddenly\nin the water near him, apparently attracted by his young terrier. He\nfired a charge of snipe shot at its head, and it disappeared.\n\nHe and I went to the spot on the following day. I remained on the\nlook-out on the top of the bank, while he was partly hidden behind a\ntree nearer the water. There he tweaked or pinched the dog so as to\nmake it yelp a little. Then we observed a crocodile's head raised\namong some weeds far out in the tank. Not many minutes afterwards\nthe crocodile's head appeared out of the water only a few feet away\nfrom the dog. Mr. Hayes at once shot it with his rifle; and when he\nrecovered it found the shot marks of the previous day in its head.\n\nIn this case it might almost be said with truth that the animal had no\nbrains, since the brain of an ordinary tank crocodile is only about the\nsize of a large walnut. When I split the skull of one, the men who were\nwith me could not find the brain cavity, and thought it had no brains.\n\nIn Indian Nights' Entertainment, Panjab (Swynnerton), p. 268, a Tiger\nwith a broken leg takes the place of the Lion, and a Jackal brought\nan Ass to eat what he represented to be the superior grass at the\nplace. After the Tiger had killed it and eaten part of it, he crawled\nto a spring for a drink, and in his absence the Jackal ate the heart\n(which the Tiger wanted itself), and gave the same explanation of\nits absence. The author added a note, \"the heart among the Punjabis\nbeing the seat of reason.\"\n\nIn the Panchatantra (Dubois), an Ass was brought to a sick Lion King\nin order that he might eat the heart and ears, as a remedy for his\nillness. When he was brought back the second time by a Jackal, the\nLion killed him and ate the heart and ears.\n\nIn the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), p. 85, there is a similar\nstory, except that after killing the Ass the Lion went to bathe,\nand the Jackal then ate the heart and ears. He told the Lion that\n\"the creature never possessed ears or a heart, otherwise how could\nhe have returned when he had once escaped?\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORIES OF THE RODIYAS\n\n\nNO. 69\n\nTHE ROLL OF COTTON\n\n\nIn a certain country there is a city. In the city there are two\npersons, an elder sister and a younger sister. There are two female\nchildren of the two persons.\n\nThe younger sister took to spinning cotton. At that time her daughter\nalso came there. A roll of cotton was driven away in the wind out of\nthe daughter's hand. Then her mother beat the daughter. \"Wherever it\nshould go do thou bring back the roll of cotton,\" she said. This girl,\nweeping and weeping, follows the roll of cotton.\n\nShe came to a betel plot which a lame man had made. To this girl who\nwas following the roll of cotton the lame man says, \"Ane! Pour water\non this betel plot and go, please,\" he said. Afterwards, having poured\nit she went on. \"The betel has been plucked,\" she said.\n\nAs she was going [she came to a place where] a dog was\ntied. \"Ane! Younger sister, tie me in the shade and go, please,\"\nhe said. \"While you are going home to-morrow there will be a haunch\nof a bull tied up [for you],\" he said. So having tied the dog in the\nshade she went on.\n\nThen the roll of cotton having gone on, stopped in a cane-brake. At\nthat time a King came there. That girl was tying hooked sticks in\norder to get the roll of cotton. So the King said, \"I will bring the\nroll of cotton. Go thou to the royal palace and cook,\" he said.\n\nThe girl went and cooked. The King got the roll of cotton. The King\nhaving gone, gave the roll of cotton to the girl.\n\nAfter he had given it, both of them ate the cooked rice. After they\nhad eaten it the King called the girl to the house. Having called\nher, he said to the girl, \"Please take from these boxes any box thou\nwantest,\" he said.\n\nThen the girl, having looked at them, took a small sandalwood box.\n\nAfterwards the King said, \"This will provide a livelihood for the\npersons who are rearing thee, also,\" he said.\n\nTaking the box, she came near the dog that was tied up. There the dog\nhad tied up the haunch of a bull. Having taken the haunch of the bull\nfrom there, she came near the lame man. Having got betel from there,\nshe came near her mother at the girl's house.\n\nHaving come there she opened that box. Having opened it, after she\nlooked [in it she found that] the box was full of silver and gold;\nthe box had been filled. Then that other elder sister and the elder\nsister's daughter saw these articles [and heard how the girl obtained\nthem].\n\nOn the following day that mother and daughter took to spinning\ncotton. Afterwards, from the mother's hand by force a roll of cotton\nwas carried away [by the wind]; having been carried away she beat the\ndaughter, and told her to bring the roll of cotton. So this daughter,\nweeping and weeping, goes after the roll of cotton.\n\nShe goes near the lame man who is making the betel plot. Then the\nlame man said, \"Please pour water [on these plants].\" Having said,\n\"I will not,\" she went by the place where the dog was. The dog said,\n\"Ane! Elder sister, tie me in the shade and go. As you go [home]\nI will place a haunch of a bull for you,\" he said. Having said she\nwould not she went away.\n\nThe roll of cotton having gone into the very cane-brake, that also\nstopped there. Then this girl was tying hooked sticks in order to\nget the roll of cotton. Then the King [came there, and] said, \"I will\nbring the roll of cotton. Go thou to the palace and cook,\" he said.\n\nThe girl having gone, without any deficiency cooked rice and\nvegetables. The King having taken the roll of cotton [there], both\nof them went to eat the rice. Having gone and looked [at it in order]\nto eat it, they could not eat it; it had the taste of water.\n\nHaving called the girl he said, \"From these please take for thyself\nany box thou wantest,\" he said.\n\nThis one having searched and searched, took in her arms a great\nchest. Afterwards the King said, \"Go thou; please open the box at\nthe place where thy mother and father are,\" he said.\n\nThe girl, after it became night, having summoned every one,\n[143] opened the box. All [the things] in the box were cobras and\npolangas. The cobras and polangas having bitten the people of the\nvillage, destroyed them. They made all the village desolate.\n\n\n                                         Rodiya. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 178--Folk Tales of the\nPunjab, p. 167--there is an account of the good luck of a kind girl\nand the bad luck of an unkind girl, but the incidents are unlike\nthose of the Sinhalese story.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 70\n\nTHE JACKAL AND THE LEOPARD\n\n\nIn a certain country there is a Gamarala. There is a goat-fold of the\nGamarala's. At that goat-fold one by one the goats are disappearing\nduring the night. Afterwards the Gamarala having gone there [to watch\nfor the thief] went to sleep. In the hand of the Gamarala there was\na lump of salt chillies.\n\nAfterwards the Leopard came at night. The Leopard lifting each goat\nlooks at it. Having looked, afterwards having lifted up the Gamarala\n[and found he was the heaviest] he took him. Carrying him away he took\nhim to his rock cave. Then the Gamarala quickly [entered it, and] shut\nthe door. The Leopard then was trying to go into the cave. Having heard\nthe uproar the Jackal Panditaya came. \"What is this, Sapu-flowers'\nMinister, you are doing?\" he asked.\n\n\"In other years I brought goats [and ate them without trouble]. That\none having entered the cave has shut the door.\"\n\n\"You, Sir, having put your tail inside the cave be pleased to wave it,\"\nhe said; the Jackal Panditaya said. \"Do not catch hold of the tail,\"\nhe said [to the Gamarala]. \"Otherwise, having put thy foot against the\nwall, and having folded it two-fold or three-fold, hold it [fast],\"\nhe said. \"Do not jam a little of the golden salt chillies under the\ntail of the Sapu-flowers' Minister,\" he said.\n\nThen the Gamarala having seized the tail jammed in the salt\nchillies. Afterwards the Sapu-flowers' Minister pulling out his tail\nbounded away. Having bounded off and gone, he sat down on a flat\nrock. Afterwards the Jackal Panditaya asked, \"What are you on that\nflat rock for?\"\n\n\"I am looking if this country is fruitful or unfruitful,\" [144]\nhe said.\n\nAgain, the Gamarala, saving his life, went to the village. The Jackal\nPanditaya went to the Gamarala. \"What is it, Gamarala? Couldn't you\nkill him?\"\n\n\"While he was outside how could I, sitting in the cave, kill him?\"\n\n\"I will tell you a trick for that one,\" the Jackal Panditaya\nsaid. Afterwards he said, \"You must make a trap for that one,\" he said.\n\n\"Where shall I make the trap?\" [the Gamarala] asked.\n\n\"At the fence of the goat-fold,\" he said.\n\nAfterwards he made the trap. The Sapu-flowers' Minister was noosed\nin the trap. On the following day the Gamarala came to look. Having\ncome before the Gamarala, also the Jackal Panditaya came near the\ntrap. \"Gamarala, to-day indeed he has been hanged,\" he said.\n\n\n    Etana metana to gasanne\n    Kambul baeta dipanne\n    Kanda sewanata aedapanne\n\n    \"Strike thou there and here a blow;\n    Knocks upon the cheeks bestow;\n    Drag him to the hill's shadow,\"\n\n\nthe Jackal Panditaya said.\n\n\n    Hampottayi to ganne\n    Malu tika mata denne.\n\n\nThen he said--\n\n\n    \"'Tis the skin will be for thee,\n    The little flesh thou'lt give to me.\"\n\n\n                                         Rodiya. North-western Province.\n\n\nPart of this story was given in The Orientalist, vol. iv, p. 30. A\nJackal that had followed a Leopard which was trying to get at a man\nwho had taken refuge in a corn store, advised it to insert its tail\nthrough a gap in the doorway, and wave it about. When it did so,\nthe Jackal said in the Peraelibasa, [145] which the Leopard did not\nunderstand, Katu anuwe potun detak, which when transposed becomes\natu kanuwe detun potak, \"Two or three twists round the pillar of the\ncorn store.\" The man acted as advised, and held the tail fast. When\nsome men came up they killed the Leopard.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 71\n\nHOW THE BOARS KILLED THE RAKSHASA\n\n\nThere is a certain city. There is a very great jungle belonging to\nthe city. A wild Sow stays in the jungle. The Sow having come to a\nhouse on the high ground, and pains having come to her, gave birth\nto a little Boar. The men of the house having seen the little Boar,\ncatching it and amply giving it to eat, reared it.\n\n[After he had grown up], one day that village Boar says, \"I cannot\nremain thus.\" Having thought, \"I must go to a great jungle,\" he\nwent away.\n\nAfter that, having gone to the jungle, while he was there a Rakshasa\nhaving come to that jungle was eating the large Boars. Afterwards the\nvillage Boar said [to the others], \"I will tell you a good trick,\"\nhe said.\n\n\"What is it?\" the other large Boars in the jungle asked.\n\n\"Please dig two very large wells. At the bottom make the two wells\none,\" [146] he said. \"The large village Boar will be [on the ground]\nin the middle of the two wells,\" he said. He told the other large\nBoars to be round the well.\n\nThe Rakshasa every day comes to a rock. The large village Boar asks\nthe other large Boars, \"This Rakshasa having come, what will you do\nas he comes?\"\n\nThe other Boars say, \"This Rakshasa having come makes grimaces at us.\"\n\n\"Then ye also make grimaces,\" he said.\n\n\"Again, he inflates his sides at us.\"\n\n\"Do ye also inflate your sides,\" he said.\n\n\"He makes a very great roar.\"\n\n\"Do ye also at that time roar all together,\" he said.\n\nOn the following day the Rakshasa having come, and having looked\nin the direction of the Boars, made grimaces, inflated his sides,\nand made a very great roar. [The Boars did the same.]\n\nThen the Rakshasa thought, \"To-day these Boars will eat me.\" Thinking\nthis he went near the Lion.\n\nAfterwards the Lion scolded him. \"Ane! You also having gone, and\nhaving been unable [to do anything], have you come back?\"\n\n\"What am I to do? All that I do the Boars are doing.\"\n\nAfterwards the Rakshasa again came to the place where the Boars\nwere. After that, the village great Boar says to the other Boars,\n\"To-day the Rakshasa is coming to eat us indeed. What shall we do?\" he\nsaid to the great Boars. \"[This is what we will do.] The Rakshasa\nhaving come, when he springs at the great Boars I will jump into the\nwell. Having jumped in, I will come to the ground by the tunnel [and\nthe other well],\" he said. \"Before I ascend you eat the Rakshasa,\"\nhe said.\n\nIn that way the Rakshasa came. Having come, as he was springing [at the\nBoar] the Boar jumped into the well. Then the Rakshasa having jumped\n[in after him] they bit him and ate him up.\n\nAfterwards the great village Boar asked the other Boars, \"Who else\nis there to eat your flesh?\"\n\nThen, \"Still there is a Lion King,\" they said. Saying, \"Ada! Seeking\nhim there, let us all go,\" they all went.\n\nThe Lion King as the Boars were coming climbed up a tree. Then the\nBoars at once having broken the roots of the tree, felled the tree\nto the ground. The Lion ran away.\n\nThen the Boars, saying, \"Seize him, seize him!\" having gone chasing\nhim, killed the Lion.\n\n\n                                         Rodiya. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThis tale is given in the Jataka story No. 492 (vol. iv, p. 217). A\nBoar reared by a carpenter joined the wild ones, and taught them how\nto kill a Tiger that devoured them, by means of two pits. The tunnel\nconnecting them is omitted. The Boar did not jump into the pit;\n'only the Tiger fell into one of the pits when he sprang at the\nBoar. After killing the Tiger they proceeded to kill a sham ascetic\nwho was his abettor, in the same manner as in the Sinhalese story.\n\nAlthough the Rodiyas are not often present at the services at\nthe Buddhist temples, they go to them occasionally, not, however,\nbeing permitted to enter the temple enclosure, but standing outside\nit. There they can hear the reading of the sacred books (bana), and\nperhaps in this manner they have learnt the story of the Boars. I have\nnot met with it as a folk-tale elsewhere. The reference to the tunnel\nconnecting the two pits shows that it has independent features. This\ntunnel alone explains the excavation of the two pits, one to jump\ninto and the other to escape by.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 72\n\nTHE GRATEFUL JACKAL\n\n\nIn a certain village there was a boy who looked after cattle. One day,\nin the morning having taken the cattle [to graze], as they were going\nto water, that boy, when a python seizing a Jackal was going to eat\nit, went and beat the python, saying, \"Ane! This python is going to\neat the Jackal, isn't it?\"\n\nThen the python having let the Jackal go seized the boy. So the boy\ncried out, \"Anda! Anda! O my father! The python has seized me!\" he\ncried.\n\nThen the Jackal having come running, when he looked [saw that] the\npython had caught the boy, and thinking \"Ada! Because of me this one\nseized the boy,\" the Jackal looking and looking backwards, ran off\n[to fetch assistance]. After he had looked [to see] if there was\nany one, there was no one. The Jackal heard several people in the\ndistance. The Jackal went running there. When he was going near the\nmen, the men said, \"A mad Jackal has come,\" they said.\n\nThen again the Jackal came running to the place where the python\nwas. Again he came running to the place where the men were. Having\ncome [there], after the Jackal looked [he saw that] the clothes of\nmen who were bathing were under a tree. The Jackal having gone to\nthe place where the clothes were, taking a waist cloth in his mouth\nran off. Having run off, and having put down the cloth at the place\nwhere the python, holding the boy, was staying, the Jackal ran into\nthe jungle.\n\nThen those men having seen that the Jackal which had taken the cloth\nin its mouth was running away, saying, \"Ada! The mad Jackal taking our\ncloth in its mouth is running away,\" followed the Jackal. When they\nlooked, having seen that the python had seized the boy, they said,\n\"Ada! The python has caught such and such a one's boy and encircled\nhim.\"\n\nThen those men who were ploughing and ploughing having all come\nrunning, and having beaten and thrown down the python, saved the\nboy. [Afterwards] those men asked at the hand of the boy, \"What did\nthe python seize thee for?\"\n\nThen the boy said, \"As I was coming the python had seized the Jackal,\nand I was sorry. At that time I tried to save the Jackal, and that\none having let the Jackal go, seized me.\"\n\n\n                                         Rodiya. North-western Province.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORIES OF THE KINNARAS\n\n\nNO. 73\n\nCONCERNING A MONK AND A YAKA\n\n\nA monk, tying a Yaka [by magical spells] gets work from him. For seven\nyears he got work. Then the time having come for the Yaka to go, the\nYaka every day having gone near the monk says, \"Monk, tell me a work\n[to do].\"\n\nThe monk said one day, \"In Galgamuwa tank there will be seven\nislands. Having gone there and planed them down, come back.\" After\nthat, the Yaka having gone and planed the tank, and having very\nquickly come, said at the hand of the monk, \"Monk, tell me a work.\"\n\nThen the monk said, \"Having cut a well of seven fathoms, and having\ncut a Damunu [147] tree, and removed the splinters, and put it down\nto the bottom of a well, and tied a creeper noose to the Damunu stick,\nyou are to draw it up [from inside the well] to the ground.\"\n\nAfterwards the Yaka having cut a well of seven fathoms, and cut a\nDamunu tree, and removed the bark from it, and tied a creeper noose\nto it, and put the Damunu stick to the bottom of the well, the Yaka\nsitting on the ground holding the creeper noose tried to draw it\nout. He could not draw it. When he was drawing it, because there was\nslime on the Damunu stick he was unable to draw it out.\n\nOn account of the time during which the Yaka had been delayed near\nthe well, the monk being afraid of the Yaka, the monk went backwards\nand backwards for three gawwas (twelve miles). The Yaka having pushed\nagainst the monk for so much time, and having got a bill-hook also, on\nthe road he drove him (the monk) away. Having gone there [afterwards]\nto kill the monk, he met with the monk. After that, the Yaka threw the\nbill-hook, so that having cut the monk with it he would die. After\nhe had thrown it, the bill-hook was behind, [148] and the monk was\nin front [of it]. On account of that, the name [of the place] there\nbecame Kaettaepahuwa [a village twenty-one miles from Kurunaegala,\non the road to Anuradhapura].\n\n\n                                        Kinnara. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThis story is known throughout the district to the north of\nKurunaegala. The explanation of the Damunu tree incident which was\ngiven to me is that the monk, being unable to find enough work for\nthe Yaka, gave him this task as one that would provide occupation for\nhim for a long time. When the bark is freshly removed, the Damunu\nsticks are extremely slippery. The creeper was tied at one end in\na ring which was passed over the smooth stem of the tree. When the\nYaka endeavoured to raise the tree by pulling at the creeper, the\nring slipped up the stem instead of raising the tree.\n\n\n\nElsewhere in the same district I heard of another man, a villager,\nwho had mastered a Yaksani (female Yaka), and who made her perform work\nfor him. In appearance she was an ordinary female, and the man's wife\nwas unaware of her true character, as he had not informed her of it,\nbeing afraid of alarming her. The man kept the Yaksani under control\nby means of a magic iron nail, which he had driven in the crown of\nher head. One day during his absence she went to her mistress, and\ntold her that a thorn had run into her head while she was carrying\nfirewood on it, and that she was unable to draw it out. The woman\nextracted the nail for her, and the Yaksani, being then free, killed\nthe family, and escaped.\n\n\n\nIn Folk-Lore of Southern India (Natesa Sastri), p. 272--Tales of\nthe Sun, p. 285--there is a story of a landowner who learnt an\nincantation by means of which he summoned a Brahma-Rakshasa, who\nbecame his servant, at the same time informing him that if he failed\nto provide work the Rakshasa would kill him. Everything he could think\nof was done in an incredibly short time--tank repaired and deepened,\nlands all cultivated--and there being nothing more to be done the wife\ngave the demon a hair of her head to straighten. He failed to do it,\nbut remembering that goldsmiths heated wires when about to straighten\nthem, he placed the hair on a fire, which burnt it up. He was afraid\nto face his mistress after it, so he ran away.\n\nRegarding the thorn in the demon's head, see No. 20.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 74\n\nTHE THREE SUITORS\n\n\nIn a certain country dwelt a man and a woman, it is said. These two\nhad a son and a daughter.\n\nWhen a man came one day and asked for the daughter [in marriage]\nat the hand of the father, the father said, \"It is good. Come on\nWednesday.\" The man having said \"Ha,\" went away.\n\nAfterwards another man came and asked for the girl at the hand of\nthe mother. The mother said, \"It is good. Come on Wednesday.\" The\nman having said \"Ha,\" went away.\n\nAfter that, yet a man came and asked for her at the hand of the\ngirl's younger brother. The younger brother said, \"It is good. Come\non Wednesday.\" The man having said \"Ha,\" went away.\n\nWell then, the company of three persons having come on Wednesday and\neaten rice and betel, caused the girl to come out [of the house],\ninviting her to go. Then the three persons endeavoured to call her\nto go in three [different] directions. Because the girl was unable\nto settle the dispute she ate a kind of poison, and lying down died\nthere and then. Afterwards they buried her.\n\nAfter that, the man who came first went to a sooth-sayer. The man who\ncame next watched alone at the place where they buried her. The man who\ncame last having said, \"It doesn't matter to me,\" went to his village.\n\nThe man who went to ask for sooth having inquired about it, came to the\nplace where they buried the girl. Having come and made incantations\nin the manner prescribed by the sooth-sayer, he made her arise,\nand got her [back to life]. After she had recovered she went to the\nvillage. The man also went there.\n\nNow then, after the three men had come together there, the man who\nbrought her back to life asked, \"To whom do you belong?\"\n\nThe girl said, \"The man who watched alone at the grave is my\nmother. The man who went to inquire of the sooth-sayer is my\nfather. The man who went to his village is my man.\"\n\nHaving said this, the girl went with the man to his village.\n\n\n                                        Kinnari. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nThis is a story of Vikrama and the Vampire, one of the puzzling\nquestions set to the King being a decision as to whom the girl\nbelonged.\n\nIn Indian Nights' Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 237, the girl threw\nherself down from the house-top. One of the suitors sprang on the\nfuneral pile, and was burnt with her. The second watched over the\ngrave. The third became a Fakir, and learnt how to revive the dead. He\nrevived both the girl and the burnt suitor. The merchant whose opinion\nwas required decided that the two who were burnt together were brother\nand sister, the Fakir who gave them renewed life was their father,\nand the man who merely sat by the grave must become her husband.\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 150 (vol. i, p. 321), there is an account of\na person who had learnt the spell for reviving the dead. In this case\nit was a tiger, who killed him.\n\nIn Tota Kahani (Small), p. 139, out of three suitors for the hand of\na girl who was carried off by a fairy, one learnt the manner of her\ndisappearance and the place where she was, the second made a magical\nflying wooden horse, on which the third rode to rescue her, killed\nthe fairy, and brought her back. The Parrot's decision was that the\nlast one had the best right to her, as he had risked his life for her.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNO. 75\n\nTHE CROCODILE AND THE JACKAL\n\n\nIn a river in a certain country a Crocodile stayed, it is said. While\nit was living there, the Crocodile having become friendly with a Crab,\nthe Crocodile said to the Crab, \"Friend, you call the Jackal to drink\nwater, so that I may seize and eat the Jackal after he has come.\" The\nCrab said \"Ha.\"\n\nOn the bank of that river there were Muruta [149] trees, and there\nwere flowers on those Muruta trees. The Crocodile said to the Crab,\n\"I will lie down on the high ground. You bring flowers that have\nfallen below those Muruta trees and cover me.\" Having said [this],\nthe Crocodile lay down on the high ground near the water, and the\nCrab having brought the Muruta flowers covered the Crocodile.\n\nHaving covered him, the Crab, calling the Jackal, came to drink\nwater. The Crocodile stayed as though dead. Then the Jackal having\ncome near the Crocodile said, \"In our country, indeed, dead Crocodiles\nwag their tails. This Crocodile, why doesn't he wag his tail? Maybe\nhe isn't dead.\"\n\nThen that Crocodile which remained as though dead, wagged his\ntail. After that, the Jackal, without stopping even to drink water,\nbounded off, and went away.\n\nAfterwards the Crocodile said to the Crab, \"Friend, to-morrow I will\nstop at the bottom of the water. You come there with the Jackal. Then\nI will seize and eat him.\"\n\nThe Crab having said \"Ha,\" on the following day came with the Jackal\nto the place where the Crocodile was. Then the Crocodile seized the\nJackal by the foot [as he was going to drink water]. The Jackal said--\n\n\n    Kimbulundae raewatundae\n    Ketala ale dae gandae?\n\n    \"Are the Crocodiles cheated quite,\n    Thus the Ketala yam to bite?\"\n\n\nThen the Crocodile let go. After that, on that day also without\ndrinking water he bounded off, and went away.\n\nFrom that day, the Jackals having become angry with the Crabs, and\nhaving seized and bitten the Crabs in the rice fields, place the Crabs'\nclaws on the earthen ridges in the fields.\n\n\n                                        Kinnara. North-western Province.\n\n\n\nIn The Orientalist, vol. ii, p. 46, there is a story of a Jackal\nand a Crocodile, in the latter part of which the first incident is\ngiven, the tree being a Veralu (Elaeocarpus serratus). The Crab is\nnot introduced into it.\n\nIn the Jataka story No. 57 (vol. i, p. 142) a Crocodile endeavoured\nto entrap a Monkey by lying still on the top of a rock. The Monkey,\nsuspecting some trick, from the unusual height of the rock, addressed\nthe rock and inquired why it did not reply as usual. The Crocodile\nthen spoke.\n\nIn Indian Folk Tales (Gordon), p. 63, the God Mahadeo (Siva) took\nthe place of the Crocodile, in order to be revenged on the Jackal for\ncheating him in the matter of the dead elephant (see No. 39, note);\nand the two incidents of the shamming death and seizure of the root\nare related.\n\nIn Old Deccan Days (Frere) p. 310, a Jackal escaped from an Alligator\n[Crocodile] in the same manner.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n[1] See note at the end of the Introduction.\n\n[2] Cf. Jataka, No. 206 (vol. ii, p. 106).\n\n[3] From the Tamil kuppam, a village of small houses, perhaps +\nayam, ground.\n\n[4] The Tamil stories of Mariyada Raman, or some of them, are known\nin one district. Arabic is unknown.\n\n[5] Folk-Tales of Kashmir, Knowles, 2nd ed., pp. 258 and 331.\n\n[6] Agata anagata, as the early cave inscriptions say.\n\n[7] Asurendraya.\n\n[8] It is one of the greatest possible insults in the East to strike\na person with a broom. Even demons are supposed to be afraid of being\nstruck by it, and thus it is a powerful demon-scarer.\n\n[9] A Kayiya, usually to provide help in clearing jungle, or ploughing,\nor reaping, for which no pay is given, but the party are fed liberally.\n\n[10] Ma Vi, the name of the largest variety of rice.\n\n[11] Twenty-eight miles. According to Indian reckoning of about six\nwinks to a second, as given in the Maha Bharata, this would be an\norbit of about 14,500,000 miles, with a diameter of 4,620,000 miles.\n\n[12] That is, the sun rises in the latitude of the district where the\nstory was related. This would be within a day or two of February 22.\n\n[13] I cannot explain this remark.\n\n[14] This is, where refreshing breezes blow.\n\n[15] The deity of the planet Saturn.\n\n[16] The narrator understood this to mean that large upright sheets\nof glass were fixed round the bed.\n\n[17] Mini Ran Kukula. The spelling in this and other instances is\naccording to the manuscripts, except in such words as Rakshasa and\nRakshasi, the village forms of which are Rasaya and Rasi; and Brahmana,\nwhich is usually given as Brahmanaya.\n\n[18] A word without any special meaning in English, often used in\naddressing a person familiarly and somewhat disrespectfully.\n\n[19] Amu (Paspalum scrobiculatum), the Tamil Varaku, a small grain\ncultivated in jungle clearings.\n\n[20] Three halfpence.\n\n[21] Elawa gihin melawa awa, \"Having gone to that world I came to\nthis world.\" This is a common saying, meaning in village talk, \"What\na long and tiring journey I have had.\" According to the Rev. C. Alwis\nit also means, \"I almost died, and recovered.\" (The Orientalist,\nvol. i, p. 62.)\n\n[22] Light rice cakes.\n\n[23] Old flower-seller.\n\n[24] Moringa pterygosperma.\n\n[25] A thing only done by a man's wife.\n\n[26]    Wangi tunak aeti, kembi dolahak aeti,\n        Apata waeduna duka me asapan kota kotali.\n\n[27] Evidently a modern interpolation, as the Princess was represented\nas using only a writing style.\n\n[28] Loku mama.\n\n[29] Lit. necks.\n\n[30] This is the dress of a villager when visiting friends. A white\njacket is now often added.\n\n[31] Literally, \"Are we bad?\"\n\n[32] Up to this point the story follows one related by a Duraya;\nthe rest belongs to the cultivating caste.\n\n[33] Literally, \"Is there any coming for her?\"\n\n[34] Great Mother: The title of a mother's elder sister; her younger\nsister is called Pu\u00f1ci-Amma, Little Mother. The letter c is pronounced\nas ch in transliterations. I follow the village writers in not marking\nthe various forms of n; they write punci or punci.\n\n[35] Moringa pterygosperma.\n\n[36] Ran oncillawa.\n\n[37] A well-to-do woman of the village. Gama-Mahage is the title of\nthe wife of a Gamarala, a village headman or elder.\n\n[38] To search for insects. She would sit down for the purpose.\n\n[39] Daboia russelli.\n\n[40]    Un mamma nasindayi,\n        Ranwan baena aende andandayi,\n        Ranwan akka samine wendayi.\n\n[41] In these stories the Yakas are always evil spirits or demons.\n\n[42] Piyanan-wahanse.\n\n[43] The word used indicates the use of guns, and not bows and arrows.\n\n[44] A Vedarala (medical practitioner) or another man who knows the\nspells and magical practices which have power over demons.\n\n[45] Araksha baendala.\n\n[46] E minihata waehila, mayan wenda patangatta.\n\n[47] The Sinhalese title is, \"The manner in which the Youth who looked\nafter the Goats became King.\"\n\n[48] Inferior Gods, ruled by Indra.\n\n[49] Raja Gurunnanse, probably the Purohita Brahmana, the King's\nspiritual adviser.\n\n[50] A supernatural being who could take at will either a human form\nor the shape of a cobra (naya or naga).\n\n[51] Dohta karanawa = Dashta k., to give a poisonous bite.\n\n[52] Panicum sp., probably miliare, an edible grass seed.\n\n[53] Kankariya.\n\n[54] Wes.\n\n[55] Gigiri walalu.\n\n[56] Silambu.\n\n[57] Learned Brow.\n\n[58] On account of the strangeness of this speech, I give the\nSinhalese words as they were written: Umba kaburupanjati jati umbe\nmuna (sic.) penendawat epa. Umbata hena waediyamin umbe jatakaya\nganin. It appears to be a Rabelaisian joke, and was considered such\nby the person who narrated it.\n\n[59] Otunne malu. This proves that the story is Indian, and perhaps\nfrom the Panjab, there being no camels in Ceylon.\n\n[60] The usual village spelling.\n\n[61] Great Happiness.\n\n[62] Equivalent to saying, \"What things do you know?\" Saestara,\nthe noun used, means sooth, knowledge of things, and science.\n\n[63] The title \"Vedarala\" is applied both to native medical\npractitioners and to demon expellers, who are also sooth-sayers.\n\n[64] Twenty rupees, in a variant.\n\n[65] Sihi buddi naetuwata mona saestara kiyamanada? This might also\nbe interpreted, \"On account of the absence of Sihibuddi what saying of\nsooth is there?\" The long final i of female names is usually shortened\nin conversation.\n\n[66] A South Indian gold coin, with the figure of a boar, Varaha,\non the obverse, said by Winslow to be worth three and a half rupees.\n\n[67] \"A box in which the most valuable ornaments of the most frequent\nuse are kept, and which for the sake of safety is always placed at\nthe foot of the bed\" (The Orientalist, vol. i, p. 59, footnote).\n\n[68] Kumandaeyi mama karanne, which if not very clearly heard might\nbe translated, \"It is Kumanda; I am doing it,\" or \"I will do it.\"\n\n[69] He might do any unusual acts of this sort without exciting much\nastonishment, while apparently under the influence of \"possession.\"\n\n[70] Kurulu gama Appuge rissa giya. This might be translated,\n\"On the birds' moving, Appu's strength went.\"\n\n[71] Sillu, \"Hopscotch,\" a game omitted from my account of village\ngames in Ancient Ceylon. I have seen boys playing a form of Hopscotch\nwhich may be this one. I do not understand the reference to \"dragging\"\nthe counters home after it, unless the meaning is \"carrying.\" The\nSinhalese verb used is adinawa, which is sometimes employed with this\nother meaning.\n\n[72] Sadhu Maharajani.\n\n[73] Gamaya.\n\n[74] Ge-dora, which probably means only \"house-door\" in this case,\nand not buildings, etc., in general.\n\n[75] A creeper with long sharp thorns, punctures by which usually\ncause ulcers.\n\n[76] Polmicca kirilli.\n\n[77] An imitation of the song of the bird, apparently.\n\n[78] Mat ekka giyama nakeyi?\n\n[79] \"Stooping man, there is heat, heat.\"\n\n[80] Kujija is a man who stoops. He may have thought it said,\n\"Stooping man, you are refuse.\"\n\n[81] Kuti is a bend. He appears to have interpreted it as, \"Stooping\nman, you are bent, bent.\"\n\nAll these expressions are imitations of some of the notes of the\nbird's song.\n\n[82] Ge dorata.\n\n[83] A Muhammedan trader or pedlar, called \"elder brother\" in an\nhonorary sense.\n\n[84] Plural of Bola, regarding which see No. 5.\n\n[85] Lit. \"making.\"\n\n[86] Hungak dura, \"a great deal far,\" a common village expression.\n\n[87] Nari-nayide; see also No. 56, and p. 28.\n\n[88] The meaning is that no appearances can be trusted, not even those\nof the earth and sky; but that sometimes untrustworthy things, even\nsuch a dangerous thing as fire, are wrongly trusted. He was referring\nto the judge's acceptance of the ridiculous statement regarding the\nbirth of the horse.\n\n[89] Kokka, a word applied to several species of large waders. The name\nof the Black Stork is Mana, but probably this is the bird referred to,\nas in the Sinhalese variant.\n\n[90] Aehae aeragassi.\n\n[91] Apparently this is Kurma, turtle + marsha, mrish. The meaning\nwould be \"Permit the Turtle\" (to precede you). In The Orientalist,\nvol. i, p. 87, in which this part of the story is also given, it is\nstated that there is a saying, Kurmaya prativadena sinhasya maranan\nyatha, \"As the death of the lion by the reply [? Kurmarsha] of the\nturtle.\"\n\n[92] As in India, the tom-tom beaters were the weavers also in Ceylon,\nuntil cheap imported cloth put an end to weaving. In the Folk Tales\nof Bengal (Day), p. 233, the \"proverbial simplicity\" of weavers is\nmentioned, and in several stories in Indian Nights' Entertainment\n(Swynnerton) their foolishness is the chief theme. In the Jataka story\nNo. 59 there is an account of a foolish tom-tom beater boy also. See\nalso the story No. 10, in this volume.\n\n[93] Calatropis gigantea.\n\n[94] This is prosaic love-making!\n\n[95] Probably in order to sell deer's flesh there.\n\n[96] Canarium zeylanicum.\n\n[97] Macacus pileatus.\n\n[98] Berae.\n\n[99] Haeliya.\n\n[100] Called also, \"The Deer and the Girl and Nikini.\"\n\n[101] An expression often used in village talk, without any connexion\nwith its literal meaning, \"O demon.\" \"Fellow!\" nearly expresses its\nordinary meaning, which is less respectful than that of the word Bola.\n\n[102] Totra karanawa.\n\n[103] Also written Lihiniya, \"the Glider,\" a name applied to some hawks\nand swallows, etc. The whole name is \"Tusk-Elephant-Mountain Hawk,\"\nor Eagle. I could learn nothing of the \"Tusk-Elephant Mountain.\" This\nbird is the Rukh or Roc of the Arabian Nights.\n\n[104] Apparently she was to swear by them, touching them at the\ntime. See No. 8, in which a Prince and Princess touched each other\nwhen swearing an oath.\n\n[105] An amuna is 5\u00b77 bushels in the district where this story\nwas told.\n\n[106] Little Mother, an expression meaning the mother's younger sister,\nor the step-mother.\n\n[107] Yabbaelli, apparently a kind of demon in the shape of a dog.\n\n[108] Talla.\n\n[109] The word used, nikan, \"no-act,\" is employed in several senses;\nwhen a thing is given nikan, it usually means \"without payment.\" To\ncome or go nikan, is to come or go without any special reason or\nbusiness, and also to go empty-handed, as in a former tale.\n\n[110] Mi Paetikki. It might be either a rat or a mouse.\n\n[111] Unnanse namak. In the villages, namak, \"a name,\" takes the\nplace of kenek, \"person\", in speaking of monks.\n\n[112] Hakurun.\n\n[113] Mulakun.\n\n[114] Aewariyakun.\n\n[115] Senawalaya.\n\n[116] A contraction of Gama-ralahami. Hami is an intermediate form\nbetween swami, \"lord\", and himi; Wanniyas still use the latter.\n\n[117] The yoke of the plough is placed on the neck and fastened there,\non the Washerman's half of the animal.\n\n[118] Because the mouth which grazes is in the Gamarala's half of\nthe cow.\n\n[119] Rate wissa. The word is new to me; this appears to be the\nmeaning.\n\n[120] Raja ho, ma ho, ganga ho. \"Either the King, or I, or the river\"\n[floods] will come to an end (naeti wenawa). He meant that if the\nperiodical floods in the river did not come to an end, the job would\nlast during the King's life-time, and that if he gave it up he had\nnothing else to live upon.\n\n[121] Terminalia glabra.\n\n[122] Kokka, a word which also means Egret, and some other large\nwading birds.\n\n[123] Lula (Ophiocephalus striatus).\n\n[124] Kanakoka (Ardeola grayi).\n\n[125] Triple-wreathed famous one.\n\n[126] Probably, \"He that moves about in the jungle,\" derived from the\nTamil words kadu, jungle--in compounds, kattu--and salam, Skt. cala,\nmoving, unsteady. The bird is Centrococcyx rufipennis, which utters\na booming call, and has red eyes.\n\n[127] Tamil, tonku, to move with leaps, Skt. twang, to leap,\ngallop + ka, doer.\n\n[128] Maha tokkama.\n\n[129] Tokkam dekak.\n\n[130] Lay devotee.\n\n[131] Rala is an honorific termination, nearly equivalent to our Mr.\n\n[132] Tun-iri Mudiyanse, (Sciurus tri-striatus), a small squirrel\nwith three yellow dorsal lines.\n\n[133] Lit. \"Having guarded, I must place it.\"\n\n[134] Mini-gedi.\n\n[135] Miyane.\n\n[136] Lenane.\n\n[137] Wali-kukulane.\n\n[138] Katussa (Calotes sp.), a small lizard with a long tail, and\nspikes on the back, commonly called \"Bloodsucker\" in Ceylon.\n\n[139] Perhaps this means that the Leopard found some places where\nthe Lizard had not yet bitten him.\n\n[140] A variant says it was the Gamarala.\n\n[141] \"Art thou reciting the Buddhist Scriptures?\" Used colloquially\nwith the meaning, \"What nonsense you are talking.\"\n\n[142] Ehema nan ehemada, \"If so (would it be) so?\"\n\n[143] Seramantama.\n\n[144] That is, as we should say, \"I have come here to enjoy a view\nof the scenery!\"\n\n[145] There appears to be some doubt regarding the spelling of this\ncompound word. I give it as I have heard it. Except in the last letter\nI have followed that of the late Mr. W. Goonetilleke, the learned\nEditor of The Orientalist, who in vol. i, p. 8, of that journal said\nof it: \"Perelibase therefore means 'the language of transposition,'\nor 'the transposed language.'\" In Clough's Dictionary the second\nword is spelt basa. In Mr. A. M. Gunasekara's excellent Sinhalese\nGrammar the spelling is peralibasa in the Index, and perali base (or\nbhashawa) in the paragraph dealing with it. Professor E. M\u00fcller-Hess\nhas drawn my attention to the form pereli on one of the inscribed\ntablets at Mihintale.\n\n[146] That is, unite them by a tunnel.\n\n[147] Grewia tiliaefolia (?).\n\n[148] Kaetta pahuwuna.\n\n[149] Lagerstroemia flos-reginae.","title":"Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume 1 (of 3)","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":125261}