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+} +.xd19e2988width +{ +width:720px; +} +.xd19e3073width +{ +width:508px; +} +.xd19e3092width +{ +width:720px; +} +.xd19e3200width +{ +width:508px; +} +.xd19e3298width +{ +width:495px; +} +.xd19e3344width +{ +width:506px; +} +.xd19e3423width +{ +width:508px; +} +.xd19e3484 +{ +text-align:center; +} +</style> +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Folk-Tales of Bengal, by Lal Behari Day + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Folk-Tales of Bengal + +Author: Lal Behari Day + +Illustrator: Warwick Goble + +Release Date: January 3, 2012 [EBook #38488] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOLK-TALES OF BENGAL *** + + + + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project +Gutenberg. (This file was produced from images generously +made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + +</pre> + +<div class="front"> +<div class="div1 frenchtitle"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first xd19e130">Folk-Tales of Bengal</p> +</div> +</div> +<div class="div1 imprint"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first xd19e130">MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED<br> +LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA<br> +MELBOURNE</p> +<p class="xd19e130">THE MACMILLAN COMPANY<br> +NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO<br> +DALLAS · SAN FRANCISCO</p> +<p class="xd19e130">THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD.<br> +TORONTO</p> +</div> +</div> +<div class="div1 frontispiece"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first"></p> +<div class="figure xd19e153width" id="p000"><img src="images/p000.jpg" +alt= +"“She rushed out of the palace ... and came to the upper world.”" +width="509" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“She rushed out of the palace ... and came +to the upper world.”</p> +</div> +</div> +</div> +<div class="titlePage"> +<div class="docTitle"> +<div class="mainTitle">Folk-Tales of Bengal</div> +</div> +<div class="byline">By the<br> +<span class="docAuthor">Rev. Lal Behari Day</span><br> +Author of ‘Bengal Peasant Life,’ etc.<br> +With 32 illustrations in colour<br> +By <span class="docAuthor">Warwick Goble</span></div> +<div class="docImprint">Macmillan and Co., Limited<br> +St. Martin’s Street, London<br> +<span class="docDate">1912</span></div> +</div> +<div class="div1 copyright"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first xd19e130">COPYRIGHT</p> +<p class="xd19e130"><i>First Edition 1883<br> +With Coloured Illustrations by Warwick Goble, 1912</i> <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="xd19e196" href="#xd19e196" name= +"xd19e196">v</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div class="div1 dedication"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first xd19e130">TO<br> +<span class="xd19e202">RICHARD CARNAC TEMPLE</span><br> +CAPTAIN, BENGAL STAFF CORPS<br> +F.R.G.S., M.R.A.S., M.A.I., ETC.<br> +WHO FIRST SUGGESTED TO THE WRITER<br> +THE IDEA OF COLLECTING<br> +THESE TALES<br> +AND WHO IS DOING SO MUCH<br> +IN THE CAUSE OF INDIAN FOLK-LORE<br> +THIS LITTLE BOOK<br> +IS INSCRIBED <span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd19e223" href="#xd19e223" +name="xd19e223">vii</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div class="div1 preface"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="main">Preface</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">In my <i>Peasant Life in Bengal</i> I make the peasant +boy Govinda spend some hours every evening in listening to stories told +by an old woman, who was called Sambhu’s mother, and who was the +best story-teller in the village. On reading that passage, Captain R. +C. Temple, of the Bengal Staff Corps, son of the distinguished Indian +administrator Sir Richard Temple, wrote to me to say how interesting it +would be to get a collection of those unwritten stories which old women +in India recite to little children in the evenings, and to ask whether +I could not make such a collection. As I was no stranger to the +<i lang="de">Mährchen</i> of the Brothers Grimm, to the <i>Norse +Tales</i> so admirably told by Dasent, to Arnason’s <i>Icelandic +Stories</i> translated by Powell, to the <i>Highland Stories</i> done +into English by Campbell, and to the fairy stories collected by +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd19e245" href="#xd19e245" name= +"xd19e245">viii</a>]</span>other writers, and as I believed that the +collection suggested would be a contribution, however slight, to that +daily increasing literature of folk-lore and comparative mythology +which, like comparative philosophy, proves that the swarthy and +half-naked peasant on the banks of the Ganges is a cousin, albeit of +the hundredth remove, to the fair-skinned and well-dressed Englishman +on the banks of the Thames, I readily caught up the idea and cast about +for materials. But where was an old story-telling woman to be got? I +had myself, when a little boy, heard hundreds—it would be no +exaggeration to say thousands—of fairy tales from that same old +woman, Sambhu’s mother—for she was no fictitious person; +she actually lived in the flesh and bore that name; but I had nearly +forgotten those stories, at any rate they had all got confused in my +head, the tail of one story being joined to the head of another, and +the head of a third to the tail of a fourth. How I wished that poor +Sambhu’s mother had been alive! But she had gone long, long ago, +to that bourne from which no traveller returns, and her son Sambhu, +too, had followed her thither. After a great deal <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="xd19e247" href="#xd19e247" name= +"xd19e247">ix</a>]</span>of search I found my Gammer +Grethel—though not half so old as the <span lang="de">Frau +Viehmännin</span> of Hesse-Cassel—in the person of a Bengali +Christian woman, who, when a little girl and living in her heathen +home, had heard many stories from her old grandmother. She was a good +story-teller, but her stock was not large; and after I had heard ten +from her I had to look about for fresh sources. An old Brahman told me +two stories; an old barber, three; an old servant of mine told me two; +and the rest I heard from another old Brahman. None of my authorities +knew English; they all told the stories in Bengali, and I translated +them into English when I came home. I heard many more stories than +those contained in the following pages; but I rejected a great many, as +they appeared to me to contain spurious additions to the original +stories which I had heard when a boy. I have reason to believe that the +stories given in this book are a genuine sample of the old old stories +told by old Bengali women from age to age through a hundred +generations.</p> +<p>Sambhu’s mother used always to end every one of her +stories—and every orthodox Bengali story-teller <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="xd19e254" href="#xd19e254" name= +"xd19e254">x</a>]</span>does the same—with repeating the +following formula:—</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth.</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O Natiya-thorn, dost +wither?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why does thy cow on me browse?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O cow, dost thou browse?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why does thy neat-herd not tend +me?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O neat-herd, dost not tend the +cow?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why does thy daughter-in-law not give me +rice?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O daughter-in-law, dost not give +rice?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why does my child cry?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O child, dost thou cry?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why does the ant bite me?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O ant, dost thou bite?”</p> +<p class="line">Koot! koot! koot!</p> +</div> +<p class="first">What these lines mean, why they are repeated at the +end of every story, and what the connection is of the several parts to +one another, I do not know. Perhaps the whole is a string of nonsense +purposely put together to amuse little children.</p> +<p class="signed"><span class="uc">Lal Behari Day.</span></p> +<p class="signed"><span class="sc">Hooghly College</span>,</p> +<p class="signed"><i>February 27, 1883</i>. <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="xd19e300" href="#xd19e300" name= +"xd19e300">xi</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="toc" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="main">Contents</h2> +<table class="tocList"> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">PAGE</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">1.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch1"><span class= +"sc">Life’s Secret</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">1</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">2.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch2"><span class= +"sc">Phakir Chand</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">16</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">3.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch3"><span class="sc">The +Indigent Brahman</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">51</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">4.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch4"><span class="sc">The +Story of the Rakshasas</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">61</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">5.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch5"><span class="sc">The +Story of Swet-Basanta</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">89</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">6.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch6"><span class="sc">The +Evil Eye of Sani</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">104</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">7.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch7"><span class="sc">The +Boy whom Seven Mothers suckled</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">113</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">8.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch8"><span class="sc">The +Story of Prince Sobur</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">119</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">9.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch9"><span class="sc">The +Origin of Opium</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">132</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">10.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch10"><span class= +"sc">Strike but Hear</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">140</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">11.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch11"><span class= +"sc">The Adventures of Two Thieves and of their Sons</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">152</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">12.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch12"><span class= +"sc">The Ghost-Brahman</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">173</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">13.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch13"><span class= +"sc">The Man who wished to be Perfect</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">178</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">14.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch14"><span class="sc">A +Ghostly Wife</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">188</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">15.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch15"><span class= +"sc">The Story of a Brahmadaitya</span></a> <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="xd19e460" href="#xd19e460" name= +"xd19e460">xii</a>]</span></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">192</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">16.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch16"><span class= +"sc">The Story of a Hiraman</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">200</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">17.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch17"><span class= +"sc">The Origin of Rubies</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">211</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">18.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch18"><span class= +"sc">The Match-making Jackal</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">217</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">19.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch19"><span class= +"sc">The Boy with the Moon on his Forehead</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">227</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">20.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch20"><span class= +"sc">The Ghost who was Afraid of being Bagged</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">247</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">21.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch21"><span class= +"sc">The Field of Bones</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">251</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum">22.</td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch22"><span class= +"sc">The Bald Wife</span></a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">269</td> +</tr> +</table> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd19e532" href="#xd19e532" name= +"xd19e532">xiii</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="main">Illustrations</h2> +<table class="tocList"> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">Facing page</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p000">“She rushed +out of the palace ... and came to the upper world” (p. +26)</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum"><i>Frontispiece</i></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p001">“The Suo +queen went to the door with a handful of rice”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">1</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p009">“The prince +revived, and, walking about, saw a human figure near the +gate”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">9</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p022">“She took up +the jewel in her hand, left the palace, and successfully reached the +upper world”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">22</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p043">“He rushed +out of his hiding-place and killed the serpent”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">43</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p056">“Instead of +sweetmeats about a score of demons”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">56</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p062">“At the door +of which stood a lady of exquisite beauty”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">62</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p077">“In a trice +she woke up, sat up in her bed, and eyeing the stranger, inquired who +he was”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">77</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p090">The Girl of the +Wall-Almirah</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">90</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p095">“On a sudden +an elephant gorgeously caparisoned shot across his path”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">95</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p106">“They then +set out on their journey”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">106</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p117">“A monstrous +bird comes out apparently from the palace”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">117</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p123">“Hundreds of +peacocks of gorgeous plumes came to the embankments to eat the +<i>khai</i>”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">123</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p138">“‘You +would adorn the palace of the mightiest sovereign’”</a> +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd19e631" href="#xd19e631" name= +"xd19e631">xiv</a>]</span></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">138</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p141">“He saw a +beautiful woman coming out of the palace”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">141</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href= +"#p145">“‘Husband, take up all this large quantity of gold +and these precious stones’”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">145</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p162">“They ran +away in great fear, leaving behind them the money and +jewels”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">162</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p170">“The +camel-driver alighted, tied the camel to a tree on the spot, and began +smoking”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">170</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p174">“‘How +is it that you have returned so soon?’”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">174</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p181">“At dawn he +used to cull flowers in the forest”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">181</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p188">“The +Brahman’s wife had occasion to go to the tank, and as she went +she brushed by a Sankchinni”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">188</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p194">“The moment +the first stroke was given, a great many ghosts rushed towards the +Brahman”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">194</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p210">“The lady, +king, and hiraman all reached the king’s capital safe and +sound”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">210</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p214">“‘What +princess ever puts only one ruby in her hair?’”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">214</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p216">“Coming up to +the surface they climbed into the boat”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">216</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p218">“The jackal +... opened his bundle of betel-leaves, put some into his mouth, and +began chewing them”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">218</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p237">“A bright +light, like that of the moon, was seen shining on his +forehead”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">237</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p238">“The six +queens tried to comfort him”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">238</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p248">“‘Now, +barber, I am going to destroy you. Who will protect +you?’”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">248</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p259">“They +approached a magnificent pile of buildings”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">259</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p266">“Thus the +princess was deserted”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">266</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tocDivNum"></td> +<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p271">“When she got +out of the water, what a change was seen in her!”</a></td> +<td class="tocPageNum">271</td> +</tr> +</table> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb1" href="#pb1" name= +"pb1">1</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +</div> +<div class="body"> +<div id="ch1" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">I</h2> +<h2 class="main">Life’s Secret</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">There was a king who had two queens, Duo and +Suo.<a class="noteref" id="xd19e750src" href="#xd19e750" name= +"xd19e750src">1</a> Both of them were childless. One day a Faquir +(mendicant) came to the palace-gate to ask for alms. The Suo queen went +to the door with a handful of rice. The mendicant asked whether she had +any children. On being answered in the negative, the holy mendicant +refused to take alms, as the hands of a woman unblessed with child are +regarded as ceremonially unclean. He offered her a drug for removing +her barrenness, and she expressing her willingness to receive it, he +gave it to her with the following directions:—“Take this +nostrum, swallow it with the juice of the pomegranate flower; if you do +this, you will have a son in due time. The son will be exceedingly +handsome, and his complexion will be of the colour of the pomegranate +flower; and you shall call him Dalim Kumar.<a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e759src" href="#xd19e759" name="xd19e759src">2</a> As enemies will +try to take away the life of your son, I may as well tell <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb2" href="#pb2" name="pb2">2</a>]</span>you that the +life of the boy will be bound up in the life of a big <i>boal</i> fish +which is in your tank, in front of the palace. In the heart of the fish +is a small box of wood, in the box is a necklace of gold, that necklace +is the life of your son. Farewell.”</p> +<div class="figure xd19e776width" id="p001"><img src="images/p001.jpg" +alt= +"“The Suo queen went to the door with a handful of rice”" +width="499" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“The Suo queen went to the door with a +handful of rice”</p> +</div> +<p>In the course of a month or so it was whispered in the palace that +the Suo queen had hopes of an heir. Great was the joy of the king. +Visions of an heir to the throne, and of a never-ending succession of +powerful monarchs perpetuating his dynasty to the latest generations, +floated before his mind, and made him glad as he had never been in his +life. The usual ceremonies performed on such occasions were celebrated +with great pomp; and the subjects made loud demonstrations of their joy +at the anticipation of so auspicious an event as the birth of a prince. +In the fulness of time the Suo queen gave birth to a son of uncommon +beauty. When the king the first time saw the face of the infant, his +heart leaped with joy. The ceremony of the child’s first rice was +celebrated with extraordinary pomp, and the whole kingdom was filled +with gladness.</p> +<p>In course of time Dalim Kumar grew up a fine boy. Of all sports he +was most addicted to playing with pigeons. This brought him into +frequent contact with his stepmother, the Duo queen, into whose +apartments Dalim’s pigeons had a trick of always flying. The +first time the pigeons flew into her rooms, she readily gave them up to +the owner; but the second time she gave them up with some reluctance. +The fact <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb3" href="#pb3" name= +"pb3">3</a>]</span>is that the Duo queen, perceiving that Dalim’s +pigeons had this happy knack of flying into her apartments, wished to +take advantage of it for the furtherance of her own selfish views. She +naturally hated the child, as the king, since his birth, neglected her +more than ever, and idolised the fortunate mother of Dalim. She had +heard, it is not known how, that the holy mendicant that had given the +famous pill to the Suo queen had also told her of a secret connected +with the child’s life. She had heard that the child’s life +was bound up with something—she did not know with what. She +determined to extort that secret from the boy. Accordingly, the next +time the pigeons flew into her rooms, she refused to give them up, +addressing the child thus:—“I won’t give the pigeons +up unless you tell me one thing.”</p> +<p><i>Dalim.</i> What thing, mamma?</p> +<p><i>Duo.</i> Nothing particular, my darling; I only want to know in +what your life is.</p> +<p><i>Dalim.</i> What is that, mamma? Where can my life be except in +me?</p> +<p><i>Duo.</i> No, child; that is not what I mean. A holy mendicant +told your mother that your life is bound up with something. I wish to +know what that thing is.</p> +<p><i>Dalim.</i> I never heard of any such thing, mamma.</p> +<p><i>Duo.</i> If you promise to inquire of your mother in what thing +your life is, and if you tell me what your mother says, then I will let +you have the pigeons, otherwise not. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb4" +href="#pb4" name="pb4">4</a>]</span></p> +<p><i>Dalim.</i> Very well, I’ll inquire, and let you know. Now, +please, give me my pigeons.</p> +<p><i>Duo.</i> I’ll give them on one condition more. Promise to +me that you will not tell your mother that I want the information.</p> +<p><i>Dalim.</i> I promise.</p> +<p>The Duo queen let go the pigeons, and Dalim, overjoyed to find again +his beloved birds, forgot every syllable of the conversation he had had +with his stepmother. The next day, however, the pigeons again flew into +the Duo queen’s rooms. Dalim went to his stepmother, who asked +him for the required information. The boy promised to ask his mother +that very day, and begged hard for the release of the pigeons. The +pigeons were at last delivered. After play, Dalim went to his mother +and said—“Mamma, please tell me in what my life is +contained.” “What do you mean, child?” asked the +mother, astonished beyond measure at the child’s extraordinary +question. “Yes, mamma,” rejoined the child, “I have +heard that a holy mendicant told you that my life is contained in +something. Tell me what that thing is.” “My pet, my +darling, my treasure, my golden moon, do not ask such an inauspicious +question. Let the mouth of my enemies be covered with ashes, and let my +Dalim live for ever,” said the mother, earnestly. But the child +insisted on being informed of the secret. He said he would not eat or +drink anything unless the information were given him. The Suo queen, +pressed by the importunity of her son, in an evil <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb5" href="#pb5" name="pb5">5</a>]</span>hour told +the child the secret of his life. The next day the pigeons again, as +fate would have it, flew into the Duo queen’s rooms. Dalim went +for them; the stepmother plied the boy with sugared words, and obtained +the knowledge of the secret.</p> +<p>The Duo queen, on learning the secret of Dalim Kumar’s life, +lost no time in using it for the prosecution of her malicious design. +She told her maid-servants to get for her some dried stalks of the hemp +plant, which are very brittle, and which, when pressed upon, make a +peculiar noise, not unlike the cracking of joints of bones in the human +body. These hemp stalks she put under her bed, upon which she laid +herself down and gave out that she was dangerously ill. The king, +though he did not love her so well as his other queen, was in duty +bound to visit her in her illness. The queen pretended that her bones +were all cracking; and sure enough, when she tossed from one side of +her bed to the other, the hemp stalks made the noise wanted. The king, +believing that the Duo queen was seriously ill, ordered his best +physician to attend her. With that physician the Duo queen was in +collusion. The physician said to the king that for the queen’s +complaint there was but one remedy, which consisted in the outward +application of something to be found inside a large <i>boal</i> fish +which was in the tank before the palace. The king’s fisherman was +accordingly called and ordered to catch the <i>boal</i> in question. On +the first throw of the net the fish <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb6" +href="#pb6" name="pb6">6</a>]</span>was caught. It so happened that +Dalim Kumar, along with other boys, was playing not far from the tank. +The moment the <i>boal</i> fish was caught in the net, that moment +Dalim felt unwell; and when the fish was brought up to land, Dalim fell +down on the ground, and made as if he was about to breathe his last. He +was immediately taken into his mother’s room, and the king was +astonished on hearing of the sudden illness of his son and heir. The +fish was by the order of the physician taken into the room of the Duo +queen, and as it lay on the floor striking its fins on the ground, +Dalim in his mother’s room was given up for lost. When the fish +was cut open, a casket was found in it; and in the casket lay a +necklace of gold. The moment the necklace was worn by the queen, that +very moment Dalim died in his mother’s room.</p> +<p>When the news of the death of his son and heir reached the king he +was plunged into an ocean of grief, which was not lessened in any +degree by the intelligence of the recovery of the Duo queen. He wept +over his dead Dalim so bitterly that his courtiers were apprehensive of +a permanent derangement of his mental powers. The king would not allow +the dead body of his son to be either buried or burnt. He could not +realise the fact of his son’s death; it was so entirely causeless +and so terribly sudden. He ordered the dead body to be removed to one +of his garden-houses in the suburbs of the city, and to be laid there +in state. He ordered that all sorts of provisions should be stowed away +in that house, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb7" href="#pb7" name= +"pb7">7</a>]</span>as if the young prince needed them for his +refection. Orders were issued that the house should be kept locked up +day and night, and that no one should go into it except Dalim’s +most intimate friend, the son of the king’s prime minister, who +was intrusted with the key of the house, and who obtained the privilege +of entering it once in twenty-four hours.</p> +<p>As, owing to her great loss, the Suo queen lived in retirement, the +king gave up his nights entirely to the Duo queen. The latter, in order +to allay suspicion, used to put aside the gold necklace at night; and, +as fate had ordained that Dalim should be in the state of death only +during the time that the necklace was round the neck of the queen, he +passed into the state of life whenever the necklace was laid aside. +Accordingly Dalim revived every night, as the Duo queen every night put +away the necklace, and died again the next morning when the queen put +it on. When Dalim became reanimated at night he ate whatever food he +liked, for of such there was a plentiful stock in the garden-house, +walked about on the premises, and meditated on the singularity of his +lot. Dalim’s friend, who visited him only during the day, found +him always lying a lifeless corpse; but what struck him after some days +was the singular fact that the body remained in the same state in which +he saw it on the first day of his visit. There was no sign of +putrefaction. Except that it was lifeless and pale, there were no +symptoms of corruption—it was apparently quite fresh. Unable +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb8" href="#pb8" name= +"pb8">8</a>]</span>to account for so strange a phenomenon, he +determined to watch the corpse more closely, and to visit it not only +during the day but sometimes also at night. The first night that he +paid his visit he was astounded to see his dead friend sauntering about +in the garden. At first he thought the figure might be only the ghost +of his friend, but on feeling him and otherwise examining him, he found +the apparition to be veritable flesh and blood. Dalim related to his +friend all the circumstances connected with his death; and they both +concluded that he revived at nights only because the Duo queen put +aside her necklace when the king visited her. As the life of the prince +depended on the necklace, the two friends laid their heads together to +devise if possible some plans by which they might get possession of it. +Night after night they consulted together, but they could not think of +any feasible scheme. At length the gods brought about the deliverance +of Dalim Kumar in a wonderful manner.</p> +<p>Some years before the time of which we are speaking, the sister of +Bidhata-Purusha<a class="noteref" id="xd19e851src" href="#xd19e851" +name="xd19e851src">3</a> was delivered of a daughter. The anxious +mother asked her brother what he had written on her child’s +forehead; to which Bidhata-Purusha replied that she should get married +to a dead bridegroom. Maddened as she became with grief at the prospect +of such a dreary destiny for her daughter, <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb9" href="#pb9" name="pb9">9</a>]</span>she yet +thought it useless to remonstrate with her brother, for she well knew +that he never changed what he once wrote. As the child grew in years +she became exceedingly beautiful, but the mother could not look upon +her with pleasure in consequence of the portion allotted to her by her +divine brother. When the girl came to marriageable age, the mother +resolved to flee from the country with her, and thus avert her dreadful +destiny. But the decrees of fate cannot thus be overruled. In the +course of their wanderings the mother and daughter arrived at the gate +of that very garden-house in which Dalim Kumar lay. It was evening. The +girl said she was thirsty and wanted to drink water. The mother told +her daughter to sit at the gate, while she went to search for drinking +water in some neighbouring hut. In the meantime the girl through +curiosity pushed the door of the garden-house, which opened of itself. +She then went in and saw a beautiful palace, and was wishing to come +out when the door shut itself of its own accord, so that she could not +get out. As night came on the prince revived, and, walking about, saw a +human figure near the gate. He went up to it, and found it was a girl +of surpassing beauty. On being asked who she was, she told Dalim Kumar +all the details of her little history,—how her uncle, the divine +Bidhata-Purusha, wrote on her forehead at her birth that she should get +married to a dead bridegroom, how her mother had no pleasure in her +life at the prospect of so terrible a destiny, and <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb10" href="#pb10" name="pb10">10</a>]</span>how, +therefore, on the approach of her womanhood, with a view to avert so +dreadful a catastrophe, she had left her house with her and wandered in +various places, how they came to the gate of the garden-house, and how +her mother had now gone in search of drinking water for her. Dalim +Kumar, hearing her simple and pathetic story, said, “I am the +dead bridegroom, and you must get married to me, come with me to the +house.” “How can you be said to be a dead bridegroom when +you are standing and speaking to me?” said the girl. “You +will understand it afterwards,” rejoined the prince, “come +now and follow me.” The girl followed the prince into the house. +As she had been fasting the whole day the prince hospitably entertained +her. As for the mother of the girl, the sister of the divine +Bidhata-Purusha, she returned to the gate of the garden-house after it +was dark, cried out for her daughter, and getting no answer, went away +in search of her in the huts in the neighbourhood. It is said that +after this she was not seen anywhere.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e862width" id="p009"><img src="images/p009.jpg" +alt= +"“The prince revived, and, walking about, saw a human figure near the gate”" +width="502" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“The prince revived, and, walking about, +saw a human figure near the gate”</p> +</div> +<p>While the niece of the divine Bidhata-Purusha was partaking of the +hospitality of Dalim Kumar, his friend as usual made his appearance. He +was surprised not a little at the sight of the fair stranger; and his +surprise became greater when he heard the story of the young lady from +her own lips. It was forthwith resolved that very night to unite the +young couple in the bonds of matrimony. As priests were out of the +question, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb11" href="#pb11" name= +"pb11">11</a>]</span>the hymeneal rites were performed <i>à la +Gandharva</i>.<a class="noteref" id="xd19e873src" href="#xd19e873" +name="xd19e873src">4</a> The friend of the bridegroom took leave of the +newly-married couple and went away to his house. As the happy pair had +spent the greater part of the night in wakefulness, it was long after +sunrise that they awoke from their sleep;—I should have said that +the young wife woke from her sleep, for the prince had become a cold +corpse, life having departed from him. The feelings of the young wife +may be easily imagined. She shook her husband, imprinted warm kisses on +his cold lips, but in vain. He was as lifeless as a marble statue. +Stricken with horror, she smote her breast, struck her forehead with +the palms of her hands, tore her hair and went about in the house and +in the garden as if she had gone mad. Dalim’s friend did not come +into the house during the day, as he deemed it improper to pay a visit +to her while her husband was lying dead. The day seemed to the poor +girl as long as a year, but the longest day has its end, and when the +shades of evening were descending upon the landscape, her dead husband +was awakened into consciousness; he rose up from his bed, embraced his +disconsolate wife, ate, drank, and became merry. His friend made his +appearance as usual, and the whole night was spent in gaiety and +festivity. Amid this alternation of life and death did the prince and +his lady spend some seven or eight years, during which time the +princess presented her husband with two lovely boys who were the exact +image of their father. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb12" href="#pb12" +name="pb12">12</a>]</span></p> +<p>It is superfluous to remark that the king, the two queens, and other +members of the royal household did not know that Dalim Kumar was +living, at any rate, was living at night. They all thought that he was +long ago dead and his corpse burnt. But the heart of Dalim’s wife +was yearning after her mother-in-law, whom she had never seen. She +conceived a plan by which she might be able not only to have a sight of +her mother-in-law, but also to get hold of the Duo queen’s +necklace, on which her husband’s life was dependent. With the +consent of her husband and of his friend she disguised herself as a +female barber. Like every female barber she took a bundle containing +the following articles:—an iron instrument for paring nails, +another iron instrument for scraping off the superfluous flesh of the +soles of the feet, a piece of <i>jhama</i> or burnt brick for rubbing +the soles of the feet with, and <i>alakta</i><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e885src" href="#xd19e885" name="xd19e885src">5</a> for painting +the edges of the feet and toes with. Taking this bundle in her hand she +stood at the gate of the king’s palace with her two boys. She +declared herself to be a barber, and expressed a desire to see the Suo +queen, who readily gave her an interview. The queen was quite taken up +with the two little boys, who, she declared, strongly reminded her of +her darling Dalim Kumar. Tears fell profusely from her eyes at the +recollection of her lost treasure; but she of course had not the +remotest idea that the two little boys were the sons of her own dear +Dalim. She told the supposed barber that she did <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb13" href="#pb13" name="pb13">13</a>]</span>not +require her services, as, since the death of her son, she had given up +all terrestrial vanities, and among others the practice of dyeing her +feet red; but she added that, nevertheless, she would be glad now and +then to see her and her two fine boys. The female barber, for so we +must now call her, then went to the quarters of the Duo queen and +offered her services. The queen allowed her to pare her nails, to +scrape off the superfluous flesh of her feet, and to paint them with +<i>alakta</i> and was so pleased with her skill, and the sweetness of +her disposition, that she ordered her to wait upon her periodically. +The female barber noticed with no little concern the necklace round the +queen’s neck. The day of her second visit came on, and she +instructed the elder of her two sons to set up a loud cry in the +palace, and not to stop crying till he got into his hands the Duo +queen’s necklace. The female barber, accordingly, went again on +the appointed day to the Duo queen’s apartments. While she was +engaged in painting the queen’s feet, the elder boy set up a loud +cry. On being asked the reason of the cry, the boy, as previously +instructed, said that he wanted the queen’s necklace. The queen +said that it was impossible for her to part with that particular +necklace, for it was the best and most valuable of all her jewels. To +gratify the boy, however, she took it off her neck, and put it into the +boy’s hand. The boy stopped crying and held the necklace tight in +his hand. As the female barber after she had done her work was about to +go away, the queen wanted the necklace <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb14" href="#pb14" name="pb14">14</a>]</span>back. But the boy would +not part with it. When his mother attempted to snatch it from him, he +wept bitterly, and showed as if his heart would break. On which the +female barber said—“Will your Majesty be gracious enough to +let the boy take the necklace home with him? When he falls asleep after +drinking his milk, which he is sure to do in the course of an hour, I +will carefully bring it back to you.” The queen, seeing that the +boy would not allow it to be taken away from him, agreed to the +proposal of the female barber, especially reflecting that Dalim, whose +life depended on it, had long ago gone to the abodes of death.</p> +<p>Thus possessed of the treasure on which the life of her husband +depended, the woman went with breathless haste to the garden-house and +presented the necklace to Dalim, who had been restored to life. Their +joy knew no bounds, and by the advice of their friend they determined +the next day to go to the palace in state, and present themselves to +the king and the Suo queen. Due preparations were made; an elephant, +richly caparisoned, was brought for the prince Dalim Kumar, a pair of +ponies for the two little boys, and a <i>chaturdala</i><a class= +"noteref" id="xd19e901src" href="#xd19e901" name="xd19e901src">6</a> +furnished with curtains of gold lace for the princess. Word was sent to +the king and the Suo queen that the prince Dalim Kumar was not only +alive, but that he was coming to visit his royal parents with his wife +and sons. The king and Suo queen could hardly believe in the report, +but being assured of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb15" href="#pb15" +name="pb15">15</a>]</span>its truth they were entranced with joy; while +the Duo queen, anticipating the disclosure of all her wiles, became +overwhelmed with grief. The procession of Dalim Kumar, which was +attended by a band of musicians, approached the palace-gate; and the +king and Suo queen went out to receive their long-lost son. It is +needless to say that their joy was intense. They fell on each +other’s neck and wept. Dalim then related all the circumstances +connected with his death. The king, inflamed with rage, ordered the Duo +queen into his presence. A large hole, as deep as the height of a man, +was dug in the ground. The Duo queen was put into it in a standing +posture. Prickly thorn was heaped around her up to the crown of her +head; and in this manner she was buried alive.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth;</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O Natiya-thorn, dost +wither?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why does thy cow on me browse?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O cow, dost thou browse?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why does thy neat-herd not tend +me?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O neat-herd, dost not tend the +cow?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why does thy daughter-in-law not give me +rice?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O daughter-in-law, dost not give +rice?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why does my child cry?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O child, dost thou cry?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why does the ant bite me?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O ant, dost thou bite?”</p> +<p class="line">Koot! koot! koot!</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb16" href="#pb16" name= +"pb16">16</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e750" href="#xd19e750src" name="xd19e750">1</a></span> Kings, in +Bengali folk-tales, have invariably two queens—the elder is +called <i>duo</i>, that is, not loved; and the younger is called +<i>suo</i>, that is, loved.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e759" href="#xd19e759src" name="xd19e759">2</a></span> +<i>Dalim</i> or <i>dadimba</i> means a pomegranate, and <i>kumara</i> +son.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e851" href="#xd19e851src" name="xd19e851">3</a></span> +Bidhata-Purusha is the deity that predetermines all the events of the +life of man or woman, and writes on the forehead of the child, on the +sixth day of its birth, a brief <i>precis</i> of them.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e873" href="#xd19e873src" name="xd19e873">4</a></span> There are +eight forms of marriage spoken of in the Hindu Sastras, of which the +Gandharva is one, consisting in the exchange of garlands.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e885" href="#xd19e885src" name="xd19e885">5</a></span> +<i>Alakta</i> is leaves or flimsy paper saturated with lac.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e901" href="#xd19e901src" name="xd19e901">6</a></span> A sort of +open <i>Palki</i>, used generally for carrying the bridegroom and bride +in marriage processions.</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch2" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">II</h2> +<h2 class="main">Phakir Chand</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">There was a king’s son, and there was a +minister’s son. They loved each other dearly; they sat together, +they stood up together, they walked together, they ate together, they +slept together, they got up together. In this way they spent many years +in each other’s company, till they both felt a desire to see +foreign lands. So one day they set out on their journey. Though very +rich, the one being the son of a king and the other the son of his +chief minister, they did not take any servants with them; they went by +themselves on horseback. The horses were beautiful to look at; they +were <i>pakshirajes</i>, or kings of birds. The king’s son and +the minister’s son rode together many days. They passed through +extensive plains covered with paddy; through cities, towns, and +villages; through waterless, treeless deserts; through dense forests +which were the abode of the tiger and the bear. One evening they were +overtaken by night in a region where human habitations were not seen; +and as it was getting darker and darker, they dismounted beneath a +lofty tree, tied their horses to its trunk, <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb17" href="#pb17" name="pb17">17</a>]</span>and, +climbing up, sat on its branches covered with thick foliage. The tree +grew near a large tank, the water of which was as clear as the eye of a +crow. The king’s son and the minister’s son made themselves +as comfortable as they could on the tree, being determined to spend on +its branches the livelong night. They sometimes chatted together in +whispers on account of the lonely terrors of the region; they sometimes +sat demurely silent for some minutes; and anon they were falling into a +doze, when their attention was arrested by a terrible sight.</p> +<p>A sound like the rush of many waters was heard from the middle of +the tank. A huge serpent was seen leaping up from under the water with +its hood of enormous size. It “lay floating many a rood”; +then it swam ashore, and went about hissing. But what most of all +attracted the attention of the king’s son and the +minister’s son was a brilliant <i>manikya</i> (jewel) on the +crested hood of the serpent. It shone like a thousand diamonds. It lit +up the tank, its embankments, and the objects round about. The serpent +doffed the jewel from its crest and threw it on the ground, and then it +went about hissing in search of food. The two friends sitting on the +tree greatly admired the wonderful brilliant, shedding ineffable lustre +on everything around. They had never before seen anything like it; they +had only heard of it as equalling the treasures of seven kings. Their +admiration, however, was soon changed into sorrow and fear; for the +serpent came hissing to the foot <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb18" +href="#pb18" name="pb18">18</a>]</span>of the tree on the branches of +which they were seated, and swallowed up, one by one, the horses tied +to the trunk. They feared that they themselves would be the next +victims, when, to their infinite relief, the gigantic cobra turned away +from the tree, and went about roaming to a great distance. The +minister’s son, seeing this, bethought himself of taking +possession of the lustrous stone. He had heard that the only way to +hide the brilliant light of the jewel was to cover it with cow-dung or +horse-dung, a quantity of which latter article he perceived lying at +the foot of the tree. He came down from the tree softly, picked up the +horse-dung, threw it upon the precious stone, and again climbed into +the tree. The serpent, not perceiving the light of its head-jewel, +rushed with great fury to the spot where it had been left. Its +hissings, groans, and convulsions were terrible. It went round and +round the jewel covered with horse-dung, and then breathed its last. +Early next morning the king’s son and the minister’s son +alighted from the tree, and went to the spot where the crest-jewel was. +The mighty serpent lay there perfectly lifeless. The minister’s +son took up in his hand the jewel covered with horse-dung; and both of +them went to the tank to wash it. When all the horse-dung had been +washed off, the jewel shone as brilliantly as before. It lit up the +entire bed of the tank, and exposed to their view the innumerable +fishes swimming about in the waters. But what was their astonishment +when they saw, by the light of the jewel, in the bottom of the +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb19" href="#pb19" name= +"pb19">19</a>]</span>tank, the lofty walls of what seemed a magnificent +palace. The venturesome son of the minister proposed to the prince that +they should dive into the waters and get at the palace below. They both +dived into the waters—the jewel being in the hand of the +minister’s son—and in a moment stood at the gate of the +palace. The gate was open. They saw no being, human or superhuman. They +went inside the gate, and saw a beautiful garden laid out on the ample +grounds round about the house which was in the centre. The king’s +son and the minister’s son had never seen such a profusion of +flowers. The rose with its many varieties, the jessamine, the +<i>bel</i>, the <i>mallika</i>, the <i>king of smells</i>, the lily of +the valley, the <i>Champaka</i>, and a thousand other sorts of +sweet-scented flowers were there. And of each of these flowers there +seemed to be a large number. Here were a hundred rose-bushes, there +many acres covered with the delicious jessamine, while yonder were +extensive plantations of all sorts of flowers. As all the plants were +begemmed with flowers, and as the flowers were in full bloom, the air +was loaded with rich perfume. It was a wilderness of sweets. Through +this paradise of perfumery they proceeded towards the house, which was +surrounded by banks of lofty trees. They stood at the door of the +house. It was a fairy palace. The walls were of burnished gold, and +here and there shone diamonds of dazzling hue which were stuck into the +walls. They did not meet with any beings, human or other. They went +inside, which was richly furnished. They <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb20" href="#pb20" name="pb20">20</a>]</span>went from room to room, +but they did not see any one. It seemed to be a deserted house. At +last, however, they found in one room a young lady lying down, +apparently in sleep, on a bed of golden framework. She was of exquisite +beauty; her complexion was a mixture of red and white; and her age was +apparently about sixteen. The king’s son and the minister’s +son gazed upon her with rapture; but they had not stood long when this +young lady of superb beauty opened her eyes, which seemed like those of +a gazelle. On seeing the strangers she said: “How have you come +here, ye unfortunate men? Begone, begone! This is the abode of a mighty +serpent, which has devoured my father, my mother, my brothers, and all +my relatives; I am the only one of my family that he has spared. Flee +for your lives, or else the serpent will put you both in its capacious +maw.” The minister’s son told the princess how the serpent +had breathed its last; how he and his friend had got possession of its +head-jewel, and by its light had come to her palace. She thanked the +strangers for delivering her from the infernal serpent, and begged of +them to live in the house, and never to desert her. The king’s +son and the minister’s son gladly accepted the invitation. The +king’s son, smitten with the charms of the peerless princess, +married her after a short time; and as there was no priest there, the +hymeneal knot was tied by a simple exchange of garlands of flowers.</p> +<p>The king’s son became inexpressibly happy in the company of +the princess, who was as amiable <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb21" +href="#pb21" name="pb21">21</a>]</span>in her disposition as she was +beautiful in her person; and though the wife of the minister’s +son was living in the upper world, he too participated in his +friend’s happiness. Time thus passed merrily, when the +king’s son bethought himself of returning to his native country; +and as it was fit that he should go with his princess in due pomp, it +was determined that the minister’s son should first ascend from +the subaqueous regions, go to the king, and bring with him attendants, +horses, and elephants for the happy pair. The snake-jewel was therefore +had in requisition. The prince, with the jewel in hand, accompanied the +minister’s son to the upper world, and bidding adieu to his +friend returned to his lovely wife in the enchanted palace. Before +leaving, the minister’s son appointed the day and the hour when +he would stand on the high embankments of the tank with horses, +elephants, and attendants, and wait upon the prince and the princess, +who were to join him in the upper world by means of the jewel.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e981width" id="p022"><img src="images/p022.jpg" +alt= +"“She took up the jewel in her hand, left the palace, and successfully reached the upper world”" +width="499" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“She took up the jewel in her hand, left +the palace, and successfully reached the upper world”</p> +</div> +<p>Leaving the minister’s son to wend his way to his country and +to make preparations for the return of his king’s son, let us see +how the happy couple in the subterranean palace were passing their +time. One day, while the prince was sleeping after his noonday meal, +the princess, who had never seen the upper regions, felt the desire of +visiting them, and the rather as the snake-jewel, which alone could +give her safe conduct through the waters, was at that moment shedding +its bright effulgence in the room. She took up the <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb22" href="#pb22" name="pb22">22</a>]</span>jewel in +her hand, left the palace, and successfully reached the upper world. No +mortal caught her sight. She sat on the flight of steps with which the +tank was furnished for the convenience of bathers, scrubbed her body, +washed her hair, disported in the waters, walked about on the +water’s edge, admired all the scenery around, and returned to her +palace, where she found her husband still locked in the embrace of +sleep. When the prince woke up, she did not tell him a word about her +adventure. The following day at the same hour, when her husband was +asleep, she paid a second visit to the upper world, and went back +unnoticed by mortal man. As success made her bold, she repeated her +adventure a third time. It so chanced that on that day the son of the +Rajah, in whose territories the tank was situated, was out on a hunting +excursion, and had pitched his tent not far from the place. While his +attendants were engaged in cooking their noon-day meal, the +Rajah’s son sauntered about on the embankments of the tank, near +which an old woman was gathering sticks and dried branches of trees for +purposes of fuel. It was while the Rajah’s son and the old woman +were near the tank that the princess paid her third visit to the upper +world. She rose up from the waters, gazed around, and seeing a man and +a woman on the banks again went down. The Rajah’s son caught a +momentary glimpse of the princess, and so did the old woman gathering +sticks. The Rajah’s son stood gazing on the waters. He had never +seen such a beauty. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb23" href="#pb23" +name="pb23">23</a>]</span>She seemed to him to be one of those +<i>deva-kanyas</i>, heavenly goddesses, of whom he had read in old +books, and who are said now and then to favour the lower world with +their visits, which, like angel visits, are “few and far +between.” The unearthly beauty of the princess, though he had +seen her only for a moment, made a deep impression on his heart, and +distracted his mind. He stood there like a statue, for hours, gazing on +the waters, in the hope of seeing the lovely figure again. But in vain. +The princess did not appear again. The Rajah’s son became mad +with love. He kept muttering—“Now here, now gone! Now here, +now gone!” He would not leave the place till he was forcibly +removed by the attendants who had now come to him. He was taken to his +father’s palace in a state of hopeless insanity. He spoke to +nobody; he always sobbed heavily; and the only words which proceeded +out of his mouth—and he was muttering them every +minute—were, “Now here, now gone! Now here, now +gone!” The Rajah’s grief may well be conceived. He could +not imagine what should have deranged his son’s mind. The words, +“Now here, now gone,” which ever and anon issued from his +son’s lips, were a mystery to him; he could not unravel their +meaning; neither could the attendants throw any light on the subject. +The best physicians of the country were consulted, but to no effect. +The sons of Æsculapius could not ascertain the cause of the +madness, far less could they cure it. To the many inquiries of the +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb24" href="#pb24" name= +"pb24">24</a>]</span>physicians, the only reply made by the +Rajah’s son was the stereotyped words—“Now here, now +gone! Now here, now gone!”</p> +<p>The Rajah, distracted with grief on account of the obscuration of +his son’s intellects, caused a proclamation to be made in the +capital by beat of drum, to the effect that, if any person could +explain the cause of his son’s madness and cure it, such a person +would be rewarded with the hand of the Rajah’s daughter, and with +the possession of half his kingdom. The drum was beaten round most +parts of the city, but no one touched it, as no one knew the cause of +the madness of the Rajah’s son. At last an old woman touched the +drum, and declared that she would not only discover the cause of the +madness, but cure it. This woman, who was the identical woman that was +gathering sticks near the tank at the time the Rajah’s son lost +his reason, had a crack-brained son of the name of Phakir Chand, and +was in consequence called Phakir’s mother, or more familiarly +Phakre’s mother. When the woman was brought before the Rajah, the +following conversation took place:—</p> +<p><i>Rajah.</i> You are the woman that touched the drum.—You +know the cause of my son’s madness?</p> +<p><i>Phakir’s Mother.</i> Yes, O incarnation of justice! I know +the cause, but I will not mention it till I have cured your son.</p> +<p><i>Rajah.</i> How can I believe that you are able to cure my son, +when the best physicians of the land have failed? <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb25" href="#pb25" name="pb25">25</a>]</span></p> +<p><i>Phakir’s Mother.</i> You need not now believe, my lord, +till I have performed the cure. Many an old woman knows secrets with +which wise men are unacquainted.</p> +<p><i>Rajah.</i> Very well, let me see what you can do. In what time +will you perform the cure?</p> +<p><i>Phakir’s Mother.</i> It is impossible to fix the time at +present; but I will begin work immediately with your lordship’s +assistance.</p> +<p><i>Rajah.</i> What help do you require from me?</p> +<p><i>Phakir’s Mother.</i> Your lordship will please order a hut +to be raised on the embankment of the tank where your son first caught +the disease. I mean to live in that hut for a few days. And your +lordship will also please order some of your servants to be in +attendance at a distance of about a hundred yards from the hut, so that +they might be within call.</p> +<p><i>Rajah.</i> Very well; I will order that to be immediately done. +Do you want anything else?</p> +<p><i>Phakir’s Mother.</i> Nothing else, my lord, in the way of +preparations. But it is as well to remind your lordship of the +conditions on which I undertake the cure. Your lordship has promised to +give to the performer of the cure the hand of your daughter and half +your kingdom. As I am a woman and cannot marry your daughter, I beg +that, in case I perform the cure, my son Phakir Chand may marry your +daughter and take possession of half your kingdom.</p> +<p><i>Rajah.</i> Agreed, agreed.</p> +<p>A temporary hut was in a few hours erected <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb26" href="#pb26" name="pb26">26</a>]</span>on the +embankment of the tank, and Phakir’s mother took up her abode in +it. An outpost was also erected at some distance for servants in +attendance who might be required to give help to the woman. Strict +orders were given by Phakir’s mother that no human being should +go near the tank excepting herself. Let us leave Phakir’s mother +keeping watch at the tank, and hasten down into the subterranean palace +to see what the prince and the princess are about. After the mishap +which had occurred on her last visit to the upper world, the princess +had given up the idea of a fourth visit. But women generally have +greater curiosity than men; and the princess of the underground palace +was no exception to the general rule. One day, while her husband was +asleep as usual after his noonday meal, she rushed out of the palace +with the snake-jewel in her hand, and came to the upper world. The +moment the upheaval of the waters in the middle of the tank took place, +Phakir’s mother, who was on the alert, concealed herself in the +hut and began looking through the chinks of the matted wall. The +princess, seeing no mortal near, came to the bank, and sitting there +began to scrub her body. Phakir’s mother showed herself outside +the hut, and addressing the princess, said in a winning +tone—“Come, my child, thou queen of beauty, come to me, and +I will help you to bathe.” So saying, she approached the +princess, who, seeing that it was only a woman, made no resistance. The +old woman, while in the act of washing the hair of <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb27" href="#pb27" name="pb27">27</a>]</span>the +princess, noticed the bright jewel in her hand, and +said—“Put the jewel here till you are bathed.” In a +moment the jewel was in the possession of Phakir’s mother, who +wrapped it up in the cloth that was round her waist. Knowing the +princess to be unable to escape, she gave the signal to the attendants +in waiting, who rushed to the tank and made the princess a captive.</p> +<p>Great were the rejoicings of the people when the tidings reached the +city that Phakir’s mother had captured a water-nymph from the +nether regions. The whole city came to see the “daughter of the +immortals,” as they called the princess. When she was brought to +the palace and confronted with the Rajah’s son of obscured +intellect, the latter said with a shout of exultation—“I +have found! I have found!” The cloud which had settled on his +brain was dissipated in a moment. The eyes, erewhile vacant and +lustreless, now glowed with the fire of intelligence; his tongue, of +which he had almost lost the use—the only words which he used to +utter being, “Now here, now gone!”—was now relaxed: +in a word, he was restored to his senses. The joy of the Rajah knew no +bounds. There was great festivity in the city; and the people who +showered benedictions on the head of Phakir Chand’s mother, +expected the speedy celebration of the marriage of the Rajah’s +son with the beauty of the nether world. The princess, however, told +the Rajah, through Phakir’s mother, that she had made a vow to +the effect that she would not, for one whole year, look <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb28" href="#pb28" name="pb28">28</a>]</span>at the +face of another man than that of her husband who was dwelling beneath +the waters, and that therefore the marriage could not be performed +during that period. Though the Rajah’s son was somewhat +disappointed, he readily agreed to the delay, believing, agreeably to +the proverb, that delay would greatly enhance the sweetness of those +pleasures which were in store for him.</p> +<p>It is scarcely necessary to say that the princess spent her days and +her nights in sorrowing and sighing. She lamented that idle curiosity +which had led her to come to the upper world, leaving her husband +below. When she recollected that her husband was all alone below the +waters she wept bitter tears. She wished she could run away. But that +was impossible, as she was immured within walls, and there were walls +within walls. Besides, if she could get out of the palace and of the +city, of what avail would it be? She could not gain her husband, as the +serpent jewel was not in her possession. The ladies of the palace and +Phakir’s mother tried to divert her mind, but in vain. She took +pleasure in nothing; she would hardly speak to any one; she wept day +and night. The year of her vow was drawing to a close, and yet she was +disconsolate. The marriage, however, must be celebrated. The Rajah +consulted the astrologers, and the day and the hour in which the +nuptial knot was to be tied were fixed. Great preparations were made. +The confectioners of the city busied themselves day and night in +preparing sweetmeats; milkmen took contracts for supplying the palace +with tanks of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb29" href="#pb29" name= +"pb29">29</a>]</span>curds; gunpowder was being manufactured for a +grand display of fireworks; bands of musicians were placed on sheds +erected over the palace gate, who ever and anon sent forth many +“a bout of linked sweetness”; and the whole city assumed an +air of mirth and festivity.</p> +<p>It is time we should think of the minister’s son, who, leaving +his friend in the subterranean palace, had gone to his country to bring +horses, elephants, and attendants for the return of the king’s +son and his lovely princess with due pomp. The preparations took him +many months; and when everything was ready he started on his journey, +accompanied by a long train of elephants, horses, and attendants. He +reached the tank two or three days before the appointed day. Tents were +pitched in the mango-topes adjoining the tank for the accommodation of +men and cattle; and the minister’s son always kept his eyes fixed +on the tank. The sun of the appointed day sank below the horizon; but +the prince and the princess dwelling beneath the waters made no sign. +He waited two or three days longer; still the prince did not make his +appearance. What could have happened to his friend and his beautiful +wife? Were they dead? Had another serpent, possibly the mate of the one +that had died, beaten the prince and the princess to death? Had they +somehow lost the serpent-jewel? Or had they been captured when they +were once on a visit to the upper world? Such were the reflections of +the minister’s son. He was overwhelmed with <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb30" href="#pb30" name="pb30">30</a>]</span>grief. +Ever since he had come to the tank he had heard at regular intervals +the sound of music coming from the city which was not distant. He +inquired of passers-by what that music meant. He was told that the +Rajah’s son was about to be married to some wonderful young lady, +who had come out of the waters of that very tank on the bank of which +he was now seated, and that the marriage ceremony was to be performed +on the day following the next. The minister’s son immediately +concluded that the wonderful young lady of the lake that was to be +married was none other than the wife of his friend, the king’s +son. He resolved therefore to go into the city to learn the details of +the affair, and try if possible to rescue the princess. He told the +attendants to go home, taking with them the elephants and the horses; +and he himself went to the city, and took up his abode in the house of +a Brahman.</p> +<p>After he had rested and taken his dinner, the minister’s son +asked the Brahman what the meaning was of the music that was heard in +the city at regular intervals. The Brahman asked, “From what part +of the world have you come that you have not heard of the wonderful +circumstance that a young lady of heavenly beauty rose out of the +waters of a tank in the suburbs, and that she is going to be married +the day after to-morrow to the son of our Rajah?”</p> +<p><i>Minister’s Son.</i> No, I have heard nothing. I have come +from a distant country whither the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb31" +href="#pb31" name="pb31">31</a>]</span>story has not reached. Will you +kindly tell me the particulars?</p> +<p><i>Brahman.</i> The Rajah’s son went out a-hunting about this +time last year. He pitched his tents close to a tank in the suburbs. +One day, while the Rajah’s son was walking near the tank, he saw +a young woman, or rather goddess, of uncommon beauty rise from the +waters of the tank. She gazed about for a minute or two and +disappeared. The Rajah’s son, however, who had seen her, was so +struck with her heavenly beauty that he became desperately enamoured of +her. Indeed, so intense was his passion, that his reason gave way; and +he was carried home hopelessly mad. The only words he uttered day and +night were—“Now here, now gone!” The Rajah sent for +all the best physicians of the country for restoring his son to his +reason; but the physicians were powerless. At last he caused a +proclamation to be made by beat of drum to the effect that if any one +could cure the Rajah’s son, he should be the Rajah’s +son-in-law and the owner of half his kingdom. An old woman, who went by +the name of Phakir’s mother, took hold of the drum, and declared +her ability to cure the Rajah’s son. On the tank where the +princess had appeared was raised for Phakir’s mother a hut in +which she took up her abode; and not far from her hut another hut was +erected for the accommodation of attendants who might be required to +help her. It seems the goddess rose from the waters; Phakir’s +mother seized her with the help of the <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb32" href="#pb32" name="pb32">32</a>]</span>attendants, and carried +her in a <i>palki</i> to the palace. At the sight of her the +Rajah’s son was restored to his senses; and the marriage would +have been celebrated at that time but for a vow which the goddess had +made that she would not look at the face of any male person till the +lapse of a year. The year of the vow is now over; and the music which +you have heard is from the gate of the Rajah’s palace. This, in +brief, is the story.</p> +<p><i>Minister’s Son.</i> A truly wonderful story! And has +Phakir’s mother, or rather Phakir Chand himself, been rewarded +with the hand of the Rajah’s daughter and with the possession of +half the kingdom?</p> +<p><i>Brahman.</i> No, not yet. Phakir has not been got hold of. He is +a half-witted lad, or rather quite mad. He has been away for more than +a year from his home, and no one knows where he is. That is his manner; +he stays away for a long time, suddenly comes home, and again +disappears. I believe his mother expects him soon.</p> +<p><i>Minister’s Son.</i> What like is he? and what does he do +when he returns home?</p> +<p><i>Brahman.</i> Why, he is about your height, though he is somewhat +younger than you. He puts on a small piece of cloth round his waist, +rubs his body with ashes, takes the branch of a tree in his hand, and, +at the door of the hut in which his mother lives, dances to the tune of +<i>dhoop! dhoop! dhoop!</i> His articulation is very indistinct; and +when his mother says—“Phakir! stay with me for some +days,” he invariably answers <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb33" +href="#pb33" name="pb33">33</a>]</span>in his usual unintelligible +manner, “No, I won’t remain, I won’t remain.” +And when he wishes to give an affirmative answer, he says, +“Hoom,” which means “Yes.”</p> +<p>The above conversation with the Brahman poured a flood of light into +the mind of the minister’s son. He saw how matters stood. He +perceived that the princess of the subterranean palace must have alone +ventured out into the tank by means of the snake-jewel; that she must +have been captured alone without the king’s son; that the +snake-jewel must be in the possession of Phakir’s mother; and +that his friend, the king’s son, must be alone below the waters +without any means of escape. The desolate and apparently hopeless state +of his friend filled him with unutterable grief. He was in deep musings +during most part of the night. Is it impossible, thought he, to rescue +the king’s son from the nether regions? What if, by some means or +other, I contrive to get the jewel from the old woman? And can I not do +it by personating Phakir Chand himself, who is expected by his mother +shortly? And possibly by the same means I may be able to rescue the +princess from the Rajah’s palace. He resolved to act the +<i>rôle</i> of Phakir Chand the following day. In the morning he +left the Brahman’s house, went to the outskirts of the city, +divested himself of his usual clothing, put round his waist a short and +narrow piece of cloth which scarcely reached his knee-joints, rubbed +his body well with ashes, took in his hand a twig which he broke off a +tree, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb34" href="#pb34" name= +"pb34">34</a>]</span>thus accoutred, presented himself before the door +of the hut of Phakir’s mother. He commenced operations by +dancing, in a most violent manner, to the tune of <i>dhoop! dhoop! +dhoop!</i> The dancing attracted the notice of the old woman, who, +supposing that her son had come, said—“My son Phakir, are +you come? Come, my darling; the gods have at last become propitious to +us.” The supposed Phakir Chand uttered the monosyllable +“hoom,” and went on dancing in a still more violent manner +than before, waving the twig in his hand. “This time you must not +go away,” said the old woman, “you must remain with +me.” “No, I won’t remain, I won’t +remain,” said the minister’s son. “Remain with me, +and I’ll get you married to the Rajah’s daughter. Will you +marry, Phakir Chand?” The minister’s son +replied—“Hoom, hoom,” and danced on like a madman. +“Will you come with me to the Rajah’s house? I’ll +show you a princess of uncommon beauty who has risen from the +waters.” “Hoom, hoom,” was the answer that issued +from his lips, while his feet tripped it violently to the sound of +<i>dhoop! dhoop!</i> “Do you wish to see a <i>manik</i>, Phakir, +the crest jewel of the serpent, the treasure of seven kings?” +“Hoom, hoom,” was the reply. The old woman brought out of +the hut the snake-jewel, and put it into the hand of her supposed son. +The minister’s son took it, and carefully wrapped it up in the +piece of cloth round his waist. Phakir’s mother, delighted beyond +measure at the opportune appearance of her <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb35" href="#pb35" name="pb35">35</a>]</span>son, +went to the Rajah’s house, partly to announce to the Rajah the +news of Phakir’s appearance, and partly to show Phakir the +princess of the waters. The supposed Phakir and his mother found ready +access to the Rajah’s palace, for the old woman had, since the +capture of the princess, become the most important person in the +kingdom. She took him into the room where the princess was, and +introduced him to her. It is superfluous to remark that the princess +was by no means pleased with the company of a madcap, who was in a +state of semi-nudity, whose body was rubbed with ashes, and who was +ever and anon dancing in a wild manner. At sunset the old woman +proposed to her son that they should leave the palace and go to their +own house. But the supposed Phakir Chand refused to comply with the +request; he said he would stay there that night. His mother tried to +persuade him to return with her, but he persisted in his determination. +He said he would remain with the princess. Phakir’s mother +therefore went away, after giving instructions to the guards and +attendants to take care of her son.</p> +<p>When all in the palace had retired to rest, the supposed Phakir, +coming towards the princess, said in his own usual +voice—“Princess! do you not recognise me? I am the +minister’s son, the friend of your princely husband.” The +princess, astonished at the announcement, said—“Who? The +minister’s son? Oh, my husband’s best friend, do rescue me +from this terrible captivity, from this worse than death. O fate! it is +by my own fault that I am <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb36" href= +"#pb36" name="pb36">36</a>]</span>reduced to this wretched state. Oh, +rescue me, rescue me, thou best of friends!” She then burst into +tears. The minister’s son said, “Do not be disconsolate. I +will try my best to rescue you this very night; only you must do +whatever I tell you.” “I will do anything you tell me, +minister’s son; anything you tell me.” After this the +supposed Phakir left the room, and passed through the courtyard of the +palace. Some of the guards challenged him, to whom he replied, +“Hoom, hoom; I will just go out for a minute and again come in +presently.” They understood that it was the madcap Phakir. True +to his word he did come back shortly, and went to the princess. An hour +afterwards he again went out and was again challenged, on which he made +the same reply as at the first time. The guards who challenged him +began to mutter between their teeth—“This madcap of a +Phakir will, we suppose, go out and come in all night. Let the fellow +alone; let him do what he likes. Who can be sitting up all night for +him?” The minister’s son was going out and coming in with +the view of accustoming the guards to his constant egress and ingress, +and also of watching for a favourable opportunity to escape with the +princess. About three o’clock in the morning the minister’s +son again passed through the courtyard, but this time no one challenged +him, as all the guards had fallen asleep. Overjoyed at the auspicious +circumstance, he went to the princess. “Now, princess, is the +time for escape. The guards are all asleep. <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb37" href="#pb37" name="pb37">37</a>]</span>Mount on +my back, and tie the locks of your hair round my neck, and keep tight +hold of me.” The princess did as she was told. He passed +unchallenged through the courtyard with the lovely burden on his back, +passed out of the gate of the palace—no one challenging him, +passed on to the outskirts of the city, and reached the tank from which +the princess had risen. The princess stood on her legs, rejoicing at +her escape, and at the same time trembling. The minister’s son +untied the snake-jewel from his waist-cloth, and descending into the +waters, both he and she found their way to the subterranean palace. The +reception which the prince in the subaqueous palace gave to his wife +and his friend may be easily imagined. He had nearly died of grief; but +now he suffered a resurrection. The three were now mad with joy. During +the three days that they remained in the palace they again and again +told the story of the egress of the princess into the upper world, of +her seizure, of her captivity in the palace, of the preparations for +marriage, of the old woman, of the minister’s son personating +Phakir Chand, and of the successful deliverance. It is unnecessary to +add that the prince and the princess expressed their gratitude to the +minister’s son in the warmest terms, declared him to be their +best and greatest friend, and vowed to abide always, till the day of +their death, by his advice, and to follow his counsel.</p> +<p>Being resolved to return to their native country, the king’s +son, the minister’s son, and the princess left the subterranean +palace, and, lighted in the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb38" href= +"#pb38" name="pb38">38</a>]</span>passage by the snake-jewel, made +their way good to the upper world. As they had neither elephants nor +horses, they were under the necessity of travelling on foot; and though +this mode of travelling was troublesome to both the king’s son +and the minister’s son, as they were bred in the lap of luxury, +it was infinitely more troublesome to the princess, as the stones of +the rough road</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line xd19e1132">“Wounded the invisible</p> +<p class="line">Palms of her tender feet where’er they +fell.”</p> +</div> +<p class="first">When her feet became very sore, the king’s son +sometimes took her up on his broad shoulders, on which she sat astride; +but the load, however lovely, was too heavy to be carried any great +distance. She therefore, for the most part, travelled on foot.</p> +<p>One evening they bivouacked beneath a tree, as no human habitations +were visible. The minister’s son said to the prince and princess, +“Both of you go to sleep, and I will keep watch in order to +prevent any danger.” The royal couple were soon locked in the +arms of sleep. The faithful son of the minister did not sleep, but sat +up watching. It so happened that on that tree swung the nest of the two +immortal birds, Bihangama and Bihangami, who were not only endowed with +the power of human speech, but who could see into the future. To the no +little astonishment of the minister’s son the two prophetical +birds joined in the following conversation:— <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb39" href="#pb39" name="pb39">39</a>]</span></p> +<p><i>Bihangama.</i> The minister’s son has already risked his +own life for the safety of his friend, the king’s son; but he +will find it difficult to save the prince at last.</p> +<p><i>Bihangami.</i> Why so?</p> +<p><i>Bihangama.</i> Many dangers await the king’s son. The +prince’s father, when he hears of the approach of his son, will +send for him an elephant, some horses, and attendants. When the +king’s son rides on the elephant he will fall down and die.</p> +<p><i>Bihangami.</i> But suppose some one prevents the king’s son +from riding on the elephant, and makes him ride on horseback, will he +not in that case be saved?</p> +<p><i>Bihangama.</i> Yes, he will in that case escape that danger, but +a fresh danger awaits him. When the king’s son is in sight of his +father’s palace, and when he is in the act of passing through its +lion-gate, the lion-gate will fall upon him and crush him to death.</p> +<p><i>Bihangami.</i> But suppose some one destroys the lion-gate before +the king’s son goes up to it; will not the king’s son in +that case be saved?</p> +<p><i>Bihangama.</i> Yes, in that case he will escape that particular +danger; but a fresh danger awaits him. When the king’s son +reaches the palace and sits at a feast prepared for him, and when he +takes into his mouth the head of a fish cooked for him, the head of the +fish will stick in his throat and choke him to death.</p> +<p><i>Bihangami.</i> But suppose some one sitting at the feast snatches +the head of the fish from the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb40" href= +"#pb40" name="pb40">40</a>]</span>prince’s plate, and thus +prevents him from putting it into his mouth, will not the king’s +son in that case be saved?</p> +<p><i>Bihangama.</i> Yes, in that case he will escape that particular +danger; but a fresh danger awaits him. When the prince and princess +after dinner retire into their sleeping apartment, and they lie +together in bed, a terrible cobra will come into the room and bite the +king’s son to death.</p> +<p><i>Bihangami.</i> But suppose some one lying in wait in the room cut +the snake into pieces, will not the king’s son in that case be +saved?</p> +<p><i>Bihangama.</i> Yes, in that case the life of the king’s son +will be saved; but if the man who kills the snake repeats to the +king’s son the conversation between you and me, that man will be +turned into a marble statue.</p> +<p><i>Bihangami.</i> But is there no means of restoring the marble +statue to life?</p> +<p><i>Bihangama.</i> Yes, the marble statue may be restored to life if +it is washed with the life-blood of the infant which the princess will +give birth to, immediately after it is ushered into the world.</p> +<p>The conversation of the prophetical birds had extended thus far when +the crows began to caw, the east put on a reddish hue, and the +travellers beneath the tree bestirred themselves. The conversation +stopped, but the minister’s son had heard it all.</p> +<p>The prince, the princess, and the minister’s son pursued their +journey in the morning; but they had not walked many hours when they +met a <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb41" href="#pb41" name= +"pb41">41</a>]</span>procession consisting of an elephant, a horse, a +<i>palki,</i> and a large number of attendants. These animals and men +had been sent by the king, who had heard that his son, together with +his newly married wife and his friend the minister’s son, were +not far from the capital on their journey homewards. The elephant, +which was richly caparisoned, was intended for the prince; the +<i>palki</i> the framework of which was silver and was gaudily adorned, +was meant for the princess; and the horse for the minister’s son. +As the prince was about to mount on the elephant, the minister’s +son went up to him and said—“Allow me to ride on the +elephant, and you please ride on horseback.” The prince was not a +little surprised at the coolness of the proposal. He thought his friend +was presuming too much on the services he had rendered; he was +therefore nettled, but remembering that his friend had saved both him +and his wife, he said nothing, but quietly mounted the horse, though +his mind became somewhat alienated from him. The procession started, +and after some time came in sight of the palace, the lion-gate of which +had been gaily adorned for the reception of the prince and the +princess. The minister’s son told the prince that the lion-gate +should be broken down before the prince could enter the palace. The +prince was astounded at the proposal, especially as the +minister’s son gave no reasons for so extraordinary a request. +His mind became still more estranged from him; but in consideration of +the services the minister’s son had rendered, his request was +complied with, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb42" href="#pb42" +name="pb42">42</a>]</span>the beautiful lion-gate, with its gay +decorations, was broken down.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e1211width" id="p043"><img src="images/p043.jpg" +alt= +"“He rushed out of his hiding-place and killed the serpent”" +width="505" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“He rushed out of his hiding-place and +killed the serpent”</p> +</div> +<p>The party now went into the palace, where the king gave a warm +reception to his son, to his daughter-in-law, and to the +minister’s son. When the story of their adventures was related, +the king and his courtiers expressed great astonishment, and they all +with one voice extolled the sagacity, prudence, and devotedness of the +minister’s son. The ladies of the palace were struck with the +extraordinary beauty of the new-comer; her complexion was milk and +vermilion mixed together; her neck was like that of a swan; her eyes +were like those of a gazelle; her lips were as red as the berry +<i>bimba</i>; her cheeks were lovely; her nose was straight and high; +her hair reached her ankles; her walk was as graceful as that of a +young elephant—such were the terms in which the connoisseurs of +beauty praised the princess whom destiny had brought into the midst of +them. They sat around her and put her a thousand questions regarding +her parents, regarding the subterranean palace in which she formerly +lived, and the serpent which had killed all her relatives. It was now +time that the new arrivals should have their dinner. The dinner was +served up in dishes of gold. All sorts of delicacies were there, +amongst which the most conspicuous was the large head of a +<i>rohita</i> fish placed in a golden cup near the prince’s +plate. While they were eating, the minister’s son suddenly +snatched the head of the fish from the prince’s plate, and said, +“Let me, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb43" href="#pb43" name= +"pb43">43</a>]</span>prince, eat this <i>rohita’s</i> +head.” The king’s son was quite indignant. He said nothing, +however. The minister’s son perceived that his friend was in a +terrible rage; but he could not help it, as his conduct, however +strange, was necessary to the safety of his friend’s life; +neither could he clear himself by stating the reason of his behaviour, +as in that case he himself would be transformed into a marble statue. +The dinner over, the minister’s son expressed his desire to go to +his own house. At other times the king’s son would not allow his +friend to go away in that fashion; but being shocked at his strange +conduct, he readily agreed to the proposal. The minister’s son, +however, had not the slightest notion of going to his own house; he was +resolved to avert the last peril that was to threaten the life of his +friend. Accordingly, with a sword in his hand, he stealthily entered +the room in which the prince and the princess were to sleep that night, +and ensconced himself under the bedstead, which was furnished with +mattresses of down and canopied with mosquito curtains of the richest +silk and gold lace. Soon after dinner the prince and princess came into +the bedroom, and undressing themselves went to bed. At midnight, while +the royal couple were asleep, the minister’s son perceived a +snake of gigantic size enter the room through one of the +water-passages, and climb up the tester-frame of the bed. He rushed out +of his hiding-place, killed the serpent, cut it up in pieces, and put +the pieces in the dish for holding betel-leaves and spices. It so +happened, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb44" href="#pb44" name= +"pb44">44</a>]</span>however, that as the minister’s son was +cutting the serpent into pieces, a drop of blood fell on the breast of +the princess, and the rather as the mosquito curtains had not been let +down. Thinking that the drop of blood might injure the fair princess, +he resolved to lick it up. But as he regarded it as a great sin to look +upon a young woman lying asleep half naked, he blindfolded himself with +seven-fold cloth, and licked up the drop of blood. But while he was in +the act of licking it, the princess awoke and screamed, and her scream +roused her husband lying beside her. The prince seeing the +minister’s son, who he thought had gone away to his own house, +bending over the body of his wife, fell into a great rage, and would +have got up and killed him, had not the minister’s son besought +him to restrain his anger, adding—“Friend, I have done this +only in order to save your life.” “I do not understand what +you mean,” said the prince; “ever since we came out of the +subterranean palace you have been behaving in a most extraordinary way. +In the first place, you prevented me from getting upon the richly +caparisoned elephant, though my father, the king, had purposely sent it +for me. I thought, however, that a sense of the services you had +rendered to me had made you exceedingly vain; I therefore let the +matter pass, and mounted the horse. In the second place, you insisted +on the destruction of the fine lion-gate, which my father had adorned +with gay decorations; and I let that matter also pass. Then, again, at +dinner you <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb45" href="#pb45" name= +"pb45">45</a>]</span>snatched away, in a most shameful manner, the +<i>rohita’s</i> head which was on my plate, and devoured it +yourself, thinking, no doubt, that you were entitled to higher honours +than I. You then pretended that you were going home, for which I was +not at all sorry, as you had made yourself very disagreeable to me. And +now you are actually in my bedroom, bending over the naked bosom of my +wife. You must have had some evil design; and you pretend that you have +done this to save my life. I fancy it was not for saving my life, but +for destroying my wife’s chastity.” “Oh, do not +harbour such thoughts in your mind against me. The gods know that I +have done all this for the preservation of your life. You would see the +reasonableness of my conduct throughout if I had the liberty of stating +my reasons.” “And why are you not at liberty?” asked +the prince; “who has shut up your mouth?” “It is +destiny that has shut up my mouth,” answered the minister’s +son; “if I were to tell it all, I should be transformed into a +marble statue.” “You would be transformed into a marble +statue!” exclaimed the prince; “you must take me to be a +simpleton to believe this nonsense.” “Do you wish me then, +friend,” said the minister’s son, “to tell you all? +You must then make up your mind to see your friend turned into +stone.” “Come, out with it,” said the prince, +“or else you are a dead man.” The minister’s son, in +order to clear himself of the foul accusation brought against him, +deemed it his duty to reveal the secret at the risk of his life. +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb46" href="#pb46" name= +"pb46">46</a>]</span>He again and again warned the prince not to press +him. But the prince remained inexorable. The minister’s son then +went on to say that, while bivouacking under a lofty tree one night, he +had overheard a conversation between Bihangama and Bihangami, in which +the former predicted all the dangers that were to threaten the life of +the prince. When the minister’s son had related the prediction +concerning the mounting upon the elephant, his lower parts were turned +into stone. He then, turning to the prince, said, “See, friend, +my lower parts have already turned into stone.” “Go on, go +on,” said the prince, “with your story.” The +minister’s son then related the prophecy regarding the +destruction of the lion-gate, when half of his body was converted into +stone. He then related the prediction regarding the eating of the head +of the fish, when his body up to his neck was petrified. “Now, +friend,” said the minister’s son, “the whole of my +body, excepting my neck and head, is petrified; if I tell the rest, I +shall assuredly become a man of stone. Do you wish me still to go +on?” “Go on,” answered the prince, “go +on.” “Very well, I will go on to the end,” said the +minister’s son; “but in case you repent after I have become +turned into stone, and wish me to be restored to life, I will tell you +of the manner in which it may be effected. The princess after a few +months will be delivered of a child; if immediately after the birth of +the infant you kill it and besmear my marble body with its blood, I +shall be restored to life.” He then related the <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb47" href="#pb47" name= +"pb47">47</a>]</span>prediction regarding the serpent in the bedroom; +and when the last word was on his lips the rest of his body was turned +into stone, and he dropped on the floor a marble image. The princess +jumped out of bed, opened the vessel for betel-leaves and spices, and +saw there pieces of a serpent. Both the prince and the princess now +became convinced of the good faith and benevolence of their departed +friend. They went to the marble figure, but it was lifeless. They set +up a loud lamentation; but it was to no purpose, for the marble moved +not. They then resolved to keep the marble figure concealed in a safe +place, and to besmear it with the blood of their first-born child when +it should be ushered into existence.</p> +<p>In process of time the hour of the princess’s travail came on, +and she was delivered of a beautiful boy, the perfect image of his +mother. Both father and mother were struck with the beauty of their +child, and would fain have spared its life; but recollecting the vows +they had made on behalf of their best friend, now lying in a corner of +the room a lifeless stone, and the inestimable services he had rendered +to both of them, they cut the child into two, and besmeared the marble +figure of the minister’s son with its blood. The marble became +animated in a moment. The minister’s son stood before the prince +and princess, who became exceedingly glad to see their old friend again +in life. But the minister’s son, who saw the lovely new-born babe +lying in a pool of blood, was overwhelmed with <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb48" href="#pb48" name="pb48">48</a>]</span>grief. +He took up the dead infant, carefully wrapped it up in a towel, and +resolved to get it restored to life.</p> +<p>The minister’s son, intent on the reanimation of his +friend’s child, consulted all the physicians of the country; but +they said that they would undertake to cure any person of any disease +so long as life was in him, but when life was extinct, the case was +beyond their jurisdiction. The minister’s son at last bethought +himself of his own wife, who was living in a distant town, and who was +a devoted worshipper of the goddess Kali, who, through his wife’s +intercession, might be prevailed upon to give life to the dead child. +He, accordingly, set out on a journey to the town in which his wife was +living in her father’s house. Adjoining that house there was a +garden where upon a tree he hung the dead child wrapped up in a towel. +His wife was overjoyed to see her husband after so long a time; but to +her surprise she found that he was very melancholy, that he spoke very +little, and that he was brooding over something in his mind. She asked +the reason of his melancholy, but he kept quiet. One night while they +were lying together in bed, the wife got up and opening the door went +out. The husband, who had little sleep any night in consequence of the +weight of anxiety regarding the reanimation of his friend’s +child, perceiving his wife go out at that dead hour of night, +determined to follow her without being noticed. She went to a temple of +the goddess Kali, which was at no <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb49" +href="#pb49" name="pb49">49</a>]</span>great distance from her house. +She worshipped the goddess with flowers and sandal-wood perfume, and +said, “O mother Kali! have mercy upon me, and deliver me out of +all my troubles.” The goddess replied, “Why, what further +grievance have you? You long prayed for the return of your husband, and +he has returned; what aileth thee now?” The woman answered, +“True, O Mother, my husband has come to me, but he is very moody +and melancholy, hardly speaks to me, takes no delight in me, only sits +moping in a corner.” To which the goddess rejoined, “Ask +your husband what the reason of his melancholy is, and let me know +it.” The minister’s son overheard the conversation between +the goddess and his wife, but he did not make his appearance; he +quietly slunk away before his wife and went to bed. The following day +the wife asked her husband of the cause of his melancholy; and he +related all the particulars regarding the killing of the infant child +of the prince. Next night at the same dead hour the wife proceeded to +Kali’s temple and mentioned to the goddess the reason of her +husband’s melancholy; on which the goddess said, “Bring the +child here and I will restore it to life.” On the succeeding +night the child was produced before the goddess Kali, and she called it +back to life. Entranced with joy, the minister’s son took up the +reanimated child, went as fast as his legs could carry him to the +prince and princess, and presented to them their child alive and +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb50" href="#pb50" name= +"pb50">50</a>]</span>well. They all rejoiced with exceeding great joy, +and lived together happily till the day of their death.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb51" href="#pb51" name= +"pb51">51</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch3" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">III</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Indigent Brahman</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">There was a Brahman who had a wife and four children. +He was very poor. With no resources in the world, he lived chiefly on +the benefactions of the rich. His gains were considerable when +marriages were celebrated or funeral ceremonies were performed; but as +his parishioners did not marry every day, neither did they die every +day, he found it difficult to make the two ends meet. His wife often +rebuked him for his inability to give her adequate support, and his +children often went about naked and hungry. But though poor he was a +good man. He was diligent in his devotions; and there was not a single +day in his life in which he did not say his prayers at stated hours. +His tutelary deity was the goddess Durga, the consort of Siva, the +creative Energy of the Universe. On no day did he either drink water or +taste food till he had written in red ink the name of Durga at least +one hundred and eight times; while throughout the day he incessantly +uttered the ejaculation, “O Durga! O Durga! have mercy upon +me.” Whenever he felt anxious <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb52" +href="#pb52" name="pb52">52</a>]</span>on account of his poverty and +his inability to support his wife and children, he groaned +out—“Durga! Durga! Durga!”</p> +<p>One day, being very sad, he went to a forest many miles distant from +the village in which he lived, and indulging his grief wept bitter +tears. He prayed in the following manner:—“O Durga! O +Mother Bhagavati! wilt thou not make an end of my misery? Were I alone +in the world, I should not have been sad on account of poverty; but +thou hast given me a wife and children. Give me, O Mother, the means to +support them.” It so happened that on that day and on that very +spot the god Siva and his wife Durga were taking their morning walk. +The goddess Durga, on seeing the Brahman at a distance, said to her +divine husband—“O Lord of Kailas! do you see that Brahman? +He is always taking my name on his lips and offering the prayer that I +should deliver him out of his troubles. Can we not, my lord, do +something for the poor Brahman, oppressed as he is with the cares of a +growing family? We should give him enough to make him comfortable. As +the poor man and his family have never enough to eat, I propose that +you give him a <i>handi</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e1270src" href= +"#xd19e1270" name="xd19e1270src">1</a> which should yield him an +inexhaustible supply of <i>mudki</i>.”<a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1278src" href="#xd19e1278" name="xd19e1278src">2</a> The lord of +Kailas readily agreed to the proposal of his divine consort, and by his +decree created on the spot a <i>handi</i> possessing the required +quality. Durga then, calling the Brahman to her, <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb53" href="#pb53" name= +"pb53">53</a>]</span>said,—“O Brahman! I have often thought +of your pitiable case. Your repeated prayers have at last moved my +compassion. Here is a <i>handi</i> for you. When you turn it upside +down and shake it, it will pour down a never-ceasing shower of the +finest <i>mudki</i>, which will not end till you restore the +<i>handi</i> to its proper position. Yourself, your wife, and your +children can eat as much <i>mudki</i> as you like, and you can also +sell as much as you like.” The Brahman, delighted beyond measure +at obtaining so inestimable a treasure, made obeisance to the goddess, +and, taking the <i>handi</i> in his hand, proceeded towards his house +as fast as his legs could carry him. But he had not gone many yards +when he thought of testing the efficacy of the wonderful vessel. +Accordingly he turned the <i>handi</i> upside down and shook it, when, +lo, and behold! a quantity of the finest <i>mudki</i> he had ever seen +fell to the ground. He tied the sweetmeat in his sheet and walked on. +It was now noon, and the Brahman was hungry; but he could not eat +without his ablutions and his prayers. As he saw in the way an inn, and +not far from it a tank, he purposed to halt there that he might bathe, +say his prayers, and then eat the much-desired <i>mudki</i>. The +Brahman sat at the innkeeper’s shop, put the <i>handi</i> near +him, smoked tobacco, besmeared his body with mustard oil, and before +proceeding to bathe in the adjacent tank gave the <i>handi</i> in +charge to the innkeeper, begging him again and again to take especial +care of it.</p> +<p>When the Brahman went to his bath and his <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb54" href="#pb54" name= +"pb54">54</a>]</span>devotions, the innkeeper thought it strange that +he should be so careful as to the safety of his earthen vessel. There +must be something valuable in the <i>handi</i>, he thought, otherwise +why should the Brahman take so much thought about it? His curiosity +being excited he opened the <i>handi</i>, and to his surprise found +that it contained nothing. What can be the meaning of this? thought the +innkeeper within himself. Why should the Brahman care so much for an +empty <i>handi</i>? He took up the vessel, and began to examine it +carefully; and when, in the course of examination, he turned the +<i>handi</i> upside down, a quantity of the finest <i>mudki</i> fell +from it, and went on falling without intermission. The innkeeper called +his wife and children to witness this unexpected stroke of good +fortune. The showers of the sugared fried paddy were so copious that +they filled all the vessels and jars of the innkeeper. He resolved to +appropriate to himself this precious <i>handi</i>, and accordingly put +in its place another <i>handi</i> of the same size and make. The +ablutions and devotions of the Brahman being now over, he came to the +shop in wet clothes reciting holy texts of the Vedas. Putting on dry +clothes, he wrote on a sheet of paper the name of Durga one hundred and +eight times in red ink; after which he broke his fast on the +<i>mudki</i> his <i>handi</i> had already given him. Thus refreshed, +and being about to resume his journey homewards, he called for his +<i>handi</i>, which the innkeeper delivered to him, +adding—“There, sir, is your <i>handi</i>; it is just where +you put it; no one <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb55" href="#pb55" +name="pb55">55</a>]</span>has touched it.” The Brahman, without +suspecting anything, took up the <i>handi</i> and proceeded on his +journey; and as he walked on, he congratulated himself on his singular +good fortune. “How agreeably,” he thought within himself, +“will my poor wife be surprised! How greedily the children will +devour the <i>mudki</i> of heaven’s own manufacture! I shall soon +become rich, and lift up my head with the best of them all.” The +pains of travelling were considerably alleviated by these joyful +anticipations. He reached his house, and calling his wife and children, +said—“Look now at what I have brought. This <i>handi</i> +that you see is an unfailing source of wealth and contentment. You will +see what a stream of the finest <i>mudki</i> will flow from it when I +turn it upside down.” The Brahman’s good wife, hearing of +<i>mudki</i> falling from the <i>handi</i> unceasingly, thought that +her husband must have gone mad; and she was confirmed in her opinion +when she found that nothing fell from the vessel though it was turned +upside down again and again. Overwhelmed with grief, the Brahman +concluded that the innkeeper must have played a trick with him; he must +have stolen the <i>handi</i> Durga had given him, and put a common one +in its stead. He went back the next day to the innkeeper, and charged +him with having changed his <i>handi</i>. The innkeeper put on a fit of +anger, expressed surprise at the Brahman’s impudence in charging +him with theft, and drove him away from his shop.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e1387width" id="p056"><img src="images/p056.jpg" +alt="“Instead of sweetmeats about a score of demons”" +width="505" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“Instead of sweetmeats about a score of +demons”</p> +</div> +<p>The Brahman then bethought himself of an <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb56" href="#pb56" name= +"pb56">56</a>]</span>interview with the goddess Durga who had given him +the <i>handi</i>, and accordingly went to the forest where he had met +her. Siva and Durga again favoured the Brahman with an interview. Durga +said—“So, you have lost the <i>handi</i> I gave you. Here +is another, take it and make good use of it.” The Brahman, elated +with joy, made obeisance to the divine couple, took up the vessel, and +went on his way. He had not gone far when he turned it upside down, and +shook it in order to see whether any <i>mudki</i> would fall from it. +Horror of horrors! instead of sweetmeats about a score of demons, of +gigantic size and grim visage, jumped out of the <i>handi</i>, and +began to belabour the astonished Brahman with blows, fisticuffs and +kicks. He had the presence of mind to turn up the <i>handi</i> and to +cover it, when the demons forthwith disappeared. He concluded that this +new <i>handi</i> had been given him only for the punishment of the +innkeeper. He accordingly went to the innkeeper, gave him the new +<i>handi</i> in charge, begged of him carefully to keep it till he +returned from his ablutions and prayers. The innkeeper, delighted with +this second godsend, called his wife and children, and +said—“This is another <i>handi</i> brought here by the same +Brahman who brought the <i>handi</i> of <i>mudki</i>. This time, I +hope, it is not <i>mudki</i> but <i>sandesa</i>.<a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1433src" href="#xd19e1433" name="xd19e1433src">3</a> Come, be +ready with baskets and vessels, and I’ll turn the <i>handi</i> +upside down and shake it.” This was no sooner done than scores of +fierce demons started up, who caught hold of the innkeeper <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb57" href="#pb57" name="pb57">57</a>]</span>and his +family and belaboured them mercilessly. They also began upsetting the +shop, and would have completely destroyed it, if the victims had not +besought the Brahman, who had by this time returned from his ablutions, +to show mercy to them and send away the terrible demons. The Brahman +acceded to the innkeeper’s request, he dismissed the demons by +shutting up the vessel; he got the former <i>handi</i>, and with the +two <i>handis</i> went to his native village.</p> +<p>On reaching home the Brahman shut the door of his house, turned the +<i>mudki-handi</i> upside down, and shook it; the result was an +unceasing stream of the finest <i>mudki</i> that any confectioner in +the country could produce. The man, his wife, and their children +devoured the sweetmeat to their hearts’ content; all the +available earthen pots and pans of the house were filled with it; and +the Brahman resolved the next day to turn confectioner, to open a shop +in his house, and sell <i>mudki</i>. On the very day the shop was +opened, the whole village came to the Brahman’s house to buy the +wonderful <i>mudki</i>. They had never seen such <i>mudki</i> in their +life, it was so sweet, so white, so large, so luscious; no confectioner +in the village or any town in the country had ever manufactured +anything like it. The reputation of the Brahman’s <i>mudki</i> +extended, in a few days, beyond the bounds of the village, and people +came from remote parts to purchase it. Cartloads of the sweetmeat were +sold every day, and the Brahman in a short time became very rich. He +built a large brick house, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb58" href= +"#pb58" name="pb58">58</a>]</span>and lived like a nobleman of the +land. Once, however, his property was about to go to wreck and ruin. +His children one day by mistake shook the wrong <i>handi</i>, when a +large number of demons dropped down and caught hold of the +Brahman’s wife and children and were striking them mercilessly, +when happily the Brahman came into the house and turned up the +<i>handi</i>. In order to prevent a similar catastrophe in future, the +Brahman shut up the demon-<i>handi</i> in a private room to which his +children had no access.</p> +<p>Pure and uninterrupted prosperity, however, is not the lot of +mortals; and though the demon-<i>handi</i> was put aside, what security +was there that an accident might not befall the <i>mudki-handi</i>? One +day, during the absence of the Brahman and his wife from the house, the +children decided upon shaking the <i>handi</i>; but as each of them +wished to enjoy the pleasure of shaking it there was a general struggle +to get it, and in the <i>mêlée</i> the <i>handi</i> fell +to the ground and broke. It is needless to say that the Brahman, when +on reaching home he heard of the disaster, became inexpressibly sad. +The children were of course well cudgelled, but no flogging of children +could replace the magical <i>handi</i>. After some days he again went +to the forest, and offered many a prayer for Durga’s favour. At +last Siva and Durga again appeared to him, and heard how the +<i>handi</i> had been broken. Durga gave him another <i>handi</i>, +accompanied with the following caution—“Brahman, take care +of this <i>handi</i>; if you again break it or lose it, I’ll not +give <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb59" href="#pb59" name= +"pb59">59</a>]</span>you another.” The Brahman made obeisance, +and went away to his house at one stretch without halting anywhere. On +reaching home he shut the door of his house, called his wife to him, +turned the <i>handi</i> upside down, and began to shake it. They were +only expecting <i>mudki</i> to drop from it, but instead of +<i>mudki</i> a perennial stream of beautiful <i>sandesa</i> issued from +it. And such <i>sandesa</i>! No confectioner of Burra Bazar ever made +its like. It was more the food of gods than of men. The Brahman +forthwith set up a shop for selling <i>sandesa</i>, the fame of which +soon drew crowds of customers from all parts of the country. At all +festivals, at all marriage feasts, at all funeral celebrations, at all +<i>Pujas</i>, no one bought any other <i>sandesa</i> than the +Brahman’s. Every day, and every hour, many jars of gigantic size, +filled with the delicious sweetmeat, were sent to all parts of the +country.</p> +<p>The wealth of the Brahman excited the envy of the Zemindar of the +village, who, having heard that the <i>sandesa</i> was not manufactured +but dropped from a <i>handi</i>, devised a plan for getting possession +of the miraculous vessel. At the celebration of his son’s +marriage he held a great feast, to which were invited hundreds of +people. As many mountain-loads of <i>sandesa</i> would be required for +the purpose, the Zemindar proposed that the Brahman should bring the +magical <i>handi</i> to the house in which the feast was held. The +Brahman at first refused to take it there; but as the Zemindar insisted +on its being carried to his own house, he reluctantly consented to take +it there. After many Himalayas <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb60" +href="#pb60" name="pb60">60</a>]</span>of <i>sandesa</i> had been +shaken out, the <i>handi</i> was taken possession of by the Zemindar, +and the Brahman was insulted and driven out of the house. The Brahman, +without giving vent to anger in the least, quietly went to his house, +and taking the demon-<i>handi</i> in his hand, came back to the door of +the Zemindar’s house. He turned the <i>handi</i> upside down and +shook it, on which a hundred demons started up as from the vasty deep +and enacted a scene which it is impossible to describe. The hundreds of +guests that had been bidden to the feast were caught hold of by the +unearthly visitants and beaten; the women were dragged by their hair +from the Zenana and dashed about amongst the men; while the big and +burly Zemindar was driven about from room to room like a bale of +cotton. If the demons had been allowed to do their will only for a few +minutes longer, all the men would have been killed, and the very house +razed to the ground. The Zemindar fell prostrate at the feet of the +Brahman and begged for mercy. Mercy was shown him, and the demons were +removed. After that the Brahman was no more disturbed by the Zemindar +or by any one else; and he lived many years in great happiness and +enjoyment.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb61" href="#pb61" name= +"pb61">61</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1270" href="#xd19e1270src" name="xd19e1270">1</a></span> +<i>Handi</i> is an earthen pot, generally used in cooking food.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1278" href="#xd19e1278src" name="xd19e1278">2</a></span> +<i>Mudki</i>, fried paddy boiled dry in treacle or sugar.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1433" href="#xd19e1433src" name="xd19e1433">3</a></span> A sort +of sweetmeat made of curds and sugar.</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch4" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">IV</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Story of the Rakshasas</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">There was a poor half-witted Brahman who had a wife +but no children. It was only with difficulty he could supply the wants +of himself and his wife. And the worst of it was that he was rather +lazily inclined. He was averse to taking long journeys, otherwise he +might always have had enough, in the shape of presents from rich men, +to enable him and his wife to live comfortably. There was at that time +a king in a neighbouring country who was celebrating the funeral +obsequies of his mother with great pomp. Brahmans and beggars were +going from different parts with the expectation of receiving rich +presents. Our Brahman was requested by his wife to seize this +opportunity and get a little money; but his constitutional indolence +stood in the way. The woman, however, gave her husband no rest till she +extorted from him the promise that he would go. The good woman, +accordingly, cut down a plantain tree and burnt it to ashes, with which +ashes she cleaned the clothes of her husband, and made them as white as +any fuller could make them. She did this because her <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb62" href="#pb62" name="pb62">62</a>]</span>husband +was going to the palace of a great king, who could not be approached by +men clothed in dirty rags; besides, as a Brahman, he was bound to +appear neat and clean. The Brahman at last one morning left his house +for the palace of the great king. As he was somewhat imbecile, he did +not inquire of any one which road he should take; but he went on and +on, and proceeded whithersoever his two eyes directed him. He was of +course not on the right road, indeed he had reached a region where he +did not meet with a single human being for many miles, and where he saw +sights which he had never seen in his life. He saw hillocks of +<i><span class="corr" id="xd19e1584" title= +"Source: cowris">cowries</span></i> (shells used as money) on the +roadside: he had not proceeded far from them when he saw hillocks of +pice, then successively hillocks of four-anna pieces, hillocks of +eight-anna pieces, and hillocks of rupees. To the infinite surprise of +the poor Brahman, these hillocks of shining silver coins were succeeded +by a large hill of burnished gold-mohurs, which were all as bright as +if they had been just issued from the mint. Close to this hill of +gold-mohurs was a large house which seemed to be the palace of a +powerful and rich king, at the door of which stood a lady of exquisite +beauty. The lady, seeing the Brahman, said, <span class="corr" id= +"xd19e1587" title="Source: ‘">“</span>Come, my beloved +husband; you married me when I was young, and you never came once after +our marriage, though I have been daily expecting you. Blessed be this +day which has made me see the face of my husband. Come, my sweet, come +in, wash your feet and rest after the fatigues of your journey; eat and +drink, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb63" href="#pb63" name= +"pb63">63</a>]</span>and after that we shall make ourselves +merry.” The Brahman was astonished beyond measure. He had no +recollection of having been married in early youth to any other woman +than the woman who was now keeping house with him. But being a Kulin +Brahman, he thought it was quite possible that his father had got him +married when he was a little child, though the fact had made no +impression on his mind. But whether he remembered it or not, the fact +was certain, for the woman declared that she was his wedded +wife,—and such a wife! as beautiful as the goddesses of +Indra’s heaven, and no doubt as wealthy as she was beautiful. +While these thoughts were passing through the Brahman’s mind, the +lady said again, “Are you doubting in your mind whether I am your +wife? Is it possible that all recollection of that happy event has been +effaced from your mind—all the pomp and circumstance of our +nuptials? Come in, beloved; this is your own house, for whatever is +mine is thine.” The Brahman succumbed to the loving entreaties of +the fair lady, and went into the house. The house was not an ordinary +one—it was a magnificent palace, all the apartments being large +and lofty and richly furnished. But one thing surprised the Brahman +very much, and that was that there was no other person in the house +besides the lady herself. He could not account for so singular a +phenomenon; neither could he explain how it was that he did not meet +with any human being in his morning and evening walks. The fact was +that the lady was not a human being. She was a <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb64" href="#pb64" name= +"pb64">64</a>]</span><i>Rakshasi</i>.<a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1597src" href="#xd19e1597" name="xd19e1597src">1</a> She had +eaten up the king, the queen, and all the members of the royal family, +and gradually all his subjects. This was the reason why human beings +were not seen in those parts.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e1609width" id="p062"><img src="images/p062.jpg" +alt= +"“At the door of which stood a lady of exquisite beauty”" +width="509" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“At the door of which stood a lady of +exquisite beauty”</p> +</div> +<p>The Rakshasi and the Brahman lived together for about a week, when +the former said to the latter, “I am very anxious to see my +sister, your other wife. You must go and fetch her, and we shall all +live together happily in this large and beautiful house. You must go +early to-morrow, and I will give you clothes and jewels for her.” +Next morning the Brahman, furnished with fine clothes and costly +ornaments, set out for his home. The poor woman was in great distress; +all the Brahmans and Pandits that had been to the funeral ceremony of +the king’s mother had returned home loaded with largesses; but +her husband had not returned,—and no one could give any news of +him, for no one had seen him there. The woman therefore concluded that +he must have been murdered on the road by highwaymen. She was in this +terrible suspense, when one day she heard a rumour in the village that +her husband was seen coming home with fine clothes and costly jewels +for his wife. And sure enough the Brahman soon appeared with his +valuable load. On seeing his wife the Brahman thus accosted +her:—“Come with me, my dearest wife; I have found my first +wife. She lives in a stately palace, near which are <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb65" href="#pb65" name="pb65">65</a>]</span>hillocks +of rupees and a large hill of gold-mohurs. Why should you pine away in +wretchedness and misery in this horrible place? Come with me to the +house of my first wife, and we shall all live together happily.” +When the woman heard her husband speak of his first wife, of hillocks +of rupees and of a hill of gold-mohurs, she thought in her mind that +her half-witted good man had become quite mad; but when she saw the +exquisitely beautiful silks and satins and the ornaments set with +diamonds and precious stones, which only queens and princesses were in +the habit of putting on, she concluded in her mind that her poor +husband had fallen into the meshes of a Rakshasi. The Brahman, however, +insisted on his wife’s going with him, and declared that if she +did not come she was at liberty to pine away in poverty, but that for +himself he meant to return forthwith to his first and rich wife. The +good woman, after a great deal of altercation with her husband, +resolved to go with him and judge for herself how matters stood. They +set out accordingly the next morning, and went by the same road on +which the Brahman had travelled. The woman was not a little surprised +to see hillocks of <i><span class="corr" id="xd19e1618" title= +"Source: cowris">cowries</span></i>, of pice, of eight-anna pieces, of +rupees, and last of all a lofty hill of gold-mohurs. She saw also an +exceedingly beautiful lady coming out of the palace hard by, and +hastening towards her. The lady fell on the neck of the Brahman woman, +wept tears of joy, and said, “Welcome, beloved sister! this is +the happiest day of my life! I have seen the face of <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb66" href="#pb66" name="pb66">66</a>]</span>my +dearest sister!” The party then entered the palace.</p> +<p>What with the stately mansion in which he was lodged, with the most +delectable provisions which seemed to rise as if by enchantment, what +with the caresses and endearments of his two wives, the one human and +the other demoniac, who vied with each other in making him happy and +comfortable, the Brahman had a jolly time of it. He was steeped as it +were in an ocean of enjoyment. Some fifteen or sixteen years were spent +by the Brahman in this state of Elysian pleasure, during which period +his two wives presented him with two sons. The Rakshasi’s son, +who was the elder, and who looked more like a god than a human being, +was named Sahasra Dal, literally the Thousand-Branched; and the son of +the Brahman woman, who was a year younger, was named Champa Dal, that +is, branch of a <i>champaka</i> tree. The two boys loved each other +dearly. They were both sent to a school which was several miles +distant, to which they used every day to go riding on two little ponies +of extraordinary fleetness.</p> +<p>The Brahman woman had all along suspected from a thousand little +circumstances that her sister-in-law was not a human being but a +Rakshasi; but her suspicion had not yet ripened into certainty, for the +Rakshasi exercised great self-restraint on herself, and never did +anything which human beings did not do. But the demoniac nature, like +murder, will out. The Brahman having nothing to do, in order to pass +his time had recourse to <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb67" href= +"#pb67" name="pb67">67</a>]</span>hunting. The first day he returned +from the hunt, he had bagged an antelope. The antelope was laid in the +courtyard of the palace. At the sight of the antelope the mouth of the +raw-eating Rakshasi began to water. Before the animal was dressed for +the kitchen, she took it away into a room, and began devouring it. The +Brahman woman, who was watching the whole scene from a secret place, +saw her Rakshasi sister tear off a leg of the antelope, and opening her +tremendous jaws, which seemed to her imagination to extend from earth +to heaven, swallow it up. In this manner the body and other limbs of +the antelope were devoured, till only a little bit of the meat was kept +for the kitchen. The second day another antelope was bagged, and the +third day another; and the Rakshasi, unable to restrain her appetite +for raw flesh, devoured these two as she had devoured the first. On the +third day the Brahman woman expressed to the Rakshasi her surprise at +the disappearance of nearly the whole of the antelope with the +exception of a little bit. The Rakshasi looked fierce and said, +“Do I eat raw flesh?” To which the Brahman woman replied, +“Perhaps you do, for aught I know to the contrary.” The +Rakshasi, knowing herself to be discovered, looked fiercer than before, +and vowed revenge. The Brahman woman concluded in her mind that the +doom of herself, of her husband, and of her son was sealed. She spent a +miserable night, believing that next day she would be killed and eaten +up, and that her husband and son would share the same fate. Early +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb68" href="#pb68" name= +"pb68">68</a>]</span>next morning, before her son Champa Dal went to +school, she gave him in a small golden vessel a little quantity of her +own breast milk, and told him to be constantly watching its colour. +“Should you,” she said, “see the milk get a little +red, then conclude that your father has been killed; and should you see +it grow still redder, then conclude that I am killed: when you see +this, gallop away for your life as fast as your horse can carry you, +for if you do not, you also will be devoured.”</p> +<p>The Rakshasi on getting up from bed—and she had prevented the +Brahman overnight from having any communication with his +wife—proposed that she and the Brahman should go to bathe in the +river, which was at some distance. She would take no denial; the +Brahman had therefore to follow her as meekly as a lamb. The Brahman +woman at once saw from the proposal that ruin was impending; but it was +beyond her power to avert the catastrophe. The Rakshasi, on the +river-side, assuming her own proper gigantic dimensions, took hold of +the ill-fated Brahman, tore him limb by limb, and devoured him up. She +then ran to her house, and seized the Brahman woman, and put her into +her capacious stomach, clothes, hair and all. Young Champa Dal, who, +agreeably to his mother’s instructions, was diligently watching +the milk in the small golden vessel, was horror-struck to find the milk +redden a little. He set up a cry and said that his father was killed; a +few minutes after, finding the milk become completely red, he cried yet +louder, and rushing to his pony, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb69" +href="#pb69" name="pb69">69</a>]</span>mounted it. His half-brother, +Sahasra Dal, surprised at Champa Dal’s conduct, said, +“Where are you going, Champa? Why are you crying? Let me +accompany you.” “Oh! do not come to me. Your mother has +devoured my father and mother; don’t you come and devour +me.” “I will not devour you; I’ll save you.” +Scarcely had he uttered these words and galloped away after Champa Dal, +when he saw his mother in her own Rakshasi form appearing at a +distance, and demanding that Champa Dal should come to her. He said, +“I will come to you, not Champa.” So saying, he went to his +mother, and with his sword, which he always wore as a young prince, cut +off her head.</p> +<p>Champa Dal had, in the meantime, galloped off a good distance, as he +was running for his life; but Sahasra Dal, by pricking his horse +repeatedly, soon overtook him, and told him that his mother was no +more. This was small consolation to Champa Dal, as the Rakshasi, before +being killed, had devoured both his father and mother; still he could +not but feel that Sahasra Dal’s friendship was sincere. They both +rode fast, and as their horses were of the breed of <i>pakshirajes</i> +(literally, kings of birds), they travelled over hundreds of miles. An +hour or two before sundown they descried a village, to which they made +up, and became guests in the house of one of its most respectable +inhabitants. The two friends found the members of that respectable +family in deep gloom. Evidently there was something agitating them very +much. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb70" href="#pb70" name= +"pb70">70</a>]</span>Some of them held private consultations, and +others were weeping. The eldest lady of the house, the mother of its +head, said aloud, “Let me go, as I am the eldest. I have lived +long enough; at the utmost my life would be cut short only by a year or +two.” The youngest member of the house, who was a little girl, +said, “Let me go, as I am young and useless to the family; if I +die I shall not be missed.” The head of the house, the son of the +old lady, said, “I am the head and representative of the family; +it is but reasonable that I should give up my life.” His younger +brother said, “You are the main prop and pillar of the family; if +you go the whole family is ruined. It is not reasonable that you should +go; let me go, as I shall not be much missed.” The two strangers +listened to all this conversation with no little curiosity. They +wondered what it all meant. Sahasra Dal at last, at the risk of being +thought meddlesome, ventured to ask the head of the house the subject +of their consultations, and the reason of the deep misery but too +visible in their countenances and words. The head of the house gave the +following answer: “Know then, worthy guests, that this part of +the country is infested by a terrible Rakshasi, who has depopulated all +the regions round. This town, too, would have been depopulated, but +that our king became a suppliant before the Rakshasi, and begged her to +show mercy to us his subjects. The Rakshasi replied, ‘I will +consent to show mercy to you and to your subjects only on this +condition, that you every <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb71" href= +"#pb71" name="pb71">71</a>]</span>night put a human being, either male +or female, in a certain temple for me to feast upon. If I get a human +being every night I will rest satisfied, and not commit any further +depredations on your subjects.’ Our king had no other alternative +than to agree to this condition, for what human beings can ever hope to +contend against a Rakshasi? From that day the king made it a rule that +every family in the town should in its turn send one of its members to +the temple as a victim to appease the wrath and to satisfy the hunger +of the terrible Rakshasi. All the families in this neighbourhood have +had their turn, and this night it is the turn for one of us to devote +himself to destruction. We are therefore discussing who should go. You +must now perceive the cause of our distress.” The two friends +consulted together for a few minutes, and at the conclusion of their +consultations, Sahasra Dal, who was the spokesman of the party, said, +“Most worthy host, do not any longer be sad: as you have been +very kind to us, we have resolved to requite your hospitality by +ourselves going to the temple and becoming the food of the Rakshasi. We +go as your representatives.” The whole family protested against +the proposal. They declared that guests were like gods, and that it was +the duty of the host to endure all sorts of privation for the comfort +of the guest, and not the duty of the guest to suffer for the host. But +the two strangers insisted on standing proxy to the family, who, after +a great deal of yea and nay, at last consented to the arrangement. +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb72" href="#pb72" name= +"pb72">72</a>]</span></p> +<p>Immediately after candle-light, Sahasra Dal and Champa Dal, with +their two horses, installed themselves in the temple, and shut the +door. Sahasra told his brother to go to sleep, as he himself was +determined to sit up the whole night and watch against the coming of +the terrible Rakshasi. Champa was soon in a fine sleep, while Sahasra +lay awake. Nothing happened during the early hours of the night, but no +sooner had the gong of the king’s palace announced the dead hour +of midnight than Sahasra heard the sound as of a rushing tempest, and +immediately concluded, from his knowledge of Rakshasas, that the +Rakshasi was nigh. A thundering knock was heard at the door, +accompanied with the following words:—</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line hangqq">“How, mow, khow!</p> +<p class="line">A human being I smell;</p> +<p class="line">Who watches inside?”</p> +</div> +<p class="first">To this question Sahasra Dal made the following +reply:—</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line hangqq">“Sahasra Dal watcheth,</p> +<p class="line">Champa Dal watcheth,</p> +<p class="line">Two winged horses watch.”</p> +</div> +<p class="first">On hearing this answer the Rakshasi turned away with a +groan, knowing that Sahasra Dal had Rakshasa blood in his veins. An +hour after, the Rakshasi returned, thundered at the door, and called +out— <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb73" href="#pb73" name= +"pb73">73</a>]</span></p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line hangqq">“How, mow, khow!</p> +<p class="line">A human being I smell;</p> +<p class="line">Who watcheth inside?”</p> +</div> +<p class="first">Sahasra Dal again replied—</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line hangqq">“Sahasra Dal watcheth,</p> +<p class="line">Champa Dal watcheth,</p> +<p class="line">Two winged horses watch.”</p> +</div> +<p class="first">The Rakshasi again groaned and went away. At two +o’clock and at three o’clock the Rakshasi again and again +made her appearance, and made the usual inquiry, and obtaining the same +answer, went away with a groan. After three o’clock, however, +Sahasra Dal felt very sleepy: he could not any longer keep awake. He +therefore roused Champa, told him to watch, and strictly enjoined upon +him, in reply to the query of the Rakshasi, to mention Sahasra’s +name first. With these instructions he went to sleep. At four +o’clock the Rakshasi again made her appearance, thundered at the +door, and said—</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line hangqq">“How, mow, khow!</p> +<p class="line">A human being I smell;</p> +<p class="line">Who watches inside?”</p> +</div> +<p class="first">As Champa Dal was in a terrible fright, he forgot the +instructions of his brother for the moment, and answered— +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb74" href="#pb74" name= +"pb74">74</a>]</span></p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line hangqq">“Champa Dal watcheth,</p> +<p class="line">Sahasra Dal watcheth,</p> +<p class="line">Two winged horses watch.”</p> +</div> +<p class="first">On hearing this reply the Rakshasi uttered a shout of +exultation, laughed such a laugh as only demons can, and with a +dreadful noise broke open the door. The noise roused Sahasra, who in a +moment sprung to his feet, and with his sword, which was as supple as a +palm-leaf, cut off the head of the Rakshasi. The huge mountain of a +body fell to the ground, making a great noise, and lay covering many an +acre. Sahasra Dal kept the severed head of the Rakshasi near him, and +went to sleep. Early in the morning some wood-cutters, who were passing +near the temple, saw the huge body on the ground. They could not from a +distance make out what it was, but on coming near they knew that it was +the carcase of the terrible Rakshasi, who had by her voracity nearly +depopulated the country. Remembering the promise made by the king that +the killer of the Rakshasi should be rewarded by the hand of his +daughter and with a share of the kingdom, each of the wood-cutters, +seeing no claimant at hand, thought of obtaining the reward. +Accordingly each of them cut off a part of a limb of the huge carcase, +went to the king, and represented himself to be the destroyer of the +great raw-eater, and claimed the reward. The king, in order to find out +the real hero and deliverer, inquired of his minister the name of the +family whose turn it was <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb75" href= +"#pb75" name="pb75">75</a>]</span>on the preceding night to offer a +victim to the Rakshasi. The head of that family, on being brought +before the king, related how two youthful travellers, who were guests +in his house, volunteered to go into the temple in the room of a member +of his family. The door of the temple was broken open; Sahasra Dal and +Champa Dal and their horses were found all safe; and the head of the +Rakshasi, which was with them, proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that +they had killed the monster. The king kept his word. He gave his +daughter in marriage to Sahasra Dal and the sovereignty of half his +dominions. Champa Dal remained with his friend in the king’s +palace, and rejoiced in his prosperity.</p> +<p>Sahasra Dal and Champa Dal lived together happily for some time, +when a misunderstanding arose between them in this wise. There was in +the service of the queen-mother a certain maid-servant who was the most +useful domestic in the palace. There was nothing which she could not +put her hands to and perform. She had uncommon strength for a woman; +neither was her intelligence of a mean order. She was a woman of +immense activity and energy; and if she were absent one day from the +palace, the affairs of the zenana would be in perfect disorder. Hence +her services were highly valued by the queen-mother and all the ladies +of the palace. But this woman was not a woman; she was a Rakshasi, who +had put on the appearance of a woman to serve some purposes of her own, +and then taken service in the royal <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb76" +href="#pb76" name="pb76">76</a>]</span>household. At night, when every +one in the palace was asleep, she used to assume her own real form, and +go about in quest of food, for the quantity of food that is sufficient +for either man or woman was not sufficient for a Rakshasi. Now Champa +Dal, having no wife, was in the habit of sleeping outside the zenana, +and not far from the outer gate of the palace. He had noticed her going +about on the premises and devouring sundry goats and sheep, horses and +elephants. The maid-servant, finding that Champa Dal was in the way of +her supper, determined to get rid of him. She accordingly went one day +to the queen-mother, and said, “Queen-mother! I am unable any +longer to work in the palace.” “Why? what is the matter, +Dasi?<a class="noteref" id="xd19e1714src" href="#xd19e1714" name= +"xd19e1714src">2</a> How can I get on without you? Tell me your +reasons. What ails you?” “Why,” said the woman, +“nowadays it is impossible for a poor woman like me to preserve +my honour in the palace. There is that Champa Dal, the friend of your +son-in-law; he always cracks indecent jokes with me. It is better for +me to beg for my rice than to lose my honour. If Champa Dal remains in +the palace I must go away.” As the maid-servant was an absolute +necessity in the palace, the queen-mother resolved to sacrifice Champa +Dal to her. She therefore told Sahasra Dal that Champa Dal was a bad +man, that his character was loose, and that therefore he must leave the +palace. Sahasra Dal earnestly pleaded on behalf of his friend, but in +vain; the queen-mother had made <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb77" +href="#pb77" name="pb77">77</a>]</span>up her mind to drive him out of +the palace. Sahasra Dal had not the courage to speak personally to his +friend on the subject; he therefore wrote a letter to him, in which he +simply said that for certain reasons Champa must leave the palace +immediately. The letter was put in his room after he had gone to bathe. +On reading the letter Champa Dal, exceedingly grieved, mounted his +fleet horse and left the palace.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e1722width" id="p077"><img src="images/p077.jpg" +alt= +"“In a trice she woke up, sat up in her bed, and eyeing the stranger, inquired who he was”" +width="510" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“In a trice she woke up, sat up in her bed, +and eyeing the stranger, inquired who he was”</p> +</div> +<p>As Champa’s horse was uncommonly fleet, in a few hours he +traversed thousands of miles, and at last found himself at the gateway +of what seemed a magnificent palace. Dismounting from his horse, he +entered the house, where he did not meet with a single creature. He +went from apartment to apartment, but though they were all richly +furnished he did not see a single human being. At last, in one of the +side rooms, he found a young lady of heavenly beauty lying down on a +splendid bedstead. She was asleep. Champa Dal looked upon the sleeping +beauty with rapture—he had not seen any woman so beautiful. Upon +the bed, near the head of the young lady, were two sticks, one of +silver and the other of gold. Champa took the silver stick into his +hand, and touched with it the body of the lady; but no change was +perceptible. He then took up the gold stick and laid it upon the lady, +when in a trice she woke up, sat in her bed, and eyeing the stranger, +inquired who he was. Champa Dal briefly told his story. The young lady, +or rather princess—for she was nothing less—said, +“Unhappy man! why have you come <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb78" href="#pb78" name="pb78">78</a>]</span>here? This is the country +of Rakshasas, and in this house and round about there live no less than +seven hundred Rakshasas. They all go away to the other side of the +ocean every morning in search of provisions; and they all return every +evening before dusk. My father was formerly king in these regions, and +had millions of subjects, who lived in flourishing towns and cities. +But some years ago the invasion of the Rakshasas took place, and they +devoured all his subjects, and himself and my mother, and my brothers +and sisters. They devoured also all the cattle of the country. There is +no living human being in these regions excepting myself; and I too +should long ago have been devoured had not an old Rakshasi, conceiving +strange affection for me, prevented the other Rakshasas from eating me +up. You see those sticks of silver and gold; the old Rakshasi, when she +goes away in the morning, kills me with the silver stick, and on her +return in the evening re-animates me with the gold stick. I do not know +how to advise you; if the Rakshasas see you, you are a dead man.” +Then they both talked to each other in a very affectionate manner, and +laid their heads together to devise if possible some means of escape +from the hands of the Rakshasas. The hour of the return of the seven +hundred raw-eaters was fast approaching; and Keshavati—for that +was the name of the princess, so called from the abundance of her +hair—told Champa to hide himself in the heaps of the sacred +trefoil which were lying in the temple of Siva in the central +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb79" href="#pb79" name= +"pb79">79</a>]</span>part of the palace. Before Champa went to his +place of concealment, he touched Keshavati with the silver stick, on +which she instantly died.</p> +<p>Shortly after sunset Champa Dal heard from beneath the heaps of the +sacred trefoil the sound as of a mighty rushing wind. Presently he +heard terrible noises in the palace. The Rakshasas had come home from +cruising, after having filled their stomachs, each one, with sundry +goats, sheep, cows, horses, buffaloes, and elephants. The old Rakshasi, +of whom we have already spoken, came to Keshavati’s room, roused +her by touching her body with the gold stick, and said—</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line hangqq">“Hye, mye, khye!</p> +<p class="line">A human being I smell.”</p> +</div> +<p class="first">On which Keshavati said, “I am the only human +being here; eat me if you like.” To which the raw-eater replied, +“Let me eat up your enemies; why should I eat you?” She +laid herself down on the ground, as long and as high as the Vindhya +Hills, and presently fell asleep. The other Rakshasas and Rakshasis +also soon fell asleep, being all tired out on account of their gigantic +labours in the day. Keshavati also composed herself to sleep; while +Champa, not daring to come out of the heaps of leaves, tried his best +to court the god of repose. At daybreak all the raw-eaters, seven +hundred in number, got up and went as usual to their hunting and +predatory excursions, and along with them went the old Rakshasi, after +touching <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb80" href="#pb80" name= +"pb80">80</a>]</span>Keshavati with the silver stick. When Champa Dal +saw that the coast was clear, he came out of the temple, walked into +Keshavati’s room, and touched her with the gold stick, on which +she woke up. They sauntered about in the gardens, enjoying the cool +breeze of the morning; they bathed in a lucid tank which was in the +grounds; they ate and drank, and spent the day in sweet converse. They +concocted a plan for their deliverance. They settled that Keshavati +should ask the old Rakshasi on what the life of a Rakshasa depended, +and when the secret should be made known they would adopt measures +accordingly. As on the preceding evening, Champa, after touching his +fair friend with the silver stick, took refuge in the temple beneath +the heaps of the sacred trefoil. At dusk the Rakshasas as usual came +home; and the old Rakshasi, rousing her pet, said—</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line hangqq">“Hye, mye, khye!</p> +<p class="line">A human being I smell.”</p> +</div> +<p class="first">Keshavati answered, “What other human being is +here excepting myself? Eat me up, if you like.” “Why should +I eat you, my darling? Let me eat up all your enemies.” Then she +laid down on the ground her huge body, which looked like a part of the +Himalaya mountains. Keshavati, with a phial of heated mustard oil, went +towards the feet of the Rakshasi, and said, “Mother, your feet +are sore with walking; let me rub them with oil.” So saying, she +began to rub with oil the Rakshasi’s feet; and while she was in +the act of doing so, a <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb81" href="#pb81" +name="pb81">81</a>]</span>few tear-drops from her eyes fell on the +monster’s leg. The Rakshasi smacked the tear-drops with her lips, +and finding the taste briny, said, “Why are you weeping, darling? +What aileth thee?” To which the princess replied, “Mother, +I am weeping because you are old, and when you die I shall certainly be +devoured by one of the Rakshasas.” “When I die! Know, +foolish girl, that we Rakshasas never die. We are not naturally +immortal, but our life depends on a secret which no human being can +unravel. Let me tell you what it is that you may be comforted. You know +yonder tank; there is in the middle of it a +<i>Sphatikasthambha</i>,<a class="noteref" id="xd19e1755src" href= +"#xd19e1755" name="xd19e1755src">3</a> on the top of which in deep +waters are two bees. If any human being can dive into the waters, and +bring up to land the two bees from the pillar in one breath, and +destroy them so that not a drop of their blood falls to the ground, +then we Rakshasas shall certainly die; but if a single drop of blood +falls to the ground, then from it will start up a thousand Rakshasas. +But what human being will find out this secret, or, finding it, will be +able to achieve the feat? You need not, therefore, darling, be sad; I +am practically immortal.” Keshavati treasured up the secret in +her memory, and went to sleep.</p> +<p>Early next morning the Rakshasas as usual went away; Champa came out +of his hiding-place, roused Keshavati, and fell a-talking. The princess +told him the secret she had learnt from the Rakshasi. Champa +immediately made preparations <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb82" href= +"#pb82" name="pb82">82</a>]</span>for accomplishing the mighty deed. He +brought to the side of the tank a knife and a quantity of ashes. He +disrobed himself, put a drop or two of mustard oil into each of his +ears to prevent water from entering in, and dived into the waters. In a +moment he got to the top of the crystal pillar in the middle of the +tank, caught hold of the two bees he found there, and came up in one +breath. Taking the knife, he cut up the bees over the ashes, a drop or +two of the blood fell, not on the ground, but on the ashes. When Champa +caught hold of the bees, a terrible scream was heard at a distance. +This was the wailing of the Rakshasas, who were all running home to +prevent the bees from being killed; but before they could reach the +palace, the bees had perished. The moment the bees were killed, all the +Rakshasas died, and their carcases fell on the very spot on which they +were standing. Champa and the princess afterwards found that the +gateway of the palace was blocked up by the huge carcases of the +Rakshasas—some of them having nearly succeeded in getting to the +palace. In this manner was effected the destruction of the seven +hundred Rakshasas.</p> +<p>After the destruction of the seven hundred raw-eating monsters, +Champa Dal and Keshavati got married together by the exchange of +garlands of flowers. The princess, who had never been out of the house, +naturally expressed a desire to see the outer world. They used every +day to take long walks both morning and evening, and as a <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb83" href="#pb83" name="pb83">83</a>]</span>large +river was hard by Keshavati wished to bathe in it. The first day they +went to bathe, one of Keshavati’s hairs came off, and as it is +the custom with women never to throw away a hair unaccompanied with +something else, she tied the hair to a shell which was floating on the +water; after which they returned home. In the meantime the shell with +the hair tied to it floated down the stream, and in course of time +reached that <i>ghat</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e1773src" href= +"#xd19e1773" name="xd19e1773src">4</a> at which Sahasra Dal and his +companions were in the habit of performing their ablutions. The shell +passed by when Sahasra Dal and his friends were bathing; and he, seeing +it at some distance, said to them, “Whoever succeeds in catching +hold of yonder shell shall be rewarded with a hundred rupees.” +They all swam towards it, and Sahasra Dal, being the fleetest swimmer, +got it. On examining it he found a hair tied to it. But such hair! He +had never seen so long a hair. It was exactly seven cubits long. +“The owner of this hair must be a remarkable woman, and I must +see her”—such was the resolution of Sahasra Dal. He went +home from the river in a pensive mood, and instead of proceeding to the +zenana for breakfast, remained in the outer part of the palace. The +queen-mother, on hearing that Sahasra Dal was looking melancholy and +had not come to breakfast, went to him and asked the reason. He showed +her the hair, and said he must see the woman whose head it had adorned. +The queen-mother <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb84" href="#pb84" name= +"pb84">84</a>]</span>said, “Very well, you shall have that lady +in the palace as soon as possible. I promise you to bring her +here.” The queen-mother told her favourite maid-servant, whom she +knew to be full of resources—the same who was a Rakshasi in +disguise—that she must, as soon as possible, bring to the palace +that lady who was the owner of the hair seven cubits long. The +maid-servant said she would be quite able to fetch her. By her +directions a boat was built of <i>Hajol</i> wood, the oars of which +were of <i>Mon Paban</i> wood. The boat was launched on the stream, and +she went on board of it with some baskets of wicker-work of curious +workmanship; she also took with her some sweetmeats into which some +poison had been mixed. She snapped her fingers thrice, and uttered the +following charm:—</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line hangqq">“Boat of Hajol!</p> +<p class="line">Oars of Mon Paban!</p> +<p class="line">Take me to the Ghat,</p> +<p class="line">In which Keshavati bathes.”</p> +</div> +<p class="first">No sooner had the words been uttered than the boat +flew like lightning over the waters. It went on and on, leaving behind +many a town and city. At last it stopped at a bathing-place, which the +Rakshasi maid-servant concluded was the bathing <i>ghat</i> of +Keshavati. She landed with the sweetmeats in her hand. She went to the +gate of the palace, and cried aloud, “O Keshavati! Keshavati! I +am your aunt, your mother’s sister. I am come to see you, my +darling, after so many years. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb85" href= +"#pb85" name="pb85">85</a>]</span>Are you in, Keshavati?” The +princess, on hearing these words, came out of her room, and making no +doubt that she was her aunt, embraced and kissed her. They both wept +rivers of joy—at least the Rakshasi maid-servant did, and +Keshavati followed suit through sympathy. Champa Dal also thought that +she was the aunt of his newly married wife. They all ate and drank and +took rest in the middle of the day. Champa Dal, as was his habit, went +to sleep after breakfast. Towards afternoon, the supposed aunt said to +Keshavati, “Let us both go to the river and wash +ourselves.” Keshavati replied, “How can we go now? my +husband is sleeping.” “Never mind,” said the aunt, +“let him sleep on; let me put these sweetmeats, that I have +brought, near his bedside, that he may eat them when he gets up.” +They then went to the river-side close to the spot where the boat was. +Keshavati, when she saw from some distance the baskets of wicker-work +in the boat, said, “Aunt, what beautiful things are those! I wish +I could get some of them.” “Come, my child, come and look +at them; and you can have as many as you like.” Keshavati at +first refused to go into the boat, but on being pressed by her aunt, +she went. The moment they two were on board, the aunt snapped her +fingers thrice and said:—</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line hangqq">“Boat of Hajol!</p> +<p class="line">Oars of Mon Paban!</p> +<p class="line">Take me to the Ghat,</p> +<p class="line">In which Sahasra Dal bathes.”</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb86" href="#pb86" name= +"pb86">86</a>]</span></p> +<p>As soon as these magical words were uttered the boat moved and flew +like an arrow over the waters. Keshavati was frightened and began to +cry, but the boat went on and on, leaving behind many towns and cities, +and in a trice reached the <i>ghat</i> where Sahasra Dal was in the +habit of bathing. Keshavati was taken to the palace; Sahasra Dal +admired her beauty and the length of her hair; and the ladies of the +palace tried their best to comfort her. But she set up a loud cry, and +wanted to be taken back to her husband. At last when she saw that she +was a captive, she told the ladies of the palace that she had taken a +vow that she would not see the face of any strange man for six months. +She was then lodged apart from the rest in a small house, the window of +which overlooked the road; there she spent the livelong day and also +the livelong night—for she had very little sleep—in sighing +and weeping.</p> +<p>In the meantime when Champa Dal awoke from sleep, he was distracted +with grief at not finding his wife. He now thought that the woman, who +pretended to be his wife’s aunt, was a cheat and an impostor, and +that she must have carried away Keshavati. He did not eat the +sweetmeats, suspecting they might be poisoned. He threw one of them to +a crow which, the moment it ate it, dropped down dead. He was now the +more confirmed in his unfavourable opinion of the pretended aunt. +Maddened with grief, he rushed out of the house, and determined to go +whithersoever his eyes might lead him. <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb87" href="#pb87" name="pb87">87</a>]</span>Like a madman, always +blubbering “O Keshavati! O Keshavati!” he travelled on foot +day after day, not knowing whither he went. Six months were spent in +this wearisome travelling when, at the end of that period, he reached +the capital of Sahasra Dal. He was passing by the palace-gate when the +sighs and wailings of a woman sitting at the window of a house, on the +road-side, attracted his attention. One moment’s look, and they +recognised each other. They continued to hold secret communications. +Champa Dal heard everything, including the story of her vow, the period +of which was to terminate the following day. It is customary, on the +fulfilment of a vow, for some learned Brahman to make public +recitations of events connected with the vow and the person who makes +it. It was settled that Champa Dal should take upon himself the +functions of the reciter. Accordingly, next morning, when it was +proclaimed by beat of drum that the king wanted a learned Brahman who +could recite the story of Keshavati on the fulfilment of her vow, +Champa Dal touched the drum and said that he would make the recitation. +Next morning a gorgeous assembly was held in the courtyard of the +palace under a huge canopy of silk. The old king, Sahasra Dal, all the +courtiers and the learned Brahmans of the country, were present there. +Keshavati was also there behind a screen that she might not be exposed +to the rude gaze of the people. Champa Dal, the reciter, sitting on a +dais, began the story of Keshavati, as we have related <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb88" href="#pb88" name="pb88">88</a>]</span>it, from +the beginning, commencing with the words—“There was a poor +and half-witted Brahman, etc.” As he was going on with the story, +the reciter every now and then asked Keshavati behind the screen +whether the story was correct; to which question she as often replied, +“Quite correct; go on, Brahman.” During the recitation of +the story the Rakshasi maid-servant grew pale, as she perceived that +her real character was discovered; and Sahasra Dal was astonished at +the knowledge of the reciter regarding the history of his own life. The +moment the story was finished, Sahasra Dal jumped up from his seat, and +embracing the reciter, said, “You can be none other than my +brother Champa Dal.” Then the prince, inflamed with rage, ordered +the maid-servant into his presence. A large hole, as deep as the height +of a man, was dug in the ground; the maid-servant was put into it in a +standing posture; prickly thorn was heaped around her up to the crown +of her head: in this wise was the maid-servant buried alive. After this +Sahasra Dal and his princess, and Champa Dal and Keshavati, lived +happily together many years.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb89" href="#pb89" name= +"pb89">89</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1597" href="#xd19e1597src" name="xd19e1597">1</a></span> +<i>Rakshasas</i> and <i>Rakshasis</i> (male and female) are in Hindu +mythology huge giants and giantesses, or rather demons. The word means +literally <i>raw-eaters</i>; they were probably the chiefs of the +aborigines whom the Aryans overthrew on their first settlement in the +country.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1714" href="#xd19e1714src" name="xd19e1714">2</a></span> +<i>Dasi</i> is a general name for all maid-servants.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1755" href="#xd19e1755src" name="xd19e1755">3</a></span> +<i>Sphatika</i> is crystal, and <i>sthambha</i> pillar.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1773" href="#xd19e1773src" name="xd19e1773">4</a></span> +Bathing-place, either in a tank or on the bank of a river, generally +furnished with flights of steps.</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch5" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">V</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Story of Swet-Basanta</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">There was a rich merchant who had an only son whom he +loved passionately. He gave to his son whatever he wanted. His son +wanted a beautiful house in the midst of a large garden. The house was +built for him, and the grounds were laid out into a fine garden. One +day as the merchant’s son was walking in his garden, he put his +hand into the nest of a small bird called <i>toontooni</i>, and found +in it an egg, which he took and put in an almirah which was dug into +the wall of his house. He closed the door of the almirah, and thought +no more of the egg.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e1839width" id="p090"><img src="images/p090.jpg" +alt="The Girl of the Wall-Almirah" width="499" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">The Girl of the Wall-Almirah</p> +</div> +<p>Though the merchant’s son had a house of his own, he had no +separate establishment; at any rate he kept no cook, for his mother +used to send him regularly his breakfast and dinner every day. The egg +which he deposited in the wall-almirah one day burst, and out of it +came a beautiful infant, a girl. But the merchant’s son knew +nothing about it. He had forgotten everything about the egg, and the +door of the wall-almirah had been kept closed, though not locked, ever +since the day <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb90" href="#pb90" name= +"pb90">90</a>]</span>the egg was put there. The child grew up within +the wall-almirah without the knowledge of the merchant’s son or +of any one else. When the child could walk, it had the curiosity one +day to open the door; and seeing some food on the floor (the breakfast +of the merchant’s son sent by his mother), it came out, and ate a +little of it, and returned to its cell in the wall-almirah. As the +mother of the merchant’s son sent him always more than he could +himself eat, he perceived no diminution in the quantity. The girl of +the wall-almirah used every day to come out and eat a part of the food, +and after eating used to return to her place in the almirah. But as the +girl got older and older, she began to eat more and more; hence the +merchant’s son began to perceive a diminution in the quantity of +his food. Not dreaming of the existence of the wall-almirah girl, he +wondered that his mother should send him such a small quantity of food. +He sent word to his mother, complaining of the insufficiency of his +meals, and of the slovenly manner in which the food was served up in +the dish; for the girl of the wall-almirah used to finger the rice, +curry, and other articles of food, and as she always went in a hurry +back into the almirah that she might not be perceived by any one, she +had no time to put the rice and the other things into proper order +after she had eaten part of them. The mother was astonished at her +son’s complaint, for she gave always a much larger quantity than +she knew her son could consume, and the food was served up on +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb91" href="#pb91" name= +"pb91">91</a>]</span>a silver plate neatly by her own hand. But as her +son repeated the same complaint day after day, she began to suspect +foul play. She told her son to watch and see whether any one ate part +of it unperceived. Accordingly, one day when the servant brought the +breakfast and laid it in a clean place on the floor, the +merchant’s son, instead of going to bathe as it had hitherto been +his custom, hid himself in a secret place and began to watch. In a few +minutes he saw the door of the wall-almirah open; a beautiful damsel of +sweet sixteen stepped out of it, sat on the carpet spread before the +breakfast, and began to eat. The merchant’s son came out of his +hiding-place, and the damsel could not escape. “Who are you, +beautiful creature? You do not seem to be earth-born. Are you one of +the daughters of the gods?” asked the merchant’s son. The +girl replied, “I do not know who I am. This I know, that one day +I found myself in yonder almirah, and have been ever since living in +it.” The merchant’s son thought it strange. He now +remembered that sixteen years before he had put in the almirah an egg +he had found in the nest of a <i>toontooni</i> bird. The uncommon +beauty of the wall-almirah girl made a deep impression on the mind of +the merchant’s son, and he resolved in his mind to marry her. The +girl no more went into the almirah, but lived in one of the rooms of +the spacious house of the merchant’s son.</p> +<p>The next day the merchant’s son sent word to his mother to the +effect that he would like to get <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb92" +href="#pb92" name="pb92">92</a>]</span>married. His mother reproached +herself for not having long before thought of her son’s marriage, +and sent a message to her son to the effect that she and his father +would the next day send <i>ghataks</i><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1858src" href="#xd19e1858" name="xd19e1858src">1</a> to different +countries to seek for a suitable bride. The merchant’s son sent +word that he had secured for himself a most lovable young lady, and +that if his parents had no objections he would produce her before them. +Accordingly the young lady of the wall-almirah was taken to the +merchant’s house; and the merchant and his wife were so struck +with the matchless beauty, grace, and loveliness of the stranger, that, +without asking any questions as to her birth, the nuptials were +celebrated.</p> +<p>In course of time the merchant’s son had two sons; the elder +he named Swet and the younger Basanta. The old merchant died and so did +his wife. Swet and Basanta grew up fine lads, and the elder was in due +time married. Some time after Swet’s marriage his mother, the +wall-almirah lady, also died, and the widower lost no time in marrying +a young and beautiful wife. As Swet’s wife was older than his +stepmother, she became the mistress of the house. The stepmother, like +all stepmothers, hated Swet and Basanta with a perfect hatred; and the +two ladies were naturally often at loggerheads with each other.</p> +<p>It so happened one day that a fisherman brought to the merchant (we +shall no longer call him the merchant’s son, as his father had +died) a fish of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb93" href="#pb93" name= +"pb93">93</a>]</span>singular beauty. It was unlike any other fish that +had been seen. The fish had marvellous qualities ascribed to it by the +fisherman. If any one eats it, said he, when he laughs +<i>maniks</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e1869src" href="#xd19e1869" +name="xd19e1869src">2</a> will drop from his mouth, and when he weeps +pearls will drop from his eyes. The merchant, hearing of the wonderful +properties of the fish, bought it at one thousand rupees, and put it +into the hands of Swet’s wife, who was the mistress of the house, +strictly enjoining on her to cook it well and to give it to him alone +to eat. The mistress, or house-mother, who had overheard the +conversation between her father-in-law and the fisherman, secretly +resolved in her mind to give the cooked fish to her husband and to his +brother to eat, and to give to her father-in-law instead a frog +daintily cooked. When she had finished cooking both the fish and the +frog, she heard the noise of a squabble between her stepmother-in-law +and her husband’s brother. It appears that Basanta, who was but a +lad yet, was passionately fond of pigeons, which he tamed. One of these +pigeons had flown into the room of his stepmother, who had secreted it +in her clothes. Basanta rushed into the room, and loudly demanded the +pigeon. His stepmother denied any knowledge of the pigeon, on which the +elder brother, Swet, forcibly took out the bird from her clothes and +gave it to his brother. The stepmother cursed and swore, and added, +“Wait, when the head of the house comes home I will make him shed +the blood <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb94" href="#pb94" name= +"pb94">94</a>]</span>of you both before I give him water to +drink.” Swet’s wife called her husband and said to him, +“My dearest lord, that woman is a most wicked woman, and has +boundless influence over my father-in-law. She will make him do what +she has threatened. Our life is in imminent danger. Let us first eat a +little, and let us all three run away from this place.” Swet +forthwith called Basanta to him, and told him what he had heard from +his wife. They resolved to run away before nightfall. The woman placed +before her husband and <span class="corr" id="xd19e1879" title= +"Source: his">her</span> brother-in-law the fish of wonderful +properties, and they ate of it heartily. The woman packed up all her +jewels in a box. As there was only one horse, and it was of uncommon +fleetness, the three sat upon it; Swet held the reins, the woman sat in +the middle with the jewel-box in her lap, and Basanta brought up the +rear.</p> +<p>The horse galloped with the utmost swiftness. They passed through +many a plain and many a noted town, till after midnight they found +themselves in a forest not far from the bank of a river. Here the most +untoward event took place. Swet’s wife began to feel the pains of +child-birth. They dismounted, and in an hour or two Swet’s wife +gave birth to a son. What were the two brothers to do in this forest? A +fire must be kindled to give heat both to the mother and the new-born +baby. But where was the fire to be got? There were no human habitations +visible. Still fire must be procured—and it was the month of +December—or else both the mother and the baby <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb95" href="#pb95" name="pb95">95</a>]</span>would +certainly perish. Swet told Basanta to sit beside his wife, while he +set out in the darkness of the night in search of fire.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e1887width" id="p095"><img src="images/p095.jpg" +alt= +"“On a sudden an elephant gorgeously caparisoned shot across his path”" +width="504" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“On a sudden an elephant gorgeously +caparisoned shot across his path”</p> +</div> +<p>Swet walked many a mile in darkness. Still he saw no human +habitations. At last the genial light of Sukra<a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1893src" href="#xd19e1893" name="xd19e1893src">3</a> somewhat +illumined his path, and he saw at a distance what seemed a large city. +He was congratulating himself on his journey’s end and on his +being able to obtain fire for the benefit of his poor wife lying cold +in the forest with the new-born babe, when on a sudden an elephant, +gorgeously caparisoned, shot across his path, and gently taking him up +by his trunk, placed him on the rich <i>howdah</i><a class="noteref" +id="xd19e1898src" href="#xd19e1898" name="xd19e1898src">4</a> on its +back. It then walked rapidly towards the city. Swet was quite taken +aback. He did not understand the meaning of the elephant’s +action, and wondered what was in store for him. A crown was in store +for him. In that kingdom, the chief city of which he was approaching, +every morning a king was elected, for the king of the previous day was +always found dead in the morning in the room of the queen. What caused +the death of the king no one knew; neither did the queen herself (for +every successive king took her to wife) know the cause. And the +elephant who took hold of Swet was the king-maker. Early in the morning +it went about, sometimes to distant places, and whosoever was brought +on its back was acknowledged king by the people. The elephant +majestically marched through the crowded <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb96" href="#pb96" name="pb96">96</a>]</span>streets of the city, amid +the acclamations of the people, the meaning of which Swet did not +understand, entered the palace, and placed him on the throne. He was +proclaimed king amid the rejoicings of some and the lamentations of +others. In the course of the day he heard of the strange fatality which +overtook every night the elected king of those realms, but being +possessed of great discretion and courage, he took every precaution to +avert the dreadful catastrophe. Yet he hardly knew what expedients to +adopt, as he was unacquainted with the nature of the danger. He +resolved, however, upon two things, and these were, to go armed into +the queen’s bedchamber, and to sit up awake the whole night. The +queen was young and of exquisite beauty, and so guileless and +benevolent was the expression of her face that it was impossible from +looking at her to suppose that she could use any foul means of taking +away the life of her nightly consort. In the queen’s chamber Swet +spent a very agreeable evening; as the night advanced the queen fell +asleep, but Swet kept awake, and was on the alert, looking at every +creek and corner of the room, and expecting every minute to be +murdered. In the dead of night he perceived something like a thread +coming out of the left nostril of the queen. The thread was so thin +that it was almost invisible. As he watched it he found it several +yards long, and yet it was coming out. When the whole of it had come +out, it began to grow thick, and in a few minutes it assumed the form +of a huge serpent. In a moment <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb97" +href="#pb97" name="pb97">97</a>]</span>Swet cut off the head of the +serpent, the body of which wriggled violently. He sat quiet in the +room, expecting other adventures. But nothing else happened. The queen +slept longer than usual as she had been relieved of the huge snake +which had made her stomach its den. Early next morning the ministers +came expecting as usual to hear of the king’s death; but when the +ladies of the bedchamber knocked at the door of the queen they were +astonished to see Swet come out. It was then known to all the people +how that every night a terrible snake issued from the queen’s +nostrils, how it devoured the king every night, and how it had at last +been killed by the fortunate Swet. The whole country rejoiced in the +prospect of a permanent king. It is a strange thing, nevertheless it is +true, that Swet did not remember his poor wife with the new-born babe +lying in the forest, nor his brother attending on her. With the +possession of the throne he seemed to forget the whole of his past +history.</p> +<p>Basanta, to whom his brother had entrusted his wife and child, sat +watching for many a weary hour, expecting every moment to see Swet +return with fire. The whole night passed away without his return. At +sunrise he went to the bank of the river which was close by, and +anxiously looked about for his brother, but in vain. Distressed beyond +measure, he sat on the river side and wept. A boat was passing by in +which a merchant was returning to his country. As the boat was not far +from the shore the merchant saw Basanta weeping; <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb98" href="#pb98" name="pb98">98</a>]</span>and what +struck the attention of the merchant was the heap of what looked like +pearls near the weeping man. At the request of the merchant the boatman +took his vessel towards the bank; the merchant went to the weeping man, +and found that the heap was a heap of real pearls of the finest lustre: +and what astonished him most of all was that the heap was increasing +every second, for the tear-drops that were falling from his eyes fell +to the ground not as tears but as pearls. The merchant stowed away the +heap of pearls into his boat, and with the help of his servants caught +hold of Basanta himself, put him on board the vessel, and tied him to a +post. Basanta, of course, resisted; but what could he do against so +many? Thinking of his brother, his brother’s wife and baby, and +his own captivity, Basanta wept more bitterly than before, which +mightily pleased the merchant, as the more tears his captive shed the +richer he himself became. When the merchant reached his native town he +confined Basanta in a room, and at stated hours every day scourged him +in order to make him shed tears, every one of which was converted into +a bright pearl. The merchant one day said to his servants, “As +the fellow is making me rich by his weeping, let us see what he gives +me by laughing.” Accordingly he began to tickle his captive, on +which Basanta laughed, and as he laughed a great many <i>maniks</i> +dropped from his mouth. After this poor Basanta was alternately whipped +and tickled all the day and far into the night; and the merchant, in +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb99" href="#pb99" name= +"pb99">99</a>]</span>consequence, became the wealthiest man in the +land. Leaving Basanta subjected to the alternate processes of +castigation and titillation, let us attend to the fortunes of the poor +wife of Swet, alone in the forest, with a child just born.</p> +<p>Swet’s wife, apparently deserted by her husband and her +brother-in-law, was overwhelmed with grief. A woman, but a few hours +since delivered of a child—and her first child, alone, and in a +forest, far from the habitations of men,—her case was indeed +pitiable. She wept rivers of tears. Excessive grief, however, brought +her relief. She fell asleep with the new-born baby in her arms. It so +happened that at that hour the Kotwal (prefect of the police) of the +country was passing that way. He had been very unfortunate with regard +to his offspring; every child his wife presented him with died shortly +after birth, and he was now going to bury the last infant on the banks +of the river. As he was going, he saw in the forest a woman sleeping +with a baby in her arms. It was a lively and beautiful boy. The Kotwal +coveted the lovely infant. He quietly took it up, put in its place his +own dead child, and returning home, told his wife that the child had +not really died and had revived. Swet’s wife, unconscious of the +deceit practised upon her by the Kotwal, on waking found her child +dead. The distress of her mind may be imagined. The whole world became +dark to her. She was distracted with grief, and in her distraction she +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb100" href="#pb100" name= +"pb100">100</a>]</span>formed the resolution of committing suicide. The +river was not far from the spot, and she determined to drown herself in +it. She took in her hand the bundle of jewels and proceeded to the +river-side. An old Brahman was at no great distance, performing his +morning ablutions. He noticed the woman going into the water, and +naturally thought that she was going to bathe; but when he saw her +going far into deep waters, some suspicion arose in his mind. +Discontinuing his devotions, he bawled out and ordered the woman to +come to him. Swet’s wife seeing that it was an old man that was +calling her, retraced her steps and came to him. On being asked what +she was about to do, she said that she was going to make an end of +herself, and that as she had some jewels with her she would be obliged +if he would accept them as a present. At the request of the old Brahman +she related to him her whole story. The upshot was, that she was +prevented from drowning herself, and that she was received into the +Brahman’s family, where she was treated by the Brahman’s +wife as her own daughter.</p> +<p>Years passed on. The reputed son of the Kotwal grew up a vigorous, +robust lad. As the house of the old Brahman was not far from the +Kotwal’s, the Kotwal’s son used accidentally to meet the +handsome strange woman who passed for the Brahman’s daughter. The +lad liked the woman, and wanted to marry her. He spoke to his father +about the woman, and the father spoke <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb101" href="#pb101" name="pb101">101</a>]</span>to the Brahman. The +Brahman’s rage knew no bounds. What! the infidel Kotwal’s +son aspiring to the hand of a Brahman’s daughter! A dwarf may as +well aspire to catch hold of the moon! But the Kotwal’s son +determined to have her by force. With this wicked object he one day +scaled the wall that encompassed the Brahman’s house, and got +upon the thatched roof of the Brahman’s cow-house. While he was +reconnoitering from that lofty position, he heard the following +conversation between two calves in the cow-house:—</p> +<p><i>First Calf.</i> Men accuse us of brutish ignorance and +immorality; but in my opinion men are fifty times worse.</p> +<p><i>Second Calf.</i> What makes you say so, brother? Have you +witnessed to-day any instance of human depravity?</p> +<p><i>First Calf.</i> Who can be a greater monster of crime than the +same lad who is at this moment standing on the thatched roof of this +hut over our head?</p> +<p><i>Second Calf.</i> Why, I thought it was only the son of our +Kotwal; and I never heard that he was exceptionally vicious.</p> +<p><i>First Calf.</i> You never heard, but now you hear from me. This +wicked lad is now wishing to get married to his own mother!</p> +<p>The First Calf then related to the inquisitive Second Calf in full +the story of Swet and Basanta; how they and Swet’s wife fled from +the vengeance of their stepmother; how Swet’s wife was +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb102" href="#pb102" name= +"pb102">102</a>]</span>delivered of a child in the forest by the +river-side; how Swet was made king by the elephant, and how he +succeeded in killing the serpent which issued out of the queen’s +nostrils; how Basanta was carried away by the merchant, confined in a +dungeon, and alternately flogged and tickled for pearls and +<i>maniks</i>; how the Kotwal exchanged his dead child for the living +one of Swet; how Swet’s wife was prevented from drowning herself +in the river by the Brahman; how she was received into the +Brahman’s family and treated as his daughter; how the +Kotwal’s son grew up a hardy, lusty youth, and fell in love with +her; and how at that very moment he was intent on accomplishing his +brutal object. All this story the Kotwal’s son heard from the +thatched roof of the cow-house, and was struck with horror. He +forthwith got down from the thatch, and went home and told his father +that he must have an interview with the king. Notwithstanding his +reputed father’s protestations to the contrary, he had an +interview with the king, to whom he repeated the whole story as he had +overheard it from the thatch of the cow-house. The king now remembered +his poor wife’s case. She was brought from the house of the +Brahman, whom he richly rewarded, and put her in her proper position as +the queen of the kingdom; the reputed son of the Kotwal was +acknowledged as his own son, and proclaimed the heir-apparent to the +throne; Basanta was brought out of the dungeon, and the wicked merchant +who had maltreated him was buried alive in the earth <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb103" href="#pb103" name= +"pb103">103</a>]</span>surrounded with thorns. After this, Swet, his +wife and son, and Basanta, lived together happily for many years.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Now my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb104" href="#pb104" name= +"pb104">104</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1858" href="#xd19e1858src" name="xd19e1858">1</a></span> +Professional match-makers.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1869" href="#xd19e1869src" name="xd19e1869">2</a></span> +<i>Manik</i>, or rather <i>manikya</i>, is a fabulous precious stone of +incredible value. It is found on the head of some species of snakes, +and is equal in value to the wealth of seven kings.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1893" href="#xd19e1893src" name="xd19e1893">3</a></span> Venus, +the Morning Star.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1898" href="#xd19e1898src" name="xd19e1898">4</a></span> The seat +on the back of an elephant.</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch6" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">VI</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Evil Eye of Sani</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Once upon a time Sani, or Saturn, the god of bad luck, +and Lakshmi, the goddess of good luck, fell out with each other in +heaven. Sani said he was higher in rank than Lakshmi, and Lakshmi said +she was higher in rank than Sani. As all the gods and goddesses of +heaven were equally ranged on either side, the contending deities +agreed to refer the matter to some human being who had a name for +wisdom and justice. Now, there lived at that time upon earth a man of +the name of Sribatsa,<a class="noteref" id="xd19e1965src" href= +"#xd19e1965" name="xd19e1965src">1</a> who was as wise and just as he +was rich. Him, therefore, both the god and the goddess chose as the +settler of their dispute. One day, accordingly, Sribatsa was told that +Sani and Lakshmi were wishing to pay him a visit to get their dispute +settled. Sribatsa was in a fix. If he said Sani was higher in rank than +Lakshmi, she would be angry with him and forsake him. If he said +Lakshmi was higher in rank than Sani, Sani would cast his evil eye upon +him. Hence he made up his mind <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb105" +href="#pb105" name="pb105">105</a>]</span>not to say anything directly, +but to leave the god and the goddess to gather his opinion from his +action. He got two stools made, the one of gold and the other of +silver, and placed them beside him. When Sani and Lakshmi came to +Sribatsa, he told Sani to sit upon the silver stool, and Lakshmi upon +the gold stool. Sani became mad with rage, and said in an angry tone to +Sribatsa, “Well, as you consider me lower in rank than Lakshmi, I +will cast my eye on you for three years; and I should like to see how +you fare at the end of that period.” The god then went away in +high dudgeon. Lakshmi, before going away, said to Sribatsa, “My +child, do not fear. I’ll befriend you.” The god and the +goddess then went away.</p> +<p>Sribatsa said to his wife, whose name was Chintamani, +“Dearest, as the evil eye of Sani will be upon me at once, I had +better go away from the house; for if I remain in the house with you, +evil will befall you and me; but if I go away, it will overtake me +only.” Chintamani said, “That cannot be; wherever you go, I +will go, your lot shall be my lot.” The husband tried hard to +persuade his wife to remain at home; but it was of no use. She would go +with her husband. Sribatsa accordingly told his wife to make an opening +in their mattress, and to stow away in it all the money and jewels they +had. On the eve of leaving their house, Sribatsa invoked Lakshmi, who +forthwith appeared. He then said to her, “Mother Lakshmi! as the +evil eye of Sani is upon us, we are going away into exile; but do thou +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb106" href="#pb106" name= +"pb106">106</a>]</span>befriend us, and take care of our house and +property.” The goddess of good luck answered, “Do not fear; +I’ll befriend you; all will be right at last.” They then +set out on their journey. Sribatsa rolled up the mattress and put it on +his head. They had not gone many miles when they saw a river before +them. It was not fordable; but there was a canoe there with a man +sitting in it. The travellers requested the ferryman to take them +across. The ferryman said, “I can take only one at a time; but +you are three—yourself, your wife, and the mattress.” +Sribatsa proposed that first his wife and the mattress should be taken +across, and then he; but the ferryman would not hear of it. “Only +one at a time,” repeated he; “first let me take across the +mattress.” When the canoe with the mattress was in the middle of +the stream, a fierce gale arose, and carried away the mattress, the +canoe, and the ferryman, no one knows whither. And it was strange the +stream also disappeared, for the place, where they saw a few minutes +since the rush of waters, had now become firm ground. Sribatsa then +knew that this was nothing but the evil eye of Sani.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e1980width" id="p106"><img src="images/p106.jpg" +alt="“They then set out on their journey”" width="499" +height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“They then set out on their +journey”</p> +</div> +<p>Sribatsa and his wife, without a pice in their pocket, went to a +village which was hard by. It was dwelt in for the most part by +wood-cutters, who used to go at sunrise to the forest to cut wood, +which they sold in a town not far from the village. Sribatsa proposed +to the wood-cutters that he should go along with them to cut wood. They +agreed. So he began to fell trees as well as <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb107" href="#pb107" name="pb107">107</a>]</span>the +best of them; but there was this difference between Sribatsa and the +other wood-cutters, that whereas the latter cut any and every sort of +wood, the former cut only precious wood like sandal-wood. The +wood-cutters used to bring to market large loads of common wood, and +Sribatsa only a few pieces of sandal-wood, for which he got a great +deal more money than the others. As this was going on day after day, +the wood-cutters through envy plotted together, and drove away from the +village Sribatsa and his wife.</p> +<p>The next place they went to was a village of weavers, or rather +cotton-spinners. Here Chintamani, the wife of Sribatsa, made herself +useful by spinning cotton. And as she was an intelligent and skilful +woman, she spun finer thread than the other women; and she got more +money. This roused the envy of the native women of the village. But +this was not all. Sribatsa, in order to gain the good grace of the +weavers, asked them to a feast, the dishes of which were all cooked by +his wife. As Chintamani excelled in cooking, the barbarous weavers of +the village were quite charmed by the delicacies set before them. When +the men went to their homes, they reproached their wives for not being +able to cook so well as the wife of Sribatsa, and called them +good-for-nothing women. This thing made the women of the village hate +Chintamani the more. One day Chintamani went to the river-side to bathe +along with the other women of the village. A boat had been lying on the +bank stranded on the sand <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb108" href= +"#pb108" name="pb108">108</a>]</span>for many days; they had tried to +move it, but in vain. It so happened that as Chintamani by accident +touched the boat, it moved off to the river. The boatmen, astonished at +the event, thought that the woman had uncommon power, and might be +useful on similar occasions in future. They therefore caught hold of +her, put her in the boat, and rowed off. The women of the village, who +were present, did not offer any resistance as they hated Chintamani. +When Sribatsa heard how his wife had been carried away by boatmen, he +became mad with grief. He left the village, went to the river-side, and +resolved to follow the course of the stream till he should meet the +boat where his wife was a prisoner. He travelled on and on, along the +side of the river, till it became dark. As there were no huts to be +seen, he climbed into a tree for the night. Next morning as he got down +from the tree he saw at the foot of it a cow called a Kapila-cow, which +never calves, but which gives milk at all hours of the day whenever it +is milked. Sribatsa milked the cow, and drank its milk to his +heart’s content. He was astonished to find that the cow-dung +which lay on the ground was of a bright yellow colour; indeed, he found +it was pure gold. While it was in a soft state he wrote his own name +upon it, and when in the course of the day it became hardened, it +looked like a brick of gold—and so it was. As the tree grew on +the river-side, and as the Kapila-cow came morning and evening to +supply him with milk, Sribatsa resolved to stay there till he should +meet <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb109" href="#pb109" name= +"pb109">109</a>]</span>the boat. In the meantime the gold-bricks were +increasing in number every day, for the cow both morning and evening +deposited there the precious article. He put the gold-bricks, upon all +of which his name was engraved, one upon another in rows, so that from +a distance they looked like a hillock of gold.</p> +<p>Leaving Sribatsa to arrange his gold-bricks under the tree on the +river-side we must follow the fortunes of his wife. Chintamani was a +woman of great beauty; and thinking that her beauty might be her ruin, +she, when seized by the boatmen, offered to Lakshmi the following +prayer——“O Mother Lakshmi! have pity upon me. Thou +hast made me beautiful, but now my beauty will undoubtedly prove my +ruin by the loss of honour and chastity. I therefore beseech thee, +gracious Mother, to make me ugly, and to cover my body with some +loathsome disease, that the boatmen may not touch me.” Lakshmi +heard Chintamani’s prayer; and in the twinkling of an eye, while +she was in the arms of the boatmen, her naturally beautiful form was +turned into a vile carcase. The boatmen, on putting her down in the +boat, found her body covered with loathsome sores which were giving out +a disgusting stench. They therefore threw her into the hold of the boat +amongst the cargo, where they used morning and evening to send her a +little boiled rice and some water. In that hold Chintamani had a +miserable life of it; but she greatly preferred that misery to the loss +of chastity. The boatmen went to some port, sold <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb110" href="#pb110" name="pb110">110</a>]</span>the +cargo, and were returning to their country when the sight of what +seemed a hillock of gold, not far from the river-side, attracted their +attention. Sribatsa, whose eyes were ever directed towards the river, +was delighted when he saw a boat turn towards the bank, as he fondly +imagined his wife might be in it. The boatmen went to the hillock of +gold, when Sribatsa said that the gold was his. They put all the +gold-bricks on board their vessel, took Sribatsa prisoner, and put him +into the hold not far from the woman covered with sores. They of course +immediately recognised each other, in spite of the change Chintamani +had undergone, but thought it prudent not to speak to each other. They +communicated <span class="corr" id="xd19e1998" title= +"Source: there">their</span> ideas, therefore, by signs and gestures. +Now, the boatmen were fond of playing at dice, and as Sribatsa appeared +to them from his looks to be a respectable man, they always asked him +to join in the game. As he was an expert player, he almost always won +the game, on which the boatmen, envying his superior skill, threw him +overboard. Chintamani had the presence of mind, at that moment, to +throw into the water a pillow which she had for resting her head upon. +Sribatsa took hold of the pillow, by means of which he floated down the +stream till he was carried at nightfall to what seemed a garden on the +water’s edge. There he stuck among the trees, where he remained +the whole night, wet and shivering. Now, the garden belonged to an old +widow who was in former years the chief flower-supplier to the king of +that country. Through <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb111" href= +"#pb111" name="pb111">111</a>]</span>some cause or other a blight +seemed to have come over her garden, as almost all the trees and plants +ceased flowering; she had therefore given up her place as the +flower-supplier of the royal household. On the morning following the +night on which Sribatsa had stuck among the trees, however, the old +woman on getting up from her bed could scarcely believe her eyes when +she saw the whole garden ablaze with flowers. There was not a single +tree or plant which was not begemmed with flowers. Not understanding +the cause of such a miraculous sight, she took a walk through the +garden, and found on the river’s brink, stuck among the trees, a +man shivering and almost dying with cold. She brought him to her +cottage, lighted a fire to give him warmth, and showed him every +attention, as she ascribed the wonderful flowering of her trees to his +presence. After making him as comfortable as she could, she ran to the +king’s palace, and told his chief servants that she was again in +a position to supply the palace with flowers; so she was restored to +her former office as the flower-woman of the royal household. Sribatsa, +who stopped a few days with the woman, requested her to recommend him +to one of the king’s ministers for a berth. He was accordingly +sent for to the palace, and as he was at once found to be a man of +intelligence, the king’s minister asked him what post he would +like to have. Agreeably to his wish he was appointed collector of tolls +on the river. While discharging his duties as river toll-gatherer, in +the course of a few days <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb112" href= +"#pb112" name="pb112">112</a>]</span>he saw the very boat in which his +wife was a prisoner. He detained the boat, and charged the boatmen with +the theft of gold-bricks which he claimed as his own. At the mention of +gold-bricks the king himself came to the river-side, and was astonished +beyond measure to see bricks made of gold, every one of which had the +inscription—<span class="sc">Sribatsa</span>. At the same time +Sribatsa rescued from the boatmen his wife, who, the moment she came +out of the vessel, became as lovely as before. The king heard the story +of Sribatsa’s misfortunes from his lips, entertained him in a +princely style for many days, and at last sent him and his wife to +their own country with presents of horses and elephants. The evil eye +of Sani was now turned away from Sribatsa, and he again became what he +formerly was, the Child of Fortune.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb113" href="#pb113" name= +"pb113">113</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e1965" href="#xd19e1965src" name="xd19e1965">1</a></span> +<i>Sri</i> is another name of Lakshmi, and <i>batsa</i> means child; so +that Sribatsa is literally the “child of fortune.”</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch7" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">VII</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Boy whom Seven Mothers Suckled</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Once on a time there reigned a king who had seven +queens. He was very sad, for the seven queens were all barren. A holy +mendicant, however, one day told the king that in a certain forest +there grew a tree, on a branch of which hung seven mangoes; if the king +himself plucked those mangoes and gave one to each of the queens they +would all become mothers. So the king went to the forest, plucked the +seven mangoes that grew upon one branch, and gave a mango to each of +the queens to eat. In a short time the king’s heart was filled +with joy, as he heard that the seven queens were all with child.</p> +<p>One day the king was out hunting, when he saw a young lady of +peerless beauty cross his path. He fell in love with her, brought her +to his palace, and married her. This lady was, however, not a human +being, but a Rakshasi; but the king of course did not know it. The king +became dotingly fond of her; he did whatever she told him. She said one +day to the king, “You say that you love <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb114" href="#pb114" name="pb114">114</a>]</span>me +more than any one else. Let me see whether you really love me so. If +you love me, make your seven other queens blind, and let them be +killed.” The king became very sad at the request of his +best-beloved queen, the more so as the seven queens were all with +child. But there was nothing for it but to comply with the +Rakshasi-queen’s request. The eyes of the seven queens were +plucked out of their sockets, and the queens themselves were delivered +up to the chief minister to be destroyed. But the chief minister was a +merciful man. Instead of killing the seven queens he hid them in a cave +which was on the side of a hill. In course of time the eldest of the +seven queens gave birth to a child. “What shall I do with the +child,” said she, “now that we are blind and are dying for +want of food? Let me kill the child, and let us all eat of its +flesh.” So saying she killed the infant, and gave to each of her +sister-queens a part of the child to eat. The six ate their portion, +but the seventh or youngest queen did not eat her share, but laid it +beside her. In a few days the second queen also was delivered of a +child, and she did with it as her eldest sister had done with hers. So +did the third, the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth queen. At last the +seventh queen gave birth to a son; but she, instead of following the +example of her sister-queens, resolved to nurse the child. The other +queens demanded their portions of the newly-born babe. She gave each of +them the portion she had got of the six children which had been killed, +and which she had not eaten but laid aside. The <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb115" href="#pb115" name= +"pb115">115</a>]</span>other queens at once perceived that their +portions were dry, and could not therefore be the parts of the child +just born. The seventh queen told them that she had made up her mind +not to kill the child but to nurse it. The others were glad to hear +this, and they all said that they would help her in nursing the child. +So the child was suckled by seven mothers, and it became after some +years the hardiest and strongest boy that ever lived.</p> +<p>In the meantime the Rakshasi-wife of the king was doing infinite +mischief to the royal household and to the capital. What she ate at the +royal table did not fill her capacious stomach. She therefore, in the +darkness of night, gradually ate up all the members of the royal +family, all the king’s servants and attendants, all his horses, +elephants, and cattle; till none remained in the palace except she +herself and her royal consort. After that she used to go out in the +evenings into the city and eat up a stray human being here and there. +The king was left unattended by servants; there was no person left to +cook for him, for no one would take his service. At last the boy who +had been suckled by seven mothers, and who had now grown up to a +stalwart youth, volunteered his services. He attended on the king, and +took every care to prevent the queen from swallowing him up, for he +went away home long before nightfall; and the Rakshasi-queen never +seized her victims except at night. Hence the queen determined in some +other way to get rid of the boy. As the boy always boasted that he was +equal to any work, however <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb116" href= +"#pb116" name="pb116">116</a>]</span>hard, the queen told him that she +was suffering from some disease which could be cured only by eating a +certain species of melon, which was twelve cubits long, but the stone +of which was thirteen cubits long, and that that fruit could be had +only from her mother, who lived on the other side of the ocean. She +gave him a letter of introduction to her mother, in which she requested +her to devour the boy the moment he put the letter into her hands. The +boy, suspecting foul play, tore up the letter and proceeded on his +journey. The dauntless youth passed through many lands, and at last +stood on the shore of the ocean, on the other side of which was the +country of the Rakshasis. He then bawled as loud as he could, and said, +“Granny! granny! come and save your daughter; she is dangerously +ill.” An old Rakshasi on the other side of the ocean heard the +words, crossed the ocean, came to the boy, and on hearing the message +took the boy on her back and re-crossed the ocean. So the boy was in +the country of the Rakshasis. The twelve-cubit melon with its +thirteen-cubit stone was given to the boy at once, and he was told to +perform the journey back. But the boy pleaded fatigue, and begged to be +allowed to rest one day. To this the old Rakshasi consented. Observing +a stout club and a rope hanging in the Rakshasi’s room, the boy +inquired what they were there for. She replied, “Child, by that +club and rope I cross the ocean. If any one takes the club and the rope +in his hands, and addresses them in the following magical words— +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb117" href="#pb117" name= +"pb117">117</a>]</span></p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line hangqq">“O stout club! O strong rope!</p> +<p class="line">Take me at once to the other side,”</p> +</div> +<p class="first">then immediately the club and rope will take him to +the other side of the ocean.” Observing a bird in a cage hanging +in one corner of the room, the boy inquired what it was. The old +Rakshasi replied, “It contains a secret, child, which must not be +disclosed to mortals, and yet how can I hide it from my own grandchild? +That bird, child, contains the life of your mother. If the bird is +killed, your mother will at once die.” Armed with these secrets, +the boy went to bed that night. Next morning the old Rakshasi, together +with all the other Rakshasis, went to distant countries for forage. The +boy took down the cage from the ceiling, as well as the club and rope. +Having well secured the bird, he addressed the club and rope +thus—</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line hangqq">“O stout club! O strong rope!</p> +<p class="line">Take me at once to the other side.”</p> +</div> +<p class="first">In the twinkling of an eye the boy was put on this +side <span class="corr" id="xd19e2046" title="Not in source">of</span> +the ocean. He then retraced his steps, came to the queen, and gave her, +to her astonishment, the twelve-cubit melon with its thirteen-cubit +stone; but the cage with the bird in it he kept carefully +concealed.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e2050width" id="p117"><img src="images/p117.jpg" +alt= +"“A monstrous bird comes out apparently from the palace”" +width="493" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“A monstrous bird comes out apparently from +the palace”</p> +</div> +<p>In the course of time the people of the city came to the king and +said, “A monstrous bird comes out apparently from the palace +every evening, and seizes the passengers in the streets and swallows +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb118" href="#pb118" name= +"pb118">118</a>]</span>them up. This has been going on for so long a +time that the city has become almost desolate.” The king could +not make out what this monstrous bird was. The king’s servant, +the boy, replied that he knew the monstrous bird, and that he would +kill it provided the queen stood beside the king. By royal command the +queen was made to stand beside the king. The boy then took the bird +from the cage which he had brought from the other side of the ocean, on +seeing which she fell into a fainting fit. Turning to the king the boy +said, “Sire, you will soon perceive who the monstrous bird is +that devours your subjects every evening. As I tear off each limb of +this bird, the corresponding limb of the man-devourer will fall +off.” The boy then tore off one leg of the bird in his hand; +immediately, to the astonishment of the whole assembly, for the +citizens were all present, one of the legs of the queen fell off. And +when the boy squeezed the throat of the bird, the queen gave up the +ghost. The boy then related his own history and that of his mother and +his stepmothers. The seven queens, whose eyesight was miraculously +restored, were brought back to the palace; and the boy that was suckled +by seven mothers was recognised by the king as his rightful heir. So +they lived together happily.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, &c.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb119" href="#pb119" name= +"pb119">119</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch8" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">VIII</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Story of Prince Sobur</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Once upon a time there lived a certain merchant who +had seven daughters. One day the merchant put to his daughters the +question: “By whose fortune do you get your living?” The +eldest daughter answered—“Papa, I get my living by your +fortune.” The same answer was given by the second daughter, the +third, the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth; but his youngest daughter +said—“I get my living by my own fortune.” The +merchant got very angry with the youngest daughter, and said to +her—“As you are so ungrateful as to say that you get your +living by your own fortune, let me see how you fare alone. This very +day you shall leave my house without a pice in your pocket.” He +forthwith called his palki-bearers, and ordered them to take away the +girl and leave her in the midst of a forest. The girl begged hard to be +allowed to take with her her work-box containing her needles and +threads. She was allowed to do so. She then got into the palki, which +the bearers lifted on their shoulders. The bearers had not gone many +hundred yards to the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb120" href="#pb120" +name="pb120">120</a>]</span>tune of “Hoon! hoon! hoon! hoon! +hoon! hoon!” when an old woman bawled out to them and bid them +stop. On coming up to the palki, she said, “Where are you taking +away my daughter?” for she was the nurse of the merchant’s +youngest child. The bearers replied, “The merchant has ordered us +to take her away and leave her in the midst of a forest; and we are +going to do his bidding.” “I must go with her,” said +the old woman. “How will you be able to keep pace with us, as we +must needs run?” said the bearers. “Anyhow I must go where +my daughter goes,” rejoined the old woman. The upshot was that, +at the entreaty of the merchant’s youngest daughter, the old +woman was put inside the palki along with her. In the afternoon the +palki-bearers reached a dense forest. They went far into it; and +towards sunset they put down the girl and the old woman at the foot of +a large tree, and retraced their steps homewards.</p> +<p>The case of the merchant’s youngest daughter was truly +pitiable. She was scarcely fourteen years old; she had been bred in the +lap of luxury; and she was now here at sundown in the heart of what +seemed an interminable forest, with not a penny in her pocket, and with +no other protection than what could be given her by an old, decrepit, +imbecile woman. The very trees of the forest looked upon her with pity. +The gigantic tree, at whose foot she was mingling her tears with those +of the old woman, said to her (for trees could speak in those +days)—“Unhappy girl! I much pity you. In a short time the +wild beasts of the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb121" href="#pb121" +name="pb121">121</a>]</span>forest will come out of their lairs and +roam about for their prey; and they are sure to devour you and your +companion. But I can help you; I will make an opening for you in my +trunk. When you see the opening go into it; I will then close it up; +and you will remain safe inside; nor can the wild beasts touch +you.” In a moment the trunk of the tree was split into two. The +merchant’s daughter and the old woman went inside the hollow, on +which the tree resumed its natural shape. When the shades of night +darkened the forest the wild beasts came out of their lairs. The fierce +tiger was there; the wild bear was there; the hard-skinned rhinoceros +was there; the bushy bear was there; the musty elephant was there; and +the horned buffalo was there. They all growled round about the tree, +for they got the scent of human blood. The merchant’s daughter +and the old woman heard from within the tree the growl of the beasts. +The beasts came dashing against the tree; they broke its branches; they +pierced its trunk with their horns; they scratched its bark with their +claws: but in vain. The merchant’s daughter and her old nurse +were safe within. Towards dawn the wild beasts went away. After sunrise +the good tree said to her two inmates, “Unhappy women, the wild +beasts have gone into their lairs after greatly tormenting me. The sun +is up; you can now come out.” So saying the tree split itself +into two, and the merchant’s daughter and the old woman came out. +They saw the extent of the mischief done by the <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb122" href="#pb122" name="pb122">122</a>]</span>wild +beasts to the tree. Many of its branches had been broken down; in many +places the trunk had been pierced; and in other places the bark had +been stripped off. The merchant’s daughter said to the tree, +“Good mother, you are truly good to give us shelter at such a +fearful cost. You must be in great pain from the torture to which the +wild beasts subjected you last night.” So saying she went to the +tank which was near the tree, and bringing thence a quantity of mud, +she besmeared the trunk with it, especially those parts which had been +pierced and scratched. After she had done this, the tree said, +“Thank you, my good girl, I am now greatly relieved of my pain. I +am, however, concerned not so much about myself as about you both. You +must be hungry, not having eaten the whole of yesterday. And what can I +give you? I have no fruit of my own to give you. Give to the old woman +whatever money you have, and let her go into the city hard by and buy +some food.” They said they had no money. On searching, however, +in the work-box she found five <i>cowries</i>.<a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2083src" href="#xd19e2083" name="xd19e2083src">1</a> The tree +then told the old woman to go with the <i>cowries</i> to the city and +buy some <i>khai</i>.<a class="noteref" id="xd19e2093src" href= +"#xd19e2093" name="xd19e2093src">2</a> The old woman went to the city, +which was not far, and said to one confectioner, “Please give me +five <i>cowries</i>’ worth of <i>khai</i>.” The +confectioner laughed at her and said, “Be off, you old hag, do +you think <i>khai</i> can be had for five <i>cowries</i>?” She +tried another shop, and the shopkeeper, <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb123" href="#pb123" name="pb123">123</a>]</span>thinking the woman to +be in great distress, compassionately gave her a large quantity of +<i>khai</i> for the five <i>cowries</i>.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e2118width" id="p123"><img src="images/p123.jpg" +alt= +"“Hundreds of peacocks of gorgeous plumes came to the embankments to eat the khai”" +width="498" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“Hundreds of peacocks of gorgeous plumes +came to the embankments to eat the <i>khai</i>”</p> +</div> +<p>When the old woman returned with the <i>khai</i>, the tree said to +the merchant’s daughter, “Each of you eat a little of the +<i>khai</i>, lay by more than half, and strew the rest on the +embankments of the tank all round.” They did as they were bidden, +though they did not understand the reason why they were told to scatter +the <i>khai</i> on the sides of the tank. They spent the day in +bewailing their fate, and at night they were housed inside the trunk of +the tree as on the previous night. The wild beasts came as before, +further mutilated the tree, and tortured it as in the preceding night. +But during the night a scene was being enacted on the embankments of +the tank of which the two women saw the outcome only on the following +morning. Hundreds of peacocks of gorgeous plumes came to the +embankments to eat the <i>khai</i> which had been strewed on them; and +as they strove with each other for the tempting food many of their +plumes fell off their bodies. Early in the morning the tree told the +two women to gather the plumes together, out of which the +merchant’s daughter made a beautiful fan. This fan was taken into +the city to the palace, where the son of the king admired it greatly +and paid for it a large sum of money. As each morning a quantity of +plumes was collected, every day one fan was made and sold. So that in a +short time the two women got rich. The tree then advised <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb124" href="#pb124" name="pb124">124</a>]</span>them +to employ men in building a house for them to live in. Accordingly +bricks were burnt, trees were cut down for beams and rafters, bricks +were reduced to powder, lime was manufactured, and in a few months a +stately, palace-like house was built for the merchant’s daughter +and her old nurse. It was thought advisable to lay out the adjoining +grounds as a garden, and to dig a tank for supplying them with +water.</p> +<p>In the meantime the merchant himself with his wife and six daughters +had been frowned upon by the goddess of wealth. By a sudden stroke of +misfortune he lost all his money, his house and property were sold, and +he, his wife, and six daughters, were turned adrift penniless into the +world. It so happened that they lived in a village not far from the +place where the two strange women had built a palace and were digging a +tank. As the once rich merchant was now supporting his family by the +pittance which he obtained every day for his manual labour, he +bethought himself of employing himself as a day labourer in digging the +tank of the strange lady on the skirts of the forest. His wife said she +would also go to dig the tank with him. So one day while the strange +lady was amusing herself from the window of her palace with looking at +the labourers digging her tank, to her utter surprise she saw her +father and mother coming towards the palace, apparently to engage +themselves as day labourers. Tears ran down her cheeks as she looked at +them, for they were clothed in rags. She immediately <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb125" href="#pb125" name="pb125">125</a>]</span>sent +servants to bring them inside the house. The poor man and woman were +frightened beyond measure. They saw that the tank was all ready; and as +it was customary in those days to offer a human sacrifice when the +digging was over, they thought that they were called inside in order to +be sacrificed. Their fears increased when they were told to throw away +their rags and to put on fine clothes which were given to them. The +strange lady of the palace, however, soon dispelled their fears; for +she told them that she was their daughter, fell on their necks and +wept. The rich daughter related her adventures, and the father felt she +was right when she said that she lived upon her own fortune and not on +that of her father. She gave her father a large fortune, which enabled +him to go to the city in which he formerly lived, and to set himself up +again as a merchant.</p> +<p>The merchant now bethought himself of going in his ship to distant +countries for purposes of trade. All was ready. He got on board, ready +to start, but, strange to say, the ship would not move. The merchant +was at a loss what to make of this. At last the idea occurred to him +that he had asked each of his six daughters, who were living with him, +what thing she wished he should bring for her; but he had not asked +that question of his seventh daughter who had made him rich. He +therefore immediately despatched a messenger to his youngest daughter, +asking her what she wished her father to bring for her on his return +from his <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb126" href="#pb126" name= +"pb126">126</a>]</span>mercantile travels. When the messenger arrived +she was engaged in her devotions, and hearing that a messenger had +arrived from her father she said to him “Sobur,” meaning +“wait.” The messenger understood that she wanted her father +to bring for her something called <i>Sobur</i>. He returned to the +merchant and told him that she wanted him to bring for her +<i>Sobur</i>. The ship now moved of itself, and the merchant started on +his travels. He visited many ports, and by selling his goods obtained +immense profit. The things his six daughters wanted him to bring for +them he easily got, but <i>Sobur</i>, the thing which he understood his +youngest daughter wished to have, he could get nowhere. He asked at +every port whether <i>Sobur</i> could be had there, but the merchants +all told him that they had never heard of such an article of commerce. +At the last port he went through the streets bawling +out—“Wanted <i>Sobur</i>! wanted <i>Sobur</i>!” The +cry attracted the notice of the son of the king of that country whose +name was Sobur. The prince, hearing from the merchant that his daughter +wanted <i>Sobur</i>, said that he had the article in question, and +bringing out a small box of wood containing a magical fan with a +looking-glass in it, said—“This is <i>Sobur</i> which your +daughter wishes to have.” The merchant having obtained the +long-wished-for <i>Sobur</i> weighed anchor, and sailed for his native +land. On his arrival he sent to his youngest daughter the said +wonderful box. The daughter, thinking it to be a common wooden box, +laid it aside. Some days after when she was at <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb127" href="#pb127" name= +"pb127">127</a>]</span>leisure she bethought herself of opening the box +which her father had sent her. When she opened it she saw in it a +beautiful fan, and in it a looking-glass. As she shook the fan, in a +moment the Prince Sobur stood before her, and said—“You +called me, here I am. What’s your wish?” The +merchant’s daughter, astonished at the sudden appearance of a +prince of such exquisite beauty, asked who he was, and how he had made +his appearance there. The prince told her of the circumstances under +which he gave the box to her father, and informed her of the secret +that whenever the fan would be shaken he would make his appearance. The +prince lived for a day or two in the house of the merchant’s +daughter, who entertained him hospitably. The upshot was, that they +fell in love with each other, and vowed to each other to be husband and +wife. The prince returned to his royal father and told him that he had +selected a wife for himself. The day for the wedding was fixed. The +merchant and his six daughters were invited. The nuptial knot was tied. +But there was death in the marriage-bed. The six daughters of the +merchant, envying the happy lot of their youngest sister, had +determined to put an end to the life of her newly-wedded husband. They +broke several bottles, reduced the broken pieces into fine powder, and +scattered it profusely on the bed. The prince, suspecting no danger, +laid himself down in the bed; but he had scarcely been there two +minutes when he felt acute pain through his whole system, for the fine +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb128" href="#pb128" name= +"pb128">128</a>]</span>bottle-powder had gone through every pore of his +body. As the prince became restless through pain, and was shrieking +aloud, his attendants hastily took him away to his own country.</p> +<p>The king and queen, the parents of Prince Sobur, consulted all the +physicians and surgeons of the kingdom; but in vain. The young prince +was day and night screaming with pain, and no one could ascertain the +disease, far less give him relief. The grief of the merchant’s +daughter may be imagined. The marriage knot had been scarcely tied when +her husband was attacked, as she thought, by a terrible disease and +carried away many hundreds of miles off. Though she had never seen her +husband’s country she determined to go there and nurse him. She +put on the garb of a Sannyasi, and with a dagger in her hand set out on +her journey. Of tender years, and unaccustomed to make long journeys on +foot, she soon got weary and sat under a tree to rest. On the top of +the tree was the nest of the divine bird Bihangama and his mate +Bihangami. They were not in their nest at the time, but two of their +young ones were in it. Suddenly the young ones on the top of the tree +gave a scream which roused the half-drowsy merchant’s daughter +whom we shall now call the young Sannyasi. He saw near him a huge +serpent raising its hood and about to climb into the tree. In a moment +he cut the serpent into two, on which the young birds left off +screaming. Shortly after the Bihangama and Bihangami came sailing +through the air; and the latter said to the <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb129" href="#pb129" name= +"pb129">129</a>]</span>former—“I suppose our offspring as +usual have been devoured by our great enemy the serpent. Ah me! I do +not hear the cries of my young ones.” On nearing the nest, +however, they were agreeably surprised to find their offspring alive. +The young ones told their dams how the young Sannyasi under the tree +had destroyed the serpent. And sure enough the snake was lying there +cut into two.</p> +<p>The Bihangami then said to her mate—“The young Sannyasi +has saved our offspring from death, I wish we could do him some service +in return.” The Bihangama replied, “We shall presently do +her service, for the person under the tree is not a man but a woman. +She got married only last night to Prince Sobur, who, a few hours +after, when jumping into his bed, had every pore of his body pierced +with fine particles of ground bottles which had been spread over his +bed by his envious sisters-in-law. He is still suffering pain in his +native land, and, indeed, is at the point of death. And his heroic +bride taking the garb of a Sannyasi is going to nurse him.” +“But,” asked the Bihangami, “is there no cure for the +prince?” “Yes, there is,” replied the Bihangama: +“if our dung which is lying on the ground round about, and which +is hardened, be reduced to powder, and applied by means of a brush to +the body of the prince after bathing him seven times with seven jars of +water and seven jars of milk, Prince Sobur will undoubtedly get +well.” “But,” asked the Bihangami, “how can the +poor daughter of the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb130" href="#pb130" +name="pb130">130</a>]</span>merchant walk such a distance? It must take +her many days, by which time the poor prince will have died.” +“I can,” replied the Bihangama, “take the young lady +on my back, and put her in the capital of Prince Sobur, and bring her +back, provided she does not take any presents there.” The +merchant’s daughter, in the garb of a Sannyasi, heard this +conversation between the two birds, and begged the Bihangama to take +her on his back. To this the bird readily consented. Before mounting on +her aerial car she gathered a quantity of birds’ dung and reduced +it to fine powder. Armed with this potent drug she got up on the back +of the kind bird, and sailing through the air with the rapidity of +lightning, soon reached the capital of Prince Sobur. The young Sannyasi +went up to the gate of the palace, and sent word to the king that he +was acquainted with potent drugs and would cure the prince in a few +hours. The king, who had tried all the best doctors in the kingdom +without success, looked upon the Sannyasi as a mere pretender, but on +the advice of his councillors agreed to give him a trial. The Sannyasi +ordered seven jars of water and seven jars of milk to be brought to +him. He poured the contents of all the jars on the body of the prince. +He then applied, by means of a feather, the dung-powder he had already +prepared to every pore of the prince’s body. Thereafter seven +jars of water and seven jars of milk were again six times poured upon +him. When the prince’s body was wiped, he felt perfectly well. +The king ordered that the richest <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb131" +href="#pb131" name="pb131">131</a>]</span>treasures he had should be +presented to the wonderful doctor; but the Sannyasi refused to take +any. He only wanted a ring from the prince’s finger to preserve +as a memorial. The ring was readily given him. The merchant’s +daughter hastened to the sea-shore where the Bihangama was awaiting +her. In a moment they reached the tree of the divine birds. Hence the +young bride walked to her house on the skirts of the forest. The +following day she shook the magical fan, and forthwith Prince Sobur +appeared before her. When the lady showed him the ring, he learnt with +infinite surprise that his own wife was the doctor that cured him. The +prince took away his bride to his palace in his far-off kingdom, +forgave his sisters-in-law, lived happily for scores of years, and was +blessed with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb132" href="#pb132" name= +"pb132">132</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2083" href="#xd19e2083src" name="xd19e2083">1</a></span> Shells +used as money, one hundred and sixty of which could have been got a few +years ago for one pice.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2093" href="#xd19e2093src" name="xd19e2093">2</a></span> Fried +paddy.</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch9" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">IX</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Origin of Opium<a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2204src" href="#xd19e2204" name="xd19e2204src">1</a></h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Once on a time there lived on the banks of the holy +Ganga a Rishi,<a class="noteref" id="xd19e2211src" href="#xd19e2211" +name="xd19e2211src">2</a> who spent his days and nights in the +performance of religious rites and in meditation upon God. From sunrise +to sunset he sat on the river bank engaged in devotion, and at night he +took shelter in a hut of palm-leaves which his own hand had raised in a +bush hard by. There were no men and women for miles round. In the hut, +however, there was a mouse, which used to live upon the leavings of the +Rishi’s supper. As it was not in the nature of the sage to hurt +any living thing, our mouse never ran away from him, but, on the +contrary, went to him, touched his feet, and played with him. The +Rishi, partly in kindness to the little brute, and partly to have some +one by to talk to at times, gave the mouse the power of speech. One +night the mouse, standing on its hind-legs and joining together its +fore-legs reverently, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb133" href= +"#pb133" name="pb133">133</a>]</span>said to the Rishi, “Holy +sage, you have been so kind as to give me the power to speak like men. +If it will not displease your reverence, I have one more boon to +ask.” “What is it?” said the Rishi. “What is +it, little mousie? Say what you want.” The mouse +answered—“When your reverence goes in the day to the +river-side for devotion, a cat comes to the hut to catch me. And had it +not been for fear of your reverence, the cat would have eaten me up +long ago; and I fear it will eat me some day. My prayer is that I may +be changed into a cat that I may prove a match for my foe.” The +Rishi became propitious to the mouse, and threw some holy water on its +body, and it was at once changed into a cat.</p> +<p>Some nights after, the Rishi asked his pet, “Well, little +puss, how do you like your present life?” “Not much, your +reverence,” answered the cat. “Why not?” demanded the +sage. “Are you not strong enough to hold your own against all the +cats in the world?” “Yes,” rejoined the cat. +“Your reverence has made me a strong cat, able to cope with all +the cats in the world. But I do not now fear cats; I have got a new +foe. Whenever your reverence goes to the river-side, a pack of dogs +comes to the hut, and sets up such a loud barking that I am frightened +out of my life. If your reverence will not be displeased with me, I beg +you to change me into a dog.” The Rishi said, “Be turned +into a dog,” and the cat forthwith became a dog.</p> +<p>Some days passed, when one night the dog <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb134" href="#pb134" name="pb134">134</a>]</span>said +thus to the Rishi: “I cannot thank your reverence enough for your +kindness to me. I was but a poor mouse, and you not only gave me speech +but turned me into a cat; and again you were kind enough to change me +into a dog. As a dog, however, I suffer a great deal of trouble, I do +not get enough food: my only food is the leavings of your supper, but +that is not sufficient to fill the maw of such a large beast as you +have made me. O how I envy those apes who jump about from tree to tree, +and eat all sorts of delicious fruits! If your reverence will not get +angry with me, I pray that I be changed into an ape.” The +kind-hearted sage readily granted his pet’s wish, and the dog +became an ape.</p> +<p>Our ape was at first wild with joy. He leaped from one tree to +another, and sucked every luscious fruit he could find. But his joy was +short-lived. Summer came on with its drought. As a monkey he found it +hard to drink water out of a river or of a pool; and he saw the wild +boars splashing in the water all the day long. He envied their lot, and +exclaimed, “O how happy those boars are! All day their bodies are +cooled and refreshed by water. I wish I were a boar.” Accordingly +at night he recounted to the Rishi the troubles of the life of an ape +and the pleasures of that of a boar, and begged of him to change him +into a boar. The sage, whose kindness knew no bounds, complied with his +pet’s request, and turned him into a wild boar. For two whole +days our boar kept his body soaking wet, and on the third day, as he +was splashing about in his favourite element, whom <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb135" href="#pb135" name= +"pb135">135</a>]</span>should he see but the king of the country riding +on a richly caparisoned elephant. The king was out hunting, and it was +only by a lucky chance that our boar escaped being bagged. He dwelt in +his own mind on the dangers attending the life of a wild boar, and +envied the lot of the stately elephant who was so fortunate as to carry +about the king of the country on his back. He longed to be an elephant, +and at night besought the Rishi to make him one.</p> +<p>Our elephant was roaming about in the wilderness, when he saw the +king out hunting. The elephant went towards the king’s suite with +the view of being caught. The king, seeing the elephant at a distance, +admired it on account of its beauty, and gave orders that it should be +caught and tamed. Our elephant was easily caught, and taken into the +royal stables, and was soon tamed. It so chanced that the queen +expressed a wish to bathe in the waters of the holy Ganga. The king, +who wished to accompany his royal consort, ordered that the +newly-caught elephant should be brought to him. The king and queen +mounted on his back. One would suppose that the elephant had now got +his wishes, as the king had mounted on his back. But no. There was a +fly in the ointment. The elephant, who looked upon himself as a lordly +beast, could not brook the idea that a woman, though a queen, should +ride on his back. He thought himself degraded. He jumped up so +violently that both the king and queen fell to the ground. The king +carefully picked up the queen, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb136" +href="#pb136" name="pb136">136</a>]</span>took her in his arms, asked +her whether she had been much hurt, wiped off the dust from her clothes +with his handkerchief, and tenderly kissed her a hundred times. Our +elephant, after witnessing the king’s caresses, scampered off to +the woods as fast as his legs could carry him. As he ran he thought +within himself thus: “After all, I see that a queen is the +happiest of all creatures. Of what infinite regard is she the object! +The king lifted her up, took her in his arms, made many tender +inquiries, wiped off the dust from her clothes with his own royal +hands, and kissed her a hundred times! O the happiness of being a +queen! I must tell the Rishi to make me a queen!” So saying the +elephant, after traversing the woods, went at sunset to the +Rishi’s hut, and fell prostrate on the ground at the feet of the +holy sage. The Rishi said, “Well, what’s the news? Why have +you left the king’s stud?” “What shall I say to your +reverence? You have been very kind to me; you have granted every wish +of mine. I have one more boon to ask, and it will be the last. By +becoming an elephant I have got only my bulk increased, but not my +happiness. I see that of all creatures a queen is the happiest in the +world. Do, holy father, make me a queen.” “Silly +child,” answered the Rishi, “how can I make you a queen? +Where can I get a kingdom for you, and a royal husband to boot? All I +can do is to change you into an exquisitely beautiful girl, possessed +of charms to captivate the heart of a prince, if ever the gods grant +you an interview <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb137" href="#pb137" +name="pb137">137</a>]</span>with some great prince! “Our elephant +agreed to the change; and in a moment the sagacious beast was +transformed into a beautiful young lady, to whom the holy sage gave the +name of Postomani, or the poppy-seed lady.</p> +<p>Postomani lived in the Rishi’s hut, and spent her time in +tending the flowers and watering the plants. One day, as she was +sitting at the door of the hut during the Rishi’s absence, she +saw a man dressed in a very rich garb come towards the cottage. She +stood up and asked the stranger who he was, and what he had come there +for. The stranger answered that he had come a-hunting in those parts, +that he had been chasing in vain a deer, that he felt thirsty, and that +he came to the hut of the hermit for refreshment.</p> +<p><i>Postomani.</i> Stranger, look upon this cot as your own house. +I’ll do everything I can to make you comfortable; I am only sorry +we are too poor suitably to entertain, a man of your rank, for if I +mistake not you are the king of this country.</p> +<p>The king smiled. Postomani then brought out a water-pot, and made as +if she would wash the feet of her royal guest with her own hands, when +the king said, “Holy maid, do not touch my feet, for I am only a +Kshatriya, and you are the daughter of a holy sage.”</p> +<p><i>Postomani.</i> Noble sir, I am not the daughter of the Rishi, +neither am I a Brahmani girl; so there can be no harm in my touching +your feet. Besides, you are my guest, and I am bound to wash your feet. +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb138" href="#pb138" name= +"pb138">138</a>]</span></p> +<p><i>King.</i> Forgive my impertinence. What caste do you belong +to?</p> +<p><i>Postomani.</i> I have heard from the sage that my parents were +Kshatriyas.</p> +<p><i>King.</i> May I ask you whether your father was a king, for your +uncommon beauty and your stately demeanour show that you are a born +princess.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e2259width" id="p138"><img src="images/p138.jpg" +alt= +"“‘You would adorn the palace of the mightiest sovereign’”" +width="720" height="499"> +<p class="figureHead">“‘You would adorn the palace of the +mightiest sovereign’”</p> +</div> +<p>Postomani, without answering the question, went inside the hut, +brought out a tray of the most delicious fruits, and set it before the +king. The king, however, would not touch the fruits till the maid had +answered his questions. When pressed hard Postomani gave the following +answer: “The holy sage says that my father was a king. Having +been overcome in battle, he, along with my mother, fled into the woods. +My poor father was eaten up by a tiger, and my mother at that time was +brought to bed of me, and she closed her eyes as I opened mine. Strange +to say, there was a bee-hive on the tree at the foot of which I lay; +drops of honey fell into my mouth and kept alive the spark of life till +the kind Rishi found me and brought me into his hut. This is the simple +story of the wretched girl who now stands before the king.”</p> +<p><i>King.</i> Call not yourself wretched. You are the loveliest and +most beautiful of women. You would adorn the palace of the mightiest +sovereign.</p> +<p>The upshot was, that the king made love to the girl and they were +joined in marriage by the Rishi. Postomani was treated as the favourite +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb139" href="#pb139" name= +"pb139">139</a>]</span>queen, and the former queen was in disgrace. +Postomani’s happiness, however, was short-lived. One day as she +was standing by a well, she became giddy, fell into the water, and +died. The Rishi then appeared before the king and said: “O king, +grieve not over the past. What is fixed by fate must come to pass. The +queen, who has just been drowned, was not of royal blood. She was born +a mouse; I then changed her successively, according to her own wish, +into a cat, a dog, an ape, a boar, an elephant, and a beautiful girl. +Now that she is gone, do you again take into favour your former queen. +As for my reputed daughter, through the favour of the gods I’ll +make her name immortal. Let her body remain in the well; fill the well +up with earth. Out of her flesh and bones will grow a tree which shall +be called after her Posto, that is, the Poppy tree. From this tree will +be obtained a drug called opium, which will be celebrated as a powerful +medicine through all ages, and which will always be either swallowed or +smoked as a wonderful narcotic to the end of time. The opium swallower +or smoker will have one quality of each of the animals to which +Postomani was transformed. He will be mischievous like a mouse, fond of +milk like a cat, quarrelsome like a dog, filthy like an ape, savage +like a boar, and high-tempered like a queen.”</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb140" href="#pb140" name= +"pb140">140</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2204" href="#xd19e2204src" name="xd19e2204">1</a></span> This +story is not my own. It was recited to me by a story-teller of the +other sex who rejoices in the <i lang="fr">nom de plume</i> “An +Inmate of the Calcutta Lunatic Asylum.”</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2211" href="#xd19e2211src" name="xd19e2211">2</a></span> A holy +sage.</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch10" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">X</h2> +<h2 class="main">Strike but Hear</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Once upon a time there reigned a king who had three +sons. His subjects one day came to him and said, “O incarnation +of justice! the kingdom is infested with thieves and robbers. Our +property is not safe. We pray your majesty to catch hold of these +thieves and punish them.” The king said to his sons, “O my +sons, I am old, but you are all in the prime of manhood. How is it that +my kingdom is full of thieves? I look to you to catch hold of these +thieves.” The three princes then made up their minds to patrol +the city every night. With this view they set up a station in the +outskirts of the city, where they kept their horses. In the early part +of the night the eldest prince rode upon his horse and went through the +whole city, but did not see a single thief. He came back to the +station. About midnight the second prince got upon his horse and rode +through every part of the city, but he did not see or hear of a single +thief. He came also back to the station. Some hours after midnight the +youngest <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb141" href="#pb141" name= +"pb141">141</a>]</span>prince went the rounds, and when he came near +the gate of the palace where his father lived, he saw a beautiful woman +coming out of the palace. The prince accosted the woman, and asked who +she was and where she was going at that hour of the night. The woman +answered, “I am Rajlakshmi,<a class="noteref" id="xd19e2288src" +href="#xd19e2288" name="xd19e2288src">1</a> the guardian deity of this +palace. The king will be killed this night. I am therefore not needed +here. I am going away.” The prince did not know what to make of +this message. After a moment’s reflection he said to the goddess, +“But suppose the king is not killed to-night, then have you any +objection to return to the palace and stay there?” “I have +no objection,” replied the goddess. The prince then begged the +goddess to go in, promising to do his best to prevent the king from +being killed. Then the goddess entered the palace again, and in a +moment went the prince knew not whither.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e2292width" id="p141"><img src="images/p141.jpg" +alt="“He saw a beautiful woman coming out of the palace”" +width="720" height="508"> +<p class="figureHead">“He saw a beautiful woman coming out of the +palace”</p> +</div> +<p>The prince went straight into the bedroom of his royal father. There +he lay immersed in deep sleep. His second and young wife, the +stepmother of our prince, was sleeping in another bed in the room. A +light was burning dimly. What was his surprise when the prince saw a +huge cobra going round and round the golden bedstead on which his +father was sleeping. The prince with his sword cut the serpent in two. +Not satisfied with killing the cobra, he cut it up into a hundred +pieces, and put them inside the <i>pan</i> dish<a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2301src" href="#xd19e2301" name="xd19e2301src">2</a> which +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb142" href="#pb142" name= +"pb142">142</a>]</span>was in the room. While the prince was cutting up +the serpent a drop of blood fell on the breast of his stepmother who +was sleeping hard by. The prince was in great distress. He said to +himself, “I have saved my father but killed my mother.” How +was the drop of blood to be taken out of his mother’s breast? He +wrapped round his tongue a piece of cloth sevenfold, and with it licked +up the drop of blood. But while he was in the act of doing this, his +stepmother woke up, and opening her eyes saw that it was her stepson, +the youngest prince. The young prince rushed out of the room. The +queen, intending to ruin the youngest prince, whom she hated, called +out to her husband, “My lord, my lord, are you awake? are you +awake? Rouse yourself up. Here is a nice piece of business.” The +king on awaking inquired what the matter was. “The matter, my +lord? Your worthy son, the youngest prince, of whom you speak so +highly, was just here. I caught him in the act of touching my breast. +Doubtless he came with a wicked intent. And this is your worthy +son!” The king was horror-struck. The prince went to the station +to his brothers, but told them nothing.</p> +<p>Early in the morning the king called his eldest son to him and said, +“If a man to whom I intrust my honour and my life prove +faithless, how should he be punished?” The eldest prince replied, +“Doubtless such a man’s head should be cut off; but before +you kill, you should see whether the man is really faithless.” +“What <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb143" href="#pb143" name= +"pb143">143</a>]</span>do you mean?” inquired the king. +“Let your majesty be pleased to listen,” answered the +prince.</p> +<p>“Once on a time there lived a goldsmith who had a grown-up +son. And this son had a wife who had the rare faculty of understanding +the language of beasts; but neither her husband nor any one else knew +that she had this uncommon gift. One night she was lying in bed beside +her husband in their house, which was close to a river, when she heard +a jackal howl out, ‘There goes a carcase floating on the river; +is there any one who will take off the diamond ring from the finger of +the dead man and give me the corpse to eat?’ The woman understood +the jackal’s language, got up from bed and went to the +river-side. The husband, who was not asleep, followed his wife at some +distance so as not to be observed by her. The woman went into the +water, tugged the floating corpse towards the shore, and saw the +diamond ring on the finger. Unable to loosen it with her hand, as the +fingers of the dead body had swelled, she bit it off with her teeth, +and put the dead body upon land. She then went to her bed, whither she +had been preceded by her husband. The young goldsmith lay beside his +wife almost petrified with fear, for he concluded after what he saw +that his wife was not a human being but a Rakshasi. He spent the rest +of the night in tossing in his bed, and early in the morning spoke to +his father in the following manner: ‘Father, the woman whom thou +hast given me to wife is not a real woman but a Rakshasi. Last night as +I was lying in bed with <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb144" href= +"#pb144" name="pb144">144</a>]</span>her, I heard outside the house, +towards the river-side, a jackal set up a fearful howl. On this she, +thinking that I was asleep, got up from bed, opened the door, and went +out to the river-side. Surprised to see her go out alone at the dead +hour of night, I suspected evil and followed her, but so that she could +not see me. What did she do, do you think? O horror of horrors! She +went into the stream, dragged towards the shore the dead body of a man +which was floating by, and began to eat it! I saw this with mine own +eyes. I then returned home while she was feasting upon the carcase, and +jumped into bed. In a few minutes she also returned, bolted the door, +and lay beside me. O my father, how can I live with a Rakshasi? She +will certainly kill me and eat me up one night.’ The old +goldsmith was not a little shocked to hear this account. Both father +and son agreed that the woman should be taken into the forest and there +left to be devoured by wild beasts. Accordingly the young goldsmith +spoke to his wife thus: ‘My dear love, you had better not cook +much this morning; only boil rice and burn a brinjal, for I must take +you to-day to see your father and mother, who are dying to see +you.’ At the mention of her father’s house she became full +of joy, and finished the cooking in no time. The husband and wife +snatched a hasty breakfast and started on their journey. The way lay +through a dense jungle, in which the goldsmith bethought himself of +leaving his wife alone to be eaten up by wild beasts. But while they +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb145" href="#pb145" name= +"pb145">145</a>]</span>were passing through this jungle the woman heard +a serpent hiss, the meaning of which hissing, as understood by her, was +as follows: ‘O passer-by, how thankful should I be to you if you +would catch hold of that croaking frog in yonder hole, which is full of +gold and precious stones, and give me the frog to swallow, and you take +the gold and precious stones.’ The woman forthwith made for the +frog, and began digging the hole with a stick. The young goldsmith was +now quaking with fear, thinking his Rakshasi-wife was about to kill +him. She called out to him and said, ‘Husband, take up all this +large quantity of gold and these precious stones.’ The goldsmith, +not knowing what to make of it, timidly went to the place, and to his +infinite surprise saw the gold and the precious stones. They took up as +much as they could. On the husband’s asking his wife how she came +to know of the existence of all this riches, she said that she +understood the language of animals, and that the snake coiled up hard +by had informed her of it. The goldsmith, on finding out what an +accomplished wife he was blessed with, said to her, ‘My love, it +has got very late to-day; it would be impossible to reach your +father’s house before nightfall, and we may be devoured by wild +beasts in the jungle; I propose therefore that we both return +home.’ It took them a long time to reach home, for they were +laden with a large quantity of gold and precious stones. On coming near +the house, the goldsmith said to his wife, ‘My dear, you go by +the back door, while I go by the front <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb146" href="#pb146" name="pb146">146</a>]</span>door and see my +father in his shop and show him all this gold and these precious +stones.’ So she entered the house by the back door, and the +moment she entered she was met by the old goldsmith, who had come that +minute into the house for some purpose with a hammer in his hand. The +old goldsmith, when he saw his Rakshasi daughter-in-law, concluded in +his mind that she had killed and swallowed up his son. He therefore +struck her on the head with the hammer, and she immediately died. That +moment the son came into the house, but it was too late. Hence it is +that I told your majesty that before you cut off a man’s head you +should inquire whether the man is really guilty.”</p> +<div class="figure xd19e2322width" id="p145"><img src="images/p145.jpg" +alt= +"“‘Husband, take up all this large quantity of gold and these precious stones’”" +width="503" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“‘Husband, take up all this large +quantity of gold and these precious stones’”</p> +</div> +<p>The king then called his second son to him, and said, “If a +man to whom I intrust my honour and my life prove faithless, how should +he be punished?” The second prince replied, “Doubtless such +a man’s head should be cut off, but before you kill you should +see whether the man is really faithless.” “What do you +mean?” inquired the king. “Let your majesty be pleased to +listen,” answered the prince.</p> +<p>“Once on a time there reigned a king who was very fond of +going out a-hunting. Once while he was out hunting his horse took him +into a dense forest far from his followers. He rode on and on, and did +not see either villages or towns. He became very thirsty, but he could +see neither pond, lake, nor stream. At last he found something dripping +from the top of a tree. Concluding it to <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb147" href="#pb147" name="pb147">147</a>]</span>be rain-water which +had rested in some cavity of the tree, he stood on horseback under the +tree and caught the dripping contents in a small cup. It was, however, +no rain-water. A huge cobra, which was on the top of the tree, was +dashing in rage its fangs against the tree; and its poison was coming +out and was falling in drops. The king, however, thought it was +rain-water; though his horse knew better. When the cup was nearly +filled with the liquid snake-poison, and the king was about to drink it +off, the horse, to save the life of his royal master, so moved about +that the cup fell from the king’s hand and all the liquid spilled +about. The king became very angry with his horse, and with his sword +gave a cut to the horse’s neck, and the horse died immediately. +Hence it is that I told your majesty that before you cut off a +man’s head you should inquire whether the man is really +guilty.”</p> +<p>The king then called to him his third and youngest son, and said, +“If a man to whom I intrust my honour and my life prove +faithless, how should he be punished?” The youngest prince +replied, “Doubtless such a man’s head should be cut off, +but before you kill you should see whether the man is really +faithless.” “What do you mean?” inquired the king. +“Let your majesty be pleased to listen,” answered the +prince.</p> +<p>“Once on a time there reigned a king who had in his palace a +remarkable bird of the Suka species. One day as the Suka went out to +the fields for an airing, he saw his dad and dam, who pressed him +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb148" href="#pb148" name= +"pb148">148</a>]</span>to come and spend some days with them in their +nest in some far-off land. The Suka answered he would be very happy to +come, but he could not go without the king’s leave; he added that +he would speak to the king that very day, and would be ready to go the +following morning if his dad and dam would come to that very spot. The +Suka spoke to the king, and the king gave leave with reluctance as he +was very fond of the bird. So the next morning the Suka met his dad and +dam at the place appointed, and went with them to his paternal nest on +the top of some high tree in a far-off land. The three birds lived +happily together for a fortnight, at the end of which period the Suka +said to his dad and dam, ‘My beloved parents, the king granted me +leave only for a fortnight, and to-day the fortnight is over: to-morrow +I must start for the city of the king.’ His dad and dam readily +agreed to the reasonable proposal, and told him to take a present to +the king. After laying their heads together for some time they agreed +that the present should be a fruit of the tree of Immortality. So early +next morning the Suka plucked a fruit off the tree of Immortality, and +carefully catching it in his beak, started on his aerial journey. As he +had a heavy weight to carry, the Suka was not able to reach the city of +the king that day, and was benighted on the road. He took shelter in a +tree, and was at a loss to know where to keep the fruit. If he kept it +in his beak it was sure, he thought, to fall out when he fell asleep. +Fortunately he saw a hole in the trunk of <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb149" href="#pb149" name="pb149">149</a>]</span>the tree in which he +had taken shelter, and accordingly put the fruit in it. It so happened +that in that hole there was a snake; in the course of the night the +snake darted its fangs on the fruit, and thus besmeared it with its +poison. Early before crow-cawing the Suka, suspecting nothing, took up +the fruit of Immortality in its beak, and began his aerial voyage. The +Suka reached the palace while the king was sitting with his ministers. +The king was delighted to see his pet bird come again, and greatly +admired the beautiful fruit which the Suka had brought as a present. +The fruit was very fair to look at; it was the loveliest fruit in all +the earth; and as its name implies it makes the eater of it immortal. +The king was going to eat it, but his courtiers said that it was not +advisable for the king to eat it, as it might be a poisonous fruit. He +accordingly threw it to a crow which was perched on the wall; the crow +ate a part of it; but in a moment the crow fell down and died. The +king, imagining that the Suka had intended to take away his life, took +hold of the bird and killed it. The king ordered the stone of the +deadly fruit, as it was thought to be, to be planted in a garden +outside the city. The stone in course of time became a large tree +bearing lovely fruit. The king ordered a fence to be put round the +tree, and placed a guard lest people should eat of the fruit and die. +There lived in that city an old Brahman and his wife, who used to live +upon charity. The Brahman one day mourned his hard lot, and told his +wife that <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb150" href="#pb150" name= +"pb150">150</a>]</span>instead of leading the wretched life of a beggar +he would eat the fruit of the poisonous tree in the king’s garden +and thus end his days. So that very night he got up from his bed in +order to get into the king’s garden. His wife, suspecting her +husband’s intention, followed him, resolved also to eat of the +fruit and die with her husband. As at that dead hour of night the guard +was asleep, the old Brahman plucked a fruit and ate it. The woman said +to her husband, ‘If you die what is the use of my life? +I’ll also eat and die.’ So saying she plucked a fruit and +ate it. Thinking that the poison would take some time to produce its +due effect, they both went home and lay in bed, supposing that they +would never rise again. To their infinite surprise next morning they +found themselves to be not only alive, but young and vigorous. Their +neighbours could scarcely recognise them—they had become so +changed. The old Brahman had become handsome and vigorous, no grey +hairs, no wrinkles on his cheeks; and as for his wife, she had become +as beautiful as any lady in the king’s household. The king, +hearing of this wonderful change, sent for the old Brahman, who told +him all the circumstances. The king then greatly lamented the sad fate +of his pet bird, and blamed himself for having killed it without fully +inquiring into the case.</p> +<p>“Hence it is,” continued the youngest prince, +“that I told your majesty that before you cut off a man’s +head you should inquire whether the man is really guilty. I know your +majesty thinks that <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb151" href="#pb151" +name="pb151">151</a>]</span>last night I entered your chamber with +wicked intent. Be pleased to hear me before you strike. Last night as I +was on my rounds I saw a female figure come out of the palace. On +challenging her she said that she was Rajlakshmi, the guardian deity of +the palace; and that she was leaving the palace as the king would be +killed that night. I told her to come in, and that I would prevent the +king from being killed. I went straight into your bedroom, and saw a +large cobra going round and round your golden bedstead. I killed the +cobra, cut it up into a hundred pieces, and put them in the <i>pan</i> +dish. But while I was cutting up the snake, a drop of its blood fell on +the breast of my mother; and then I thought that while I had saved my +father I had killed my mother. I wrapped round my tongue a piece of +cloth sevenfold and licked up the drop of blood. While I was licking up +the blood, my mother opened her eyes and noticed me. This is what I +have done; now cut off my head if your majesty wishes it.”</p> +<p>The king filled with joy and gratitude embraced his son, and from +that time loved him more even than he had loved him before.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb152" href="#pb152" name= +"pb152">152</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2288" href="#xd19e2288src" name="xd19e2288">1</a></span> The +tutelary goddess of a king’s household.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2301" href="#xd19e2301src" name="xd19e2301">2</a></span> A +vessel, made generally of brass, for keeping the <i>pan</i> leaf +together with betel-nut and other spices.</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch11" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">XI</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Adventures of Two Thieves and of their Sons</h2> +<div class="div2 section"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h3 class="main">Part I</h3> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Once on a time there lived two thieves in a village +who earned their livelihood by stealing. As they were well-known +thieves, every act of theft in the village was ascribed to them whether +they committed it or not; they therefore left the village, and, being +resolved to support themselves by honest labour, went to a neighbouring +town for service. Both of them were engaged by a householder; the one +had to tend a cow, and the other to water a <i>champaka</i> plant. The +elder thief began watering the plant early in the morning, and as he +had been told to go on pouring water till some of it collected itself +round the foot of the plant he went on pouring bucketful after +bucketful: but to no purpose. No sooner was the water poured on the +foot of the plant than it was forthwith sucked up by the thirsty earth; +and it was late in the afternoon when the thief, tired with drawing +water, laid himself down on the ground, and fell <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb153" href="#pb153" name= +"pb153">153</a>]</span>asleep. The younger thief fared no better. The +cow which he had to tend was the most vicious in the whole country. +When taken out of the village for pasturage it galloped away to a great +distance with its tail erect; it ran from one paddy-field to another, +and ate the corn and trod upon it; it entered into sugar-cane +plantations and destroyed the sweet cane;—for all which damage +and acts of trespass the neat-herd was soundly rated by the owners of +the fields. What with running after the cow from field to field, from +pool to pool; what with the abusive language poured not only upon him, +but upon his forefathers up to the fourteenth generation, by the owners +of the fields in which the corn had been destroyed,—the younger +thief had a miserable day of it. After a world of trouble he succeeded +about sunset in catching hold of the cow, which he brought back to the +house of his master. The elder thief had just roused himself from sleep +when he saw the younger one bringing in the cow. Then the elder said to +the younger—“Brother, why are you so late in coming from +the fields?”</p> +<p><i>Younger.</i> What shall I say, brother? I took the cow to that +part of the meadow where there is a tank, near which there is a large +tree. I let the cow loose, and it began to graze about without giving +the least trouble. I spread my <i>gamchha</i><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2379src" href="#xd19e2379" name="xd19e2379src">1</a> upon the +grass under the tree; and there was such a delicious breeze that I soon +fell asleep, and I did not wake till after sunset; and when I awoke I +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb154" href="#pb154" name= +"pb154">154</a>]</span>saw my good cow grazing contentedly at the +distance of a few paces. But how did you fare, brother?</p> +<p><i>Elder.</i> Oh, as for me, I had a jolly time of it. I had poured +only one bucketful of water on the plant, when a large quantity rested +round it. So my work was done, and I had the whole day to myself. I +laid myself down on the ground; I meditated on the joys of this new +mode of life; I whistled; I sang; and at last fell asleep. And I am up +only this moment.</p> +<p>When this talk was ended, the elder thief, believing that what the +younger thief had said was true, thought that tending the cow was more +comfortable than watering the plant; and the younger thief, for the +same reason, thought that watering the plant was more comfortable than +tending the cow: each therefore resolved to exchange his own work for +that of the other.</p> +<p><i>Elder.</i> Well, brother, I have a wish to tend the cow. Suppose +to-morrow you take my work, and I yours. Have you any objection?</p> +<p><i>Younger.</i> Not the slightest, brother. I shall be glad to take +up your work, and you are quite welcome to take up mine. Only let me +give you a bit of advice. I felt it rather uncomfortable to sleep +nearly the whole of the day on the bare ground. If you take a +<i>charpoy</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e2400src" href="#xd19e2400" +name="xd19e2400src">2</a> with you, you will have a merry time of +it.</p> +<p>Early the following morning the elder thief went out with the cow to +the fields, not forgetting <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb155" href= +"#pb155" name="pb155">155</a>]</span>to take with him a <i>charpoy</i> +for his ease and comfort; and the younger thief began watering the +plant. The latter had thought that one bucketful, or at the outside two +bucketfuls, of water would be enough. But what was his surprise when he +found that even a hundred bucketfuls were not sufficient to saturate +the ground around the roots of the plant. He was dead tired with +drawing water. The sun was almost going down, and yet his work was not +over. At last he gave it up through sheer weariness.</p> +<p>The elder thief in the fields was in no better case. He took the cow +beside the tank which the younger thief had spoken of, put his +<i>charpoy</i> under the large tree hard by, and then let the cow +loose. As soon as the cow was let loose it went scampering about in the +meadow, jumping over hedges and ditches, running through paddy-fields, +and injuring sugar-cane plantations. The elder thief was not a little +put about. He had to run about the whole day, and to be insulted by the +people whose fields had been trespassed upon. But the worst of it was, +that our thief had to run about the meadow with the <i>charpoy</i> on +his head, for he could not put it anywhere for fear it should be taken +away. When the other neat-herds who were in the meadow saw the elder +thief running about in breathless haste after the cow with the +<i>charpoy</i> on his head, they clapped their hands and raised shouts +of derision. The poor fellow, hungry and angry, bitterly repented of +the exchange he had made. After infinite trouble, <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb156" href="#pb156" name="pb156">156</a>]</span>and +with the help of the other neat-herds, he at last caught hold of the +precious cow, and brought it home long after the village lamps had been +lit.</p> +<p>When the two thieves met in the house of their master, they merely +laughed at each other without speaking a word. Their dinner over, they +laid themselves to rest, when there took place the following +conversation:—</p> +<p><i>Younger.</i> Well, how did you fare, brother?</p> +<p><i>Elder.</i> Just as you fared, and perhaps some degrees +better.</p> +<p><i>Younger.</i> I am of opinion that our former trade of thieving +was infinitely preferable to this sort of honest labour, as people call +it.</p> +<p><i>Elder.</i> What doubt is there of that? But, by the gods, I have +never seen a cow which can be compared to this. It has no second in the +world in point of viciousness.</p> +<p><i>Younger.</i> A vicious cow is not a rare thing. I have seen some +cows as vicious. But have you ever seen a plant like this +<i>champaka</i> plant which you were told to water? I wonder what +becomes of all the water that is poured round about it. Is there a tank +below its roots?</p> +<p><i>Elder.</i> I have a good mind to dig round it and see what is +beneath it.</p> +<p><i>Younger.</i> We had better do so this night when the good man of +the house and his wife are asleep.</p> +<p>At about midnight the two thieves took spades and shovels and began +digging round the plant. After digging a good deal the younger thief +lighted upon some hard thing against which the <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb157" href="#pb157" name= +"pb157">157</a>]</span>shovel struck. The curiosity of both was +excited. The younger thief saw that it was a large jar; he thrust his +hand into it and found that it was full of gold mohurs. But he said to +the elder thief—“Oh, it is nothing; it is only a large +stone.” The elder thief, however, suspected that it was something +else; but he took care not to give vent to his suspicion. Both agreed +to give up digging as they had found nothing; and they went to sleep. +An hour or two after, when the elder thief saw that the younger thief +was asleep, he quietly got up and went to the spot which had been +digged. He saw the jar filled with gold mohurs. Digging a little near +it, he found another jar also filled with gold mohurs. Overjoyed to +find the treasure, he resolved to secure it. He took up both the jars, +went to the tank which was near, and from which water used to be drawn +for the plant, and buried them in the mud of its bank. He then returned +to the house, and quietly laid himself down beside the younger thief, +who was then fast asleep. The younger thief, who had first found the +jar of gold mohurs, now woke, and softly stealing out of bed, went to +secure the treasure he had seen. On going to the spot he did not see +any jar; he therefore naturally thought that his companion the elder +thief had secreted it somewhere. He went to his sleeping partner, with +a view to discover if possible by any marks on his body the place where +the treasure had been hidden. He examined the person of his friend with +the eye of a detective, and saw mud on his feet and near the +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb158" href="#pb158" name= +"pb158">158</a>]</span>ankles. He immediately concluded the treasure +must have been concealed somewhere in the tank. But in what part of the +tank? on which bank? His ingenuity did not forsake him here. He walked +round all the four banks of the tank. When he walked round three sides, +the frogs on them jumped into the water; but no frogs jumped from the +fourth bank. He therefore concluded that the treasure must have been +buried on the fourth bank. In a little he found the two jars filled +with gold mohurs; he took them up, and going into the cow-house brought +out the vicious cow he had tended, and put the two jars on its back. He +left the house and started for his native village.</p> +<p>When the elder thief at crow-cawing got up from sleep, he was +surprised not to find his companion beside him. He hastened to the tank +and found that the jars were not there. He went to the cow-house, and +did not see the vicious cow. He immediately concluded the younger thief +must have run away with the treasure on the back of the cow. And where +could he think of going? He must be going to his native village. No +sooner did this process of reasoning pass through his mind than he +resolved forthwith to set out and overtake the younger thief. As he +passed through the town, he invested all the money he had in a costly +pair of shoes covered with gold lace. He walked very fast, avoiding the +public road and making short cuts. He descried the younger thief +trudging on slowly with his cow. He went before him in the highway +about a <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb159" href="#pb159" name= +"pb159">159</a>]</span>distance of 200 yards, and threw down on the +road one shoe. He walked on another 200 yards and threw the other shoe +at a place near which was a large tree; amid the thick leaves of that +tree he hid himself. The younger thief coming along the public road saw +the first shoe and said to himself—“What a beautiful shoe +that is! It is of gold lace. It would have suited me in my present +circumstances now that I have got rich. But what shall I do with one +shoe?” So he passed on. In a short time he came to the place +where the other shoe was lying. The younger thief said within +himself—“Ah, here is the other shoe! What a fool I was, +that I did not pick up the one I first saw! However it is not too late. +I’ll tie the cow to yonder tree and go for the other shoe.” +He tied the cow to the tree, and taking up the second shoe went for the +first, lying at a distance of about 200 yards. In the meantime the +elder thief got down from the tree, loosened the cow, and drove it +towards his native village, avoiding the king’s highway. The +younger thief on returning to the tree found that the cow was gone. He +of course concluded that it could have been done only by the elder +thief. He walked as fast as his legs could carry him, and reached his +native village long before the elder thief with the cow. He hid himself +near the door of the elder thief’s house. The moment the elder +thief arrived with the cow, the younger thief accosted him, +saying—“So you are come safe, brother. Let us go in and +divide the money.” To this <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb160" +href="#pb160" name="pb160">160</a>]</span>proposal the elder thief +readily agreed. In the inner yard of the house the two jars were taken +down from the back of the cow; they went to a room, bolted the door, +and began dividing. Two mohurs were taken up by the hand, one was put +in one place, and the other in another; and they went on doing that +till the jars became empty. But last of all one gold mohur remained. +The question was—Who was to take it? Both agreed that it should +be changed the next morning, and the silver cash equally divided. But +with whom was the single mohur to remain? There was not a little +wrangling about the matter. After a great deal of yea and nay, it was +settled that it should remain with the elder thief, and that next +morning it should be changed and equally divided.</p> +<p>At night the elder thief said to his wife and the other women of the +house, “Look here, ladies, the younger thief will come to-morrow +morning to demand the share of the remaining gold mohur; but I +don’t mean to give it to him. You do one thing to-morrow. Spread +a cloth on the ground in the yard. I will lay myself on the cloth +pretending to be dead; and to convince people that I am dead, put a +<i>tulasi</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e2473src" href="#xd19e2473" +name="xd19e2473src">3</a> plant near my head. And when you see the +younger thief coming to the door, you set up a loud cry and +lamentation. Then he will of course go away, and I shall not have to +pay his share of the gold mohur.” To this proposal the women +readily agreed. Accordingly the next day, about noon, the elder thief +laid himself down <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb161" href="#pb161" +name="pb161">161</a>]</span>in the yard like a corpse with the sacred +basil near his head. When the younger thief was seen coming near the +house, the women set up a loud cry, and when he came nearer and nearer, +wondering what it all meant, they said, “Oh, where did you both +go? What did you bring? What did you do to him? Look, he is +dead!” So saying they rent the air with their cries. The younger +thief, seeing through the whole, said, “Well, I am sorry my +friend and brother is gone. I must now attend to his funeral. You all +go away from this place, you are but women. I’ll see to it that +the remains are well burnt.” He brought a quantity of straw and +twisted it into a rope, which he fastened to the legs of the deceased +man, and began tugging him, saying that he was going to take him to the +place of burning. While the elder thief was being dragged through the +streets, his body was getting dreadfully scratched and bruised, but he +held his peace, being resolved to act his part out, and thus escape +giving the share of the gold mohur. The sun had gone down when the +younger thief with the corpse reached the place of burning. But as he +was making preparations for a funeral pile, he remembered that he had +not brought fire with him. If he went for fire leaving the elder thief +behind, he would undoubtedly run away. What then was to be done? At +last he tied the straw rope to the branch of a tree, and kept the +pretended corpse hanging in the air, and he himself climbed into the +tree and sat on that branch, keeping tight hold of the rope lest it +should break, and the elder <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb162" href= +"#pb162" name="pb162">162</a>]</span>thief run away. While they were in +this state, a gang of robbers passed by. On seeing the corpse hanging, +the head of the gang said, “This raid of ours has begun very +auspiciously. Brahmans and Pandits say that if on starting on a journey +one sees a corpse, it is a good omen. Well, we have seen a corpse, it +is therefore likely that we shall meet with success this night. If we +do, I propose one thing: on our return let us first burn this dead body +and then return home.” All the robbers agreed to this proposal. +The robbers then entered into the house of a rich man in the village, +put its inmates to the sword, robbed it of all its treasures, and +withal managed it so cleverly that not a mouse stirred in the village. +As they were successful beyond measure, they resolved on their return +to burn the dead body they had seen. When they came to the place of +burning they found the corpse hanging as before, for the elder thief +had not yet opened his mouth lest he should be obliged to give half of +the gold mohur. The thieves dug a hollow in the ground, brought fuel, +and laid it upon the hollow. They took down the corpse from the tree, +and laid it upon the pile; and as they were going to set it on fire, +the corpse gave out an unearthly scream and jumped up. That very moment +the younger thief jumped down from the tree with a similar scream. The +robbers were frightened beyond measure. They thought that a <i>Dana</i> +(evil spirit) had possessed the corpse, and that a ghost jumped down +from the tree. They ran away in great fear, leaving behind them the +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb163" href="#pb163" name= +"pb163">163</a>]</span>money and the jewels which they had obtained by +robbery. The two thieves laughed heartily, took up all the riches of +the robbers, went home, and lived merrily for a long time.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e2486width" id="p162"><img src="images/p162.jpg" +alt= +"“They ran away in great fear, leaving behind them the money and jewels”" +width="720" height="501"> +<p class="figureHead">“They ran away in great fear, leaving +behind them the money and jewels”</p> +</div> +</div> +</div> +<div class="div2 section"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h3 class="main">Part II</h3> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">The elder thief and the younger thief had one son +each. As they had been so far successful in life by practising the art +of thieving, they resolved to train up their sons to the same +profession. There was in the village a Professor of the Science of +Roguery, who took pupils, and gave them lessons in that difficult +science. The two thieves put their sons under this renowned Professor. +The son of the elder thief distinguished himself very much, and bade +fair to surpass his father in the art of stealing. The lad’s +cleverness was tested in the following manner. Not far from the +Professor’s house there lived a poor man in a hut, upon the +thatch of which climbed a creeper of the gourd kind. In the middle of +the thatch, which was also its topmost part, there was a splendid +gourd, which the man and his wife watched day and night. They certainly +slept at night, but then the thatch was so old and rickety that if even +a mouse went up to it bits of straw and particles of earth used to fall +inside the hut, and the man and his wife slept right below the spot +where the gourd was; so that it was next to impossible to steal the +gourd without the knowledge of its owners. The Professor said to his +pupils—for he had many—<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb164" +href="#pb164" name="pb164">164</a>]</span>that any one who stole the +gourd without being caught would be pronounced the dux of the school. +Our elder thief’s son at once accepted the offer. He said he +would steal away the gourd if he were allowed the use of three things, +namely, a string, a cat, and a knife. The Professor allowed him the use +of these three things. Two or three hours after nightfall, the lad, +furnished with the three things mentioned above, sat behind the thatch +under the eaves, listening to the conversation carried on by the man +and his wife lying in bed inside the hut. In a short time the +conversation ceased. The lad then concluded that they must both have +fallen asleep. He waited half an hour longer, and hearing no sound +inside, gently climbed up on the thatch. Chips of straw and particles +of earth fell upon the couple sleeping inside. The woman woke up, and +rousing her husband said, “Look there, some one is stealing the +gourd!” That moment the lad squeezed the throat of the cat, and +puss immediately gave out her usual “Mew! mew! mew!” The +husband said, “Don’t you hear the cat mewing? There is no +thief; it is only a cat.” The lad in the meantime cut the gourd +from the plant with his knife, and tied the string which he had with +him to its stalk. But how was he to get down without being discovered +and caught, especially as the man and the woman were now awake? The +woman was not convinced that it was only a cat; the shaking of the +thatch, and the constant falling of bits of straw and particles of +dust, made her think that it was a human being <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb165" href="#pb165" name="pb165">165</a>]</span>that +was upon the thatch. She was telling her husband to go out and see +whether a man was not there; but he maintained that it was only a cat. +While the man and woman were thus disputing with each other, the lad +with great force threw down the cat upon the ground, on which the poor +animal purred most vociferously; and the man said aloud to his wife, +“There it is; you are now convinced that it was only a +cat.” In the meantime, during the confusion created by the +clamour of the cat and the loud talk of the man, the lad quietly came +down from the thatch with the gourd tied to the string. Next morning +the lad produced the gourd before his teacher, and described to him and +to his admiring comrades the manner in which he had committed the +theft. The Professor was in ecstasy, and remarked, “The worthy +son of a worthy father.” But the elder thief, the father of our +hopeful genius, was by no means satisfied that his son was as yet fit +to enter the world. He wanted to prove him still further. Addressing +his son he said, “My son, if you can do what I tell you, +I’ll think you fit to enter the world. If you can steal the gold +chain of the queen of this country from her neck, and bring it to me, +I’ll think you fit to enter the world.” The gifted son +readily agreed to do the daring deed.</p> +<p>The young thief—for so we shall now call the son of the elder +thief—made a reconnaissance of the palace in which the king and +queen lived. He reconnoitred all the four gates, and all the outer and +inner walls as far as he could; and <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb166" href="#pb166" name="pb166">166</a>]</span>gathered incidentally +a good deal of information, from people living in the neighbourhood, +regarding the habits of the king and queen, in what part of the palace +they slept, what guards there were near the bedchamber, and who, if +any, slept in the antechamber. Armed with all this knowledge the young +thief fixed upon one dark night for doing the daring deed. He took with +him a sword, a hammer and some large nails, and put on very dark +clothes. Thus accoutred he went prowling about the Lion gate of the +palace. Before the zenana<a class="noteref" id="xd19e2503src" href= +"#xd19e2503" name="xd19e2503src">4</a> could be got at, four doors, +including the Lion gate, had to be passed; and each of these doors had +a guard of sixteen stalwart men. The same men, however, did not remain +all night at their post. As the king had an infinite number of soldiers +at his command, the guards at the doors were relieved every hour; so +that once every hour at each door there were thirty-two men present, +consisting of the relieving party and of the relieved. The young thief +chose that particular moment of time for entering each of the four +doors. At the time of relief when he saw the Lion gate crowded with +thirty-two men, he joined the crowd without being taken notice of; he +then spent the hour preceding the next relief in the large open space +and garden between two doors; and he could not be taken notice of, as +the night as well as his clothes was pitch dark. <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb167" href="#pb167" name="pb167">167</a>]</span>In a +similar manner he passed the second door, the third door, and the +fourth door. And now the queen’s bedchamber stared him in the +face. It was in the third loft; there was a bright light in it; and a +low voice was heard as that of a woman saying something in a humdrum +manner. The young thief thought that the voice must be the voice of a +maid-servant reciting a story, as he had learnt was the custom in the +palace every night, for composing the king and queen to sleep. But how +to get up into the third loft? The inner doors were all closed, and +there were guards everywhere. But the young thief had with him nails +and a hammer: why not drive the nails into the wall and climb up by +them? True; but the driving of nails into the wall would make a great +noise which would rouse the guards, and possibly the king and +queen,—at any rate the maid-servant reciting stories would give +the alarm. Our erratic genius had considered that matter well before +engaging in the work. There is a water-clock in the palace which shows +the hours; and at the end of every hour a very large Chinese gong is +struck, the sound of which is so loud that it is not only heard all +over the palace, but over most part of the city; and the peculiarity of +the gong, as of every Chinese gong, was that nearly one minute must +elapse after the first stroke before the second stroke could be made, +to allow the gong to give out the whole of its sound. The thief fixed +upon the minutes when the gong was struck at the end of every hour for +driving nails <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb168" href="#pb168" name= +"pb168">168</a>]</span>into the wall. At ten o’clock when the +gong was struck ten times, the thief found it easy to drive ten nails +into the wall. When the gong stopped, the thief also stopped, and +either sat or stood quiet on the ninth nail catching hold of the tenth +which was above the other. At eleven o’clock he drove into the +wall in a similar manner eleven nails, and got a little higher than the +second story; and by twelve o’clock he was in the loft where the +royal bedchamber was. Peeping in he saw a drowsy maid-servant drowsily +reciting a story, and the king and queen apparently asleep. He went +stealthily behind the story-telling maid-servant and took his seat. The +queen was lying down on a richly furnished bedstead of gold beside the +king. The massive chain of gold round the neck of the queen was +gleaming in candle-light. The thief quietly listened to the story of +the drowsy maid-servant. She was becoming more and more sleepy. She +stopped for a second, nodded her head, and again resumed the story. It +was plain she was under the influence of sleep. In a moment the thief +cut off the head of the maid-servant with his sword, and himself went +on reciting for some minutes the story which the woman was telling. The +king and queen were unconscious of any change as to the person of the +story-teller, for they were both in deep sleep. He stripped the +murdered woman of her clothes, put them on himself, tied up his own +clothes in a bundle, and walking softly, gently took off the chain from +the neck of the queen. He then went <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb169" href="#pb169" name="pb169">169</a>]</span>through the rooms +down stairs, ordered the inner guard to open the door, as she was +obliged to go out of the palace for purposes of necessity. The guards, +seeing that it was the queen’s maid-servant, readily allowed her +to go out. In the same manner, and with the same pretext, he got +through the other doors, and at last out into the street. That very +night, or rather morning, the young thief put into his father’s +hand the gold chain of the queen. The elder thief could scarcely +believe his own eyes. It was so like a dream. His joy knew no bounds. +Addressing his son he said—“Well done, my son; you are not +only as clever as your father, but you have beaten me hollow. The gods +give you long life, my son.”</p> +<p>Next morning when the king and queen got up from bed, they were +shocked to see the maid-servant lying in a pool of blood. The queen +also found that her gold chain was not round her neck. They could not +make out how all this could have taken place. How could any thief +manage to elude the vigilance of so many guards? How could he get into +the queen’s bedchamber? And how could he again escape? The king +found from the reports of the guards that a person calling herself the +royal maid-servant had gone out of the palace some hours before dawn. +All sorts of inquiries were made, but in vain. Proclamation was made in +the city; a large reward was offered to any one who would give +information tending to the apprehension of the thief and murderer. But +no one responded to the call. At last the king <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb170" href="#pb170" name= +"pb170">170</a>]</span>ordered a camel to be brought to him. On the +back of the animal was placed two large bags filled with gold mohurs. +The man taking charge of the bags upon the camel was ordered to go +through every part of the city making the following +challenge:—“As the thief was daring enough to steal away a +gold chain from the neck of the queen, let him further show his daring +by stealing the gold mohurs from the back of this camel.” Two +days and nights the camel paraded through the city, but nothing +happened. On the third night as the camel-driver was going his rounds +he was accosted by a <i>sannyasi</i>,<a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2519src" href="#xd19e2519" name="xd19e2519src">5</a> who sat on a +tiger’s skin before a fire, and near whom was a monstrous pair of +tongs. This <i>sannyasi</i> was no other than the young thief in +disguise. The <i>sannyasi</i> said to the +camel-driver—“Brother, why are you going through the city +in this manner? Who is there so daring as to steal from the back of the +king’s camel? Come down, friend, and smoke with me.” The +camel-driver alighted, tied the camel to a tree on the spot, and began +smoking. The mendicant supplied him not only with tobacco, but with +<i>ganja</i> and other intoxicating drugs, so that in a short time the +camel-driver became quite intoxicated and fell asleep. The young thief +led away the camel with the treasure on its back in the dead of night, +through narrow lanes and bye-paths to his own house. That very night +the camel was killed, and its carcase buried in deep pits in the earth, +and the thing was so <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb171" href="#pb171" +name="pb171">171</a>]</span>managed that no one could discover any +trace of it.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e2535width" id="p170"><img src="images/p170.jpg" +alt= +"“The camel-driver alighted, tied the camel to a tree on the spot, and began smoking”" +width="512" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“The camel-driver alighted, tied the camel +to a tree on the spot, and began smoking”</p> +</div> +<p>The next morning when the king heard that the camel-driver was lying +drunk in the street, and that the camel had been made away with +together with the treasure, he was almost beside himself with anger. +Proclamation was made in the city to the effect that whoever caught the +thief would get the reward of a lakh of rupees. The son of the younger +thief—who, by the way, was in the same school of roguery with the +son of the elder thief, though he did not distinguish himself so +much—now came to the front and said that he would apprehend the +thief. He of course suspected that the son of the elder thief must have +done it—for who so daring and clever as he? In the evening of the +following day the son of the younger thief disguised himself as a +woman, and coming to that part of the town where the young thief lived, +began to weep very much, and went from door to door +saying—“O sirs, can any of you give me a bit of +camel’s flesh, for my son is dying, and the doctors say nothing +but eating camel’s meat can save his life. O for pity’s +sake, do give me a bit of camel’s flesh.” At last he went +to the house of the young thief, and begged of the wife—for the +young thief himself was out—to tell him where he could get hold +of camel’s flesh, as his son would assuredly perish if it could +not be got. Saying this he rent the air with his cries, and fell down +at the feet of the young thief’s wife. Woman as she was, though +the wife of a thief, she <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb172" href= +"#pb172" name="pb172">172</a>]</span>felt pity for the supposed woman, +and said—“Wait, and I will try and get some camel’s +flesh for your son.” So saying, she secretly went to the spot +where the dead camel had been buried, brought a small quantity of +flesh, and gave it to the party. The son of the younger thief was now +entranced with joy. He went and told the king that he had succeeded in +tracing the thief, and would be ready to deliver him up at night if the +king would send some constables with him. At night the elder thief and +his son were captured, the body of the camel dug out, and all the +treasures in the house seized. The following morning the king sat in +judgment. The son of the elder thief confessed that he had stolen the +queen’s gold chain, and killed the maid-servant, and had taken +away the camel; but he added that the person who had detected him and +his father—the younger thief—were also thieves and +murderers, of which fact he gave undoubted proofs. As the king had +promised to give a lakh of rupees to the detective, that sum was placed +before the son of the younger thief. But soon after he ordered four +pits to be dug in the earth in which were buried alive, with all sorts +of thorns and thistles, the elder thief and the younger thief, and +their two sons.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb173" href="#pb173" name= +"pb173">173</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2379" href="#xd19e2379src" name="xd19e2379">1</a></span> A towel +used in bathing.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2400" href="#xd19e2400src" name="xd19e2400">2</a></span> A sort +of bed made of rope, supported by posts of wood.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2473" href="#xd19e2473src" name="xd19e2473">3</a></span> The +sacred basil.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2503" href="#xd19e2503src" name="xd19e2503">4</a></span> Zenana +is not the name of a province in India, as the good people of Scotland +the other day took it to be, but the innermost department of a Hindu or +Mohammedan house which the women occupy.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2519" href="#xd19e2519src" name="xd19e2519">5</a></span> A +religious mendicant.</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch12" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">XII</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Ghost-Brahman</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Once on a time there lived a poor Brahman, who not +being a Kulin, found it the hardest thing in the world to get married. +He went to rich people and begged of them to give him money that he +might marry a wife. And a large sum of money was needed, not so much +for the expenses of the wedding, as for giving to the parents of the +bride. He begged from door to door, flattered many rich folk, and at +last succeeded in scraping together the sum needed. The wedding took +place in due time; and he brought home his wife to his mother. After a +short time he said to his mother—“Mother, I have no means +to support you and my wife; I must therefore go to distant countries to +get money somehow or other. I may be away for years, for I won’t +return till I get a good sum. In the meantime I’ll give you what +I have; you make the best of it, and take care of my wife.” The +Brahman receiving his mother’s blessing set out on his travels. +In the evening of that very day, a ghost assuming the exact appearance +of the Brahman came into the house. <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb174" href="#pb174" name="pb174">174</a>]</span>The newly married +woman, thinking it was her husband, said to him—“How is it +that you have returned so soon? You said you might be away for years; +why have you changed your mind?” The ghost +said—“To-day is not a lucky day, I have therefore returned +home; besides, I have already got some money.” The mother did not +doubt but that it was her son. So the ghost lived in the house as if he +was its owner, and as if he was the son of the old woman and the +husband of the young woman. As the ghost and the Brahman were exactly +like each other in everything, like two peas, the people in the +neighbourhood all thought that the ghost was the real Brahman. After +some years the Brahman returned from his travels; and what was his +surprise when he found another like him in the house. The ghost said to +the Brahman—“Who are you? what business have you to come to +my house?” “Who am I?” replied the Brahman, +“let me ask who you are. This is my house; that is my mother, and +this is my wife.” The ghost said—“Why herein is a +strange thing. Every one knows that this is my house, that is my wife, +and yonder is my mother; and I have lived here for years. And you +pretend this is your house, and that woman is your wife. Your head must +have got turned, Brahman.” So saying the ghost drove away the +Brahman from his house. The Brahman became mute with wonder. He did not +know what to do. At last he bethought himself of going to the king and +of laying his case <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb175" href="#pb175" +name="pb175">175</a>]</span>before him. The king saw the ghost-Brahman +as well as the Brahman, and the one was the picture of the other; so he +was in a fix, and did not know how to decide the quarrel. Day after day +the Brahman went to the king and besought him to give him back his +house, his wife, and his mother; and the king, not knowing what to say +every time, put him off to the following day. Every day the king tells +him to—“Come to-morrow”; and every day the Brahman +goes away from the palace weeping and striking his forehead with the +palm of his hand, and saying—“What a wicked world this is! +I am driven from my own house, and another fellow has taken possession +of my house and of my wife! And what a king this is! He does not do +justice.”</p> +<div class="figure xd19e2562width" id="p174"><img src="images/p174.jpg" +alt= +"“‘How is it that you have returned so soon?’”" +width="720" height="505"> +<p class="figureHead">“‘How is it that you have returned so +soon?’”</p> +</div> +<p>Now, it came to pass that as the Brahman went away every day from +the court outside the town, he passed a spot at which a great many +cowboys used to play. They let the cows graze on the meadow, while they +themselves met together under a large tree to play. And they played at +royalty. One cowboy was elected king; another, prime minister or +vizier; another, <i>kotwal</i>, or prefect of the police; and others, +constables. Every day for several days together they saw the Brahman +passing by weeping. One day the cowboy king asked his vizier whether he +knew why the Brahman wept every day. On the vizier not being able to +answer the question, the cowboy king ordered one of his constables to +bring the Brahman to him. One of them went and said to <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb176" href="#pb176" name="pb176">176</a>]</span>the +Brahman—“The king requires your immediate +attendance.” The Brahman replied—“What for? I have +just come from the king, and he put me off till to-morrow. Why does he +want me again?” “It is our king that wants you—our +neat-herd king,” rejoined the constable. “Who is neat-herd +king?” asked the Brahman. “Come and see,” was the +reply. The neat-herd king then asked the Brahman why he every day went +away weeping. The Brahman then told him his sad story. The neat-herd +king, after hearing the whole, said, “I understand your case; I +will give you again all your rights. Only go to the king and ask his +permission for me to decide your case.” The Brahman went back to +the king of the country, and begged his Majesty to send his case to the +neat-herd king, who had offered to decide it. The king, whom the case +had greatly puzzled, granted the permission sought. The following +morning was fixed for the trial. The neat-herd king, who saw through +the whole, brought with him next day a phial with a narrow neck. The +Brahman and the ghost-Brahman both appeared at the bar. After a great +deal of examination of witnesses and of speech-making, the neat-herd +king said—“Well, I have heard enough. I’ll decide the +case at once. Here is this phial. Whichever of you will enter into it +shall be declared by the court to be the rightful owner of the house +the title of which is in dispute. Now, let me see, which of you will +enter.” The Brahman said—“You are a neat-herd, and +your intellect is that of a neat-herd. <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb177" href="#pb177" name="pb177">177</a>]</span>What man can enter +into such a small phial?” “If you cannot enter,” said +the neat-herd king, “then you are not the rightful owner. What do +you say, sir, to this?” turning to the ghost-Brahman and +addressing him. “If you can enter into the phial, then the house +and the wife and the mother become yours.” “Of course I +will enter,” said the ghost. And true to his word, to the wonder +of all, he made himself into a small creature like an insect, and +entered into the phial. The neat-herd king forthwith corked up the +phial, and the ghost could not get out. Then, addressing the Brahman, +the neat-herd king said, “Throw this phial into the bottom of the +sea, and take possession of your house, wife, and mother.” The +Brahman did so, and lived happily for many years and begat sons and +daughters.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb178" href="#pb178" name= +"pb178">178</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch13" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">XIII</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Man who wished to be Perfect</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Once on a time a religious mendicant came to a king +who had no issue, and said to him, “As you are anxious to have a +son, I can give to the queen a drug, by swallowing which she will give +birth to twin sons; but I will give the medicine on this condition, +that of those twins you will give one to me, and keep the other +yourself.” The king thought the condition somewhat hard, but as +he was anxious to have a son to bear his name, and inherit his wealth +and kingdom, he at last agreed to the terms. Accordingly the queen +swallowed the drug, and in due time gave birth to two sons. The twin +brothers became one year old, two years old, three years old, four +years old, five years old, and still the mendicant did not appear to +claim his share; the king and queen therefore thought that the +mendicant, who was old, was dead, and dismissed all fears from their +minds. But the mendicant was not dead, but living; he was counting the +years carefully. The young princes were put under tutors, and +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb179" href="#pb179" name= +"pb179">179</a>]</span>made rapid progress in learning, as well as in +the arts of riding and shooting with the bow; and as they were +uncommonly handsome, they were admired by all the people. When the +princes were sixteen years old the mendicant made his appearance at the +palace gate, and demanded the fulfilment of the king’s promise. +The hearts of the king and of the queen were dried up within them. They +had thought that the mendicant was no more in the land of the living; +but what was their surprise when they saw him standing at the gate in +flesh and blood, and demanding one of the young princes for himself? +The king and queen were plunged into a sea of grief. There was nothing +for it, however, but to part with one of the princes; for the mendicant +might by his curse turn into ashes not only both the princes, but also +the king, queen, palace, and the whole of the kingdom to boot. But +which one was to be given away? The one was as dear as the other. A +fearful struggle arose in the hearts of the king and queen. As for the +young princes, each of them said, “I’ll go,” +“I’ll go.” The younger one said to the elder, +“You are older, if only by a few minutes; you are the pride of my +father; you remain at home, I’ll go with the mendicant.” +The elder said to the younger, “You are younger than I am; you +are the joy of my mother; you remain at home, I’ll go with the +mendicant.” After a great deal of yea and nay, after a great deal +of mourning and lamentation, after the queen had wetted her clothes +with her tears, the elder prince was let go with the <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb180" href="#pb180" name= +"pb180">180</a>]</span>mendicant. But before the prince left his +father’s roof he planted with his own hands a tree in the +courtyard of the palace, and said to his parents and brother, +“This tree is my life. When you see the tree green and fresh, +then know that it is well with me; when you see the tree fade in some +parts, then know that I am in an ill case; and when you see the whole +tree fade, then know that I am dead and gone.” Then kissing and +embracing the king and queen and his brother, he followed the +mendicant.</p> +<p>As the mendicant and the prince were wending their way towards the +forest they saw some dog’s whelps on the roadside. One of the +whelps said to its dam, “Mother, I wish to go with that handsome +young man, who must be a prince.” The dam said, “Go”; +and the prince gladly took the puppy as his companion. They had not +gone far when upon a tree on the roadside they saw a hawk and its young +ones. One of the young ones said to its dam, “Mother, I wish to +go with that handsome young man, who must be the son of a king.” +The hawk said, “Go”; and the prince gladly took the young +hawk as his companion. So the mendicant, the prince, with the puppy and +the young hawk, went on their journey. At last they went into the depth +of the forest far away from the houses of men, where they stopped +before a hut thatched with leaves. That was the mendicant’s cell. +The mendicant said to the prince, “You are to live in this hut +with me. Your chief work will be to cull flowers from the forest for my +devotions. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb181" href="#pb181" name= +"pb181">181</a>]</span>You can go on every side except the north. If +you go towards the north evil will betide you. You can eat whatever +fruit or root you like; and for your drink, you will get it from the +brook.” The prince disliked neither the place nor his work. At +dawn he used to cull flowers in the forest and give them to the +mendicant; after which the mendicant went away somewhere the whole day +and did not return till sundown; so the prince had the whole day to +himself. He used to walk about in the forest with his two +companions—the puppy and the young hawk. He used to shoot arrows +at the deer, of which there was a great number; and thus made the best +of his time. One day as he pierced a stag with an arrow, the wounded +stag ran towards the north, and the prince, not thinking of the +mendicant’s behest, followed the stag, which entered into a +fine-looking house that stood close by. The prince entered, but instead +of finding the deer he saw a young woman of matchless beauty sitting +near the door with a dice-table set before her. The prince was rooted +to the spot while he admired the heaven-born beauty of the lady. +“Come in, stranger,” said the lady; “chance has +brought you here, but don’t go away without having with me a game +of dice.” The prince gladly agreed to the proposal. As it was a +game of risk they agreed that if the prince lost the game he should +give his young hawk to the lady; and that if the lady lost it, she +should give to the prince a young hawk just like that of the prince. +The lady won the game; she therefore took the prince’s +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb182" href="#pb182" name= +"pb182">182</a>]</span>young hawk and kept it in a hole covered with a +plank. The prince offered to play a second time, and the lady agreeing +to it, they fell to it again, on the condition that if the lady won the +game she should take the prince’s puppy, and if she lost it she +should give to the prince a puppy just like that of the prince. The +lady won again, and stowed away the puppy in another hole with a plank +upon it. The prince offered to play a third time, and the wager was +that, if the prince lost the game, he should give himself up to the +lady to be done to by her anything she pleased; and that if he won, the +lady should give him a young man exactly like himself. The lady won the +game a third time; she therefore caught hold of the prince and put him +in a hole covered over with a plank. Now, the beautiful lady was not a +woman at all; she was a Rakshasi who lived upon human flesh, and her +mouth watered at the sight of the tender body of the young prince. But +as she had had her food that day she reserved the prince for the meal +of the following day.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e2599width" id="p181"><img src="images/p181.jpg" +alt="“At dawn he used to cull flowers in the forest”" +width="720" height="508"> +<p class="figureHead">“At dawn he used to cull flowers in the +forest”</p> +</div> +<p>Meantime there was great weeping in the house of the prince’s +father. His brother used every day to look at the tree planted in the +courtyard by his own hand. Hitherto he had found the leaves of a living +green colour; but suddenly he found some leaves fading. He gave the +alarm to the king and queen, and told them how the leaves were fading. +They concluded that the life of the elder prince must be in great +danger. The younger prince therefore resolved to go to <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb183" href="#pb183" name="pb183">183</a>]</span>the +help of his brother, but before going he planted a tree in the +courtyard of the palace, similar to the one his brother had planted, +and which was to be the index of the manner of his life. He chose the +swiftest steed in the king’s stables, and galloped towards the +forest. In the way he saw a dog with a puppy, and the puppy thinking +that the rider was the same that had taken away his +fellow-cub—for the two princes were exactly like each +other—said, “As you have taken away my brother, take me +also with you.” The younger prince understanding that his brother +had taken away a puppy, he took up that cub as a companion. Further on, +a young hawk, which was perched on a tree on the roadside, said to the +prince, “You have taken away my brother; take me also, I beseech +you”; on which the younger prince readily took it up. With these +companions he went into the heart of the forest, where he saw a hut +which he supposed to be the mendicant’s. But neither the +mendicant nor his brother was there. Not knowing what to do or where to +go, he dismounted from his horse, allowed it to graze, while he himself +sat inside the house. At sunset the mendicant returned to his hut, and +seeing the younger prince, said, “I am glad to see you. I told +your brother never to go towards the north, for evil in that case would +betide him; but it seems that, disobeying my orders, he has gone to the +north and has fallen into the toils of a Rakshasi who lives there. +There is no hope of rescuing him; perhaps he has already been +devoured.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb184" href="#pb184" +name="pb184">184</a>]</span>The younger prince forthwith went towards +the north, where he saw a stag which he pierced with an arrow. The stag +ran into a house which stood by, and the younger prince followed it. He +was not a little astonished when, instead of seeing a stag, he saw a +woman of exquisite beauty. He immediately concluded, from what he had +heard from the mendicant, that the pretended woman was none other than +the Rakshasi in whose power his brother was. The lady asked him to play +a game of dice with her. He complied with the request, and on the same +conditions on which the elder prince had played. The younger prince +won; on which the lady produced the young hawk from the hole and gave +it to the prince. The joy of the two hawks on meeting each other was +great. The lady and the prince played a second time, and the prince won +again. The lady therefore brought to the prince the young puppy lying +in the hole. They played a third time, and the prince won a third time. +The lady demurred to producing a young man exactly like the prince, +pretending that it was impossible to get one; but on the prince +insisting upon the fulfilment of the condition, his brother was +produced. The joy of the two brothers on meeting each other was great. +The Rakshasi said to the princes, “Don’t kill me, and I +will tell you a secret which will save the life of the elder +prince.” She then told them that the mendicant was a worshipper +of the goddess Kali, who had a temple not far off; that he belonged to +that sect of Hindus who seek perfection <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb185" href="#pb185" name="pb185">185</a>]</span>from intercourse with +the spirits of departed men; that he had already sacrificed at the +altar of Kali six human victims whose skulls could be seen in niches +inside her temple; that he would become perfect when the seventh victim +was sacrificed; and that the elder prince was intended for the seventh +victim. The Rakshasi then told the prince to go immediately to the +temple to find out the truth of what she had said. To the temple they +accordingly went. When the elder prince went inside the temple, the +skulls in the niches laughed a ghastly laugh. Horror-struck at the +sight and sound, he inquired the cause of the laughter; and the skulls +told him that they were glad because they were about to get another +added to their number. One of the skulls, as spokesman of the rest, +said, “Young prince, in a few days the mendicant’s +devotions will be completed, and you will be brought into this temple +and your head will be cut off, and you will keep company with us. But +there is one way by which you can escape that fate and do us +good.” “Oh, do tell me,” said the prince, “what +that way is, and I promise to do you all the good I can.” The +skull replied, “When the mendicant brings you into this temple to +offer you up as a sacrifice, before cutting off your head he will tell +you to prostrate yourself before Mother Kali, and while you prostrate +yourself he will cut off your head. But take our advice, when he tells +you to bow down before Kali, you tell him that as a prince you never +bowed down to any one, that you never knew <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb186" href="#pb186" name="pb186">186</a>]</span>what +bowing down was, and that the mendicant should show it to you by +himself doing it in your presence. And when he bows down to show you +how it is done, you take up your sword and separate his head from his +body. And when you do that we shall all be restored to life, as the +mendicant’s vows will be unfulfilled.” The elder prince +thanked the skulls for their advice, and went into the hut of the +mendicant along with his younger brother.</p> +<p>In the course of a few days the mendicant’s devotions were +completed. On the following day he told the prince to go along with him +to the temple of Kali, for what reason he did not mention; but the +prince knew it was to offer him up as a victim to the goddess. The +younger prince also went with them, but he was not allowed to go inside +the temple. The mendicant then stood in the presence of Kali and said +to the prince, “Bow down to the goddess.” The prince +replied, “I have not, as a prince, bowed to any one; I do not +know how to perform the act of prostration. Please show me the way +first, and I’ll gladly do it.” The mendicant then +prostrated himself before the goddess; and while he was doing so the +prince at one stroke of his sword separated his head from his body. +Immediately the skulls in the niches of the temple laughed aloud, and +the goddess herself became propitious to the prince and gave him that +virtue of perfection which the mendicant had sought to obtain. The +skulls were <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb187" href="#pb187" name= +"pb187">187</a>]</span>again united to their respective bodies and +became living men, and the two princes returned to their country.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb188" href="#pb188" name= +"pb188">188</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch14" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">XIV</h2> +<h2 class="main">A Ghostly Wife</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Once on a time there lived a Brahman who had married a +wife, and who lived in the same house with his mother. Near his house +was a tank, on the embankment of which stood a tree, on the boughs of +which lived a ghost of the kind called <i>Sankchinni</i>.<a class= +"noteref" id="xd19e2633src" href="#xd19e2633" name="xd19e2633src">1</a> +One night the Brahman’s wife had occasion to go to the tank, and +as she went she brushed by a Sankchinni who stood near; on which the +she-ghost got very angry with the woman, seized her by the throat, +climbed into her tree, and thrust her into a hole in the trunk. There +the woman lay almost dead with fear. The ghost put on the clothes of +the woman and went into the house of the Brahman. Neither the Brahman +nor his mother had any inkling of the change. The Brahman thought his +wife returned from the tank, and the mother thought that it was her +daughter-in-law. Next morning the mother-in-law discovered some change +in her daughter-in-law. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb189" href= +"#pb189" name="pb189">189</a>]</span>Her daughter-in-law, she knew, was +constitutionally weak and languid, and took a long time to do the work +of the house. But she had apparently become quite a different person. +All of a sudden she had become very active. She now did the work of the +house in an incredibly short time. Suspecting nothing, the old woman +said nothing either to her son or to her daughter-in-law; on the +contrary, she inly rejoiced that her daughter-in-law had turned over a +new leaf. But her surprise became every day greater and greater. The +cooking of the household was done in much less time than before. When +the mother-in-law wanted the daughter-in-law to bring anything from the +next room, it was brought in much less time than was required in +walking from one room to the other. The ghost, instead of going inside +the next room, would stretch a long arm—for ghosts can lengthen +or shorten any limb of their bodies—from the door and get the +thing. One day the old woman observed the ghost doing this. She ordered +her to bring a vessel from some distance, and the ghost unconsciously +stretched her hand to several yards’ distance, and brought it in +a trice. The old woman was struck with wonder at the sight. She said +nothing to her, but spoke to her son. Both mother and son began to +watch the ghost more narrowly. One day the old woman knew that there +was no fire in the house, and she knew also that her daughter-in-law +had not gone out of doors to get it; and yet, strange to say, the +hearth in the kitchen-room was quite <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb190" href="#pb190" name="pb190">190</a>]</span>in a blaze. She went +in, and, to her infinite surprise, found that her daughter-in-law was +not using any fuel for cooking, but had thrust into the oven her foot, +which was blazing brightly. The old mother told her son what she had +seen, and they both concluded that the young woman in the house was not +his real wife but a she-ghost. The son witnessed those very acts of the +ghost which his mother had seen. An <i>Ojha</i><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2647src" href="#xd19e2647" name="xd19e2647src">2</a> was +therefore sent for. The exorcist came, and wanted in the first instance +to ascertain whether the woman was a real woman or a ghost. For this +purpose he lighted a piece of turmeric and set it below the nose of the +supposed woman. Now this was an infallible test, as no ghost, whether +male or female, can put up with the smell of burnt turmeric. The moment +the lighted turmeric was taken near her, she screamed aloud and ran +away from the room. It was now plain that she was either a ghost or a +woman possessed by a ghost. The woman was caught hold of by main force +and asked who she was. At first she refused to make any disclosures, on +which the <i>Ojha</i> took up his slippers and began belabouring her +with them. Then the ghost said with a strong nasal accent—for all +ghosts speak through the nose—that she was a <i>Sankchinni</i>, +that she lived on a tree by the side of the tank, that she had seized +the young Brahmani and put her in the hollow of her tree because one +night she had touched her, and that if any person went to the hole the +woman would be <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb191" href="#pb191" name= +"pb191">191</a>]</span>found. The woman was brought from the tree +almost dead; the ghost was again shoebeaten, after which process, on +her declaring solemnly that she would not again do any harm to the +Brahman and his family, she was released from the spell of the +<i>Ojha</i> and sent away; and the wife of the Brahman recovered +slowly. After which the Brahman and his wife lived many years happily +together and begat many sons and daughters.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e2663width" id="p188"><img src="images/p188.jpg" +alt= +"“The Brahman’s wife had occasion to go to the tank, and as she went she brushed by a Sankchinni”" +width="508" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“The Brahman’s wife had occasion to +go to the tank, and as she went she brushed by a Sankchinni”</p> +</div> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb192" href="#pb192" name= +"pb192">192</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2633" href="#xd19e2633src" name="xd19e2633">1</a></span> +<i>Sankchinnis</i> or <i>Sankhachurnis</i> are female ghosts of white +complexion. They usually stand at the dead of night at the foot of +trees, and look like sheets of white cloth.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2647" href="#xd19e2647src" name="xd19e2647">2</a></span> An +exorcist, one who drives away ghosts from possessed persons.</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch15" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">XV</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Story of a Brahmadaitya<a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2678src" href="#xd19e2678" name="xd19e2678src">1</a></h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Once on a time there lived a poor Brahman who had a +wife. As he had no means of livelihood, he used every day to beg from +door to door, and thus got some rice which they boiled and ate, +together with some greens which they gleaned from the fields. After +some time it chanced that the village changed its owner, and the +Brahman bethought himself of asking some boon of the new laird. So one +morning the Brahman went to the laird’s house to pay him court. +It so happened that at that time the laird was making inquiries of his +servants about the village and its various parts. The laird was told +that a certain banyan-tree in the outskirts of the village was haunted +by a number of ghosts; and that no man had ever the boldness to go to +that tree at night. In bygone days some rash fellows went to the tree +at night, but the necks of them all were wrung, and they all died. +Since that time no man had ventured to go to the tree at night, though +in the day some neat-herds <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb193" href= +"#pb193" name="pb193">193</a>]</span>took their cows to the spot. The +new laird on hearing this said, that if any one would go at night to +the tree, cut one of its branches and bring it to him, he would make +him a present of a hundred <i>bighas</i><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2686src" href="#xd19e2686" name="xd19e2686src">2</a> of rent-free +land. None of the servants of the laird accepted the challenge, as they +were sure they would be throttled by the ghosts. The Brahman, who was +sitting there, thought within himself thus—“I am almost +starved to death now, as I never get my bellyful. If I go to the tree +at night and succeed in cutting off one of its branches I shall get one +hundred <i>bighas</i> of rent-free land, and become independent for +life. If the ghosts kill me, my case will not be worse, for to die of +hunger is no better than to be killed by ghosts.” He then offered +to go to the tree and cut off a branch that night. The laird renewed +his promise, and said to the Brahman that if he succeeded in bringing +one of the branches of that haunted tree at night he would certainly +give him one hundred <i>bighas</i> of rent-free land.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e2699width" id="p194"><img src="images/p194.jpg" +alt= +"“The moment the first stroke was given, a great many ghosts rushed towards the Brahman”" +width="720" height="503"> +<p class="figureHead">“The moment the first stroke was given, a +great many ghosts rushed towards the Brahman”</p> +</div> +<p>In the course of the day when the people of the village heard of the +laird’s promise and of the Brahman’s offer, they all pitied +the poor man. They blamed him for his foolhardiness, as they were sure +the ghosts would kill him, as they had killed so many before. His wife +tried to dissuade him from the rash undertaking; but in vain. He said +he would die in any case; but there was some chance of his escaping, +and of thus becoming independent for life. Accordingly, one hour after +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb194" href="#pb194" name= +"pb194">194</a>]</span>sundown, the Brahman set out. He went to the +outskirts of the village without the slightest fear as far as a certain +<i>vakula</i>-tree (Mimusops Elengi), from which the haunted tree was +about one rope distant. But under the <i>vakula</i>-tree the +Brahman’s heart misgave him. He began to quake with fear, and the +heaving of his heart was like the upward and downward motion of the +paddy-husking pedal. The <i>vakula</i>-tree was the haunt of a +Brahmadaitya, who, seeing the Brahman stop under the tree, spoke to +him, and said, “Are you afraid, Brahman? Tell me what you wish to +do, and I’ll help you. I am a Brahmadaitya.” The Brahman +replied, “O blessed spirit, I wish to go to yonder banyan-tree, +and cut off one of its branches for the zemindar, who has promised to +give me one hundred <i>bighas</i> of rent-free land for it. But my +courage is failing me. I shall thank you very much for helping +me.” The Brahmadaitya answered, “Certainly I’ll help +you, Brahman. Go on towards the tree, and I’ll come with +you.” The Brahman, relying on the supernatural strength of his +invisible patron, who is the object of the fear and reverence of common +ghosts, fearlessly walked towards the haunted tree, on reaching which +he began to cut a branch with the bill which was in his hand. But the +moment the first stroke was given, a great many ghosts rushed towards +the Brahman, who would have been torn to pieces but for the +interference of the Brahmadaitya. The Brahmadaitya said in a commanding +tone, “Ghosts, listen. This is a poor Brahman. He wishes to +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb195" href="#pb195" name= +"pb195">195</a>]</span>get a branch of this tree which will be of great +use to him. It is my will that you let him cut a branch.” The +ghosts, hearing the voice of the Brahmadaitya, replied, “Be it +according to thy will, lord. At thy bidding we are ready to do +anything. Let not the Brahman take the trouble of cutting; we ourselves +will cut a branch for him.” So saying, in the twinkling of an +eye, the ghosts put into the hands of the Brahman a branch of the tree, +with which he went as fast as his legs could carry him to the house of +the zemindar. The zemindar and his people were not a little surprised +to see the branch; but he said, “Well, I must see to-morrow +whether this branch is a branch of the haunted tree or not; if it be, +you will get the promised reward.”</p> +<p>Next morning the zemindar himself went along with his servants to +the haunted tree, and found to their infinite surprise that the branch +in their hands was really a branch of that tree, as they saw the part +from which it had been cut off. Being thus satisfied, the zemindar +ordered a deed to be drawn up, by which he gave to the Brahman for ever +one hundred <i>bighas</i> of rent-free land. Thus in one night the +Brahman became a rich man.</p> +<p>It so happened that the fields, of which the Brahman became the +owner, were covered with ripe paddy, ready for the sickle. But the +Brahman had not the means to reap the golden harvest. He had not a pice +in his pocket for paying the wages of the reapers. What was the Brahman +to do? He went to his spirit-friend the <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb196" href="#pb196" name="pb196">196</a>]</span>Brahmadaitya, and +said, “Oh, Brahmadaitya, I am in great distress. Through your +kindness I got the rent-free land all covered with ripe paddy. But I +have not the means of cutting the paddy, as I am a poor man. What shall +I do?” The kind Brahmadaitya answered, “Oh, Brahman, +don’t be troubled in your mind about the matter. I’ll see +to it that the paddy is not only cut, but that the corn is threshed and +stored up in granaries, and the straw piled up in ricks. Only you do +one thing. Borrow from men in the village one hundred sickles, and put +them all at the foot of this tree at night. Prepare also the exact spot +on which the grain and the straw are to be stored up.”</p> +<p>The joy of the Brahman knew no bounds. He easily got a hundred +sickles, as the husbandmen of the village, knowing that he had become +rich, readily lent him what he wanted. At sunset he took the hundred +sickles and put them beneath the <i>vakula</i>-tree. He also selected a +spot of ground near his hut for his magazine of paddy and for his ricks +of straw; and washed the spot with a solution of cow-dung and water. +After making these preparations he went to sleep.</p> +<p>In the meantime, soon after nightfall, when the villagers had all +retired to their houses, the Brahmadaitya called to him the ghosts of +the haunted tree, who were one hundred in number, and said to them, +“You must to-night do some work for the poor Brahman whom I am +befriending. The hundred <i>bighas</i> of land which he <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb197" href="#pb197" name="pb197">197</a>]</span>has +got from the zemindar are all covered with standing ripe corn. He has +not the means to reap it. This night you all must do the work for him. +Here are, you see, a hundred sickles; let each of you take a sickle in +hand and come to the field I shall show him. There are a hundred of +you. Let each ghost cut the paddy of one <i>bigha</i>, bring the +sheaves on his back to the Brahman’s house, thresh the corn, put +the corn in one large granary, and pile up the straw in separate ricks. +Now, don’t lose time. You must do it all this very night.” +The hundred ghosts at once said to the Brahmadaitya, “We are +ready to do whatever your lordship commands us.” The Brahmadaitya +showed the ghosts the Brahman’s house, and the spot prepared for +receiving the grain and the straw, and then took them to the +Brahman’s fields, all waving with the golden harvest. The ghosts +at once fell to it. A ghost harvest-reaper is different from a human +harvest-reaper. What a man cuts in a whole day, a ghost cuts in a +minute. <i>Mash</i>, <i>mash</i>, <i>mash</i>, the sickles went round, +and the long stalks of paddy fell to the ground. The reaping over, the +ghosts took up the sheaves on their huge backs and carried them all to +the Brahman’s house. The ghosts then separated the grain from the +straw, stored up the grain in one huge store-house, and piled up the +straw in many a fantastic rick. It was full two hours before sunrise +when the ghosts finished their work and retired to rest on their tree. +No words can tell either the joy of the Brahman and his wife when early +next morning <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb198" href="#pb198" name= +"pb198">198</a>]</span>they opened the door of their hut, or the +surprise of the villagers, when they saw the huge granary and the +fantastic ricks of straw. The villagers did not understand it. They at +once ascribed it to the gods.</p> +<p>A few days after this the Brahman went to the <i>vakula</i>-tree and +said to the Brahmadaitya, “I have one more favour to ask of you, +Brahmadaitya. As the gods have been very gracious to me, I wish to feed +one thousand Brahmans; and I shall thank you for providing me with the +materials of the feast.” “With the greatest +pleasure,” said the polite Brahmadaitya; “I’ll supply +you with the requirements of a feast for a thousand Brahmans; only show +me the cellars in which the provisions are to be stored away.” +The Brahman improvised a store-room. The day before the feast the +store-room was overflowing with provisions. There were one hundred jars +of <i>ghi</i> (clarified butter), one hill of flour, one hundred jars +of sugar, one hundred jars of milk, curds, and congealed milk, and the +other thousand and one things required in a great Brahmanical feast. +The next morning one hundred Brahman pastrycooks were employed; the +thousand Brahmans ate their fill; but the host, the Brahman of the +story, did not eat. He thought he would eat with the Brahmadaitya. But +the Brahmadaitya, who was present there though unseen, told him that he +could not gratify him on that point, as by befriending the Brahman the +Brahmadaitya’s allotted period had come to an end, and the +<i>pushpaka</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e2768src" href="#xd19e2768" +name="xd19e2768src">3</a> chariot had been sent to <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb199" href="#pb199" name="pb199">199</a>]</span>him +from heaven. The Brahmadaitya, being released from his ghostly life, +was taken up into heaven; and the Brahman lived happily for many years, +begetting sons and grandsons.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb200" href="#pb200" name= +"pb200">200</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2678" href="#xd19e2678src" name="xd19e2678">1</a></span> The +ghost of a Brahman who dies unmarried.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2686" href="#xd19e2686src" name="xd19e2686">2</a></span> A +<i>bigha</i> is about the third part of an acre.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2768" href="#xd19e2768src" name="xd19e2768">3</a></span> The +chariot of Kuvera, the Hindu god of riches.</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch16" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">XVI</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Story of a Hiraman<a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2785src" href="#xd19e2785" name="xd19e2785src">1</a></h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">There was a fowler who had a wife. The fowler’s +wife said to her husband one day, “My dear, I’ll tell you +the reason why we are always in want. It is because you sell every bird +you catch by your rods, whereas if we sometimes eat some of the birds +you catch, we are sure to have better luck. I propose therefore that +whatever bird or birds you bag to-day we do not sell, but dress and +eat.” The fowler agreed to his wife’s proposal, and went +out a-bird-catching. He went about from wood to wood with his limed +rods, accompanied by his wife, but in vain. Somehow or other they did +not succeed in catching any bird till near sundown. But just as they +were returning homewards they caught a beautiful hiraman. The +fowler’s wife, taking the bird in her hand and feeling it all +over, said, “What a small bird this is! how much meat can it +have? There is no use in killing it.” The hiraman said, +“Mother, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb201" href="#pb201" name= +"pb201">201</a>]</span>do not kill me, but take me to the king, and you +will get a large sum of money by selling me.” The fowler and his +wife were greatly taken aback on hearing the bird speak, and they asked +the bird what price they should set upon it. The hiraman answered, +“Leave that to me; take me to the king and offer me for sale; and +when the king asks my price, say, ‘The bird will tell its own +price,’ and then I’ll mention a large sum.” The +fowler accordingly went the next day to the king’s palace, and +offered the bird for sale. The king, delighted with the beauty of the +bird, asked the fowler what he would take for it. The fowler said, +“O great king, the bird will tell its own price.” +“What! can the bird speak?” asked the king. “Yes, my +lord; be pleased to ask the bird its price,” replied the fowler. +The king, half in jest and half in seriousness, said, “Well, +hiraman, what is your price?” The hiraman answered, “Please +your majesty, my price is ten thousand rupees. Do not think that the +price is too high. Count out the money for the fowler, for I’ll +be of the greatest service to your majesty.” “What service +can you be of to me, hiraman?” asked the king. “Your +majesty will see that in due time,” replied the hiraman. The +king, surprised beyond measure at hearing the hiraman talk, and talk so +sensibly, took the bird, and ordered his treasurer to tell down the sum +of ten thousand rupees to the fowler.</p> +<p>The king had six queens, but he was so taken up with the bird that +he almost forgot that they <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb202" href= +"#pb202" name="pb202">202</a>]</span>lived; at any rate, his days and +nights were spent in the company, not of the queens, but of the bird. +The hiraman not only replied intelligently to every question the king +put, but it recited to him the names of the three hundred and thirty +millions of the gods of the Hindu pantheon, the hearing of which is +always regarded as an act of piety. The queens felt that they were +neglected by the king, became jealous of the bird, and determined to +kill it. It was long before they got an opportunity, as the bird was +the king’s inseparable companion. One day the king went out +a-hunting, and he was to be away from the palace for two days. The six +queens determined to avail themselves of the opportunity and put an end +to the life of the bird. They said to one another, “Let us go and +ask the bird which of us is the ugliest in his estimation, and she whom +he pronounces the ugliest shall strangle the bird.” Thus +resolved, they all went into the room where the bird was; but before +the queens could put any questions the bird so sweetly and so piously +recited the names of the gods and goddesses, that the hearts of them +all were melted into tenderness, and they came away without +accomplishing their purpose. The following day, however, their evil +genius returned, and they called themselves a thousand fools for having +been diverted from their purpose. They therefore determined to steel +their hearts against all pity, and to kill the bird without delay. They +all went into the room, and said to the bird, “O hiraman, you are +a very wise bird, we hear, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb203" +href="#pb203" name="pb203">203</a>]</span>your judgments are all right; +will you please tell us which of us is the handsomest and which the +ugliest?” The bird, knowing the evil design of the queens, said +to them, “How can I answer your questions remaining in this cage? +In order to pronounce a correct judgment I must look minutely on every +limb of you all, both in front and behind. If you wish to know my +opinion you must set me free.” The women were at first afraid of +setting the bird free lest it should fly away; but on second thoughts +they set it free after shutting all the doors and windows of the room. +The bird, on examining the room, saw that it had a water-passage +through which it was possible to escape. When the question was repeated +several times by the queens, the bird said, “The beauty of not +one of you can be compared to the beauty of the little toe of the lady +that lives beyond the seven oceans and the thirteen rivers.” The +queens, on hearing their beauty spoken of in such slighting terms, +became exceedingly furious, and rushed towards the bird to tear it in +pieces; but before they could get at it, it escaped through the +water-passage, and took shelter in a wood-cutter’s hut which was +hard by.</p> +<p>The next day the king returned home from hunting, and not finding +the hiraman on its perch became mad with grief. He asked the queens, +and they told him that they knew nothing about it. The king wept day +and night for the bird, as he loved it much. His ministers became +afraid lest <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb204" href="#pb204" name= +"pb204">204</a>]</span>his reason should give way, for he used every +hour of the day to weep, saying, “O my hiraman! O my hiraman! +where art thou gone?” Proclamation was made by beat of drum +throughout the kingdom to the effect that if any person could produce +before the king his pet hiraman he would be rewarded with ten thousand +rupees. The wood-cutter, rejoiced at the idea of becoming independent +for life, produced the precious bird and obtained the reward. The king, +on hearing from the parrot that the queens had attempted to kill it, +became mad with rage. He ordered them to be driven away from the palace +and put in a desert place without food. The king’s order was +obeyed, and it was rumoured after a few days that the poor queens were +all devoured by wild beasts.</p> +<p>After some time the king said to the parrot, “Hiraman, you +said to the queens that the beauty of none of them could be compared to +the beauty of even the little toe of the lady who lives on the other +side of the seven oceans and thirteen rivers. Do you know of any means +by which I can get at that lady?”</p> +<p><i>Hiraman.</i> Of course I do. I can take your majesty to the door +of the palace in which that lady of peerless beauty lives; and if your +majesty will abide by my counsel, I will undertake to put that lady +into your arms.</p> +<p><i>King.</i> I will do whatever you tell me. What do you wish me to +do?</p> +<p><i>Hiraman.</i> What is required is a <i>pakshiraj</i>.<a class= +"noteref" id="xd19e2837src" href="#xd19e2837" name="xd19e2837src">2</a> +If <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb205" href="#pb205" name= +"pb205">205</a>]</span>you can procure a horse of that species, you can +ride upon it, and in no time we shall cross the seven oceans and +thirteen rivers, and stand at the door of the lady’s palace.</p> +<p><i>King.</i> I have, as you know, a large stud of horses; we can now +go and see if there are any <i>pakshirajes</i> amongst them.</p> +<p>The king and the hiraman went to the royal stables and examined all +the horses. The hiraman passed by all the fine-looking horses and those +of high mettle, and alighted upon a wretched-looking lean pony, and +said, “Here is the horse I want. It is a horse of the genuine +<i>pakshiraj</i> breed, but it must be fed full six months with the +finest grain before it can answer our purpose.” The king +accordingly put that pony in a stable by itself and himself saw every +day that it was fed with the finest grain that could be got in the +kingdom. The pony rapidly improved in appearance, and at the end of six +months the hiraman pronounced it fit for service. The parrot then told +the king to order the royal silversmith to make some +<i>khais</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e2859src" href="#xd19e2859" +name="xd19e2859src">3</a> of silver. A large quantity of silver +<i>khais</i> was made in a short time. When about to start on their +aërial journey the hiraman said to the king, “I have one +request to make. Please whip the horse only once at starting. If you +whip him more than once, we shall not be able to reach the palace, but +stick mid-way. And when we return homewards after capturing the lady, +you are also to whip the horse only once; if you whip him more than +once, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb206" href="#pb206" name= +"pb206">206</a>]</span>we shall come only half the way and remain +there.” The king then got upon the <i>pakshiraj</i> with the +hiraman and the silver <i>khais</i> and gently whipped the animal once. +The horse shot through the air with the speed of lightning, passed over +many countries, kingdoms, and empires, crossed the oceans and thirteen +rivers, and alighted in the evening at the gate of a beautiful +palace.</p> +<p>Now, near the palace-gate there stood a lofty tree. The hiraman told +the king to put the horse in the stable hard by, and then to climb into +the tree and remain there concealed. The hiraman took the silver +<i>khais</i>, and with its beak began dropping <i>khai</i> after +<i>khai</i> from the foot of the tree, all through the corridors and +passages, up to the door of the bedchamber of the lady of peerless +beauty. After doing this, the hiraman perched upon the tree where the +king was concealed. Some hours after midnight, the maid-servant of the +lady, who slept in the same room with her, wishing to come out, opened +the door and noticed the silver <i>khais</i> lying there. She took up a +few of them, and not knowing what they were, showed them to her lady. +The lady, admiring the little silver bullets, and wondering how they +could have got there, came out of her room and began picking them up. +She saw a regular stream of them apparently issuing from near the door +of her room, and proceeding she knew not how far. She went on picking +up in a basket the bright, shining <i>khais</i> all through the +corridors and passages, till she came to the foot of the tree. No +sooner did the lady of peerless beauty <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb207" href="#pb207" name="pb207">207</a>]</span>come to the foot of +the tree than the king, agreeably to instructions previously given to +him by the hiraman, alighted from the tree and caught hold of the lady. +In a moment she was put upon the horse along with himself. At that +moment the hiraman sat upon the shoulder of the king, the king gently +whipped the horse once, and they all were whirled through the air with +the speed of lightning. The king, wishing to reach home soon with the +precious prize, and forgetful of the instructions of the hiraman, +whipped the horse again; on which the horse at once alighted on the +outskirts of what seemed a dense forest. “What have you done, O +king?” shouted out the hiraman. “Did I not tell you not to +whip the horse more than once? You have whipped him twice, and we are +done for. We may meet with our death here.” But the thing was +done, and it could not be helped. The <i>pakshiraj</i> became +powerless; and the party could not proceed homewards. They dismounted; +but they could not see anywhere the habitations of men. They ate some +fruits and roots, and slept that night there upon the ground.</p> +<p>Next morning it so chanced that the king of that country came to +that forest to hunt. As he was pursuing a stag, whom he had pierced +with an arrow, he came across the king and the lady of peerless beauty. +Struck with the matchless beauty of the lady, he wished to seize her. +He whistled, and in a moment his attendants flocked around him. The +lady was made a captive, and her lover, who had brought her from her +house on the other <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb208" href="#pb208" +name="pb208">208</a>]</span>side of the seven oceans and thirteen +rivers, was not put to death, but his eyes were put out, and he was +left alone in the forest—alone, and yet not alone, for the good +hiraman was with him.</p> +<p>The lady of peerless beauty was taken into the king’s palace, +as well as the pony of her lover. The lady said to the king that he +must not come near her for six months, in consequence of a vow which +she had taken, and which would be completed in that period of time. She +mentioned six months, as that period would be necessary for recruiting +the constitution of the <i>pakshiraj</i>. As the lady professed to +engage every day in religious ceremonies, in consequence of her vow, a +separate house was assigned to her, where she took the <i>pakshiraj</i> +and fed him with the choicest grain. But everything would be fruitless +if the lady did not meet the hiraman. But how is she to get a sight of +that bird? She adopted the following expedient. She ordered her +servants to scatter on the roof of her house heaps of paddy, grain, and +all sorts of pulse for the refreshment of birds. The consequence was, +that thousands of the feathery race came to the roof to partake of the +abundant feast. The lady was every day on the look out for her hiraman. +The hiraman, meanwhile, was in great distress in the forest. He had to +take care not only of himself, but of the now blinded king. He plucked +some ripe fruits in the forest, and gave them to the king to eat, and +he ate of them himself. This was the manner of hiraman’s life. +The other birds of the forest spoke thus to the +parrot—<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb209" href="#pb209" name= +"pb209">209</a>]</span>“O hiraman, you have a miserable life of +it in this forest. Why don’t you come with us to an abundant +feast provided for us by a pious lady, who scatters many maunds of +pulse on the roof of her house for the benefit of our race? We go there +early in the morning and return in the evening, eating our fill along +with thousands of other birds.” The hiraman resolved to accompany +them next morning, shrewdly suspecting more in the lady’s charity +to birds than the other birds thought there was in it. The hiraman saw +the lady, and had a long chat with her about the health of the blinded +king, the means of curing his blindness, and about her escape. The plan +adopted was as follows: The pony would be ready for aerial flight in a +short time—for a great part of the six months had already +elapsed; and the king’s blindness could be cured if the hiraman +could procure from the chicks of the bihangama and bihangami birds, who +had their nest on the tree at the gate of the lady’s palace +beyond the seven oceans and thirteen rivers, a quantity of their +ordure, fresh and hot, and apply it to the eyeballs of the blinded +king. The following morning the hiraman started on his errand of mercy, +remained at night on the tree at the gate of the palace beyond the +seven oceans and thirteen rivers, and early the next morning waited +below the nest of the birds with a leaf on his beak, into which dropped +the ordure of the chicks. That moment the hiraman flew across the +oceans and rivers, came to the forest, and applied the precious balm to +the sightless sockets of the king. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb210" +href="#pb210" name="pb210">210</a>]</span>The king opened his eyes and +saw. In a few days the <i>pakshiraj</i> was in proper trim. The lady +escaped to the forest and took the king up; and the lady, king, and +hiraman all reached the king’s capital safe and sound. The king +and the lady were united together in wedlock. They lived many years +together happily, and begat sons and daughters; and the beautiful +hiraman was always with them reciting the names of the three hundred +and thirty millions of gods.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e2920width" id="p210"><img src="images/p210.jpg" +alt= +"“The lady, king, and hiraman all reached the king’s capital safe and sound”" +width="720" height="509"> +<p class="figureHead">“The lady, king, and hiraman all reached +the king’s capital safe and sound”</p> +</div> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb211" href="#pb211" name= +"pb211">211</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2785" href="#xd19e2785src" name="xd19e2785">1</a></span> +“<i>Hiraman</i> (from <i>harit</i>, green, and <i>mani</i>, a +gem), the name of a beautiful species of parrot, a native of the +Molucca Islands (<i>Psittacus sinensis</i>).”—<span class= +"sc">Carey’s</span> <i>Dictionary of the Bengalee Language</i>, +vol. ii. part iii. p. 1537.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2837" href="#xd19e2837src" name="xd19e2837">2</a></span> Winged +horse, literally, the <i>king of birds</i>.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2859" href="#xd19e2859src" name="xd19e2859">3</a></span> +<i>Khai</i> is fried paddy.</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch17" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">XVII</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Origin of Rubies</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">There was a certain king who died leaving four sons +behind him with his queen. The queen was passionately fond of the +youngest of the princes. She gave him the best robes, the best horses, +the best food, and the best furniture. The other three princes became +exceedingly jealous of their youngest brother, and conspiring against +him and their mother, made them live in a separate house, and took +possession of the estate. Owing to overindulgence, the youngest prince +had become very wilful. He never listened to any one, not even to his +mother, but had his own way in everything. One day he went with his +mother to bathe in the river. A large boat was riding there at anchor. +None of the boatmen were in it. The prince went into the boat, and told +his mother to come into it. His mother besought him to get down from +the boat, as it did not belong to him. But the prince said, “No, +mother, I am not coming down; I mean to go on a voyage, and if you wish +to come with me, then delay not but come up at <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb212" href="#pb212" name= +"pb212">212</a>]</span>once, or I shall be off in a trice.” The +queen besought the prince to do no such thing, but to come down +instantly. But the prince gave no heed to what she said, and began to +take up the anchor. The queen went up into the boat in great haste; and +the moment she was on board the boat started, and falling into the +current passed on swiftly like an arrow. The boat went on and on till +it reached the sea. After it had gone many furlongs into the open sea, +the boat came near a whirlpool, where the prince saw a great many +rubies of monstrous size floating on the waters. Such large rubies no +one had ever seen, each being in value equal to the wealth of seven +kings. The prince caught hold of half a dozen of those rubies, and put +them on board. His mother said, “Darling, don’t take up +those red balls; they must belong to somebody who has been shipwrecked, +and we may be taken up as thieves.” At the repeated entreaties of +his mother the prince threw them into the sea, keeping only one tied up +in his clothes. The boat then drifted towards the coast, and the queen +and the prince arrived at a certain port where they landed.</p> +<p>The port where they landed was not a small place; it was a large +city, the capital of a great king. Not far from the place, the queen +and her son hired a hut where they lived. As the prince was yet a boy, +he was fond of playing at marbles. When the children of the king came +out to play on a lawn before the palace, our young prince joined them. +He had no marbles, but he played <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb213" +href="#pb213" name="pb213">213</a>]</span>with the ruby which he had in +his possession. The ruby was so hard that it broke every taw against +which it struck. The daughter of the king, who used to watch the games +from a balcony of the palace, was astonished to see a brilliant red +ball in the hand of the strange lad, and wanted to take possession of +it. She told her father that a boy of the street had an uncommonly +bright stone in his possession which she must have, or else she would +starve herself to death. The king ordered his servants to bring to him +the lad with the precious stone. When the boy was brought, the king +wondered at the largeness and brilliancy of the ruby. He had never seen +anything like it. He doubted whether any king of any country in the +world possessed so great a treasure. He asked the lad where he had got +it. The lad replied that he got it from the sea. The king offered a +thousand rupees for the ruby, and the lad not knowing its value readily +parted with it for that sum. He went with the money to his mother, who +was not a little frightened, thinking that her son had stolen the money +from some rich man’s house. She became quiet, however, on being +assured that the money was given to him by the king in exchange for the +red ball which he had picked up in the sea.</p> +<p>The king’s daughter, on getting the ruby, put it in her hair, +and, standing before her pet parrot, said to the bird, “Oh, my +darling parrot, don’t I look very beautiful with this ruby in my +hair?” The parrot replied, “Beautiful! you look quite +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb214" href="#pb214" name= +"pb214">214</a>]</span>hideous with it! What princess ever puts only +one ruby in her hair? It would be somewhat feasible if you had two at +least.” Stung with shame at the reproach cast in her teeth by the +parrot, the princess went into the grief-chamber of the palace, and +would neither eat nor drink. The king was not a little concerned when +he heard that his daughter had gone into the grief-chamber. He went to +her, and asked her the cause of her grief. The princess told the king +what her pet parrot had said, and added, “Father, if you do not +procure for me another ruby like this, I’ll put an end to my life +by mine own hands.” The king was overwhelmed with grief. Where +was he to get another ruby like it? He doubted whether another like it +could be found in the whole world. He ordered the lad who had sold the +ruby to be brought into his presence. “Have you, young +man,” asked the king, “another ruby like the one you sold +me?” The lad replied, “No, I have not got one. Why, do you +want another? I can give you lots, if you wish to have them. They are +to be found in a whirlpool in the sea, far, far away. I can go and +fetch some for you.” Amazed at the lad’s reply, the king +offered rich rewards for procuring only another ruby of the same +sort.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e2948width" id="p214"><img src="images/p214.jpg" +alt= +"“‘What princess ever puts only one ruby in her hair?’”" +width="720" height="501"> +<p class="figureHead">“‘What princess ever puts only one +ruby in her hair?’”</p> +</div> +<p>The lad went home and said to his mother that he must go to sea +again to fetch some rubies for the king. The woman was quite frightened +at the idea, and begged him not to go. But the lad was resolved on +going, and nothing could prevent him from carrying out his purpose. He +accordingly <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb215" href="#pb215" name= +"pb215">215</a>]</span>went alone on board that same vessel which had +brought him and his mother, and set sail. He reached the whirlpool, +from near which he had formerly picked up the rubies. This time, +however, he determined to go to the exact spot whence the rubies were +coming out. He went to the centre of the whirlpool, where he saw a gap +reaching to the bottom of the ocean. He dived into it, leaving his boat +to wheel round the whirlpool. When he reached the bottom of the ocean +he saw there a beautiful palace. He went inside. In the central room of +the palace there was the god Siva, with his eyes closed, and absorbed +apparently in intense meditation. A few feet above Siva’s head +was a platform, on which lay a young lady of exquisite beauty. The +prince went to the platform and saw that the head of the lady was +separated from her body. Horrified at the sight, he did not know what +to make of it. He saw a stream of blood trickling from the severed +head, falling upon the matted head of Siva, and running into the ocean +in the form of rubies. After a little two small rods, one of silver and +one of gold, which were lying near the head of the lady, attracted his +eyes. As he took up the rods in his hands, the golden rod accidentally +fell upon the head, on which the head immediately joined itself to the +body, and the lady got up. Astonished at the sight of a human being, +the lady asked the prince who he was and how he had got there. After +hearing the story of the prince’s adventures, the lady said, +“Unhappy young man, depart instantly from this place; for +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb216" href="#pb216" name= +"pb216">216</a>]</span>when Siva finishes his meditations he will turn +you to ashes by a single glance of his eyes.” The young man, +however, would not go except in her company, as he was over head and +ears in love with the beautiful lady. At last they both contrived to +run away from the palace, and coming up to the surface of the ocean +they climbed into the boat near the centre of the whirlpool, and sailed +away towards land, having previously laden the vessel with a cargo of +rubies. The wonder of the prince’s mother at seeing the beautiful +damsel may be well imagined. Early next morning the prince sent a basin +full of big rubies, through a servant. The king was astonished beyond +measure. His daughter, on getting the rubies, resolved on marrying the +wonderful lad who had made a present of them to her. Though the prince +had a wife, whom he had brought up from the depths of the ocean, he +consented to have a second wife. They were accordingly married, and +lived happily for years, begetting sons and daughters.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e2959width" id="p216"><img src="images/p216.jpg" +alt="“Coming up to the surface they climbed into the boat”" +width="720" height="512"> +<p class="figureHead">“Coming up to the surface they climbed into +the boat”</p> +</div> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb217" href="#pb217" name= +"pb217">217</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch18" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">XVIII</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Match-making Jackal</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Once on a time there lived a weaver, whose ancestors +were very rich, but whose father had wasted the property which he had +inherited in riotous living. He was born in a palace-like house, but he +now lived in a miserable hut. He had no one in the world, his parents +and all his relatives having died. Hard by the hut was the lair of a +jackal. The jackal, remembering the wealth and grandeur of the +weaver’s forefathers, had compassion on him, and one day coming +to him, said, “Friend weaver, I see what a wretched life you are +leading. I have a good mind to improve your condition. I’ll try +and marry you to the daughter of the king of this country.” +“I become the king’s son-in-law!” replied the weaver; +“that will take place only when the sun rises in the west.” +“You doubt my power?” rejoined the jackal; “you will +see, I’ll bring it about.”</p> +<p>The next morning the jackal started for the king’s city, which +was many miles off. On the way he entered a plantation of the Piper +betel <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb218" href="#pb218" name= +"pb218">218</a>]</span>plant, and plucked a large quantity of its +leaves. He reached the capital, and contrived to get inside the palace. +On the premises of the palace was a tank in which the ladies of the +king’s household performed their morning and afternoon ablutions. +At the entrance of that tank the jackal laid himself down. The daughter +of the king happened to come just at the time to bathe, accompanied by +her maids. The princess was not a little struck at seeing the jackal +lying down at the entrance. She told her maids to drive the jackal +away. The jackal rose as if from sleep, and instead of running away, +opened his bundle of betel-leaves, put some into his mouth, and began +chewing them. The princess and her maids were not a little astonished +at the sight. They said among themselves, “What an uncommon +jackal is this! From what country can he have come? A jackal chewing +betel-leaves! why thousands of men and women of this city cannot +indulge in that luxury. He must have come from a wealthy land.” +The princess asked the jackal, “Sivalu!<a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2980src" href="#xd19e2980" name="xd19e2980src">1</a> from what +country do you come? It must be a very prosperous country where the +jackals chew betel-leaves. Do other animals in your country chew +betel-leaves?” “Dearest princess,” replied the +jackal, “I come from a land flowing with milk and honey. +Betel-leaves are as plentiful in my country as the grass in your +fields. All animals in my country—cows, sheep, dogs—chew +betel-leaves. We want no good thing.” “Happy is the +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb219" href="#pb219" name= +"pb219">219</a>]</span>country,” said the princess, “where +there is such plenty, and thrice happy the king who rules in it!” +“As for our king,” said the jackal, “he is the +richest king in the world. His palace is like the heaven of Indra. I +have seen your palace here; it is a miserable hut compared to the +palace of our king.” The princess, whose curiosity was excited to +the utmost pitch, hastily went through her bath, and going to the +apartments of the queen-mother, told her of the wonderful jackal lying +at the entrance of the tank. Her curiosity being excited, the jackal +was sent for. When the jackal stood in the presence of the queen, he +began munching the betel-leaves. “You come,” said the +queen, “from a very rich country. Is your king married?” +“Please your majesty, our king is not married. Princesses from +distant parts of the world tried to get married to him, but he rejected +them all. Happy will that princess be whom our king condescends to +marry!” “Don’t you think, Sivalu,” asked the +queen, “that my daughter is as beautiful as a Peri, and that she +is fit to be the wife of the proudest king in the world?” +“I quite think,” said the jackal, “that the princess +is exceedingly handsome; indeed, she is the handsomest princess I have +ever seen; but I don’t know whether our king will have a liking +for her.” “Liking for my daughter!” said the queen, +“you have only to paint her to him as she is, and he is sure to +turn mad with love. To be serious, Sivalu, I am anxious to get my +daughter married. Many princes have sought her hand, <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb220" href="#pb220" name="pb220">220</a>]</span>but +I am unwilling to give her to any of them, as they are not the sons of +great kings. But your king seems to be a great king. I can have no +objection to making him my son-in-law.” The queen sent word to +the king, requesting him to come and see the jackal. The king came and +saw the jackal, heard him describe the wealth and pomp of the king of +his country, and expressed himself not unwilling to give away his +daughter in marriage to him.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e2988width" id="p218"><img src="images/p218.jpg" +alt= +"“The jackal ... opened his bundle of betel-leaves, put some into his mouth, and began chewing them”" +width="720" height="510"> +<p class="figureHead">“The jackal ... opened his bundle of +betel-leaves, put some into his mouth, and began chewing +them”</p> +</div> +<p>The jackal after this returned to the weaver and said to him, +“O lord of the loom, you are the luckiest man in the world; it is +all settled; you are to become the son-in-law of a great king. I have +told them that you are yourself a great king, and you must behave +yourself as one. You must do just as I instruct you, otherwise your +fortune will not only not be made, but both you and I will be put to +death.” “I’ll do just as you bid me,” said the +weaver. The shrewd jackal drew in his own mind a plan of the method of +procedure he should adopt, and after a few days went back to the palace +of the king in the same manner in which he had gone before, that is to +say, chewing betel-leaves and lying down at the entrance of the tank on +the premises of the palace. The king and queen were glad to see him, +and eagerly asked him as to the success of his mission. The jackal +said, “In order to relieve your minds I may tell you at once that +my mission has been so far successful. If you only knew the infinite +trouble I have had in persuading his Majesty, my sovereign, +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb221" href="#pb221" name= +"pb221">221</a>]</span>to make up his mind to marry your daughter, you +would give me no end of thanks. For a long time he would not hear of +it, but gradually I brought him round. You have now only to fix an +auspicious day for the celebration of the solemn rite. There is one bit +of advice, however, which I, as your friend, would give you. It is +this. My master is so great a king that if he were to come to you in +state, attended by all his followers, his horses and his elephants, you +would find it impossible to accommodate them all in your palace or in +your city. I would therefore propose that our king should come to your +city, not in state, but in a private manner; and that you send to the +outskirts of your city your own elephants, horses, and conveyances, to +bring him and only a few of his followers to your palace.” +“Many thanks, wise Sivalu, for this advice. I could not possibly +make accommodation in my city for the followers of so great a king as +your master is. I should be very glad if he did not come in state; and +trust you will use your influence to persuade him to come in a private +manner; for I should be ruined if he came in state.” The jackal +then gravely said, “I will do my best in the matter,” and +then returned to his own village, after the royal astrologer had fixed +an auspicious day for the wedding.</p> +<p>On his return the jackal busied himself with making preparations for +the great ceremony. As the weaver was clad in tatters, he told him to +go to the washermen of the village and borrow from <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb222" href="#pb222" name="pb222">222</a>]</span>them +a suit of clothes. As for himself, he went to the king of his race, and +told him that on a certain day he would like one thousand jackals to +accompany him to a certain place. He went to the king of crows, and +begged that his corvine majesty would be pleased to allow one thousand +of his black subjects to accompany him on a certain day to a certain +place. He preferred a similar petition to the king of paddy-birds.</p> +<p>At last the great day arrived. The weaver arrayed himself in the +clothes which he had borrowed from the village washermen. The jackal +made his appearance, accompanied by a train of a thousand jackals, a +thousand crows, and a thousand paddy-birds. The nuptial procession +started on their journey, and towards sundown arrived within two miles +of the king’s palace. There the jackal told his friends, the +thousand jackals, to set up a loud howl; at his bidding the thousand +crows cawed their loudest; while the hoarse screechings of the thousand +paddy-birds furnished a suitable accompaniment. The effect may be +imagined. They all together made a noise the like of which had never +been heard since the world began. While this unearthly noise was going +on, the jackal himself hastened to the palace, and asked the king +whether he thought he would be able to accommodate the wedding-party, +which was about two miles distant, and whose noise was at that moment +sounding in his ears. The king said “Impossible, Sivalu; from the +sound of the procession I infer there must be at least one hundred +thousand souls. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb223" href="#pb223" +name="pb223">223</a>]</span>How is it possible to accommodate so many +guests? Please, so arrange that the bridegroom only will come to my +house.” “Very well,” said the jackal; “I told +you at the beginning that you would not be able to accommodate all the +attendants of my august master. I’ll do as you wish. My master +will alone come in undress. Send a horse for the purpose.” The +jackal, accompanied by a horse and groom, came to the place where his +friend the weaver was, thanked the thousand jackals, the thousand +crows, and the thousand paddy-birds, for their valuable services, and +told them all to go away, while he himself, and the weaver on +horseback, wended their way to the king’s palace. The bridal +party, waiting in the palace, were greatly disappointed at the personal +appearance of the weaver; but the jackal told them that his master had +purposely put on a mean dress, as his would-be father-in-law declared +himself unable to accommodate the bridegroom and his attendants coming +in state. The royal priests now began the interesting ceremony, and the +nuptial knot was tied for ever. The bridegroom seldom opened his lips, +agreeably to the instructions of the jackal, who was afraid lest his +speech should betray him. At night when he was lying in bed he began to +count the beams and rafters of the room, and said audibly, “This +beam will make a first-rate loom, that other a capital beam, and that +yonder an excellent sley.” The princess, his bride, was not a +little astonished. She began to think in her mind, “Is the man, +to whom they have tied me, a king or a weaver? <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb224" href="#pb224" name="pb224">224</a>]</span>I am +afraid he is the latter; otherwise why should he be talking of +weaver’s loom, beam, and sley? Ah, me! is this what the fates +keep in store for me?” In the morning the princess related to the +queen-mother the weaver’s soliloquy. The king and queen, not a +little surprised at this recital, took the jackal to task about it. The +ready-witted jackal at once said, “Your Majesty need not be +surprised at my august master’s soliloquy. His palace is +surrounded by a population of seven hundred families of the best +weavers in the world, to whom he has given rent-free lands, and whose +welfare he continually seeks. It must have been in one of his +philanthropic moods that he uttered the soliloquy which has taken your +Majesty by surprise.” The jackal, however, now felt that it was +high time for himself and the weaver to decamp with the princess, since +the proverbial simplicity of his friend of the loom might any moment +involve him in danger. The jackal therefore represented to the king, +that weighty affairs of state would not permit his august master to +spend another day in the palace; that he should start for his kingdom +that very day with his bride; and his master was resolved to travel +<i>incognito</i> on foot, only the princess, now the queen, should +leave the city in a <i>palki</i>. After a great deal of yea and nay, +the king and queen at last consented to the proposal. The party came to +the outskirts of the weaver’s village; the <i>palki</i> bearers +were sent away; and the princess, who asked where her husband’s +palace was, was made to walk on foot. The <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb225" href="#pb225" name="pb225">225</a>]</span>weaver’s hut +was soon reached, and the jackal, addressing the princess, said, +“This, madam, is your husband’s palace.” The princess +began to beat her forehead with the palms of her hands in sheer +despair. “Ah, me! is this the husband whom Prajapati<a class= +"noteref" id="xd19e3018src" href="#xd19e3018" name="xd19e3018src">2</a> +intended for me? Death would have been a thousand times +better.”</p> +<p>As there was nothing for it, the princess soon got reconciled to her +fate. She, however, determined to make her husband rich, especially as +she knew the secret of becoming rich. One day she told her husband to +get for her a pice-worth of flour. She put a little water in the flour, +and smeared her body with the paste. When the paste dried on her body, +she began wiping the paste with her fingers; and as the paste fell in +small balls from her body, it got turned into gold. She repeated this +process every day for some time, and thus got an immense quantity of +gold. She soon became mistress of more gold than is to be found in the +coffers of any king. With this gold she employed a whole army of +masons, carpenters and architects, who in no time built one of the +finest palaces in the world. Seven hundred families of weavers were +sought for and settled round about the palace. After this she wrote a +letter to her father to say that she was sorry he had not favoured her +with a visit since the day of her marriage, and that she would be +delighted if he now came to see her and her husband. The king agreed to +come, and a day was fixed. The princess made <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb226" href="#pb226" name= +"pb226">226</a>]</span>great preparations against the day of her +father’s arrival. Hospitals were established in several parts of +the town for diseased, sick, and infirm animals. The beasts in +thousands were made to chew betel-leaves on the wayside. The streets +were covered with Cashmere shawls for her father and his attendants to +walk on. There was no end of the display of wealth and grandeur. The +king and queen arrived in state, and were infinitely delighted at the +apparently boundless riches of their son-in-law. The jackal now +appeared on the scene, and saluting the king and queen, +said—“Did I not tell you?”</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb227" href="#pb227" name= +"pb227">227</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e2980" href="#xd19e2980src" name="xd19e2980">1</a></span> A name +for a jackal, not unlike Reynard in Europe.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e3018" href="#xd19e3018src" name="xd19e3018">2</a></span> The god +who presides over marriages.</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch19" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">XIX</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Boy with the Moon on his Forehead</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">There was a certain king who had six queens, none of +whom bore children. Physicians, holy sages, mendicants, were consulted, +countless drugs were had recourse to, but all to no purpose. The king +was disconsolate. His ministers told him to marry a seventh wife; and +he was accordingly on the look out.</p> +<p>In the royal city there lived a poor old woman who used to pick up +cow-dung from the fields, make it into cakes, dry them in the sun, and +sell them in the market for fuel. This was her only means of +subsistence. This old woman had a daughter exquisitely beautiful. Her +beauty excited the admiration of every one that saw her; and it was +solely in consequence of her surpassing beauty that three young ladies, +far above her in rank and station, contracted friendship with her. +Those three young ladies were the daughter of the king’s +minister, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, and the daughter of the +royal priest. These three <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb228" href= +"#pb228" name="pb228">228</a>]</span>young ladies, together with the +daughter of the poor old woman, were one day bathing in a tank not far +from the palace. As they were performing their ablutions, each dwelt on +her own good qualities. “Look here, sister,” said the +minister’s daughter, addressing the merchant’s daughter, +“the man that marries me will be a happy man, for he will not +have to buy clothes for me. The cloth which I once put on never gets +soiled, never gets old, never tears.” The merchant’s +daughter said, “And my husband too will be a happy man, for the +fuel which I use in cooking never gets turned into ashes. The same fuel +serves from day to day, from year to year.” “And my husband +will also become a happy man,” said the daughter of the royal +chaplain, “for the rice which I cook one day never gets finished, +and when we have all eaten, the same quantity which was first cooked +remains always in the pot.” The daughter of the poor old woman +said in her turn, “And the man that marries me will also be +happy, for I shall give birth to twin children, a son and a daughter. +The daughter will be divinely fair, and the son will have the moon on +his forehead and stars on the palms of his hands.”</p> +<p>The above conversation was overheard by the king, who, as he was on +the look out for a seventh queen, used to skulk about in places where +women met together. The king thus thought in his mind—“I +don’t care a straw for the girl whose clothes never tear and +never get old; neither do I care for the other girl whose fuel is never +consumed; <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb229" href="#pb229" name= +"pb229">229</a>]</span>nor for the third girl whose rice never fails in +the pot. But the fourth girl is quite charming! She will give birth to +twin children, a son and a daughter; the daughter will be divinely +fair, and the son will have the moon on his forehead and stars on the +palms of his hands. That is the girl I want. I’ll make her my +wife.”</p> +<p>On making inquiries on the same day, the king found that the fourth +girl was the daughter of a poor old woman who picked up cow-dung from +the fields; but though there was thus an infinite disparity in rank, he +determined to marry her. On the very same day he sent for the poor old +woman. She, poor thing, was quite frightened when she saw a messenger +of the king standing at the door of her hut. She thought that the king +had sent for her to punish her, because, perhaps, she had some day +unwittingly picked up the dung of the king’s cattle. She went to +the palace, and was admitted into the king’s private chamber. The +king asked her whether she had a very fair daughter, and whether that +daughter was the friend of his own minister’s and priest’s +daughters. When the woman answered in the affirmative, he said to her, +“I will marry your daughter, and make her my queen.” The +woman hardly believed her own ears—the thing was so strange. He, +however, solemnly declared to her that he had made up his mind, and was +determined to marry her daughter. It was soon known in the capital that +the king was going to marry the daughter of the old woman who picked up +cow-dung in the fields. When <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb230" href= +"#pb230" name="pb230">230</a>]</span>the six queens heard the news, +they would not believe it, till the king himself told them that the +news was true. They thought that the king had somehow got mad. They +reasoned with him thus—“What folly, what madness, to marry +a girl who is not fit to be our maid-servant! And you expect us to +treat her as our equal—a girl whose mother goes about picking up +cow-dung in the fields! Surely, my lord, you are beside +yourself!” The king’s purpose, however, remained unshaken. +The royal astrologer was called, and an auspicious day was fixed for +the celebration of the king’s marriage. On the appointed day the +royal priest tied the marital knot, and the daughter of the poor old +picker-up of cow-dung in the fields became the seventh and best beloved +queen.</p> +<p>Some time after the celebration of the marriage, the king went for +six months to another part of his dominions. Before setting out he +called to him the seventh queen, and said to her, “I am going +away to another part of my dominions for six months. Before the +expiration of that period I expect you to be confined. But I should +like to be present with you at the time, as your enemies may do +mischief. Take this golden bell and hang it in your room. When the +pains of childbirth come upon you, ring this bell, and I will be with +you in a moment in whatever part of my dominions I may be at the time. +Remember, you are to ring the bell only when you feel the pains of +childbirth.” After saying this the king started on his +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb231" href="#pb231" name= +"pb231">231</a>]</span>journey. The six queens, who had overheard the +king, went on the next day to the apartments of the seventh queen, and +said, “What a nice bell of gold you have got, sister! Where did +you get it, and why have you hung it up?” The seventh queen, in +her simplicity, said, “The king has given it to me, and if I were +to ring it, the king would immediately come to me wherever he might be +at the time.” “Impossible!” said the six queens, +“you must have misunderstood the king. Who can believe that this +bell can be heard at the distance of hundreds of miles? Besides, if it +could be heard, how would the king be able to travel a great distance +in the twinkling of an eye? This must be a hoax. If you ring the bell, +you will find that what the king said was pure nonsense.” The six +queens then told her to make a trial. At first she was unwilling, +remembering what the king had told her; but at last she was prevailed +upon to ring the bell. The king was at the moment half-way to the +capital of his other dominions, but at the ringing of the bell he +stopped short in his journey, turned back, and in no time stood in the +queen’s apartments. Finding the queen going about in her rooms, +he asked why she had rung the bell though her hour had not come. She, +without informing the king of the entreaty of the six queens, replied +that she rang the bell only to see whether what he had said was true. +The king was somewhat indignant, told her distinctly not to ring the +bell again till the moment of the coming upon her of the pains of +childbirth, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb232" href="#pb232" +name="pb232">232</a>]</span>then went away. After the lapse of some +weeks the six queens again begged of the seventh queen to make a second +trial of the bell. They said to her, “The first time when you +rang the bell, the king was only at a short distance from you, it was +therefore easy for him to hear the bell and to come to you; but now he +has long ago settled in his other capital, let us see if he will now +hear the bell and come to you.” She resisted for a long time, but +was at last prevailed upon by them to ring the bell. When the sound of +the bell reached the king he was in court dispensing justice, but when +he heard the sound of the bell (and no one else heard it) he closed the +court and in no time stood in the queen’s apartments. Finding +that the queen was not about to be confined, he asked her why she had +again rung the bell before her hour. She, without saying anything of +the importunities of the six queens, replied that she merely made a +second trial of the bell. The king became very angry, and said to her, +“Now listen, since you have called me twice for nothing, let it +be known to you that when the throes of childbirth do really come upon +you, and you ring the bell ever so lustily, I will not come to you. You +must be left to your fate.” The king then went away.</p> +<p>At last the day of the seventh queen’s deliverance arrived. On +first feeling the pains she rang the golden bell. She waited, but the +king did not make his appearance. She rang again with all her might, +still the king did not make his appearance. The king certainly did hear +the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb233" href="#pb233" name= +"pb233">233</a>]</span>sound of the bell; but he did not come as he was +displeased with the queen. When the six queens saw that the king did +not come, they went to the seventh queen and told her that it was not +customary with the ladies of the palace to be confined in the +king’s apartments; she must go to a hut near the stables. They +then sent for the midwife of the palace, and heavily bribed her to make +away with the infant the moment it should be born into the world. The +seventh queen gave birth to a son who had the moon on his forehead and +stars on the palms of his hands, and also to an uncommonly beautiful +girl. The midwife had come provided with a couple of newly born pups. +She put the pups before the mother, saying—“You have given +birth to these,” and took away the twin-children in an earthen +vessel. The queen was quite insensible at the time, and did not notice +the twins at the time they were carried away. The king, though he was +angry with the seventh queen, yet remembering that she was destined to +give birth to the heir of his throne, changed his mind, and came to see +her the next morning. The pups were produced before the king as the +offspring of the queen. The king’s anger and vexation knew no +bounds. He ordered that the seventh queen should be expelled from the +palace, that she should be clothed in leather, and that she should be +employed in the market-place to drive away crows and to keep off dogs. +Though scarcely able to move she was driven away from the palace, +stripped of her fine robes, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb234" href= +"#pb234" name="pb234">234</a>]</span>clothed in leather, and set to +drive away the crows of the market-place.</p> +<p>The midwife, when she put the twins in the earthen vessel, bethought +herself of the best way to destroy them. She did not think it proper to +throw them into a tank, lest they should be discovered the next day. +Neither did she think of burying them in the ground, lest they should +be dug up by a jackal and exposed to the gaze of people. The best way +to make an end of them, she thought, would be to burn them, and reduce +them to ashes, that no trace might be left of them. But how could she, +at that dead hour of night, burn them without some other person helping +her? A happy thought struck her. There was a potter on the outskirts of +the city, who used during the day to mould vessels of clay on his +wheel, and burn them during the latter part of the night. The midwife +thought that the best plan would be to put the vessel with the twins +along with the unburnt clay vessels which the potter had arranged in +order and gone to sleep expecting to get up late at night and set them +on fire; in this way, she thought, the twins would be reduced to ashes. +She, accordingly, put the vessel with the twins along with the unburnt +clay vessels of the potter, and went away.</p> +<p>Somehow or other, that night the potter and his wife overslept +themselves. It was near the break of day when the potter’s wife, +awaking out of sleep, roused her husband, and said, “Oh, my good +man, we have overslept ourselves; it is <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb235" href="#pb235" name="pb235">235</a>]</span>now near morning and +I much fear it is now too late to set the pots on fire.” Hastily +unbolting the door of her cottage, she rushed out to the place where +the pots were ranged in rows. She could scarcely believe her eyes when +she saw that all the pots had been baked and were looking bright red, +though neither she nor her husband had applied any fire to them. +Wondering at her good luck, and not knowing what to make of it, she ran +to her husband and said, “Just come and see!” The potter +came, saw, and wondered. The pots had never before been so well baked. +Who could have done this? This could have proceeded only from some god +or goddess. Fumbling about the pots, he accidentally upturned one in +which, lo and behold, were seen huddled up together two newly born +infants of unearthly beauty. The potter said to his wife, “My +dear, you must pretend to have given birth to these beautiful +children.” Accordingly all arrangements were made, and in due +time it was given out that the twins had been born to her. And such +lovely twins they were! On the same day many women of the neighbourhood +came to see the potter’s wife and the twins to which she had +given birth, and to offer their congratulations on this unexpected good +fortune. As for the potter’s wife, she could not be too proud of +her pretended children, and said to her admiring friends, “I had +hardly hoped to have children at all. But now that the gods have given +me these twins, may they receive the blessings of you all, and live for +ever!” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb236" href="#pb236" name= +"pb236">236</a>]</span></p> +<p>The twins grew and were strengthened. The brother and sister, when +they played about in the fields and lanes, were the admiration of every +one who saw them; and all wondered at the uncommonly good luck of the +potter in being blessed with such angelic children. They were about +twelve years old when the potter, their reputed father, became +dangerously ill. It was evident to all that his sickness would end in +death. The potter, perceiving his last end approaching, said to his +wife, “My dear, I am going the way of all the earth; but I am +leaving to you enough to live upon; live on and take care of these +children.” The woman said to her husband, “I am not going +to survive you. Like all good and faithful wives, I am determined to +die along with you. You and I will burn together on the same funeral +pyre. As for the children, they are old enough to take care of +themselves, and you are leaving them enough money.” Her friends +tried to dissuade her from her purpose, but in vain. The potter died; +and as his remains were being burnt, his wife, now a widow, threw +herself on the pyre, and burnt herself to death.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e3073width" id="p237"><img src="images/p237.jpg" +alt= +"“A bright light, like that of the moon, was seen shining on his forehead”" +width="508" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“A bright light, like that of the moon, was +seen shining on his forehead”</p> +</div> +<p>The boy with the moon on his forehead—by the way, he always +kept his head covered with a turban lest the halo should attract +notice—and his sister, now broke up the potter’s +establishment, sold the wheel and the pots and pans, and went to the +bazaar in the king’s city. The moment they entered, the bazaar +was lit up on a sudden. The shopkeepers of the bazaar were greatly +surprised. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb237" href="#pb237" name= +"pb237">237</a>]</span>They thought some divine beings must have +entered the place. They looked upon the beautiful boy and his sister +with wonder. They begged of them to stay in the bazaar. They built a +house for them. When they used to ramble about, they were always +followed at a distance by the woman clothed in leather, who was +appointed by the king to drive away the crows of the bazaar. By some +unaccountable impulse she used also to hang about the house in which +they lived. The boy in a short time bought a horse, and went a-hunting +in the neighbouring forests. One day while he was hunting, the king was +also hunting in the same forest, and seeing a brother huntsman the king +drew near to him. The king was struck with the beauty of the lad and a +yearning for him the moment he saw him. As a deer went past, the youth +shot an arrow, and the reaction of the force necessary to shoot the +arrow made the turban of his head fall off, on which a bright light, +like that of the moon, was seen shining on his forehead. The king saw, +and immediately thought of the son with the moon on his forehead and +stars on the palms of his hands who was to have been born of his +seventh queen. The youth on letting fly the arrow galloped off, in +spite of the earnest entreaty of the king to wait and speak to him. The +king went home a sadder man than he came out of it. He became very +moody and melancholy. The six queens asked him why he was looking so +sad. He told them that he had seen in the woods a lad with the moon on +his <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb238" href="#pb238" name= +"pb238">238</a>]</span>forehead, which reminded him of the son who was +to be born of the seventh queen. The six queens tried to comfort him in +the best way they could; but they wondered who the youth could be. Was +it possible that the twins were living? Did not the midwife say that +she had burnt both the son and the daughter to ashes? Who, then, could +this lad be? The midwife was sent for by the six queens and questioned. +She swore that she had seen the twins burnt. As for the lad whom the +king had met with, she would soon find out who he was. On making +inquiries, the midwife soon found out that two strangers were living in +the bazaar in a house which the shopkeepers had built for them. She +entered the house and saw the girl only, as the lad had again gone out +a-shooting. She pretended to be their aunt, who had gone away to +another part of the country shortly after their birth; she had been +searching after them for a long time, and was now glad to find them in +the king’s city near the palace. She greatly admired the beauty +of the girl, and said to her, “My dear child, you are so +beautiful, you require the <i>kataki</i><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e3085src" href="#xd19e3085" name="xd19e3085src">1</a> flower +properly to set off your beauty. You should tell your brother to plant +a row of that flower in this courtyard.” “What flower is +that, auntie? I never saw it.” “How could you have seen it, +my child? It is not found here; it grows on the other side of the +ocean, guarded by seven hundred Rakshasas.” “How, +then,” said the girl, “will <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb239" href="#pb239" name="pb239">239</a>]</span>my brother get +it?” “He may try to get it, if you speak to him,” +replied the woman. The woman made this proposal in the hope that the +boy with the moon on his forehead would perish in the attempt to get +the flower.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e3092width" id="p238"><img src="images/p238.jpg" +alt="“The six queens tried to comfort him”" width="720" +height="505"> +<p class="figureHead">“The six queens tried to comfort +him”</p> +</div> +<p>When the youth with the moon on his forehead returned from hunting, +his sister told him of the visit paid to her by their aunt, and +requested him, if possible, to get for her the <i>kataki</i> flower. He +was sceptical about the existence of any aunt of theirs in the world, +but he was resolved that, to please his beloved sister, he would get +the flower on which she had set her heart. Next morning, accordingly, +he started on his journey, after bidding his sister not to stir out of +the house till his return. He rode on his fleet steed, which was of the +<i>pakshiraj</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e3103src" href="#xd19e3103" +name="xd19e3103src">2</a> tribe, and soon reached the outskirts of what +seemed to him dense forests of interminable length. He descried some +Rakshasas prowling about. He went to some distance, shot with his +arrows some deer and rhinoceroses in the neighbouring thickets, and, +approaching the place where the Rakshasas were prowling about, called +out, “O auntie dear, O auntie dear, your nephew is here.” A +huge Rakshasi came towards him and said, “O, you are the youth +with the moon on your forehead and stars on the palms of your hands. We +were all expecting you, but as you have called me aunt, I will not eat +you up. What is it you want? Have you brought any eatables <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb240" href="#pb240" name="pb240">240</a>]</span>for +me?” The youth gave her the deer and rhinoceroses which he had +killed. Her mouth watered at the sight of the dead animals, and she +began eating them. After swallowing down all the carcases, she said, +“Well, what do you want?” The youth said, “I want +some <i>kataki</i> flowers for my sister.” She then told him that +it would be difficult for him to get the flower, as it was guarded by +seven hundred Rakshasas; however, he might make the attempt, but in the +first instance he must go to his uncle on the north side of that +forest. While the youth was going to his uncle of the north, on the way +he killed some deer and rhinoceroses, and seeing a gigantic Rakshasa at +some distance, cried out, “Uncle dear, uncle dear, your nephew is +here. Auntie has sent me to you.” The Rakshasa came near and +said, “You are the youth with the moon on your forehead and stars +on the palms of your hands; I would have swallowed you outright, had +you not called me uncle, and had you not said that your aunt had sent +you to me. Now, what is it you want?” The savoury deer and +rhinoceroses were then presented to him; he ate them all, and then +listened to the petition of the youth. The youth wanted the +<i>kataki</i> flower. The Rakshasa said, “You want the +<i>kataki</i> flower! Very well, try and get it if you can. After +passing through this forest, you will come to an impenetrable forest of +<i>kachiri</i>.<a class="noteref" id="xd19e3124src" href="#xd19e3124" +name="xd19e3124src">3</a> You will say to that forest, ‘O mother +<i>kachiri</i>! please make way for me, or else I die.’ +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb241" href="#pb241" name= +"pb241">241</a>]</span>On that the forest will open up a passage for +you. You will next come to the ocean. You will say to the ocean, +‘O mother ocean! please make way for me, or else I die,’ +and the ocean will make way for you. After crossing the ocean, you +enter the gardens where the <i>kataki</i> blooms. Good-bye; do as I +have told you.” The youth thanked his Rakshasa-uncle, and went on +his way. After he had passed through the forest, he saw before him an +impenetrable forest of <i>kachiri</i>. It was so close and thick, and +withal so bristling with thorns, that not a mouse could go through it. +Remembering the advice of his uncle, he stood before the forest with +folded hands, and said, “O mother <i>kachiri!</i> please make way +for me, or else I die.” On a sudden a clean path was opened up in +the forest, and the youth gladly passed through it. The ocean now lay +before him. He said to the ocean, “O mother ocean! make way for +me, or else I die.” Forthwith the waters of the ocean stood up on +two sides like two walls, leaving an open passage between them, and the +youth passed through dryshod.</p> +<p>Now, right before him were the gardens of the <i>kataki</i> flower. +He entered the inclosure, and found himself in a spacious palace which +seemed to be unoccupied. On going from apartment to apartment he found +a young lady of more than earthly beauty sleeping on a bedstead of +gold. He went near, and noticed two little sticks, one of gold and the +other of silver, lying in the bedstead. The silver stick lay near the +feet of the sleeping beauty, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb242" href= +"#pb242" name="pb242">242</a>]</span>and the golden one near the head. +He took up the sticks in his hands, and as he was examining them, the +golden stick accidentally fell upon the feet of the lady. In a moment +the lady woke and sat up, and said to the youth, “Stranger, how +have you come to this dismal place? I know who you are, and I know your +history. You are the youth with the moon on your forehead and stars on +the palms of your hands. Flee, flee from this place! This is the +residence of seven hundred Rakshasas who guard the gardens of the +<i>kataki</i> flower. They have all gone a-hunting; they will return by +sundown; and if they find you here you will be eaten up. One Rakshasi +brought me from the earth where my father is king. She loves me very +dearly, and will not let me go away. By means of these gold and silver +sticks she kills me when she goes away in the morning, and by means of +those sticks she revives me when she returns in the evening. Flee, flee +hence, or you die!” The youth told the young lady how his sister +wished very much to have the <i>kataki</i> flower, how he passed +through the forest of <i>kachiri</i>, and how he crossed the ocean. He +said also that he was determined not to go alone, he must take the +young lady along with him. The remaining part of the day they spent +together in rambling about the gardens. As the time was drawing near +when the Rakshasas should return, the youth buried himself amid an +enormous heap of <i>kataki</i> flower which lay in an adjoining +apartment, after killing the young lady by touching her head with the +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb243" href="#pb243" name= +"pb243">243</a>]</span>golden stick. Just after sunset the youth heard +the sound as of a mighty tempest: it was the return of the seven +hundred Rakshasas into the gardens. One of them entered the apartment +of the young lady, revived her, and said, “I smell a human being, +I smell a human being.” The young lady replied, “How can a +human being come to this place? I am the only human being here.” +The Rakshasi then stretched herself on the floor, and told the young +lady to shampoo her legs. As she was going on shampooing, she let fall +a tear-drop on the Rakshasi’s leg. “Why are you weeping, my +dear child?” asked the raw-eater; “why are you weeping? Is +anything troubling you?” “No, mamma,” answered the +young lady, “nothing is troubling me. What can trouble me, when +you have made me so comfortable? I was only thinking what will become +of me when you die.” “When I die, child?” said the +Rakshasi; “shall I die? Yes, of course all creatures die; but the +death of a Rakshasa or Rakshasi will never happen. You know, child, +that deep tank in the middle part of these gardens. Well, at the bottom +of that tank there is a wooden box, in which there are a male and a +female bee. It is ordained by fate that if a human being who has the +moon on his forehead and stars on the palms of his hands were to come +here and dive into that tank, and get hold of the same wooden box, and +crush to death the male and female bees without letting a drop of their +blood fall to the ground, then we should die. But the accomplishment of +this decree of fate is, I <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb244" href= +"#pb244" name="pb244">244</a>]</span>think, impossible. For, in the +first place, there can be no such human being who will have the moon on +his forehead and stars on the palms of his hands; and, in the second +place, if there be such a man, he will find it impossible to come to +this place, guarded as it is by seven hundred of us, encompassed by a +deep ocean, and barricaded by an impervious forest of +<i>kachiri</i>—not to speak of the outposts and sentinels that +are stationed on the other side of the forest. And then, even if he +succeeds in coming here, he will perhaps not know the secret of the +wooden box; and even if he knows of the secret of the wooden box, he +may not succeed in killing the bees without letting a drop of their +blood fall on the ground. And woe be to him if a drop does fall on the +ground, for in that case he will be torn up into seven hundred pieces +by us. You see then, child, that we are almost immortal—not +actually, but virtually so. You may, therefore, dismiss your +fears.”</p> +<p>On the next morning the Rakshasi got up, killed the young lady by +means of the sticks, and went away in search of food along with other +Rakshasas and Rakshasis. The lad, who had the moon on his forehead and +stars on the palms of his hands, came out of the heap of flowers and +revived the young lady. The young lady recited to the young man the +whole of the conversation she had had with the Rakshasi. It was a +perfect revelation to him. He, however, lost no time in beginning to +act. He shut the heavy gates of the gardens. He dived into the tank and +brought <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb245" href="#pb245" name= +"pb245">245</a>]</span>up the wooden box. He opened the wooden box, and +caught hold of the male and female bees as they were about to escape. +He crushed them on the palms of his hands, besmearing his body with +every drop of their blood. The moment this was done, loud cries and +groans were heard around about the inclosure of the gardens. Agreeably +to the decree of fate all the Rakshasas approached the gardens and fell +down dead. The youth with the moon on his forehead took as many +<i>kataki</i> flowers as he could, together with their seeds, and left +the palace, around which were lying in mountain heaps the carcases of +the mighty dead, in company with the young and beautiful lady. The +waters of the ocean retreated before the youth as before, and the +forest of <i>kachiri</i> also opened up a passage through it; and the +happy couple reached the house in the bazaar, where they were welcomed +by the sister of the youth who had the moon on his forehead.</p> +<p>On the following morning the youth, as usual, went to hunt. The king +was also there. A deer passed by, and the youth shot an arrow. As he +shot, the turban as usual fell off his head, and a bright light issued +from it. The king saw and wondered. He told the youth to stop, as he +wished to contract friendship with him. The youth told him to come to +his house, and gave him his address. The king went to the house of the +youth in the middle of the day. Pushpavati—for that was the name +of the young lady that had been brought from beyond the +ocean—told the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb246" href="#pb246" +name="pb246">246</a>]</span>king—for she knew the whole +history—how his seventh queen had been persuaded by the other six +queens to ring the bell twice before her time, how she was delivered of +a beautiful boy and girl, how pups were substituted in their room, how +the twins were saved in a miraculous manner in the house of the potter, +how they were well treated in the bazaar, and how the youth with the +moon on his forehead rescued her from the clutches of the Rakshasas. +The king, mightily incensed with the six queens, had them, on the +following day, buried alive in the ground. The seventh queen was then +brought from the market-place and reinstated in her position; and the +youth with the moon on his forehead, and the lovely Pushpavati and +their sister, lived happily together.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb247" href="#pb247" name= +"pb247">247</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e3085" href="#xd19e3085src" name="xd19e3085">1</a></span> +<i>Calotropis gigantea.</i></p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e3103" href="#xd19e3103src" name="xd19e3103">2</a></span> +Literally the <i>king of birds</i>, a fabulous species of horse +remarkable for their swiftness.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e3124" href="#xd19e3124src" name="xd19e3124">3</a></span> <i>Arum +fornicatum.</i></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch20" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">XX</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Ghost who was Afraid of being Bagged</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Once on a time there lived a barber who had a wife. +They did not live happily together, as the wife always complained that +she had not enough to eat. Many were the curtain lectures which were +inflicted upon the poor barber. The wife used often to say to her mate, +“If you had not the means to support a wife, why did you marry +me? People who have not means ought not to indulge in the luxury of a +wife. When I was in my father’s house I had plenty to eat, but it +seems that I have come to your house to fast. Widows only fast; I have +become a widow in your life-time.” She was not content with mere +words; she got very angry one day and struck her husband with the +broomstick of the house. Stung with shame, and abhorring himself on +account of his wife’s reproach and beating, he left his house, +with the implements of his craft, and vowed never to return and see his +wife’s face again till he had become rich. He went from village +to village, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb248" href="#pb248" name= +"pb248">248</a>]</span>and towards nightfall came to the outskirts of a +forest. He laid himself down at the foot of a tree, and spent many a +sad hour in bemoaning his hard lot.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e3200width" id="p248"><img src="images/p248.jpg" +alt= +"“‘Now, barber, I am going to destroy you. Who will protect you?’”" +width="508" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“‘Now, barber, I am going to destroy +you. Who will protect you?’”</p> +</div> +<p>It so chanced that the tree, at the foot of which the barber was +lying down, was dwelt in by a ghost. The ghost seeing a human being at +the foot of the tree naturally thought of destroying him. With this +intention the ghost alighted from the tree, and, with outspread arms +and a gaping mouth, stood like a tall palmyra tree before the barber, +and said, “Now, barber, I am going to destroy you. Who will +protect you?” The barber, though quaking in every limb through +fear, and his hair standing erect, did not lose his presence of mind, +but, with that promptitude and shrewdness which are characteristic of +his fraternity, replied, “O spirit, you will destroy me! wait a +bit and I’ll show you how many ghosts I have captured this very +night and put into my bag; and right glad am I to find you here, as I +shall have one more ghost in my bag.” So saying the barber +produced from his bag a small looking-glass, which he always carried +about with him along with his razors, his whet-stone, his strop and +other utensils, to enable his customers to see whether their beards had +been well shaved or not. He stood up, placed the looking-glass right +against the face of the ghost, and said, “Here you see one ghost +which I have seized and bagged; I am going to put you also in the bag +to keep this ghost company.” The ghost, seeing his own face in +the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb249" href="#pb249" name= +"pb249">249</a>]</span>looking-glass, was convinced of the truth of +what the barber had said, and was filled with fear. He said to the +barber, “O, sir barber, I’ll do whatever you bid me, only +do not put me into your bag. I’ll give you whatever you +want.” The barber said, “You ghosts are a faithless set, +there is no trusting you. You will promise, and not give what you +promise.” “O, sir,” replied the ghost, “be +merciful to me; I’ll bring to you whatever you order; and if I do +not bring it, then put me into your bag.” “Very +well,” said the barber, “bring me just now one thousand +gold mohurs; and by to-morrow night you must raise a granary in my +house, and fill it with paddy. Go and get the gold mohurs immediately: +and if you fail to do my bidding you will certainly be put into my +bag.” The ghost gladly consented to the conditions. He went away, +and in the course of a short time returned with a bag containing a +thousand gold mohurs. The barber was delighted beyond measure at the +sight of the gold mohurs. He then told the ghost to see to it that by +the following night a granary was erected in his house and filled with +paddy.</p> +<p>It was during the small hours of the morning that the barber, loaded +with the heavy treasure, knocked at the door of his house. His wife, +who reproached herself for having in a fit of rage struck her husband +with a broomstick, got out of bed and unbolted the door. Her surprise +was great when she saw her husband pour out of the bag a glittering +heap of gold mohurs. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb250" href="#pb250" +name="pb250">250</a>]</span></p> +<p>The next night the poor devil, through fear of being bagged, raised +a large granary in the barber’s house, and spent the live-long +night in carrying on his back large packages of paddy till the granary +was filled up to the brim. The uncle of this terrified ghost, seeing +his worthy nephew carrying on his back loads of paddy, asked what the +matter was. The ghost related what had happened. The uncle-ghost then +said, “You fool, you think the barber can bag you! The barber is +a cunning fellow; he has cheated you, like a simpleton as you +are.” “You doubt,” said the nephew-ghost, “the +power of the barber! come and see.” The uncle-ghost then went to +the barber’s house, and peeped into it through a window. The +barber, perceiving from the blast of wind which the arrival of the +ghost had produced that a ghost was at the window, placed full before +it the self-same looking-glass, saying, “Come now, I’ll put +you also into the bag.” The uncle-ghost, seeing his own face in +the looking-glass, got quite frightened, and promised that very night +to raise another granary and to fill it, not this time with paddy, but +with rice. So in two nights the barber became a rich man, and lived +happily with his wife begetting sons and daughters.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb251" href="#pb251" name= +"pb251">251</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch21" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">XXI</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Field of Bones</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Once on a time there lived a king who had a son. The +young prince had three friends, the son of the prime minister, the son +of the prefect of the police, and the son of the richest merchant of +the city. These four friends had great love for one another. Once on a +time they bethought themselves of seeing distant lands. They +accordingly set out one day, each one riding on a horse. They rode on +and on, till about noon they came to the outskirts of what seemed to be +a dense forest. There they rested a while, tying to the trees their +horses, which began to browse. When they had refreshed themselves, they +again mounted their horses and resumed their journey. At sunset they +saw in the depths of the forest a temple, near which they dismounted, +wishing to lodge there that night. Inside the temple there was a +<i>sannyasi</i>,<a class="noteref" id="xd19e3229src" href="#xd19e3229" +name="xd19e3229src">1</a> apparently absorbed in meditation, as he did +not notice the four friends. When darkness covered the forest, a light +was seen inside the temple. The four friends <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb252" href="#pb252" name= +"pb252">252</a>]</span>resolved to pass the night on the balcony of the +temple; and as the forest was infested with many wild beasts, they +deemed it safe that each of them should watch one +<i>prahara</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e3236src" href="#xd19e3236" +name="xd19e3236src">2</a> of the night, while the rest should sleep. It +fell to the lot of the merchant’s son to watch during the first +<i>prahara</i>, that is to say, from six in the evening to nine +o’clock at night. Towards the end of his watch the +merchant’s son saw a wonderful sight. The hermit took up a bone +with his hand, and repeated over it some words which the +merchant’s son distinctly heard. The moment the words were +uttered, a clattering sound was heard in the precincts of the temple, +and the merchant’s son saw many bones moving from different parts +of the forest. The bones collected themselves inside the temple, at the +foot of the hermit, and lay there in a heap. As soon as this took +place, the watch of the merchant’s son came to an end; and, +rousing the son of the prefect of the police, he laid himself down to +sleep.</p> +<p>The prefect’s son, when he began his watch, saw the hermit +sitting cross-legged, wrapped in meditation, near a heap of bones, the +history of which he, of course, did not know. For a long time nothing +happened. The dead stillness of the night was broken only by the howl +of the hyæna and the wolf, and the growl of the tiger. When his +time was nearly up he saw a wonderful sight. The hermit looked at the +heap of bones lying before him, and uttered some words which the +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb253" href="#pb253" name= +"pb253">253</a>]</span>prefect’s son distinctly heard. No sooner +had the words been uttered than a noise was heard among the bones, +“and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to its +bone”; and the bones which were erewhile lying together in a heap +now took the form of a skeleton. Struck with wonder, the +prefect’s son would have watched longer, but his time was over. +He therefore laid himself down to sleep, after rousing the +minister’s son, to whom, however, he told nothing of what he had +seen, as the merchant’s son had not told him anything of what he +had seen.</p> +<p>The minister’s son got up, rubbed his eyes, and began +watching. It was the dead hour of midnight, when ghosts, hobgoblins, +and spirits of every name and description, go roaming over the wide +world, and when all creation, both animate and inanimate, is in deep +repose. Even the howl of the wolf and the hyæna and the growl of +the tiger had ceased. The minister’s son looked towards the +temple, and saw the hermit sitting wrapt up in meditation; and near him +lying something which seemed to be the skeleton of some animal. He +looked towards the dense forest and the darkness all around, and his +hair stood on end through terror. In this state of fear and trembling +he spent nearly three hours, when an uncommon sight in the temple +attracted his notice. The hermit, looking at the skeleton before him, +uttered some words which the minister’s son distinctly heard. As +soon as the words were uttered, “lo, the sinews and the flesh +came up upon the bones, and the skin <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb254" href="#pb254" name="pb254">254</a>]</span>covered them +above”; but there was no breath in the skeleton. Astonished at +the sight, the minister’s son would have sat up longer, but his +time was up. He therefore laid himself down to sleep, after having +roused the king’s son, to whom, however, he said nothing of what +he had seen and heard.</p> +<p>The king’s son, when he began his watch, saw the hermit +sitting, completely absorbed in devotion, near a figure which looked +like some animal, but he was not a little surprised to see the animal +lying apparently lifeless, without showing any of the symptoms of life. +The prince spent his hours agreeably enough, especially as he had had a +long sleep, and as he felt none of that depression which the dead hour +of midnight sheds on the spirits; and he amused himself with marking +how the shades of darkness were becoming thinner and paler every +moment. But just as he noticed a red streak in the east, he heard a +sound from inside the temple. He turned his eyes towards the hermit. +The hermit, looking towards the inanimate figure of the animal lying +before him, uttered some words which the prince distinctly heard. The +moment the words were spoken, “breath came into the animal; it +lived, it stood up upon its feet”; and quickly rushed out of the +temple into the forest. That moment the crows cawed; the watch of the +prince came to an end; his three companions were roused; and after a +short time they mounted their horses, and resumed their journey, each +one thinking of the strange sight seen in the temple. <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb255" href="#pb255" name="pb255">255</a>]</span></p> +<p>They rode on and on through the dense and interminable forest, and +hardly spoke to one another, till about mid-day they halted under a +tree near a pool for refreshment. After they had refreshed themselves +with eating some fruits of the forest and drinking water from the pool, +the prince said to his three companions, “Friends, did you not +see something in the temple of the devotee? I’ll tell you what I +saw, but first let me hear what you all saw. Let the merchant’s +son first tell us what he saw as he had the first watch; and the others +will follow in order.”</p> +<p><i>Merchant’s son.</i> I’ll tell you what I saw. I saw +the hermit take up a bone in his hand, and repeat some words which I +well remember. The moment those words were uttered, a clattering sound +was heard in the precincts of the temple, and I saw many bones running +into the temple from different directions. The bones collected +themselves together inside the temple at the feet of the hermit, and +lay there in a heap. I would have gladly remained longer to see the +end, but my time was up, and I had to rouse my friend, the son of the +prefect of the police.</p> +<p><i>Prefect’s son.</i> Friends, this is what I saw. The hermit +looked at the heap of bones lying before him, and uttered some words +which I well remember. No sooner had the words been uttered than I +heard a noise among the bones, and, strange to say, the bones jumped +up, each bone joined itself to its fellow, and the heap became a +perfect skeleton. At that moment my watch came to an end, and I +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb256" href="#pb256" name= +"pb256">256</a>]</span>had to rouse my respected friend the +minister’s son.</p> +<p><i>Minister’s son.</i> Well, when I began my watch I saw the +said skeleton lying near the hermit. After three mortal hours, during +which I was in great fear, I saw the hermit lift his eyes towards the +skeleton and utter some words which I well remember. As soon as the +words were uttered the skeleton was covered with flesh and hair, but it +did not show any symptom of life, as it lay motionless. Just then my +watch ended, and I had to rouse my royal friend the prince.</p> +<p><i>King’s son.</i> Friends, from what you yourselves saw, you +can guess what I saw. I saw the hermit turn towards the skeleton +covered with skin and hair, and repeat some words which I well +remember. The moment the words were uttered, the skeleton stood up on +its feet, and it looked a fine and lusty deer, and while I was admiring +its beauty, it skipped out of the temple, and ran into the forest. That +moment the crows cawed.</p> +<p>The four friends, after hearing one another’s story, +congratulated themselves on the possession of supernatural power, and +they did not doubt but that if they pronounced the words which they had +heard the hermit utter, the utterance would be followed by the same +results. But they resolved to verify their power by an actual +experiment. Near the foot of the tree they found a bone lying on the +ground, and they accordingly resolved to experiment upon it. The +merchant’s son took up the bone, and repeated over it the formula +he had <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb257" href="#pb257" name= +"pb257">257</a>]</span>heard from the hermit. Wonderful to relate, a +hundred bones immediately came rushing from different directions, and +lay in a heap at the foot of the tree. The son of the prefect of the +police then looking upon the heap of bones, repeated the formula which +he had heard from the hermit, and forthwith there was a shaking among +the bones; the several bones joined themselves together, and formed +themselves into a skeleton, and it was the skeleton of a quadruped. The +minister’s son then drew near the skeleton, and, looking intently +upon it, pronounced over it the formula which he had heard from the +hermit. The skeleton immediately was covered with flesh, skin, and +hair, and, horrible to relate, the animal proved itself to be a royal +tiger of the largest size. The four friends were filled with +consternation. If the king’s son were, by the repetition of the +formula he had heard from the hermit, to make the beast alive, it might +prove fatal to them all. The three friends, therefore, tried to +dissuade the prince from giving life to the tiger. But the prince would +not comply with the request. He naturally said, “The +<i>mantras</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e3280src" href="#xd19e3280" +name="xd19e3280src">3</a> which you have learned have been proved true +and efficacious. But how shall I know that the <i>mantra</i> which I +have learned is equally efficacious? I must have my <i>mantra</i> +verified. Nor is it certain that we shall lose our lives by the +experiment. Here is this high tree. You can climb into its topmost +branches, and I shall also follow you thither after pronouncing the +<i>mantra</i>.” In vain <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb258" +href="#pb258" name="pb258">258</a>]</span>did the three friends dwell +upon the extreme danger attending the experiment: the prince remained +inexorable. The minister’s son, the prefect’s son, and the +merchant’s son climbed up into the topmost branches of the tree, +while the king’s son went up to the middle of the tree. From +there, looking intently upon the lifeless tiger, he pronounced the +words which he had learned from the hermit, and quickly ran up the +tree. In the twinkling of an eye the tiger stood upright, gave out a +terrible growl, with a tremendous spring killed all the four horses +which were browsing at a little distance, and, dragging one of them, +rushed towards the densest part of the forest. The four friends +ensconced on the branches of the tree were almost petrified with fear +at the sight of the terrible tiger; but the danger was now over. The +tiger went off at a great distance from them, and from its growl they +judged that it must be at least two miles distance from them. After a +little they came down from the tree; and as they now had no horses on +which to ride, they walked on foot through the forest, till, coming to +its end, they reached the shore of the sea. They sat on the sea-shore +hoping to see some ship sailing by. They had not sat long, when +fortunately they descried a vessel in the offing. They waved their +handkerchiefs, and made all sorts of signs to attract the notice of the +people on board the ship. The captain and the crew noticed the men on +the shore. They came towards the shore, took the men upon board, but +added that as they were short of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb259" +href="#pb259" name="pb259">259</a>]</span>provisions they could not +have them a long time on board, but would put them ashore at the first +port they came to. After four or five days’ voyage, they saw not +far from the shore high buildings and turrets, and supposing the place +to be a large city, the four friends landed there.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e3298width" id="p259"><img src="images/p259.jpg" +alt="“They approached a magnificent pile of buildings”" +width="495" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“They approached a magnificent pile of +buildings”</p> +</div> +<p>The four friends, immediately after landing, walked along a long +avenue of stately trees, at the end of which was a bazaar. There were +hundreds of shops in the bazaar, but not a single human being in them. +There were sweetmeat shops in which there were heaps of confectioneries +ranged in regular rows, but no human beings to sell them. There was the +blacksmith’s shop, there was the anvil, there were the bellows +and the other tools of the smithy, but there was no smith there. There +were stalls in which there were heaps of faded and dried vegetables, +but no men or women to sell them. The streets were all deserted, no +human beings, no cattle were to be seen there. There were carts, but no +bullocks; there were carriages, but no horses. The doors and windows of +the houses of the city on both sides of the streets were all open, but +no human being was visible in them. It seemed to be a deserted city. It +seemed to be a city of the dead—and all the dead taken out and +buried. The four friends were astonished—they were frightened at +the sight. As they went on, they approached a magnificent pile of +buildings, which seemed to be the palace of a king. They went to the +gate and to the porter’s lodge. They saw shields, swords, spears, +and other weapons suspended <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb260" href= +"#pb260" name="pb260">260</a>]</span>in the lodge, but no porters. They +entered the premises, but saw no guards, no human beings. They went to +the stables, saw the troughs, grain, and grass lying about in +profusion, but no horses. They went inside the palace, passed the long +corridors—still no human being was visible. They went through six +long courts—still no human being. They entered the seventh court, +and there and then, for the first time, did they see living human +beings. They saw coming towards them four princesses of matchless +beauty. Each of these four princesses caught hold of the arm of each of +the four friends; and each princess called each man whom she had caught +hold of her husband. The princesses said that they had been long +waiting for the four friends, and expressed great joy at their arrival. +The princesses took the four friends into the innermost apartments, and +gave them a sumptuous feast. There were no servants attending them, the +princesses themselves bringing in the provisions and setting them +before the four friends. At the outset the four princesses told the +four friends that no questions were to be asked about the depopulation +of the city. After this, each princess went into her private apartment +along with her newly-found husband. Shortly after the prince and +princess had retired into their private apartment, the princess began +to shed tears. On the prince inquiring into the cause, the princess +said, “O prince! I pity you very much. You seem, by your bearing, +to be the son of a king, and you have, no doubt, the heart of a +king’s <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb261" href="#pb261" name= +"pb261">261</a>]</span>son; I will therefore tell you my whole story, +and the story of my three companions who look like princesses. I am the +daughter of a king, whose palace this is, and those three creatures, +who are dressed like princesses, and who have called your three friends +their husbands, are Rakshasis. They came to this city some time ago; +they ate up my father, the king, my mother, the queen, my brothers, my +sisters, of whom I had a large number. They ate up the king’s +ministers and servants. They ate up gradually all the people of the +city, all my father’s horses and elephants, and all the cattle of +the city. You must have noticed, as you came to the palace, that there +are no human beings, no cattle, no living thing in this city. They have +all been eaten up by those three Rakshasis. They have spared me +alone—and that, I suppose, only for a time. When the Rakshasis +saw you and your friends from a distance, they were very glad, as they +mean to eat you all up after a short time.”</p> +<p><i>King’s son.</i> But if this is the case, how do I know that +you are not a Rakshasi yourself? Perhaps you mean to swallow me up by +throwing me off my guard.</p> +<p><i>Princess.</i> I’ll mention one fact which proves that those +three creatures are Rakshasis, while I am not. Rakshasis, you know, eat +food a hundred times larger in quantity than men or women. What the +Rakshasis eat at table along with us is not sufficient to appease their +hunger. They therefore go out at night to distant lands in search +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb262" href="#pb262" name= +"pb262">262</a>]</span>of men or cattle, as there are none in this +city. If you ask your friends to watch and see whether their wives +remain all night in their beds, they will find they go out and stay +away a good part of the night, whereas you will find me the whole night +with you. But please see that the Rakshasis do not get the slightest +inkling of all this; for if they hear of it, they will kill me in the +first instance, and afterwards swallow you all up.</p> +<p>The next day the king’s son called together the +minister’s son, the prefect’s son, and the merchant’s +son, and held a consultation, enjoining the strictest secrecy on all. +He told them what he had heard from the princess, and requested them to +lie awake in their beds to watch whether their pretended princesses +went out at night or not. One presumptive argument in favour of the +assertion of the princess was that all the pretended princesses were +fast asleep during the whole of the day in consequence of their nightly +wanderings, whereas the female friend of the king’s son did not +sleep at all during the day. The three friends accordingly lay in their +beds at night pretending to be asleep and manifesting all the symptoms +of deep sleep. Each one observed that his female friend at a certain +hour, thinking her mate to be in deep sleep, left the room, stayed away +the whole night, and returned to her bed only at dawn. During the +following day each female friend slept out nearly the whole day, and +woke up only in the afternoon. For two nights and days the three +friends observed this. The king’s son also <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb263" href="#pb263" name= +"pb263">263</a>]</span>remained awake at night pretending to be asleep, +but the princess was not observed for a single moment to leave the +room, nor was she observed to sleep in the day. From these +circumstances the friends of the king’s son began to suspect that +their partners were really Rakshasis as the princess said they +were.</p> +<p>By way of confirmation the princess also told the king’s son, +that the Rakshasis, after eating the flesh of men and animals, threw +the bones towards the north of the city, where there was an immense +collection of them. The king’s son and his three friends went one +day towards that part of the city, and sure enough they saw there +immense heaps of the bones of men and animals piled up into hills. From +this they became more and more convinced that the three women were +Rakshasis in deed and truth.</p> +<p>The question now was how to run away from these devourers of men and +animals? There was one circumstance greatly in favour of the four +friends, and that was, that the three Rakshasis slept during nearly the +whole day; they had therefore the greater part of the day for the +maturing of their plans. The princess advised them to go towards the +sea-shore, and watch if any ships sailed that way. The four friends +accordingly used to go to the sea-shore looking for ships. They were +always accompanied by the princess, who took the precaution of carrying +with her in a bundle her most valuable jewels, pearls and precious +stones. It happened one day that they <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb264" href="#pb264" name="pb264">264</a>]</span>saw a ship passing at +a great distance from the shore. They made signs which attracted the +notice of the captain and crew. The ship came towards the land, and the +four friends and princess were, after much entreaty, taken up. The +princess exhorted the crew to row with all their might, for which she +promised them a handsome reward; for she knew that the Rakshasis would +awake in the afternoon, and immediately come after the ship; and they +would assuredly catch hold of the vessel and destroy all the crew and +passengers if it stood short of eighty miles from land, for the +Rakshasis had the power of distending their bodies to the length of ten +<i>Yojanas</i>.<a class="noteref" id="xd19e3331src" href="#xd19e3331" +name="xd19e3331src">4</a> The four friends and the princess cheered on +the crew, and the oarsmen rowed with all their might; and the ship, +favoured by the wind, shot over the deep like lightning. It was near +sun-down when a terrible yell was heard on the shore. The Rakshasis had +wakened from their sleep, and not finding either the four friends or +the princess, naturally thought they had got hold of a ship and were +escaping. They therefore ran along the shore with lightning rapidity, +and seeing the ship afar off they distended their bodies. But +fortunately the vessel was more than eighty miles off land, though only +a trifle more: indeed, the ship was so dangerously near that the heads +of the Rakshasis with their widely-distended jaws almost touched its +stern. The words which the Rakshasis uttered in the hearing of the crew +and passengers were—“O sister, so <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb265" href="#pb265" name="pb265">265</a>]</span>you +are going to eat them all yourself alone.” The minister’s +son, the prefect’s son, and the merchant’s son had all +along a suspicion that the pretended princess, the prince’s +partner, might after all also be a Rakshasi; that suspicion was now +confirmed by what they heard the three Rakshasis say. Those words, +however, produced no effect in the mind of the king’s son, as +from his intimate acquaintance with the princess he could not possibly +take her to be a Rakshasi.</p> +<p>The captain told the four friends and princess that as he was bound +for distant regions in search of gold mines, he could not take them +along with him; he, therefore, proposed that on the next day he should +put them ashore near some port, especially as they were now safe from +the clutches of the Rakshasis. On the following day no port was visible +for a long time; towards the evening, however, they came near a port +where the four friends and the princess were landed. After walking some +distance, the princess, who had never been accustomed to take long +walks, complained of fatigue and hunger; they all therefore sat under a +tree, and the king’s son sent the merchant’s son to buy +some sweetmeats in the bazaar which they heard was not far off. The +merchant’s son did not return, as he was fully persuaded in his +mind that the king’s son’s partner was as real a Rakshasi +as the three others from whose clutches he had escaped. Seeing the +delay of the merchant’s son, the king’s son sent the +prefect’s son after him; but neither did he return, he being also +convinced that <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb266" href="#pb266" name= +"pb266">266</a>]</span>the pretended princess was a Rakshasi. The +minister’s son was next sent; but he also joined the other two. +The king’s son then himself went to the shop of the sweetmeat +seller where he met his three friends, who made him remain with them by +main force, earnestly declaring that the woman was no princess, but a +real Rakshasi like the other three. Thus the princess was deserted by +the four friends who returned to their own country, full of the +adventures they had met with.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e3344width" id="p266"><img src="images/p266.jpg" +alt="“Thus the princess was deserted”" width="506" height= +"720"> +<p class="figureHead">“Thus the princess was deserted”</p> +</div> +<p>In the meantime the princess walked to the bazaar and found shelter +for a few days in the house of a poor woman, after which she set out +for the city of the four friends, the name and whereabouts of which +city she had learnt from the king’s son. On arriving at the city, +she sold some of her costly ornaments, pearls and precious stones, and +hired a stately house for her residence with a suitable establishment. +She caused herself to be proclaimed as a heaven-born dice-player, and +challenged all the players in the city to play, the conditions of the +game being that if she lost it she would give the winner a +<i>lakh</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e3352src" href="#xd19e3352" name= +"xd19e3352src">5</a> of rupees, and if she won it she should get a +<i>lakh</i> from him who lost the game. She also got authority from the +king of the country to imprison in her own house any one who could not +pay her the stipulated sum of money. The merchant’s son, the +prefect’s son, and the minister’s son, who all looked upon +themselves as miraculous players, played with the princess, paid her +many <i>lakhs</i>, but being unable to <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb267" href="#pb267" name="pb267">267</a>]</span>pay her all the sums +they owed her, were imprisoned in her house. At last the king’s +son offered to play with her. The princess purposely allowed him to win +the first game, which emboldened him to play many times, in all of +which he was the loser; and being unable to pay the many <i>lakhs</i> +owing her, the prince was about to be dragged into the dungeon, when +the princess told him who she was. The merchant’s son, the +prefect’s son, and the minister’s son were brought out of +their cells; and the joy of the four friends knew no bounds. The king +and the queen received their daughter-in-law with open arms, and with +demonstrations of great festivity.</p> +<p>Every one in the palace was glad except the princess. She could not +forget that her parents, her brothers and sisters had been devoured by +the Rakshasis, and that their bones, along with the bones of her +father’s subjects, stood in mountain heaps on the north side of +the capital. The prince had told her that he and his three friends had +the power of giving life to bones. They could then reconstruct the +frames of her parents and other relatives; but the difficulty lay in +this—how to kill the three Rakshasis. Could not the hermit, who +taught them to give life, not teach also how to take away life? In all +likelihood he could. Reasoning in this manner, the four friends and the +princess went to the temple of the hermit in the forest, prayed to him +to give them the secret of destroying life from a distance by a charm. +The hermit became propitious, and granted the boon. <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb268" href="#pb268" name="pb268">268</a>]</span>A +deer was passing by at the moment. The hermit took a handful of water, +repeated over it some words which the king’s son distinctly +heard, and threw it upon the deer. The deer died in a moment. He +repeated other words over the dead animal, the deer jumped up and ran +away into the forest.</p> +<p>Armed with this killing charm, the king’s son, together with +the princess and the three friends, went to his father-in-law’s +capital. As they approached the city of death, the three Rakshasis ran +furiously towards them with open jaws. The king’s son spilled +charmed water upon them, and they died in an instant. They all then +went to the heaps of bones. The merchant’s son brought together +the proper bones of the bodies, the prefect’s son constructed +them into skeletons, the minister’s son clothed them with sinews, +flesh, and skin, and the king’s son gave them life. The princess +was entranced at the sight of the re-animation of her parents and other +relatives, and her eyes were filled with tears of joy. After a few days +which they spent in great festivity, they left the revivified city, +went to their own country, and lived many years in great happiness.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb269" href="#pb269" name= +"pb269">269</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e3229" href="#xd19e3229src" name="xd19e3229">1</a></span> +Religious devotee.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e3236" href="#xd19e3236src" name="xd19e3236">2</a></span> Eighth +part of twenty-four hours, that is, three hours.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e3280" href="#xd19e3280src" name="xd19e3280">3</a></span> Charm or +incantation.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e3331" href="#xd19e3331src" name="xd19e3331">4</a></span> A +<i>yojana</i> is nearly eight miles.</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id= +"xd19e3352" href="#xd19e3352src" name="xd19e3352">5</a></span> Ten +thousand pounds sterling.</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch22" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">XXII</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Bald Wife</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">A certain man had two wives, the younger of whom he +loved more than the elder. The younger wife had two tufts of hair on +her head, and the elder only one. The man went to a distant town for +merchandise; so the two wives lived together in the house. But they +hated each other: the younger one, who was her husband’s +favourite, ill-treated the other. She made her do all the menial work +in the house; rebuked her all day and night; and did not give her +enough to eat. One day the younger wife said to the elder, “Come +and take away all the lice from the hair of my head.” While the +elder wife was searching among the younger one’s hair for the +vermin, one lock of hair by chance gave way; on which the younger one, +mightily incensed, tore off the single tuft that was on the head of the +elder wife, and drove her away from the house. The elder wife, now +become completely bald, determined to go into the forest, and there +either die of starvation or be devoured by some wild beast. On her way +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb270" href="#pb270" name= +"pb270">270</a>]</span>she passed by a cotton plant. She stopped near +it, made for herself a broom with some sticks which lay about, and +swept clean the ground round about the plant. The plant was much +pleased, and gave her a blessing. She wended on her way, and now saw a +plantain tree. She swept the ground round about the plantain tree +which, being pleased with her, gave her a blessing. As she went on she +saw the shed of a Brahmani bull. As the shed was very dirty, she swept +the place clean, on which the bull, being much pleased, blessed her. +She next saw a <i>tulasi</i> plant, bowed herself down before it, and +cleaned the place round about, on which the plant gave her a blessing. +As she was going on in her journey she saw a hut made of branches of +trees and leaves, and near it a man sitting cross-legged, apparently +absorbed in meditation. She stood for a moment behind the venerable +<i>muni</i>. “Whoever you may be,” he said, “come +before me; do not stand behind me; if you do, I will reduce you to +ashes.” The woman, trembling with fear, stood before the +<i>muni</i>. “What is your petition?” asked the +<i>muni</i>. “Father Muni,” answered the woman, “thou +knowest how miserable I am, since thou art all-knowing. My husband does +not love me, and his other wife, having torn off the only tuft of hair +on my head, has driven me away from the house. Have pity upon me, +Father Muni!” The <i>muni</i>, continuing sitting, said, +“Go into the tank which you see yonder. Plunge into the water +only once, and then come to me again.” The woman went to the +tank, washed in it, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb271" href= +"#pb271" name="pb271">271</a>]</span>plunged into the water only once, +according to the bidding of the <i>muni</i>. When she got out of the +water, what a change was seen in her! Her head was full of jet black +hair, which was so long that it touched her heels; her complexion had +become perfectly fair; and she looked young and beautiful. Filled with +joy and gratitude, she went to the <i>muni</i>, and bowed herself to +the ground. The <i>muni</i> said to her, “Rise, woman. Go inside +the hut, and you will find a number of wicker baskets, and bring out +any you like.” The woman went into the hut, and selected a +modest-looking basket. The <i>muni</i> said, “Open the +basket.” She opened it, and found it filled with ingots of gold, +pearls and all sorts of precious stones. The <i>muni</i> said, +“Woman, take that basket with you. It will never get empty. When +you take away the present contents their room will be supplied by +another set, and that by another, and that by another, and the basket +will never become empty. Daughter, go in peace.” The woman bowed +herself down to the ground in profound but silent gratitude, and went +away.</p> +<div class="figure xd19e3423width" id="p271"><img src="images/p271.jpg" +alt= +"“When she got out of the water, what a change was seen in her!”" +width="508" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">“When she got out of the water, what a +change was seen in her!”</p> +</div> +<p>As she was returning homewards with the basket in her hand, she +passed by the <i>tulasi</i> plant whose bottom she had swept. The +<i>tulasi</i> plant said to her, “Go in peace, child! thy husband +will love thee warmly.” She next came to the shed of the Brahmani +bull, who gave her two shell ornaments which were twined round its +horns, saying, “Daughter, take these shells, put them on +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb272" href="#pb272" name= +"pb272">272</a>]</span>your wrists, and whenever you shake either of +them you will get whatever ornaments you wish to obtain.” She +then came to the plantain tree, which gave her one of its broad leaves, +saying, “Take, child, this leaf; and when you move it you will +get not only all sorts of delicious plantains, but all kinds of +agreeable food.” She came last of all to the cotton plant, which +gave her one of its own branches, saying, “Daughter, take this +branch; and when you shake it you will get not only all sorts of cotton +clothes, but also of silk and purple. Shake it now in my +presence.” She shook the branch, and a fabric of the finest +glossy silk fell on her lap. She put on that silk cloth, and wended on +her way with the shells on her wrists, and the basket and the branch +and the leaf in her hands.</p> +<p>The younger wife was standing at the door of her house, when she saw +a beautiful woman approach her. She could scarcely believe her eyes. +What a change! The old, bald hag turned into the very Queen of Beauty +herself! The elder wife, now grown rich and beautiful, treated the +younger wife with kindness. She gave her fine clothes, costly +ornaments, and the richest viands. But all to no purpose. The younger +wife envied the beauty and hair of her associate. Having heard that she +got it all from Father Muni in the forest, she determined to go there. +Accordingly she started on her journey. She saw the cotton plant, but +did nothing to it; she passed <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb273" +href="#pb273" name="pb273">273</a>]</span>by the plantain tree, the +shed of the Brahmani bull, and the <i>tulasi</i> plant, without taking +any notice of them. She approached the <i>muni</i>. The <i>muni</i> +told her to bathe in the tank, and plunge only once into the water. She +gave one plunge, at which she got a glorious head of hair and a +beautifully fair complexion. She thought a second plunge would make her +still more beautiful. Accordingly she plunged into the water again, and +came out as bald and ugly as before. She came to the <i>muni</i>, and +wept. The sage drove her away, saying, “Be off, you disobedient +woman. You will get no boon from me.” She went back to her house +mad with grief. The lord of the two women returned from his travels and +was struck with the long locks and beauty of his first wife. He loved +her dearly; and when he saw her secret and untold resources and her +incredible wealth, he almost adored her. They lived together happily +for many years, and had for their maid-servant the younger woman, who +had been formerly his best beloved.</p> +<div class="lgouter xd19e256"> +<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p> +<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth;</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O Natiya-thorn, dost +wither?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why does thy cow on me browse?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O cow, dost thou browse?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why does thy neat-herd not tend +me?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O neat-herd, dost not tend the +cow?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why does thy daughter-in-law not give me +rice?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O daughter-in-law, dost not give +rice?”<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb274" href="#pb274" name= +"pb274">274</a>]</span></p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why does my child cry?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O child, dost thou cry?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why does the ant bite me?”</p> +<p class="line hangqq">“Why, O ant, dost thou bite?”</p> +<p class="line">Koot! koot! koot!</p> +</div> +<p class="trailer xd19e3484">The End</p> +</div> +</div> +</div> +<div class="back"> +<div class="div1 imprint"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first xd19e130"><i>Printed by</i> <span class="sc">R. & +R. Clark, Limited</span>, <i>Edinburgh</i>. <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb275" href="#pb275" name="pb275">275</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div class="div1 ads"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">A Selection of Macmillan & Co.’s</p> +<p>COLOUR BOOKS</p> +<p><a class="pglink xd19e43" title="Link to Project Gutenberg ebook" +href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35853">GREEN WILLOW AND OTHER +JAPANESE FAIRY TALES</a>. By <span class="sc">Grace James</span>. With +16 Illustrations in Colour by <span class="sc">Warwick Goble</span>. +8vo. 5s. net.</p> +<p>THE INGOLDSBY LEGENDS; <span class="sc">OR</span>, MIRTH AND +MARVELS. With 16 Full-page Illustrations in Colour by <span class= +"sc">H. G. Theaker</span>. 8vo. 5s. net.</p> +<p><a class="pglink xd19e43" title="Link to Project Gutenberg ebook" +href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11">ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN +WONDERLAND</a> and <a class="pglink xd19e43" title= +"Link to Project Gutenberg ebook" href= +"http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12">THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS AND WHAT +ALICE FOUND THERE</a>. By <span class="sc">Lewis Carroll</span>. With +92 Illustrations by <span class="sc">John Tenniel</span>, 16 being in +Colour. 8vo. 5s. net.</p> +<p><a class="pglink xd19e43" title="Link to Project Gutenberg ebook" +href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25564">THE WATER BABIES</a>. By +<span class="sc">Charles Kingsley</span>. With 16 Illustrations in +Colour by <span class="sc">Warwick Goble</span>. 8vo. 5s. net.</p> +<p><a class="pglink xd19e43" title="Link to Project Gutenberg ebook" +href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8934">THE FOREST LOVERS</a>. By +<span class="sc">Maurice Hewlett</span>. With 16 Illustrations in +Colour by <span class="sc">A. S. Hartrick</span>. 8vo. 5s. net.</p> +<p><a class="pglink xd19e43" title="Link to Project Gutenberg ebook" +href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/236">THE JUNGLE BOOK</a>. By +<span class="sc">Rudyard Kipling</span>. With 16 Illustrations in +Colour by <span class="sc">Maurice</span> and <span class="sc">Edward +Detmold</span>. 8vo. 5s. net.</p> +<p>THE BRUSHWOOD BOY. By <span class="sc">Rudyard Kipling</span>. With +Coloured Illustrations by <span class="sc">F. H. Townsend</span>. 8vo. +6s.</p> +<p>THEY. By <span class="sc">Rudyard Kipling</span>. With Coloured +Illustrations by <span class="sc">F. H. Townsend</span>. 8vo. 6s.</p> +<p><a class="pglink xd19e43" title="Link to Project Gutenberg ebook" +href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14526">THE LITTLE CITY OF +HOPE</a>. A Christmas Story. By <span class="sc">F. Marion +Crawford</span>. With Illustrations in Colour by <span class="sc">A. S. +Hartrick</span>. 8vo. 5s. net. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb276" +href="#pb276" name="pb276">276</a>]</span></p> +<p>WHITE-EAR AND PETER: <span class="sc">The Story of a Fox and a Fox +Terrier.</span> By <span class="sc">Neils Heiberg</span>. With 16 +Plates in Colour by <span class="sc">Cecil Aldin</span>. Pott 4to.</p> +<p>THE COMPLETE POETICAL WORKS OF GEOFFREY CHAUCER. Now first put in +modern English by <span class="sc">John S. P. Tatlock</span> and +<span class="sc">Percy MacKaye</span>. With 32 Full-page Illustrations +in Colour by <span class="sc">Warwick Goble</span>. Decorated Cloth. +Crown 4to. 15s. net.</p> +<p>STORIES FROM THE PENTAMERONE. By <span class="sc">Giambattista +Basile</span>. Selected and Edited by <span class="sc">E. F. +Strange</span>. With 32 Illustrations in Colour by <span class= +"sc">Warwick Goble</span>. Crown 4to. 15s. net.</p> +<p>OUR VILLAGE. By <span class="sc">Mary Russell Mitford</span>. With +Introduction by <span class="sc">Anne Thackeray Ritchie</span>, 100 +Illustrations by <span class="sc">Hugh Thomson</span>, and 16 Plates in +Colour from Drawings by <span class="sc">Alfred Rawlings</span>. Crown +4to. 10s. 6d. net.</p> +<p>THE NATURAL HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF SELBORNE. By <span class= +"sc">Gilbert White</span>. With 24 Illustrations in Colour by +<span class="sc">G. E. Collins, R.B.A.</span> Crown 4to. 10s. 6d. +net.</p> +<p>IN LOTUS-LAND: JAPAN. By <span class="sc">Herbert G. Ponting, +F.R.G.S.</span> With 8 Plates in Colour and 96 in Monochrome. Crown +4to. 21s. net.</p> +<p>CRANFORD. By Mrs. <span class="sc">Gaskell</span>. With a Preface by +<span class="sc">Anne Thackeray Ritchie</span>, and Illustrations in +Colour by <span class="sc">Hugh Thomson</span>. Crown 8vo. 5s. net.</p> +<p class="xd19e130">MACMILLAN AND CO., <span class="sc">Ltd.</span>, +LONDON.</p> +</div> +</div> +<div class="transcribernote"> +<h2 class="main">Colophon</h2> +<h3 class="main">Availability</h3> +<p class="first">This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no +cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give +it away or re-use it under the terms of the <a class="exlink xd19e43" +title="External link" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license" rel= +"license">Project Gutenberg License</a> included with this eBook or +online at <a class="exlink xd19e43" title="External link" href= +"http://www.gutenberg.org/" rel="home">www.gutenberg.org</a>.</p> +<p>This eBook is produced by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +at <a class="exlink xd19e43" title="External link" href= +"http://www.pgdp.net/">www.pgdp.net</a>.</p> +<p>Scans are available from the Internet Archive: 1883 edition +(<a class="exlink xd19e43" title="External link" href= +"http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924024159604">1</a>, <a class= +"exlink xd19e43" title="External link" href= +"http://www.archive.org/details/folktalesbengal00daygoog">2</a>); +<a class="exlink xd19e43" title="External link" href= +"http://www.archive.org/details/folktalesofbenga019703mbp">1902 +edition</a>; Illustrated 1912 edition used for this eBook (<a class= +"exlink xd19e43" title="External link" href= +"http://www.archive.org/details/folktalesofbenga00dayl">1</a>, +<a class="exlink xd19e43" title="External link" href= +"http://www.archive.org/details/folktalesofbenga00dayluoft">2</a>).</p> +<p>Related Open Library catalog page (for source): <a class="catlink" +href="http://openlibrary.org/books/OL14008274M">OL14008274M</a>.</p> +<p>Related Open Library catalog page (for work): <a class="catlink" +href="http://openlibrary.org/works/OL44489W">OL44489W</a>.</p> +<p>Related WorldCat catalog page: <a class="catlink" href= +"http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1079657">1079657</a>.</p> +<h3 class="main">Encoding</h3> +<p class="first"></p> +<h3 class="main">Revision History</h3> +<ul> +<li>2011-12-13 Started.</li> +</ul> +<h3 class="main">External References</h3> +<p>This Project Gutenberg eBook contains external references. These +links may not work for you.</p> +<h3 class="main">Corrections</h3> +<p>The following corrections have been applied to the text:</p> +<table class="correctiontable" summary= +"Overview of corrections applied to the text."> +<tr> +<th>Page</th> +<th>Source</th> +<th>Correction</th> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd19e1584">62</a>, +<a class="pageref" href="#xd19e1618">65</a></td> +<td class="width40 bottom">cowris</td> +<td class="width40 bottom">cowries</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd19e1587">62</a></td> +<td class="width40 bottom">‘</td> +<td class="width40 bottom">“</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd19e1879">94</a></td> +<td class="width40 bottom">his</td> +<td class="width40 bottom">her</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd19e1998">110</a></td> +<td class="width40 bottom">there</td> +<td class="width40 bottom">their</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd19e2046">117</a></td> +<td class="width40 bottom">[<i>Not in source</i>]</td> +<td class="width40 bottom">of</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> +</div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Folk-Tales of Bengal, by Lal Behari Day + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOLK-TALES OF BENGAL *** + +***** This file should be named 38488-h.htm or 38488-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/4/8/38488/ + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project +Gutenberg. 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