B
45,756
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MICHIGAN
IVERSITY
* LIBRARIES
firmaer
N30
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Largo 8er juba siff
S, or Folk
ie Rev. C.
rations by
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1892
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لے
INDIAN NIGHTS' ENTERTAINMENT.
WS
6S
必
​INDIAN NIGHTS
ENTERTAINMENT;
OR,
Folk-Tales from the Upper Jndus.
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY.
NATIVE HANDS.
BY THE
REV. CHARLES SWYNNERTON, F.S.A.,
Author of The Adventures of Rija Rasiilu,' ctc.
0
.
LONDON:
ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.
1892.
| All rights reserved.]
ΤΟ
HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY
QUEEN VICTORIA,
EMPRESS OF INDIA,
THIS VOLUME OF INDIAN STORIES
IS
(BY HER MAJESTY'S KIND PERMISSION)
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.
fo.k. lore
Thorp
12-19-28
18000
UWA
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER
I. THE SAGACIOUS LUMBARDAR
-
1
II. THE BANEYRWAL AND THE THIEF
-
1
III. THE TIGER AND THE HARE
IV. THE GREEDY MONKEY
có ở N N CÓ
V. REPENTANCE
VI. THE PREACHER CONFOUNDED
VII. PRINCE AHMED AND THE FLYING HORSE
9
VIII. THE MAN AND THE BEAR
12
IX. THE MISER AND THE GRAIN OF WHEAT
13
13
X. THE BANEYR MAN AND THE MILL
14.
XI. THE FARMER, HIS WIFE, AND THE OPEN DOOR
XII. THE FOUR ASSOCIATES
15
18.
XIII. THE STORY OF LULL, THE IDIOT
XIV. THE SAINT AND THE PILGRIM
32
33
XV. THE LOVE OF MONEY
33
XVI. CHARACTERISTIC PRIDE OF THE BANEYR WALS
XVII. THE FALSE WITNESS
.
34
XVIII. THE KING AND THE PARROT
37
XIX. THE OLD WEAVER AND THE CAMEL'S FOOTPRINTS
44
XX. GREEBA, THE WEAVER
45.
45.
XXI. EESARA AND CANEESARA
XXII. THE STORY OF THE KING AND THE FOUR GIRLS
56
62
XXIII. THE MULE AND THE TRAVELLER
XXIV. THE FROG AND THE FARRIER
XXV. THE ELEPHANT AND HIS KEEPER
63
63
65
78
80
XXVI. THE FOUR WEAVERS
XXVII. THE KING AND HIS DAUGHTERS
XXVIII. THE WIDOW OF BANEYR
XXIX. THE GARDENER'S WIFE, THE POTTER'S WIFE, AND THE
80
CAMEL
viii
.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
PAGE:
81
-
83
84
XXX. THE THREE WEAVERS
XXXI. THE WEAVER'S MISTAKE
XXXII, THE DELUDED WEAVERS
XXXIII. THE KING AND THE FARMER
XXXIV. THE WEAVER AND THE PROPHECY
XXXV. THE BANEYRWAL AND HIS DROWNED WIFE
XXXVI. THE PRETENTIOUS FROG
XXXVII. THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO
86
89
-
90
91
XXXVIII. A SLIGHT MISTAKE
XXXIX. THE THIEF AND THE POOR MAN
XL. THE TRAVELLER AND HIS CAMEL
XLI. THE TWO FRIENDS
92
- 129
- 129
· 130
- 131
- 133
· 139
142
- 145
146
XLII. THE YOUNG MAN AND THE SNAKE
XLIII. THE WEAVER AND THE THIEVES
XLIV. THE TRAVELLER AND THE OILMAN
XLV. AN UNFORTUNATE JACKAL
XLVI, THE WEAVER AND THE WATER-MELON
XLVII. THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON :
PART I.
-
PART II.
- 149
- 163
· 176
PART III.
202
XLVIII. THE FAMINE AND THE WEAVER
XLIX. THE TWO WEAVERS AND THE GRASSHOPPERS
202
L. THE PATHAN AND THE PLUMS
202
LI. SHISHAT KHAN OF LAHORE
LII. THE PHILOSOPHIC BANERWAL
- 203
- 207
• 207
• 208
LIII. OF GOD AND THE NOBLEMAN
LIV. THE NINE-KILLING KHAN
LV. THE SILVERSMITH AND HIS MOTHER'S BANGLE
- 212
LVI. HOW A WOMAN COULD NOT KEEP A SECRET
213
LVII. THE STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN 216
LVIII. THE TWO MISERS
241
LIX. THE KING AND THE ROBBERS
- 272
LX. THE PAINTED JACKAL
- 245
LXI. THE JACKAL AND THE EWE-SHEEP
- 246
LXII. GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON MALIK
- 246
LXIII. THE QUEEN AND THE GOLDSMITH
- 258
LXIV. THE WILD DOG OF PEEHOOR
• 263
LXV. THE WEAVER AND THE PRIEST
- 264
LXVI. THE JACKAL AND THE FLEAS
- 267
LXVII. THE SILLY JACKASS
- 268
LXVIII. THE FRIENDLY RAT
- 269
.
CONTENTS.
ix
.
CHAPTER
PAGE
LXIX. THE STUBBORN NATURE OF THE AFGHANS
· 270
LXX. A STORY OF A BARBER
- 271
LXXI. THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND
P AND BUSSUNT, THE TWO
SONS OF RAJAH BUNCE
- 273
LXXII. THE BANEYRWAL AND HIS MOTHER
- 297
LXXIII. FUZZLE NOOR AND THE DEMON
- 298
LXXIV. THE SEVEN WISE MEN OF BUNEYR
305
LXXV. THE FOOLISH QUACK
- 307
LXXVI. THE CAMEL AND THE RAT
- 310
LXXVII. THE CROW AND ITS YOUNG
- 311
LXXVIII. THE TWO SIMPLE BANERWALS
- 312
LXXIX. THE BANEYR MAN AND THE BOAT
- 312
LXXX. GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL
- 313
LXXXI. LAL BADSHAH, THE RED KING ; OR, THE TWO LITTLE
PRINCESSES
- 330
LXXXII. PRINCE BAIRAM AND THE FAIRY BRIDE
342
LXXXIII. THE SILLY WEAVER GIRL
1
348
LXXXIV. THE TIGER AND THE CAT
350
- 351
LXXXV. THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES
--
INTRODUCTION.
In publishing the following stories, it is not needful to write
much by way of introduction. As translations from the
Panjâbi of the Upper Indus, they are as literal as idiom and
freedom of expression would permit. Their collection and
compilation were the work of years, bringing solace in
trouble and respite from the weariness of the long glowing
days of summer in that hottest of all hot places, the
Peshawur Valley. As folk-tales they claim of course the
highest possible antiquity, being older than the Jâtakas,
older than the Mâhabharata, older than history itself. From
age to age, and from generation to generation, they have
been faithfully handed down by people rude and unlearned,
who have preserved them through all the vicissitudes of
devastating wars, changes of rule and faith, and centuries
of oppression. They are essentially the tales of the people.
They are truly representative of the quaint legends and
stories which form the delight of the village hújra or guest-
house on winter-nights, when icy winds are blowing over
mountain and plain; when the young men of the village com-
munity gather round the blazing logs to be charmed by the
voice of some wandering minstrel, to listen agape to his in-
credible descriptions of the miseries and the joys of hapless
love, or to fantastic tales of giants and fairies; or when the
weary wayfarer, if not too spent to sit up, alternates the
recital of fictitious wonders by news from the outer world,
or commands the attention of auditors as simple as himself,
by circumstantial accounts of disastrous chances of his own
by flood and fell. It was at the little village of Ghâzi, on
xii
INTRODUCTION.
the river Indus, thirty miles above Attock, and upwards of
a thousand miles due north of Bombay, that many of these
tales were written down from the mouths of the simple
narrators themselves. There, at the solitary house of my
old friend, Thomas Lambert Barlow, Esq., a master of every
variety of local dialect, within sight and hearing of the
majestic river of history and romance, quite close to the
ancient ferry over which Alexander the Great threw his
bridge of boats, in a district exclusively pastoral which
comprises within its area the fabled mountain of Gandghar,
the stronghold of the last of the giants, in the midst of
many a ruined temple and fallen fortress pertaining to a
nobler race and a former faith, we used to sit late into the
night, round the leaping log fire in winter, under the dewless
sky in summer, and enjoy hearing, as much as the villagers
enjoyed telling, the tales which had charmed their forefathers
for scores of generations.
A few miles north of Ghâzi, at the point where the Sirin,
a river abounding in noble fish, falls into the Indus, stands a
collection of hamlets known as Torbêla, the people of which,
like the savages of the Orinoco, are addicted to a curious
habit of eating a certain saponaceous clay. Opposite
Torbêla, on the other side of the Indus, stands the warlike
independent Pathân village of Kabbal. It is here, between
these two rival villages, that the 'Father of Rivers' breaks
through the gorge of the opposing systems on either side,
the last bulwarks of the Himalayas, which form the territory,
in part independent, in part under British control, called
by the inhabitants Yâkistân. Wonderfully beautiful is the
view miles and miles up the river, where the descending
lines of the precipitous mountains, one behind the other,
recede ever more and more into the blue haze until crowned
by distant snows.
As we sit in the warm winter sun among
the river-boulders at Ghâzi, where several gold-washers are
busy rocking the sand in their rude cradles, and as the eye
is directed northwards into the dim distance past the bare
tawny peaks of Banêr to the west and the dark pine-clad
heights of the Black Mountain to the east, we remember
that all this land was once in the hands of a dynasty of
INTRODUCTION.
xiii
Greeks, of helmed Menander, or lightning-wielding Anti-
alkides, whose coins attest the excellency of the arts in
these remote places when under their accomplished sway,
but of whose influence every living trace seems to have
disappeared, unless in the classical designs of village basket-
work or in the graceful devices in red and green on the
country rugs of felt, may be detected a remnant, however
slight, of Grecian taste and western refinement. Or again,
listening to the murmuring of the river, always low and
rapid during the bright months of winter, we think of the
enlightened rule of the great Buddhist convert, Azoka,
several of whose rock-cut edicts which are the deligh
of Oriental epigraphists are close at hand, one of them
across the stream in Yusufzai, and three others within
a ride of fifty miles to the north at Mansêrah. And not
only Azoka ; for here reigned also the representatives of
other famous dynasties as well : the brilliant Scythian chief,
Kanishka; the Hindu Kings of Kabul--of whom Râja Rasalu
was doubtless one; the revived line of the Sassanians;
the pitiless Mahomedan Mahmoud, the Image-breaker of
Ghazni; and lastly, the Mogul Emperors of Delhi. No
wonder this region abounds in footsteps of the speechless
past, and that every separate village contains within itself
an unwritten library of old-world legends, stories, and
proverbs, of which the present volume offers but a few
examples.
The question of the inter-connection which undoubtedly
exists between the household tales of India and the folk-tales
of other lands is one the discussion of which may be reserved
for a future occasion. One single example alone I venture,
by way of illustration, to record in this place.
When in Rome some years ago, I bought at a bookstall
a copy of the 'Liber Facetiarum' of that learned and
eccentric ecclesiastic of the fifteenth century, Poggio Brac-
ciolini of Florence, who was one of the brightest ornaments
of a period which produced Lorenzo de Medici, Traversari,
Bruni, and Politiano, and which first introduced the literary
treasures of the ancient Greeks to the nations of modern
Europe. This, the last edition of Poggio's most remarkable
xiv
INTRODUCTION.
work, was published in Rome in January, 1885, and my
object in noticing it here is to bring in evidence the very
singular similitude which subsists between one of his facezie
and one of the shorter stories in this volume. I quote them
as follows, the one in Italian, the other in English.
FACEZIA LIX. (POGGIO).
DI UN UOMO CHE CERCAVA SUA MOGLIE ANNEGATA NEL
FIUME.
Un altri uomo, cui era morta la moglie nel fiume, andava
contr' acqua a ricercarne il cadavere. Uno che lo vide
rimase di ciò meravigliato e lo consigliò di andar secondo la
corrente :- In questo modo,' risposo l'uomo, 'non potrebbe
trovarsi ; perchè quando visse fu tanto contraddiccente, e
difficile, e contraria alle abitudine degli altri, che anche dopo
morte essa andrà contro la corrente del fiume.'
FROM THE UPPER PANJAB.
THE BANERWAL AND HIS DROWNED WIFE.
THERE was once a sudden flood in the Indus, which washed
away numbers of people, and, among others, the wife of a
certain Banêrwâl. The distracted husband was wandering
along the banks of the river, looking for the dead body, when
a countryman accosted him thus:--O friend, if, as I am
informed, your wife has been carried away in the flood, she
must have gone down the stream with the rest of the folk;
yet you are going up the stream.' 'Ah, sir,' answered the
wretched Banêrwâl, 'you did not know that wife of mine.
Her perversity was such that she always went clean con-
trary to everyone else, and, even now that she is drowned,
I know full well that, if other bodies have floated down the
river, hers must have floated up!
Poggio, for his day, was a great traveller, having visited
most of the courts of Europe, including that of England, so
it is difficult to say whether he picked up the story in Italy
INTRODUCTION.
ху
or elsewhere. In Europe, however, it certainly existed as a
household tale in the fifteenth century, and here in the nine-
teenth it is found a fossil on the Upper Indus. It is not
often that in folk-tales a collector discovers a resemblance
so exactly marked, though it will be observed that several
others in this book, notably that of Fazal Nûr and the
Demon, present almost as striking an apparent identity
with tales current in the West; and the conclusion which
seems forced upon the mind from the comparison is not
so much that the examples adduced owe their similarity
to accidental coincidences in thought or inspiration among
peoples living far apart, like those undesigned coincidences
which are also to be observed in the works of great writers
and even composers, but rather that they can trace their
original source to some common tribe or family of men,
whether in Central Asia or elsewhere, whose descendants,
extending themselves east and west over the world, carried
their household words along with them. To those who have
made this fascinating branch of learning their special study
the theory of genetic relationship is the one which appears
to commend itself, so that what is historically true of lan-
guage in general is likewise true of those simple tales in
which are preserved the primitive deposits of the human
imagination.
The subject of the scientific value of this collection of
tales I would leave to others more learned than myself. A
careful classification has been prefixed, and an index has
been added, which may prove useful to the student. I have
intentionally thrown my examples together almost hap-
hazard, for my object is to amuse rather than to instruct.
For men and women doomed from week to week to live
laborious days, for busy merchant and leisureless profes-
sional man, for readers of ease and culture whether in the
East or in the West, for old folks sitting snug and warm in
the chimney-corner, and above all for the young, for boys and
girls freed from the term's weary round, this volume of stories
is published. And if in ever so slight a degree they tend to
lighten the burden of life, which seems to grow heavier as
the years roll on, if for five minutes now and then they
xvi
INTRODUCTION.
:
serve to mask a sorrow or force a smile, reward so great will
far exceed my desert.
One word about the illustrations. They are the work of
purely native draughtsmen. They are quite in the Indian
manner, which was the object aimed at. In their way they
are learned, since every caste-costume, every style in turban
or dress, every interior, every scene of whatever kind, is
technically correct, representing with careful fidelity a con-
dition of things which has remained unchanged for thousands
of years. Their historical accuracy of domestic and personal
detail no European artist could possibly have depicted,
while at the same time they breathe the very spirit of the
tales which they are intended to interpret. And yet, though
truly characteristic of their own indigenous origin, they will
not fail in their naïve simplicity and directness of treatment
to remind the student of much in the bygone history of
Western art, as, for instance, out of many examples, the
hand of Marcus Gheeraedts as seen in his quaint illustrations
of Æsop's Fables.
C. S.
The Studio
Port St. Mary.
July, 1892.
1
1
W
Wisse
CLASSIFICATION.
THE partial attempt at a classification of the Folktales narrated in this
volume is mainly based on Mr. Baring Gould's scheme of 'Story
Radicals, as recommended by Mr. G. Laurence Gomme, the President
(1892) of the Folklore Society. It cannot be said to be exhaustive.
There is not a single group which would not bear further sub-division.
Some of the tales range themselves only approximately under types pre-
valent in the West. Others, again, present entirely new types complete
in themselves. On the other hand, various types already classified are
found welded together in the same story, furnishing an apt illustration
of the principle advocated by Major R. C. Temple, of the Indian Staff
Corps, that in the incidents, and not in the thread of a story, is to be
found the true folklore tradition.
I. NURSERY TALES SERIES.
A. STORIES OF THE MARVELLOUS OR SUPERNATURAL.
NO.
1. Magic Horse Type :
Prince Ahmed and the Flying Horse
vii.
2. Fountain of Youth Type : The King and
the Parrot
xviii.
3. Nâga-King Type: The Young Man and
the Snake
xlii.
4. Flight from Witchcraft Type : Ali the
Merchant and the Brahmin
lvii.
5. Swan White Type : Ali the Merchant and
the Brahmin (the interpolated story)
lvii.
(from p. 228 to p. 237)
6. Cruel Stepmother Type: Fortunes of
Roop and Bussùnt
lxxi.
7. Devil Outwitted Type : Fuzzle Noor and
the Demon
lxxiii.
8. Twin Brothers' Type : Lâl Bâdshâh, or
the Two Little Princesses
lxxxi.
xviii
CLASSIFICATION.
NO.
9. Swan Maiden Type : Prince Bairâm and
the Fairy Bride
lxxxii.
10. Journey to Hell Type : Prince Bairâm and
the Fairy Bride
Ixxxii.
(from p. 345 to p. 346)
II. Jason and Jack the Giant Killer Types :
The Princess and the Ogres
1xxxv.
12. Persephone Type : The Princess and the
Ogres
lxxxv.
(from p. 357 to p. 360)
B.
STORIES OF ADVENTURE AND ROMANCE.
I. Dark Sayings Type :
a, The King and the Three Damsels xxii.
b. The King and the Farmer
xxxiii.
2. Lear Type : The King and his Daughters - xxvii.
3. True and Untrue Type : The Adventures
of Ulphoo and Shurphoo -
Xxxvii.
4. Ass, Table, and Cudgel Type : Adventures
of Ulphoo and Shurphoo -
Xxxvii.
(from p. 109 to p. 113)
5. Prince and Portrait Type : The Prince
and the Vizier's Son
xlvii.
(Part I.)
6. Jason Type : The Prince and the Vizier's
Son -
xlvii.
(Part II.)
7. Penelope and Twin Brother Types : The
Prince and the Vizier's Son
xlvii.
(Part III.)
8. Life from the Dead Type : The Prince and
the Vizier's Son
xlvii.
(from p. 177 to p. 182)
9. Woman and Brook Type : How a Woman
could not keep a Secret
lvi.
10. Master Thief Type: The King and the
Robbers
lix.
II. Love from a Dream Type : Gholâm Bâd-
shâh and his son Malik
lxii.
12. Faithless Wife Type : The Queen and the
Goldsmith
lxiii.
13. Gudrun Type : Fortunes of Roop and
Bussunt
lxxi.
(from p. 288 to p. 295)
14. Faithful John Type : Gholâm Bâdshâh
and his son Ghool
1xxx.
CLASSIFICATION.
xix
NO.
15. Bride Wager Type : Gholâm Badshah and
his son Ghool
lxxx.
(from p. 317 to p. 322)
16. Beast, Bird, Fish Type : Gholâm Bâdshâh
and his son Ghool
1xxx.
(from p. 319 to p. 322)
17. Conflict of Wits Type : Gholâm Badshậh
and his son Ghool
lxxx.
(from p. 322 to p. 327)
18. Genoveva Type : Lâl Bâdshậh, or the Two
Little Princesses
lxxxi.
(from p. 339 to p. 342)
19. Oil Press in Labour Type (or, Clever
Jackal Type); The Traveller and the
Oilman
xliv.
II. DROLLS, OR COMIC TALES SERIES.
A.
STORIES OF THE EXPLOITS OF NOODLES.
xiii.
xxi.
xxvi.
1. Wonderful Fool Type: Story of Lull, the
Idiot
2. Conflict of Wits and Cobbler and Calf
Types : Eesara and Caneesara
3. Contest of Fools Types : The
The Four
Weavers -
4. Rogue and Simpleton Type : The Weaver
and the Thieves
5. Valiant Tailor Type : The Nine-Killing
Khan
6.
The Weaver and the Priest
xliii.
liv.
*
Ixv.
B.
TALES ILLUSTRATIVE OF TRIBAL OR CASTE
ii.
X.
ECCENTRICITIES. (? Buddhist.)
1. Wise Men of Gotham Type-in ridicule
of the people of Banêr :
a. The Banêrwâl and the Thief
b. The Banêrwâl and the Mill
6. The Widow of Banêr
d. The Banêrwâl and his Drowned
Wife
e. The Philosophic Banêrwâl
f. The Banêrwâl and his Mother-
g. The Seven Wise Men of Banêr
xxviii.
1
XXXV.
lii.
lxxii.
lxxiv.
Xxx
CLASSIFICATION.
NO.
h. The Two Simple Banêrwâls
1. The Banêrwâl and the Boat
Ixxviii.
lxxix.
xix.
XX.
2. Wise Men of Gotham Type-in ridicule
of the Weaver-caste :
a. The Old Weaver and the Camel's
Footprints
b. Greeba, the Weaver
6. The Three Weavers
d. The Weaver's Mistake
e. The Deluded Weavers
f. The Weaver and the Prophet -
g. The Weaver and the Water-melon -
h. The Famine and the Weaver
2. The Two Weavers and the Grass-
hopper -
j. Of God and the Nobleman
k. The Silly Weaver Girl
XXX.
Xxxi.
Xxxii.
Xxxiv.
xlvi.
xlviii.
xlix.
liii.
Ixxxiii.
i.
3. Wise Men of Gotham Type. – Mis-
cellaneous :
a. The Sagacious Lambardâr
b. The Farmer, his Wife, and the Open
Door
c. The Foolish Quack-
xi.
lxxv.*
III. NATIONAL OR PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER SERIES.
A.
STORIES OF TRIBES OR FAMILIES.
NO.
*
I.
xvi.
1.
a. Characteristic Pride of the Banérwâls -
6. The Pathân and the Plums-
C. The Stubbornness of the Afghân Char-
acter
lxix.
B. STORIES ON THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS.
1. Middle Ages Type :
a. Repentance
b. The Preacher Confounded -
V.
vi.
* Some of the preceding stories--referable to the general type of the tales of the
Wise Men of Gotham-might of course be assigned to particular types, while others
would form their own types.
CLASSIFICATION.
xxi
NO.
6. The Four Weavers
1
d. The Four Weavers
Xxvi.
(from p. 72)
xxvi.
(from p. 75)
lxv.
-
l. The Weaver and the Priest
2. Legends of Saints Type:
a. The Saint and the Pilgrim -
xiv.
b. The Prince and the Vizier's Son -
xlvii.
(from pp. 179, 180)
c. Shishat Khan of Lahore
li.
(from p. 205)
C. STORIES ABOUT BARBERS.
1. Lucky and Unlucky Type:
a. The Four Weavers
b. Story of a Barber
xxvi.
A.
ANECDOTES ABOUT MISERS.
*
I.
ix.
al. The Miser and the Grain of Wheat
6. The Love of Money
C. The Two Misers
1
XV.
lviii.
1
E.
ANECDOTES ABOUT TRADES.
*
I.
xxix. .
a. The Gardener's Wife and the Potter's
Wife
16. The Silversmith and his Mother's
Bangle
ly.
IV. 'ÆSOP'S FABLES' SERIES.
A.
BEAST STORIES AND APOLOGUES.
iii.
iv.
1. Substance and Shadow Type : The Tiger
and the Hare
2. All or None Type : The Greedy Monkey
3. Travellers and Bear Type--Tit for Tat :
The Four Associates
4. Dog and Sheep Type: The False Witness -
5. Boasting Mule Type : The Mule" and the
Traveller -
xii.
xvii.
xxiii.
xxii
CLASSIFICATION.
NO.
xxiv.
xxxvi.
xxy.
xli.
xlv.
6. Ox and Frog Type :
a. The Frog and the Farrier
6. The Pretentious Frog
7. Vengeful Elephant Type : The Elephant
and his Keeper
8. Artful Fox Type : The Two Friends
9. Ape and Fox Type : An Unfortunate Jackal
10. Borrowed Plumes Type : The Painted
Jackal
II. Biter Bitten Type : The Jackal and the
Ewe Sheep
12. Fox and Fleas Type : The Jackal and the
Fleas
13. Lion, Ass, and Fox Type : The Silly
Jackass
14. Lion and Mouse Type : The Friendly
Rat -
lx.
xi.
Ixvi.
lxvii
lxviii.
Lxxvi.
15. Fly on the Wheel Type: The Camel and
the Rat
16. Precocious Youngster Type : The Crow
and its Young -
17. Wood and Clown Type : The Tiger and
the Cat
lxxvii.
lxxxiv.
V. MISCELLANEOUS ANECDOTES-UNASSIGNED.
1. The Man and the Bear
2. A Slight Mistake
3. The Thief and the Poor Man
4. The Traveller and his Camel
5. The Wild Dog of Peehoor -
.
viii.
Xxxviii.
xxxix.
xl.
lxiv.
-
-
.
N
A
INDIAN NIGHTS' ENTERTAINMENT
I.
THE SAGACIOUS LUMBARDĀR.
beroes :
LARGE earthen chatty, or jar,
half filled with corn, was once
standing in the courtyard of a
farmhouse, when a horned sheep
coming by thrust his head into
it and began to enjoy himself.
When he had satisfied his
hunger, however, he found him-
self unable, owing to the size of
the neck of the chatty, to draw
forth his head again, so that he was thus caught in a trap.
The farmer and his servants perceiving this were sadly
perplexed. "What's to be done now?' said they. One of
them proposed that the lumbardār, or village headman, whose
wisdom was in everyone's mouth, should be requested to
help them in their difficulty, which was no sooner said than
done. The lumbardar was delighted. He at once mounted
his camel, and in a few minutes arrived at the spot. But
the archway into the yard was low, and he on the top of
his camel was high, nor did it occur to him or to anyone
else that the camel should be left outside. I cannot get in
there,' said he to the farmer; 'pray knock the doorway
down ! and accordingly the arch was destroyed, and the
wise man entered.
Having dismounted and gazed profoundly at the imprisoned
I
2
TIIE SAGACIOUS LUMBARDAR.
ram, he suddenly exclaimed: • This matter is a mere trifle.
Fetch me a sword.' So the sword was brought, and taking
it in his hand he cut off the animal's head at a single blow.
*There,' cried he, 'is your sheep, and here is your vessel of
Take them away.'
By this time the whole village had assembled, and every-
one began to murmur his praises. But a farm-servant, who
was reputed cunning, observed : ‘But the sheep's head is
still in the jar! Now what are we to do?'
corn.
>
in
TALE
Mill
RO
True,' answered the lumbardār. “To you this affair
seems difficult; but to me the one thing is just as easy as
the other.'
With this he raised a great stone and smashed the vessel
into a thousand pieces, while the people clapped hands with
satisfaction. No one was more astonished than the farmer.
It is true his gateway was ruined, his grain spilt, his jar
broken, and his stock-ram killed. These things, however,
gave him no concern. He had been rescued from a serious
difficulty, and so the fame of that lumbardār became the
envy of all the surrounding villages.
THE BANEYRWÂL AND THE THIEF.
3
II.
THE BANEYRWÂL AND THE THIEF.*
Lille
VCE upon a time a little Ban-
eyrwâl, holding his two fingers
to his mouth, happened to look
into a tub, and there perceived
his own image reflected in the
water. Mother, mother,' cried
he, 'there is a child in this tub
begging for bread.'
Listen to that now,' said the
mother to her husband. 'Look
into the tub, man, and see if there is anyone there.'
So the husband looked in and at once exclaimed: 'Wife,
wife, there is no child; but I see an old villain of a thief, and
when we are all asleep he will certainly jump out and murder
us in our beds!'
WEMA
VEC
zi
Chi
SAD
NU:
El
Picking up a stone in the utmost alarm, the man hurled
it into the tub, intending to strike the robber dead. Then
* A few of the short fables have appeared in a foriner volume.
I-2
4
THE TIGER AND THE HARE.
he cautiously approached the tub once more, but failing
to see anything but the tossing water, he said to his
wife: “That thief must have been a very cunning rascal.
He has escaped I don't know where, but he is not likely to
trouble this house again.'
UiT
III.
THE TIGER AND THE HARE.
e
N a certain forest there once lived
a fierce tiger, which was in the
habit of hunting down the rest of
the animals for mere sport, whether
hunger impelled him thereto or not.
All the animals, therefore, met to-
gether by common consent to con-
sider their grievances.
Let us
agree,' said the jackal, 'that one
of us shall be chosen by lot day by
day as a sacrifice to the tiger.'
· All right,' assented the others; 'but first let us see the
tiger, and let us offer him a petition.
So they all marched together to the tiger's den, and
humbly sought him to refrain from indiscriminate slaughter,
and to be satisfied with the animal which should voluntarily
come to him day by day. 'Do not hunt us poor fellows
down,' said they, ‘for one of us will always come to be
devoured by you, and this plan will save you trouble as well.'
'No, no,' cried the tiger; I shall use my claws and my
teeth, and so eat my food. '
*But,' answered the animals, God has said that we ought
to live in hope.'
THE TIGER AND THE HARE.
5
6
True,' answered the tiger ; 'but he has also bidden every-
one to earn his own bread.'
At last, after much argument, the tiger suffered himself
to be persuaded, and made a solemn promise to remain at
home in his den. Thenceforward every day an animal
chosen by lot went to the den to be eaten. But when the
hare's turn came, she flatly said : 'I shall not go; I shall
live my life.' In vain the other animals tried to persuade
or coerce her.
Twelve o'clock, the tiger's usual feeding
time, came and went, then came one, two, and three. At
last the hare suddenly started up, and exclaiming 'Now I'm
off!' she set out for the den. As she drew near she noticed the
famished tiger tearing up the earth in fury, and heard him
bellowing: 'Who is this ridiculous hare to keep me waiting ?'
‘But I have an excuse,' protested the hare.
'What excuse can you have ?' demanded the tiger.
To-day,' said the hare, “it was not my turn to come at
all. It was my brother's. I am thin, but my brother is
plump and fat. My brother had started for your den, but
on the way he fell in with another tiger which wanted to eat
him, and, in fact, he caught him and was carrying him away,
when I came up and said to him: “This country is not your
country, but the country of another tiger who will punish
you.” To which the strange tiger answered: “You go at
once, and call that tiger of yours out, and then he and I
shall have a fight.” So here I am, sir, sent to deliver
his challenge. Come and kill the villain for us.'
Full of rage and jealousy, the tiger said to the hare:
' Lead on !' and the pair started forth to seek the rival tiger.
As they went along the hare began to look alarmed and
shrink back, and made as though she would have hidden
herself in a thicket. "What is the matter now?' inquired
the tiger. What are you afraid of?'
'I am afraid,' answered she, ' because the other tiger's den
lies close in front of us.'
Where—where ?' cried the tiger, peering forward with
searching eyes. "I see no den whatever.'
' It is there—see !' answered the hare; 'almost at your
C
very feet!'
6
THE TIGER AND THE HARE.
'I can see no den,' said the tiger. 'Is there no means of
persuading you to come forward and show me the place ?'
'Yes,' replied the hare, if you will please carry me under
your arm.'
So the tiger lifted the cunning hare under his arm, and,
guided by her directions, he unexpectedly found himself at
the edge of a large deep well. “This is the den I told you of,'
whispered the hare. “Look in and you will see the robber.'
Standing on the brink and looking down into the clear
depths, the tiger saw at the bottom the reflected image of
himself and the hare, and imagining that he saw his enemy
in proud possession of the fat brother, he dropped the nimble
hare, which easily escaped, and with a roar leaped down,
where, after struggling in the water for many hours, he finally
expired, and thus the forest was at last rid of the tyrant.
THE GREEDY WIONKEY.
7
IV.
THE GREEDY MONKEY.
ONCE upon a time
a monkey noticed
some wheat which
had fallen into a
small hollow in a
rock. Thrusting in
his hand, he filled
it with the grain,
but the entrance
was so narrow that
he was unable to
draw it out with-
out relinquishing
most of his prize.
This, however, he
was unwilling to
do, greedily desir-
ing to have it all.
So the consequence
was that he
mained without
finally
went hungry away.
HINTA
Allo
!
re-
TES
any, and
V.
REPENTANCE.
A CERTAIN priest asked one of his parishioners : Which is
the older, your beard or yourself?'
'I am the elder, of course,' answered the man.
*Your beard seems to have changed,' said the holy man,
for it was black before and now it is white, yet you are
still the sanie.
When will you begin to change—when
cease to do evil and learn to do well ?'
6
8
THE PREACHER CONFOUNDED.
VI.
THE PREACHER CONFOUNDED.
A MAHOMEDAN priest, seated in his mosque, was once
holding forth to some villagers on the torments of the life
WH
2013
to coine. When in the full flow of his eloquence, he
observed one of his auditors, a poor farmer, weeping pro-
fusely.
'Ah, you sinner!' cried the preacher, interrupting his
discourse, you are crying, are you? My words have struck
home to you, have they? You begin to think of your sins,
,
do you ?'
'No, no,' answered the man; I was not thinking of my
sins at all. I was thinking of my old he-goat, that grew
sick and died a year ago. Such a loss! Never was a beard
so like the beard of my old he-goat as yours.'
Hearing these words, the villagers began to laugh, and the
priest took refuge in the Korân.
PRINCE AHMED AND THE FLYING HORSE.
9
VII.
PRINCE AHMED AND THE FLYING HORSE.
Once there was a king who had a son
named Ahmed. He was only a youth, and
his delight was to ramble about the bazaars
of the town. There he became friendly
with four other boys, the sons of a gold-
smith, an ironsmith, an oilman, and a
carpenter respectively. He used to work
and play with them, and they became his
companions. They were so clever that
men used to call them the children of magic. By-and-bye the
vizier heard of these things, and said to the king : 'Your son
has chosen companions out of the very bazaars, four boys who
are leading him to destruction.' So the king sent a guard and
had all the four boys arrested and thrown into prison. But
the prince intervened, and said: 'Grant them a hearing; do
not condemn them without a trial.' When they were
brought into the king's court, the little goldsmith said:
Give us time to clear ourselves from the charges of the
vizier. After eight days we shall all appear again, and the
king shall judge us.' So they were reprieved for eight days,
and at the end of the time they assembled to show their
skill. The little goldsmith brought six brazen fish, which he
cast into the king's tank, and they swam about, and the
courtiers threw crumbs of bread to them, which they caught
and devoured. The blacksmith brought two large iron fish,
which swallowed up all the brazen ones. The oilman
brought two artificial giants, which fought together on the
plain until they were separated by Prince Ahmed. The
carpenter brought a large wooden horse, furnished with a
secret spring, and Prince Ahmed leaped on to its back; and
when he had touched the spring, it mounted like lightning
into the air, and was out of sight in a moment.
The king, who had been pleased at first, now flew into a
rage, and seizing the carpenter, he shook him, and cried :
Villain, bring back my son !
:
ΙΟ
PRINCE AHMED AND THE FLYING HORSE.
'O king, that I cannot do,' said the carpenter. Spare
my life, and the prince will return to you in all safety in two
months.'
The two months were granted, and all four boys were put
into chains to await their death in case the prince did not
return.
Meanwhile the flying horse, having carried Prince Ahmed
five hundred leagues, alighted on the terrace-roof of a
magnificent palace, and there the prince saw, reclining in
the moonlight, a most beautiful young princess. Instantly
he fell in love with her, and when she looked up and saw a
handsome stranger standing by, she also fell in love with him.
So the prince and she went down into the palace together
and had a talk, and when he left her he mounted his flying
horse and flew to the top of a large tâlli-tree beyond the
bounds of the palace grounds. There he disjointed his
horse and hung the pieces to the branches, and, climbing
down the tree, he lodged at the house of an old woman.
But every night, when darkness had set in, he used to
climb the tâlli-tree, mount his wooden horse, and fly to the
palace roof. At last the princess's confidential slave girl
began to whisper the secret, and some one went to
the king, and said : “Some thief pays nightly visits to the
palace.' So the king put on double guards, and everyone
was challenged going in and coming out, but still the rumour
reached the ears of the king: 'Some thief comes to your
daughter's palace.'
Then the king summoned his vizier and said : “No one
but a woman is competent to unravel this. mystery. So a
wise woman was consulted by the king and the vizier, who
advised that the stairs of the palace, to the very roof, should
be covered with slime.
The next night, when Prince Ahmed arrived on the
terrace and attempted to descend, he slipped down several
steps, and, suspecting a trick, he made his escape, left his
horse on the top of the tâlli-tree, and made for the hut of
the old woman. The next morning he sent for a washer-
man, and gave him his soiled clothing to clean.
Meanwhile the king proclaimed, by beat of drum, that
PRINCE AHMED AND THE FLYING HORSE.
II
every inhabitant of the town should appear in the palace
yard. The washerman, desirous of cutting a figure, donned
the gorgeous clothing of the prince, and when the people
assembled, he was at once singled out, and then it was
noticed that his coat was stained with slime. So the king
called for the executioner, and cried : String him up !!
But the washerman fell on his face, and said: 'My lord,
I am only a poor washerman, and this clothing is not mine
at all. It belongs to another, who sent it to be cleaned. Let
the officers come, and I will give him into their hands.'
So he took the officers to the old woman's hut, and there
they found Prince Ahmed, and dragged him to the king,
who ordered his instant death. Meanwhile, however, the
princess had sent a secret message to him, saying: Offer
the king a ransom. I will provide the sum, and save your
life. But he sent word back: 'No ransom shall I offer, but
do you meet me in half an hour on the roof of the palace.'
Then the soldiers dragged off the prince to the tâlli-tree,
and round his neck they put a halter, and they were just
going to hang him, when he besought them, saying: 'Please
let me go up to breathe the air of the world for the last
time;' and having bribed them with two gold mohurs, he
began to ascend the tree. Having reached the top, where
he was hidden from view, he quickly put the pieces of his
horse together and flew to the terrace, where, seizing the
princess, he flung her into the saddle before him, and touch-
ing the spring he passed rapidly through the air in the sight
of both king and people, and in a moment he arrived at his
father's house.
After this the four boys were released from prison and made
governors of provinces; while the prince and the princess,
being married at last, lived together in the enjoyment of
every pleasure.
12
THE MAN AND THE BEAR
VIII.
THE MAN AND THE BEAR.
ONE day, when the river was in flood, a certain dark
object was seen floating down the stream. Thereupon a
poor man, mistaking it for a log of wood, plunged into the
water, and, swimming with vigorous strokes, seized it with
Wild
both his hands. When too late, he discovered that he was
clasped in the shaggy embrace of a brown bear. 'Ho!'
cried his friends from the shore, when they saw him drifting,
' let the log go! let the log go!'
Just what I am trying to do,' answered the unhappy man,
'but the log won't let me go !*
6
* Logs of deodar are frequently floated down the Indus from the
Himalayas. During floods many of these logs are washed away from
the timber-yards' far up in the mountains. For every log regained the
villagers receive a reward of four annas from the owner. Each log bears
its owner's mark.
THE MISER AND THE GRAIN OF WHEAT.
13
IX.
THE MISER AND THE GRAIN OF WHEAT.
A GREAT miser was once sitting on a precipice and dangling
his feet over the edge. Hunger having become insupport-
able, he took out his small bag of parched grain and began
to toss the food, grain by grain, into his mouth. All at once
a single grain missed its destination and fell to the bottom
of the ravine. 'Ah, what a loss !' cried he. “But even a
grain of wheat is of value, and only a simpleton would lose
it.' Whereupon he incontinently leaped down from the
rock and broke both his legs.
X.
THE BANÉYR MAN AND THE MILL.
A BANÉYRWÂL came down to the Indus, where he saw a
water-mill at work. Said he to himself: 'People say that
God is known by His wonderful ways. Now, here is a
wonderful thing with wonderful ways, though it has neither
hands nor feet. It must be God.' So he went forward and
kissed the walls, but he merely cut his face with the sharp
stones.
mindre
ca
انا
(
14
THE FARMER, HIS WIFE, AND THE OPEN DOOR.
XI.
THE FARMER, HIS WIFE, AND THE OPEN DOOR.
Once upon a time a poor farmer and his wife, having
finished their day's labour and eaten their frugal supper,
were sitting by the fire, when a dispute arose between
[liyi
!!
11
JI
6621
Wamumu
IDINITUOTI UIMONIUILI
Diminum
Sii
them as to who should shut the door, which had been blown
open by a gust of wind.
Wife, shut the door !' said the man.
*Husband, shut it yourself!' said the woman.
'I will not shut it, and you shall not shut it,' said the
husband ; ' but let the one who speaks the first word shut it.'
This proposal pleased the wife exceedingly, and so the old
couple, well satisfied, retired in silence to bed.
In the middle of the night they heard a noise, and, peer-
ing out, they perceived that a wild dog had entered the room,
and that he was busy devouring their little store of food.
Not a word, however, would either of these silly people
utter, and the dog, having sniffed at everything, and having
eaten as much as he wanted, went out of the house.
The next morning the woman took some grain to the
house of a neighbour in order to have it ground into flour.
THE FOUR ASSOCIATES.
15
In her absence' the barber entered, and said to the
husband : 'How is it you are sitting here all alone ?'
The farmer answered never a word. The barber then
shaved his head, but still he did not speak; then he shaved
off half his beard and half his moustache, but even then the
man refrained from uttering a syllable. Then the barber
covered him all over with a hideous coating of lamp-black,
but the stolid farmer remained as dumb as a mute. • The
man is bewitched ! cried the barber, and he hastily quitted
the house.
He had hardly gone when the wife returned from the
mill. She, seeing her husband in such a ghastly plight,
began to tremble, and exclaimed: 'Ah! wretch, what have
you been doing ?'
You spoke the first word,' said the farmer, ' so begone,
woman, and shut the door.'
6
X:1.
THE FOUR ASSOCIATES.
ONCE upon a time a crow, a jackal,
a hyena, and a camel swore a friend-
ship, and agreed to seek their food in
common. Said the camel to the
crow: ‘Friend, you can fly ; go forth
and reconnoitre the country for us.'
So the crow flew away from tree to
tree until he came to a fine field of
musk melons, and then he returned
and reported the fact to his com-
panions. “You,' said he to the camel,
'can eat the leaves, but the fruit
must be the share of the jackal, the
hyena and myself.'
When it was night all four visited the field and began to
make a hearty supper. Suddenly the owner woke up and
.
16
THE FOUR ASSOCIATES.
rushed to the rescue. The crow, the jackal, and the
hyena easily escaped, but the camel was caught and driven
out with cruel blows. Overtaking his comrades, he said:
' Pretty partners you are, to leave your friend in the lurch !'
Said the jackal: 'We were surprised. But cheer up; to-
night we'll stand by you, and won't allow you to be thrashed
again !
The next day the owner, as a precaution, covered his field
with nets and nooses.
"iil
MOT.
MAULID
woot rows
At midnight the four friends returned again, and began
devouring as before. The crow, the jackal and the hyena
soon had eaten their fill, but not so the camel, who had
hardly satisfied the cravings of hunger when the jackal
suddenly remarked : Camel, I feel a strong inclination to
bark.'
· For heaven's sake don't,' said the camel; you'll bring
up the owner, and then while you all escape I shall be
thrashed again.'
' Bark I must,' replied the jackal, who set up a dismal yell.
Out from his hut ran the owner; but it happened that while
the camel, the crow, and the jackal succeeded in getting away
the stupid hyena was caught in a net. 'Friends ! friends !'
cried he, 'are you going to abandon me? I shall be killed !'
: THE FOUR ASSOCIATES.
17
C
Obey my directions,' said the crow,' and all will be right.'
'What shall I do?' asked the hyena.
· Lie down and pretend to be dead,' said the crow, and
the owner will merely throw you out, after which you can run
away.
He had hardly spoken when the owner came to the spot,
and seeing what he believed to be a dead hyena, he seized
him by the hind legs and threw him out of the field, when at
once the delighted hyena sprang to his feet and trotted
away. Ah !' said the man, that rascal was not dead,
after all.
When the four associates met again the camel said to the
jackal: 'Your barking, friend, might have got me another
beating. Never mind, all's well that ends well; to-day yours,
to-morrow mine.'
Some time afterwards the camel said: 'Jackal, I'm going
out for a walk. If you will get on my back I will give you a
ride, and you can see the world. The jackal agreed, and,
stooping down, the camel allowed him to mount on his back.
As they were going along they came to a village, whereupon
all the dogs rushed out and began barking furiously at the
jackal, whom they eyed on the camel's back. Then said the
camel to the jackal: 'O jackal, I feel a strong inclination to
roll.'
For heaven's sake, don't !' pleaded the jackal; 'I shall be
worried.
'Roll I must,' replied the camel, and he rolled, while the
village dogs fell on the jackal before he could escape, and
tore him to pieces.
Then the camel returned and reported the traitor's death
to his friends, who mightily approved the deed.
w
2
IS
THE STORY OF LULL, THE IDIOT
XIII.
THE STORY OF LULL, THE IDIOT.*
HERE once lived an idiot named
Lull, who on the very day of his
birth lost his father. It is an old
saying that a boy-child who has no
father is a king, for he can do just
what he pleases. And this was
doubly true of Lull, because he
had so little sense that it was
useless even to attempt to control
him.
In the same town lived Lull's aunt, his mother's sister,
who was also a widow with an only daughter. Her his
mother used to visit from time to time, and on these
occasions she would say, 'Sister, you have a daughter.
Shall not our children marry together? To which the
sister would answer, 'What! marry my daughter to an idiot?
What would happen then, I wonder ? No, sister, this
cannot be.' To this the poor mother would reply, 'You are
my own sister. If you won't give your daughter to wife to
my idiot son, who in the world will ?'
who in the world will ?' And then the aunt
would relent, and say: 'Well, I suppose, as you are my
eldest sister, I must. Come once again, and we'll see if we
can settle it.'
At last it was all arranged, and, in accordance with the
usual custom, Lull's mother sent to the boy's betrothed
presents of clothes and trinkets. Poor Lull began to visit
the house, too, and the people in the street, when they knew
he was engaged, were quite civil to him, saying to each
other, "Don't you know this is Widow Heera's son-in-law ?
'
Now, it is considered an unworthy thing for a youth to be
* Lull means 'a fool'; Lulla is 'a little fool.'
THE STORY OF LULL, THE IDIOT.
19
always haunting the house of his betrothed, and frequent
visits are always discouraged. But Lull, being an idiot, and
having been well fed on the occasion of his first visit, had no
regard for people's prejudices, and in short used to visit his
aunt every day in the week.
One day he was on his way to the house as usual, when a
giri, drawing water from the well, saw him, and cried : Oh,
Lulla, come here, and help me to carry this vessel of water!'
She was by no means so big as Lull, who was active and
strong; but when he came up she began to smile wickedly at
him and to joke him about his sweetheart. Thereupon
UMU
O
4
dan
Lull gave her a great push, which toppled her over into the
well, and as there was no one near to rescue her the poor
thing was drowned.
When the lad arrived home his mother said to him, 'Oh,
Lull, where have you been again to-day ?'
'I have been to the same place,' answered Lull; 'and I
have had plenty to eat.'
' Lull,' said his mother, you should not go there so
often now that you are betrothed. The girls will all begin
to make fun of you, and who knows what you may be
doing ?'
2-2
20
THE STORY OF LULL, THE IDIOT.
What fun will the girls make of me?' replied Lull. 'One
of them did so to-day, and I caught her by the neck and
threw her into the well. And she's as dead as a stone, I can
tell you ;' and Lull quite laughed at the capital joke he had
played her.
*Ah, what fatal news is this?' cried the distressed
mother. Now this lad of mine will be hanged.'
Without a moment's delay the idiot's mother ran out, and
as it was getting dark, she escaped observation and came to
the well. With the greatest difficulty she managed to
get out the body, which she carried to the river, and, tying a
large jar full of sand to the neck of it, she threw it into the
water.
On her way back she saw the dead body of a he-goat
lying in the road. This she lifted on to her shoulders, and
taking it to the well, she dropped it in. Then she returned
to her own house.
She now began to reflect that, as her idiot boy was certain
to chatter to everyone about the trick which he had played
the unfortunate girl, her precautions ought to be increased.
So she took a box of sweetmeats and scattered them all over
the court of the house. Then she cried out to her son, who
had gone to bed : 'Get up, Lull-get up, boy! the sky has
been raining sweetmeats !' No second invitation was needed
for Lull, who loved sweetmeats with all his heart. He
sprang from his bed, and, rushing out just as he was, gathered
up every one of them, cramming his capacious mouth again
and again.
By this time, however, there was a great commotion at
the house of the missing girl. Messengers were sent every-
where to look for her, but they all returned no wiser than
they went. All night long the search went on, and in the
morning some said : ‘The poor girl has been made away
with for her trinkets and bangles, and they have hidden her
body.
Now, Lull had risen early, intending to visit the house of
his cousin as usual. Going up the street, he noticed an
unusual stir, and he stopped and asked : 'What is all this
noise for?'
THE STORY OF LULL, THE IDIOT.
21
*Oh, Lull,' said one, 'Gaffer Laiya's little girl went out to
fetch some water, and now she is nowhere to be found.'
* Is that all the fuss ?' answered Lull. 'I caught that
girl by the neck, and threw her into the well. Haven't you
looked for her there ?'
Some of the bystanders, with the girl's father, hearing
this, seized him, and took him along with them. . Come
along, Lull, and show us,' said they.
On the way one cried, 'When did you kill her, Lull ?
When did you kill her ?'
• What, you stupid people ?' said Lull. Why, of course,
I killed her last night before the sky began to rain down
sweetmeats.'
What a fool this fellow is !' then became the cry. . What
is the use of our wasting time over him ?' But others
said: 'No, let us go and see. Perhaps there is something
in it.'
When the crowd arrived at the well, the girl's father said,
· Let Lull go down and bring up my daughter.'
'All right,' cried Lull; 'give me a rope, tie it round my
waist and let me down. I'll soon find her for you.'
So the people brought a stout rope, and Lull was lowered
into the well, which was very wide, though not very deep-
like all the wells of that country.
When Lull, who could swim like a fish, found himself in
the water, he looked round him, but could perceive no signs
of the dead body. Then he gave a dive down into the well, ,
and coming across something at the bottom, he examined it,
and rose once more to the surface.
'Hi! cried he, looking up the well and addressing the
distracted father, ' has your daughter two horns ?'
* Bring it up! bring it up, Lull!' cried the poor man, 'and
let us see it.
Down into the water Lull dived again, and after an
interval which seemed like eternity he again came to the
surface. I say,' cried he to the father, 'hasn't your daughter
four legs?
On hearing this, some said: 'What's the use of bothering
here with this silly fool?' But others cried out to Lull.
22
THE STORY OF LULL, THE IDIOT.
* Bring up the body, Lull, there's a fine lad! bring it up and
let us see it.
Lull dived down for the third time, and was longer out of
sight than ever. At last he appeared once more, and looking
up to the eager faces, he cried: 'Hi, uncle, has your daughter
a long tail ?
Then many of the people got very angry. 'Why don't
you bring it up, you idiot !' they cried, and they threatened
to brain him with stones. The boy now hastily disapppeared
for the last time; but if he had been as other people, he would
have felt the father's tears, as they dropped into the well,
Minint
3
1
worse even than stones. This time he remained under
water a longer period still, until the people began to imagine
he was drowned too. But at last he appeared again, and
holding up high over the water the head of the old he-goat,
he cried to the unfortunate father: 'See! isn't this your
daughter?'
This caused the greatest disorder and confusion among
the people, because, while some were bursting with rage,
others seemed bursting with laughter, and no one knew what
to
say or where to look. 'Ah, what stuff this is !' said one
of the serious ones ; "and what precious time we have wasted
THE STORY OF ĻULL, THE IDIOT.
23
over this wretched idiot !' Then some were for throwing in
the rope, and leaving the lad to drown. But the father
said, “No! he is only a poor idiot-let him go.' And so
Lull was pulled roughly up and sent about his business.
While all this was going on, Lull's poor mother-half
out of her wits with fear and apprehension—was giving
away bread in charity, and offering up her intercessory
prayers at all the shrines in the place on behalf of her boy.
And overjoyed was she when she received him once more
safe and sound, because, though he was only an idiot, he was
the very light of her life. Yet she did not spare him when
she got hold of him again, and often she reproached and
reviled him with: 'Ah, you little fool! you have lost
your sweetheart, and who'll marry you now?' For her
sister had lost no time in coming to her and saying, “A
pretty to-do in the town, and all about your idiot of a son!
No more sweethearting at my house if you please, sister. I
have had enough of it, and, in short, my daughter is promised
now to somebody else.' So the match had been broken off,
and poor Lull's love-making came to an end.
Some time after this Lull was loitering about the street,
when a passing soldier laid hold of his arm and said, 'Here,
lad, carry this vessel of butter for me, and if you are smart
I'll give you three halfpence.' This quite delighted Lull,
who was as strong as a horse, and taking up the vessel, with
an 'All right, I'll carry it,' he swung it on to his shoulders.
The vessel was a large jar of earthenware, and the butter
was in a liquid state, like oil.
As Lull strode along the road, followed by the soldier, his
busy brain began to build up castles in the air. · How
lucky am I !' said he to himself. This fellow is going to
give me three ha'pence, and what shall I do with it? I
know. I'll go into the market and buy a hen with it, and I'll
take it home and feed it; and the hen will lay eggs, and I
shall have a fine brood of chickens. And I'll sell them all
for what they will fetch, and when I have sold them I'll buy
a sheep. After a bit the sheep will have young ones, and
when I have also sold them, I'll buy a cow.
And when my
cow has young ones I'll buy a milch buffalo; and when my
24
THE STORY OF LULL, THE IDIOT.
milch buffalo has young ones, I'll sell her and I'll buy a mare
to ride on. And when I am riding my mare the people will
all stare at me, and say, "Oh, Lull! Lull!" and the girls
will nudge each other, and say, “Look at Lull on his beauti-
ful mare !” And when I have a mare of my own, I shall not
be long making a match with some fine girl with a pot of
money; and I'll get married, and I shall have four or five
nice little children. And when my children look up to me
and cry, "Papa, papa !” I'll say to one, "O you little dear!”
and to another, “O you little darling !" And with my hand
I'll pat them on the head, one by one, just like this.' Suiting
the action to the word, Lull, in total oblivion of the jar
of butter, lowered his hand, and made several passes in
the air as if patting his children's heads; but as he did
so, down fell the unlucky jar, which was broken into a
thousand pieces, and all the precious butter ran about the
street.
The soldier now ran up in a furious passion. 'Ah, you
villain,' said he, 'this liquid butter was the king's! Come
along, I am going to the king, and you shall be punished.
Five rupees all pitched into the street !' So he seized Lull
and took him along with him.
THE STORY OF LULL, THE IDIOT.
25
They had not gone many yards when they saw a mule
coming towards them, and some distance behind him a
buniah running and shouting : ‘Hi! my mule is running
away, my mule is running away! Will some one give him
two cracks with a stick and stop him ?' Hearing this, Lull
lifted his staff and smote the mule so heavy a blow on the
head that he fell to the ground quite lifeless. When the
buniah came up, he cried : 'Ah, you villain, you have killed
my mule, and you shall go before the king !
So the buniah, in high indignation, joined company with
the soldier, and all three went on towards the king's
court.
As they were walking along they came up to a little hut,
or hovel of grass, by the roadside, in which lived a very old
man and a very old woman. Here the three sat down to
rest, and Lull, being thirsty, had a drink of water. Then the
soldier and the buniah said to the old couple: 'Do you
know who this is ? This is Lull,' When the old woman,
who was of a whimsical turn, heard that, she said :
'O Lulla, do tell us the story of how Lanka was captured,
and how Dehsar, the ten-headed god, was killed.'
26
THE STORY OF LULL, THE IDIOT.
'Now, woman,' answered Lull, 'don't be teasing me.
Don't you see what trouble I am in ?'
But the old lady was not to be denied. · Now, do tell us,
Lull,' said she. Now hear, O soldier,' then replied Lull,
' and hear you, O buniah! This old woman wants to know
how Lanka was taken, and how the ten-headed god was
killed. I can show her this far better than I can tell her,
and if I do not show her she will not believe me.'
Saying this, the stupid lad sprang up, and, seizing a hatchet
which was lying by, he cut off the old man's head at a
single blow. “This,' cried he, 'is how the ten-headed god
was killed.'
Then he caught up some dry grass, set a light to it and
fired the hut, which in a moment was enveloped in flames.
Als
YA
Nor would the old woman have escaped being burnt to death
if Lull had not dragged her out of the place. “And now,
said he, this is the way that Lanka was taken.'
Then was the old woman sorry she spoke, but her rage
was greater than her grief, for she swore in the most dreadful
manner. “But, you villain !' said she, “I'll tell the king, and
you shall be hanged. And she joined the soldier and the
buniah to add her accusation to theirs.
THE STORY OF LULL, THE IDIOT.
27
Away started the party once more; but before coming
to the king's court they passed the shop of an oil-seller.
Here Lull halted and said to the soldier : ‘Look, my hair is
so rough and untidy that I am not fit to go before the king.
Let me enter this shop and smooth down my hair with a
little oil.' To this the soldier consented, and Lull entered
the shop, which was kept by another old woman. All round
there were shelves, and on the shelves stood large earthen
ހަވަރުތި
!!!!
Rua
il
vessels quite full of oil. Said Lull to the shop-keeper :
Mother, I have a few cowries here; let me have a little oil
for my hair. And he gave her two or three cowries. Then
the woman took an iron spoon and brought the boy a little
oil from one of the vessels. Lull held out his hand for it,
and she poured it into his palm; but Lull was so silly that
he let it all run out between his fingers, and it dropped on the
floor. Then said he : 'I bought a few cowries' worth of oil,
and even that small quantity has slipped away!' But
spilt oil is a sign of good luck, and the woman thought she
would cheer him up by saying: 'O boy, you are in luck
to-day; you have certainly escaped something dreadful !'
When Lull heard the woman speaking thus, he began
thinking to himself, 'I have spilt these few drops of
28
THE STORY OF LULL, THE IDIOT.
oil, and I am in luck, and perhaps have missed some great
misfortune or other. But if I spill all the oil in the shop I
shall bring better luck on myself and everybody else as well.'
So he lifted his heavy staff, and laying on the chatties
with the utmost violence, he smashed them to atoms, and
let out so large a quantity of oil that it covered the ground
and ran out at the door.
'Hulloa !' cried the soldier, who was sitting outside ;
'what! more mischief here ?'
Presently out came the old shop-keeper, fuming with rage,
Wh
and crying : 'Ah, you villain of a thief, we'll see what the king
will say to this!' And she joined company with the other
complainants, and all went forward and entered into the
king's presence.
The king was at this time in his court hearing cases and
administering justice. When he saw Lull and his four
accusers at the door, he called them forward to his judg-
ment-seat, and bade them state their business. The first to
speak was the soldier. O king, I hired this man,' said he,
'to carry five rupees' worth of ghee for your highness
kitchen, but he dropped it in the street, and it was all wasted.'
THE STORY OF LULL, THE IDIOT.
29
Then the king turned to Luil and said : What is your
name?'
My name is Lull,' answered the lad. “This soldier is
complaining about his pen'orth of ghee; but if the king will
lend me his ears, I will state the case truly.
The king nodding assent, Lull proceeded: 'I agreed with
the soldier to carry his butter for three ha'pence. As I went
along I began to think what I should do with so large a sum.
I would buy a hen and hatch chickens and sell them. Then
I would buy a sheep and have lambs and sell them. Then I
would buy a cow and have calves and sell them. Then I
would have a milch buffalo and have baby buffaloes and
sell them. And lastly, I should buy a fine mare and go
riding among the girls and choose me a wife, and get
children four or five. And I was just fancying myself in the
midst of them, petting them and tousling them, and I merely
took down my hand from the jar to pat their dear little heads,
when crash! down came the jar, and all the butter ran away.
But was I to blame, o king, seeing I lost so much myself ?'
When the king heard this he perceived that Lull was
a merry fool, and he began to laugh. As fools were his
delight, he felt very well inclined to him, and, turning to
the soldier, he gave sentence thus: 'Soldier, for the sake of
three pice this poor fellow has lost his all, and, in short,
ruined himself, for he has lost his fowls, his sheep, his cows, his
buffaloes, his mare, and even his poor little children ; while
all you have lost is five rupees. Stand aside; he is forgiven.
I dismiss the case.'
The king then called forward the next accuser, upon which
the buniah advanced and gave his evidence thus: “This
miserable man, my lord, whom I have never injured, struck
my mule with that staff of his and killed it.
'Did you kill this buniah's mule, Lull ?' asked the king.
Yes, I did,' answered Lull; 'but, О king, let the buniah
witness whether he did not request me to do so, crying out
again and again: “O traveller, traveller, give my mule a
couple of cracks !" I merely struck his animal once.'
'Soldier, what have you to say to this ? the king then
asked. 'Is Lull's statement true or false ?'
30
THE STORY OF LULL, THE IDIOT.
My lord, it is true,' answered the soldier.
'Then,' said the king to the buniah, 'this misfortune is
surely no one's fault but your own. Ho, guard, give this false
witness half a dozen stripes and turn him into the street !
So the unfortunate buniah was led off in disgrace.
Then the poor old woman whose house was on fire began
her pitiful story: 'This man, o king, both cut off my
husband's head and burnt up my house. I ask for justice.'
'Can this be possible, Lull ?' asked the king.
'Yes,' answered Lull, "it is true enough. But she asked
me again and again to give her the story of the death of the
ten-headed god, and to show her how Lanka was taken,
and I merely obeyed her.
As the old woman could not deny this, Lull continued : ‘I
thought it was best to explain to her properly how it was
done, for deeds are always better than words, and so I
showed her properly in order that there might be no
mistake."
To the woman the king then said: 'As this appears to be
the case, the prisoner must be acquitted. Be more careful
another time, and meanwhile my servants will provide you
with a dwelling.' So this case also was dismissed.
Then lastly the oil-seller came forward and accused Lull
of having wantonly and maliciously smashed the whole of
her oil vessels and spilt the oil, thereby ruining her for ever.
* Did you do this thing, Lull?' said the king.
'Yes, O king, I did,' answered Lull.
"And why did you ?' returned the king.
'I went into the shop to buy four cowries' worth of oil to
oil my hair before coming into your highness' presence ;
but the oil ran away between my fingers, and the woman told
me how lucky I was to have spilt it, and I thought to
myself: “If spilling a little of her oil brings me luck, spilling
the whole of her oil will bring me and her and everyone still
more luck." So I spilt it as much for herself as for me.'
Then the king, addressing himself to the woman, said :
Woman, you must have known this poor fellow was an
idiot, and you should have been more careful of your speech.
It is quite evident that he broke your vessels of oil because
THE STORY OF LULL, THE IDIOT.
31
he thought you were not strong enough to break them for
yourself. He wished you to have all the luck in the world.
But the original fault lay with yourself.'
So the king, greatly amused, dismissed this case as well,
and ordered the prisoner to be discharged.
PINO
Wild
Lull then joyfully betook himself home to his mother, who
said : ‘Lull, Lull, I have been in the greatest agony of mind
about you! What became of you?' And to his mother
Lull told all his adventures from first to last. And when she
had heard them through, she said :
'My Lull does everything upside down ;
God brings it together as right as a crown.'
32
THE SAINT AND THE PILGRIM.
XIV.
THE SAINT AND THE PILGRIM.
THERE was a certain saint, by name Abul Hassan, whose
power and sanctity were noised all over the country. One
day a pilgrim came from a distant land for the sole purpose
of seeing him, but when he called at the house he found that
he was absent. Where has he gone?' inquired he of his
wife. Now, the saint's wife was a hard woman, bitter and
peevish in speech, and instead of answering the question, she
!1.48
N
began to abuse her husband with unmeasured violence, so
that, hearing her words, the pilgrim lost all faith in the
holiness of the person he had travelled so far to see. As he
left the house, he said to some of the neighbours: “This
saint of yours-where is he?' They answered: 'He has
gone to the hills to gather sticks.'
• Though I no longer believe in him,' said the pilgrim to
himself, “I will at least look upon his face before I return.
So he set out forthwith for the jungle, but he had not pro-
ceeded far when he met the holy man face to face. His
wood was borne before him by a tiger, and in his hand,
THE LOVE OF MONEY.
33
instead of a whip, he carried a snake. · Then the pilgrim
fell at his feet and said: 'At the reproachful words of your
wife my faith decreased, but I now believe that verily you are
a saint indeed. Pray forgive me!'
'He who will exercise invincible patience,' answered the
saint, especially with a shrew of a wife, shall command the
very tigers, and they will obey him, for patience is rewarded
of God. But a scolding wife can no man tame, seeing she
is the very fiend himself.
KUD
XV.
THE LOVE OF MONEY.
A MISER once found his way into the bazaar to buy bread.
The weather was unusually warm, and as he trudged along
the perspiration gathered round the coin, which was closely
clutched in his hand. Arresting his steps, he gazed at the
moist piece with a fond eye and said: 'I won't spend you,
then. Weep not, dear friend; we shall not separate, after all-
I will starve first !' So he restored the money to his bag,
and begged for scraps from door to door.
XVI.
CHARACTERISTIC PRIDE OF THE
BANÉYRWALS.
A POOR man of Banéyr, unable to support himself in his
native mountains, set out for Hindustan to seek his fortune,
and there rose to the rank of nawáb.
One of his poor
relations, hearing of his good fortune, determined to visit
him. So he went to the bazaar, and with a few annas bought
3
34
THE FALSE WITNESS.
-
one pound of sugar as a neighbourly present for his former
acquaintance. After a long journey he arrived at the palace,
and found the nawáb in the midst of his fine friends. But
though he winked and nodded and beckoned to him to step
aside for a friendly greeting, and to receive his pound of
sugar, his efforts to engage the great man's attention were
quite unsuccessful. At last, perceiving that his unwelcome
visitor was about to open his mouth, the nawab said to one
of his attendants: Conduct this poor stranger to my store-
room, where my bags of sugar are laid up, and there let him
sit down and eat his fill.' Then he caused a letter to be
written to his native village sternly forbidding any more of
his poor ill-clad kinsmen to trouble him with their objection-
able presence.
1
XVII.
THE FALSE WITNESS:*
A CARAVAN of merchants came and pitched for the night at
a certain spot on the way down to Hindustán. In the
morning it was found that the back of one of the camels
was so sore that it was considered inexpedient to load him
again, and he was turned loose into the wilderness. So they
left him behind. The camel, after grazing about the whole
day, became exceedingly thirsty, and meeting a jackal, he
said to him: Uncle, uncle, I am very thirsty ; can you
show me some water ?'
'I can show you water,' said the jackal; ' but if I do, you
must agree to give me a good feed of meat from your sore
back.'
* This story is intended as a satire on the universal practice prevailing
among the natives of India of getting up false cases and procuring false
witness in courts of law.
J
THE FALSE WITNESS.
35
'I do agree,' replied the camel ; and now show me the
water.'
So he followed his small friend until they came to a running
stream, where he drank such quantities of water that the
jackal thought he was never going to stop. Then, turning
to the jackal, he invited him to his repast. 'Come, uncle,'
said he, you can now make your supper off my sore
back.'
* Nay,' answered the jackal, 'you forget. Our agreement
was not that. It was, dear nephew, that I should have a
be
२६.
meal of your tongue,* not of your wretched old back.
This you distinctly promised if I would take you to water.'
* Very well,' replied the camel ; ' bring forward your witness
to prove your words, and you can have it so.'
'My witness I have handy,' said the jackal, and in two
minutes he will be here.'
So, going to the wolf, he pitched him a lying tale, and
persuaded him to bear false witness. 'You see, wolf,'
remarked he, 'if I eat his tongue he will certainly die, and
then we shall both have grand feeds, and all our friends can
come and feast as well; but no one could possibly touch the
* Sore back’in Panjâbi being chỉgh, and tongue jîb, there was sufficient
similarity of sound to suggest prevarication.
3-2
36
THE FALSE WITNESS.
flesh of a sore back.' So the two made their way to
the camel, and the jackal, appealing to the wolf, began :
What was the bargain ? Did he not agree that if I would
take him to water he would give me his tongue ?'
'That was the bargain, most certainly,' asserted the wolf,
and the camel agreed. Sitting behind that rock, I over-
heard the whole affair.'
' Be it so,' said the camel. 'As you both delight in lies,
and have no consciences, come along, Mr. Jackal, and
devour my tongue.' With which words he lowered his long
neck until his head was on a level with his diminutive foe.
But the latter then said to the wolf: O friend, you see what
a morsel I am! I am much too weak to pull out that
enormous tongue. Could you not seize it and hold it for me?'
Then the wolf ventured his head into the camel's mouth
to pull forward the tongue, but the camel instantly closed
his powerful jaws, and, crushing the skull of his enemy,
shook him to death. Meanwhile, the jackal danced and
skipped with glee, crying out :
· Behold the fate of the false witness! behold the fate of
the false witness!
0
THE KING AND THE PARROT.
37
XVIII.
THE KING AND THE PARROT.
N former days, when birds pos-
sessed the gift of speech, and
were as intelligent as the wisest
statesmen, there lived a certain
king who took much pleasure in
a favourite parrot. It was the
greatest delight of his life to
caress her, to converse with her,
and to feed her with dainty
scraps from his own hands as
she stood perched on his royal knee, while the lovely-
plumaged bird, coyly reciprocating the king's attachment,
manifested her love for him in a thousand endearing ways
and by the prettiest of speeches.
One day, in the warm early spring-time, just as the tender
willows by the mill-stream were beginning to put on their
bright clothing of green, the parrot addressed her petition
to her master in these words :
'Oking, it is now a long long time since I left my home.
Give me leave to fly away and visit the well-loved spot once
more.'
But the king refused her request, not finding it possible to
part with her. It was only after many solicitations, extend-
ing over many days, that at last he granted a very sorrowful
permission.
'Go, dear bird,' said he, and visit your own native clime.
When six months have fled, then come back to me once
more, and when you come, remember to bring me some sure
token that your love has never diminished.
Absent or present, О king,' answered the parrot, 'I shall
love you still the same.'
So the king and his favourite had a most tender parting,
with many a sweet little kiss to be remembered by them
38
THE KING AND THE PARROT.
both thereafter. And then the parrot spread out her golden
wings and started for her own home, flying from tree to tree
and from hill to hill for many a league.
But the king, who knew the direction of her flight, had
commanded some of his courtiers to follow her and to observe
her doings. It was a long and a weary journey. One
hundred miles at least did the courtiers travel through the
woods. At last they came to a barren plain, quite destitute
of vegetation, over which the wind howled dismally. At the
end of this plain their further progress was barred by a
mighty river, which they could by no means cross over. As
they were preparing to retrace their steps they noticed a few
solitary trees growing near the brink of the water. On
the drooping branch of one of them was built a nest,
and upon the nest, to their joy and surprise, sat the king's
favourite parrot; while ever and anon a gust of the keen
wind would come and rudely bend the fragile bough with its
precious burden and dip it into the chilly water.
Having noticed these things, the courtiers once more re-
turned to the palace, and reported to the king all that they
had witnessed. Naturally the king was astonished that a
bird so wise and sensible, able to command the most beauti-
THE KING AND THE PARROT.
39
ful lodging and the daintiest food, should prefer exile in a
desolate place amid want and privation. But, as he had a
thoughtful and a sagacious mind, he began to reflect on a
circumstance so extraordinary, and at last, addressing his
court, he said:
'This is only an instance of a true instinct. Be it ever so
poor and humble, its own proper home is what the heart of
every living creature must yearn after the most, and it is the
will of God that the parrot should love her poor wet nest of
sticks on the blown willow before all the palaces in the
world.
The six months had nearly expired when the parrot,
having reared and forsaken a vigorous brood of young ones,
prepared to set out for the king's palace. But first, remem-
bering her promised gage d'amour, she visited the beautiful
Garden of the Fairies, and from an enchanted tree which
grew in the middle of it she selected two small rosy apples,
and then continued her flight. Having arrived at court, her
love
YA UPU
SC
Ulan
presence was at once announced, and she was welcomed
with every manifestation of joy. Then she presented her
two apples, as tokens that her love had never suffered
diminution during all her weary absence. But the king, full
40
THE KING AND THE PARROT.
of suspicions, as kings are so apt to be, eyed them askance,
and to test their virtues he threw one of them to his favourite
hound. The dog greedily devoured it, but scarcely had he
تالی
YA
done so when the poor animal was seized with horrible con-
vulsions and expired in agony. Without a moment's con-
sideration the king rose up, anger darting from his eyes, and,
seizing his unfortunate parrot, he instantly wrung her neck.
This done, he ordered that the remaining apple should be
cast out.
Now, this apple was endowed with magic power, and as it
happened that, when it was thrown from the casement, it fell
into the king's garden, it soon began to grow, and though
it did not grow so high as the clouds, it quickly became a
goodly tree, bearing quantities of fruit. It need scarcely be
said that no one about the palace ever dreamed of approach-
ing it. Indeed, the king had issued a law that no one should
go within fifty yards of it, and on account of its supposed
deadly qualities it was known far and wide as THE TREE
OF DEATH.
The king's garden was very large and extensive, and in
one of its remote corners, just behind the royal stables, there
stood a lowly hut in which dwelt an old sweeper and his
3
THE KING AND THE PARROT.
41
wife, whose business it was to keep clean the stalls. They
were both very miserable, being poor, aged and infirm.
One night, as they were meditating on their sad and forlorn
condition, the sweeper said to his wife :
See how wretched we are ! Life has become intolerable.
As we have now lived too long, let us eat some of the fruit
of the Tree of Death, and so die together.'
This was no sooner said than done, and the man or the
woman, one or the other, went out and plucked the forbidden
fruit, and they made what they believed to be their last
meal of it. But lo! now a miracle, for these two old
creatures, instead of instantly falling down dead as they
expected, became suddenly endowed with youth and beauty,
and into all their limbs began to flow a feeling of renewed
vigour and strength.
Early the next morning down came the master of the
horse, and when he perceived two persons whom he sup-
posed to be perfect strangers in the royal garden he demanded
of them who they were, and by what means they had
entered.
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'We are not intruders,' answered they. We are the two
poor old sweepers who have lived in this hut this many a
day. Being weary of living, we have eaten of the fruit of
12
THE KING AND THE PARROT.
the Tree of Death, hoping to die; but, by the blessing of
God, instead of dying, we have both become young again.'
When the master of the horse had heard this wonderful
account he was surprised, and, commanding them to follow
him, he ushered them into the immediate presence of the
king.
* These two persons,' said he,'have strange tidings for
you, O'king.
So to the king they related all that had befallen them,
having first of all fallen on their knees and implored his
pardon for their transgression of the laws.
At first the king was so incredulous that he felt inclined
to order them forth to instant execution; but at the request
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of his master of the horse he spared them, in order to test
the truth of their statement.
Calling one of the most aged of his nobles, he bade him
go forth and gather some of the mysterious fruit which had
wrought such miracles. The old courtier instantly hobbled
away, and when he returned he held in his hand a small
basket of the tiny rose-red apples.
'Behold, sire,' said he ; 'I have obeyed your command.'
*Now eat!' exclaimed the monarch. And the old man,
THE KING AND THE PARROT.
43
not without many misgivings, proceeded to eat one of the
shining morsels. Then, indeed, the mind of the bewildered
king became satisfied, when before his very eyes he saw his
wrinkled servant gradually assuming the lineaments of a
glorious youth. It was small wonder that this mighty
potentate forgot the dignity of his position, and, rising from
his seat, sprang forward to taste so delicious a repast. The
whole of the court was permitted to follow his example, and
in a single day all the lords and ladies of the palace who
had passed the heyday of their strength and beauty became
young and blooming once more.
The king now sent for his diviners and soothsayers to
interpret for him so singular a wonder, and to explain the
mystery of the apple which had killed his dog. Having
arranged their enchantments and worked their various spells,
they one and all agreed that the first apple had been licked
by a serpent, which had lain hidden in the tree of the Garden
of the Fairies, and that its venomous saliva, adhering to the
fruit, had caused the death of the dog, but that the parrot
was in no way to blame. We may feel quite sure that the
king, who was noble and generous at heart, had reason then
to mourn over the fate of his beloved bird. He made what
amends he could, for he erected in her honour a magnificent
shrine, where she was ever afterwards adored as a saint, not
only by his own subjects, but by pilgrims from all parts of the
known world.
44 THE OLD WEAVER AND THE CAMEL'S FOOTPRINTS.
XIX.
THE OLD WEAVER AND THE CAMEL'S
FOOTPRINTS.
en
Du
ONE night a camel trespassing in a weaver's field left there
the marks of his feet. In the morning the owner brought to
the spot the oldest weaver in the village, expecting that he
would be able to explain what manner of animal had trodden
down his corn. The old man, on seeing the footprints, both
laughed and cried. Said the people: 'O father, you both
laugh and cry! What does this mean?'
'I cry,' said he, “because I think to myself, “ What will
these poor children do for someone to explain these things
to them when I am dead," and I laugh because, as for these
footprints, I know not what they are.
GREEBA, THE WEAVER.
45
XX.
GREEBA, THE WEAVER.
At the village of Bhurân lived an old weaver named Greeba,
who, for a wonder, was shrewd enough. It happened that
Habeeb Khán, the lumbardār, laid a tax on the weavers'
houses at the rate of two rupees for every doorway. When
Greeba heard of this, he tore down his door, and, laying it on
his shoulders, carried it off to the khan's. 'Here, khan, '
said he, with a profound salaam, 'I have heard you want
doorways, so I have brought you mine. I also hear you want
the side-walls, and I am now going to fetch them, too.
Hearing this, the khan laughed, and said: 'O Greeba, the
weaver, take back your door ; your tax is paid.'
XXI.
EESARA AND CANEESARA.
塑
​OME years ago there lived two
merchants, a Hindoo and a Maho-
medan, who were partners in the
same business. The name of the
Hindoo was Eesara, and the name
of the Mahomedan was Caneesara.
They had once been extremely well
off, but hard times had come upon
them, their business had declined,
and they had gradually sunk into
poverty.
One day Caneesara came to the house of Eesara and said:
'Lend us something—some money, or some grain, or some
bread-we have absolutely nothing to eat.'
"O friend,' answered Eesara, 'you are not in worse
plight than we are. We are quite destitute of everything.
What can I give you ?'
So Caneesara's visit was fruitless, and he returned empty-
handed as he had come.
After he had gone, Eesara said to his wife : 'All we have
16
EESARA AND CANEESARA.
is a brass plate and a single brass cup. As the plate is of
value, put it for safety into a net and hang it from the roof
over our beds; and put some water in the plate, so that if
Caneesara comes into the house to steal it when we are
asleep, the water will spill on our faces and we shall awake.'
That very night Caneesara, who knew of the brass plate,
determined to make an effort to become possessed of it. So,
long after the inmates were in bed, he visited the house of
Eesara, and, softly lifting the latch, stole into the apartment.
There, in the faint light of the moon, he saw the plate hang-
ing in a net over the beds, but, being a cunning fellow and
suspecting a trick, he first put his forefinger through the net
TIME
Wc
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Valmistunut
and discovered that the plate contained water. To avoid
detection, he now took up some sand, and, with the utmost
care, dropped it gradually into the plate, until the whole of
the water was absorbed. Having accomplished this, he
slowly abstracted the plate from the net and made off
with it.
On his way home he considered that his wisest course
would be to hide the plate for a short time until he met with
an opportunity of selling it. Going, therefore, to a tank, he
waded into it some distance, and buried it in the mud, and
in order to mark the place he stuck in a long reed which he
EESARA AND CANEESARA.
47
had plucked on the margin. Then, perfectly satisfied with
his success, he went home and got into bed.
The next morning, when Eesara awoke, he missed the
plate, and cried : ' wife, Caneesara has been here. He
has stolen the plate.'
Going at once to his friend's house, he searched it high
and low, but returned home no wiser than he was before.
As the day was far spent, he went out to the tank for his
accustomed bath. When he arrived at the edge of the water,
he observed the solitary reed nodding in the wind, and said :
'Hallo! this was not here yesterday. This is some trick of
Caneesara's.' So he waded into the water, and had the
satisfaction of discovering his missing plate, which he carried
home to his wife, but he left the tell-tale reed undisturbed.
After a day or two Caneesara came down to the tank, and
wading out to his reed, began to grope among the mud for
the brass plate, but he groped in vain. 'Ah!' groaned he,
'Eesara has been here.' Vexed and disappointed, he returned
to his house and smoked his hookah.
Caneesara now visited his partner once more, and said to
him : "Friend Eesara, we are both as badly off as we can be.
Let us now go together to some other country, and let us
take our account-books with us, and see if by hook or by
crook we cannot make some money.' To this proposal
Eesara agreed, and the two friends set out on their travels.
After a weary tramp they arrived at a city in which a rich
merchant had recently died, and by inquiry they found that,
his body having been burnt, his remains had been duly laid in
a certain place. . Then Eesara, by tampering with the ledgers
which he had brought with him from his own home, concocted
a tremendous bill against the defunct merchant, ingeniously
running up the amount to forty thousand rupees. When
night set in, the two friends went to the place of sepulture,
and dug out a chamber, in which Caneesara hid himself, while
Eesara covered him over with sticks and earth, and, in short,
managed his task so well that in the morning no one would
have suspected that the ground had been disturbed at all.
Eesara, armed with his account-books, went presently to the
house of the sons of the dead merchant, and said to them :
48
EESARA AND CANEESARA.
* Both your father and your grandfather were in debt to the
house of which I am a partner. The total sum due to us is
forty thousand rupees, and payment is requested without
more delay.'
The sons at first attempted to brave it out. · Not a
farthing do we owe you,' said they. Why was not this
monstrous. claim sent in before ?'
· The claim is true,' replied Eesara, and the money is
owing in full. I appeal to your dead father. Let him be
the judge. I cite you to appear with me at his grave.'
The two sons, thus solemnly charged, accompanied their
pretended creditor to their father's grave. Now, the dead
man's name was Bahnooshâh.
'O Bahnooshâh,' cried Eesara, thou model of honour
and probity, hear and answer! Are you indebted in the sum
of forty thousand rupees to the house of Eesara and
Caneesara, or are you not ?'
Three times was this appeal made with a loud voice over
the grave, and in answer to the third appeal Caneesara spoke
in a sepulchral tone from the bowels of the earth : 'Oh,
my sons, cried he, 'if you are faithful to my memory, leave
not this weight of woe on my soul, but pay the money at once.'
The sons were overwhelmed, and, dropping on their knees,
promised to fulfil the request of the dead. They then
returned home, and taking Eesara into their counting-house,
paid him over the sum demanded, and presented him with
a mule in addition to carry away the burden. Eesara, who
was beyond measure enchanted with the success of his
stratagem, forgot in the full flow of his happiness to return
for his partner, and having mounted the mule and ensconced
himself in comfort between the saddle-bags, he made haste
to get out of the town.
By this time Caneesara, beginning to tire of being pent
up in his dark, narrow lodging, was thinking to himself:
Strange! Why does not Eesara come back with news ?'
And, unable to bear the suspense any longer, he burst open
his frail tenement and entered the town. Going to the
house of the deluded merchants, he inquired for one named
Eesara, and learnt that he had just received the amount of
EESARA AND CANEESARA.
49
the debt, and had departed. “There he goes,' said they,
‘on yonder mule.' Following with his eyes the direction
indicated, he saw Eesara astride of the mule going up a
neighbouring hill, and occasionally belabouring his stubborn
animal with a cudgel. “Ha! ha!' laughed Caneesara, 'so
Eesara is leaving me in the lurch.' And he began to follow
him.
Now, as Eesara jogged along he saw a handsome gold-
embroidered shoe lying upon the road; but he was too proud
in the possession of his newly-acquired wealth to regard
such a trifle as an odd shoe, however embroidered, and he
62.
continued his way without dismounting. When Caneesara
arrived at the spot, however, he picked up the shoe, and a
happy thought striking him, he ran at the top of his speed
round by some rocks along a by-way and joined the main
track again some distance ahead of Eesara. There he laid
down the shoe in the middle of the road, and hid hintself in
a bush.
Eesara, riding up as happy as a king, turned a projecting
corner of the road and at once espied the shoe. Reining up
his mule, he gazed at it and cried : ‘Ha! here's the fellow
of the shoe I left behind--the same pattern and everything.'
And, dismounting, he picked up the shoe, tied his mule to
50
EESARA AND CANEESARA.
the very bush in which Caneesara was in hiding, and ran
back as hard as he could go for the supposed fellow. The
moment he was out of sight Caneesara got down from the
bush, mounted the mule, and rode off at a full pace.
Now, Eesara, of course, looked for the fellow-shoe in vain,
and, what was still harder to bear, he returned to the bush
to find his mule gone. 'Ha!' said he, 'Caneesara has been
here!' And he hastened on foot towards his own village.
Meanwhile Caneesara was also pressing on with all speed.
He arrived at his home in the middle of the night, and with-
out a word to any of his neighbours he unloaded the mule
and drove it away into the forest. He then summoned his
wife, and the two between them carried the bags of money
into the house and buried them under the mud floor. But
being afraid of unpleasant questions if he met Eesara just
then, he absented himself from home, charging his wife not
to reveal the fact of his arrival.
Eesara, by no means despairing, arrived at his own house
and related his adventures to his wife, who agreed with him
in his opinion that the money had been taken by Caneesara.
. And what is more,' said Eesara, "he has buried it in his
house."
The next night the wife of Eesara invited the wife of
Caneesara to spend a few hours with her, and during
the interval Eesara visited the house of his partner and
successfully dug up the money, after which he restored the
floor to its former appearance. Taking the hoard to his
own house, which he entered after the departure of
Caneesara's wife, he buried it in like manner under the
floor of his chamber. He then went off and hid himself in
an old dry well, directing his wife to bring him his food at a
certain hour every day.
By this time Caneesara had ventured to return to his
home, and choosing a proper time for the purpose, he dug
up the floor of his house, stopping now and then to chuckle
with his wife over the success of his stratagem. But, alas !
the money was nowhere to be found, and he laboured in vain.
' Ha!' cried he, throwing down his spade, 'Eesara has
been here!' Then he considered within himself: "Eesara
EESARA AND CANEESARA.
51
has taken away the money, but instead of looking for the
money I shall now look for Eesara himself.'
Caneesara now watched in the neighbourhood of Eesara's
house night and day, and observing that his wife always
went out at the same hour, he began to suspect that she must
be taking her husband's food somewhere. So he dogged her
footsteps at a safe distance, and discovered that she made
for the old well. There he watched her from behind a
boulder, and saw her take bread and buttermilk from under
her veil, and lower the food with a piece of string down the
well. After a time he noticed that she drew up the empty
vessel, and, with a few words to the person below, returned
to the town. * Ha, ha!' laughed Caneesara, ‘Eesara is
here; he is down that well! But where can the money
be ?
That night Caneesara made up some atrociously bad
bread, and the next day he disguised himself as a woman in
a long red cloth, and taking with him the bread, a vessel,
and a piece of string, he went out to the well and lowered
down the food.
Oh, you cursed woman ! cried Eesara in a rage, 'what
bread is this you have brought me ?'
' 0 husband !' answered Caneesara in feigned tones,
'you rail at your poor wife, but what am I to do without
money?'
'You wretched woman!' said Eesara, ‘you know that under
the floor of our old house there are bags and bags of money!
Why can't you take a rupee occasionally and buy me decent
victuals ?'
Caneesara, having heard quite enough for his purpose,
pulled up the empty vessel and took himself off. He passed
the real wife on his way into town, and going straight to the
house, he abstracted the whole of the money, and carried
it to his own house; but this time he buried it in the garden.
Meanwhile, Eesara's wife, having arrived at the well, let
down her husband's food. Eesara, when he saw the
suspended vessel again bobbing in front of him, cried cut:
· Hullo ! you here again ? It is not half an hour since you
were here before !
4-2
52
EESARA AND CANEESARA.
What are you talking about ?' answered the woman. 'I
have not been near you since this time yesterday.'
'Ah!' exclaimed Eesara with a groan, 'is it so ? Then
Caneesara has been here, and we are undone again !'
So he climbed up by the loose masonry and came out of
the well. “Now let us go home,' said he, 'and look after the
money. When he came to his house it was too evident
that the place had been rifled, and having plied his shovel to
no purpose, he rushed off to the house of Caneesara. His
wily partner, however, was nowhere to be found, nor with all
his searching and digging could he light on the slightest
trace of the lost treasure. At last, baffled and disappointed,
he went back to his wife and got her to lay him out as if he
were dead, and to bewail him after the custom of his people.
Then came the neighbours bearing bundles of wood, and a
funeral-pyre was erected to burn his body. Caneesara,
hearing of these lugubrious preparations, said to himself:
* All this, I fear, is only some trick of my old friend;' and he
went to the house and asked permission to view the body.
· This merchant who is dead was a friend of mine,' said he.
But they drove him out of the place, saying: 'No, no; you
are a Mahomedan.'
Eesara was now carried out of the house on a stretcher
and laid on the top of the funeral-pyre, while blankets and
clothes were held round to keep off the gaze of the
multitude. Just as the torches were applied, and the smoke
began to envelop him, and while the confusion was at its
height, he slipped out of his shroud, and, taking advantage
of the darkness, he managed to escape from the scene
unobserved. His first act was to go again to the house of
Caneesara, feeling satisfied that he must by that time have
ventured to return; but the latter, full of suspicion and in
dread of his life, still kept out of the way. So Eesara's
search was a complete failure. 'I cannot find the money,'
said he; 'but Caneesara I am determined to hunt out, and
then we shall have an account to settle.'
Caneesara now resolved to feign death in his turn.
· Eesara has not deceived me,' said he; 'but if I can
deceive Eesara, I will return some night, dig up the money,
EESARA AND CANEESARA.
53
and be off to other parts.' So first of all a rumour was
circulated that he was very ill; then it was asserted that
he was dead; and his wife, to keep up the deceit, laid him
out and bewailed him with shrieks and moaning cries.
When the neighbours came about, they said: 'Alas! it is
poor Caneesara !' And they ordered his shroud and carried
his body to the grave. There they laid it down upon the
earth, close by the tomb of an old
old hermit, for the
customary observances, and Eesara, who had followed the
mourners, contrived to get a peep at his friend's face,
saying: 'This poor rnan, as you know, was a crony of
mine.' Having satisfied his doubts, he climbed into a tree,
which was near the grave, and waited there until, the rites
being completed, the body was laid in its chamber. As soon
as the company had dispersed, night having now set in,
Eesara got down from the tree, crept to the old tomb, and,
lifting up the slab, dragged out the body alive and laid it down
by the edge of the grave. Just then the noise of approach-
ing footsteps and subdued whispers caught his attention,
and he again got into the tree, wondering what this in-
terruption could be.
The party which now approached was a gang of notorious
robbers, seven in number, one of whom was blind of an eye.
Catching sight of the body in the old tomb, they examined
it with great care, and exclaimed: 'See, this must be some
famous saint! He has come out of his grave, and his body
is perfectly fresh. Let us pray to him for favour and good
luck!' So they one and all fall down on their knees and
besought his assistance. We are pledged to a robbery this
night,' said they. If we are successful, O saint, into your
mouth we shall drop some sugar.' The one-eyed man,
however, said: "As for me, I shall tickle his throat with
some water.'
Having made their vows, they all set out for the town,
robbed a rich man's house, and returned, each one bearing
his own bag of money, to the graveyard. They now dropped
morsels of sugar into Caneesara's mouth in accordance with
their promises; but when it came to the turn of the robber of
the one eye, he dropped in some vile water. Poor Caneesara
54
EESARA AND CANEESAR:1.
had accepted the sugar with stolid indifference ; but the
water, tickling his gullet, nearly choked him, and he began to
cough most violently. Precisely at this moment Eesara,
who had been an absorbed observer of the scene, suddenly
shrieked out in menacing tones: 'Never mind the fellows
behind; catch the rascal who is standing in front !
These unexpected words sounded in the robbers' ears like
the voice of the black angel, and imagining themselves
in the midst of evil spirits, they took to their heels and
incontinently ran away, leaving their bags of money behind
them by the open grave.
The dead Caneesara now sprang to his feet, crying out:
' Ha! ha! Eesara is here, and I have caught him at last !
And as the latter had descended from the tree, the two
friends embraced each other most cordially. Picking up the
seven bags of gold, they entered the old tomb, where they
OURT
wu
MIHITTO
mere
managed to light one of the little earthenware lamps belong-
ing to the shrine, and by dint of drawing the feeble flame
close enough, they poured out the glittering heaps, and
proceeded to settle their accounts. They were, however,
unable to agree about a balance of a single farthing; and
EESARA AND CANEESARA.
55
5
5
their words began to run high, each of them asserting his
claim with tremendous warmth.
By this time the robbers, having come to a halt, deputed
their one-eyed companion to return and look for the money.
One-eyed men are proverbially cunning, and this one was
determined not to impair his reputation. Creeping quietly
along, he arrived at the tomb as the dispute was in full
career; but, alas! he was seen; and just as his head
appeared through one of the holes in the wall, Caneesara
suddenly snatched off the fellow's turban, and, handing it
to Eesara, cried, 'Here, then, is your farthing ; so now we
are quits ! The robber, drawing back his head with the
utmost despatch, ran as fast as his legs could carry him
to his confederates, and told them: 'The number of demons
in that old tomb is so immense that the share of each of
them comes to only a single farthing! Let us get away, or
we shall all be caught and hanged!' So, in a great fright,
they left the place on the instant, and never returned again.
Then said the wily Caneesara to the wily Eesara : With
the forty thousand rupees which I possess already, my share
of this capture is one bag, and these other six bags are
therefore yours.
The two friends were now equally rich; and returning to
their homes, they bought lands and houses, and defied
poverty for the rest of their days, living together with their
wives and children in the utmost happiness and in the enjoy-
ment of every blessing.
M.7.
เนย
1
56 THE STORY OF THE KING AND THE FOUR GIRLS.
XXII.
THE STORY OF THE KING AND THE FOUR
GIRLS.
T
HERE was once a king who, during
the day, used to sit on his throne
and dispense justice, but who at
night was accustomed to disguise
himself and to wander about the
streets of his city looking for
adventures.
One evening he was passing by
a certain garden when he observed
four young girls sitting under a
tree, and conversing together in earnest tones. Curious to
overhear the subject of their discourse, he stopped to listen.
The first said: 'I think of all tastes the pleasantest in the
world is the taste of meat.'
'I do not agree with you,' said the second ; 'there is
nothing so good as the taste of wine.'
'No, no,' cried the third ; 'you are both mistaken, for of
all tastes the sweetest is the taste of love.'
Meat and wine and love are all doubtless sweet,' remarked
the fourth girl ; but in my opinion nothing can equal the
taste of telling lies.'
The girls then separated, and went to their homes; and
the king, who had listened to their remarks with lively
interest and with much wonder, took note of the houses into
which they went, and, having marked each of the doors with
chalk, he returned to his palace.
The next morning he called his vizier, and said to him:
Send to the narrow street, and bring before me the owners
of the four houses the doors of which have a round mark in
chalk upon them.' The vizier at once went in person, and
brought to the court the four men who lived in the houses
to which the king had referred. Then said the king to
them, ‘Have not you four men four daughters ?'
'We have,' answered they.
THE STORY OF THE KING AND THE FOUR GIRLS. 57
'Bring the girls hither before me,' said the king.
But the men objected, saying: 'It would be very wrong
that our daughters should approach the palace of the king.'
'Nay,' said the king; “if the girls are your daughters, they
are mine too, besides which you can bring them privately.'
So the king sent four separate litters, curtained in the
usual manner, and the four girls were thus brought to the
palace and conducted into a large reception-room. Then
he summoned them one by one to his presence as he required
them. To the first girl he said: 'O daughter, what were you
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talking about last night when you sat with your companions
under the tree ?'
'I was not telling tales against you, O king,' answered
she.
'I do not mean that,' said the king; 'but I wish to know
what you were saying.'
'I merely said,' replied she, that the taste of meat was
the pleasantest.'
'Whose daughter, then, are you?' inquired the king.
'I am the daughter of a Bhábrá,' answered she.
'But,' said the king, 'if you are one of the Bhábrá tribe,
who never touch meat, what do you know of the taste of it?
So strict are they, that when they drink water they put a
58 THE STORY OF THE KING AND THE FOUR GIRLS
cloth over the mouth of the vessel, lest they should swallow
even an insect.'
Then said the girl: 'Yes, that is quite true, but, from my
own observation, I think meat must be exceedingly pleasant
to the palate. Near our house there is a butcher's shop,
and I often notice that when people buy meat none of it is
wasted or thrown away; therefore it must be precious. I
also notice that, when people have eaten the flesh, the very
bones are greedily seized upon by the dogs, nor do they
leave them until they have picked them as clean as a lance-
head. And even after that, the crows come and carry them
off, and when the crows have done with them, the very ants
assemble together and swarm over them. Those are the
reasons which prove that the taste of flesh-meat must be
exceedingly pleasant.
The king, hearing her argument, was pleased, and said :
“Yes, daughter, meat is very pleasant as food; everyone
likes it. And he sent her away with a handsome present.
The second girl was then introduced, and of her the king
inquired likewise : 'What were you talking about last night
under the tree ?'
• I said nothing about you, O king,' answered she.
· That is true, but what did you say ?' asked the king.
'What I said,' replied she, 'was that there was no taste
like the taste of wine.'
' But whose daughter are you?' continued the king.
'I am,' said she, 'the daughter of a priest.'
' A good joke, forsooth,' said the king, smiling. 'Priests
hate the very name of wine. Then, what do you know of the
taste of it?'
Then said the girl: 'It is true I never touch wine, but I
can easily understand how pleasant it is. I learn iny
lessons on the top of my father's house. Below are the
wine-shops. One day I saw two men nicely dressed, whọ
came with their servants to buy wine at those shops, and
there they sat and drank. After a time they got up and
went away, but they staggered about from side to side, and
I thought to myself: “Here are these fellows rolling about,
knocking themselves against the wall on this side, and
THE STORY OF THE KING AND THE FOUR GIRLS. 59
>
falling against the wall on that : surely they will never drink
wine again !” However, I was mistaken, for the next day
they came again and did the very same thing, and I
considered : “Wine must be very delicious to the taste, or
else these persons would never have returned for more of
it."
Then said the king: 'Yes, O daughter, you are right; the
taste of wine is very pleasant.' And, giving her also a
handsome present, he sent her home.
When the third girl entered the room, the king asked her
in like manner: 'O daughter, what were you talking about
last night under the tree?'
.O king,' answered she, ' I made no reference to you.'
' Quite so,' said the king ; 'but tell me what it was you
were saying:
'I was saying,' replied she, “that there is no taste in the
world so sweet as the taste of love-making.'
* But,' said the king, you are a very young girl, what can
you know about love-making ? Whose daughter are you ?'
'I am the daughter of a bard,' answered she. “It is true
I am very young, but somehow I guess that love-making
must be pleasant. My mother suffered so much when my
little brother was born that she never expected to live. Yet,
after a little time, she went back to her old ways and
welcomed her lovers just the same as before. That is the
reason I think that love-making must be so pleasant.'*
What you say,' observed the king, 'cannot, o daughter,
be justly denied.' And he gave her a present equal in value
to those of her friends and sent her, also, away.
When the fourth girl was introduced, the 'king put the
same question to her: 'Tell me what you and your
companions talked about under the tree last night.
It was not about the king,' answered she.
'Nevertheless,' asked he, 'what was it you said ?'
Those who tell lies, said I, must tell them because they
find the practice agreeable,' replied she.
'Whose daughter are you?' inquired the king.
* The caste of the professional bard (mirāsī) is very low. Their
women are generally 'dancing-girls.'
60
THE STORY OF THE KING AND THE FOUR GIRLS.
'I am the daughter of a farmer,' answered the girl.
* And what made you think there was pleasure in telling
lies?' asked the king.
The girl answered saucily : 'Oh, you yourself will tell lies
some day!
'How?' said the king. What can you mean?'
The girl answered: 'If you will give me two lacs of
rupees, and six months to consider, I will promise to prove
my words.
So the king gave the girl the sum of money she asked for,
and agreed to her conditions, sending her away with a
present similar to those of the others.
After six months he called her to his presence again, and
reminded her of her promise. Now, in the interval the girl
had built a fine palace far away in the forest, upon which
she had expended the wealth which the king had given to
her. It was beautifully adorned with carvings and paintings,
and furnished with silk and satin. So she now said to the
king: Come with me, and you shall see God.' Taking with
him two of his ministers, the king set out, and by the
evening they all arrived at the palace.
‘This palace is the abode of God,' said the girl. “But He
will reveal Himself only to one person at a time, and He will
not reveal Himself even to him unless he was born in lawful
wedlock. Therefore, while the rest remain without, let each
of you enter in order.'
'Be it so,' said the King. “But let my ministers precede
me. I shall go in last.'
So the first minister passed through the door and at once
found himself in a noble room, and as he looked round he said
to himself: 'Who knows whether I shall be permitted to see
God or not? I may be a bastard. And yet this place, so
spacious and so beautiful, is a fitting dwelling-place even for
the Deity. With all his looking and straining, however, he
quite failed to see God anywhere. Then said he to himself:
If now I go out and declare that I have not seen God, the
king and the other minister will throw it in my teeth that I
am base-born. I have only one course open, therefore, which
is to say that I have seen Him.'
THE STORY OF THE KING AND THE FOUR GIRLS. 61
So he went out, and when the king asked, 'Have you seen
God ?' he answered at once: Of course I have seen God.'
But have you really seen Him ?' continued the king.
Really and truly,' answered the minister.
"And what did He say to you?' inquired the king further.
God commanded me not to divulge His words,' readily
answered the minister.
Then said the king to the other minister : Now you go in.
The second minister lost no time in obeying his master's
order, thinking in his heart as he crossed the threshold:
'I wonder if I am base-born ?' Finding himself in the
midst of the magnificent chamber, he gazed about him on
all sides, but failed to see God. Then said he to himself:
'It is very possible I am base-born, for no God can I see.
But it would be a lasting disgrace that I should admit it. I
had better make out that I also have seen God.'
Accordingly, he returned to the king, who said to him :
'Well, have you seen God?' when the minister asserted
that he had not only seen Him, but that he had spoken with
Him too.
It was now the turn of the king, and he entered the room
confident that he would be similarly favoured. But he gazed
around in dismay, perceiving no sign of anything which
could even represent the Almighty. Then began he to
think to himself: This. God, wherever He is, has been
seen by both my ministers, and it cannot be denied, there-
fore, that their birthright is clear. Is it possible that I, the
king, am a bastard, seeing that no God appears to me?
The very thought is confusion, and necessity will compel me
to assert that I have seen Him too.'
Having formed this resolution, the king stepped out and
joined the rest of his party.
‘And now, O king,' asked the cunning girl, ‘have you also
seen God?
“Yes,' answered he with assurance, 'I have seen God.'
Really?' asked she again.
'Certainly,' asserted the king.
Three times the girl asked the same question, and three
times the king unblushingly lied. Then said the girl :
6
62
THE MULE AND THE TRAVELLER.
'O king, have you never a conscience? How could you
possibly see God, seeing that God is a spirit ?'
Hearing this reproof, the king recalled to mind the saying
of the girl that one day he would lie too, and, with a laugh,
he confessed that he had not seen God at all. The two
ministers, beginning to feel alarmed, confessed the truth as
well. Then said the girl: 'O king, we poor people may tell
lies occasionally to save our lives, but what had you to fear ?
Telling lies, therefore, for many has its own attractions, and
to them at least the taste of lying is sweet.'
Far from being offended at the stratagem which the girl
had practised on him, the king was so struck with her
ingenuity and assurance that he married her forthwith, and
in a short time she became his confidential adviser in all his
affairs, public as well as private. Thus this simple girl came
to great honour and renown, and so much did she grow in
wisdom that her fame spread through many lands.
XXIII.
THE MULE AND THE TRAVELLER.
A CERTAIN mule, having a good opinion of himself, began
braying pretentiously, so that everyone stopped to say, 'Who
is that?' A traveller, passing by at that moment, said to
him, 'Oh, sir! pray tell me what was the name of your
mother?'
My mother's name was Mare,' answered the mule,
with a louder bray than ever.
' And what was your father's name ?' continued the
inquisitive traveller.
* Be off!' answered the mule— be off! None of your
insolence, if you please! You are growing a little too
familiar !!
6
THE FROG AND THE FARRIER.
63
U101111111
XXIV.
THE FROG AND THE FARRIER.
will ha
e
You
12UUOTES
th
DAS
MAIL
A FARRIER was once engaged in shoeing a fine Arab horse
at the door of his smithy. Just then a frog came hopping
up, and, thrusting out one of his feet with a consequential
air, he cried : 'Ho, farrier, shoe me, too !--shoe me, too !'
XXV.
THE ELEPHANT AND HIS KEEPER.
THERE was an elephant which was accustomed to suffer
most cruel treatment at the hands of his keeper; and the
keeper, knowing the sagacity of these animals, and being in
64
THE ELEPHANT AND HIS KEEPER.
nia
fear of his life, used to sleep some little distance from the
peg to which the elephant was tied. One night the elephant,
taking up a long loose branch, chewed the end of it, in
Qu
order to separate the fibres ; and having twisted them in
the long hair of the sleeping man, he dragged him within
reach, and trampled him to death.
THE FOUR WEAVERS.
65
XXVI.
THE FOUR WEAVERS.
1
OUR poor weavers were once sitting
together by the wayside, and when
a traveller rode by and threw them
four pence, intending by his act of
charity that each of them should
take as his share a single penny,
one of the weavers, nimbler than
the rest, picked up the whole of the
four pieces, and said, “These pence
are for me.'
Each of his com-
panions preferred precisely the same claim, saying, as they
fell to quarrelling, 'Nay, these pence were for me.
Just then, a second traveller, coming up, asked, "What are
you four weavers making such an ado for?'
*These four pence were thrown to me,' answered their
possessor; and so answered each of the others.
'You stupid people!' said the traveller, 'there are four
pence, and four claimants. Why do you not divide the
money, and take a penny apiece, instead of falling out over
them?
'I take all or none,' said the man who had secured them.
Then said the second traveller : ‘But the person who
gave them to you is not yet out of sight. Run after him,
and ask him which of you is to have them.'
All the four weavers instantly rose and ran after the first
traveller; and when they had overtaken him, they cried in
a breath: 'O traveller, say to which of us you gave these
four pence!'
The traveller looked at them with amused amazement,
and seeing that they were weavers, he answered: 'First, let
me know which of you is the wisest man, and then you
shall be told for whom I intended the pence.'
The fellow who had grabbed the money cried: 'I am an
exceedingly wise man, and if you will listen, I will prove
that I am. He then related the following story :
.
5
66
THE FOUR WEAVERS.
'When I was first married, I went one day to my father-in-
law's village to pay him a visit, and to keep me in counte-
nance I took with me as a companion our village barber.
While we had still some little part of our journey to perform,
the sun went down, and darkness began to set in. You
must understand that I am moon-blind, which makes it very
difficult for me to distinguish anything after dusk. Well,
as we were going along, we approached a great pit full of
water; and as the road seemed black and the water looked
white, I naturally imagined that the water must be the road.
Full of this idea, I walked straight to the bank, and in
another minute I was floundering about up to my neck.
When the barber saw this, he said : “Hullo, friend, where
have you gone to ?"
"" Wait a minute," answered I; "I shall be with you
presently."
*I said this because I did not wish to appear such a fool as
to have walked into the pond except with a purpose, and I was
equally ashamed to confess that I was moon-blind, but I felt
anything but comfortable in my desperate struggles to regain
the bank. The barber, however, cried out with a loud voice:
Help, help! a man has fallen into the water!" and three or
four men, hearing his cries, rushed to the spot, but before
they arrived I managed to scramble out myself. One of the
THE FOUR WEAVERS.
69
new-comers then said to me: “ How were you so unlucky as
to tumble in ?"
«Oh," answered I, not daring to admit my infirmity of
vision," I didn't tumble in-I jumped in. This barber argued
that there was not much water here, so I jumped in to show
him the real depth of it.”
'The men laughed at the silliness of the barber, and went
away, while I waited to wring the water out of my dripping
clothes.
* As the barber had gone on ahead, I made haste after him;
but it so happened that as we entered the village all the
cattle were coming in from grazing, and, the barber passing
down the street close to a bullock, I missed him, nor could
I tell which way to turn. In this dilemma I said to myself,
“I cannot possibly see my way. I had better take hold of a
bullock's tail, and when he reaches his home I'll ask his owner
the way to my father-in-law's house." So, seizing a bullock's
tail, and holding on to it with a tight grip, I walked patiently
along.
'Meanwhile the barber had reached the house, and finding
that I had not followed, he turned back to look for me, and
was rather astonished to find me holding a bullock's tail.
""What are you doing with that bullock's tail ?" said he.
'As some villagers were standing within earshot, and I was
afraid of being laughed at, I did not mention that I had lost
my way, but I began to abuse the barber: “You wretched
follow !” answered I; "you say this fine bullock is only worth
five rupees! Anyone with half an eye might see he is worth
twenty-five at the least."
*This speech must have impressed the villagers, because
one of them said, “What a clever weaver !"
'I then followed the barber without further mishap to my
father-in-law's, where we were welcomed, and a bedstead
was brought forward for us to sit on.
'In the courtyard where the family was assembled there
was a young buffalo, which ever and anon came up to the
barber and me, and sniffed at us, and sometimes it licked us,
besmearing our cheeks with a tongue like a painter's brush,
though we remonstrated and tried to keep it away.
5-2
68
THE FOUR WEAVERS.
• My mother-in-law now brought us out some bread which
she had just baked, and having laid it down between us, she
said: “Come, eat your bread;" after which she went in for
some butter. At this moment the buffalo-calf again ap-
proached us, and the barber hunted it back with his stick.
He had scarcely sat down again when my mother-in-law
arrived with the liquid butter, and began to pour it over the
bread. It was very dark, and as for me, I was unable to see
the least bit in the world; but hearing the trickling of the
butter, and believing it was the buffalo at the food, I gave
my mother-in-law so sharp a back-hander that she was sent
sprawling on the ground, and all the butter was wasted.
Being, for a wonder, a woman of the sweetest temper, she
picked herself up without a word of expostulation, and, taking
her vessel, went meekly back to the house.
“A few minutes afterwards said the barber to me: “I hope
that was not your mother-in-law whom you hit, but I think
it was !!
* Having finished eating, I said : “Barber, put this bread
aside," and, lying down, we went to sleep.*
• Some hours must have passed, when I was awakened by
the clinking of money at some distance, and, imagining
there was a robber somewhere, I got up to listen. Then,
rising, I lied one end of my long turban to the bed, so that I
might be able to guide myself back when I wished to return,
and proceeded in the direction of the sound, allowing my
turban to glide gradually through my hands. Almost
immediately I found myself at the doorway of the court, and,
looking out, I stood for a moment with cocked-up ears,
listening to every sound. As the chinking was not repeated,
I pulled at the turban in order to find my way back, when,
as I imagined, the whole piece of stuff came towards me, the
fact being that the mischievous buffalo had taken advantage
of the occasion to bite my turban in two. " What shall I
do now?” thought I. " I shall be found out to a certainty,
and everyone will call me the blind man.” This thought
distressed me exceedingly, since a blind man is an object of
* In the hot weather people bring their light beds out of doors and
sleep in the courtyard.
THE FOUR WEAVERS,
69
pity and scorn, but, groping here and groping there, I did
my best to retrace my steps. Suddenly my shins struck
sharply against the edge of a bedstead, and in another
instant I was lying prone across my old mother-in-law, whom
I nearly crushed, and who, lifting her head, yelled out:
“Murder! What wretch are you, coming about here ?” I
answered her: “Mother dear, when you were giving us the
butter, I thought, as it was so dark, that your young
buffalo had come to steal the bread, and I hit without
looking. But as I am afraid I must have struck you, I have
just come over to apologize to you."
'My mother-in-law was pleased, and answered :
back to bed; I forgive you."
“Nay, mother," said I, "you come as far as my bed with
me, just to show that you really forgive me, and that you
bear no malice. This kind of forgiveness does not suit
me."
So the good-natured old lady accoinpanied me back, and
I spent the rest of the night undisturbed.
And now,' continued the weaver, ‘did you ever hear of
such a clever fellow as I am ? And am I not entitled to the
four pence?'
Son, go
6
The second weaver here interposed, and said: 'It is true
you are pretty wise, but I am wiser. O traveller, when
you hear the story of my wisdom, I think you will admit
that the four pence properly belong to me! When I went
to pay the accustomed visit to my father-in-law after my
marriage, I determined to travel in style. So I borrowed a
horse from one neighbour, arms from another, and jewels
from another. Thus mounted, adorned, and accoutred,
I set out, and every traveller that passed me stared and
said: “What a respectable weaver! What a rich, respect-
able weaver !” On the road I was caught in a storm of
rain, and I had to take shelter at a certain village. When
the rain was over I started again, but, owing to the delay, it
was so late when I approached the village of my father-in-
law that I thought to myself: “If I enter the village now no
one will see me, but if I wait till the morning and enter then,
79
THE FOUR WEAVERS.
everyone will say: 'What a grand son-in-law that neighbour
of ours has managed to get !"" This reflection induced me
to pull up at the door of a poor fakeer, and to ask him for a
night's lodging. “Welcome !" said the fakeer, and I dis-
mounted and salaamed him. Then said the fakeer: “What
business has brought you this way to-day?"
""All I wish," answered I,“ is just to rest here for the night.
To-morrow I shall continue my journey."
"“But," said the fakeer," it is the custom at this village for
travellers first to report themselves to the watchman before
resting.”
""Surely you do not take me for a thief?” protested I.
“ All I want is leave merely to sit down and wait.'
*“I don't know," answered the fakeer; "there have been
thieves about lately, and if you are not careful you will get
into trouble. I do not mind allowing you to remain if you
will put on my clothes and go round and beg some bread for
me.”
66 But I don't know how to beg,” said I. “Pray be so
good as to permit me to remain.”
6“Out of my doors !" cried the fakeer, and he bundled me
out into the cold. Then said I: “All right; if you will allow
me to stay, I will go and beg for you.”
'So the fakeer took charge of my clothes and all my other
property, and gave me his rags and his begging-bowl and
bade me make haste. As I was changing, I said to myself:
“I will beg at every house except my father-in-law's.”
Scarcely had I gone ten steps, however, when the fakeer
cried after me: “Remember, you are to bring scraps from
every house in the village, or else in this place you shall not
remain. I know the bread of every one of them, so
beware !!!
* This was a caution I had not expected, but I inade the
best of my way into the village in my disguise, and having
begged at every other house, I stopped in doubt and per-
plexity at that of my father-in-law. On the one hand, I was
afraid of the fakeer, and on the other I was afraid of discovery.
At last the former feeling prevailed, and I entered the
courtyard. Now, my father-in law had lately taken up his
THE FOUR WEAVERS.
71
store of wheat out of the ground, and the recent heavy rain
had filled the empty pit with water. Avoiding the danger, I
took up my station in front of the house, and cried : “For
God's sake, give me some bread! For God's sake, give me
some bread !”—after the usual style and manner of fakeers.
It was horribly dark, and the strong wintry wind was so
bitterly cold that I felt perished. My mother-in-law, hearing
my cries, said to my wife: “ Take a little bread out to that
poor fakeer.” And my wife, lifting some dry sugar-cane to
serve her as a torch, lighted it, and with the light in one
hand and the cakes in the other she came out into the
veranda. The moment I saw her I said to myself: “ If I
go too near her, she will recognise me;" so as she advanced
I stepped backward, and the more she advanced the more
diffident I became, until suddenly I fell plump on my back
into the pool of the
water. Then cried
my wife : « Oh,
mother, mother,
this poor fakeer
has fallen into the
pit! and he is
sinking, he is sink-
ing!''
And
great a stir did
she make, that my
mother-in-law, and
my father-in-law,
and several of the
neighbours, came
rushing together
and surrounded the
pit crying: “What
has happened ?”
Half dead with
cold, and shivering
in every limb, I
was dragged out of the water by my father-in-law, who said,
6. Oh; fakeer, fakeer, where do you live?" but I was in such a
alih
hi
y
SO
1
nel
72
THE FOUR WEAVERS.
66 That
state that the chattering of my teeth was the only reply of
which I was capable. Then said my father-in-law : “ This
poor fellow will die of cold, and his blood will be on our heads.
Light up a fire for him, and let us warm him.” This was no
sooner said than done, but as I began to revive, the people,
by questioning, found me out, and one of them slyly re-
marked : “This man is very like your son-in-law, neigh-
bour."
Yes, yes," answered I, gasping; “I am, I am !"
"“But what on earth,” asked my relations, “happened to
you that you had to beg your bread ?"
““The truth is," answered I, “I came riding to this
village on a mare; and as it was late when I arrived, I put
up with a fakeer, living hard by the road. But he was a
churl, and he compelled me to take round his bowl for
bread before he would lodge me, and that is how I came to
find myself here before the morning.”
«“What a misfortune!” cried my father-in-law.
fakeer has not been in the village more than a day, and who
knows what sort of a character he is! Run, my son, and
see whether he is still there, for my mind misgives me.”
'The son made haste to the hut, but the cunning fakeer
had mounted my mare and decamped at a gallop, carrying
off all my jewels, my money and my clothes. Then did
my mother-in-law most unjustly reproach me with bitter
words, “A precious wiseacre for a son-in-law! You would
not come straight to the house, lest no one should see and
admire you. Does no one see you now, you silly! and when
to-morrow comes you will be the gazing-stock of the whole
village.
‘And now,' continued the second weaver to the traveller,
'this man says he is clever, but is he one half so clever as
I am ?'
· Verily,' answered the traveller, you are clever in
right earnest; and you need not be afraid of losing your
character."
Then said the third weaver : “ That these two fellows
are possessed of wisdom no one can deny. It may be that
THE FOUR WEAVERS.
73
I am not quite so wise ; but you, O traveller, shall judge,
and if you think me worthy of the four pence, I hope I
may receive them.”
* On the occasion of my visit to my father-in-law's house,
whither my wife had gone before me, the village barber bore
me company; and on our arrival my mother-in-law put out
a bedstead for us, and said, " Sit down." Down we sat;
and she then said: “You must be hungry?” The barber
answered: “Yes." So she brought a pound of uncooked
rice and some brown sugar, and mixing them together, said:
“Eat this.” Then she sat down to her distaff just in front
of us, and began spinning her thread. The barber's whetted
appetite waited for no second invitation, and he fell to; but
I was ashamed even to touch the food with my mother-in-
law looking on, and I took never a grain of it.
Himits
um
Mirathi
"" This is very nice food,” remarked the barber; "why
do you not eat some of it?”
«"I don't feel inclined," answered I.
‘My mother-in-law then got up, and said to me: “Son,
you are not eating !"
«“No,” said I; “I am not hungry."
She then looked vexed; and going to the other women
of the house, she said: “I gave the lad some rice, thinking
74
THE FOUR WEAVERS.
he would relish it after his long journey, but he will not
touch it."
As soon as she had turned her back on us, however, I
took advantage of the circumstance to pounce on the rice
like a hungry hawk, and, taking up a double-handful, I
crammed it all into my mouth, intending to eat prodigiously.
If she had only remained away a little longer I should have
swallowed my mouthful; but, to my great annoyance, she
returned at the critical moment, and sat down again at her
distaff, looking straight at me all the time. I kept as quiet
as a mouse, not daring to move my jaw, while my cheeks
were bursting with the quantity of sugar and rice which I
had stuffed into my mouth. ‘After looking at me fixedly for
some seconds, she said to herself: “ This lad was all right a
little time ago, when I left him. What has happened to his
face to be all swollen up in that way?” Then she rose, and
approaching me, she said: “O son, are you ill, or what's
the matter, that your face has become swollen so frightfully ?”
As my mouth was so full, it was not in my power to utter a
syllable, and I stared at her mutely. The old woman, now
seriously alarmed, began shrieking, “Oh, help! my son-in-
law is ill. He is ill—he is dying! See what a dreadful
face he has !!!
“The barber, who was not a very intelligent man, but, if
anything, decidedly stupid, said to her: “For goodness'
sake don't make such a noise. These are nothing but
simple tumours, and I'll cure your son in a jiffy.”
""Oh, if you will only cure him," said she, “of this
horrid disorder, I have a couple of milch buffaloes in my
house, and the one we intended for my son-in-law I will
give to you-you shall have it, you shall indeed, if you will
only cure him!”
'The barber, taking out his lancet, made a deep gash in
each of my cheeks, and immediately the rice and the dis-
solved sugar began to ooze out.
+“You see the blood," said he, “which is oozing out?-
and those white things are maggots! If I had not been at
"*
* Barbers in India are also surgeons-barber-surgeons, in fact, as
formerly in England.
ii.
THE FOUR WEAVERS,
75
hand to cure your son, those maggots would have eaten up
into his brain and killed him."
‘My mother-in-law was profuse in her acknowledgments,
and at once presented him with my milch buffalo; but as
for me, I lost my buffalo, and had both my cheeks cut open
into the bargain.
And now,' said the third weaver, in conclusion, `judge
whether I am not possessed of extraordinary wisdom over
and above these fellows.'
So great a wiseacre are you,' answered the traveller,
'that in all my life I never met a greater.'
'It must be admitted,' observed the fourth weaver,
that all these three men are consummately. wise; but
now hear me, for I venture to think I am wiser than them
all.
'When I went to visit my father-in-law, I also invited
our village barber to accompany me. We rode on borrowed
horses, and my wife was carried in a doolie. When we
arrived at the house, we were made heartily welcome, and
as an omen of good luck on our happy union, my good
father-in-law, according to the usual custom, poured abund-
ance of oil into the stone socket in which turned the lower
hinge of the door. Then he gave us seats of honour in the
midst of his guests, and called for supper. Now, my mother
had given me the strictest orders to be on my good beha-
viour, and to show my respect and good breeding by eating
as little as possible. When, therefore, my friends invited
me to the repast, I affected an indifference to food, and
said: “I will eat by-and-by.” My friend the barber, how-
ever, went boldly forward, and as boiled rice was a delicacy
we seldom partook of, he proceeded to make a hearty meal.
Then said my mother-in-law: “Why do you not eat,
son? Come and have your supper.'
"“I do not feel hungry just now," answered I.
· When the meal was over, the plates were removed, and
my portion was put on one side. Then, as it was time for
bed, we all retired, my friends to the courtyard and the
barber and myself to the house-top.
76
THE FOUR WEAVERS.
" Why
6
' After we had lain down, the barber said to me:
did you not eat any food ?"
"“I was hungry then," answered I, “but I am more
hungry now. Go and ask them to let me have my food
here."
6 - Let us first see," replied he,“ whether there is a hole
in the roof."
"We looked and found that there was one large enough
for a man to pass through, for it was one of those houses in
the roofs of which such holes exist in order that the grain,
laid on the roof to dry, may be shovelled back into the little
household granary below.
Then said the barber: “Let us take some of the cording
off this bed, and I can lower you down. You will find your
food on the shelf.”
Tying the cord round my waist, he lowered me into the
chamber beneath, and finding my plate of rice on the top
of the corn-bin, I sat there and ate it. When I had finished
I said quietly : “ Pull me up!” The barber, however, did
not pull. Again and again I called to him, “Pull me up!"
but without avail. Tired of calling, I sat still where I was.
'Now, it happened that some stranger had arrived at the
house just then, and that my mother-in-law had said to my
wife: “Go into the house and bring out that plate of rice
for him.” My wife, therefore, opened the door from with-
out, and began feeling about for the plate. At last her hand
touched mine, and she uttered a shriek, crying: “There is
an evil spirit in the house! Help!” Then said I to her :
"Don't run out, and don't make a noise; you will be heard."
But without stopping to consider, she rushed out, and my
mother-in-law instantly shut the door and put the chain up.
*The disturbance roused up the barber, who, looking
down, said: “What is the matter? Do you wish to come
out?” I begged and begged of him to pull me out as
quickly as possible. “I will only pull you out,” answered
he, “on condition that you hand me up a chatty of flour."
With this request I at once complied, and he took the vessel
of flour and then pulled me up to the roof.
*Meanwhile my father-in-law had sent for the village
THE FOUR WEAVERS.
77
priest to exorcise the evil spirit from his house. The priest,
arriving, sat by the doorstep, opened his book, and began
to recite appropriate verses. Then said he: “Some spirits
are white, and some spirits are black. The spirit which has
entered your house is a white one, and a tough customer he
is likely to prove. How much will you give me if I drive
him out for you ?"
""Here," said my father-in-law, "are five rupees."
"“Good !” replied the priest. “He shall be driven out,
but he must be killed as well. Arm yourselves with sticks
and stones, and when he makes a rush give it to him well !"
Opening the door, the wily priest now entered the house.
But the truth was he knew nothing whatever about evil
spirits, and when he caught sight of the bright round disc of
light cast by the moon on the floor as it shone through the
8
milih
KA
hole in the roof, he was struck dumb with fear and astonish-
ment, and remained rooted, half dazed, to the spot. Just
then the barber peeped down and saw him, having over-
heard all that had passed in the yard below. Seizing his
vessel full of flour, he emptied the whole of it over the priest,
who was just under the hole. Nearly suffocated, and
imagining himself pursued by ten thousand furies, the
28
THE KING AND HIS DAUGHTERS.
wretched man rushed for the door, but was set upon the
moment he appeared by the party watching outside: "Hold,
hold !” cried he; "don't beat me, I am the priest !"
"“Nay, you are an evil spirit,” answered they; "our
priest is not of this colour,"
'So they killed him, and cast his body out of the court-
yard, and went to sleep. When morning came, however,
they saw that he was really the priest, and no evil spirit at
all; and they were in a fright, and were brought up to
answer for the mishap; nor did my father-in-law escape
under a heavy fine.
1
'And now, sir,' continued the fourth barber, 'do you
not agree that I am the wisest of all, seeing that if I had
not conducted myself with spirit and independence, and
declined my food, none of these wonderful things would
have happened ?'
· You are
are all such a rare collection of Solomons,'
answered the traveller, 'that though the four pence were
intended for equal division among you, you shall now have
four pence apiece,' saying which he gave them more money,
and continued his journey, leaving the four weavers delighted
with the fruits of their wisdom.
XXVII.
THE KING AND HIS DAUGHTERS.
6
THERE was once a king who had several daughters. To
the first he said : 'How do you love me?'
I love you as
sugar,' said she. 'To the next he said : ‘And how do you
love me?" "I love you as honey,' said she. To the third
he said: 'And how do you love me?' 'I love you as sherbet,'
said she. “To the last and youngest he said : 'And how do
you love me?' 'I love you as salt,' said she.
THE-KING AND HIS DAUGËTERS.
7199
On hearing the answer of his youngest daughter the king
frowned, and, as she persisted in repeating it, he drove her
out into the forest.
There, when wandering sadly along, she heard the tramp-
ing of a horse, and she hid herself in a hollow tree. But
the fluttering of her dress betrayed her to the rider, who
was a prince, and who instantly fell in love with her and
married her.
Some time after, the king, her father, who did not know
what had become of her, paid her husband a visit. When
he sat down to meat, the princess took care that all the
dishes presented to him should be made-up sweets, which he
either passed by altogether or merely tasted. He was very
hungry, and was longing sorely for something which he could
• '11
ATT.
C
41011
uuni
NIV
f
Dini Di
willen
ascos
eat, when the princess sent him a dish of common spinach,
seasoned with salt, such as farmers eat, and the king signi-
fied his pleasure by eating it with relish.
Then the princess threw off her veil, and, revealing her-
self to her father, said: 'O my father, I love you as salt.
My love may be homely, but it is true, genuine and lasting,
and I entreat your forgiveness.'
Then the king perceived how great a mistake he had
made, and there followed a full reconciliation.
8o
THE WIDOW OF BANÉ YR.
XXVIII.
THE WIDOW OF BANÉYR.
THERE was a widow of Banéyr who had two sons. They had
cut the harvest of their little ancestral field, and their two
bullocks were treading out the grain, when suddenly the sky
became overcast and a storm of rain swept by. The poor
silly woman instantly caught a certain familiar insect, a
friend to man, and, running a needle and thread through it,
hung it up to a neighbouring bér tree as a charm to drive
away the unwelcome shower. At the same time she
addressed God in the following words: 'O God, my boys
are but children, and in this thing are innocent. But Thou
art a white-bearded man. Didst Thou not see that this rain
was not wanted for threshing out my wheat ?'
IS
XXIX.
THE GARDENER'S WIFE, THE POTTER'S WIFE,
AND THE CAMEL.
A GARDENER's wife and a potter's wife once hired a camel to
carry their goods to market. One side of the beast was well
laden with vegetables and the other with pottery. As they
went along the road the camel kept stretching back his long
neck to pilfer the vegetables. Upon observing this, the
potter's wife began laughing, and jested her friend on her
ill luck. 'Sister,' said she, 'at the end of the journey there
will not be a single vegetable left; you'll have nothing what-
ever to sell !
' It is true you are luckier than I am,' answered the
gardener's wife, but, remember, the first to win are the last
to lose !
When they arrived at the market-place the camel-man
THE THREE WEAVERS.
81
ordered his animal to kneel down, but the weight on one side
was so much greater by this time than the weight on the other
that the camel gave a lurch as he got on his fore-knees and
111!!!
MURIT
crushed the pottery between himself and the earth, so that
most of it was smashed, and what was not smashed was
cracked. So it ended that the gardener's wife had some-
thing, at least, to sell, but the potter's wife had nothing.
XXX.
THE THREE WEAVERS.
THERE were three weavers, all brothers, who lived in the
same village. One day the eldest said to the others: 'I am
going to buy a milch buffalo.' So he went to a farmer, paid
for the buffalo, and took it home.
The second brother was quite touched at the sight of it.
He viewed its head, its horns, and its teats, and then said :
'Obrother, allow me to be a partner in this beautiful
6
82
THE THREE WEAVERS.
6
buffalo.' Said the elder: 'I have paid for this beautiful
buffalo twenty-two rupees. If you wish to be a partner in
her, you had better go to the farmer and pay him twenty-two
rupees, too, and then we shall have equal shares in her.'
Shortly after the third brother came in and said: '0
brother, you have allowed our brother to be a partner with
you in this buffalo; won't you let me take a share, too ?'
Willingly,' answered the other; 'but first you must go
to the farmer and pay him twenty-two rupees, as we have
done.'
So the third brother did so; while the farmer chuckled,
saying: 'This is a fine thing, getting all this money my
skinny old buffalo !'
The three brothers now agreed that each one of them
should have a day's milk from the buffalo in turn, and that
each should bring his own pot. The two elder brothers had
their turns; but when the third day came, the youngest said:
* Alas! what shall I do? I have no pot in my house ! In
this perplexity the eldest remarked : “This is a most difficult
business, because, you see, if you milk the buffalo without a
pot, the milk will be spilt; you had better milk her into
for
your mouth.'
His ingenious solution of the problem was at once adopted,
and the youngest brother milked the buffalo into his mouth.
Going home, he was met by his wife, who asked : 'Well,
where is the milk ?'
'I had no pot,' answered the man, ‘so I had to milk the
buffalo into my mouth.'
'Oh, you did, did you ?' cried she; 'and so your wife counts
as no one ?
I am to have no milk ? If I am not to have my
share, in this house I refuse to remain.' And she went off
in anger to the house of her mother.
Then the three brothers went together to the head-man of
the village and complained, begging him to order the woman
to return to her husband.
So the head-man summoned her and said: 'O woman,
you may have your share of the milk, too, just the same as
your husband. Let him visit the buffalo in the morning and
drink the milk, and do you visit her in the evening.'
THE WEAVER'S MISTAKE,
83
'Then why,' said she, 'could not my husband have said
so ? Now it is all right; and, besides, I shall be saved all
the trouble of setting the milk for butter. And she returned
to her husband's house immensely satisfied.
XXXI.
THE WEAVER'S MISTAKE.
;
ONCE upon a time a certain weaver, who owned a little
ancestral field which he had no time to reap, wove a piece of
cloth, and taking it to the village blacksmith, he said : 'Here,
friend, accept this gift, and make a sickle that shall cut my
corn of itself.'
When the blacksmith had finished the work, the delighted
weaver took the sickle and laid it quietly at the edge of the
ripe corn, saying: 'O sickle, mow my field !' Then he went
home, but in the evening he returned, for he said: 'Perhaps
the job is done ; so let me now go and see how much of my
harvest my new sickle has mown. When he arrived at the
spot he found the corn undisturbed, and the sickle lying
idly by. But, taking it in his hand, he perceived that it was
exceedingly hot, since the sun had been playing on it the
whole day, and he said to himself: 'My crop would have
been all cut down ; but, alas! my sickle has fever.
So he went to the blacksmith and said: 'My sickle has
done no work because fever is heavy upon it, and so I crave
some medicine.'
* Take a long string,' answered the ready smith, "and
having tied your sickle to the end of it, dip it into the well,
and the fever will leave it.' Then the weaver did as he was
bidden, and the sickle recovered and became cool, and he
took it home with him and joyously hung it up.
Now, it happened that very night that the weaver's old
6--2
84
THE DELUDED WEAVERS.
mother fell ill of a violent fever, and that the heat of her body
was such that she kept tossing about and was like to die. So
her sagacious son, saying to himself, “Aha, I know the
medicine ! immediately carried her out to the well, and
having tied a rope round her neck, he lowered her in, plunging
her repeatedly into the cold water until she really breathed her
last. Then he drew her forth, and said: 'Now my old
mother's fever has left her!' So he bore her home, and put
her sitting up in a corner of the chamber before a spinning-
wheel, saying: 'Now my dear old mother is going to spin.'
There he left her, going himself out to his work. And when
he returned in the evening he looked at her, and her mouth
hung open, and her teeth protruded, and great brown ants
were crawling about her gums. So the weaver said: 'My
clever old mother is eating oil-seeds (thil), and laughing
away like anything.' And with this he began to laugh, too,
and he laughed and laughed so heartily that he brought all
his neighbours together, who, seeing his error, reproved him,
saying: 'O foolish one, your mother is not laughing, but
dead!' And having so spoken they carried her forth and
buried her.
XXXII.
THE DELUDED WEAVERS.
T was long ago, when the Duranis
had subdued the country, that
there was a certain small village
inhabited only by weavers. As the
Duranis spoke in Persian, and the
weavers only knew Panjábi, it
happened that, when the new
officers appeared to collect the
revenue, the poor villagers were
unable to explain their grievances,
but had perforce to sit still and submit to all the exactions
THE DELUDED WEAVERS.
85
possible. Then the weavers summoned a meeting of their
people, and agreed that they would all put ten rupees each
into a common stock for the purpose of despatching two of
their number to Kabul to purchase a supply of the language
of Persia. This was no sooner said than done, and two old
gray-beards from among their tribe, whose wisdom had
become the common admiration, set out on the long journey
past Peshawur and through the dark Khyber Pass to obtain
the coveted gift. At every village they made the anxious
inquiry : ‘Have you any Persian for sale ?' and from every
village, because thiey were seen to be weavers, they were hooted
away, or passed contemptuously by. They had arrived at the
town of Jelálábád, and were about to enter the gates, when
they met a man who was both clever and cruel. "We would
buy some Persian for our village,' said the poor weavers. Then
said the man to himself: 'These fellows are great fools, but
let me see if I cannot please them and secure their money
too.' So he answered them : 'Here, come with me, and
hand me over a fair price, and I will provide you with two
jars full of the most excellent Persian.' So he took them
home for the night and gave them some supper.
Now, it happened that it was the time of year when wasps
have their nests hanging from the beams, so this wretched
man put sweet-stuffs into a couple of jars and then filled
the jars with black wasps, and, having tied them down, he
sold them to the travellers, saying : ‘Be careful not to open
these jars on the way, lest the Persian escape; but keep
them safely sealed, and when you arrive home call your
friends together on a Thursday, and, entering all together
into a dark chamber, close the doors, undress your bodies,
and then, opening the jars, let every man among you take
his share and be satisfied.'
These foolish men then left for India, and having arrived
at their own village, they called their neighbours together
and told them the good news. So they all hastened into
a dark chamber, and, when they had closed every aperture,
they divested themselves of their shirts and opened the jars.
The imprisoned wasps flew instantly forth, and stung them
severely, while, groping here and there from their attacks,
86,
THE KING AND THE FARMER.
the deluded weavers kept crying: 'Where is the door?
Where is the door?' At last the door was found, and an
escape was made into the open air, but when they looked at
each other in the light of day, scarcely could they recognise
each other by reason of their swollen features. One of them,
having missed his mother, who had been one of the party,
cried to some bystanders: 'Has no one seen my mother?'
* Your mother,' answered they, ‘has run away, and with her
quantities of Persian, which was sticking to her fast.' So,
searching high and low, they found the poor old thing, but
she was all swollen, and she became ill and took to her bed.
After this sad experience the weavers of the village deter-
mined never more to meddle with Persian, but to leave that
tongue for those who were cunning to master strange
languages.
XXXIII.
THE KING AND THE FARMER.
Det
NE day a certain king, having called
his ministers about him, mounted
his horse and rode out into the
fields. There he halted before an
old farmer, who, though bowed
with the weight of many years,
was toiling in the furrows. So
he beckoned to him to rein in his
oxen, and said to him: 'Old man,
why, in God's name, did you not
do it ?' And the old man answered : “Sir, I did it; but it
was not God's will. Then said the king the second time :
* Why did you not do it?' and the man answered as before.
And the third time the king repeated the same question,
and the old man answered to the like intent.
Then the king, continuing the conversation, said: 'And
THE KING AND THE FARMER.
87
who in the world is it, with whom you country folk do your
business ? And the old man answered : With the king
himself.
' But if no king comes,' asked the monarch, 'what then
do you do?'
We trust to the favour of the king's prime minister,'
answered the man.
And if there is no minister ?' said the king.
'We then depend on the prince,' answered the man, 'if
the prince be worthy.'
The king then turned his horse's head towards the city,
saying to the old man: Someone may come to you
desiring vehemently to know the meaning of this our con-
versation, but my will is that you do not tell the secret
under a heavy sum.'
With these words the king rode home, and, calling his
vizier, he said to him : 'You heard my conversation with
the old ploughman, and you heard the nature of his replies.
Now tell me the interpretation thereof.'
And the vizier was confounded, notwithstanding his
reputed wisdom, and he said: 'Oking, I know well the
words which were spoken, but I know not the meaning of
them.
So the king said to his minister: 'Under penalty of a
heavy fine, and of dismissal from your office, you will bring
me the meaning within twenty-four hours.'
Then the vizier went sadly away, but as he approached
his house the thought occurred to him that he would visit
the old husbandman. So he took with him heaps of money
and sought him out, and said: "O father, tell me the
mystery of the words which passed between you and the
king.' And the old man answered: Not under three
thousand rupees dare I divulge the secret.' So the minister
counted out the money, and gave it into his hand, three
thousand rupees all told, in bright silver coins. Having
received the money, the old man explained thus:
'When the king asked me, " Why did you not do it ?” he
meant,“ Why did you not marry in your youth, for then you
would have had sons to plough for you, and you would never
88
THE KING AND THE FARMER.
have been compelled to plough yourself now in the time of
old age.” My reply was: “I did marry, but it was not the
will of God that sons should come to me.” The king by
his second question meant, “Why did you not marry a
second wife?" and my answer was, “ I did so marry, but
again it was not the will of God that sons should be born."
And the king's third question was, “Why did you not marry
the third time ?" and my reply was to the same tenor as
before. After this the king asked me,
« With whom do you
have dealings, you people of the soil ?' and my answer was,
“ With the king," for with us the king of all the year is the
month of July, when the rain comes in abundance, and our
fields are well watered, and the earth is loosened, and our
seed germinates and shoots forth. Then said the king,
“But if there is no king, what then?” and my answer was,
“ If July is in drought, then we trust to August,” which, as
being the next best month for the farmer, is like the king's
minister; and when the king, continuing, asked me, “But if
there is no minister ?" I answered, “We trust then to the
young prince," which is the month of September, when we
sow the crops that are to ripen in spring. This is the
explanation of the words.'
So the minister went away satisfied, wondering at the
wisdom of the old man who could interpret the dark sayings
of the king, and at the wisdom of his master in divining the
hearts of his subjects.
Your
THE WEAVER AND THE PROPHECY.
89
XXXIV.
THE WEAVER AND THE PROPHECY.
A VILLAGE weaver went out to cut firewood. Climbing a
tree, he perched upon one of the branches, which he began
to hew off close to the trunk. My friend,' said a traveller
passing below, 'you are sitting on the very limb which you
are cutting off; in a few minutes you and it will both
fall to the ground.' The weaver unconcernedly continued
his task, and soon both the branch and himself fell to
the foot of the tree, as the traveller had foretold. Limping
after him, the weaver cried : 'Sir, you are God! you are
God, sir! you are God! What you prophesied has come
to pass.
'Tut, man, tut !
answered the tra-
veller. I am not
God.'
'Nay, but you
are, replied the
weaver ;' and now
pray, O pray, tell
me when I am to
die!'
To be rid of his
importunity, the
traveller answered:
" You will die on
the day on which
your mouth begins
to bleed,' and he
pursued his way.
Some days · had
elapsed, when the
weaver happened
to be making some
scarlet cloth, and as he had frequently to separate the
90
THE BANEYRWAL AND HIS DROWNED WIFE.
threads with his mouth, a piece of the coloured fibre by
chance stuck in one of his front teeth. Catching sight
of this in a glass, and instantly concluding that it was
blood, and that his last hour was at hand, he entered his
hut and said : Wife, wife, I am sick ! in a few minutes I
shall be dead ; let me lie down, and go, dig my grave! So
he lay down on his bed, and, turning his face to the wall,
closed his eyes, and began deliberately to die. And, indeed,
such is the power of the imagination among these people,
that he would have died without doubt if a customer had
not called for his clothes. He, seeing the man's condition,
and hearing of the prophecy, asked to examine his mouth.
'Ah,' said he, 'what an idiot are you! Call you this blood ?
and, taking out the thread, he held it before the weaver's
eyes.
The weaver, as a man reprieved from death, was over-
joyed, and, springing to his feet, resumed his work, having
been rescued, as he imagined, from the very jaws of death.
XXXV.
THE BANEYRWAL* AND HIS DROWNED WIFE.
THERE was once a sudden flood in the Indus which washed
away numbers of people, and among others the wife of a
certain Baneyrwal. The distracted husband was wandering
along the banks of the river looking for the dead body, when
a countryman accosted him thus : 'O friend, if, as I am in-
formed, your wife has been carried away in the flood, she
must have floated down the stream with the rest of the poor
creatures. Yet you are going up the stream.'
'Ah, sir,' answered the wretched Baneyrwal, ' you did not
know that wife of mine. She always took an opposite
* Baneyrwal-a Baneyr-walla---a Baneyr-fellowman inhabitant of
Baneyr.
1
THE PRETENTIOUS FROG.
91
course to everyone else. And even now that she is drowned
I know full well that, if other bodies have floated down the
river, hers must have floated up.
ma
XXXVI.
THE PRETENTIOUS FROG.
A CERTAIN frog, after several ineffectual attempts, managed
to climb to the top of a clod of earth close to the puddle
in which he was spawned. “Ah !' cried he, casting one eye
=z
at some cattle which were grazing near, in the hope that
they would burst with envy, 'what a grand sight have I !
I see Cashmere! I see Cashmere !"
92
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOV AND SHURPHOO.
XXXVII.
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND
SHURPHOO.
HERE was once a farmer who had
two wives, one of whom was wise
and the other foolish. The son of
the wise wife was named Ulphoo,
and the son of the foolish one was
named Shurphoo. The foolish
woman was of a disposition so
perverse, suspicious, and contra-
dictory that she invariably followed
a course exactly opposite to that
which was recommended to her; and this trait in her
character soon became known to her sister-wife, who, if she
desired at any time a favour from her, requested her, above
all things, not to grant it.
One day the wise wife fell ill, and perceiving that her end
was approaching, she sent for her rival, and thus addressed
her : Come close to me and hear my last words. I am
very ill, and like to die, so I have sent for you to give you
some advice before I go. You know what my son is, and
what he requires. When I am no more, send him daily to
the plough, and let him labour, and feed him with hard fare.
With your own son you should deal differently, and I
recommend you to send him every day to the school, where
he may learn, and remember to clothe him cleanly and to
feed him well.'
The foolish wife answered her: 'Very well, your wishes
I shall attend to ;' and very soon after her rival breathed her
last, and was buried in the little cemetery close by the tomb
of the village saint.
The foolish woman then began to consider her dying
words. 'I see,' said she,' she wanted my son to be sent to
school, and her own son to be at large over the farm doing
the work of the fields. Exactly! she would like my son to
&
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHCO.
93
get a good thrashing from the surly priest every day of his
life, while her own escaped free. Very likely! but I shall
do no such thing.'
So she called the two boys, and said to them : You,
Ulphoo, from this day forward are to attend school and
learn your lessons; but my son Shurphoo shall go to the
field and do the work of the farm.'
Shurphoo was not sorry to escape the rod, nor did he
complain that his food consisted only of cakes made with
water, for that had been ever his accustomed fare. On the
other hand, Ulphoo, who was of a serious turn, had no
A:
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Ult
11!!!
WHUHUMU
reason to complain that he had to go to the mosque day by
day and learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, especially as
his cakes were made up with sugar and butter, and as his
clothing was always clean and respectable. Thus the two
låds spent their days, until, in a short time, Ulphoo had so
far progressed in knowledge that he was employed to collect
the revenue of his district, while Shurphoo grew more and
more awkward and stupid.
One day it happened that Shurphoo broke his plough, so
he threw the broken pieces over his shoulder and carried
94
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
:
them into the village to be mended by the village carpenter,
with whom he left them. After this he said to himself: It
must be near dinner-time; I shall now go home.'
For once he was at home before his brother, who had
generally come and gone before he appeared. The cakes
for both brothers were standing in a pile in a wooden
platter, and as he squatted down beside them, he said :
'Mother, let me eat my bread and get back to the field, or
else the bullocks may stray and get lost.'
r
tu
3
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​29.
'Your bread is ready,' said she, and so is Ulphoo's.
Your cakes are those at the top, and in the other dish you
will find some onions. Eat, son, but do not touch the cakes
of your brother. .'
But when Shurphoo saw how rich and dainty was the
food provided for Ulphoo, he naturally murmured against
his mother's partiality. 'Here am I working hard,' said he,
and see what poor food I get, while Ulphoo, who does
nothing but sit at the huzra,* has sugar and butter.' So he
laid his own cakes aside, and ate Ulphoo's. Then said he :
* Mother, I am going to the huzra–I can do collector's
Hûzra—the general guest-house at a village.
.
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
95
work as well as Ulphoo; let him go to the field-I plough
no more.'
When Ulphoo came in, his mother said to him : 'O my
son, my other son came in and has eaten your dinner. He
has left the plough with the carpenter, and the bullocks he
has left in the field; and he says you will be able to do his
work for the future. But you are hungry, so I'll send the
servant to the field to-day, and make you some more cakes,
and to-morrow you can begin the work of the farm.'
Not at all, mother,' answered Ulphoo. 'My brother
may do my work if he pleases, and I will do his. But you
need not send the servant, because I am ready to go at once.'
Without another word the lad set out, and receiving the
plough from the carpenter, he made his way to the field,
where he yoked on the two bullocks, ploughed for the rest
of the day, and in the evening returned home.
MO
111
Meanwhile the silly Shurphoo had gone to the huzra and
taken a seat there. He had not even changed his clothes,
but dirty as he was, and with his rough blanket on him, he
appeared in the meeting place at an hour when all good
farmers were hard at work in their fields. By-and-by one
of the officers of the Government treasury arrived with a
96
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
man carrying a load, and addressing the village watchman,
whose post of duty is always the huzra, he said : 'Give me
a fresh man to carry this load on to the next village.' The
watchman looked for one in vain. “Everyone is out in the
fields at work,' said he. Upon hearing this, the officer, who
had no knowledge of Shurphoo, replied : ‘But here is a
man--why not give me him?'
* Me?' cried Shurphoo; 'but I am one of the village
landlords !'
'Ha, ha !' laughed the officer, ' you look like one !'
Saying this, he gave poor Shurphoo two blows with his
stick, and compelled him to carry the load, not only to the
next village, but to the village beyond as well, for the
treasury was distant several stages.
In the evening the wretched Shurphoo, aching in every
limb, came back to the house.
'Hullo !' cried Ulphoo, 'where have you been ? You are
late—what became of you ?'
*Oh!' answered Shurphoo, ‘I was sitting at the huzra,
when a fellow came up and beat me with a stick, and forced
me to carry a heavy load about ten miles.'
*How unlucky!' replied Ulphoo. · Never mind; to-
morrow you will be more fortunate. See, this is the
revenue which I have been collecting for the Government.
As you are now to be responsible for my work, you will have
to set out with this money to-morrow, and hand it over to
the Tahsildar.' And so saying he counted over into his
brother's hands the full amount.
In the morning Shurphoo rose early, and taking some dry
flour for his journey, he deposited in the same napkin with
the flour the rupees which he had received from Ulphoo.
He then put the burden on his head and started for the
Tahseel.* About mid-day he arrived at a certain village,
and going to the house of a baker, he said to the woman :
*Mother, bake this flour for me.' Taking the flour, she
remarked its weight, and inquired : 'Is this flour of yours
sifted or unsifted ?'
* Tahsîl—the district court-house and Goverment treasury. Tah-
sildár--the native magistrate in charge.
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
97
.
'Sifted or not sifted,' answered he, 'I want it baked.
Sift it if you likę; if not, cook it as it is.'
The woman then took the flour away and baked it into
tasty cakes, which he enjoyed, after which she gave him a
bed to sit down upon, and a hookah to smoke, and enter-
tained him with every civility.
In the morning Shurphoo bethought him of the money,
and exclaimed: 'Here, you! my money was all in that flour
I gave you. Give it up!
' Did I not ask you,' answered the woman, ' if your flour
was sifted or not sifted ? However, I have your money
safe enough. But until you tell me two stories this way,
and two stories that way, not a single piece shall you have.'
This she said only to try him, and to discover if he was a
man of mettle or merely a fool. Poor Shurphoo was quite
huius
confounded. But I don't know any stories at all,' said he.
Then he thought to himself: 'What am I to do? This
money is lost to me. Well, at any rate, I'll go and have a
look at the Tahseel at least; I am not going to turn back
now.' So he continued his journey penniless as he was, and
went on to see the Tahseel.
7
98
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
As he was walking along he came to a well or pool of
water, at the edge of which grew a fine melon-plant, and
Shurphoo noticed that some of the inelons were floating on
Mit
164
,ال
the surface of the water. So he said: "I'll tell the officers at
the Tahseel that I saw melons growing in a well, and that
will astonish them.'
Having rested and drunk, he went on once more, and
presently he saw a deer in a thicket scratching his ear with
one of his hind-feet. Just at that moment a hunter, who
had been in pursuit, fired his matchlock, and the ball pierced
both the foot and the ear, and struck one of the animal's
horns. 'Ah! cried Shurphoo, with a long breath ; 'here's
a wonderful thing. I'll go and tell the officers at the
Tahseel that I saw a bullet pierce a deer's foot, then his ear,
and then his horn! This will astonish them still more.'
Some distance further on there was a snug nook under
the roots of a thorny tree in which a bitch had laid her pups.
One of the pups had crawled out into the open, and a kite
had swooped down and carried it off. As Shurphoo came to
the spot he heard the yelping of the creature, far above his
head, but knew not how to explain it. “Ho, ho !' said he,
here's another wonder! I'll go and tell the officers at the
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO. AND SHURPHOO.
99
Tahseel I heard dogs barking in the air, and that either
God keeps them, or else there is some country or other over-
head. This will astonish them most of all.'
On reaching the Tahseel, he entered the quadrangle, and
going into the office, where the Tahseeldar was busy with
some clients, he cried : 'I have a petition, I have a petition !
*Well,' said the officer, what is your petition ?'
'I wish it to be written down that I saw melons growing
out of a well,' said Shurphoo.
· Who is this madman?' asked the Tahseeldar, and at a
signal the servants hunted him out of the place.
Shurphoo, abashed, but by no means disheartened, now
thought to himself: One thing I have told, and two others
remain. Angry or not angry, they shall listen.' So he re-
turned and cried out: “Another petition, another petition !
*Tell it quickly, and be off,' said tie Tahseeldar.
'Let it be recorded,' said Shurphoo, 'that I am the man
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gen
who saw a single bullet shot from a gun which wounded a
deer in the foot, the ear, and the horn.'
On hearing this nonsense, the Tahseeldar fell into a rage
and ordered his attendants to seize unhappy Shurphoo by
クー​2
100
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
the shoulders and to thrust him out, which accordingly they
did, adding abuse to their violence and saying, as they
drove him away: 'Take care you do not venture back here
again!'
Shurphoo, however, notwithstanding his evil treatment,
determined that the third wonder should not be lost to the
world for the want of telling. So he had the temerity to
appear before the Tahseeldar once more, crying as on the
former occasion : 'Another petition, another petition !
· Wretched idiot,' said the Tahseeldar, if you have a
petition why cannot you state what your petition is, and
have done with it once for all ?'
'I am the man,' answered the undaunted Shurphoo, who
heard dogs barking in the sky !'
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2
hulla
'Give the fellow a beating,' said the Tahseeldar, 'and beat
him well, that he may trouble me no more.'
The attendants needed no second bidding, but arming
themselves with their slippers, they thrashed the unfortunate
petitioner within an inch of his life and cast him out with
ignominy.
Shurphoo now decided to return to his own village.
When, after a weary journey, he appeared at the door, his
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
IOI
brother accosted him, and said : "Shurphoo, have you paid
in the revenue ?'
'No, indeed,' answered Shurphoo; I put the money
among my flour for safety, but the baker's wife at such-and-
such a village refused to return it unless I told her two
stories this way, and two stories that way, so I had to go on
without it, and on my way I saw melons growing in a well,
and I saw a man who wounded a deer in the foot, the ear,
and the horn at one shot, and I heard dogs barking in the
sky; and I told these wonderful things to the Tahseeldar
and all his men, but they beat me and drove me away,'
When Ulphoo had heard this statement a smile stole over
his face. “So, so,' said he, 'you will be the lumbardár, eh;
and I ani to be the husbandman ? Look here! one of the
bullocks has fallen ill. Take this money in the morning
and go buy another, and I'll try my luck with the baker's
wife. Perhaps I shall be able to tell her two stories this
way, and two stories that way.'
Before starting, Ulphoo bought a large number of common
brass finger-rings and secreted them in the bag of flour
which was to serve him for the journey. Arriving at the
house of the baker, he addressed the woman, and begged that
she would bake some cakes for him.
' Has your flour been sifted, or not sifted ?' asked she.
'I know not,' answered Ulphoo; 'but you may sift it if
you think proper.'
As she was sifting she caught sight of the rings, and per-
ceiving that Ulphoo's eye was upon her, she remarked :
'There are some gold rings in it.'
'Yes,' answered Ulphoo,' there are lots of those rings in
a bush by the roadside. I picked just a few as I passed, and
put them among the flour for safety.'
* But whereabouts is the bush ?' she inquired anxiously.
Ulphoo mentioned the spot, and in a few minutes she
suddenly observed : 'I have a little work to do now, and I
must leave you, but I will return and finish the cakes for you
in a short time.' So she started off, running as soon as she
had reached the path, to look for the wonderful bush which
bore rings.
IO2
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
During her absence her husband came in, and, missing his
wife, he said: 'O guest, my wife was here a few minutes
ago; where has she gone to ?'
I don't know,' answered Ulphoo. "A strange man came
by just now and looked in. He passed the door twice and
made signs, and your wife went out and followed him.
The husband was laden with a couple of bundles of wood,
and hearing this news, he threw them down, and, taking up
the bamboo-stick on which they had been suspended from
his shoulders, he strode out of the house to look for his
missing wife. He soon found her returning quickly from her
Cou
tinantis
fruitless search after the rings, and when he met her he
said: 'Where have you been ?'
' I have had some work to do,' answered she.
'But,' said he, the man who made signs to you-where
is he?'
'I saw no man, protested she, nor did any man make
signs to me. '
Not believing her, he lifted his bamboo and thrashed her
soundly, after which they sulkily returned to the house
together.
Meanwhile Ulphoo, who had noticed the baker's little
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOI. 103
girl playing in the enclosure, had slipped out of the house
and had met one or two of the villagers. What is the
name of the village,' asked he, where the lad lives to
whom the baker's little daughter is betrothed?'
'The village of Jubbi,' answered one, 'four miles distant.'
“That will do,' said he; and he had returned and was sitting
quietly in the house when the baker and his wife entered,
and when the latter, still crying from the effects of her
chastisement, resumed her baking.
In the morning he rose up early and went to the huzra,
where he happened to meet a traveller who was going to that
very village of Jubbi. Having ingratiated himself with him,
he said: 'When you get home, go to the house of the lad to
whom this baker's daughter is engaged, and do not forget
to tell his friends that his little betrothed was sent to the
stack to bring some dried corv-dung for the fire, and that
most unfortunately a snake leaped out and bit her, and that
she is dead. And say, too, that he and his friends are to
come here quickly to show their sympathy with the family.'
After this Ulphoo went back to the house and said to the
baker's wife: 'Do you not know that the lad to whom you
have betrothed your daughter is dead ? He was sent out
yesterday to gather sticks, and some wolves set on him and
tore him up.'
' But where did you hear of all this?' asked the astonished
woman.
Oh!' returned Ulphoo, 'I met a traveller just now who was
going along the road in the greatest haste to give this news to
other relations elsewhere, and he asked me to let you know.'
When the wife of the bread-seller heard these doleful
tidings, she at once started forth for Jubbi. But by this
time the former news had also reached Jubbi, and the other
woman was also at that very moment leaving her house for
the purpose of demanding an explanation from the mother
of her son's betrothed. Half-way between the villages
the two women met, and she of Jubbi at once began abusing
her friend in unmeasured terms. "You horrid hag!' cried
she, 'why did you send my little daughter-in-law to the dung-
hill for fuel in order to be bitten by a snake ?'
104 THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
' Hold your abominable lying tongue! retorted the other,
' and tell me what devil bade you turn out my daughter's
betrothed among wolves ?'
And with these words the two indignant mothers fell
on each other fist and claw, and fought like furies; while
scraps of clothing and wisps of hair lying about attested the
violence of their rage. At last, wearied with the struggle,
they both sat down for breath, when the woman of Jubbi
suddenly said :'But my son is alive and well, thank God!' to
which the other replied: 'And my daughter is also alive and
well.'
زر
000
porte
Bay
Then came explanations, and the end of it all was that the
two antagonists composed their differences, took some food
together, embraced each other tenderly, and parted for their
respective homes.
When the baker's wife arrived at her house, she flew at
Ulphoo and said: 'So it is you who have been causing all
this trouble and bother to me!'
'I have not done anything, mother,' answered he quietly;
'so very wrong. I have merely told you two stories this
way. But if you do not give me up the rupees my foolish
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO. 105
brother left with you, I shall have to tell you two stories
that way!
The woman, hearing this, began to feel afraid, and going
in, she brought out the money, which she handed to him ;
and glad was she to see her visitor's back.
Ulphoo now hastened on to the Tahseel to pay in the
sum which he had recovered. The Tahseeldár, who had
been wondering that the money had not been brought before,
received him kindly, and in the course of conversation re-
marked: 'I am told that it was a brother of yours who
came here the other day. If so, he was a very stupid
fellow.'
'Yes,' answered Ulphoo; "his mother is stupid, and so
also is he.'
' He told me,' said the Tahseeldár, laughing, that he had
seen pumpkins growing out of a well. Just think of that!'
‘And why not?' replied Ulphoo. "The pumpkins might
easily have been resting in the water. But my brother, not
being clever, had omitted to observe that the plant was
really growing at the edge of the water.'
But,' said the Tahseeldar, he also told me he had seen
a stag wounded in the ear, the heel, and the horn, and I
know not where, with a single bullet.'
'Even that may be true,' answered Ulphoo; 'but he did
not understand the thing. I presume the deer was lying in
a particular position, or scratching his ear, or something.'
' Possibly,' said the Tahseeldár ; 'but you cannot so
easily explain his saying that he had heard dogs barking in
the sky
. Why not?' answered the brother. • Are there not
vultures and kites about in abundance, and do they not
sometimes pounce down upon puppies ? But my brother,
you see, is not very clever, like you and me, and could not
explain himself.
After paying in the money, Ulphoo returned to his own
village. Entering the house, he said to Shurphoo : 'Where
is the bullock I sent you for ?'
'I looked for a bullock all over the country,' answered
Shurphoo; and as I could not find one, I bought a buffalo
106 THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
instead. As I was passing through a certain village, some
fellows cried out: “Hi! sir, where did you bring that
fighting ram from ?” As the whole of them averred that
my buffalo was a fighting ram, I left it with them, for I
thought to myself: “My brother was angry with me before,
because I failed to pay in the revenue, and now, if I take
him this buffalo, and it turns out to be a fighting ram, he
will be still more angry."
Ulphoo was unable to restrain his impatience when he
heard of this extraordinary loss, and he addressed such
bitter words to his brother that the latter left the house and
took himself off altogether.
Poor Shurphoo now determined to seek his fortune else-
where, and he went forth he cared not whither. On and on
he travelled, and after a long journey he came to a village,
and rested for the night at the huzra. He there heard of a
certain moghul who lived in those parts, and who owned all
the country round. He will employ you,' said the watch-
man; "he never refuses a poor beggar anything.'
The next day Shurphoo walked up boldly to the moghul's
door and offered his services.
'Work you shall have,' answered the great man solemnly,
' but I have a playful fancy which I always indulge when
engaging a new servant. If you will agree to the condition,
well; if not, begone.'
'I agree to anything and everything,' said the hungry
man.
' Be it so,' replied the moghul. “My stipulation is this:
if my servant gets angry I pull out his eye, and if I get
angry he pulls out my eye. Besides this, your daily quota
of work must be performed. It is not very much. You
have only to plough six acres of land every day, to fence it
with brushwood, to bring in game for my table, grass for
my mare, and firewood for my house; and you are also to
cook my food. '
In the morning Shurphoo drove his bullocks afield, and
began to plough the stony hillside. Mid-day came, and he
had not finished half an acre. Becoming very tired, he let
the bullocks go, and, quite unmindful of ploughing and
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO. 107
fencing and hunting and grass-cutting, he lay down and
slept under the shade of a tree. After a time a one-eyed
slave-girl brought out some bread to him. It was tied up
with several tight knots in a bit of calico, and she said to
the man: 'My mistress bids me tell you that you are to take
out your bread from this cloth without unloosing the knots.'
'If I am not to loose the knots,' cried he, “how am I to
get out the bread ?' and he gave the parcel back to her,
saying: “Take it away, take it away!' So the slave-girl
took the bread back again to the house.
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When evening came he drove home the bullocks, but took
no game, no grass, and no wood. As he was tying up the
animals for the night, out came the moghul, and asked him :
' Have you ploughed the six acres of ground ?'
'No' answered he.
' Have you brought in some game ?'
'No' answered he a second time.
Grass for my mare ?'
'No,' once more said the man.
'Firewood for my house ?'
'No, I have not,' replied again the deluded Shurphoo,
warming up.
6
108
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
What !' cried the moghul ; 'you lazy rascal, have you
done no work at all ?'
“How can I do all that work,' answered Shurphoo, when
I am all alone ?' and he began uttering imprecations.
‘But the stipulation ?' said his master. 'I made a stipu-
lation, and you are angry, are you not ?'
"And why shouldn't I be angry ?' said Shurphoo.
' If you are angry, give up your eye,' returned the Moghul,
and with this he seized poor Shurphoo, threw him on to the
ground, plucked out his eye, and sent him about his business.
Shurphoo now set his face towards his own home once
2
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,!
HA
77
more. 'I have had enough of playing the gentleman,' said
he; 'I will go back to my father's fields, where I was happy,
and never leave them again. As he entered the house,
Ulphoo looked at him, and saw that he had lost an eye.
How did you come to lose your eye ?' asked he.
'I went to work as a servant to a moghul,' answered
Shurphoo; and then he related his adventures, and the
cruelty of his master in depriving him of an eye.
' But,' remarked Ulphoo, 'you were going to be a lum-
bardár. Is this all you have been doing ?'
'I made a mistake,' answered Shurphoo; ‘forgive me, and
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
109
now I will be a servant to you, if you will but allow me food
and clothing.'
* Very well,' said Ulphoo, 'you carry on the work of the
farm for our mother. As for me, I have other work; and
first I must visit the village where you were robbed of your
buffalo.'
So he handed over charge of the place to his brother, and
prepared for his journey. First he bought a sleek young
mule and furnished it with gay trappings. Then he engaged
a fine servant to attend on him, giving him certain directions
which he was to carry out exactly. When all was ready,
and he himself had put on his best clothes, he set out
and came to the village of the robbers, where he took a
seat in the huzra, and all the robbers came about him and
received him with great respect. They also gave him
refreshments, and lodged him well, and on account of his
appearance took trouble to oblige him.
In the morning, when the place was crowded in the usual
way, Ulphoo called his servant and said to him: 'Go and do
your business and the robbers observed that, as the servant
removed and broke up the mule's dung, he took therefrom
numbers of rupees. This astonished them, and they began
to plot among themselves how they should obtain possession
of so valuable an animal.
The next morning the servant went through the same
performance; for in truth, in accordance with his directions,
he had put the rupees there himself overnight. But the
robbers knew nothing of the matter, and they said one to
another: 'An animal like this we should persuade our guest
to part with.' So one of them asked Ulphoo: 'Sir, will you
take the price of this mule and sell it to us?'
“I will not sell her,' answered he.
'Nay,' said they; 'take, if you like, four thousand rupees
and let us have her.'
'No, no,' again answered Ulphoo. This mule is my
kingdom, and pays me tribute every day; whereas if I
accepted ever so large a sum for her I should soon spend
that, and then I should have nothing.'
Seeing they could not prevail on him to sell, they brought
IIO
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
some of the most respectable men of the country, and at
last Ulphoo was persuaded to part with his mule for four
thousand rupees, and having received them he returned
towards his own village.
On the way to his house he passed a certain bazaar,
where, seeing two live hares exposed for sale, he bought
them both, and took them with him. These he tied up
in his house, and then rested for the night.
The next morning he gave one of the hares into his wife's
charge, saying to her: 'I expect three or four strange men
will come here seeking for me to-day ;' and he gave her the
most careful instructions how she was to act with regard to
^,
the hare and to the visitors. Then he took the other hare,
and on leaving the house he said : 'Tell them they will find
me at the well in the field. Meanwhile, she began prepar-
ing dinner for six.
Now, when the robbers discovered, as they soon did, that
the wonderful mule declined to produce rupees for them,
they were indignant, and four of them banded themselves to
set out and seek for Ulphoo. Whenever we find him,' said
they, let us kill him.' When they arrived at his house, and
had inquired after him, his wife said: 'He has gone to the
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
III
cane.
well;' and as soon as they had turned their backs she
brought the hare, which had been left in her charge, out of
the house, tied it at the door, and went on with her
cooking.
Ulphoo was seated on a bedstead by the well, and when he
saw the robbers approaching he rose up, received them
politely, gave them seats, and offered them a hookah. Then,
while engaging them in conversation, he took out his hare,
gave it two slaps, and said to it: 'Go and tell my wife to
prepare supper for six.' The hare immediately scampered
off, and by-and-by it escaped unseen into a field of sugar-
The robbers were amazed at Ulphoo's proceedings,
and said among themselves : ‘Let us not kill him now ; let us
first see what will come of this.'
After a time Ulphoo invited the four men to come and sup
with him, and they accompanied him home, where they
were still more amazed to see the very same hare, as they
supposed it to be, tied up at the door. Then they said to
each other: 'This hare must be a very good sort of animal
to have; let us see if we cannot get possession of it.'
Ulphoo now invited them to sit down, and messes were
laid for six, which was also a surprise to the robbers, who ex-
changed looks. In the middle of the meal Ulphoo said to
his wife : 'Give this guest some more bread ;' but instead of
bread she brought him water. Feigning anger, her husband
struck her so severe a blow that she fell to the ground as if
dead. Then said the robbers: ‘Alas! what have you
done? "This crime will be fastened on us, and we shall all be
hanged !' But Ulphoo took down a handsome crooked
stick, which he kept in a silken cover, and tapping his wife's
head with it three times, he said quietly: 'Rise, rise ! and
at once the woman got up, smiled, and again sat down as if
nothing had happened.
The amazement of the robbers had now reached a climax,
and they said to each other: We must contrive by all
means to get possession of this stick too, so that if any of
our people die we shall know what to do.'
Supper over, they all retired to the cool shade of the
garden, and sat down on bedsteads. Then said the robbers
112 THE ADVENTURES OF ULPH00 AND SHURPHOO.
to Ulphoo: 'Are you willing to part with your hare and
your magical stick?'
*No,' answered he. What should I do without them?
My hare is my messenger. And as for the stick, you know a
man cannot restrain himself always, and it is well to be on
the safe side. Besides, I sold you my mule, and I lost by the
transaction.'
As their arguments availed nothing, the four robbers left
him and returned the next day in company with the most
substantial men of their tribe to assist them in their efforts
at negotiation. “Name,' said they, "a price for these
articles. The more he refused, the more persistent they
became, and the upshot of it was that Ulphoo affected to
fall into a great rage, and cried : “Here, take them away, you
may have them as a gift ! and that they, feeling ashamed of
their importunity, forced upon him two thousand rupees,
and carried away both the wonderful hare and the still more
wonderful stick to their village in the hills.
On reaching their homes, one of the robbers, who was
more wealthy than the others, bought out his comrades and
took both the prizes to his own house, where he carefully
tied up the hare in his chamber, and deposited the stick in
the corn-bin, which was the safest place he could think of.
That done, he sat down in the midst of his family with a
contented heart.
The next day he would go out ploughing. So he took up
the hare, and said to his wife : 'When I want my dinner, I
will send you this hare to let you know. If she tells you to
prepare for one, you will prepare only for myself; but if she tells
you to prepare for more, you will know that guests have come.'
Having arrived at the field, he tied the hare to a stone
and went on with his ploughing. At noon, feeling very
hungry, he ceased working, loosed the hare, and, giving it
two smart slaps, he let it go, saying : 'Away, tell my wife to
bring me out my bread quickly.' But the hare, glad of its
liberty, soon escaped into the jungles.
In the evening the robber returned to the house in a great
rage, and said: “Wife, why did you not send me out my
dinner?'
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO. 113
‘I was waiting for your orders,' answered she.
'But I sent you the hare !' said he.
'No hare ever came to me,' replied she.
Notwithstanding, the duped husband visited all his rage
on his wife. Lifting a heavy stick, he killed her on the spot,
and not content with that, he killed also his children for
attempting to save her.
When his rage began to cool he was seized with terror,
and, rushing to the corn-bin, he brought forth his magic
stick, and began tapping the heads of all the corpses one
after another, saying: 'Rise, rise ! But he tapped in vain:
not a movement, not a turn of the eye, was visible. Then he
태
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called in his neighbours and friends, and because all the
people of this village were notorious for their robberies, and
even murders, they became frightened, and they said one to
another: 'Never have we been so overreached !
We only
seized a single buffalo of that man's, and he has robbed us
of six thousand rupees, and brought about all this terrible
misery and bloodshed. Therefore, let us have no more to
say to the villain, but let us remain quiet, lest worse befall
us.'
As for Ulphoo, he kept good watch for ten or twelve days;
8
114 THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
6
but as none of his enemies seemed inclined to molest him
again, he at last said to his brother : 'I have avenged you
on that tribe of robbers, and now I must go and visit your
friend the moghul.'
When he was leaving the house he spoke to his mother,
saying: 'I may be absent one month, or I may be absent
twelve months ; but I shall not return until I have paid off
old scores, and settled with him in full. Meanwhile Shur-
phoo must take care of the property.'
Then he disguised himself like a poor servant in old worn-
out clothes, and with his staff in his hand he journeyed to
the moghul's village, where he stopped at the huzra.
* Does anyone want a good servant ?' inquired he.
'Yes, I do,' answered the moghul, who happened to be
present. 'But stay,' continued he, 'I always make one
stipulation, and if you would serve me you must accept it.'
* And what is that ?' asked Ulphoo.
'If you get angry,' answered the moghul, 'I pull out your
eye, and if I get angry you pull out mine.
Agreed !' said Ulphoo; "and what work do you expect ?'
Every day,' replied he, you will plough six acres of land
and fence it, and bring in to me from the jungle game for
my table, grass for my mare, and firewood for my house,
and you will cook my dinner for me.'
' All this I agree to, and even more, if you like,' said
Ulphoo, with assurance. And he accompanied the moghul
home.
The next morning a pair of bullocks and a plough were
made over to him, and he was sent to the field. He began
his labour by ploughing all round the six acres, and by
ploughing twelve furrows in the middle. Next he made up
four bundles of brushwood and set them at the four corners
of the field. He then tied up his bullocks to a small acacia
tree, and spreading his cloth on the ground, he lay down
and went to sleep.
About noon the one-eyed slave girl brought his bread to
him, tied, as before, by several knots, in a napkin.
My mistress,' said she, bids you take out your food
without untying the knots.'
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO. 115
Ulphoo received the napkin, tore a hole in the bottom of
it, and thus took out the bread. While he was eating it he
observed that one of the house-dogs had followed the girl.
This little creature was a great pet of her mistress, and her
name was Lownghee. When the girl was going away he
contrived to detain the creature by throwing scraps of
bread to her, after which he quietly caught her, slipped a
rope round her neck, and tied her up to the tree.
Towards evening he went to an old dry well in the neigh-
bourhood, where he found a little grass--about a mouthful
and he cut it, saying ; ' This will do for my master's mare.'
F
As the forest was several miles off, and he had no mind to
travel so far afield for firewood, he broke up the yoke and
the plough into several pieces, saying: 'This will do for my
master's fire. Then he took the little dog and killed her,
after which he skinned her, and said: 'I shall now have a
rabbit for my master's dinner.'
Having completed his arrangements, he went home, and
the moghul meeting him, asked: 'Have you ploughed the
six acres ?'
· Yes,' answered Ulphoo.
' And have you fenced them ?'
8—2
116 THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
'Yes,' answered he again.
And brought in some game
?'
"Certainly,' said 'Ulphoo; see, here it is !
' And grass and firewood ?'
* Of course!' once more replied the undaunted servant.
* Then,' said the moghul, 'make my dinner quickly.'
Ulphoo went away, lighted a fire, set on the pot, and
made an excellent stew of poor little Lownghee.
As soon as his dinner was served the moghul sat down,
and, in accordance with his usual habit, he called for the
little lap-dog. “Lownghee! Lownghee! cried he. But he
whistled and called to no purpose. Then said Ulphoo :
'Lownghee won't come !
* And why will she not?' asked the moghul.
• How can Lownghee come to you,' answered the man,
'when you are eating her ?'
"What?' said the moghul angrily; 'would you dare to put
a dog before me?
'Are you not getting angry with me?' replied U
meaningly.
'No,' answered the moghul ; 'I am not getting angry.
Here, take this food and throw it away, and cook me some-
thing else!
· What shall I cook ?' asked Ulphoo.
• Flesh-meat will take too long,' said the moghul, so make
me a little sutthoo' [roasted grain prepared as a porridge).
· Nay!' said the servant; 'I will make you up in no time
a nice little curry.'
'All right,' said the moghul, “but remember to put a
couple of cloves in it.'
Ulphoo, who was a good cook, then made a delicious
curry with spices and sauces, and when it was ready he
went into the garden and caught a frog, which he tied by
the leg to a stool in the kitchen. After this he served up the
dinner.
. Did you put some cloves in it?' asked the moghul.
· Yes, certainly,' answered Ulphoo; 'I caught two of
them in the garden. One I put in the curry, and I tied the
other by the leg to a stool. If you haven't enough, I can go
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
117
and fetch the other, and put that in too.' Then thought the
moghul to himself: “This is a very tricky fellow. I should
like to see what he has been doing.' 'Go!' exclaimed he, and
bring me that thing you have tied by the leg to a stool.
Ulphoo left the room, but soon returned, holding up the
frog between his finger and thumb, and saying: 'This is
the other clove which I caught in the garden.'
The moghul then became very angry.
'What! are you getting angry?' cried Ulphoo. 'If so,
give me up your eye.'
212
Heart
6
'No, no,' said the moghul hastily; 'I am not getting angry.
I am only asking, why you put a frog in my food ?'
'I know not what you call a frog,' said Ulphoo. In my
country we call these things "cloves."
The incensed moghul thrust away his plate, saying :
Here, remove this rubbish ; I won't eat it-eat it yourself.'
Nor did Ulphoo wait to be told a second time; for he took
the food, and, squatting down in a comfortable corner, he
devoured it all himself.
In the morning the moghul got up, and began cooking
his own breakfast. “In the future,' said he to Ulphoo, you
118 THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
6
cook no more food for me. Go, take your bullocks and your
plough, and do your six acres !'
And how am I to do them,' answered the imperturbable
Ulphoo, 'when I have neither plough nor yoke?'
'But,' said his master, looking amazed, 'I gave both into
your hands only yesterday!'
'Quite true,' said Ulphoo, 'but I broke them up and
used them as firewood to cook your dinner with.
The moghul, purple with rage, now rose and stamped
with his foot: 'Did you ever hear, cried he, 'of anyone
who used his plough for firewood ?'
'Are you getting angry with me?' retorted Ulphoo. If
so, give me up your eye !'
'No, no,' protested the distracted moghul, 'I am not
getting angry. Go away to the carpenter, and order another
plough forthwith, and, in short, get out of my sight.'
While a new plough was being made, Ulphoo had two
days of comparative idleness; and on the morning of the
third day he resumed his labour. The moghul also visited
the field; and when he saw the one furrow all round the six
acres, and the twelve furrows in the middle, with the forlorn
bits of brushwood at the four corners, he again waxed wroth,
and asked: 'Is this the way farmers plough and fence their
land in your country ? Now attend to me. I perceive that
you are more than I can manage. So leave me sharp, and
get away to your own place !
'Not so fast,' answered Ulphoo. 'If I had had anything
to do at my own house, why should I have come to serve
you? We stipulated that if one of us got angry, he was to
his eye to the other. And now you are angry, since
you are turning me out of your service. So give me up
your eye!'
'Nay, I am not angry,' answered the moghul. 'I am
merely pointing out that you should not behave like this.'
The moghul then bent his steps towards his home,
leaving Ulphoo at the plough. As he walked along he could
not help thinking of the story of the two men on the bank
of the river: how they saw something black floating down
the stream, which they imagined to be a blanket; how one
give up
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO. 119
of them said to the other: 'You can swim; go out, and see
what it is ;' how he went, and seized it, and how it was a
bear which caught him ; how the man on the bank cried, If
you can't bring in the blanket, let it go!' and how the other
replied, 'I wish to let the blanket go, but the blanket won't
let me go.' 'Yes,' said the moghul aloud, before, when I
took servants, I conquered them easily, and took their eyes
from them ; but this fellow is not to be baffled ; and what
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is worse, he has caught me in his grip, and I can't get rid
of the rascal.'
It happened some time after this that the moghul's wife
died, and that he wished to visit a distant village for the
purpose of bringing home another wife. So he saddled his
mare, and, taking Ulphoo with him as his servant, he went
on his way. By-and-by they approached a village, and, as
it was late in the day, the moghul said: 'Let us enter the
village, and lodge there for the night.'
* Let us rather stay here,' advised Ulphoo. Why should
you run the risk of possible infection in a strange village ?
On this spot some travellers are already encamped, and
with them we shall be safe.'
I 20
.
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
The moghul, who, as a man of substance, was of a
corpulent habit, dismounted heavily from his mare and tied
her to a tree. A fire was then made, and cakes were
prepared for supper, and having eaten, the moghul covered
up his head in his robe and went to sleep while Ulphoo
watched.
Ulphoo now began thinking to himself: “This moghul
takes care never to get angry, or, at least, he denies that he
does, so I must make another attempt to surprise him, and
this time I may perhaps succeed.' So he got up quietly and
went to some cattle-drovers who were also halting in that
place, and said to them: “My master has a fine mare here.
Give me a price for her and take her off somewhere, but tie
up in her place the most vicious bullock which you have in
your herd. I will answer for it that in the morning you
shall receive it back again, besides which you can thrash my
master well for a robber, and compel him to make you com-
pensation.'
The cattle-drovers began to laugh at the drollery of this
advice, but, finding he was in earnest, some of them sprang
up, singled out a wild bullock, and tied it in the place of the
mare, which they sent away somewhere else. After this,
Ulphoo lay down and slept.
Sometime before daylight the moghul awoke, and cried :
· Ulphoo, Ulphoo, saddle the mare! Ulphoo, pretending
zeal, fussed about for a few minutes, and then said : “Sir,
the mare is saddled and ready.' It was too dark for the
moghul to see what manner of animal it was which he was
about to mount, nor had he time to do so, for the moment
he approached he was tossed on the bullock's horns and
thrown on his back. 'In the name of heaven!' cried the
poor man, 'what's this? Has my mare grown a pair of
horns in the night ?' Then, calling his servant, he said :
* Ulphoo, O Ulphoo, look here, and tell me quickly what
animal is this !!
* If it is not your mare,' answered Ulphoo, what can it
be ??
By this time morning began to break, and up came the
cattle-drovers in a body. Seizing the bewildered moghul,
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPH00.
I21
they belaboured him well with goads and sticks, saying
'Thief, you have stolen our bullock !' The moghul retaliated,
hitting out with his staff, or butting at them with his head,
while he called out repeatedly : 'You are the thieves; you
have stolen my mare, you have stolen my mare !' Then they
thrashed him again, and finally seized him by main force,
saying: 'Come along, we'll take you to the justice !
All this time Ulphoo was holding his sides laughing
immoderately. 'You are iny servant,' remonstrated the
moghul; 'why have you not taken my part ?'
LP!!
‘How can I ?' coolly replied he. * How do I know where
you have sent your mare ? And if you have stolen this.
bullock the case is worse. I will do your work for you, but
you must not expect me to throw myself into a well for you.'
As the herdsmen were shuffling and urging the unlucky
man to come on, Ulphoo asked him : 'Why did you bring
that bullock here and tie it up to our tree ?'
When the moghul, in his shame and anger, heard this, he
thought to himself: 'If my own servant is going to witness
against me I am lost!' So he addressed himself to his
persecutors, and said : Take your bullock away, and, see,
I 22
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
here is some money for you to leave me alone. You have
stolen my mare, but never mind.'
Nay,' retorted they, 'you have caused us trouble and loss
of time. You must go to the court.'
' Ah,' groaned the moghul, these fellows are too much
for me! They out-do Ulphoo himself.'
At this stage Ulphoo came forward and interfered, hand-
ing the men their bullock, and ten rupees out of his master's
purse, and sending them away whispering and laughing.
Then said the moghul to Ulphoo : ‘My mare is gone and
my honour is gone too. Let us return home, and I'll buy
another mare, and we can set out again. Here, pick up the
saddle and let us be off!'
'Do you call this thing a saddle ?' answered Ulphoo. 'I
call it a basket, and in the old hut which you have given me
to live in I have a dozen of them. If you want some more
I can supply you with plenty, but I am not going to carry
this one all the way home.'
Said the moghul, again becoming excited : 'Do you say
you have baskets like this in your house? Are you aware
that this basket, as you call it, cost me fifty rupees ?'
Well, pick it up yourself,' answered Ulphoo, 'I won't.
If you like to carry such a wretched thing, do so.'
'What ! yelled the moghul, growing infuriated, 'did I
not hire you as a servant ?'
' Are you getting angry with me?' asked Ulphoo quietly.
No, no, not at all, not at all,' replied the moghul,
recovering himself. 'I was merely observing that this was
a saddle, and not a basket.”
The moghul then picked up the saddle himself, and the
two ill-assorted companions began their return journey.
'Look here,' said the moghul, it will be a disgrace for
me to be seen carrying a saddle into my village. I will
carry it within a mile, and to save the scandal do you take
it then.'
'Well,'' answered Ulphoo, do you carry it within a
mile.'
When they arrived at the place indicated, the moghul
said : 'Now you carry the saddle.'
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO. 123
'Nay, that I will not,' answered Ulphoo.
'Why not?' said his master, astonished. “You said you
would.'
'I did not say I would carry the saddle,' said Ulphoo.
'I said you might carry it, and I said that I had plenty of
baskets of the same pattern.'
Then the moghul again began to flare up.
' Are you getting angry with me now?' asked Ulphoo.
'If so, give me up your eye.'
'No, no,' answered the moghul, 'I am not getting angry.
I am merely pointing out that a servant should obey his
master.'
If the thing were worth carrying,' said Ulphoo, 'I might
take it for you; but an old basket, never !'
The moghul, who would not for shame be seen entering
his village bearing a saddle on his head, was fain to take it
down, lay it on the ground, tie a piece of string to it, and in
that manner to make for his house by the shortest possible
path, dragging the unlucky saddle behind him.
Having arrived home, the moghul borrowed another mare
from a neighbour, and the next morning he started very
early, so as to reach his destination on the same day. His
dignity would not permit him to travel without a servant,
and he was compelled to take Ulphoo with him again. They
were within a mile of the village, when the moghul sent on
his servant in advance, saying: 'I shall rest here and bathe.
Do you go on and request my friends to prepare my dinner
for me.'
On reaching the house, Ulphoo gave the people his master's
message, thus : ‘My master sends his respects to you, and
wishes you to know that in a little while he will be here.
Meanwhile, he would have you prepare some dinner for him.'
They were all delighted at the intelligence, and began
their preparations. But Ulphoo surprised them by saying :
• Of course any food will do for me, as I am only a servant.
But my master is indisposed, and he has asked me to say
that for two days he has been taking only the food which
his doctors have prescribed for him, and which he must
adhere to.'
.
124 THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO. AND SHURPHOO.
'What kind of food, then,' asked they, 'would he like?'
'You will take,' answered the man, 'one pound of the
cominon country soap and dress it with assafoetida and
spices into a kind of porridge. It is the only thing my
master will touch.'
When the moghul arrived, all his new wife's relations
came forward to receive him, and they gave him the seat of
honour. 'I am very tired,' thought he, and very hungry,
and when I have had a good dinner I shall go to sleep.'
The food came, and the aroma which assailed his nostrils
was a trifle compared with the flavour of the first spoonful.
He was amazed, and nearly beside himself with rage and
disappointment, but shame kept him silent. At the same
time he perceived his mischievous servant eating wholesome
food close by, and eyeing him with a malicious twinkle. To
make matters still worse, his host pressed him cordially to
make a good meal for the credit of the house, which he was
compelled to do to avoid offending them. Then, pleading
fatigue, he retired to another chamber and lay down. In
the middle of the night he became very sick, and complained
of horrible nausea and pains and spasms. Calling his
servant, he said: 'Come along with me outside ; I am ill.
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
125
Nay,' said Ulphoo, ‘if we go out now, we shall be arrested
by the watchman and locked up as thieves. If you are sick,
I will bring you the vessel, and in the morning I can take
it out before anyone is astir.'
Before morning the moghul ordered his servant to throw
out the vessel. I am coming,' answered he. And when-
ever the moghul called him he answered in like manner, ‘I
am coming,' but he came not. At last daylight appeared,
and the moghul, for very shame, had to rise to take away
the odious thing himself. He covered it with the sheet
which he had thrown over his head, and, stepping out in the
cold, crossed over towards the jungle.
Hardly had he left the room when his friends came in and
inquired for him.
• The food you gave him last night,' said Ulphoo, 'did not
agree with him at all, and he is so angry that he has started
for his home. Some of you go and persuade him to return.
11
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Hill
He is just outside. He will make excuses ; but never mind
them, bring him back,
One or two therefore followed the moghul, and overtook
him before he had time to disencumber himself of his load.
126 THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO.
6
'We apologize,' said they, if the food was not to your
liking. Do not part in anger, but come back with us.
The moghul protested that he was merely taking the
morning air ; but they would listen to no excuses, and, as
they laid hold of his arms in order to add a friendly violence
to their arguments, the vessel which he held dropped out
of his hands on to the stones and. was broken. The poor
man was covered with confusion, and his anger getting the
better of him, he rushed back to the house to revile his
servant. 'Ah, villain,' cried he, when he saw him, would
you play your tricks on me in a strange house ?'
Are you getting angry with me?' answered Ulphoo.
' If so, give me up your eye.' .
No, no!' said the moghul, dancing and almost speechless
with rage; 'I am not angry-not at all. I would merely
point out to you that your conduct is infamous.' And he
once more subsided.
He then went and called for his mare, and when his friends
again entered the room he said: 'I must return to my home
at once, as I am not well.' So he put his new wife into a
palanquin, mounted his mare, and all three left for their own
village.
They were within a short distance of the village, when the
moghul looked back and saw that the bearers of the
palanquin had lagged far behind. 'Go quickly back,' said
he to Ulphoo, "and hasten up my wife. Make her fly, so
that she may be there and here in the same moment, as
darkness is rapidly falling.'
Ulphoo hastened back and said to the bearers : 'Strange
bearers are not permitted to enter this village, so set down
the palanquin and return to your homes; other bearers will
be here presently.
The men obeyed him, and, as he was considering what he
should do next, he saw a party emerging from a wood, who
told him that they had just been burying a young girl of the
village, who had died of a fall from a swing. A thought
came into the mind of the wily Ulphoo. Bidding the bride
get out of the palanquin, he took her into the wood and
bound her securely to a tree. “If you utter a sound, or
THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO. 127
make the least noise until you are released,' said he, “I will
put you to death.' He then went on to the newly-made
grave, and began to open it. A foot and a half below the
surface he came to the narrow chamber, and, taking out the
body, he chopped off one of its legs. With this in his hand
he hurried to his master.
TUDI
ile
TULA
What in the name of heaven is that ?' exclaimed he with
starting eyes.
'I am your servant,' quoth Ulphoo, 'and I have merely
obeyed your orders. You told me to hasten on your wife so
fast that she might be there and here in the same moment.
That is exactly what I have done, for she is there, and she is
also here.' And he held up the ghastly object before the
astounded moghul, who, crying out, Villain, you have
undone me; you have destroyed me, and you have killed my
wife !' rushed at him savagely.
The two men instantly closed and rolled over and over,
while their excited voices mingled together, Ulphoo crying:
* You are angry at last; you are angry at last !' and his
master screaming : ‘Yes, yes; I am angry! But Ulphoo,
being younger and stronger, soon prevailed over his obese
antagonist; and while he nearly throttled him with one
128 THE ADVENTURES OF ULPHOO AND SHURPHOO. .
hand, he plucked out his eye with the other. After this he
got up and shook himself, and, returning to his own village,
he said to his brother: 'Now, Shurphoo, I have reckoned in
full with the moghul, and exacted eye for eye--see!' and he
threw down the hideous witness before him.
From this time the two brothers lived together on the
اما /
.
C.
5
HIE
family estate very happily, nor had Shurphoo ever again
a wish to abandon his own proper work.
As for the moghul, his bride was discovered and restored to
him. But he reformed his manners and turned over a new
leaf, for it was never afterwards heard that he plucked out
the eyes of any of his servants again.
i SLIGHT MISTAKE.
129
XXXVIII.
A SLIGHT MISTAKE.
A CERTAIN villager died, and, as his body was being carried
along to the grave, his little son, who was walking in front,
began to address the corpse, and to say: 'Father, they are
taking you now to a very narrow house. There will be no
sleeping-mat for you there, nor any light; there will not be
even the smell of bread, nor a single cup for you to drink
from.'
Another boy, of about the same age, who was also in the
procession, overheard these words, and said to his father :
They are taking this body, then, to our house ?'
'Nay, boy,' answered the father, 'not to our house, but
to the grave.
' But,' replied the child, 'the dead man's son says it is to
our house, for we have no sleeping-mats; nor any lights ;
we have never any food to eat nor water to drink, and our
house is also both dark and narrow. I think it must be
going to our house.'
XXXIX.
THE THIEF AND THE POOR MAN.
A THIEF broke into a house in the hope of finding some-
thing worth stealing, but, unfortunately for him, the house
was the home of a man who was miserably poor. When
the thief entered, the owner was lying awake, sadly wonder-
ing where in the world his next meal was to come from.
He neither moved nor spoke, but quietly looked on while
the thief was feeling along the bare walls, and rummaging
his slender property, trying hard to discover something to
carry away. At last, as the fellow was leaving the room
9
130
THE TRAVELLER AND HIS-C4MEL.
empty-handed, the poor man grinned aloud with mocking
laughter. Turning round in a rage, the startled thief ex-
claimed : 'What! you are laughing, are you? And do you
call yourself the owner of a house ?'
XL.
THE TRAVELLER AND HIS CAMEL.
ONCE upon a time, a traveller, coming along the desert
road with his laden camel, stopped to rest during the noon-
tide heat under a shady tree. There he fell asleep. When
he awoke he looked at the camel, and, finding to his sorrow
that the faithful companion of all his journeys was dead, he
thus apostrophized him :
• Where is the spirit fied, ah, where
The life that checred the weary ways?
Couldst thou not wait one hour, nor spare
For mc, thy friend, one parting gaze ?"
THE TWO FRIENDS. ,
13.1
XLI.
THE TWO FRIENDS.
6
6
ONCE upon a time a dog and a cock were sworn friends.
But a famine fell on the land, and the dog said to the cock :
There is no food for me here, so I am going away to
another country. I tell you this that you may not blame
me and say, " This dog was my friend, but he left me with-
out a word.'
'O dog,' answered the cock, 'we are sworn friends. If
you go I go. Let us go together, and as you are a dog, you
can forage for us both, since if I venture about all the village
curs will set on me and eat me up.
'Agreed !' said the dog. When I go for food you shall
hide in the jungle, and whatever I find I will fetch to you
and we'll share and share alike.'
So the two friends set out. After a time they saw a
village, and the dog said: 'Now I am going forward to
prowl for food; but as for you, you must remain here. But
first of all, if anything should happen to you when I ani
away, how shall I know it?'
Said the cock : ‘Be this the signal--whenever you hear
me crow three times, at once hasten back to me.'
So for some time these two creatures lived happily, the
dog bringing in supplies every day, while at night he rolled
himself up beneath the tree in the branches of which the
cock sat safely at roost.
One day, in the absence of the dog, a jackal came to the
tree, and, looking up, he said to the cock: 'O uncle, why,
pray, are you perched so high ? Come down and let us join
in evening prayer together.'
'Most willingly,' answered the cock; 'but first it is neces-
sary that I should cry the bhárgh,* that all good Musalmans
may hear and come too.'
So the cock began to crow lustily, until the dog in the
distant village heard his note, and said to himself: 'Alas !
* The Musalman cry to prayers in the Panjáb is called the bhángh,
and so is the crow of a cock.
9-2
132
THE TWO FRIENDS.
something has happened to my dear old friend ; I must trot
home at once.'
So he started for the jungle, but when the jackal looked
round and saw him he began to sneak off, upon which the
cock remarked: 'O good nephew, this is merely a pious
Somo
2
neighbour coming to join us. Pray do not leave us. At
any rate, stop for prayers.'
'Alas! uncle, I would stop with pleasure,' answered the
jackal, “but the fact is I have-in short, it just occurs to my
mind that I forgot to perform my ablutions.* Farewell.'
And, quickening his pace, he disappeared.
* I have been compelled to alter this phrase, which in the original is
too coarse for modern ears. It is a most bitter satire on the excessive
punctiliousness of the stricter Mahomedans in the matter of ceremonial
washings.
TUIE YOUNG IN AND THE SNAKE.
133
XLII.
THE YOUNG MAN AND THE SNAKE.
HERE was once a farmer who was
extremely poor. It happened that
when his poverty was greatest a son
was born to him, and this son was
such a lucky child that his father
speedily became quite as rich as he
was before poor, and obtained a
great name over all the country.
After a certain time the farmer
thought to himself: 'I must get my
son betrothed somewhere. I was poor once; but I am
now rich, and my son is lucky. It is right that he should
be betrothed to the daughter of some rich man like myself.'
It was long before he found a suitable match, but at last
he betrothed the boy to a girl who lived in a distant town.
The ceremony came on, much money was spent, many
guests were invited, and much food was given away. In
short, the betrothal was splendid.
The son had scarcely grown to manhood when the father
died, leaving him in the world alone.
The parents of his betrothed, when they heard the sad
news, felt very sorry for him, and at first they would have
brought him to live at their own house. But the mother
said : ‘He is old enough now to come and take our daughter
home with him, so let us send for him that he may do so.
No friend like a good wife.'
A messenger was accordingly sent off, and the lad, when
he received the invitation, dressed himself up in his best,
and, mounting his mare, set off.
On the way he came to a lonely jungle, in which he saw
a mungoose, and a snake of enormous dimensions, engaged
in deadly combat. He reined up his horse to look on.
The
inungoose soon began to wear out his adversary, and to
inflict such wounds as would have put an end to its life in
a short time. Seeing which, the boy considered to himself :
.134
THE YOUNG MAN AND THE SNAKE.
'When two are contending, it is an act of charity to separate
them.' So he tried to separate the combatants; but every
time he failed, as the mungoose again and again sprang
upon his adversary in spite of him. Finding he could not
prevail, he drew his sword and dealt the warlike little
mungoose his death-blow.
After this he went on again, but he had not proceeded
far when he found that the snake had rushed round and
intercepted him. Then began the boy to remonstrate.
' I did you good service,' said he. "Why, then, have you
pursued me?'
'It is true,' answered the snake, 'that you saved me from
my enemy. But I shall not let you go. I shall eat you.'
Surely,' replied the lad,‘one good turn deserves another.
Will you injure me because I assisted you? In my country
we do not deal with each other thus.'
'In these parts,' said the snake, 'the custom is different.
Everyone here observes the rule of returning evil for good.
The boy then began to argue with the snake, but he argued
in vain, for the snake was determined to eat him. At last
he said : 'Very well,, snake, you can eat me; but first give
me eight days to go about my business, after which I shall
come back
With this request the snake complied, saying: 'Be it so;
in eight days you must return to me.'
The snake, which had coiled himself round about the boy's
body, now released his hold and suffered him to depart, so
he rode on once more and completed his journey.
All his friends were very glad to see the young bride-
groom, and especially his little wife, and at his father-in-
law's house he remained for several days. But as he was
always downcast and sad, they asked him: Why are you so
sorrowful?' For six days they asked in vain. On the seventh
they spoke to their daughter: 'Is he angry? What is the
matter with him ?' But she also asked him in vain.
When the eighth day came, he said: 'Now let me go
home.' The father and mother then gave the daughter her
portion, and, having placed them both in a bullock-cart, they
sent the young couple away.
THE YOUNG MAN ND THE SNAKE.
135
So the two travelled until they had left the village far
behind them. Then said the lad to his wife and to her
servants : 'Return now back again to your own home. As
for me, it is decreed that I shall die on the way.'
All the servants, being alarmed, at once returned, but his
young wife said : 'Where you fall, I shall fall. What am I
to do at my house ?" So she continued to accompany her
husband.
When he arrived at the spot appointed, he dismounted
from his horse and called forth the snake.
'I have come,' said he, ‘in accordance with my promise.
If you wish to eat me, come and eat me now !'
His wife, hearing his ominous words, descended also,
and came and stood by her husband's side. By-and-by a
dreadful hissing sound was heard, and the snake crawled
out from the jungle, and was preparing to devour the un
fortunate boy, when the girl exclaimed : 'Why are you going
to eat this poor youth ?' The snake then told her the whole
story, how he was fighting with a mungoose, and how her
husband interfered and killed his adversary; "and in this
country,' continued he, our custom is to return evil for good!'
The young wife now tried all the arguments she could
think of to divert the monster from his purpose, but he was
deaf to her pleadings and refused to listen to them. Then
said she : You say that in this country people do evil in
return for good. This is so strange a custom, and so very
unreasonable, that I would fain know the history of it.
How did it all come about ?'
‘ Do you see those five talli-trees ?' answered the snake.
'Go you to them and cry out to them: “What is the reason
that in this country folks do evil in return for good ?” and
see what they will say to you !
The girl went and did as she was bidden, addressing her
request to the middle of the five.
The tree straightway answered her: Count us ! We
are now five, but once we were six--three pairs. The sixth
tree was hollow, having a vast cavity in its trunk. It
happened once upon a time, many years ago, that a certain
thief went and robbed a house, and that the people followed
136
THE YOUNG MIIN AND THE SNAKE.
him. He ran and ran and ran, and at last he came in
among us. It was night, but the moon was' shining, and
the thief hid himself in the hollow talli-tree. Hearing his
pursuers close at hand, he besought the tree, saying: “O
tree, tree, save me!" When the talli-tree heard his miser-
able cry it closed up its old sides upon him, and hid him in
a safe embrace, so that the people searched for him in
vain, and they had to return without him. When all
pursuit was over, the tree once more opened and let him go.
Now, in this old talli-tree there was sandal wood,* and the
thief, when he went forth, had the scent of sandal wood so
permanently fixed upon him that wherever he was, and
wherever he appeared, he diffused a delightful fragrance.
It so happened that he visited the city of a certain king, and
a. man passing him on the road suddenly stopped, and asked
him: “Where did you get this beautiful scent ?*'
6“You are mistaken," answered the thief; “I have no
scent."
If
you will give me this scent,” said the man, " I will
pay you its value."
Again the thief answered: “I have no scent-none."
· Then the man, who was shrewd and intelligent, went
his way to the king and told him: “ There is a stranger
arrived here who possesses a most wonderful scent. To
your highness, perhaps, he might be induced to give it up.”
· The king the ordered the thief into his presence, and
said to him, “Show me the scent you have.”
"I have none," said he.
"“If you will give it up to me quietly,” said the king,
you shall be rewarded. If not, you shall be put to death."
'When the thief heard this he got frightened, and said :
" Do not kill me, and I will tell the whole story.” So he
told the king how his life was preserved in the heart of the
talli-tree, and how the scent of sandal wood had never left
him since. Then said the king : “Come along and show
me that wonderful tree of which you tell me.”
Arriving at this very spot, the king instantly gave orders
* There is a superstition that talli or sisam trees in old age develop
sandal wood.
6
THE YOUNG MAN AND THE SNAKE.
137
to his followers to cut the tree down and to carry it to his
palace. But when the talli-tree heard his order, and when
it understood the reason of it, it cried aloud : “I have saved
the life of a man, and for this I am to lose my own life.
For the future, therefore, let it be decreed within this jungle
that whosoever dares to do good, to him it shall be repaid in
evil!"
The girl, having heard this doleful story, returned once
more to her husband's side.
'Well,' said the snake, “have you consulted the talli-tree ?
and do you find that our custom here is even as I told you ?'
She was compelled to admit that it was so; but as the
monster advanced to his victim, she wept and said : "What
will become of me? If you must eat my husband, you must
begin by eating me!
The snake objected to an arrangement so unreasonable.
"You ? cried he. ' But you have never done me the smallest
good. You have not even done me harm. How, then, can
I be expected to eat you ?'
‘But if you kill my husband,' replied she, 'what's left for
me ?
You acknowledge yourself that I have done you no
good, and yet you would inflict this injury upon me.'
When the snake heard these words he stopped, and began
to grow remorseful, especially as she wept more copiously
than ever. That the boy must be eaten was certain, but
how should he comfort the girl ? Wishing to devise some-
thing, he crept back to his hole, and in a few minutes he
returned with two magic globules or pills. “Here, foolish
woman,' said he, 'take these two pills and swallow them,
and you will have two sons to whom you can devote your-
self, and who will take good care of you !
The girl accepted the pills, but, with the cunning natural
to a woman, said: 'If I take these two pills, doubtless two
sons will be born. But what about my good name ?'
The snake, who knew not that she was already wed, hear-
ing her speech, became exasperated with her. "Women
are preposterous beings,' cried he, and he crept back once
more to his hole. This time he brought out two more pills,
and when handing them to the disconsolate girl he said:
138
THE YOUNG MAN AND THE SNAKE..
' Revenge will sweeten your lot. When any of your neigh-
bours revile you on account of your sons, take one of these
pills between finger and thumb, hold it over them, rubbing
it gently so that some of the powder may fall on them, and
immediately you will see them consume away to ashes.'
Tying the former pills in her cloth, the girl looked at the
other pills incredulously, and then, with a sudden thought,
!
a
V
.
منتتتنت
2
will
di...
she gently rubbed them over the snake, saying with an
innocent air, Osnake, explain this mystery to me again !
Is this the way I am to rub them ?'
The moment an atom of the magic powder had touched
the snake, he was set on fire, and in another instant he was
merely a long wavy line of gray dust lying on the ground.
Then with a glad face the little wife turned to her
husband and said: 'Whosoever does good to anyone, in the
end good will be done to him; and whosoever does evil to
anyone, in the end evil will be done to him. You did good,
and, lo! you are rewarded. The snake did evil, and evil
befell him. All things help each other. The Almighty
brings everything to rights at last.'
After this the two went on their way to their own home,
where they lived in happiness and contentment for many a
year.
THE WEAVER AND THE THIEVES.
139
XLIII.
THE WEAVER AND THE THIEVES.
1
HERE were once three notorious
thieves who had a friend who was
by trade a weaver. At this man's
house they were accustomed to
meet to plan their nocturnal ex-
peditions, and to divide their ill-
gotten gains, and he used to
entertain them with water and
bread and tobacco in return for
various trifles which were occa-
sionally assigned to him. One night these thieves stole four
buffaloes and drove them to the weaver's, who was as-
tonished when he saw so rich a capture enter his yard, and
who said: 'You three go off for a single day and you bring
back four buffaloes. Next time you must take me with you.'
'No, no,' answered his friends; 'we will present you with
one of these buffaloes, but you must not come out with us.'
'I don't want this buffalo,' said the weaver. 'I should
like to have something of my own earning.'
The three thieves then took away the buffaloes and hid
them in a cave, and when they next went out for spoil the
weaver went with them.
This time they betook themselves to a large city, and
determined to break into a thatched house which seemed a
likely place for plunder. The thieves therefore said to the
weaver: 'You look about for a long pole, so that we can
raise the thatch and get in.' The weaver looked everywhere
but was unable to find one. Seeing, however, that the
people of the house were sleeping outside in the enclosed
space, he went to them and woke them up, vociferating :
'We are just going to break into your house, my good
people! So lend us a pole to raise up the thatch. All at
once they jumped up in a fright, yelling out: ‘Thieves !
Thieves !' and the four house-breakers scampered off through
the darkness in various directions and escaped.
140
THE WEAVER AND THE THIEVES.
After a time they met in a certain place, and the thieves
said to the weaver: 'Friend, you must not come with us
again. You will get us into trouble and we shall be all
hanged. You remain in this place until we return.'
'This time,' answered the weaver, 'I shall be more
careful, so don't be afraid, and take me too. So all four
set out together again.
After prowling through a street or two they came to a
house and made a hole through the wall. The three thieves
said to the weaver: 'Do you stop outside and keep watch,
and we will enter and hand out the things to you.' The
thieves then crawled through the hole and disappeared. A
long time seemed to elapse, and at last the weaver said to
himself: "Those fellows must be hiding all the best things
for themselves,' and he crept in after them.
He now found himself in complete darkness. Beginning
to grope about, he happened to put his hand into the fire-
place which was on the floor, and he found that the embers
were still glowing. So he blew them up, and, seeing close
All
WE
by him some vermicelli and sugar, he put them into a vessel
and began to boil them.
Now, it so happened that the wife of the good man of the
house was sleeping on her low charpoy, or bed, next to the
THE WEAVER AND THE THIEVES.
141
fireplace, and as she turned herself in her dreams she
stretched out her arm over the side, and her hand, palm
uppermost, came between the weaver's nose and his pot of
vermicelli, where it rested. He, iniagining that she was
asking him for some of his mess, ladled out a spoonful
boiling hot and clapped it into her hand. At once she
uttered a piercing shriek, which roused up her husband,
while the weaver, without a word, escaped into the rafters
of the low roof, and the three thieves, who had just that
moment entered laden with booty from another room, hid
themselves in corners.
Now, it must be understood that the weaver's name was
Kádrá, a word which in that town signified 'God.' Hardly
had Kádrá got into the rafters, when the husband, who had
risen in a fury, smelt the vermicelli and the sugar, and found
that cooking was going on. 'Ah, you slut!' cried he to his
wife, you have been making this nice stuff for some friend
of yours, have you ? and you thought I was asleep! And,
taking up a good stick, he thrashed her soundly.
The poor woman, raising her eyes to the rafters, cried
through her tears: 'Kádrá (God) knows whether I have
done this thing or not. I appeal to Kádrá !'
The weaver, who had come from a village where the word
Kádrá was not used in that sense, thinking himself accused,
and imagining that the woman was staring up at him, began
to protest, saying: 'Why am I to have all the bad name?
The other fellows are a good deal worse than I am. Look
where they are hiding in those corners !'
Hearing these mysterious words issuing from the roof, and
discovering that there was a band of thieves in his house,
the astonished husband took down a sword and mounted
guard over the hole in the wall, while the cries of Thieves !
murder!' uttered by himself and his wife quickly roused up
their neighbours, who presently entered in all haste, and,
seizing the four confederates, carried them off to gaol.
The next morning the three thieves and the unhappy
weaver, all bound together, were brought up before the king
and accused of house-breaking and robbery. The king,
with a solemn air, opened his law-books, but, as he was
142
THE TRAVELLER AND THE OILMAN.
some time examining them, the weaver cried out: 'Oking,
if I am to be hanged, pray hang me at once, and let me get
back to my work. I am only a poor weaver, and as the sun
is getting hot, my thread which was put out yesterday will
all be dried up and spoilt.'
The king, who loved a joke, whether intended or not, was
so amused at this speech of the weaver that he ordered his
release, but the three thieves he sentenced to imprisonment,
and they were taken back to gaol.
XLIV.
THE TRAVELLER AND THE OILMAN.
ONCE upon a time there was a certain traveller who was
riding a mare. After a long march he came to a village and
lodged at the house of an oilmaker. It happened that
during the night his mare had a foal; but in the morning,
Ult
.
when he was preparing to resume his journey, his host
caine out and seized the foal, saying :
*This foal is mine. My oil-press had it last night.
.'
THE TRAVELLER AND THE OILMAN.
143
:
'Nay,' said the traveller, it is mine. My mare has been
in foal for months.'
' And my oil-press,' replied the oilman, 'must have been in
foal for months, too.'
As they were unable to agree, they went to the court and
laid the case before the king. When each of them had made
his statement, the king, after some consideration, at last
addressed the traveller and said: “Your mare could not
possibly have had this foal, because, you see, it was found
standing by the oil-press.'
So in his wisdom he gave a verdict in favour of the oil-
man, and sent the parties away.
The owner was very sorrowful indeed when he saw his foal
led off by the grinning oilman, nor was his mare less so at
being so cruelly parted from her young one. In vain he
urged her forward. She turned her head perpetually, and
tried hard again and again to trot back to her quarters of the
night before.
While the poor man was in this predicament, a jackal met
him and said: "What is the matter with your mare, and
why are you so sad ?' Then the traveller told the jackal the
story of the foal, and how the king had awarded it to the
wrong party. Cheer up,' said the jackal. 'Only promise
to keep me safe from the village dogs, and I will get you back
your foal:
6
The traveller, who was overjoyed to hear the jackal speak
thus, at once replied: 'I will engage to keep you perfectly
safe if you will help me to recover my foal.'
Very well,' said the jackal, “put now a cloth over me, and
when you take me into the court, set me up in some
conspicuous place where the king will not fail to see me, and
the rest you may leave to me.
The traveller did as he was directed. He dressed the
jackal up in red cloth, which covered his head, and set him
in the court-house.
When the jackal, who was sitting as still as a mouse, per-
ceived that the king was looking in his direction, he fell
suddenly down on his side. No sooner had he recovered
144
THE TRAVELLER AND THE OILMAN.
himself than he fell down on his other side. Again, having
sat upright once more, he fell flat on his face.
The king, noticing this extraordinary proceeding, called
out: 'Send and ask that child why she is falling down here,
and then falling down there, here, there and everywhere in
the court-house. When the attendant approached and put
the question, the jackal answered : “That is a secret which I
can only impart to the king himself. Take me quite close
up, so that the king may hear, and I will tell it.
The jackal was now conducted forward to the steps of the
throne, and the king, seeing he was a jackal, began to
question him.
· Why are you come here to play your jackal-tricks ?'
'If my life is spared,' answered the jackal, “I will tell
you all.
>
'Take your life and speak,' said the king.
Then the jackal replied : ‘Last night, o king, the sea
caught fire, and in order to put it out I was throwing water
over it with a sieve the whole night through. Not a single
wink of sleep did I get, and I am now so tired that I tumble
down first on one side and then on the other, and sometimes
I fall forward on my face, so weary am I with all my
exertions.
"You silly jackal!' cried the king; did anyone in the
world ever hear of the sea taking fire ? And even if it did,
would anyone throw water on it with a sieve?'
'And, o king,' retorted the jackal, 'did anyone in the
world ever hear of an oil-press bearing a foal?
When the king heard that, he began to bethink himself,
and after some moments he said : Call the traveller and
the oilman once more. The jackal is right-it must have
been the mare which had the foal. Therefore, take away the
foal from the oilman and give it to the traveller.'
This was accordingly done, and the traveller, in gratitude
and gladness, carried the jackal safely to the jungle, where
he put him down and made him a low salaam, saying:
'O jackal, it is to you I owe the restoration of my foal, and
your wisdom I shall ever remember!'
AN UNFORTUNATE JACKAL.
145
XLV.
AN UNFORTUNATE JACKAL.
In the month of October, when the crops are ripe and the
jackals are accordingly frisky and well fed, some of these
little animals found some loose papers on the ground, and
agreed to elect a lumbardár. To the one elected they handed
the manuscripts, saying : Hold these in your pad wherever
you go, because they are the authority by which you shall
govern us.'
· Kings have crowns,' remarked one of them, and our
lumbardár should also possess some ensign, mark, or decora-
tion, so that all may recognise him.'
• Tie this basket to his tail,' suggested a sly fox.
So the new lumbardár was invested with his papers, and
adorned as well with an old basket fastened securely to his
tail. Just then a pack of dogs broke in upon them, and the
jackals scampered off to their holes. The lumbardár's new
decoration, however, that wretched basket, caught in the
entrance, and he was unable to advance. Come in,' cried
the other jackals from within; 'come in, Mr. Lumbardár.'
IO
146
THE WEAVER AND THE WATER-MELON.
*Thank you,' answered the lumbardár ; 'but you have
done me too much honour, and your royal ensign keeps
me fast.'
*Oh!' said they, show the villains your papers.'
'Precisely what I have done,' replied he; 'but they are
such barbarians, these village dogs, that they cannot even
read.'
In another minute the dogs had dragged forth the
wretched lumbardár and despatched him.
Thus [added the story-teller] honour and rank bring many
a peril and loss.
.
XLVI.
THE WEAVER AND THE WATER-MELON.
ONCE upon a time a poor country weaver visited a town,
where he saw a quantity of water-melons piled up one above
the other in front of a grain-seller's shop.
'Eggs of other birds there are,” he said, 'and I have seen
them ; but what bird's eggs are these eggs? These must
be mare's eggs.'
So he looked at the grain-seller, and said : 'Are these
eggs mare's eggs ?'
The man instantly cocked his ears; and perceiving that
he was a simpleton, answered : 'Yes, these eggs are mare's
eggs.'
"What is the price ?' inquired the countryman.
'One hundred rupees apiece,' said the grain-seller.
The simple weaver took out his bag of money, and,
counting out the price, bought one of the melons and carried
it off. As he went along the road, he began to say to him-
self: 'When I get home I will put this egg in a warm corner
of my house, and by-and-by a foal will be born, and when
THE WEAVER AND THE WATER-MELON.
147
the foal is big enough, I shall mount it and ride to the
house of my father-in-law. Won't he be astonished ?'
As the day, however, was unusually hot, he stopped at a
pool of water to bathe. But first of all he deposited the
melon most carefully in the middle of a low bush, and then
he proceeded to undress himself. His garments were not
half laid aside, when out from the bush sprang a hare, and
the weaver, snatching up part of his clothing while the rest
}
XI
henna!
MILLE
hung about his legs in disorder, made desperate efforts to
chase and overtake the hare, crying out : 'Ah, there goes
my foal! Wo, old boy-wo, wo!' But he ran in vain, for
the hare easily escaped, and was soon out of sight. The
poor weaver reconciled himself to his loss as best he could.
* Kismet !' cried he; and as for the egg, it is of course of
no use now, and not worth returning for, since the foal has
left it.'
So he made the best of his way home, and said to his
wife: 'O wife, I have had a great loss this day.'
Why,' said she, 'what have you done ?'
'I paid one hundred rupees for a mare's egg,' replied he
' but while I stopped on the road to bathe, the foal jumped
out and ran away.'
'Ah, what a pity!' cried the wife; 'if you had only
10-2
148
THE WEAVER ND THE WATER-MELON,
+
brought the foal here, I would have got on his back, and
ridden him to my father's house !'
Hearing this, the weaver fell into a rage, and, pulling a
stick out of his loom, began to belabour his wife, saying :
• What! you would break the back of a young foal ? Ah!
you monster, let me break yours.'
After this he went out, and began to lament his loss to
his friends and neighbours, warning them all: ‘If any of
you should see a stray foal, don't forget to let me know.'
To the village herdsmen especially he related his wonderful
story: how the foal came out of the egg, and ran away, and
would perhaps be found grazing on the common-lands some-
where. One or two of the farmers, however, to whom the
tale was repeated, said: 'What is this nonsense ? Mares
never have eggs. Where did you put this egg of yours ?'
'I put my egg in a bush,' said the weaver, 'near the
tank on the way to the town.'
Come and show us!' cried the farmers.
' All right,' assented the weaver ; 'come along. '
When they arrived at the spot, the melon was found
untouched in the middle of the bush.
Here it is,' cried the weaver; "here's my mare's egg.
This is the thing out of which my foal jumped.'
The farmers turned the melon over and over, and said:
‘But what part of this egg did the foal jump out of ?'
So the weaver took the egg, and began to examine it.
'Out of this,' cried one of the farmers, snatching back the
melon, 'no foal ever jumped. You are a simpleton, and you
have been cheated ! We'll show you what the foals are.'
So he smashed the melon on a stone, and, giving the seeds
to the weaver, said : ‘Here are foals enough for you ;' while
the farmers themselves, amid much laughter, sat down and
ate up the delicious fruit.
6
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON
149
XLVII.
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
PART 1.
NCE upon a time there was a certain
prince who was strongly attached
to the son of his father's vizier, so
that the two youths became in-
separable companions. On one of
their hunting excursions, when they
had ridden far away into the wilds,
the prince, weary of the long chase,
and suffering from intense thirst,
cried : 'Oh for some water now,
from tank or pool or well! Where shall I find water in
this wilderness, destitute of a single village ?'
Hard by there happened to be growing a clump of trees,
and to them the two friends rode, and there they dis-
mounted. And because the prince's distress increased, the
vizier's son spread his mantle under a tree, and said to his
master: 'Rest you here awhile, and let me go and look for
some water.' So the prince lay down, and the full foliage
of the tree screened him from the burning sun; for trees are
not like meň: they endure upon their own heads piercing
heat and driving rain, yet the wayfarer's head they shelter
and protect.'*
Having searched awhile, the vizier's son at last found
some water in a lonely garden. In the garden there was a
well, with a flight of steps leading down to the water's level.
So he descended and filled his vessel. On his way up, as
he was bearing the water, he saw painted on the side of the
staircase the portrait of some princess. Her hair was all
loose and flowing. In one hand she held a lemon, and with
the other she was lightly drying her dishevelled tresses.
* This is a very favourite figure among the people of the Panjáb.
150
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
She was
so exceedingly handsome that the vizier's son
thought within himself: 'If the prince now should chance
to see this likeness, he will cause me infinite trouble, for he
will bid me bring him the princess herself.' So he took
some earth, and mixing the water with it, he made clay,
and smeared it all over the picture, obscuring it from view.
Then he descended once more, and having filled his vessel a
second time, he returned to the prince, and gave him to
ter
PAI
1
1
drink. Having drunk the water, the prince's strength re-
vived, and, standing up, he said : “Now I shall go and
examine the garden for myself.'
The garden is a wilderness in the midst of a wilderness,
said the vizier's son, 'It is wild and desolate. Who knows
what things may abide there? Let us avoid it, for to remain
in it cannot be safe. Let us rather mount and begone.'
'Nay,' replied the prince, 'I have a fancy to see it.'
So they both went to it, and entered within it, and the
prince was delighted with the massive walls and the
grandeur of the trees. After walking about it for some
time, they at last came to the well, and, the prince leading
the way, they began to descend. Gazing about him, he
said : ‘These walls are beautiful, excepting just here. Who
has been spoiling these lovely designs with a vile coating of
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
151
6
mud? Wash off this mud, and let us restore the colour
once more.'
That is a thing we cannot do,' answered the vizier's son.
“And why? The garden is the owner's, and this is surely
not our business, but his.'
The prince, however, paid no heed; but he went down,
and threw up water against the wall until the earth was all
washed off, revealing the likeness clearly and distinctly.
Then the prince sat him down opposite to the picture, and
looked at it. Long time he looked at it, and at last he said:
'Now life to me is nothing. Until I meet this lady, who-
ever she is, I shall be miserable ; and if I do not meet her,
here I shall die.'
The vizier's son was sore perplexed : 'Who knows,' said
he, 'when this drawing was made? She may have died
ages ago, and where then shall we look for her?'
alus
PE
VAGT
PREAD
'If she be dead,' answered the prince, 'then I die too.
When I hear the fatal tidings, “She is dead," that moment
shall be my last !'
Again the prince said : “If anyone deems himself my
friend, he will bring me this princess. And with these
words he lay down prostrate from sorrow.
Once more the prince looked up, and said: 'If from your
152
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
heart you are really my friend, you will go quickly and bring
me this princess.'
The vizier's son then began to consider within himself:
'If I do not attend to the prince's orders, I shall bring ruin
on myself and my father the vizier, too; and if I leave him
here and return alone, the king will slay me; and it may be
he will slay my father as well, and my father and mother
will load me with reproaches, saying, “See what a son was
ours, who could not save himself, and who ruined us !" To
return to my home alone, therefore, is not to be thought of.'
He then endeavoured to rouse up his master, saying :
'Let us at least go to the next village, and ask to whom
this well belongs.'
“I cannot quit this beauteous face,' answered the prince.
'I am sick to the heart for her, and here I am determined
to stay for ever.'
At last the vizier's son left him, and set out alone. After
riding some distance, he came to a town, where he met a
man to whom he said : Whose is the garden in the wilds
in which there is a well? Is it a prince's or a merchant's ?'
'That garden in the wilds,' answered the man, 'a merchant
made, and he dug the well for the sake of charity; and
he used always to keep a servant there, and his order was:
Whenever a traveller comes, give him food; to a Hindoo,
uncooked; to a Mussulman, cooked-and I shall pay for
all ; but let no one go empty away.” That good merchant,
however, is dead; and his sons were worthless, and they
turned off the servant, and now they do not go there even
themselves, lest they should be expected to entertain
strangers.'
'I should like,' said the vizier's son, 'to see that son of
the merchant who is the least worthless of them all.'
So the man took the vizier's son to the merchant's house,
where he found in possession the eldest son.
'Does the garden in the wilderness belong to you ?' asked
the youth.
It is mine,' answered the son.
'And the garden-well, too?' asked the other.
“That, too, is mine; both are mine, answered he.
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
153
'Then, who are they,' continued the vizier's son, who
built the well ?'
Then the man told him that the builder of that well was
a man who dwelt in a town some distance away; and when
he heard that, the vizier's son at once went there, and after
two days' journey he arrived, and finding the builder, he
said to him : 'Did you build that well ?'
And the man took him in and showed him hospitality,
and kept him there for the night, and told him, saying :
Yes; that well was built by me.'
Then said the vizier's son: 'What portrait was that which
you painted on the wall ?
The well was mine,' answered the man, but the portrait
was the work of my elder brother, who lives in another village.'
Now, the person who spoke thus was himself a very old
man, and the vizier's son began saying to himself: 'The
brother of whom he speaks must be of immense age. Can
he be living still ? How unfortunate this is !'
Nevertheless, he started for the next village without delay,
and soon discovered the house to which he had been
directed. But, to his surprise, the owner seemed far
younger than the man he had just quitted, and when he
looked at him he began to think: 'This man cannot
possibly be the elder brother. He must be someone else.'
Nevertheless, his host bade him enter and, seeing he was a
stranger, he put down a bed for him, and entertained him
liberally. The vizier's son, however, did not mention the
object of his visit that night, and when morning came, he
said to himself: 'I suppose the elder brother is absent from
home, and I must wait until he return.' Yet he made no
communication to his host, though he was the very man he
sought.
The next night the man, whose politeness was now
satisfied, said to him: 'On what business have you come to
my house?
'I have come,' answered he, 'to inquire concerning i
well in a certain garden in the forest owned by a merchant.
I have heard that you built it. Is that so ?'
'Yes,' answered the man, it was I who built the well.'
154
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
6
•
And was it you,' continued the vizier's son, 'who drew
the likeness on the wall ?'
"No,' said he. The well I built, but the likeness was
painted by another brother still older than I, and he lives
elsewhere.'
Learning the name of the place, the vizier's son once more
set off on his search; and finding the town, he inquired for
the house. · Mine is the house,' answered the first person
whom he accosted.
Now, this man seemed still younger than either of the other
two, a strange circumstance which astonished the vizier's
son more than ever. But, accepting his invitation, he weni
to his house, and in the evening his host said to him :
• What business have you come upon ?'
Then said the vizier's son: “That I will tell you presently.
But I am strangely puzzled. You look quite a young man.
Have I turned mad, or are you mad ?'
* Any information I can give you,' returned the other,
'shall be at your service.'
Now, his wife was at that time very poorly, yet he bade
her, saying: 'Go, wife, to the top of the house, and fetch
me down an apple which you will find on a shelf.' Though
she was so feeble, yet without a word she instantly arose,
and, going up to the house-top, she brought down the apple
and gave it to her husband. Having taken the apple from
her hand, he said : Now go up again and bring me down
another apple which is also there.' Instantly the wife again
obeyed her husband and presently returned with the other
apple. .' There is a third apple,' then said he, ‘haste, and
bring that too. She went as she was bidden, but she found
no more, so she came down and said: “There is no third
apple there."
The man then turned to the vizier's son, and said: 'By
this have you understood anything ?'
' I have understood something,' answered he, “but not all.
Go on with your story.'
Then said the builder to the vizier's son: 'Ever since
that excellent wife of mine has come into the house, my life
has been easy and happy. The youngest of my two
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
155
brothers, who looks so aged and worn, his wife does not
obey him, neither does she regard him; and what is the
consequence ? He is the most miserable man alive.
Worse than a hundred diseases is the disease of anxiety.
When he asks for water, she answers : “Get up, and fetch it
for yourself.” If he asks for bread, it is the same thing.
Since the day on which that woman took up her abode in my
brother's house he has not had a moment's happiness, and
his anxiety has eaten him up. Therefore it is that he has
grown so aged in his appearance. As to my other brother,
his wife obeys him in part, but in part only. Sometimes,
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indeed, she makes her husband's heart happy, but at other
time's she renders him wretched. And that is the reason he
does not age so rapidly as the other. And now, O friend,
tell me the object of your journey.
* About the well in the forest-garden-was it you who
built it?' answered the son of the vizier.
'As to the garden, I know nothing,' said the man. 'I
built the well, but at that time there was no garden. After
the well was built, someone else must have made the
garden.'
. But who drew that beautiful likeness?' asked the vizier's
son.
156
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
MY
RIDER
pot
· That likeness?' said he. Why, I drew it myself.'
. And where did you see the original of such a face as
that ?' said the vizier's son.
What would you do with her ?' replied the other. 'To
begin with, you could not gain her.'
"My prince,' said
the vizier's son,
* after looking on
that picture, has
fallen into despe-
rate illness, and
there he lies, and
he declares that
if I obtain that
princess I shall
save my life, but
that if not I must
die.'
• But no one may
visit her,' said
the mason. 'If a
man dare even so
much as to look up
at her windows,
the king, her father,
takes out his eyes,
and whosoever
points towards the house loses his hand.'
And if the king's orders are so exceeding strict,' said
the vizier's son, 'how. on earth were you able to draw her ?'
'I happened to be in the city where she lives,' replied he;
'and as I was crossing the river in a boat, the current
drove me under her palace walls. I did not dare to look
up, but in the smooth water beneath I saw reflected her
likeness, as she sat at her casement. In one hand she held
a lemon. With the other she was arranging her flowing
hair. Having my colours with me, I at once sketched her
portrait exactly as she appeared.'
Then asked the vizier's son the name of the town, and,
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
157
bidding his host farewell for the time, he hastened away.
On the road he came to a wood, in which some little boys
were grazing their cattle. But they had caught a tortoise,
and were playing with it, beating it with sticks and kicking
it like a ball. Seeing this cruel sport, the vizier's son
became sorrowful, and exclaimed: ‘Look how everything
that has breath suffers when beaten about ! So he begged
them to let the creature go. * If you are so fond of the
tortoise,' answered they, 'give us five rupees and take it.'
So he gave them the money, and took the tortoise; and
when he had come to some water he set it at liberty, and
let it go.*
After that he went along, and at last he came to the city
in which lived the beautiful princess. Then thought he to
himself: 'I am a man, and the king's orders are so dreadful,
what shall I do? I will disguise myself as a woman, and
in that character it will be easier for me to find her. Even
if I knew some woman here, and confided my plans to her,
the secret that someone is after the princess would be sure
to leak out, and then I should be killed. My best plan is
so to manage that no one may suspect, while at the same
time I succeed in my object.' So he went and bought some
jewels ; and then he dressed himself up as a woman, adorn-
ing himself with the jewellery. Having so done, he went
once more into the bazaar, and bargained for a supply of
bangles; and having procured a rich variety, he put them
into a basket, and went crying them up and down the
city among the palaces of the nobility. And as he cried,
* Bangles; who'll buy bangles?' he looked so exceedingly
handsome that many a purchaser called him in to fit on his
bangles. But his prices were so exorbitant that the com-
moner folk were unable to buy. Two days he cried his
bangles, and on the third day he chanced to find himself
under the palace of the princess, and as he cried, "Who'll
buy my bangles ?' the princess heard him and looked out;
and when she saw him, that he was so handsome, she sent
That the tortoise here mentioned does not play an important part
in the sequel is due to some accidental omission in the narrative of the
story-teller.
158
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
a slave-girl, and called him in, and said to him : ‘Fit some
of your bangles on my arms.' So he began to try on some
bangles; but he delayed and delayed as much as possible,
almost till the evening, because some he wilfully broke,
while others were
too large, and
others, again, too
small; and the
more the princess
regarded him, the
more she felt some
secret attraction
towards him. At
last, however, she
was suited; and
then, because he
was so beautiful,
the princess bade
him attend on her
every day and sell
her some bangles.
Joyfully the vizier's
son took his leave,
and the next day
he returned again ;
and so he kept
coming and going for some time. At last the princess said
to him: 'You break an enormous number of bangles. When
you go back in the evening, is not your master angry with
you?'
was.
At these words he grew very thoughtful, for he knew
not what to say or how to tell her who and what his master
At last he answered her: 'I am only a traveller from
a distant town, and in your town I am a stranger.' After
that he added, “My husband is very ill. When I left him
to-day he was nearly dead, and who knows if I shall now
find him alive?'
After these things the princess took so great a fancy to
the beautiful bangle-seller that she kept him near her
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIERS SON.
159
constantly; and one day she said to him : 'Even if your
husband does die, you can stay with me, and then you need
not sell bangles any more. I am a king's daughter, and
here there is plenty of everything. Eat what you like and
dress as you please.'
Three or four days passed by, and then the vizier's son
went to the palace, and said : “My husband is dead !
' The
princess, finding him free, ordered a slave-girl to take his
basket of bangles and cast them into the river; after which
she said to him: Now throw off your mean garments, and
array yourself in beautiful clothes like mine.' So the vizier's
son retired ; and when he had dressed himself up, he re-
turned to the princess, who took up a mirror and looked at
herself and then looked at him; and as she did so, she
thought within herself: “This bangle-seller is even hand-
somer than I am.'
One day the princess became very sorrowful and began
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to cry
Her maidens said to her: 'O princess, why are
you crying ?' But she answered them never a word. But
when the vizier's son spoke to her, she began to disclose to
him her grief, even her whole heart, which never before had
she confided to anyone. In my heart I have one sorrow,
said she. “I now wish to marry, but I have told my father I
160
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
shall marry only the man I love. I told him this because
who knows where he might get me married, or what the
suitor might be like ? But I would have a husband as
handsome as myself. And when I look at my face in the
mirror, and where I see you not less beautiful than myself,
I weep, for I think what a wonder of the Almighty it would
have been if you had been a man instead of a woman.
What a peerless pair we should have made !'
' But do not cry, princess,' said he. 'Have patience. If
this is all your grief, Providence will grant your wish. I
mean to have a husband as handsome as yourself. I know a
certain town, and in it there is a holy shrine. Whoever goes
there and prays and gives an alms ever attains his desires.'
'Two thousand rupees shall I give in charity, cried the
princess, if one of us two can become a man.
After some days the princess again spoke to the vizier's
son, and asked him more about the shrine. “You must
have patience for a time,' answered he, 'for I fear to speak
much on account of the king, your father, who is harsh.'
"Whatever I ask my father,' answered she, ‘he never
denies me.' Again she said: Tell me all your mind.'
The vizier's son then disclosed the secret to her, and
said: 'Now I am turned into a man.
Now, when the princess heard those words she was glad,
and said to him : 'Listen! if I steal away with you the
world will reproach me. But do you so contrive matters
that the king himself shall tell us to go, since we cannot get
off without his permission. Here, take these four thousand
rupees. Go at once, and, resuming your proper dress,
purchase merchandise and bring it into the city for sale.'
Then the vizier's son, naming the day of his return, set
forth, for he went to a distant town, changed his clothes on
the way, and, having bought servants and horses and rich
stuffs in abundance, he came back to the city and took up
his abode in a superb mansion. There the princess came to
see him disguised as a man, and when he had presented
himself at the court, she said to the king : 'Let this be the
day of my marriage, and let my choice be the new
merchant.'
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
161
When the king heard that he was pleased, because he
looked on the rich merchant with the utmost favour. 'O
my daughter,' said he, you have permission to marry when
and whom you like. So let it be.' Then the king sent for
the merchant and made a great feast, and the ceremony of
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marriage was performed with splendour and with general
satisfaction.
Now, as soon as the wedding rite was over, the vizier's
son, under pretence of visiting the shrine for the purpose of
distributing doles, mounted his horse, and, taking his bride
with him, he at once rode away to the garden and the well
in the distant wilderness, where he had left the prince and
all their substance. And he said to the princess : ‘Whatever
my faults in the past may appear, O princess, forgive me for
all!' She forgave him, and presently they arrived at the
well, and to the prince the vizier's son said: 'The princess
has come.' As soon as the prince looked at her face he was
glad, but he did not speak to her then. Presently the vizier's
son again said to the princess: 'I have used deceit with you
from the first. Will you forgive me?
Will you forgive me? I went to you for the
sake of this prince, my lord and master. I am only his
servant, and, besides, I am also his friend.'
The princess accepted her fate, saying: 'My father gave
II
162
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
me to you. You are now my master. Therefore, give me
away to whomsoever you please.'
The vizier's son then brought the prince and put his hands
into hers, and the prince and princess, charmed with each
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€90.67
jully DFN.
other, exchanged vows of eternal fidelity. And when all this
was done, the whole party returned once more to the prince's
own court, where, in the presence of the king and queen, the
real nuptials were celebrated, being attended with unusual
rejoicings in all parts of the kingdom.
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numurs
"Hi!!!!!
IDUNTOL
vita
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
163
PART II.
FTER these things the prince
showered on his friend abundance
of favours, for he enriched him
and gave him villages and lands,
saying that he loved him before
all men, and feeling sure that if
he bade him go and do anything,
however difficult, he would do it.
In consequence of all this, it soon
happened that the vizier's son
became an object of envy to many of the other courtiers,
who, seeing him always next to the prince, riding or walking,
or playing at chess, plotted how they might destroy him.
Among the rest there was one man, named Bugla, whose
jealousy found expression in deeds as well as words, for he
promised to give a large sum to anyone who could sow
distrust between the prince and his favourite. “Let me
make the prince angry with the vizier's son,' said he, and
then, when he is king, he will kill him, and I shall be vizier
instead.' In order to compass his ends, he looked out an
old woman suitable for the purpose, and, when he had
found one, he said to her: 'See, here is money; do my
bidding as I shall direct.' And when the old woman
understood his drift, she said: 'Get me four bearers and
let them bring me a rich litter, and bid them do whatever
I deem necessary.' So the men were provided and the
palanquin ; and when the old woman had dressed herself in
fine array, she entered, telling the bearers: 'When I lower
my hand, set the litter down; and when I raise my hand, lift
it up and bear me away.' Then she covered her face with
her veil, and she was borne to a place which the prince and
his friend had to pass when riding to tennis. Here her bearers
set her down, in obedience to her desire; and beckoning to
the prince, she signed him to come near, as though she had
a petition to offer. But the prince sent the vizier's son, who
II-2
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THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
approached, and she beckoned him nearer, and laid her
hand on his neck, and drew him towards her, and made as
though she were whispering to him something of impor-
tance. But she spoke not a single word. Having thus
accomplished her design, she entered, gave the signal, and
instantly her bearers lifted her litter and bore her away.
Then said the vizier's son to himself: "The woman has
not uttered a syllable. What message, then, can I give the
blue
6
prince?' When he returned, therefore, his face was troubled,
for he knew not what to say.
What did the woman want ?' inquired the prince.
'I know not,' answered he, 'for she did not even speak.'
The prince felt annoyed. 'Some secret, I suppose,' said
he to himself. “All right, Sir Vizier ; keep it to yourself.'
The next day the woman returned in exactly the same
way, and did precisely the same thing, and when she had
gone, the prince again said: 'Well, what was her message
to-day ?'
'Not a word did she utter,' answered the vizier's son.
Then the prince began to get very sorrowful. Now see,'
said he, 'what happens. This man no longer confides in
me.' And he began to harden himself against his friend.
The next day the wretched woman came again, and
:
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
165
6
repeated exactly the same performance; and again the
prince sent the vizier's son to receive her petition ; but she
said nothing, going off suddenly just as before. Once more,
also, the prince asked his friend the object of her mission,
saying: 'What did she say?' And once more the vizier's
son was compelled to answer ‘Not a word.'
'Is it such a secret that you cannot tell me ?' cried the
prince in a rage.
'I have no secret,' answered he, 'for I have received no
communication. The woman must be mad, I think.'
Then the prince became still more angry than before, and,
dismissing his favourite, he bade him begone to his house.
He also himself threw down his bat, and went to the
palace, where he met the king, his father, who, when he
saw him, addressed him, but the youth answered not, for
he was speechless with rage.
'O son,' said the king, ‘has anyone presumed to affront
you ? If so, cheer up: he shall die immediately.' .
My vizier,' answered the prince, 'is no longer the same
man to me that he was. He is now nothing to me, and
worse than nothing. Never shall I have peace of mind
again until he is slain, and a bowl of his blood brought to
me for testimony.'
'Is that all ?' said the king. “Be of good cheer, my son.
Consider him dead already, for he shall die at once.'
Then the king went forth to his own house, and summoned
his executioners, and ordered them to seize the vizier's son,
and to carry him into the forest, and to behead him, and to
bring back his two eyes and a cup of his blood. So, having
caught the unfortunate youth, they led him away.
Now, as they were preparing to despatch him, he said to
them : 'Hear me speak one word, since what I say may be
of service to you hereafter. You have been told to kill me.
But if you kill me, to-morrow you will find that the prince
will be saying: “Bring back my vizier-bring back my
vizier!” Then what will you do? He will certainly avenge
my death on yourselves. Follow good advice: kill some-
thing else, and take the blood of that.'
Three of the men who had been sent then said to the
166
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
ſourth: This young vizier seems in a fright for his life.
He does not talk as if he wished to lose it.'
"Let us be cautious,' answered the fourth, who was wiser
than his fellows. “This is a great man and he speaks truly, ,
for, being a vizier's son, he knows all things. I have a tame
deer. Let us kill that and carry its eyes and its blood to
the king.'
To this they all agreed, but they said : ‘Let us, however,
detain this man somewhere so that he cannot escape, lest
all become known and evil befall us.'
So they hid him and fed him, and in his stead they killed
the deer; and the eyes and the blood they took to the prince,
who, when he saw them, was glad, and said: 'A man who
c
11
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AL
would turn his back, let him die the death. But the eyes
and the blood he gave to be thrown away.
Some days elapsed and then Bugla, the plotter, came
forward and petitioned for the office of vizier. Very well,
was the answer, you can be vizier.' So he was appointed,
and forthwith began to attend the person of the prince.
One day the prince went out to snare partridges, and took
with him his new vizier. When tired of the sport, since the
birds were shy and refused to be decoyed, he thought he
would like to bathe.
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
167
'Shall I bathe to-day, or not?' said he to Bagla.
'If you would like to bathe,' answered he, you will do
well to bathe; but if you would rather not bathe, it will be
best to leave the bathing alone.'
Then thought the prince to himself: 'Here is an answer
for a vizier! If my old friend had been by my side, he
NS
.
THE
would have advised me distinctly which to do, the one or the
other.'
Some time after he said to his vizier: 'Shall we go
hunting to day, or shall we not ?'
'To hunt is good,' answered he, and not to hunt is good.
I should hunt to-day if I felt thereto inclined, but if I felt
otherwise I should not hunt on any account.'
After hearing this, the prince's mind reverted still more to
his former favourite, and he thought with a sigh: 'My old
minister was different. He would have advised me freely
one way or the other. This fellow, however, is such an
owl--where could I have found him ?
Once more they went out hunting, and as they rode along
they saw a beautiful princess in a boat, and she, when she
saw the prince, began to make signals to him. First she
pointed to her breast, then to her head, and lastly she laid
her hand upon a vessel which stood beside her.
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THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
6
What mean those signs ?' asked the prince of the
vizier.
You have two eyes, O prince,' answered the man,' and I
have two eyes. You see, and I see. But what the lady
means I cannot imagine.'
This reply set the prince thinking more than ever, and he
thought to himself: 'As for this fellow, he is not worth
keeping. He became so vexed and sorrowful that on his
return home he dismissed his minister altogether, and from
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grief of heart he went and lay down on his bed and became
very sick. His father, having been informed of his illness,
went to his chamber to see him. 'Oson,' said he, 'what is
llow the matter?'
Nothing,' answered the prince, but I wish back my
vizier; and if I cannot have him back, I am willing myself to
die the same death.'
'Courage, my son,' said the king. “I will look to it
myself, and straightway he shall be restored to you.'
Then the king went out and called for his hangmen, and
said to them: 'Produce the vizier's son on your lives !'
'O king,' answered the men, 'you ordered us to kill him.
If, then, we had spared his life, our own lives would have
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
169
paid the price. Where in the world are we to look for him
now?'
'If you do not find him and bring him here instantly,
cried the angry king, 'I shall have you killed precisely in the
same way as he was killed.'
Then the men went forth, saying to themselves: 'How
fortunate for us! What a mistake we should have made,
but for the wisdom of the vizier!' And forthwith they
went, and, delivering him out of prison, they brought him to
the king, and the king took him to the prince, who at once
began to amend.
For a time these two friends were a little strange and
distant with each other, but soon their old habits revived,
and they were to be seen as much together as ever. One
day they went out hunting, and as they approached the
river the prince began telling the vizier's son about the
mysterious signals which had been made to him by the
beautiful princess. What,' asked he, 'did she mean by
those signs?'
"When she put her hand towards her forehead,' answered
his friend, ‘she meant that her name was Chushma Ranee,
or the Eye Ranee; when on her breast, she meant to say: "If
you visit my country, my heart shall be yours"; and when she
touched the bowl, she intended you to understand that the
name of her home was Lotah (a bowl).'
'Is it even so ?' said the prince. “Then let us set off
instantly and see her.'
* Alas!' answered the vizier's son, 'how much pain and
trouble the other princess cost us; and who knows how
much more we may suffer from this !'
'We are to die: but once,' replied the prince gaily. 'Let
us, therefore, go and seek her.
In vain the young minister endeavoured to dissuade his
master from the rash enterprise. A prince's will is like the
whirlwind or the torrent, which will not be denied.
In a few days their preparations were completed, and
both companions set out on their travels once more.
In
due time they came to a certain town where they found a
noble garden stocked with all manner of trees.
· Let us
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THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
spend the night here,' said the prince. But the woman in
charge refused her consent. • You wish to stay here,' said
she. “But Chushma Ranee also comes here, for this garden
is hers, and if she find you here she will be angry, and her
anger will fall on me.' But the vizier's son bribed her,
saying: 'Prepare us a place, and, here, take for your trouble
these four gold coins.
So the woman set to work to prepare them a lodging in
the garden. All day long she was thus engaged, and when
evening came she sat down and cried bitterly. Seeing her,
the vizier's son said: '0 woman, what is the matter, and
why are you weeping ?'
* Every day at twelve o'clock,' answered she, “it is my
duty to prepare three hundred and sixty necklets of flowers,
and to take them to the princess. Now it is evening, and
how shall I perform my task? I am undone !'
'Bring hither the flowers,' said the vizier's son, and let
ne prepare them for you.'
So he began to thread the flowers, and he made such
beautiful garlands as had never been seen by the gardener's
wife before. After all was ready he said to her: 'Which
necklet will the princess herself wear, do you think?'
* All those on the top,' answered she, 'she divides among
her young companions, and the last of all she keeps for
herself.'
When the vizier's son heard that, he wrote an exquisite
letter and attached it to the lowest necklet in the basket,
and in the letter he told the princess that the Prince of the
River had come to see her. So the woman carried them all
to the princess, and laid them before her as usual. When
she had examined a few of them, she said: 'O woman, who
made these necklets ?'
"A sister of mine has come from the country to see me,'
answered she. “I gathered the flowers, and my sister wove
the necklets.'
The princess declared them beautiful, and began to dis-
tribute them to her maidens. The last she took up and
put round her own neck, but observing the note, she opened
it and read it in haste. Then she turned to the woman and
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIERS SON.
171
said : 'Do you still say your sister wove these flowers ? do
you speak the truth ?' The woman fell down at her feet
and confessed that some merchants had come and lodged in
the garden. So the lady pencilled a note and gave it to the
woman, saying: 'Go and give this message to the merchant
who made my necklet.' And the woman went and delivered
it to the vizier's son, who read the message to the prince.
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WINNINNIUM
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' It is my custom,' ran the note, 'to exact implicit truth
from all my suitors. The man who fails in this respect is
at once seized by my attendants and thrown from my
windows into the street. I have asked my father a favour,
and he has granted that I may marry only him whom I see
and like. Let me know how many followers you have with
you, that I may send them all needful supplies. Also come
to my house and visit me.'
'This is a strange letter,' said the prince.
'It is the inconsequent letter of a woman,' answered the
vizier's son. “But, come, make haste! Tell her you have
come absolutely alone; but beware, see that the couch has
been properly arranged before you sit down. She will put
you to the test. If the cushions are wrongly placed, still
you must sit at the head of the couch, and, as the head is
always slightly higher than the foot, here, take this lemon
172
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
and lay it on the couch, and, as it moves, so it will tell you
which is the head and which is the foot.'
So the prince set off, while the vizier's son, to forestall
mischance, went to the bazaar, where he found a long train
of camels laden with cotton. This cotton he secured, and
induced the merchants to set it down for him close to the
walls of the palace, and he saw it laid beneath the apart-
ments of the princess, and then he said : “My master, who
is a rich merchant, is absent on business, therefore leave the
cotton here on approval while I go and seek him, and mean-
while give us the refusal of it in consideration of this pay-
ment if we do not complete the bargain.'
Meanwhile, the prince had arrived at the palace, and had
been received with favour. The lemon revealed to him the
real head of the couch, and he sat down as every prince ought
to sit. Then said the princess : ‘Have you no servants with
you? If you have, let me provide for them.'
'I have come to your town,' answered he, unattended
by anyone.
Then she gave him sweetmeats and sherbet, paying him
great attention, and when evening approached, three
hundred and sixty maidens, all richly attired in coloured
silks and adorned with necklets of flowers, entered the
chamber and stood in a row before them. Then said the
princess to him: You may be alone, and I may be alone;
but when kings move about they are accompanied by troops
and guards, and if no guards go with them, yet is the
minister never forgotten. Tell me now, have you your
minister with you or not? Because if you have, one of
these maidens shall go and attend on him, so that he may
not want for comfort in a strange land.'
The prince was so enchanted by all he saw that he forgot
his promise, and, pointing to a beautiful damsel, he said :
'Let this girl, then, be my minister's attendant.'
Then the eyes of the princess darted out sparks of anger,
and crying : 'You know the penalty-destruction to the
suitor who lies to me!' she summoned some of her
strongest women, who seized the prince and cast him head-
long out of the palace windows. Down and down he fell,
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
173
but he escaped death: by falling on the cotton, which was
collected in abundance on the pavement beneath. Never-
theless, he was stunned, and all night long he continued to
lie there in a profound sleep.
Next morning his minister. discovered him, and roused
him, saying: 'Up, O prince, why continue to lie here ?'
Then he went to the merchants, and to them he said :
'Your cotton is not approved of, so take your goods and
take also your money and go.'
The two friends then sat disconsolately down just where
they were, and began to consider their position.
'My counsel is that we return home,' said the vizier.
"Never !' answered the prince; 'with what face could I
show myself at court without the princess ?'
'I warned you not to speak of me,' said the vizier's son,
10
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'but to say you had travelled alone, for I had a scheme to
win her. Where was your memory ?'
Nevertheless,' said the prince, you must manage affairs
so well that I may visit the lady again.'
* People who are in kings' houses,' returned the vizier,
'speak but once. You will never be admitted again, and
you will lose your life over her.'
194
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
* As for me,' said the prince, 'it matters little whether I
go back alive or dead.'
*O prince,' continued the vizier, 'you lack wisdom. With
prudence you would have won her, but how are you to win
her now? The only thing left for us is to turn fakeers and
don the yellow robe.'
So the two friends disguised themselves as religious
mendicants, and dressed themselves in the appropriate
costume. 'O king,' said the vizier's son, 'the good fortune
we had looked to find has slipped from our hands. Gone
is all openness and all candour. Henceforth we deal only
with deceit.'
Now, in that town there was a certain vacant house, con-
taining a courtyard and a double entrance, one to the front
and the other in the back. This house, being suitable for
their purpose, they hired, and while the attendant sat
solemnly in a cell at the front door, his master occupied a
secluded cell within the enclosure. The arrival of two
strange fakeers was soon hinted abroad, and many of the
poor came to solicit their prayers. But the vizier's son was
wont ever to send them in to visit the prince, saying: 'I am
only a servant, but the great saint, my master, dwells
within. One by one he sent them in, nor would he allow
more than one to enter at a time. And the prince, in his
character as a holy man, was for ever seen devoutly telling
his beads and mumbling his prayers. And as he always
kept under the corner of his robe a store of money which
he distributed freely, his fame and his sanctity were soon
the talk of the town. At last the princess heard of him, and
she said to her attendants: 'I, too, must go and salaam
those two holy men.' So she set out with her three hundred
and sixty damsels, half of whom walked before her and half
of them behind her, and thus in grand procession they came
to the gateway. But the vizier's son said: 'Only one at a
time can be permitted to visit the holy fakeer, for that is the
custom of his order.' . So the ladies filed in and out one by
one, until at last the princess rose and said: 'Now I will
enter also, but do you, my maidens, await my coming.'
Now, in the courtyard there always stood, saddled and
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
175
bridled and ready for the start, two swift coursers. When,
therefore, the princess entered the house, the vizier's son
instantly closed the door. At the same moment the prince
1
25
Vieill
HE
sprang to his saddle, and when the princess had been thrown
into his arms, he set spurs to his steed, and issuing from the
opposite gate, he galloped away with his prize. Instantly
also his friend mounted and followed, and they rode and
rode until they arrived in all safety at their own palace,
where the prince and princess were married in great state
and ceremony, after which they spent many a happy hour
together in mutual happiness and delight.
ATA
176
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
PART III.
OW, in course of time the king of
that country waxed very old and
resigned his kingdom to his son,
who thus became king in his stead.
There was a certain servant then
living at court who possessed a
flower of remarkable beauty, grow-
ing in an earthen jar, and every
morning he used to come and gaze
at it.
This circumstance was
reported to the young king, who, hearing that the flower was
such as no one else in the world possessed, sent for his
servant, and said to him: 'Let me see the flower which you
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Mut
2011
gaze at every morning.' No sooner had he seen it and
examined it, than he said: 'I admire this flower of yours,
therefore let me have it.'
'I cannot part with my flower,' answered the servant.
"You may take my life and welcome, but not the flower.'
‘But why not?' returned the king 'I offer you a price
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
177
6
6
for it, which will be useful to you, and what can you want
with a flower which is fit only for a king's palace ?'
'Yet my flower I cannot give,' replied the man.
' But why cannot you give it ?' asked the king. You
surely must have some secret reason for answering me thus.'
This flower,' said the servant, 'was given to me by my
wife the night before I left her. Keep this flower by you,"
said she : "when it is blooming thus, know that I am true to
you; if it droops, then you may be sure that I am false." ;
' But has it ever bloomed thus ?' asked the king.
'It has,' answered the guard.
'If you possess such a treasure,' said the king, 'why do
you not return home ?'
'I did a foolish thing,' replied he, 'on account of which I
had to leave my home. But now I begin to think I must go
back again.
What foolish act was it?' said the king.
What can I say ?' answered the servant :'I am ashamed
to speak of it. When I was in my father's house, and well
off, my father was a merchant, and he used to trade. And
when I grew up he chose a match for me, but I said I did
not wish to marry.
' But what objection had you against marrying ?' inquired
the king.
'I will tell you,' said he, 'the whole story from the
beginning. When I was a boy my father: kept a servant
who used always to be with me, and of whom I became very
fond. One day it happened that the king of that country
heard that a famous dancing girl had arrived in the town,
and he said: “Let her come and dance before me." So she
went as she was ordered, and my servant and I also went
there to see her. Numbers of people were standing and
looking, and we stood and looked too. When the dancing
girl approached us, she glanced at my servant and at once
fell to the ground. Then said the king : “Why have you
fallen ?" and she answered: “I have a pain in my chest.”
And the king said : “Had you ever this pain before ?" Then
the woman pointed her finger at my servant, and said: “If
you have that man killed my pain will go."
J2
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THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
6
The king at once ordered his arrest, and he was seized
by the guards, but my servant said: “It is not the custom
of kings to kill the innocent." The king answered: “Even
now you know well you have committed something amiss.
Owing to some fault of yours this dancing girl has fallen,
and who knows but that she may die ?" The servant
replied : “O king, tell this dancing girl to give up to me that
which belongs to me, and then you may do with me even as
you please.” The king turned to the girl, and said: “This
man is to die; nevertheless, get up and speak to him."
When she arose, she said to my servant:
66 What do you
want to say to me?"
"Give me up," answered he, “what you have of mine."
"I have not anything of yours," said she.
Very well,” replied my man, “with words say to me, if
you can, that you have restored to me that which you had of
me." And the woman said: Whatever I took from you I
have given you back.” The moment she uttered these words
she fell back dead. Then cried the king : "I'll hang you,
you villain ! unless you tell me what that was which you gave
to her, and which she has given you back again—the whole
story." Then my servant told the king, and I sat down by
his side, and he said : " Once we were all merchants well-to-
666
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
179
do, and I was married to this woman, who has since become
a dancing girl. We both loved each other dearly, and one
day she said to me: 'If I died, how much would you sorrow
for me?' I replied: 'If you died I should be wretched, but
if I died what would your sorrow be for me?' If you died,
cried she, 'I would make me a little cabin at your grave and
110
never, never leave it.' Then said I: 'And I would do the
same by you.'
6“ After a time it so happened that my wife died. When
she was buried, I ran up a little hut by her grave, gave away
all my goods to the poor, and lived by her grave. I, in
short, turned fakeer, begging my bread, and spending my
nights and days at her sepulchre.
"" One day a wandering fakeer chanced that way, and as
he passed the hut he said: "Why have you come to live in
the wilds among the graves ?' I told him the whole story;
and when the fakeer heard it, he said: “As you have done
this thing out of pure love, I tell you that, if you consent to
give up to her half the remaining years of your life, this
woman will rise again, and the day of your death will also
be the day of hers.'
Very well,' I answered. "I give up to her one half
my remaining life.'
12-2
180
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
«« Then the fakeer by a miracle brought back my dead wife
to life, and there she stood before me. To meet again like
that I was glad, and so also was she; but as I had given
away all my substance in charity; we set out for another
Z
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Will
town. After travelling for some days, we came to a certain
river, and there on the bank, when I had taken some bread
and water, I began to feel sleepy. As my head happened
to be low, my wife sat up and laid my head in her lap, and
I slept. I can just remember that action of hers before I
dropped off, but afterwards she abandoned me, and when I
awoke I looked for her in vain. Seeing no one there, I
continued travelling, and at last I arrived at this city, and
I obtained some employment from the father of this youth
now sitting by my side. This morning the lad said to me:
'Come along; a new dancing girl is to dance before the
king : let us go there!' And so I came with him; but as
soon as I came I recognised my lost wife; and when she
looked at me, from disgrace and shame of mind she fell,
and so she asked for my death, being afraid of me. You,
O king, then gave the order for my death ; but everyone
loves life, and therefore I asked her if she would give me
back that which she had taken from me, and she answered :
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
181
'I have taken nothing.' So I said: 'Only say with your
mouth these words, I have given you back what I took from
you, and I am satisfied.' And she said it, and died once
more."
'When the king heard this story he was amazed, and
gave my servant his life, and let him go. But as for me,
having also heard these dismal things, I felt that it would
be far better not to be married than to be married ; and so,
when my father wished me to marry, I refused. My father,
however, was not to be gainsaid, and he said, “If I do not
have you marry, the world will reproach me, saying, 'See
that merchant, who is not able to find a wife for his son !"
Tell me then," continued he, “what is the matter with
you ?” So I told my father I was well enough in both mind
and body, but that I could only marry a woman who would
allow me every morning to strike her five times with a shoe,
and this I said in order that no one might consent to have
rin
anything to do with me. My father, however, undertook
to find such a girl, but he did not succeed, because all his
endeavours were rendered futile by my absurd condi-
tion.
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THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
1/UNIL
'Time passed, and at last my father went to a certain
merchant, and told him he was anxious to marry his son.
"“I have a daughter," answered the merchant, “who
would suit your son; but she declares she must have a look
at him first with her own eyes.”
““ But, my son," said my father, “will only marry the
woman who will patiently allow him to smite her five times
every morning with a shoe.”
““I cannot assure myself of that,” replied the merchant;
but I will speak to my daughter and let you know.”
'When he went home he described the proposed match
to the girl, who at once said: “Yes, I consent. Marry me to
that merchant's son;" and so the message was sent that,
after twenty days, I might come and marry his daughter.
There was a grand wedding, with much spent, and on the
day of the wedding my father gave me a separate house and
servants, and in the morning I said to my wife: “I must
now be allowed my stipulation, namely, to beat you five
times with a shoe."
untin
pikal
‘But she begged off, saying: “To-day do not beat me,
and to-morrow you may strike me ten times instead.”
'The next day I said to her : “ You said I might give you
ten blows, but let me have my will and give you five." '.
.
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
183
6
«« Hush !” cried she, or the guests in the house will
hear you. Let me off again to-day, and to-morrow you can
give me fifteen.''
'The next day I spoke to her again, saying: “To-day I
must really give you the five blows."
My wife then turned on me, and said: “When we were
married, whose money was spent, yours or mine ?"
""No money of yours,” answered I,“nor yet money of
mine. Your father paid your expenses, and my father paid
mine."
"“ And our expenses now," said she, " by whom are they
paid ?”
.
They certainly don't come from my earnings," replied I,
“but from my father's. As for me, I have earned nothing
as yet."
(“If that be so," cried she, “what right have you to beat
me at all, since you do not contribute a farthing to my
maintenance ? When you begin to earn wages to keep the
house, then you may beat me, but you mustn't beat me
before."
'I got so angry that I left the house that minute, and set
off to my father's and told him all.
66 Give me four thousand rupees," said I, “that I may go
out and trade and make a living for myself !"
"So I hired servants, and loaded a ship with merchandise
and sailed to a far country and steered up a river, and there
I came to a wild desolate place; but still there was a garden
in the midst of it, though no village or town could be seen.
Then I ordered my men to moor the ship to the bank, but I
myself sprang ashore and hastened to the garden to look at
it. As soon as I entered I saw a tree covered with fine
mangoes, one of which fell to the ground. It was so ripe
and so tempting that I took it, and having eaten it, I threw
the stone away. Then down came another mango, and as
I was eating that the stone which I had thrown away took
root and sprang up, a goodly tree, covered also with fruit,
which ripened as I stood eating, and presently from this tree
too fell down a beautiful mango. So I thought to myself:
This mango I will not eat, but I will take it to the
184
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
nearest city, and with this wonder I shall make money and
grow rich.” So I went on, and coming to a large walled town,
I entered the market-place and made a bet.
““ Look at this mango," cried I ; “I will eat it and let
the stone fall. If it grows and bears fruit at once, you will
give me four thousand rupees; but if not, then I will pay four
thousand rupees to you."
"" Agreed !” cried they, gathering around me.
'So I sucked the mango clean, and threw down the stone
before them, and at once it grew up and up into a big tree;
but, alas! it bore no fruit at all, and I lost my bet and
my money. To save myself from arrest, all my remaining
servants and all my goods were sold by auction, and, like a
beggar unable to move, I sojourned alone in that strange
place. Poor and hungry, I grew sorrowful, stupid, sick, and
even senseless, for I thought to myself: “I do not know
how to beg, and for work I am not fit. How am I to get
my bread ?" In this distress I went to a fakeer's place, and
there I remained. After five or six days the fakeer spoke to
me, and said :
"“ It is time that you should do something for yourself.”
‘Now, with that fakeer there was then living another way-
farer like myself, who every day used to bring in grass and
sell it. This man, having pity on me, took me, and said :
«« Come out with me, and I will show you where grass is
to be found, and how to cut it. As for me, I cut grass every
day, and sell it in the bazaar, and cook my food here.”
'This, then, I did, and every day I brought in my bundle,
and with my scanty earnings I bought flour and I lodged
with the fakeer.
Now, it happened that my wife, after waiting for some
tiine, determined to seek me. So she dressed herself as a
man, turned merchant, freighted a ship, and set sail.
Coming up the same river, she at last arrived at the same
garden. And having moored alongside, she entered and
tarried there just as I did. And when a ripe mango fell at
her feet, she took it up and sucked it and threw away the
stone; and as she sucked another, up sprang the new mango
and bore fruit, ripe and full, and even as she gazed it
6
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIERS SON.
185
dropped one of its mangoes before her eyes. But she was
wise where I was not, for she not only took with her the
new mango, but also some of the garden earth; and
UNT TOUT
Test
returning to the ship, she at last arrived at the town in
which I was living. But me she never saw, nor did she
know I was there; but she made a bet with the same people
for four thousand rupees, who, having won before, were
eager to win again. Having, therefore, challenged them,
she ate the fruit and threw the stone on to the earth, which
she had first put down; and at once it shot forth a leaf, then
grew into a mighty tree, and bore abundance of fruit, and
the fruit began to fall. Thus my wife won the four thousand
rupees. Then she came into the bazaar just as I arrived
there with my bundle of grass on my head, and, looking at
me, she said:
6“How much do you want for that bundle of grass ?"
""Two annas," answered I.
66. Take three,” said she, “and carry the grass to my
camp at the river-side."
'So I followed her to the river, and she paid me the three
annas. As I was going away, she said :
"" If anyone offered you work, would you take service ?"
186
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
• “ Yes," answered I, “why not? I do not like the
drudgery of grass-cutting"
"“ If you will come to me,” said she, “I will give you the
management of my servants."
'I accepted her offer, and she furnished me with all I
needed; but she took from me my old clothes, my net and
my sickle, and kept them by her.
"Then she issued her orders to all her attendants :
Whatsoever this servant orders you will do. He is my
steward, and manager of all my property. Absent or present,
I am still represented by him.” Then came she to me, and
said : “You will remain here with the ship. As for me, I
must make a short voyage to-morrow to see a friend, but
only for a day; but, whether for a day or more, manage
everything in my absence."
'So she started, taking with her my old clothes, my net,
and my sickle ; but I saw her no more that day, nor yet the
next.
'When ten days had passed and still she returned not, I
said to myself: “My master inust be dead. He will come
I had better sail."
'The next day, therefore, I hoisted sail and made down
the river, and in due time arrived at my own city. There,
>>
no more.
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
187
in a certain house of mine, the servants stored all the goods,
and I went home to my wife. When I saw her, I said: “I
am rich; I come laden with my own earnings; submit,
therefore, to our bargain, and let me have my five blows."
"“Certainly,” answered she, “I will let you; but first sit
down a bit."
""No, no," replied I; “I'll dismount from my horse only
when you promise submission.”
""Nay," said she, "get off and have some food, and then
we can talk it over.”
“You may talk for ever," said I ; "your excuses will not
avail. Submit, and I will dismount."
'Then said she : “Wait a little ;" and going into the
house, she brought out my old grass-cutter's clothes, my net,
and my sickle, and held them up before me, and cried :
" Have your own way! The horse you are riding is mine;
.
1
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OLTRE
.
the clothes you are wearing are mine. Give up my horse
and my clothes, and put on your own things, and take your
sickle and your net in your hand, and then come, give me
five blows with your shoe.''
'When I looked at everything, I was covered with con-
fusion, nor did I remain a moment; but, getting down, I
handed the bridle to a servant, and went at once to my
188
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON. .
father's house, where, in very shame and sorrow, I remained
in the dumps for days. At last I considered : “Why do
I continue here ? Let me go away!”
"One day, just as I was preparing to leave, my father
surprised me, and, forbidding my departure, took me to my
own house where my wife was, and there left me.
"" If you like to live here," said she, “do so—if not, go.
But if you go, take this flower with you and keep it.
When it is fresh and blooming, as it is now, know that I am
true to you; but if it droop, then be sure that I have ceased
to remember you."
'So I took the flower and left my home once more, and
came here and took service with the king your father.
Therefore it is that I do not like to return, because I said I
would have my own way. That is the disgrace which
hinders me from going home to my wife.'
When the king had heard the whole story, he was pleased,
and doubled his servant's salary, and determined to retain
him. Then he spoke to his ministers, and said : 'You see
that flower, how beautiful it is! The lady herself must be
beautiful, too. So spare no pains to bring her here.'
' Some women,' answered the vizier, are wiser than
men.'
* True,' said the king ; 'but old women, gossips and go-
betweens, are equal to any enterprise ;' and he ordered his
ministers to collect some of these women and to bring them
to the court to prove their skill in cunning, deceit and
guile.
Numbers of women accordingly assembled, each anxious
to surpass the others. Out of these the king chose four,
and dividing them into two sets, two and two, he called the
first and said: 'Now what can you do ?'
We have such power,' answered they, 'that if we went
into the sky we could bore holes through it.'
Then to the other he said : “And what can you do ?'
'So great is our craft,' answered they, 'that, if we went
into the sky, we could not only bore holes through it, but so
patch it up again that you would never know that a single
hole had been in it at all.'
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
189
WE
WIMMINIT
Thus the two last were chosen, and the rest dismissed, and
then the king and his ministers sent and brought those two
old women before them, and said: 'Go to a certain town.
There you will find a merchant's wife living alone. Can you
entice her and bring her here ?'
'Is she not a woman ? answered they. "Women are so
simple that they can be led to do anything. We could make
even a dumb animal follow us.'
Bring her to me, and I will reward you,' said the king.
The old crones delighted him, and having given them money
for their journey, he sent them away. So they disguised
themselves as Mecca pilgrims, and put on rosaries; and
coming to the town, they inquired for the house, which was
pointed out to them, and they entered and found the lady
sitting at her needle. Then they caught hold of her and em-
braced her, and began crying over her.
My good women,' said she, 'who are you, and why are
you crying ?'
'Why, dear me!' answered they, we knew you as a child.
You do not remember us, but your mother was our own
mus
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sister, and you are our niece. You were quite an infant
when we two went to Mecca, and there we have been ever
190
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
V/12V
since; and now that we have at last come back, hearing that
you were here, we have called to see you.'
Then thought she to herself: 'It is late, and I must get
my aunts some food.' So she told her slave-girl to go to the
bazaar and buy a pound of flour, a pound of sugar, a pound
of melted butter, and some bhung. * With these ingredients
she made the women a nice dish, and they all partook of it,
and began to tell the truth, until at last they sank into a deep
stupor. With the same food she fed them day by day, and
there they remained overcome with slumber and forgetful-
ness.
0
Meanwhile, the king was growing impatient, waiting in
vain as the days passed and the women never returned. So
he called his ministers, and said: 'Those women have been
detained in that country; send, therefore, some cunning
rogues to look for them, and see if they are at the lady's
house, or where they are.'
Two great villains were accordingly sought for and found,
and when they had approved themselves they were at once
despatched. 'Not only,' said they, shall we bring back
the two women in a twinkling, but we shall bring back the
lady as well !' So they set out, being disguised as respectable
* Hempseed-extremely stupefying.
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
191
fakeers; and finding the house, they went there and began
praising, saying: 'Ah, child, behold in us your uncles. We
have not seen you for many years, because we have been
travelling over many lands. And now at last we have come
to see you.'
"You did well,' said she, 'to come and see me.'
So she made them welcome, and the same food which she
gave the women she ordered her slave-girl to set before the
men, until they also sank into the same condition; and thus
they remained, for every four days she repeated the course,
and so rendered them helpless and stupid. Not only that,
,
but she shaved the heads of all the four impostors as well,
and the beards and moustaches of the men, and covered
their faces with lamp-black.
When many days had now passed away, the king called
his minister, and said: 'Even those villains have failed
to serve us, therefore let us go ourselves. So to the town
they came, and when they knocked at the door the lady sent
her slave-girl to ask them who they were.
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'I am a vizier,' said the minister, and this is a king.'
And the girl told her mistress, who made ready a grand
feast of seven courses, and waited on her guests herself,
bidding the slave-girl to stand by. With each dish, as she
192
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
brought it in, she appeared in a fresh suit, very rich and
beautiful, and with different sets of jewellery to match.
When the seventh course came in, the king whispered to his
minister: 'I heard there was only one merchant's wife, but
it seems there are seven, and all alike.'
Overhearing the remark, the lady said: 'O king, what is
this you are talking about?
"What I have said,' answered he, it would not be proper
for you to hear.'
'Keep nothing secret from me,' said she; 'but speak out
frankly, and let me know your thoughts.'
'I said,' replied the king, 'there was but one woman here,
yet now there are seven, and all alike.'
You said well,' returned she. “There is but one.'
''What!' cried the king, 'I have seen seven, and you say
there is only one!'
' Among the seven you have seen,' said she, you have not
seen the merchant's wife at all—she never comes out.'
'Then who are you,' asked the king—the merchant's wife
or a slave-girl ?'
I am a slave-girl,' said she.
* If you are her slave-girl,' said the king, and we give you
a message for her, do you think she will attend to it?'
'I think she will,' answered she.
Then the minister put into her hand a large bribe, and
said to her : 'Go and persuade your mistress to accompany
us back to my palace, and your fortune's made.'
'If you will agree to something which I propose,' said she,
'I think my mistress will go with you very easily. You
must pass the night here; but first one of you must go to
the bazaar and hire a strong doolie and eight stout bearers
for the journey, and bring them here. If you will do this,
early in the morning, when the merchant's wife rises, we can
catch hold of her and force her into the doolie, and you can
carry her off.
To this both king and minister agreed, and so the doolie
and the bearers were brought and introduced into the
house.
In the morning the merchant's wife got up, and when
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
193
she had administered a double dose of bhung to the two
men and the two women, and blackened their heads and their
faces afresh, she dressed them up in women's garments,
pulled their chuddas well over their faces, and put them all
four, drowsy and stupid as they were, into the doolie. She
then drew down the curtains, closed them up, and over all
she spread a handsome cover; while she warned the bearers
that if they uttered a word about the weight they would be
well thrashed, but that if, on the contrary, they bore their
burden without a murmur their reward would be fourfold.
Thus, then, it was arranged, and the king, mounting his
horse, ordered the doolie to be carried away. After a day's
march they arrived at his capital, where, by the king's
direction, the doolie was carried to an empty wing of the
palace and taken inside the enclosure, while a slave-girl was
sent to attend to the king's new capture.
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Allik
Now, as all four were dressed as women and their faces
hidden, the slave-girl, when she lifted up the curtains, cried :
'Not one queen has come, but four !' Dismissing the
bearers, she went to the king and reported to him the arrival
of four ranees where only one was expected. So the king went
himself to see, and found all four sitting in the position in
13
194
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
which they had been left. Lifting the chuddas of two of
them, he fell back in a fright, crying: 'What evil things are
these that have come to my house ?' and without waiting to
examine the others, he dropped their coverings and ran to
his minister, to whom he said: 'That merchant's wife has
taken us all in dreadfully !
'Why, what in the name of God,' cried the minister, 'has
she done ?'
She has filled the doolie with four evil beasts,' said the
king. Come and see !'
When the vizier cast an eye on them, he was quite con-
founded, and, seizing one of them by the ear, he roared :
?'
Their stupor was then passing off, and their senses return-
ing, and the creature replied: 'I am that very woman who
boasted of her skill.'
"Who are you
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His
you call this?
Then the minister called for a mirror and showed the hag
her own face, and said: 'If you are that very woman, what do
And in like manner he showed up the whole
of them, until one of the women mumbled : 'Of course we
are the two princesses, and these men are the two thieves !'*
* Referring to a popular tale. See Story LXXXIV.
THE PRINCE AND 195
THE
THE VIZIER'S SON.
upon which the king had them all soundly thrashed and
sent about their business.
But the king was more in love than ever, and he now
said: "What a wise woman she is ! Not only my
messengers, but myself and my vizier as well, she out-
witted!'
' You will try in vain to entrap her,' said the minister.
* Only one way remains : you must make her husband a
councillor, and let him then understand that, if he continues
to live apart from his wife, it will be most unbecoming,
since the reproach will lie on the king himself.'
So the merchant became a king's councillor, but when his
wife was mentioned he demurred. “My pay is but small,'
said he,' and she is accustomed to luxury.
But his pay was raised, and when a handsome home had
been prepared for him he went to his own city, and said to
his wife : 'If you will heed me, I have something to tell you.
The wisdom of my father was never mine, and I cannot
trade as he can. The king, my master, has given me a good
appointment and a fine house, but he orders me to bring you
home. So come with me.'
'I am your wife,' answered she. 'You are my master.
Whenever you wish me to go I am ready.'
So she went back with her husband, and he and she lodged
at the same house. Leaving her there, he went to the king,
who was overjoyed. “You are now one of my ministers,
said he. But to his vizier he said : 'Contrive something.
So manage this affair that my man may be despatched on
some distant expedition.'
· But even then,' replied the vizier, ‘he will still be alive,
and able at any time to return. Let him be despatched,
therefore, to procure something which has no existence,
and ordered not to return until he has found it.'
As they were thinking this over, both the king and the
vizier began to laugh. At first they were whispering, but
when the king laughed and the vizier laughed, the new
minister began to laugh too.
'Why are you laughing ?' asked the king of him. What
have you seen or heard that you should laugh ?'
13-2
196
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
'I have seen nothing,' answered he, and I have heard
nothing, and I laughed.
Said the old vizier : ‘Laugh at nothing ? Since the day
I was born I have never seen what nothing is. Be good
enough to show me what nothing is.'
How can I show you nothing ?' asked the man. 'Neither
have I, since the day of my birth, seen nothing.'
• Nevertheless, nothing you must set out for and find,
since the king commands it,' said the vizier.
Evening now came on, and they all went home. And
when the vizier saw the king again, he said to him: “This
new minister will never discover nothing—he has entrapped
himself; so let us send him to seek it.'
But when he reached his home his wife noticed his down-
cast looks, and asked the reason. So he told her the story,
and said: “They have ordered me to go forth into the wilds
and bring them nothing, and to show it to them.'
'Never mind,' answered his wife. “Leave the affair in my
hands, and I will manage it.' And her husband grew
cheerful. Now,' said she, 'give immediate orders that all
those who go out shooting game shall bring to me the
feathers of all the birds they kill, and promise that
you
will
reward them with the weight in money.' Then she directed
her husband to send for two masons, who, when they came,
constructed two vats in the floors of adjoining chambers.
One of these vats she filled with liquid glue, and the other
with the quantities of feathers which the hunters and
sportsmen had brought in to her.
Meanwhile the husband was attending the court, but
his wife had warned him: If the king should ask you if
you have found nothing, say, “I am not yet sure. I shall
learn more about it when I go home."Scarcely had he
entered the presence when both king and minister at once
spoke to him, and he answered : 'To-day I have not found
it, but I shall make a further report to-morrow.'
“That woman,' said the king aside to his vizier, “is sure
to outwit us with some cunning answer.'
So in the evening he again went home, and his wife
counselled him, so that when morning came, and he was
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON. .
197
once more before the king and was asked for nothing, he
answered: ‘Give me a year's leave, and I'll go and bring you
nothing; but if I return within a month with nothing, let me
still have my year's leave and also my full pay.'
'If in eight days,' said the king, "you bring me nothing,
you shall still have your year's leave.' But the vizier
whispered : 'Give him all the leave he may wish, for never
will he be able to find nothing.'
So the merchant, promising that he would set out the
next day, once more turned his steps towards his home.
• Now,' said his wife, have made at once a pair of large
brass tongs, with a ring at the end of them, and two sets
of bells for the ankles ; and in the morning go to the king, and
say, "Now I am going ;" but go not far, only at midnight
be sure to come back to the house, and knock at the door.'
These things, therefore, he did, and at night the king
considered within himself: "Hitherto I have followed the
advice of my vizier. Now I shall act for myself. By this
time the lady is alone. I will go and visit her.' When he
came to the house he found the door bolted, so he knocked,
and the lady within cried :
· Who are you?'
'I am the king,' answered he. Open the door.'
So she opened it, and the king entered, and she closed
the door once more. As they were sitting together on
the couch, the husband came, and loudly knocked, and
she cried :
· Who's there?'
Your husband,' answered he.
'You went to look for nothing,' said she. *How have
you returned so soon ?'
I forgot my arms, and I have come back to fetch them,
replied he.
Then the king was in a fright, and he said :
'Hide me somewhere, or he will kill me. Not a soul
knows I am here.'
'There is no hiding-place for you,' protested she.
For the love of God,' pleaded he, put me anywhere,
and save my life;' and he began to beseech her.
198
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
THERE
There is a closet here,' said she, with a vat in it, but
it is full of size.'
The king rushed to the closet; and as he was in haste,
he fell at once into the vat; and the glue was in such a
state that he was unable, with all his struggles, to get out
again.
* For mercy's sake, pull me out!' cried he.
• But where can I put you?' said she.
'I will never forget your goodness,' groaned he, “if you
will but take me out of this mess.'
So she had pity
on him, and took
him out, and hid
him in the room
full of feathers,
and, as he entered,
down he fell, and
all the feathers
stuck to him like
pegs in a caldron.
Then she opened
the door to her
husband, and told
him :
Come along,
said she, “I have
found nothing for
you ; it is even now
in the house. See
here! It is neither
bird nor man. It
is nothing. Tie the
bells to its ankles,
and put a rope round its neck, and take a torch and the
tongs and lead it to the palace of the king; and as you go,
give it a good crack with the tongs occasionally, and so take
it to the king's very footstool.'
All this the husband did, never suspecting that the object
before him was the king himself. So he led him to the court,
33..
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON.
199
and when he arrived there he cried : 'Vizier, vizier, summon
the king; I have brought him nothing !'
The vizier looked out from a balcony, and said:
'Such a thing as this I have never seen since the day
I was born! What is it?'
martin
111.
bortio
* And do you not remember,' answered the merchant, ' how
you said that from the day you were born you had never seen
nothing? Look at it now, then. This thing is nothing.'
'I am afraid of this nothing which you have brought,
said the vizier. 'In the morning, when the king attends
court, bring it again, and then we shall look at it.'
• Nay, you are the vizier,' answered he, and must take
charge of it now, as I have had so much trouble in cap-
turing it; and, besides, it must not escape. If you do not
consent, it will be my duty to report the matter to the king.'
So the old vizier called a servant, and had a tent-peg driven
into the ground, to which he tied the king by the rope.
After this the merchant returned home, and his wife said
to him :
Did you see the king ?'
'The king was not there,' answered he; but I gave the
thing to the minister.'
200
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIERS SON.
* You have obeyed orders,' said she, “and now keep quiet.'
When the king was left alone with his vizier, he called
to him, and said: 'Come near to me, and hear what I have
to say.' But in a fright the vizier edged further away. 'I
am the king,' continued the unhappy being. “That woman
has turned me into nothing. The vizier would hear no
more, but, taking up two stones, he cast them at the evil thing,
and went to his house. Seated in his chamber, he began to
reflect: 'What thing is this? It speaks like a human being,
but has feathers like a bird. It may escape, and do me
a mischief.' So he bolted his doors, and went to bed.
The next morning he repaired to the court to report to
the king the adventures of the night. But no king could be
found, nor could his officers give the slightest tidings of him.
Then went the vizier to the place where the king was tied
to the peg, and the king cried : 'For God sake, vizier, help
me, and restore me to my condition ! Even you have
forsaken me.
• But I am afraid of you,' said the vizier, “for to me you
seem to be some evil spirit. In the name of Heaven, how
came you into such a misfortune?'
Then the king disclosed the whole story, and the vizier
said : This must indeed be the king, and no one else,
because the king was always keen to go to that woman's
house, and she is deep, and will not permit liberties.' So he
went to some attendants, and said: 'Prepare a hot bath, then
take this thing and cleanse it. At first they were afraid,
but, nevertheless, they obeyed. The glue was of such a
nature that the king lost both his hair and his beard. How-
ever, when he was cleaned, the vizier had him dressed in his
robes and brought to a mirror, and the king was filled with
shame at the sight of his beardless face and bald head. But
his vizier advised him to put on his turban and to wear
a false beard ; and so, when he had eaten food and rested, the
king appeared once more in his court.
Meanwhile, the woman said to her husband: 'Go now to
your duty, and find out whether the king has seen nothing or
not.' So he went, and when he saw the king's false beard he
said: 'Why, O king, have you put that beard on your face?
THE PRINCE AND THE VIZIER'S SON
201
1
Last night I brought you nothing, even as you commanded
me. Have you seen it?' Then thought the king to himself:
'This fellow must be an owl. He put bells on my ankles,
and a halter round my neck, and now he wants to know why
I have a false beard ; and sometimes he gave me a crack with
his tongs, and made me dance and set the bells jingling, and
cried out : “See how pretty she is; see how pretty she is !”
And after all this he wants to know if I have seen nothing !'
Then the man said to the vizier : 'Did you show the king
that nothing I brought in last night?'
* Yes,' answered the vizier; 'the king has seen it, and I have
seen it.'
So the man claimed his discharge, which the king gave
him, and he and his wife went to their own place.
‘And will you, O king,' said the old vizier, ‘visit that lady
again ?'
' God forbid !' answered he, holding his ear. 'Never shall
I approach her house again. Whoever made that woman,
never in the world made any woman like her.'
..
0
But, as for the merchant and his wife, those two lived in
peace for the rest of their days.
202
THE FAMINE AND THE WEAVER.
XLVIII.
THE FAMINE AND THE WEAVER.
A GREAT famine was once raging in the land, and the
villagers died in hundreds. A certain weaver was riding
along, and he, seeing the numbers of unburied corpses, and
hearing the cries of the survivors, who besought him for a
morsel of bread, addressed himself to Heaven, and ex-
claimed : O God, if you have not food enough to give your
children, why are you so simple as to bring so many of
them into the world?'
XLIX.
THE TWO WEAVERS AND THE GRASSHOPPERS.
Two weavers took guns, and went out for a day's sport. As
they passed through the fields, one of them espied an
immense grasshopper sitting on a madâr plant, which, as
they approached, flew on to the shoulder of his companion.
See, see, there he is!' cried he, and, levelling his piece, he
shot his friend through the heart.
L.
THE PATHAN AND THE PLUMS.
There is a certain small black plum grown in the Hazâra
district called the umlôk, which, when dried, looks like a
species of black beetle. One day a Pathán stopped in a
bazaar and bought some of them, laying them in a corner of
his loonghee (turban). As he went along he took out a
handful, in which there chanced to be one of these beetles
alive, and the little creature, feeling the pressure of the
SHISHAT KHAN OF LAHORE.
203
man's hand, began buzzing and squealing. But the Pathán,
determined to be deprived of no portion of his money's
worth, said: 'Friend, you may buzz, or, friend, you may
squeal, but in the measure you came, and in the measure
you'll go.'
Saying which, he clapped the whole handful, plums and
beetle together, into his mouth and devoured them.
0
LI.
SHISHAT KHAN OF LAHORE.
WA
AN
White
N the time of the Great Moguls of
Delhi, whose Indian Empire in-
cluded so many vast possessions,
there lived a governor at the
city of Lahore whose name was
Shishat Khan. His reputation
was by no means good, for he
oppressed the poor people under
his rule, and exacted from all
classes heavy taxes, while his
private life of luxury and pride was a notorious disgrace to
his name and to his high office.
Now in Lahore there also lived at that time a certain
couple who though poor were respectable. They earned a
scanty living by the sale of glass bangles which they hawked
about to the houses of the rich. One day they found them-
selves below the palace of the governor. 'Bangles for sale !
Bangles for sale! Who'll buy glass bangles ?' cried they.
These words were heard by a lady who was sitting at a
closed lattice belonging to the apartments of the zenana, and
she sent her slave-girl to bid the woman come up and
exhibit her wares. The poor woman, who was both young
and beautiful, followed the messenger, and presently she
was ushered into the presence of the lady herself. But
204
SHISHAT KHAN OF LAHORE.
it happened that Shishat Khan at that very time was sitting
there with his three wives, of whom the lady at the lattice
was one. He, when the bangle woman had salaamed and
sat down on the ground to unfold her bangles, having looked
on her beauty with admiring eyes, said to her, “Is there any-
one else with you, or are you alone ?'
'My husband is with me,' answered she. • He is standing
in the street below.'
Call him hither!' said the governor.
· God forbid,' exclaimed the poor woman, putting up her
hands, 'that my husband should set foot in the king's zenana!'
Call the man up!' then said the governor in a voice of
authority to the slave-girl, who instantly left the room for
the purpose of obeying his orders.
Descending to the gates, the girl summoned the husband
to the presence of the governor, and led him through many
apartments richly and luxuriously furnished, until at last
they came to the door of the principal apartment of all.
There the man hesitated.
'So far I have come,' said he, but farther I dare not
intrude.'
The slave-girl, finding persuasions in vain, passed through
the door, and made her report.
Come in !' cried the governor to the man. 'Come in
instantly !
The poor bangle man then entered into the presence of
the governor and of the five assembled women.
What relation is this woman to you?' asked the
governor.
'My lord, she is my wife,' said he.
' Look you,' said Shishat Khan; 'here are my three wives.
Choose one of them—which you please—and hand over
your wife to me. This, however, he said, not that he really
meant it, but to find an excuse if possible for doing away
with the husband of the poor woman on whom he had
fixed his fancy. But the bangle seller, putting up his hands
in the usual attitude of supplication, said, O my lord, my
wife is poor, and has to work hard for her living, but these
three are ladies!' Then the governor pretended to fly into
6
C
SHISHAT KHAN OF LAHORE.
205
a great rage, and, hunting the man out of the palace, took
possession of his wife, who, as she loved her husband dearly,
was in not less distress than himself.
So the poor man went away bemoaning his fate, but still
quite determined to leave no stone unturned to recover his
lost wife. He betook himself to the camp outside the city,
and told his story to certain of the soldiers. · This governor,'
said he, ' has seized my wife by force and wrong. Can you
not rescue her?'
'We cannot help you at present,' said one of the soldiers,
'but go you to the King of Delhi and tell your story to him,
or if you are afraid to do that, go to Rawal Pindi, to the
house of the great saint Shah Chumchirrāg, and see what
he can do for you.'
The bangle seller listened to this advice, but considering
that Delhi was too distant, and that he might never be per-
mitted to approach the person of the king, he said, “I will
go to Rawal Pindi,' and that evening he started on the journey.
It was not many days before he arrived, and going straight
to the squalid hut of the saint, he found him sitting over a
little fire, for the weather was cold. The bangle seller put up
his hands and began his petition, telling the whole of his
story, how that he was a poor man, and that the wicked
governor of Lahore had seized his wife, and had retained
her in his palace. When he had ended, the old man
answered roughly, 'Do you think I have troops at my com-
mand to assist you against a governor? You should have
taken your petition to the King of Delhi,' and he turned
his back and went into his hut.
The bangle man, repelled and disappointed, was turning
away, and, indeed, had gone some paces, when the fakeer
suddenly cried, “Wait, wait ! Don't go away just yet
t!'
Then the fakeer took out a scrap of paper, and upon it
he wrote the following words:
LETTER WRITTEN BY SHAH CHUMCHIRRAG TO SHISHAT KHAN.
Let us eat and let us drink,
Yet of God let us think,
The swing in the end must sever !
What is it though we rise
At a bound to the skies?
We cannot swing on for ever !
206
SHISHAT KHAN OF LAHORE.
*
All our pomp and all our pride,
Must for aye be laid aside,
The Guest of the Grave enjoys it never.
"Take this letter,' said the saint, 'to the Governor of
Lahore, and your wife will be restored to you.'
Joyfully the poor man received it, and his impatience was
such that he would scarcely stop for refreshment. When he
reached Lahore he heard that the governor had gone out
for a day's hawking, but he went to the palace, and giving
the letter into the hands of one of the chief officers, he
escaped as quickly as he could to his own house, fearing lest
he should be seized and instantly thrown into prison.
When the governor returned home in the evening, he
retired as usual to his zenana 'to enjoy the conversation of
his wives. As the moon was shining and the night was fair
he was sitting with them on the roof of his house listening
to the strains of one hundred hidden musicians, and the
wife of the bangle seller, who had never ceased to pine for
her husband, was sitting disconsolate at his feet. Just then
one of the palace slave-girls entered, and said, “Here is a
letter for your Highness, brought from Rawal Pindi by
Kereem the bangle seller.'
'Read it aloud !' said the governor. So the woman, who
was very accomplished, as people of her class usually are,
read out the letter of Shah Chumchirrāg. When the
governor heard it, and as soon as he understood that he
was listening to the rebukes of Shah Chumchirrāg, the great
prophet of his time, a sudden tremor seized on his whole
body, his colour came and went, his eyes started, and, before
any assistance could reach him, he fell backwards from the
terrace into the courtyard below and broke his neck.
So died Shishat Khan, by the judgment of God, and in
the commotion and confusion which instantly succeeded the
bangle woman contrived to escape from the palace, and,
joining her husband, she and he both set out that night for
another town, where they dwelt for the rest of their lives in
happiness and security.
* The good man's letter is in verse also in the original.
THE PHILOSOPHIC BANERWÂL.
207
LII.
THE PHILOSOPHIC BANERWÂL.
A BANERWÂL said to his wife one night : 'Man is but a bird,
without wings !'
· How is that ? asked the woman.
* Do you not see?' answered he. 'Yesterday you were
squatting on this side of the oven, and I was crouching on
Bay
Ita
HINI U:
the other. And this is the state of man: one day perched
here, another day perched there, always on the hop, never
abiding in the one place. Truly, man is only a bird without
wings.'
LIII.
OF GOD AND THE NOBLEMAN.
A CERTAIN poor weaver, naked and hungry, was sitting
shivering by the roadside, when a great man passed by,
followed by a large retinue of servants, who were well
mounted, well clothed, and well fed.
'O God ! exclaimed the beggar, ' if you would know how
to treat your servants properly, you should come here and
learn it from this noble gentleman !'
208
THE NINE-KILLING KHAN.
LIV.
THE NINE-KILLING KHAN.
With
N a certain village there once lived
a poor weaver, who one day
said to his wife: I work long
and hard, and you feed me with
dry bread Why do you not
bake my bread sometimes with
a little butter?'
His wife, thus reminded, set
to work, and baked her husband
some cakes with abundance of
melted butter and sugar, and the weaver rested for an hour
to enjoy the feast with her.
When he had satisfied his appetite, he wiped his greasy
hands on his bare arins and resumed his work; but the sun
being warm, and his hands and arms covered with butter,
swarms of flies began to gather about him. Irritated by
their attacks, he suddenly ran his right hand along his left
arm, and killed nine of them at a stroke. "See,' said he to
his wiſe, 'what havoc I have made at a stroke! From this
day forward you must call me Nomâr Khan' (i.e., the nine-
killing prince).
'What is the good,' answered his wife, 'of my calling you
Nomâr Khan here? Here you are only the village-
weaver, and everyone knows it. Nay, let us set out for
some other country, where you will not be known at all,
and then I will call you Nomâr Khan. '
So the two put together a few trifles for their journey,
and left their native village to seek their fortune. After
travelling many a league, they at last came to a strange
town, where the husband said to the people: 'I have
come here to look for employment.'
And what are you called ?' asked they.
My name,' answered he, 'is Nomâr Khan, the nine-
killing prince.
The news of the arrival of so redoubtable a warrior was
6
THE NINE-KILLING KHAN.
209
at once carried to the king, who was beyond measure glad,
saying to his ministers : 'Conduct this man to my presence.
It will be an excellent thing to have such a hero in our
service. He will command our armies, and he will slay
the man-eating tiger, which is devastating the country.'
So the weaver was introduced into the royal presence,
and the king showed him honour and kindness. But the
ministers, who were jealous of favour lavished on a stranger,
said: 'Your majesty pays this man so much respect that
his bravery and worth must indeed be great. Send him,
therefore, to attack the band of robbers whom no man has
yet captured.'
This advice pleased the king, who at once ordered the
weaver to set out on the adventure.
Then the weaver, by no means perplexed, returned to his
wife, and said to her: 'I have a grand name, but what will
that avail me against those ferocious robbers, who are
seven in number? Make me, therefore, some poisoned
cakes, and let me capture them by guile.'
The poisoned cakes, seven in all, were accordingly made,
le 는
​Khi
CORO
u
and the weaver took them and started for the mountains ;
but he took with him no arms of any description.
As he was going along the road the thieves met him in
14
210
THE NINE-KILLING KHAN.
a body, and they said to each other : This fellow has only
a bundle. Let us set on him and see what is in it.'
When the bundle was opened, it was found to contain
exactly seven cakes, which tallied with their own number,
so each of them took one, and sitting down among the rocks,
they began to eat them. Having eaten, they drank of some
water, which was flowing close by, and then they all lay
down and died.
After a bit the weaver got down from the mountain-path
on which he had been seized, and came to see what the
fellows were about. Finding them dead, he stripped them
of their arms and accoutrements and took them into the
city and laid them at the feet of the king.
His master, when he saw the valiant weaver laden with
the spoils of war, was astonished, and said: 'But where are
your own arms ?'
'I heard,' answered the weaver, that there were only
seven of these rascals. I had, therefore, no necessity to arm
at all. If they had numbered ten or twelve, I might possibly
have girded on my sword, or, perhaps, have provided myself
with a stout stick; but for seven-never !'
The king now showed greater kindness than ever to his
new ally, and made him commander-in-chief of all his
forces, a proceeding which incensed his ministers greatly.
After a time tidings were brought in that the king of
another country was advancing with a vast army to besiege
and capture the city. Troops were at once collected to
resist the invader, and the weaver was ordered to lead them
forth to battle. Unfortunately he was no rider, having never
bestridden a horse in his life. But he was quite equal to
the occasion, for, having arrived in front of the enemy, he
said to his attendants: 'When I mount my charger, tie my
legs down with a stout rope.'
* But, sir,' objected his astonished hearers, this is a
custom which is never observed either in peace or war. We
never tie the legs of our riders.
'Oh, but I am the Nine-killing Khan ! cried he. “When-
ever I see the enemy, I am perfectly mad to rend them--
yea, to devour them; and no horse in the world can charge
fast enough for me! Therefore, tie down my legs.'
THE NINE-KILLING KHAN.
21 I
So his legs were bound under his horse's girths, and when
the troops charged, he galloped furiously with loose rein
towards the ranks of the enemy. Coming to a tree, he laid
hold of one of its branches, but so great was his impetus
that the whole tree came up by the roots, and the enemy,
perceiving it aloft over his head, imagined that he was a
giant, or some being of supernatural power; and being
seized with a panic, they all threw away their arms and fled
dismayed from the field.
The brave Nomâr Khan now returned, and when he had
ordered his legs to be untied, he dismounted in the midst of
the acclamations of the army. The king was enchanted,
and, sending for an elephant, he had him carried back to the
city in state; but the jealousy of the ministers increased
ever inore and more.
News was now brought in that the man-eating tiger had
visited a neighbouring village and carried off some of the
inhabitants, and the ministers advised that Nomâr Khan
should be sent forth to bring in the animal's head.
'Nomâr,' said the king, 'go forth now and capture the
tiger !
The weaver, nothing daunted, first returned to his own
house to consult his wife; but as he entered his door he saw
the tiger lurking outside.
• Wife!' bellowed he with a loud voice, 'I am now going
to kill the tiger !
'Nay,' said she; 'stay at home. The night is cold and
wet.'
What do I care for the cold or the wet ?' cried he. I
don't care for the wet, and I don't care for the tiger, but I
do care for the drip, drip, dripping of the rain from the roof
of my house. Tigers ? Fiddlesticks !'
The tiger's spirit was so cowed by the valiant words of
this famous hero that he stood stock-still with fright, and
then slunk away with his tail between his legs and hid him-
self in an outhouse. Instantly the valiant weaver pulled
the door to, put up the chain, and secured it with a padlock,
after which his wife and himself went to bed and slept pro-
foundly.
14--2
212
THE NINE-KILLING KHAN.
Next day he waited on the king his master, and made his
report.
* What arms had you?' inquired the king.
'No arms needed, your highness,' answered Nomâr Khan.
'I merely laid hold of the savage beast by the two ears,
threw him over my shoulder, and clapped him into one of
my sheds. Therefore let your troops now go down and
capture him alive.
So the king sent his ministers and a regiment of soldiers
all armed to the teeth, who fought the tiger, having burned
him out, and thus at last the beast was takeni, paraded and
caged.
The fortunate weaver, invested with more honours than
ever, now became the king's favourite companion, and lived
in happiness, prosperity and renown all his days.
LV.
THE SILVERSMITH AND HIS MOTHER'S
BANGLE
1...•.*111 Itx114
BE
MIMU. munca
Wie
HD
SILVERSMITHS as a class bear a bad reputation for mixing
up an undue quantity of alloy in the silver of their customers.
THE SILVERSMITH AND HIS MOTHER'S BANGLE. .213
There was once a silversmith who, in a moment of dis-
interestedness, promised his mother that he would give her
a bangle which should contain nothing but pure silver.
“You are my mother,' said he, “and I, as your son, who
owe you so much, cannot do less.'
So he cast a bangle for his mother out of unmixed silver,
and when it was finished he stored it up for her and went
to bed. But he was quite unable to get a wink of sleep.
He turned from side to side, and moaned and fretted in
torment, frequently exclaiming : 'Ah, that wretched bangle !
What a simpleton was I to make a bangle without alloy!'
At last he could stand it no longer, so he got up, lighted
his lamp, and did not rest until, having melted down the
silver once more, he had recast it with a considerable ad-
mixture of base metal. Then, with a conscience purged of
offence, he returned to his deserted couch, and in an instant
he was asleep, while a fat smile of pleasure and contentment
betokened the satisfaction of his mind.
LVI.
HOW A WOMAN COULD NOT KEEP A SECRET.
а.
Mimi
NCE upon a time there was
certain weaver who became so
indigent and poor that he went
to a grain-seller and borrowed
forty rupees. 'If I do not return
within a year,' said he, 'take my
house and all it contains—they
are yours.
So the weaver wandered off
over the hills, and in a lonely
place he saw a light, and going to it, he found there a man
sitting on the ground. He sat by his side, but the man
spoke never a word. At last the weaver said: 'Why, man,
can't you speak? Say something, at least. Do you not see
I am a stranger ?'
214
HOW A WOMAN COULD NOT KEEP A SECRET.
6
My fee,' answered the man, “is twenty rupees. Hand
me twenty rupees, and I will speak.'
The weaver counted out twenty rupees and gave them to
him, eagerly waiting to see the result. But all the man said
was: 'Friend, when four men give you advice, take it.'
Said the weaver to himself: 'I have only twenty rupees
left, and if I venture on another question I shall lose that,
too ! But a weaver's curiosity is very great, so he counted
out his balance, handed it to the man, and said: 'Speak
again.
Then the man spoke a second time, and what he said was
this: 'Whatever happens to you—even if you rob, steal, or
murder-never breathe a word of it to your wife.'
Soon after the weaver took up his wallet and trudged
along until he came to another desolate place, and there he
saw four men sitting on the ground round a corpse.
Whither away?' said they.
'I am going to that village across the river,' answered he.
' Do an act of charity,' said they. 'We were carrying this
body to the river. Take it up, as you are going that way,
and throw it in for us.'
Immediately they laid the corpse on his bare back and
started him off. But as he went along he felt the most
horrid pricking across his loins. In the name of God,' he
cried, what is this corpse doing? Are these knives or
needles?' He could not stop to lay the corpse down,
because it was a fat corpse, and he would never have been
able to get it up again. So he went on groaning to the
river, dropped it on the bank, and began to examine it.
What was his surprise to find fastened round the waist of
the corpse numbers of little bags filled with diamonds! He
at once pounced on them, threw the corpse into the river,
and started for home. Arriving in all safety, he paid off the
grain-seller, presenting him as well with five gold mohurs,
bought a handsome mare and a nice saddle, hired servants
and took to fine clothes, and lived on roast fowl and rice-
pudding every day.
In the same village the lumbardâr was a man well-to-do
in the world, and he, noticing the style in which his humble
HOW A WOMAN COULD NOT KEEP A SECRET. .
215
friend lived, sent his wife to gossip with the weaver's
wife.
'Not long ago,' she began, 'I used to give you cotton to
spin for me, and now what a lady you are! However, I am
now your friend. Your husband I see has bought a mare
and a handsome saddle, and he has a servant to follow him.
Where did he get all the money? You might tell me.'
'Indeed I don't know,' answered the woman.
That night the wretched weaver had no rest. 'Tell me,'
said his wife again and again, 'where you went to, and how
you got all that money. '
'No, no,' answered he, 'I can't tell you. The best thing
you can do is not to tease me, as, once you know the secret,
it will be told everywhere, for women are like sieves.
The next morning he went out half dead with worry, and
when he returned for his food, he found his wife still asleep,
and nothing ready. 'Get up, wife,' cried he; 'get up, I
want my breakfast.
Why should I get up ?' said she. What kind of husband
are you, and what kind of wife do you take me for? You
treat me like a child, and tell me nothing.'
'Best for you not to know,' replied he.
“Yes, but tell me,' said she. “Not a word shall pass my
lips.'
"Well,' said he, I was told on my travels that if I drank
half a pint of mustard-oil in the morning, when I got up, I
should see treasure everywhere.'
In the course of the day in came her friend, and the
woman laughs and says: 'Oh, I have found out everything, ,
I have found out everything!
What is it?-quick, tell me!' said the lumbardâr's wife.
'My husband says,' answered she, that when he drinks
half a pint of mustard-oil he sees all the treasures buried by
the old kings, so I advise you to give your husband and your
six children half a pint each, and drink some yourself, and
you will see treasure, too.'
The woman at once ran home, bought some mustard-oil,
and at night persuades her whole family to drink it, though
she took none herself. In the morning she rushes into their
216
HOW A WOMAN COULD NOT KEEP A SECRET.
rooms and cries, 'Get up, get up, and look for treasure !'
but, alack! she finds them all lying dead and stiff.
Now, when the king heard of this, he called for her, and all
she could say was: 'The weaver's wife deceived me, and
told me to do it. But the weaver's wife denied it, saying :
'I never told her. I expect she is carrying on with some
low fellow, and, not to be interfered with, she got rid of her
husband and children.' So the lumbardâr's wife was hanged,
and so ends the story, all the trouble having been caused by
a woman who could not keep a secret.
LVII.
THE STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE
BRAHMIN.
HERE was once a Brahmin who
had two sons.
But the Brahmin
was very old, and his sons were
unlettered and ignorant. So the
old man began to think: 'My
sons are so ignorant that they
cannot even recite the creeds and
the prayers on which we beggars
depend for our daily food. How
will they live? Who will give
them a morsel of food when I am taken away
?' The
thought of this preyed on his mind, and gradually rendered
him silent and desponding.
One day he was sitting at a shop in the bazaar, brooding
over his troubles, when a fakeer came up, and, seeing him
su sad and wobegone, he began to ask him the reason.
Why are you so deep in thought ?' said he.
'For no reason,' said the Brahmin ; 'there is nothing the
matter.'
• Nay, but there is,' replied the fakeer.
STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN. 217
6
• But even if I were to tell you,' said the Brahmin, 'you
could not divide my sorrows with me.'
"You are mistaken,' returned the fakeer. 'I am a fakeer.
Therefore tell me your trouble.'
Well,' said the Brahmin, 'my only trouble is this: I ain
old and not likely to live. My sons are untaught and
ignorant. They cannot say even a creed, and when I die
they must both starve.
• Nay,' said the fakeer, 'not so bad as that, not so bad as
that. Listen to me, and I will make you an offer. You say
you have two sons who want training. Hand them over to
nie for a year and I will be their tutor, if only at the end of
the year you will agree to give me one of the boys, keeping
the other for yourself.'
This proposal seemed so reasonable to the Brahmin that
he joyfully accepted it, and, rising up, he led the way to his
home. There he introduced the boys to their future master,
and the fakeer took them away to his own village. But both
the Brahmin and the fakeer had quite omitted to specify
ht
; 1113
ht
will
which of the sons was to be the property of the fakeer at the
end of the year.
It was the habit of the fakeer to sit at the door of his
218 STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN.
miserable hut, where he had two hookahs for all passers
who chose to stop and smoke hubble-bubble. Very few
thought of passing without giving him alms, and by this
means he was able to provide food for himself and the
two boys, and he had ample time as well for teaching them
their letters. Very soon it became apparent to him that of
his two pupils the younger developed far greater intelligence
than his elder brother, so to him the fakeer determined to
communicate all the secrets and the arts of fakeers, such as
witchcraft, magic, and soothsaying, while he taught the elder
only such ordinary knowledge as was suitable to poor
Brahmins.
When the year was up the fakeer said to the boys : Now
come along with me. Let us go and visit your father. So
they set out together, and came and put up in the town
where the children's father and mother were living. The
next morning the younger boy asked the fakeer's permission
to go and see his parents, to which the fakeer agreed, and
both brothers took their way to their old home. When the
younger son had greeted his father, who was overjoyed to
see them both, he whispered to him : ‘Remember, father,
when you choose between us, you are to choose me.'
In a few minutes the fakeer himself arrived, and said:
'Brahmin, you see I have fulfilled my side of the bargain.
Now let me choose which of the two I shall have.'
Nay,' said the Brahmin, 'I will choose for you. Take
the elder; the younger is mine.'
But the fakeer would not have this on any account.
'Nay, master,' said he, 'the younger boy I love ; let me have
him.' So there arose a dispute between the two men, the
father and the teacher, until at last, after much argument,
they agreed to call in arbitrators to settle their differences.
When the arbitrators had entered the room, the Brahmin
addressed them, explained to them all the circumstances of
the case, and concluded by saying: 'I have decided to retain
my younger son for myself, but do you judge between us.'
Upon this the neighbours turned to the fakeer and said,
'It is evident that both the boys are the sons of the Brahmin;
therefore, do you take the elder and be satisfied.” But the
STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN. 219
fakeer flew into a rage, and cried : ‘The younger is mine; I
will have him or none ! I will have him or none !' Saying
this, he instantly left the Brahmin's house, muttering a
dreadful revenge.
After a day or two, said the father to his younger son,
You advised me to choose you, and you I have chosen.
But know we are poor and destitute, and you must help us
to live.'
'Father,' answered the lad, 'I know something of magic.
If you will trust to me, we shall have no lack of money.
This very night I will enter the empty house on the opposite
Moi!! 11. 41.'1/1
ret
Ukuta
moi
Inti DottienniMTU
Ninettulitri
1
Fah
side of the street. You shall see me enter, but you must not
follow me till the morning, and then you will find there a
bullock tied. Him you must lead out, and sell him for not
less than a hundred rupees; but remember, you are not to
part with the headstall, and, above all, beware of the
fakeer.'
In the evening the boy entered the empty hut, as he had
said, and the next morning it was found that a fine bullock
had been brought into the world by his magic.
When the Brahmin had examined him, he untied him and
led him by the rope into the market-place for sale.
220 STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN.
'What is the price of your bullock ?' cried half a dozen
voices at once.
'One hundred rupees without the headstall,' answered the
Brahmin.
After some discussion a farmer counted out one hundred
rupees, and bought the bullock. But you must give up the
headstall as well,' said the people. The Brahmin, however,
refused to part with it, and the purchaser then agreed to buy
another.
Then the Brahmin, taking off the headstall, laid it on his
shoulder, and turned himself homewards. After a time he
missed the headstall from his shoulder. He supposed it to
have fallen, but as it was useless to search for it then, he
continued his way. Arriving at his house, he said: 'Son, I
have sold the bullock, and, see, here are the hundred rupees.
But, alas! by some misadventure I have lost the headstall.'
'Don't be distressed, father,' answered the son ; 'I was
myself the headstall, and you see I have found my way back
all right.
flutt
til
TAW
Now
Unimninni
The Brahmin, who had been wretchedly poor, was now
rich enough to pay off his debts, and to live in less discomfort.
But as the money was not inexhaustible it was soon spent,
and then he had to apply to his son once more.
STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN. 221
‘Always depend on my power,' said the boy, 'and you will
never need.'
In a few days he took his father aside, and revealed to him
another scheme. “To-night I shall again go into the empty
hut and shut the door. In the morning you will find there
a handsome horse. · Take him and sell him for not less than
one hundred rupees, but remember you are not to part with
the bridle, and, above all, beware of the fakeer, who is still
lurking somewhere in the village. He is the master of
magic, but I am only the pupil.'
Early before sunrise the Brahmin opened the door of the
house, and saw before him a beautiful riding-horse bridled.
Leading him forth, he mounted on his back, and rode him
into the market-place to sell him.
· How much ?' cried the people.
'One hundred rupees without the bridle,' said he.
Now, the fakeer himself happened to be one of the crowd
assembled about the horse.
Laying aside his bag, and
retaining his staff, he began to walk round the animal as
if to observe its points; and as soon as he saw that the
Brahmin was absorbed in making terms with the dealers, he
suddenly lifted his staff and struck the horse a violent blow
222 STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN.
on the back. The horse sprang several feet into the air,
unhorsed the Brahmin, and instantly galloped away, while
the fakeer ran after him at the top of his speed. As he ran
in pursuit, he kept crying out,' My young fellow, I was the
making of you. You know it. It seldom happens that the
moustaches grow longer than the beard. How far do you
intend to make me run-two miles, three miles ? Because
in the end you simply cannot escape me. I am the master.'
Hearing these words, the lad in the shape of the bridle
began to consider that escape was impossible under these
conditions, and compelled the horse to stop short. Then, by
the power of his magic art, the horse suddenly vanished, and
the boy himself became a dove.
* Ho! ho !' said the fakeer. “You turned yourself into a
bridle, and you are now a pigeon. But do you not know that
I can become a hawk?' And the fakeer, in the form of a
hawk, gave instant chase. The poor dove wheeled, and
turned now here, now there---sometimes in the open, some-
times in the tangled wood, until at last he found that it was
all of no avail. He would have been struck down by his
pursuer if he had not happened to arrive at a lake, when,
changing the form of a dove, he became a fish and dropped
into the water.
STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN. 223
>
'Ha! ha!' laughed the fakeer. ' A horse, a pigeon, and
now a fish!
But what is the use ? I shall now become an
alligator, and you cannot possibly escape, for I will devour
every fish in the lake.
So the fakeer then changed himself from a hawk into an
alligator, and in that shape he raged through the waters of
the placid lake, eating voraciously every fish he could find.
At last he came to the dark creek where his pupil was hiding,
and peering in he made a hideous dart at him. But in
extremity of despair his intended victim made one final
effort, and succeeded in leaping on to the bank, whence,
perceiving that the corpse of a man was hanging from the
branch of a tree, he transformed himself into a mosquito, and
hid himself in the dead man's nostrils. Out now came the
alligator, having observed the whole proceeding, and resum-
ing his original form of a man, he took up a small piece of
soft clay, and with it he stopped up the nostrils of the corpse,
being determined that this time there should be no escape.
He then slid down from the tree, and squatted on the ground
beneath to consider how he should next proceed. Just then
there passed by a respectable countryman riding on a horse,
to whom the fakeer cried out, “O beloved of God, give me, I
pray you, a little cloth.
224 STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN.
'I can give you but little,' answered the traveller. “Why
do you not go into the town, where Ali the merchant lives?
He is rich, and gives away freely of everything.'
So I shall,' said the fakeer; 'but, meanwhile, I am
begging from you.' The man, thus appealed to, handed to the
fakeer a piece of linen, and continued his journey. This
linen the fakeer tore into three slips, and climbing the tree
once more, he tied up the corpse's head, binding it round
over the nostrils with the linen slips, so that the mosquito
could not possibly force his way out. Having done this he
came down. Now I shall visit Ali, said he. And without
more delay to Ali's house he went, and took up a position
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with other beggars outside the door. By-and-by Ali the
merchant came out and sat down to his prayers. As soon
as he appeared the fakeer approached him and put up his
joined hands, as beggars always do. 'O Ali,' said he, 'your
name and your liberality are spoken of everywhere. From
a distant land I have travelled to see you, but just now I
want your help, for God's sake, in a matter of importance.'
When Ali had looked at him, and perceived that he was
a fakeer, he answered, “My goods are your goods. If you
want a horse, speak; I will give it you, or money or clothes.'
STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN. 225
..
'I want neither horse, nor money, nor yet clothes,' replied
the fakeer. 'I only want you to do me a small favour.
For God's sake promise me that you will do it.'
Of course,' said Ali, 'I will oblige you, and it is not
necessary for you to invoke the name of God so much.
Why do you do it, when you see I do not refuse ?"
'Never mind,' said the fakeer, 'come aside and hear my
story.'
So the fakeer took simple Ali the merchant apart and
said, 'For God's sake, my friend, perform this favour for
You are a Hindoo, I am a Mussulman. In a certain
spot there is a body hanging from a tree. Go yourself, cut
it down, and bring it here to me.'
"Oh, what a difficult task you have set me!' cried the mer-
chant. 'I certainly cannot do this thing in the daytime;
what would the people say? Still, for your sake, and as I
me.
Xr1n futu...
1
have passed my word, and because you are a fakeer, I will
go at night and bring the body in to you.'
When darkness had set in, Ali mounted his horse and
rode out of the town, and when he had arrived at the spot
indicated he dismounted and began, in spite of his unwieldy
bulk, to climb up the tree. When he got within reach he
15
226 STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN.
cut the rope with a knife which he had been holding between
his teeth, and down fell the corpse with a thud. He then
descended, thinking to take up the body in order to set it on
his horse, and so to carry it back to the town. But, lo!
when he got to the ground he was astounded to perceive
that the corpse was once more hanging from the same
branch. Believing that he had made some mistake, he again
swarmed up the tree, and again cut down the body.. But
precisely the same thing was repeated, for as soon as he had
reached the ground the corpse was seen to be still dangling
from the bough. A third time he essayed his difficult task,
and the third time this extraordinary corpse resumed his
position in the tree. Ali now began to feel seriously
alarmed. “There is something wrong here !' cried he. And
getting on his horse, he rode swiftly back to the town.
When the fakeer, who had been looking out for him, saw
that he had not brought in the body, he began to reproach
him.
"What!' said he, you could not do for a poor fakeer
such a trifling service as that?'
* The blame is not mine,' said the merchant. The corpse
is bewitched. Every time I cut it down it jumped up again
into the tree, and there it is hanging now !'
. Ali !' replied the fakeer, 'if this had been so easy a
thing, I should have brought in the corpse myself. But, as
you say, there is magic in it !
O Ali ! to me you are a
king, though only a merchant; and a king you shall really
be if you will only bring in that body! And now remember
my directions. First, do not dismount from your horse;
and next, for God's sake, contrive so to manage as that the
corpse shall fall on the horse and not on the ground.
With these instructions, Ali set out again; and coming
to the tree, he called upon God, and cut the string. He
had so stationed himself that the corpse fell in front of him
on the horse's withers. So he settled it evenly, with his
stirrup-leathers, and then, uttering a sigh of relief, he started
once more for the town.
As he went along, Ali cast his eye over this singular
corpse, and began to address it with playful humour: “Now,
>
:
STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN. 227
Ti
ite
0:11
here you are,' said he, ' a dead body, though how long dead
I don't know. Pretty tricks, indeed! I wonder how you
managed to get up into that tree again and again !'
Hardly had he
spoken the words,
when the dead body
began to quiver and
shake and wriggle as
if it had ague. See-
ing this, Ali seized
it, and held on to it
with all his strength.
But he held on in
vain, for the body
easily shook itself off
the horse, and in
another second it
was suspended once
more from the branch
of the tree.
"The devil!' mut-.
tered Ali. But he
was in no mood to
turn back that night,
for the sky was dark
and murky, and his mind misgave him. So he made the
best of his way back to his home.
When the fakeer saw that he had returned a second
time without the body, he began to reproach him once more.
'O Ali!' said he, 'what, no body yet? How is this?
For God's sake, tell me!'
'Why are you perpetually calling on the name of God ?'
said Ali peevishly. 'Listen, and judge if I am to blame.'
Then Ali related to the fakeer the whole of his adven-
ture.
'I see how it is,' said the fakeer; the body is certainly
bewitched. I knew that before; but, Ali, the next time
you are not to open your mouth to speak a single word to
it on any account whatever.'
15-2
228 STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN.
The night following Ali again saddled his horse, and
rode out to the fatal tree. He acted precisely as on the
last occasion, and, with the body balanced in front of him,
he began his journey to the town. As he rode along, the body
began to mutter and to appeal to soft-hearted Ali's feelings.
'O Ali!' moaned he, 'we all know you to be a great
man, wise and prudent, and of excellent judgment. For
God's sake, then, halt a moment until I ask you a question!'
So Ali pulled up his horse in the moonlight, for the
night was fair, and then the corpse resumed his speech:
· Listen,' said the corpse; ‘I'll tell you a story of a
frightful tyranny, a piece of consummate cruelty, which has
been witnessed in this very country. There is a certain
Brahmin. The Brahmin's family consists of four persons :
Hit
I'
uu
himself, his wife, his son, and his daughter. What the
mother orders, the daughter does not obey; and what the
father orders, the son does not obey. In the midst of all this
domestic disunion, the daughter grows up and becomes
marriageable. Without consulting with his wife, the father
goes out to the house of a neighbour, betroths his daughter
to a certain youth, and receives for her a hundred rupees.
The marriage is fixed for the fifteenth day after the be-
STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN. 229
trothal. Having done this, he returns home; but he keeps
the business secret from every member of his family.
· About the same time the mother also goes out, and
betroths her daughter to someone else, and she also receives
one hundred rupees for her. Then she comes home; but
she also keeps her deed a secret from the rest of her family.
'After a day or two, the son thinks to himself, “It is
time now for my sister to be married. I had better go and
get her betrothed somewhere." So he goes to the house of
one of his friends, and betroths her to an acquaintance,
receiving a hundred rupees for her, and fixing the same
day for the wedding as his father and mother had chosen.
Then he, too, comes home; but he takes care not to breathe
a word of the matter to anyone.
On the morning of the wedding-day the father gets up,
and, going to the bazaar, he buys five rupees' worth of rice
and curry-stuffs, which he brings back with him to the
house. When his wife sees him entering with such a
quantity of food, she asks: “What is all this rice for ?" ”
"“ This is our daughter's wedding-day,'” answers the
Brahmin. “The guests will all assemble here this evening,
and this rice is for their entertainment."
""Alas !” exclaims the wife ; "something dreadful has
happened. I also have betrothed our daughter, and this is
the day fixed for the wedding. My friends will also be here
this evening.'
She has no sooner spoken these words than the son enters
the door, and says:
"Why, father, why are all these pre-
parations ?"!
““It is your sister's wedding-day,” answers his father. "I
have betrothed her, and the guests will be here to-night."
“Sir,” replies the son, “ I also fixed this day as the day
of
my sister's wedding, and the guests whom I have invited
will also be here immediately.'
' After hearing these heavy tidings they all sit down in
silence and await the issue of events. By-and-by the three
grooms and the whole of the three parties of invited guests
arrive at the house, and begin to ask for explanations.
' Now, the poor young girl herself knows nothing of these
230 STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN.
and says:
Ulei
FIORISMI
arrangements. She is playing innocently with some of her
companions in the court, when one of them who has over-
heard the angry expostulations of the guests runs to her
“ Your father and your mother and your brother
have engaged you to three different persons : to-day is your
wedding-day, and all those people are the guests."
* The daughter now thinks to herself: “ Can this be so ?
But if I go with the man of my father's choice, my mother and
brother will be angry. Neither can I consent to marry any of
the others. Let me go and see whether this can be true.”
'So she goes to her mother, and learns what fatal mistakes
have been made.
Beginning to weep,
the poor girl says
to herself: "What's
Hallodili
to be done now?
Better die than sur-
vive this disgrace.
If I leap from the
house-top it will be
all over, and my
troubles will end."
And she mounts the
outer steps and
throws herself
down, but life is
extinct before her
body reaches the
ground. Her play-
mates, seeing this
catastrophe, cry out:
“Alas, alas! help!
your daughter has
killed herself!” And the whole assembly comes rushing
to the spot. But it is too late. The child lies upon the
ground with her eyes open, but her spirit has gone for ever.
Such is the mournful end of an innocent girl!
* This,' continued the corpse, 'is the tyranny to which I
referred as going on in this country. And now, O merchant,
answer, what have you to say to it?'
un UVYS
STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN. 231
As Ali had been adjured in the name of God, he felt bound
to answer. Besides, in his indignation, he had utterly
forgotten all about the fakeer.
'My opinion is this,' said he. “The unhappy girl saved
her whole family from well-merited disgrace. That is my
reply'
As soon as the merchant had finished speaking, the corpse
began to shake as before, and in another minute it fell, glided
rapidly over the earth, and once more it hung itself up in
the tree.
By this time it was close upon dawn, and the astonished
-
DO
Ali, not willing to be seen near so unlucky a spot in the
light of day, hastened away home. As soon as he appeared,
the fakeer again began to upbraid him. 'Such a trifle it is,
O Ali,' said he, which I ask of you, and all in the name of
God! Have you not accomplished it yet?'
O fakeer, do not be hard on me,' answered Ali. Have
I not passed my word ? If it cost me my head, that wretched
corpse I am determined to bring to you.'
At the close of day, Ali the merchant once more rode
forth to try his luck on the bewitched corpse. He arrived
at the tree, cut down the body, settled it on the horse, and
232 STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN.
men.
set off for the town once more. He had not gone half a
mile when the corpse began to wheedle and coax him again.
'O merchant,' said the body, 'you are a great man-who
can deny it? Listen to me, for I have something more to
tell you of what is going on in this country.
'In the morning her friends bathe the poor girl's dead
body, and, laying it on a stretcher, carry it away to the place
of burning. The three wedding parties now separate and
betake themselves to their homes. Not so the three young
“Let us all perish with her,” cries one, and sadly
they join in the funeral procession. When the mourners
arrive at the pile the same youth, he to whom the brother
had betrothed her, exclaims: “For me life is over. I will
ascend too."
Nay," answer the people, “ do not be foolish. A woman
might indeed make this sacrifice for a man, but a man should
know better."
· Yet when the body is laid on the top of the pile he springs
up, and sits him down beside it, wringing his hands. Then
the faggots are lighted, and in an hour this devoted couple
are burnt to ashes.
'When this is all over, the youth to whom the girl had been
betrothed by the mother collects all the charred bones
STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN. 233
together and buries them on the spot. Then he turns
fakeer, and, taking up his station there, watches by the bones
day after day, and never leaves them, excepting on those
rare occasions when he goes into the village to beg for his
food.
'When the third youth, he to whom the father betrothed
the child, witnesses all these things, he goes up to the one
who is sitting over the bones, and he says to him : “Friend,
we all loved the girl; we all had a share in her, for each
gave his hundred rupees.
The bones of one of us are
mingling with her own. You are now the guardian of her
dear remains. As for me, I shall also turn fakeer, and for
the sake of that bright one I will travel over the whole
world."
'So he dons the garb of a fakeer, and with a wallet on his
back and a staff in his hand, he starts on his travels. After
travelling many a weary mile, at last, one day towards
evening, he arrives at a village, and sees a woman spinning
at the door of a house. To her he goes forward, and says:
O mother, I have here a little flour, bake me some bread!"
'The woman merely answers, “Oh yes,” and goes on with
her spinning.
'The fakeer, being tired, sits down and waits patiently.
At last he speaks again. “Mother," says he, "the sun is now
setting. By this time I could have walked on some three or
four miles. Bake me, I pray you, a little bread."
• The woman, who was a witch, answered, “Don't be in a
hurry. Your bread shall be baked, and you shall have it
immediately."
'Saying this, she rises from her spindle, takes a handful of
dry grass, puts it in the stove, and on it she drops a little fire.
Then she catches up her little girl, who was sleeping on a couch
hard by, and puts the child's feet into the fire, and they begin
to burn and burn like dry wood, nor does the child once awake,
though the whole of her feet, almost to the knees, consume
slowly away. The fakeer looks on with speechless horror,
watching the woman baking his bread over that horrible fire.
'When the bread is quite ready, the woman enters the
house and brings out a little vase. Pouring some coloured
234 STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIA.
liquid from it into a large vessel, she fills it up with water,
and, lifting her child, she puts both her legs into the mixture.
..
ARE
Then, snatching her up once more, she lays her as before in
the bed, and covers her over with a sheet.
""O fakeer,” she cries, "come and eat. Your bread is
ready."
"“Nay, woman," answered he; “I eat not, I am a
fakeer. As for you, you are worse than a cannibal. Such
tyranny as this is outrageous !"
«« Your eyes beguile you," says she;
so this is true
bread, fit for fakeers. Come and eat it."
'As they are arguing and disputing, the husband with his
two sons approaches the spot, and cries in angry tones :
“Woman, will you never be quiet ? Whenever I come
home I find you quarrelling with fakeers. You must be
worse than human. You are a devil, and no woman at all!”
'He then turns to the fakeer and says: “Eat the bread;
eat the bread !"
No, no !' replies the fakeer. "Never shall I eat bread
which has been baked with the feet of a poor child."
"" What nonsense, man!” exclaims the husband.
it ever heard of that a child's feet could be burnt like that?
It is quite impossible.”
" Was
STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN. 235
6" But what if I saw it with my own eyes ?” says the
fakeer. " And what would you say if I prove it to you ?”
dll
l
uuuuuu
» *
. With this the fakeer steps forward to the couch and lifts
up the sheet which covers the sleeping child. But he starts
back astonished still more than before, for the child's feet are
whole and well, and there is not a sign of fire upon them.
.
Meanwhile the mother comes and rouses the child, who
wakes up crying.
"" Come and eat bread, child," says the mother; "come
and eat bread."
(“Don't give me any bread, mother," says she ; “O, no,
I don't want bread, mother. Give me some dâl.”
But the fakeer, sitting apart upon the ground, loses
himself in reflection, thinking of the wonderful power of the
witch. 'If I only knew her secret," says he to himself, “I
might throw some enchanted water on the bones of my
betrothed, and we might marry and be happy still."
So the fakeer feigns a complaisance which he does not
feel, and eats a little bread. He then says: “Oh, mother,
have you any old bedstead you can lend me? If so, let me
have it, as I am tired and would like to sleep."
'Early in the morning the fakeer rises, takes up his wallet
* Dâl is a vetch largely used for food in India.
236 STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN.
and goes out to beg. On his return in the evening, he hands
over all his alms to the woman. In short, he takes up his
abode with her, and each day he walks as many as ten or
fifteen miles to all the villages round, but he never fails on
his return to give the woman everything he collects. At
last she says to him ; “O fakeer, once you scorned to touch
my very bread. But now there is nothing which you do not
give to me. What is it you really want of me?"
"All I want,” answers he, “ is some of your skill in the
art of magic. Teach me a little of your knowledge.”
'So the woman imparts to him all the knowledge she
possesses herself, and he soon acquires it, after which he
leaves that country and hastens back to visit his own.
'Four days is the length of the journey from the one
country to the other, but his eagerness to visit the grave of
his betrothed is such that he accomplishes it in a single day.
It happens that when he arrives at the spot the other fakeer
is in the village begging. So he digs up the whole of the
bones and lays them reverently on the ground, after which
he throws over them a sheet, and, sitting down, he keeps
reading his magic words, and sprinkling the remains with
ارنى
TALATII
it didi:Glü
tore
en
Ulun
his enchanted water. Presently he removes the sheet, and
sees lying under it the living forms of his betrothed and of
STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN. 237
the other youth who was burnt with her on the funeral pile.
At this moment comes back also the other fakeer. And
so it happens that they all find themselves sitting side by
side at the tomb, the three suitors and the young girl, all
four living and breathing face to face, as they lived on the
earth before.
* And now, O merchant,' concludes the corpse, 'this is the
question which in God's name I implore you to answer. Of
all these three, whom is the girl to marry ?'
In spite of his promise the forgetful merchant hastened
to give his opinion.
'My judgment is this,' said he. "The two who were
burnt together, the youth and the maiden, having been the
same dust, must be regarded as brother and sister now that
they are restored to life. Therefore they cannot marry.
The suitor who raised the pair from the dead must be
viewed as their father, since he was the author of their second
birth. Therefore the maiden cannot be married to him.
But the third suitor, who merely watched by the bones, must
be considered differently. He bears no relationship what-
ever to these children of resurrection, and to him therefore
the girl belongs, and him she must marry.'
Having so delivered himself, Ali the merchant looked
for the corpse, but it had slipped down from the horse, and
was moving with surprising swiftness over the fields towards
the tree, from which in a few minutes it was once more
swinging in the wind.
Again the merchant rode on to encounter the disappointed
greeting of the fakeer, who met him at the city gates, and
cried: 'O Ali, Ali, lacs and crores of rupees in charity you
squander abroad, yet for poor me you will not do this trifling
favour.'
'I was beguiled again into speaking, pleaded Ali.
me try my hand once more.'
'For the love of God,' urged the fakeer, 'speak not a word
to the body on any account.'
That night away rode Ali again, and acted precisely as
on former occasions, cutting down the corpse and bringing
it away on the neck of his horse. And as on former occa-
· Let
238 STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHNIIN
sions so now, the corpse endeavoured to impose on Ali's
simplicity. “For God's sake,' he implores, 'hear me but
this once; listen to the rest of my story, and I promise to go
whithersoever you please. All the former part of the
adventure I have reported exactly, and you cannot accuse
me of perverting the truth. Yet once more will I speak.
Only, as the night is warm, undo these bandages, and take
from my nostrils the clay which closes them up.
Ali felt glad when he heard the promise of the corpse,
and he had no hesitation in complying with his request. He
first untied the bands of linen, and then removed the clay.
In a moment the mosquito escaped with a buzz, and, flying
to the earth, turned at once into the son of the Brahmin,
who walked rapidly away in the direction of the town, to the
intense amazement of the bewildered Ali.
‘Hullo !' cried he, 'who are you? Hi! stop and say who
you are and whence you have come.'
But the boy answered him never a word.
Meanwhile the corpse had fallen heavily to the ground,
28
BILE
where it lay perfectly still. Then the merchant dismounted,
and having replaced it once more, he continued his journey,
and arrived with it safely at the town.
STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN. 239
The fakeer was overjoyed. He advanced to meet the
merchant, and helped him to lift down the corpse; but when
he missed the bandages and the clay with which he had
secured the mosquito, he turned away and set up a howl.
"Ah, miserable Ali !' cried he. 'What have you done?
You have let my enemy escape me!'
He was not a man, however, to lose time in useless
repinings, so he made his way at once to the house of the
Brahmin, and, peeping in through a hole in the door, he saw,
as he expected, his runaway pupil. He therefore decided to
remain in that town a little while longer. When a day or
two had elapsed, he sent a request to the boy to come and
see him. The boy knew well that all this time he had been
withstanding his master, and, as the old influence was still
upon him, he said to his father: 'I have been called by my
master; do you also come along with me.' He went, there-
fore, to the house at which the fakeer was lodging and made
his salaams to him. “Bravo!' cried the fakeer, 'you have
done your old master credit. The world used to say that
moustaches never grew longer than the beard, but you have
proved the old saw to be false. Come, sit down.'
The boy with a smile of triumph sat down by his master,
who then said: “All this time you have outwitted me by
mere tricks. If you trick me this time, I promise you some-
thing which will be the death of you outright.'
'O, master,' answered the boy, 'let me give you a
friendly challenge, and so let us decide who is the better
man, you or I. I propose that you turn yourself into a
tiger, while I shall turn myself into a goat. If the goat eat
the tiger, then the world will see that the pupil has surpassed
his master. But if the tiger devour the goat, it will acknow-
ledge the master to be still paramount.'
The fakeer at once agreed to this proposal, but in the
boy's mind there existed treachery unsuspected by his
master. It was arranged between them that the boy in the
form of a goat should be tied outside the town, and that at
a certain hour in the evening the tiger should approach the
spot and endeavour to carry him off.
Leaving the house of the fakeer, the boy and his father,
240 STORY OF ALI THE MERCHANT AND THE BRAHMIN.
the Brahmin, went round to a certain number of the
inhabitants and revealed to them that the next evening a
large tiger would be prowling about outside a certain part
of the town, and that, in order to capture it effectually, it
would be necessary for marksmen to be stationed in ambush
behind the neighbouring walls. So everyone was on the
alert, armed, some with guns, and some" with bows' and
arrows. Then the boy turned himself, as agreed upon, into
a goat, and was tied by the Brahmin to a stake near one of
VA
Date
Մալել
the entrances of the town. Presently a large, full-grown
tiger was seen issuing from the jungle and creeping
cautiously up the slope in the direction of his prey. Just
then one of the concealed marksmen fired, but missed his
aim, and the next moment the tiger had leaped upon the
goat and had seized it by the neck. An indiscriminate
volley was now poured in from all sides, and tiger and goat,
both pierced in a score of places, rolled over and over dead
upon the ground. And so ends the Story of Ali the Merchant
and the Brahmin, or, as it might be named with greater
exactness, the Story of the Fakeer and the Brahmin's Son.
THE TWO MISERS:
241
LVIII.
THE TWO MISERS.
WIR IHTI
AT
wami
Once upon a time, two misers hobnobbed together to eat
their food. One of them had a small vessel of ghee, into
which he sparingly and grudgingly dipped his morsels of
bread. The other miser, observing this, protested vehe-
mently against such wasteful extravagance. Why waste
so much ghee?' said he; "and why do you risk the waste
of so much more, seeing that your bread might slip from
your fingers, and become totally immersed? Think better
of it, and imitate me. I take my vessel of ghee, and hang
it just out of reach to a nail in the wall. Then I point at
the ghee my scraps of bread, one by one, as I eat, and I
assure you I not only enjoy my ghee just as well, but I make
no waste.
• This anecdote is an instance of the truth of the saying of Solomon :
'There is no new thing under the sun. Many readers will be reminded
of the Irish dish, Potatoes and point,' consisting of a large supply of
potatoes and of a very limited supply of meat, bacon, or even fish. The
potatoes are eaten, but the more solid food is merely pointed at. The
following passage from Carlyle's 'Count Cagliostro' refers to this singular
And so the catastrophe ends by bathing our poor half-dead Re-
cipiendary first in blood, then after some genuflexions in water ; and
serving him a repast composed of roots,”—we grieve to say, mere pota-
tocs and point!'
custom :
16
242
THE KING AND THE ROBBERS.
LIX.
THE KING AND THE ROBBERS.*
2
N former days it was the delight
of kings and princes to disguise
themselves and to visit the streets
of their cities, both to seek adven-
tures and to learn the habits and
opinions of their subjects. One
night the famous Sultan Mah-
moud of Ghuzni dressed himself
up, and, assuming the character of
a thief, went into the streets. He
there fell in with a gang of notorious robbers, and, joining
himself to their company, he gave himself out as a desperate
villain, saying:
'If you are thieves, I am a thief too; so let us go and try
our good fortune together.'
They all agreed. Be it so,' said they ; 'but before we
set out let us compare notes, and see who possesses the
strongest point for the business in hand, and let him be our
captain.
· My strongest point,' said one, ‘is my hearing. I can
distinguish and understand the speech of dogs and of
wolves.'
'Mine,' said the next, is my hands, with which I am so
practised that I can jerk a rope to the tops of the highest
houses.'
• And mine,' said another, ‘is my strength of arm.
I can
force my way through any wall, however stoutly built.'
'My chief point,' said the fourth, ‘is my sense of smell.
Show me a house, and I will reveal to you whether it is rich
or poor, whether it is full or empty.'
"And mine,' said the fifth robber, is my keenness of eye-
sight. If I meet a man on the darkest night I can detect
him and point him out in the daytime.'
The king now spoke and said: 'My strong point is my
* The illustrations of this story, as of several others, have been
unfortunately lost.
THE KING AND THE ROBBERS.
243
6
beard. I have only to wag my beard, and a man sentenced
to be hanged is released immediately.'
'Then you shall be our captain ! cried all the robbers at
once, since hanging is the only thing of which we are
afraid.'
So the king was unanimously chosen as leader, and away
the six confederates started. The house which they agreed
to rob that night was the king's palace. When they arrived
under the walls a dog suddenly sprang out and began to
bark.
• What is he saying ?' asked one.
*The dog is saying,' said the robber with the fine ear,
that the king himself is one of our company.'
· Then the dog lies,' answered the other," for that cannot
be.'
The robber who was so dexterous with his hands now
threw up a rope-ladder, which attached itself to a lofty
balcony, and enabled the party to mount to the top of one
of the houses.
'Do you smell any money here?' said one to the robber
whose scent was his principal boast.
The man went smelling about all over the roof, and at
last said: “This must be some poor widow's quarters, for
there is neither gold nor silver in the place. Let us go on.'
The robbers now crept cautiously along the flat tops of
the houses until they came to a towering wall, richly carved
and painted, and the robber of the keen scent began smell-
ing again. “Ah! exclaimed he, ‘here we are! This is the
king's treasure-house. Ho, Strong-arm, do you break open
a way through!
The robber of the strong arm now proceeded to dislodge
the woodwork and the stones, until at last he had pierced
the wall, and effected an entrance into the house. The
rest of the gang speedily followed, and their search was
rewarded by the coffers full of gold which they found there,
and which they passed out through the aperture, and carried
away. Well laden, they all by common consent hastened
to one of their favourite haunts, where the spoil was divided,
the king also receiving his share with the rest, while at the
16-2
244
THE KING AND THE ROBBERS.
same time he informed himself of the robbers' names and
learnt their places of abode. After this, as the night was
far advanced, they separated, and the king returned alone to
his palace.
The next morning the robbery was discovered and the
city cried by the officers of justice. But the king, without
a word, went into his audience-chamber, where he took his
seat as usual. He then addressed his minister, and told
him to send and arrest the robbers. Go to such and such
a street,' said he, 'in the lower quarter of the city, and
there
you
will find the house. Here are the names of the
criminals. Let them be taken before the judge and sen-
tenced, and then produce them here.'
The minister at once left the presence, and taking with
him some attendants, he proceeded with all despatch to the
street in question, found and arrested the robbers, and took
them before the judge. As the evidence of their guilt was
conclusive, they made a full confession and implored mercy,
but the judge condemned them all to be hanged, and sent
them before the king. As soon as they appeared the king
looked sternly at them, and demanded what they had to
allege in extenuation that their sentence should not be
carried out. Then they all began to make excuses, except-
ing the one whose special gift it was to recognise in the day
those whom he had met at night. He, looking fixedly at
the king, cried out, to the surprise of his comrades: “The
moment has arrived for the wagging of the beard.'
The king, hearing his words, gravely wagged his beard as
a signal that the executioners should retire, and having
enjoyed a hearty laugh with his chance acquaintances of
the preceding night, he feasted them well, gave them some
good advice, and restored them to their liberty.
“The moral of this story,' continued the story-teller, ‘is
this : The whole world is in darkness. At the last day no
faculty, however strong, will avail a man but that which will
enable him to discern God Himself.'
THE PHINTED JACK AL.
2:45
LX.
THE PAINTED JACKAL.
.
Gi
.
2009
linn
A PROWLING jackal once fell into a large vessel full of dye.
When he returned home all his astonished friends said :
•What has befallen you ?' He answered, with a curl of
his tail : Was there ever anything in the world so fine as
I am ? Look at me! Let no one ever presume to call me
jackal" again.'
'What, then, are you to be called ?' asked they.
"“ Peacock," you will henceforth call me “Peacock,"' re-
plied the jackal, strutting up and down in all the glory of
sky-blue.
‘But,' said his friends, 'a peacock can spread his tail
magnificently. Can you spread your tail ?'
Well, no, I cannot quite do that,' replied the jackal.
'And a peacock,' continued they, 'can make a fine melo-
dious cry. Can you make a fine melodious cry?'
' It must be admitted,' said the pretender, 'that I cannot
do that either.'
"Then,' retorted they, it is quite evident that if you are
not a jackal, neither are you a peacock.' And they drove
him out of their company.
246
THE JACK’AL AND THE EWE-SHEEP.
LXI.
THE JACKAL AND THE EWE-SHEEP.
Once upon a time a certain jackal made a dash at a ewe-
sheep, hoping to catch her. The sheep rushed into a half-
dry tank, where she stuck in the mud. The jackal, attempt-
ing to follow her, stuck in the mud too. Then said the
jackal: 'O aunt, this is a bad business !'
'O nephew,' answered she, it is by no means so bad as
it will be soon, when my master appears. On his shoulder
he will carry a sângal (forked stick), and behind him will
follow his two dogs, Dabbû and Bholû. One blow with his
stick will hit you in two places, and his dogs will drag you
out by the haunches. Then, dear nephew, you will know
this business is not so bad now as it will be then.'
LXII.
GHOLÂM BÂDSHÂH AND HIS SON MALIK.
THIS STORY
IS OF AN EARTHLY
KING:
THE TRUE KING
IS GOD.
a
HOLÂM BADSHAH had four
principal ministers, of whom three
were Hindoos and one a Maho-
medan. But his son Malik loved
only the son of the Mahomedan
minister, whose name was Mirza,
whom he made his young vizier
and with whom he was constantly
The three Hindoos, notic-
ing the friendship existing between
Prince Malik and the boy Mirza, became envious and
plotted their separation. So they went one day to the king
and said: 'Oking, your son is always consorting with
Mirza Khan, the son of your Mahomedan minister, an
seen.
GHOLIH B:1DSHAH AND HIS SON MALIK.
247
unprincipled young ruffian, and if you should die what
would become of your kingdom ? Before more mischief
ensues let Mirza be banished.' Hearing this, the king sent
for his Mahomedan minister, and ordered him under penalty
of death to send his son into banishment.
Arriving at his house, the Mahomedan minister began to
ponder, 'How shall I do this thing ?' and his sadness was
such that his son, perceiving it, went to him and with up-
lifted hands inquired the reason of his grief.
'Oson,' said the father, 'I cannot disclose the reason.
If I tell you, I am disgraced before you ; and if I do not the
king's anger will fall on me.'
'I would not wish,' said Mirza, 'that you should be dis-
tressed for me. Tell me, therefore, what it is.'
So the father told his son of the enmity of the Hindoo
ministers, of the king's anger, and of the king's decree.
*O father,' said Mirza, this surely is no such great
matter! Let me go and serve some other king.'
So the son, taking costly gifts and servants, left his home.
He passed through two kingdoms without stopping, and
coming to a third, he rested in a certain town, where he
was met by a man who asked him : 'Who are you?' It
was one of the officers of the king's bodyguard who thus
accosted him, and Mirza told him the story of his misfor-
tunes, ending with the words : 'Give me service with the
king.' The officer went at once to the king and made his
report, upon which Mirza was summoned to the presence,
and going there he took a handsome present and paid his
respects. When the king saw his beauty and his stature, he
said: 'I have already three viziers, and this handsome
youth shall be the fourth.' So Mirza was advanced to great
honour, and the king trusted him in everything.
Meanwhile, Prince Malik dreamed a dream. In his sleep
he saw a lovely garden, and in the garden walked graceful
as a guinea-fowl a beautiful princess in the midst of flowers
only less lovely than herself. When he awoke he thought
of Mirza, and said : 'Now I have no longer a friend to con-
fide in.' He became melancholy, and from over-thinking
and from longing for the lady of the garden of flowers, he
248
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON MALIK.
went out of his mind. His father sent everywhere for the
best physicians, who physicked him to no purpose. What
m.
7
Mi
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moth
luke
hlás
al
(1
wen
local
amics
C
Ic
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:
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EM
will
good was medicine, when all the time he was sick of love
and of pining for his friend? The more the doctors wagged
their heads over him the worse the patient became. At
last he rent his clothes and wandered away into the wilds,
where, in a foreign country, he turned fakeer, begging for a
morsel of bread, and suffering so much misery that his very
appearance became changed.
Four or five years went by, and Mirza, the absent son of
the Mahomedan minister, bethought him of his parents,
and sent them a letter in which he said: "What news have
you about my friend, Prince Malik? Does he sometimes
think of me?' The letter was duly received, but the father
hesitated to disclose to his son the sad story of the prince.
On second thoughts, however, he wrote and told him all
that had happened. Mirza, on reading the doleful news,
cried : Alas! with him I was brought up. He is my foster-
brother. I must set out and look for him.' So he went to
the king and made his petition, and the king gave him leave
for three months ; 'but,' said he, 'promise to return to me,
lest Gholâm Bâdshâh take you again into favour, and you
never come back to me more.'
After taking leave Mirza reflected that he must go in dis-
GHOLANI BADSHAH AND HIS SON MALIK.
249
guise, fearing that his former master should discover him
and visit him with punishment. So, leaving his attendants
to follow with bales of goods and to figure accordingly, he
disguised himself as a merchant, mounted a horse, and rode
to his own home. Meeting his father and mother, he
cautioned them to secrecy, and then inquired for the where-
abouts of the prince. His mother was about to tell him,
but his father stopped her, told her to keep quiet, and said:
'The king's son is well. After two or three days, however,
Mirza becoming impatient, his mother let out the secret,
and he began to take on, saying: “This is dreadful! From
a child I was reared with him. If I am indeed faithful I
must go forth and find him.' Then he spoke to his parents,
saying : ‘My servants are coming on behind. I have told
them that I am a merchant; but they are strangers to this
country. Take, therefore, my likeness and seal, and when
they come give them as tokens to my overseer and receive the
goods, after which send him and my retinue back. Saying
this, he got on his horse, and with a few articles and some
money he started off to seek his friend.
As he passed out of the city he met a countryman, who
asked : O horseman, where are you going ?'
'The king's son,' answered he, was a great friend of
inine. He is out of his mind, and I go to look for him.
Who knows where I may have to go, and where not ?'
* You are going,' said the countryman; 'but do you know
what manner of man he is ?'
'Yes,' replied Mirza. 'He may have changed, but once
I look on his face and figure I shall know him among a
thousand.'
Leaving the countryman, and travelling on, he came to
a village, and meeting a villager, he questioned him. “The
man for a time was here,' answered he, 'wandering about,
and sleeping in the fields, but he has gone, nor has anyone
found him or seen him since.'
Mirza searched the place in vain, and he thought to him-
self, “Now, where shall I look ?' So he went on and on,
seeking high and low, until he came to a second village, but
no one there knew anything about the matter. Soon after
250
GHOLAU BADSHAH AND HIS SON MALIK.
he passed a Hindoo fakeer, seated in front of his tiny shrine.
. Some fakeers,' said he to himself, are hard-hearted and
some are soft-hearted. The fakeer, noticing Mirza's anxious
looks, wondered, and asked the reason. 'I am looking for
a friend,' answered he, 'who has gone distraught.'
‘Oh,' answered the fakeer, ' he stayed with me ten days.
Go on to the next town and inquire.'
On he went and inquired at the next town, but he was
directed to go still further. So he followed, and came nigh
to a large city, and there at the meeting of two roads his
friend was lying on the ground. At first he rode by, but
turning to ask for tidings, he dismounted. Gazing on his
face, he at once recognised him as the son of Gholâm Badshah.
Then the sleeping man awoke, leaped up and embraced him.
The vizier's son now put up his hands, and asked the
reason of his grief, and Prince Malik told him his dream.
' In my dream,' said he, 'I saw a beautiful princess, and I
awoke; but I had no friend to speak to, and I went mad.'
'Oh,' answered Mirza, 'I know the princess. 'I know
where she is.'
But he lied to the prince, in order to comfort his mind
and render him happy. He then got him a bath and pro-
cured him suitable clothing, and set him on his own horse,
he himself walking on foot before him. So they entered the
city, and there they rented a fine house, and bought a second
horse. Every morning the two friends rode out into the
country, examining everything, and every evening they came
back to the house. After some days they took a longer
journey than usual, Mirza growing more and more anxious
on account of his deceit. After a ride of eighty miles they
arrived at another city, where again they rented a hand-
some house, and there also they made daily expeditions into
the country. But Prince Malik was perpetually urging him
to go to the princess, while Mirza perpetually excused him-
self, holding out false hopes. Having journeyed again, th
at last came to the capital city of that kingdom, and there,
as before, they hired a house.
The next morning the two friends rode out as usual, and
by chance they came to a royal garden, in which at that
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON MALIK.
251
very moment the princess was walking with sixty attendant
maidens. This,' cried the prince, is the place of my
dream, this is the garden of flowers !' By the time they
arrived at the door the princess had left, and as they were
about to enter they were met by the gardener's wife, who
threatened them with a club, saying: 'No man has ever
dared to enter this garden, and how dare you?' But Mirza
gave her twenty-five rupees and calmed her down, and she
admitted them. 'Only,' said she, 'sit not in the princess's
seat, nor touch the princess's favourite flowers. Sit on this
side, and you may pluck the flowers which grow there.'
After sitting still for
some time, Mirza began to
ask the gardener's wife all
particulars concerning the
princess, her times of visit-
ing and departing, her age,
her looks, her disposition.
'For some years,' an-
swered the woman, she
has been in trouble. She
frets, and speaks of a king's
son named Malik, whom
she saw in a dream, and so
she does not give me her
accustomed presents, nor
think of me at all.'
The prince and his friend were delighted, and said to her:
'We shall tarry some time in this city. Let us remain here,
and we will pay you well.'
Outside the walls,' answered the woman, there is a
pavilion, of which we reserve only a small part. Take your
servants and horses and stay there.'
So they gave up their house in the city and lived in the
garden pavilion, and to the gardener and his wife they gave
from their table day by day.
One morning the woman brought a number of flowers and
began to make garlands of them.
'What are you doing?' asked Mirza.
252
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON MALIK.
6
I take them to the princess, whose heart is broken,
answered she, and she takes comfort from their sweetness.'
* This is your doing,' said Mirza to the prince. Then
to the woman, ‘Bring me a needle and thread, and let me
make a necklet, which you can also give to the princess.'
So next day she brought flowers and needles and thread,
and put them before him, and from the flowers he made a
lady's dress most curiously.
Does your princess,' said Mirza, choose for herself the
top flowers of the basket, or those which are beneath ?'
'Her maidens,' answered she, 'first take the upper flowers
and then the princess keeps those which are beneath.'
Then Mirza wrote a letter on scented gold paper, in which
he recounted Prince Malik's misfortunes, and when he had
finished it he concealed it in the dress of white roses, and,
handing it to the woman, bade her go and deliver her basket
to her mistress. This then she did, and, as usual, the
maidens took the upper necklets for themselves; but when
the Princess Hasan Bâno lifted the dress she was delighted,
and said to the gardener's wife, 'Oh, what work is this !
What a dainty hand! Who made it ?'
The gardener's wife began to feel embarrassed, and so she
answered : 'My niece, who is in the service of another
queen, came yesterday to see me, and it was she who made
this coat of roses.'
Now, as the princess was examining the dress, the letter
fell on the floor. Instantly snatching it up, she hid it in her
bosom, and going into another room, she read it. All her
pain vanished, and she became radiant with delight. Then
returning, she rubbed her finger on the dark colour of the
wall and marked the gardener's wife's face with it. The
woman, who expected money, was angry, and said, 'What a
reward for all this trouble !!
• Keep quiet,' said the princess, and tell me—did your
niece bring horses and baggage with her ?'
'Yes,' answered she, 'baggage plenty, and two horses.'
' Bring me the basket,' said the princess.
And when the basket was laid before her, she went and
half filled it with gold mohurs, which she covered over with
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON MALIK.
2:53
grain, and giving it to the woman, she said: 'Go; this is for
your niece, who made my coat of roses.' So the gardener's
wife put the basket on her head and went away, muttering
to herself, 'No present for me-only a smutched face !'
Arriving at the pavilion, she began to complain : 'Reward
I have had none, and the princess is angry. All she gave me
was this wretched grain. Here, take it and feed your horses
with it. Then she put down her load and began to fume
with anger. But Mirza took off the grain, and finding the
gold, he gave the old thing a handful, which mollified her.
As he handed her the money he noticed the black mark on
the woman's face. 'In this,' thought he, 'the princess has
sent us a riddle to guess, and the meaning is this, "At
present the nights are moonlight; I cannot meet you until
the nights become dark.”'
The same evening a slave-girl came in to say: 'When the
nights are dark, expect to see me in my place in the garden.
Then come and make merry. Several days passed, and
when the moon had waned the same messenger came to say,
· Expect me to-night!' True to her word, the princess came
to the garden, and Prince Malik met her, and the two lovers
plotted an escape. Everything was entrusted to Mirza.
'So contrive,' said she to him, that I may go with the
prince, and that yet no disgrace shall attach to my name.
Anything rather than that people should say I have gone
away with a strange man unwed.'
The next day the same slave-girl came again with the
message, 'I have confided in my maidens, and they are
eager to see the king's son. So send the prince to the
palace and forget not a disguise.' Therefore, Mirza clothed
the prince as became his rank, and over all he put a red
sheet that he might pass as a woman. When all was ready
he advised him thus : ‘Attend,' said he, and follow my
counsel in all things, that you be not arrested and hanged.
Enjoy yourself with the Princess Hasan Bâno, but do not
drink all the wine she offers. One drop of this liquid will
secure her to you for ever. Pledge each other, therefore,
changing cups, and when she has succumbed to insensibility
take off all her jewels and with your nail make three deep
254
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON MALIK'.
6
scratches behind her right ear-remember, her right earmand
so come away.'
The prince started, and at the door he was met by the
trusty slave-girl bearing a purdah, or disguise, but when she
saw him already disguised she did not use it. So the prince
entered the zenana, and all the girls came about him
clapping their hands with joy, and they began to dance and
be merry. After a time Prince Malik rose to go, but the
girls said to their mistress, “Keep him still with you, the
night is long; and as for us, we will retire and rest a little.'
Then the prince asked the princess to pledge him, and she
sent for wine, and when the goblets were filled he said,
Give me a cup with your own hands and accept a cup from
me.' But he only sipped, remembering his friend's caution,
while she, overjoyed, drank deeply, until at last she sank
into insensibility, overcome by the drowsy liquid. As she
lay on her cushions the prince took off the whole of her
jewels and hid them in his clothing, and then he scratched
her to bleeding in three places behind her right ear. This
done, he summoned the slave-girl, and said, ' Lead forth !'
And having been guided in safety past all the guards, he
arrived at the garden-house, where Mirza inquired, 'Is all
done correctly?' and he answered, “All.'
Then said his friend, 'So far, so well; now for more.
To-night we must dress in saffron robes and turn fakeers.
You are my pupil; I am your priest and master. Let us
take tongs in our hands and go and sit in the place where
the Hindoos are accustomed to burn their dead, and in the
morning I will place in your hand one of the princess's
jewels, which you will take to the bazaar and offer in sale.'
So to the burning-place they went, and in the morning
Mirza gave Prince Malik the jewel and sent him off, saying :
'Go, sell it in the bazaar. And remember in the king's
palace there will be a great outcry, for it will be said a thief
has entered and robbed the princess. You with this jewel
will of course be arrested and arraigned before the king, but
say, 'I know nothing whatever. My master-priest sits in
the place where the bodies burn. Send and inquire from
him.'
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON MALIK.
255
Thus the prince did. When he reached the bazaar the
sun was risen and he heard a great commotion. Men were
beating tom-toms, and criers proclaiming the theft every-
where. The prince, disguised as a fakeer, took the jewel to
the very jeweller who had himself supplied it. The moment
he saw it, knowing his own work, he seized the supposed
thief and conducted him to the king, and the king
questioned him. “Ho, you fakeer,' said he, 'where did you
find this jewel ?'
'I know nothing,' answered Prince Malik; 'my gûrû gave
it to me this morning. He sits in the place where Hindoos
burn their dead. Send, o king, to him and inquire.'
Now, kings fear fakeers, so this king turned to his ministers
and said: 'Kings have their ways, and fakeers have theirs.
Instead of sending to him, I will go myself.'
So the king, followed by his nobles, started to see the
Lanmohama
Unv
Alisa
priest. When he arrived at the spot the pretended fakeer,
with hands clasped and with a staff under his chin to keep
up his head, was gazing fixedly at the sun. The king salaamed
him, but the fakeer did not deign to notice him even with a
wink of his eye. The king remained standing there for an
hour, but still the fakeer gazed as if no king existed.
Now, Prince Malik had sat down near the priest, and by-
and-by, when the hour had elapsed, he took down the
256
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON MALIK.
support from the chin of his master, who then, gazing round,
said to the king: 'And who are you ?'
'I am the king,' answered he.
* Nay,' said the fakeer, pointing to the heavens,' the King
is up there. Then what king are you ?'
'I am an earthly king,' replied he.
'Ah,' said Mirza, ‘say not, as you said at first, “ I am the
king,” but say rather, “ I am an earthly king.'
Then said the king : O fakeer-master, that jewel of my
daughter's, where did you get it ?'
' Last evening,' answered he, 'before dark I came and sat
here. My pupil sat with me and slept, but I rose to pray.
While praying, I perceived fifty or sixty evil spirits in the
forms of beautiful young women who assembled together and
began to devour the bones of the dead. Enraged, I picked
up my three-pronged fork and ran after them. They fled.
One of them caught her foot in the folds of her dress and
fell, and I struck her with my trident behind the right ear
and rendered her insensible. Then I took off her jewels.
You have one. Behold the rest !'
Then was the king confused, horrified, and astounded.
Instantly he sends his vizier to the palace to see, and the
vizier goes, examines, comes back, and reports to the king :
'Your daughter is lying insensible, and behind her ear there
are three bloody marks.'
Then, turning to the fakeer, the king said: 'I came not
here to disgrace you, but merely to discover the truth.
Now I send my guards to take my daughter away to a desert
place and to disperse her guilty attendants.'
So the order was given and carried out. But the two
pretended fakeers hastened home, assumed their proper dress,
mounted their horses, and rode after the princess. She had
been abandoned in the midst of the wilderness, and when
she awoke from her stupor she looked up and cried : 'Where
in the world am I now among all this jungle ?' The first
persons she saw were Prince Malik and Mirza, for as to her
sixty attendants, they had all run away for their lives ex-
cepting two. So the prince disınounted and set the princess
on his own horse, while he sat behind Mirza and the two slave-
girls walked. At last they reached a town, and there they
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON MALIK.
257
bought doolies for the princess and her maidens, and started
once more for the kingdom of Gholâm Badshah.
But the princess said to Mirza : 'I am as your sister.
We are now only a few. Let us enter my husband's country
with full retinue. In your hands I leave it.' Thus ad-
monished, Mirza promised to manage, and some marches
further on he sold the jewels, and with the money hired an
escort of horsemen to accompany them.
When within two marches of the kingdom Prince Malik
wrote a letter to his father, saying: 'The cause of all my
madness I have now with me, and in two days I shall arrive
home safe and well. This letter changed sorrow into joy,
and the king mounted at the head of a guard of honour
and set out to meet his son. But Mirza became troubled.
Your father,' said he to Prince Malik, 'now approaches. It
is my duty to pay my homage to him; but if I do, and his
anger revive at sight of me, what then ?
'If my father,' answered the prince, ‘so much as frown
on you I will give my head for you.'
At last the king arrived, and the prince dismounted to kiss
his hand. But the king dismounted also, and they fell on
each other's necks. But the king did not recognise Mirza, ,
nor did he notice him until the camp had been pitched
under his direction, and he was sitting exchanging conti-
dences with his son. Then it was that Prince Malik told
him the story of his friend's devotion, which affected the
king to tears, so that he sent for him and embraced him as
a son, saying: 'My anger exists no more. You are now as
dear to me as my own.'
Next day they arrived at the capital, and all the troops
and the people turned out to welcome them, and when every-
thing was settled the king called for Mirza and seated him by
his side. Then he sent for the three false Hindoos who had
plotted against him, and said: 'What now shall be done
with these men ?'
Spare my life,' besought Mirza, “and I will tell you.
Speak on,' said the king.
'We have been always taught,' answered Mirza, that
when a man has wronged us we should try to do him good.
17
258
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON MALIK.
‘But,' said the king, what if he do wrong again ?'
'Try to do him good,' replied Mirza.
* But he might do wrong a third time,' protested the king.
'Still try to do him good,' again replied Mirza. By that
time, if he persist, God Himself will punish him.'
After some time Mirza took leave of absence and jour-
neyed to the court of the king who had befriended him in
his exile. On his way he met a messenger coming to inquire
the reason of his long absence, and with him he continued
his march, while his servants brought up the rear with hand-
some gifts. Arriving at the end of his journey, he waited
on the king, who said: “Why have you been so long away?'
Kings,' answered Mirza, “have troubles too. My king
sent me into exile, and I came to you. But now my king is
kind once more, and I have come all this way back to show
that I am grateful to you and to ask for leave for ever.'
So he returned to his old king, Gholâm, and having re-
counted his adventures, he said : O king, you banished me.
But I was innocent, as you now see. For the future do not
go by hearsay. See for yourself. Use your ears, but not
your ears only; use your eyes also.'*
5
LXIII.
THE QUEEN AND THE GOLDSMITH.
W
HEN the kings of the Sassanian
line ruled over the East, many
hundreds of years ago, there lived
a queen who was in love with her
goldsmith. It happened one day
when the goldsmith was in the
queen's apartments that the at-
tendant who was on the watch at
the casement cried out: 'Alas!
here comes the king! This news
threw the queen into the greatest possible confusion, as
* Vide ante.
THE QUEEN AND THE GOLDSMITH.
:259
it was then too late for her lover to escape unobserved.
• What's to be done ?' cried she; there is not a single
outlet for this man to escape, and he will be detected and
slain.' Her slave-girl, who was clever and judicious, thought
hii:
TIE
WIRE
of a trick which promised success. Taking one of the long
handsome mats with which the floor was covered, she rolled
up the terrified goldsmith in it, and set it up in a corner of
the chamber against the wall. She had scarcely completed
her task and resumed her place at the window, when the
king entered and began to converse with his consort. But
the goldsmith was in such a fright that he could not restrain
his trembling, and as he trembled the mat trembled too.
Then the slave-girl, to give him confidence and to obviate
any dire mishap, sang out aloud :
"Oh, happy bee, inhaling love's sweet breath,
Within the flower,
Love's own enchanted bower,
Oh, why art thou afraid of death ??
The king, startled both by the words and by the unexpected
manner in which they were introduced, turned and said:
“What does the girl mean by language so poetical, and yet
so mysterious ?'
Then answered the slave-girl: 'O king, a little time ago
I went into the garden, and I saw a bee enter a flower; but
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260
THE QUEEN AND THE GOLDSMITH.
the flower closed upon it and imprisoned it in its sweet
embrace. I see from this casement that the bee is still
there, and that its foolish fluttering causes the blossom to
tremble on its stem, so I say :
'Oh, foolish bee, bewitched with love's sweet breath,
Within the flower,
Love's own delightful bower,
Ah, why art thou afraid of death ?
The king, marvelling at the girl's ingenuity, resumed his
conversation with the queen. But at that very moment
Ma
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ESTETIT
the wife of the wretched goldsmith was seen by the slave-
girl to be approaching the palace. She had heard of the
unexpected return of the king, and, notwithstanding her
husband's infidelity to herself, being in great alarm for his
safety, she had come to inquire concerning his fate. As
soon as the girl saw her beneath the window, foreseeing a
new danger, she sang once more :
Oh, bee, no need to mourn thy partner's fate !
When shadows fall
He'll burst his amorous thrall,
And join again his lawful mate !
Once more the king, being surprised, turned round and
said: 'And what now is the interpretation of this?' And
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THE QUEEN AND THE GOLDSAIITH.
261
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the slave-girl, ever ready, answered him: 'Oking, the bee
flutters in alarm within the closed doors of the flower.
Round and round
flies the female bee,
but she does not
know that when
the dews begin to
fall
the fragrant
petals will relax,
and that her loved
will
escape.
And so, to allay her
anxiety and to send
her comforted away,
I sang:
Oh, murmuring bee,
why quake with
vain alarms?
At sunset hour
Thy spouse shall
quit the bower,
And seek once more
thy faithful arms!
· This wisdom,
said the king, 'is
wonderful. Where
did you learn it ? '
‘My wisdom,' replied the girl, 'was acquired by constant
intercourse with people of all classes. But you, O king, spend
your whole life between your palace and your court of justice.
You meet your ministers for a brief moment day by day, and
then you return to your zenana. How can your highness
expect to learn wisdom, or to understand the ways of men,
still less the minds of women ?'
When the king had reflected on these words of the slave-
girl, he found that she had spoken only too truly. So,
determined to pursue a different policy, he sought counsel
with his ministers, to whom he told all that had occurred in
the apartments of the queen, and whose advice he required.
One of his ministers perceived the true explanation of the
case and said, “O king, there comes a thief to your house.'
262
INIE QUEEN AND THE GOLDSMITH.
'I cannot believe in so dire a calamity,' answered the
bewildered monarch. “But, at least, I am determined not
WONY.
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Iwoman!
MUUT DOLOT
10:50
to return to my
to my palace until the mystery has been
solved.'
Then answered the chief vizier, who was by no means
anxious that the king should take any more active part in
public affairs : 'Oking, the slave-girl's statement was pro-
bably true, and there is no mystery in the matter. But
even if it be otherwise, need the heart of the king be
troubled ? Have not women from the time of Adam played
similar tricks? And has there ever lived a man who could
fathom the depths of their cunning? Therefore, O king, be
comforted, and live happily and unconcernedly as before.'
To this advice the king assented, deeming it the best, and
knowing his vizier to be the most sagacious man in his
kingdom.
Meanwhile, as the goldsmith was being unrolled from his
narrow enclosure, the queen said to the slave-girl: 'The
king my husband is certainly a mere bullock.?*
“If he were a bullock,' answered the girl,' he would have
horns.'
* As we apply the term 'donkey' to a stupid man, so the Panjâbîs name
him a bullock.
THE QUEEN AND THE GOLDSMITH.
263
* And do you not know,' returned her mistress, that there
are bullocks without horns ?'
And with these words she dismissed the goldsmith in
B
BITARTO!
Bilten
70
safety to his home, laughing herself at the strangeness of the
adventure.
LXIV.
THE WILD DOG OF PEEHOOR.
On Mount Peehoor, on the banks of the Indus, there lived a
wild dog. This dog, whenever he heard the sound of
funeral drums, used to say to himself: 'Ha! there's a
funeral, and to-night there will be feasting!' Nor did he
ever fail to attend, and he always carried off some spoil.
At last the people on either side of the river determined to
compass his destruction. So at a given signal one party
stationed themselves on the eastern bank, and another party
on the western bank, just as night was closing in. Then
those who were on the eastern bank struck up their drums,
and the wild dog, leaving his lair, made his way to the water
and began swimming across. When he was nearly over the
264
THE WEAVER AND THE PRIEST.
drums ceased, and as he was hesitating in doubt, the drums
from the other side began to beat and he turned back. But
scarcely had he reached mid-stream again when he sank
exhausted and was carried away.
LXV.
THE WEAVER AND THE PRIEST.*
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151
ให้นะ
VCE upon a time the friends of a
young weaver betrothed him to a
girl of a distant village. After a
few days his mother said to him :
'It is time to pay your future
father-in-law a visit, but do not
go alone: take your best man
with you; and, above all things,
remember, you are not to grab at
the food like some hungry farmer's
son, but eat delicately, choosing the smaller bits, and then
your new friends will say, “ What a well-bred lad you are!"
Accordingly the youth set out with his friend, and paid
his call, but the food with which he was entertained was not
bread, but vermicelli. Bearing in mind his mother's advice,
he picked up the vermicelli bit by bit, but as fast as he did
so the morsels slipped from his fingers again, and he ended
the meal as hungry as a tiger, while his friend, deterred by
no such scruples, fed himself by handfuls, and fared well.
It was a summer's night, and the sleeping-place reserved
for the two guests was the housetop, while the members of
the family slept, in accordance with their custom, in the
court-yard. After they had all retired to rest, the weaver
said to his friend : 'I am starving with hunger.'
It is night now,' answered his friend. • What are we to
do? I think if you could get down into the house by this
chimney-hole you might find something below.'
* For a variant of this story see 'The Four Weavers.'
TIIE WEAVER AND THE PRIEST.
265
Now, the hole was very narrow, and they were compelled
to enlarge it a bit. Then the best man tied a rope to both
his friend's legs, and lowered him like a bucket, head first,
down the chimney-hole, nor did he release him when he felt
that he had reached the bottom, but held stoutly on. The
weaver, with his feet elevated in mid-air, and his elbows on
the floor, now began groping about in the dark, and at last
he found a large earthen jar containing flour, into which he
thrust his head, and he began to eat. When, however, he
desired to withdraw his head, he found himself unable with
all his struggles to do so, owing to the narrowness of the
neck. So, half suffocated, he was compelled to cry out to his
friend with might and main, 'Chick, chick!' (Pull, pull !).*
His friend, hearing his sepulchral cries, began to tug at
the rope, but found the weight so increased that he pulled
in vain. 'One man only I let down,' said he, 'but now
there must be two or three ;' and he sat down in amaze-
ment.
Meanwhile the repeated cries of 'Chick, chick!'roused
the whole household without, and all the members of the
family began to say to each other, Certainly some devil
must have entered our house, and his name is Chick. In
the greatest alarm the women cried to the master, 'Go at
once to the village and call for help!'
In a short time several of their neighbours came running
to the spot, but not a man had the courage to enter the
house, while the cries of Chick, chick !' with increasing
violence continued to assail their ears. At last someone
said, ' Send for the priest,' and straightway the priest was
summoned.
When the good man heard the mysterious cries of Chick,
chick!' he turned to the people, and said, 'What have you
in there ?'
• The house is haunted,' answered they, by some evil
demon named Chick, and we want you to drive him out.'
* Very well,' answered the priest. I will enter the house,
but do you arm yourselves with sticks, and stand by the
* The Punjâbîs say that differences of dialect are to be met with every
twelve miles. To these villagers the word 'chick' was possibly unfamiliar.
1
266
THE WEAVER AND THE PRIEST.
door. If the evil spirit escape me, and if he make for the
door, set on him with your sticks and knock him down.'
All this time the best man was still pulling away at
the rope, but he had only succeeded in raising his friend a
few feet from the floor, while the poor man's cries grew more
and more desperate, as he embraced the vessel with his arms
to prevent its weight from breaking his neck.
The priest, going into the room, and perceiving some dark
object moving up and down, struck at it with a club with
which he had armed himself, and his blow, lighting on the
jar, smashed it into numerous pieces, which fell to the
ground with a horrible clatter, while the clouds of rising
flour covered him all over and filled the whole apartment.
Then, while the weaver flew up the chimney, the bewildered
man cried, 'Alas, what devil's dust is this, which threatens
to choke me ?' and in a fright he made a rush for the door.
The people, who were on the alert, perceiving a strange
figure, its head, face, and hands of a ghastly white, in the act
of escaping, laid on it with their sticks and knocked it over.
Hold, hold !' cried the unfortunate man. 'I am the
priest! I am the priest!'
' No, no,' said the neighbours. 'None of your palaver
You are a devil, and you know it. Our priest went
in one colour, but you come out another;' and they trounced
him more heartily than ever, until they had bruised him all
over, nor would he have escaped with his life if some of his
own friends had not appeared on the spot and rescued him.
'It is the priest indeed,' said they ; and as for the
white colour, it is merely flour. You have half killed him,
and you must suffer the consequence.'
The people, who were unfeignedly sorry for their mistake,
now explained that they had only followed the orders of the
priest himself, and peace being restored, the poor victim of
their misapplied zeal was carried off to his house and put
to bed.
Meanwhile the weaver and his companion, in fits of
suppressed laughter, settled their clothing about them, and
without a word to their friends below composed themselves
to sleep.
with us.
THE FACK:L AND THE FLEAS.
267
LXVI.
THE JACKAL AND THE FLEAS
jumt
6
THERE was once a jackal so infested with fleas that life was
a burden to him. Determined to be rid of them, he sought
for a pool of water, and snatching up a small piece of dry
wood in his mouth, he began to enter the water with
measured steps and slow. Gradually, as he advanced, the
astonished fleas rushed up his legs and took refuge on his
back. The rising water again drove them in multitudes
from his back to his head, and from his head to his nose,
whence they escaped on to the piece of wood, which became
perfecily black with them. When the sly jackal perceived
the situation of his foes, he suddenly bobbed his head into
the water, relinquished the wood, and with a chuckle swam
back to the shore, leaving the fieas to their fate.
KO
39
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X4
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268
THE SILLY JACKASS.
LXVII.
THE SILLY JACKASS.
A CERTAIN man possessed a donkey which, as it was in
extremely bad condition, he sent into the jungle to graze.
It happened that close to the spot to which the donkey
strayed there was a tiger whose leg had been broken by an
elephant, and in attendance on the tiger there was a jackal.
'I am helpless and unable to move,' remarked the tiger to
his friend ; 'go out and forage, and bring me home some
meat.'
Then the jackal went to the donkey, and, addressing him
as an old acquaintance, said: 'The grass here is poor and
scanty. Follow me, and I will show you good pasturage.'
Now, when the tiger saw the donkey following close on
the heels of the jackal, he forgot all about his maimed leg,
and attempted a spring, but he fell short, and the donkey
galloped away to his old grazing ground.
After a day or two the tiger again said to the jackal :
Here am I dying of hunger; go forth again, and forage
for food.'
It is entirely your own fault,' retorted the jackal. I
brought you a donkey, and you foolishly scared him away.'
And the two friends came to hard words.
At last the tiger said: 'Well, try once more!'
So the jackal went again to the donkey, but the latter
abused and reviled him.
'You cheat,' said he, you wretched impostor ; like all
your tribe, you are cunning and deceitful.'
Nay, nay,' protested the jackal, with an innocent air,
'you entirely mistake me. What you saw was not really
a tiger at all, but merely the appearance of one-a mere
shadow. Look at me, how fat I am! If it was really a
tiger, why has he not eaten me? However, if you will not
come to the good grass, never mind; it is no business of
mine, and certainly I don't care; so farewell !'
Then the jackal went off. But he had not gone many
yards before the foolish donkey began to follow, and this
time he was seized by the hungry tiger and killed.
6
THE SILLY JACKASS.
269
After eating a part of the carcase, the tiger, oppressed with
thirst, drew himself along the ground, and went to a spring
to drink water. In his absence the jackal pulled out the
donkey's heart, and ate it up. The first thing the tiger did
on his return was to search for the heart, but he searched
for it in vain. Scowling at the jackal, he cried: "How
dared you eat the heart, which I wanted myself ?'
"This donkey,' coolly answered the jackal, ó never had any
heart.'
' And how will you prove that?' asked the tiger.
'The proof is this,' said the jackal. "The donkey escaped
you once, and yet he came within reach of you again. How
could a simpleton like that have had any heart to think at
all ? He who has once escaped death and risks his life again
deserves his fate; and why? Because he has no heart.'*
LXVIII.
THE FRIENDLY RAT.
6
A RAT met a camel in the forest, and said to him : 0
camel, you ought to make a friend of someone.
Make a
friend of me, and it will go well with you.'
Pooh, pooh !' answered the camel. 'What possible use
can you be to one like me ?' And he raised his head aloft,
and began eating the leaves of a thorny plum-tree.
When he desired to pass on, he found that his nose-string
had caught in a branch, and that no effort of his could
detach it. Seeing this, the rat exclaimed to him : 'O camel,
you should have listened to good advice and accepted my
offer. Behold the proof!' And running nimbly up the
tree, he nibbled the string asunder, and relieved the camel
from his difficulty. And now,' said the rat, ' remember,
I am your friend. If you are ever in trouble, appeal to me.'
Some time after this the king with his army was passing
through those parts, and the camel was seized by some of
his attendants.
* The heart among the Punjâbîs being the seat of reason.
270
THE STUBBORN NATURE OF THE AFGHANS.
"Whose camel are you?' said they.
' I belong to a rat,' answered he.
Nonsense!' said they; 'rats don't own camels;' and they
led him away. Then the rat went to the king and com-
plained, but the king laughed at him and bade him begone.
Upon this the whole of the rats of the jungle assembled
together, and, having visited the camp of the king by night,
they gnawed to pieces the saddle-girths of all his horses and
cattle, so that on the morrow when he met his enemies in
battle he sustained a severe defeat and was taken prisoner,
while the camel, making his escape in the confusion, returned
with his old friend to the jungle.
LXIX.
THE STUBBORN NATURE OF THE AFGHANS.
Dr.
VU
A PATHÂN was one day sitting in a ferry boat which was
moored to the bank of the Indus. His tulwâr, or sword,
lay by his side. Presently down came a countryman driving
a donkey, and requesting to be ferried across the river. The
A STORY OF A BARBER.
27 1
donkey, however, having come to the boat, refused to enter,
utterly regardless of entreaties, threats, and blows. Sud-
denly the Pathân sprang from his seat, seized his tulwâr,
and at a blow smote off the donkey's head. “To a Pathân, '
cried he, “this stubborn pride is permissible; but to a jackass
-never !
LXX.
A STORY OF A BARBER.
ONCE upon a time a barber and a farmer found themselves
in company, travelling together to visit a common acquaint-
ance who lived at a distant village. The barber w
The barber was moon-
blind; his sight during the day was perfect, but at night he
was quite unable to see anything. It happened that his
companion, the farmer, suffered from exactly the same defect
of vision, but neither of them knew of the other's infirmity.
They were both welcomed by their friend, who, after the
custom of the country, brought out a low bed for them to sit
upon in the enclosed space in front of his house. 'Rest
here,' said he: 'I will go in and bake some bread, and call
you when it is ready.'
As they were waiting darkness came on, and the farmer,
lifting a hookah from the ground, began to say to himself :
'I should like to have a smoke, but I am moon-blind, and
cannot find my way to a light. If the barber now were to
ask me to bring fire, and I refused, he would think me a funny,
churlish sort of fellow. I had better ask him to go.'
So he filled the bowl, and, handing it to the barber, said:
'Here, take the hookah, and fetch a little fire in it.
Now, the barber was also ashamed to confess that he was
moon-blind too. He therefore took the hookah, and rose to
look for some fire. It happened that, instead of going in
the direction of his friend's house, he passed through a door-
way into an adjoining yard, and, not seeing where he was
going, he fell over a bullock which was lying on the ground
quietly chewing the cud. The owner at once cried out:
272
A STORY OF A BARBER. .
Hi, sir! what are you rolling over my bullock for ? Are
you blind ?
C
No,' answered the ready barber, 'I am not blind, but I
have been having an argument with a friend of mine as to
the age of your bullock; and as we could not agree, I said I
would go and find out the bullock's age by a touch.'
What opinion did you give ?' inquired the owner.
'I,' replied the barber, ‘said your bullock was young, but
he said no, your bullock was old.'
You are right,' said the owner ; 'the bullock is young.'
The barber now ventured to ask for a little fire, which the
man brought out for him, and placed in the bowl of his
hookah. His next difficulty, however, was how to find his
way back, as he had no idea on which side of him the door-
way lay. Not to be outdone, he cried out to the farmer:
"Well, friend, is the bullock young or old ?' The farmer,
who on the other side of the wall had been a puzzled listener
to the conversation, answered in as loud a tone: 'The
bullock is young. As you are a barber, you, of course, were
right.' And so the barber, guided by the direction of the
voice, made his way successfully to the doorway, and passed
back without further mishap.
Meanwhile, however, the farmer had been considering :
Surely the barber must be moon-blind too, to have gone
headlong over a bullock ! So, as the barber was handing
him the lighted hookah, he remarked : 'I suffer from the
moon-blindness. Do you too? If so, why did you not say
so, and we might have sent someone else for the fire ?' But
before the barber could answer, their friend came and called
them to their food, and having all three eaten their supper,
they went to sleep.
The next morning a certain woman, hearing that the
barber had arrived, brought to him her sick child and said :
My child has boils.'
‘I will bleed him for you,' answered the barber. But
he used his lancet so clumsily that he pierced the child's
body, and the entrails protruded. Seeing this, the mother
began to cry, and the people seized the barber and charged
him before the king with murder. This is unfortunate,'
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
273
6
thought the barber. 'I must see if I cannot get off.
Meanwhile he was ushered into the king's presence.
How did you manage to kill this child ?' asked the king.
Spare my life,' answered he, and I will tell you.'
'Be it so,' replied the king.
The barber then said: 'It was the fault of the woman
herself for having borne a thin-skinned child. If she had
borne a child with a sufficiently thick skin the knife would
never have pierced it and the child would never have died.'
Hearing this, the king laughed and let the man off, and so
he returned in safety to his own home.
LXXI.
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT,*
THE TWO SONS OF RAJAH BUNCE.
Sinonimi Lumila
NCE upon a time two swallows
built their nest in the rafters of
a veranda in one of the palaces
of Rajah Bunce. This veranda
was a cool and pleasant place,
with an agreeable prospect of
plain and river, and Rajah Bunce
came often there to rest. One
day he noticed two swallows
which flew into the veranda
several times, bringing food for their young ones. Being
curious to learn their habits, he continued to watch them
day after day. One evening he noticed that though both
birds had flown forth for food, only the male bird returned.
The next day he looked again, hoping to see both the birds,
but the young ones were again fed by the male bird only.
Surprised at this, he issued an order: 'If anyone in the
city has caught a swallow he is to let it go immediately.'
* The accent in ‘Bussunt'is on the second syllable.
18
274
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BÚSSUNT.
6
6
In a short time a falconer came and reported that he had
caught a hen-swallow. “Then let it go,' said the king.
But, şir,' answered the falconer, 'I gave the bird to my
hawk.'
Ah, cruel one!' said the king, you have killed the mother
of a brood of poor young birds.'
The falconer excused himself, saying: 'I was not aware
she had young,' and the king sent him away.
For several days after this the king was pleased to notice
that the male bird, though deprived of his mate, was un-
remitting in his care of his offspring, and he hoped that all
would yet be well with them. On a certain morning, how-
ever, when the swallow flew back with food as usual, he
came accompanied by another mate, which seemed so re-
markable a circumstance that it set the king thinking.
this the real mother,' thought he, or is it another?
Perhaps it is the very one herself.' Then the king's heart
felt glad, and he continued to watch. The next morning
the two birds came in together again, but instead of
coming and going many times, as before, they visited
the nest only once during the whole day. Another day
passed, and the king found that the hen-bird came alone,
but that the cock - bird never appeared at all. Can
anything have happened to the cock-bird ?' then said he
to himself. 'Has he been caught too ?' So he issued a
second order: 'Whosoever has caught a swallow, be it male
or female, he is to let it escape.' But his vizier brought
answer back: 'No one has caught any swallow whatever.'
Then King Bunce returned to his palace veranda and began
to consider this: ‘Both birds brought in food yesterday,
and to-day the hen-bird only appeared. How is this?
Where could the cock-bird have been ?' Looking up
towards the nest, he was surprised to notice an unusual
silence 'Can the young ones be sleeping ?' said he to
himself. So he called for a ladder, and mounting, he put
his hand into the nest, and found that all the four young
birds were dead. 'Ah,' said the king, ‘some snake must
have come and drawn their breath away! But when he
began to examine them he found a little thorn sticking in
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
275
the throat of every one of them, which had deprived them
of life. He now concluded that the second hen-bird was a
stepmother, and that she had purposely given the young
ones thorns instead of worms in order to destroy them.
Now, Rajah Bunce had two sons named Roop and Bus-
sunt, and as he considered the fate of the poor fledglings he
thought to himself: 'If my queen were to die and I were to
marry again, my new wife would treat my sons cruelly too.
If a silly bird can be so wicked, what might not be expected
from a designing woman?'
As fate would have it, it happened after some time that
the queen, the mother of the two boys, died and was buried.
The king mourned for her, and the whole of his court
mourned for her too, both because she was young and
beautiful and on account of all her endearing qualities.
Many months elapsed, and as the affairs of the kingdom
were suffering neglect owing to the king's continued sorrow,
his ministers all assembled together and advised him to
marry again.
'No,' answered the king. 'I have learnt a lesson from
the birds of the air; I have seen what atrocities even the
stepmothers of swallows can commit.
Again and again his vizier and his other ministers begged
him to marry again, and their words prevailed, so that at last,
as it is easier to gratify men than to please God, he gave his
consent. So proposals of marriage were made to the
daughter of a neighbouring king, and in due course of time
the bride was brought home, and lodged in a splendid
palace of her own.
Time passed, and the two boys went to school together,
and learnt their lessons day by day in the classes of learned
pundits, where many others used to come too, to win wisdom
and knowledge out of ancient books. This was the golden
period of their lives, and they were happy in the innocence
of their boyhood and in the full measure of their father's
love.
The queen, however, entertained for these two young
princes sentiments of a far different description. She was
their stepmother, and she possessed all a stepmother's
18-2
276
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
feelings towards the children of her predecessor. One day,
when the two brothers had returned from school as usual,
they were amusing themselves with some tumbler-pigeons in
the court of the palace. The younger brother threw his
pigeon high into the air, and it alighted on the terrace of the
queen's apartments, on which she was then pacing backwards
and forwards. Seizing the bird, she at once put it under a
basket and hid it, and sat, and looked as if nothing had
happened. The boy, who was strong and active, climbed up
the terrace, and seeing his stepmother, he said: 'Mother,
have you seen my pigeon ?' The queen answered, 'No.'
The boy looked doubtfully at her, and just then an old nurse, ,
who had tended both the princes in their infancy, and who
was a favourite of the former queen, made signs to him that
the pigeon was hidden under the basket. He reached the
basket at a bound and rescued the pigeon, which he took
away with him, while the discomfited queen retired in anger
to her chamber. Coming down again to the court, he told
his brother: 'My pigeon flew on to the terrace, and the
queen hid it, and but for the nurse I should never have
recovered it.
A few days passed, and the same accident occurred again.
The pigeon lighted on the terrace and was hidden by the
queen. Then said the younger brother to the elder: 'It
is your turn now. Do you go up and bring the pigeon
back.
Up climbed the elder brother as quickly as possible, and
when he arrived at the top he looked all round for the
pigeon, but it was nowhere to be seen. Feeling certain
that the queen, who was sitting by her chamber-door, had
hidden it, he went towards the basket, but as he approached
the queen caught hold of him, saying, 'You are not to go
there. As his strength far surpassed hers, he released him-
self from her hold, and rescued his pigeon. But the queen
set up a cry of distress, and began to weep loudly and
bitterly. All her maidens came running about her, wonder-
ing what had occurred, and then came the king himself, to
whom the queen said, 'Either your sons must quit the king-
dom, or I must.'
>
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
277
sons.
What have the princes done ?' inquired the king. And
how have they annoyed you ?'
'Yesterday,' answered she, 'the younger, Prince Bussunt,
and to-day Prince Roop, the elder, scaled the palace-wall,
and having insulted me, they would have treated me with
violence, but I cried out and they escaped.'
Then was the king filled with sorrow. "Ah!' thought he,
*that which I feared has befallen me at last.' Going to his
vizier, he said, “ Do you not see ? From the first I foresaw
this trouble; my mind misgave me, and as I expected, so
has it come to pass, and now either the queen or the princes
must leave the palace. I can no longer keep both wife and
What am I to do?'
Some of his minister's counselled the king to have pity on
the youth of the two princes, and to forgive their offence,
but the king, swayed by his wicked wife, was so convinced
of their guilt, that no arguments were strong enough to
induce him to regard them again with a favourable eye.
Then said his vizier, 'O king, if you banish your children
the scandal will not be so great. But if you dismiss your
wife evil tongues will remark it, and a bad report will spread
abroad in the kingdom.'
Led, therefore, by the advice of his vizier, the king deter-
mined on the banishment of Roop and his brother Bussunt.
Now, in those days, it was the custom with kings, whenever
one of the royal household was to be disgraced and banished,
either to place a pair of wooden shoes turned upside down
at the door of him who was sentenced to exile, or to order
his rooms to be swept out backwards instead of being cleaned
in the usual way.
The next day the two boys came home from school, and
the elder was chasing the younger, and they were racing
towards the court. On reaching the palace, Bussunt, the
younger, caught sight of the upturned shoes at the door of
their rooms, and he said to his brother, “See, brother, the
king's signal! It is our sentence of banishment, and we
must leave the country.'
They were brave boys, both of them, and when they
entered the house they sat down and conferred together
278
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
us
and made their plans. "Yes,' said the elder, ‘let us go to
the stables and choose out a couple of swift horses, and let
see the treasurer and provide ourselves with money,
and let us be gone, otherwise the queen will devise our
destruction.'
As they agreed, so they acted, and having provided them-
selves with everything necessary for a long journey, and
having armed themselves with their good swords, they set
out from the palace without bidding farewell to anyone.
On and on they rode over mountain and plain ; day suc-
ceeded day, and they found themselves astray in a gloomy
forest. "God is in heaven,' said the elder; 'but where are
we?' Just then they met a wayfarer, and inquired of him, 'Is
there any town or village hereabouts ?'
'Yes,' answered the inan; 'there is a village close at hand. '
So they continued their journey, but instead of arriving at
human abodes they appeared to plunge deeper and deeper
into the forest, and evening coming on, they sat down to
rest under a great tâlli-tree, both wide-spreading and high.
' Either we were misled,' said Bussunt, or we have mis-
taken the traveller's directions.'
* Here let us rest,' answered the elder brother, 'for there
is abundance of grass and water. Let us tie up our horses,
and watch through the night by turns.'
True,' said the younger, 'this spot is cool and delicious,
and though our food is exhausted, and we are hungry, we
can at least lie down and sleep by turns. Let the first watch
be mine.'
• Nay,' said the elder, you are more fatigued than I am.
Brother, you shall rest first.'
* Not so,' returned Bussunt. 'You are the elder, and to
rest before me is your right. Therefore, if you really love
me, suffer me to mount guard for the first few hours. Oh, let
me watch while you sleep and dream of happier days to
come !
Then the two boys picketed their horses, and having
washed, they commended themselves to the protection of
God in the usual prayers, and while Roop, the elder brother,
lay down and slept, the younger watched.
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
279
The place was lonely and wild, and the silence of night
was broken at times by the cries of wild animals on the quest
for prey. To scare them away, Bussunt collected some dry
leaves and sticks, and having struck out a spark from his
sword-blade, he lighted a fire, and having blown up the
glowing embers into a bright blaze, and heaped on more
wood, he sat down and began to warm himself, because the
air, though still, was cold. He had been thinking over all
their misfortunes, longing for his home, and guessing at the
uncertain future, when he suddenly heard a strange flutter-
ing of wings in the tâlli-tree. Looking up, he could dimly
discern two pearl-eating flamingoes* struggling together
among the branches.
"What !' said one of them to the other. You, a female,
presuming to contend with me! Let me tell you that, if
20
Dillund
anyone were this moment to kill me and eat me, to-morrow
morning he would be a crowned king.'
'And hear what I have to say, also,' answered the other.
'If you are great, I am great also, for if anyone were to kil!
and eat me he would become a king's counsellor.
When Bussunt heard what the birds had to say he
* In Panjâbî--Hâns.
280
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
6
wondered greatly, and he thought to himself: 'If now I
could so manage as to kill both these birds, I would give
the male bird to my brother, and the female I would eat
myself.'
He then thought of his God, and, putting two arrows to
his bow, he drew it with a steady aim and shot them both.
Down fell the two flamingoes at his feet, and picking them
up, he plucked them and laid them on the red ashes. Then
he turned to his brother and roused him, saying, “ Brother,
wake up, God has sent us some food.
When Roop saw the two birds roasting on the embers, he
said: 'One of these fowls is smaller than the other. Let
me have the smaller one, since I can bear hunger better
than you.'
'No, no,' answered Bussunt. 'You are my big brother, ,
and yours is the larger bird. The smaller one is mine.'
And, to prevent mistakes, he took the smaller bird and
began to eat it.
When the two princes had finished their supper, the elder
said: 'It is your turn now to lie down. Brother, it is mid-
night; rest, and I will keep watch.
In the morning they were about betimes, and, having
again washed in the stream, they saddled their horses,
mounted, and rode on their way.
After going some little distance, the younger brother said:
'Ah, brother, how unfortunate I am! I have forgotten my
whip under the tâlli-tree, and I shall have now to ride back
to fetch it."
Then said the elder: If you will return, I will go on
slowly. Make haste, and overtake me.' And the brothers
separated, but little did they suspect how long a separation
their parting was to prove.
Let us first see what happened to the elder brother.
He rode on, and presently he fell into a reverie, and quite
forgot all about Bussunt. Before he was aware of it he found
himself approaching the gates of a large well-walled city,
where he was surrounded by crowds of eager people all
vociferating loudly, and hailing him as their king. What
means this greeting ?' asked Prince Roop of one standing
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
281
by his bridle, who by his appearance seemed to be a person
of consequence.
Our king,' answered the vizier, for that was his rank,
'died last night, and it is an unalterable law of this realm
MTMU
で​お​分
​YIL
1.
w
that when the reigning sovereign dies his successor shall be
the first strange horseman who comes riding into the town.'
So Roop was escorted by guards of honour to the public
place, and thence to a palace of exceeding beauty, where, in
the midst of applauding multitudes, he was throned a
crowned king. But, as if some strange spell had fallen
upon his mind, he never once remembered his younger
brother, but forgot him as completely as if he had never
existed.
But where was Prince Bussunt?
After parting from Roop, he rode back to the spot where
they had spent the night; but as he approached the tree he
observed that a deadly snake was lying across his whip,
which still remained on the ground where he had left it.
'If I spur my horse into a gallop,' said Bussunt, “I shall
be able to stoop down and pick up the whip as I ride by.'
So Prince Bussunt urged his horse forward at a gallop, but
it so happened that the snake was on the alert, and just as
the lad stooped over to grasp his whip the venomous reptile
282
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
6
drew away his breath and he fell from his horse in a swoon,
while his horse also, arrested by the poisonous influence,
stood still by his master's side. Then the snake glided
rapidly away, and disappeared in the depths of the forest.
For several days Prince Bussunt remained lying uncon-
scious under the tâlli-tree. To all appearance he was dead,
for he neither breathed nor moved. At last an old beggar-
man and his wife happened to pass that way in their
journeyings from one country to another. And when they
came to the place and saw a handsome boy lying, as they
imagined, cold and stiff upon the ground, they began to
feel alarmed, and the old man said to his wife: Come
away, come away, we shall both be hanged ; his death will
be fastened on us !'
Stay for one moment,' answered the woman; 'let us see
what is the matter.'
'Nay, nay,' said he, 'we shall get into trouble ; let us go.'
The woman, however, had her own way, and, having
carefully felt and examined the boy, she said : 'No one has
shot him, and no one has cut him down, nor is he really
dead, but his breath has been drawn out of his body by a
snake. If you will not come here and try to restore the lad
to life, you and I must now separate. You are a fakeer and
a snake-charmer, and all the snakes know you and fear you.
Come nigh, therefore, and let us not abandon this beautiful
youth to perish in the wilderness.'
Thus entreated, the old beggar-man approached, saying:
'I will do my best. If it is the will of God that he shall
live, doubtless he will live.'
Then the old man drew upon the ground his magic lines,
and, kneeling down, he began to recite and to pray with
intense energy. As he proceeded with his incantations, all
the snakes of the forest began to crowd around him, some
of them centuries old, others small and young, until he was
surrounded by them on all sides. But the snake which had
wrought the mischief came not. Then the old beggar-man
took four cowrie shells, and, having repeated certain words
over them, he sent them flying to the four winds, to the
north, to the south, to the east, and to the west, to search
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
283
for and to bring back the missing snake. Three of the
shells failed in their quest, but the fourth succeeded, and,
finding the snake, it compelled him to return. And when
the snake appeared, he was seen riding as a king on the
back of another snake; but he was proud and disdainful,
and when all the other snakes bent their heads to the earth
and touched the magic lines, he alone refused to do so.
When the beggar-man saw this, he prayed and prayed
and prayed again, until he had subdued the power of the
snake, and then he spoke roughly to him and said : 'What
tyranny of yours is this? By what right have you stolen
the breath of this beautiful boy, and left him to be devoured
in the forest ?'
'No tyrant am I,' answered the snake; but this boy is
himself the tyrant, for with his bow and arrows he shot
my two flamingoes.'
Way
0191
000
Yeri
Fit
Then the beggar-man added entreaties to his spells, and
prevailed on the snake to relent and to restore the boy to
life. And when the snake had breathed into his mouth,
Prince Bussunt opened his eyes, and, looking round, he
said : 'Oh, what a beautiful sleep I have had! Why have
you wakened me?' But the fakeer answered: 'O boy, the
sleep which you have had, may God in His mercy never grant
284
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
you again!' By degrees the prince remembered all the
circumstances which he had forgotten, and the beggar-man
explained to him how he had been restored to life. Very
grateful he felt when he understood how truly he had been
served, and he said: 'O fakeer, my brother is now lost; let
me therefore go with you.' But the old man answered: 'It
cannot be ; you are a king's son, and we are only poor folk.
We should be taken up and hanged on account of you.
Therefore, wherever you go, we shall not go. We'll have
nothing more to do with you.' And the old couple
salaamed the prince and went off.
Left to himself, Bussunt determined to mount his horse
and to ride on through the forest in the hope that fortune
might lead him to his brother, or at least to some village or
town. One evening, after the sun had set, he found himself
before the walls of the very city in which his brother Roop
reigned as king. But the gates were closed and fast barred,
and the watchman on the battlements refused to open them.
In vain Bussunt pleaded hunger and fatigue.
'Too late,' said the watchman; 'a man-eating tiger infests
this neighbourhood, and the king's order is that the gates
shall not be opened after sundown. No one can enter now
before the morrow.?
Finding entreaties unavailing, Bussunt retired to some
ruined huts close by, and, dismounting from his horse, he
tied him to a tree, and determined there to spend the night.
Scarcely had he closed his weary eyes when he heard the
growl of the tiger, and looking out, he saw the beast, close to
the door, about to make a spring upon his horse. Said
Bussunt to himself: 'You may roar, my friend, but with
luck I hope to have your head.'
He had his good sword drawn in his hand, and as the
tiger, in the act of springing, flew past the doorway, he
smote him with might and main and nearly cut him in two.
This tiger had been the terror of the town for many a
year, and one of the decrees made by the late king pro-
claimed that whoever should bring in his head should marry
his daughter and be made governor of the fourth part of the
kingdom. It might seem that Bussunt's troubles were now
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
285
about to end, and that a life of happiness in the enjoyment
of his former rank was about to open to him. But this was
far from being the case, because it so happened that the
watchman, from his tower, had observed the whole of his
proceedings and noted the death of the famous man-eating
tiger. 'Ah,' exclaimed this villain to himself, to-night
my star is in the ascendant, and if I can only get rid of
this stranger, and secure the tiger's head, my fortune
is made.'
For an hour he remained at his post, but when he felt
assured that the prince was fast asleep he stole down from
the tower, and cautiously approaching the hut, he entered,
sword in hand, and hewed at the unfortunate boy without
mercy. Having thus, as he supposed, killed him outright,
he took up the unconscious body and, carrying it to a
lonely place, threw it among some reeds by the river's side.
Then, returning, he hid the horse, and cut off the tiger's
head, which he took back with him to his watch-tower, and
in the morning, presenting himself at the palace, he displayed
his prize and claimed the promised reward. Everyone
belauded the courage of the watchman, who suddenly
became famous and was regarded by the whole city as a
hero. Nor were his supposed merits unrequited, for he was
raised to the position of a counsellor of state, he was made
governor of a province, and the hand of a lovely princess
was bestowed on him in marriage.
Early on the next day a poor washerman loaded his
donkey with the clothes of his customers, and, driving
him before him through the city gate, went to his usual
washing-ground by the river's side. There he heard a most
lamentable groaning.
What can this be ?' said he. Perhaps the tiger has
mauled some wayfarer.' Having searched among the reeds,
he found the wounded Bussunt, whose face seemed to him
so beautiful that he exclaimed : 'This boy looks like a rose.
But oh,' continued he, how he has been cut to pieces !'
Finding that life still breathed in him, he raised him
gently and placed him on his donkey, and so led him back
to the city and took him to his own home.
When his wife saw her husband returning so soon with a
6
286
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
6
strange youth on the donkey's back, she assailed him with
five hundred curses. 'I sent you out to wash the clothes,
said she, and here you are back again already.'
Hush ! answered he. “Keep still, keep still! God has
sent us good fortune.'
. And as soon as she saw the state of affairs, and looked at
the boy's handsome face and deadly wounds, she also pitied
him, and she received him kindly, and took him in, and
laid him down, and dressed his wounds, and she tended him
so carefully that in a short time he recovered and became
quite well again.
But these good people were very poor, and they could not
afford to keep a young man in the house idle, nor had he
any hope of ever meeting his brother again, for he knew not
what had become of him. But as he felt grateful to the
worthy couple for all that they had done for him, he offered
to serve them in any way they pleased. So the woman
taught him sewing and embroidery, and he became so expert
with his needle that the king and all the nobles heard of his
fame and sent him orders for their robes of state. Little
did he think when he was busy toiling as a tailor on some
royal garment that he was working at the clothing of his
own brother.
So time went on, until at last, as his evil genius would
have it, his old enemy, the city watchman, now a governor,
came that way and recognised him as he sat over his needle
in the washerman's doorway.
'Ah,' said the villain, 'can this be true ? I thought I had
despatched him, but it seems I was mistaken. I am undone
if I do not find means of destroying him. I had better
have him stolen and killed without delay.
Now, it happened at that season that a merchant vessel,
which had arrived at the harbour, had become stranded,
and though every device was tried to float her again, she
still rernained embedded in the sand. Despairing of success,
the sailors consulted a certain sorcerer, who said: “The
vessel will never move until you offer in sacrifice an only son,
who must be slain, and whose blood must be caught and
sprinkled on the deck.'
Having received this answer, the sailors went to the king
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT,
287
and stated the whole case, at the same time begging that an
only son should be surrendered to them for slaughter. As
it was the custom of that country to perform these hideous
rites on occasions of emergency, an order was made out for
them, and it was entrusted for execution to the wretch who
had been promoted from obscurity to honour.
Overjoyed at his good fortune, he hastened to the house of
the washerman, and with his own hands dragged forth the
unfortunate Bussunt and led him away to the ship, saying:
'This is my day of revenge.' In vain followed the washer-
man and his wife, weeping and lamenting. The youth was
handed over to the sorcerer, and the merchants prepared to
sacrifice him to the sea.
What are you going to do with me?' asked the boy.
'We are going,' answered they, 'to sprinkle your life-
blood on the deck of the ship, and then she will float and
we shall be able to sail. So prepare, for in two minutes off
comes your head.'
Now, Prince Bussunt had himself learnt something of
magic and charms from his wicked stepmother, and at the
same time he was also wise and intelligent. So, addressing
the merchants, he said to them : Sirs, what is it you
really desire ? Do you wish to take off my head, or only to
float your ship?
They all answered : 'What we really want is to set sail
as soon as possible.
Then Bussunt took out his knife, and, opening a vein in
his arm, he sprinkled the deck with his blood. At the same
time the sailors and the people all pushed with a will, and in
a moment the ship slid from the bank into deep water,
where, having quickly righted herself, she was soon riding at
anchor.
The merchants and the sailors were all delighted, nor did
they desire anything more, but the villainous watchman
conspired with their chief, and said: 'By the king's gift this
boy is yours. Your ship may ground somewhere else;
therefore, be prudent and take your prisoner with you.'
So Bussunt was immediately seized and carried on board.
No time was wasted in weighing the anchor and in
288
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
unfurling and raising the sails, and in less than an hour the
disconsolate washerman and his wife saw the vessel
ploughing the river to
to the neighbouring sea before a
favourable wind.
Long was the voyage, but Bussunt commended himself to
all by his gentle manners and willing obedience, and the
principal merchant, to whom the ship belonged, began to
regard him with favour.
At last they reached their destination, and the ship was
moored to one of the wharfs of a great seaport. Then the
merchants and the sailors carried their bales and boxes of
merchandise on shore, and betook them to the bazaars,
leaving Bussunt to keep guard on the deck.
Now, it happened that quite close to the wharf at which
the vessel was moored rose the walls and turrets of the
king's palace. This king had a most lovely daughter, who
often came and sat at a lattice overlooking the sea, and as
she was young and romantic, she loved to lean her cheek
upon her hand and gaze over the moonlit waters.
Once when she was thus engaged she heard the sound
of weeping rising from the deck of the strange ship, but it
was so dark that she could not see who it was that thus
bemoaned his fate. In the morning, however, she looked
out again and saw Prince Bussunt sitting in the stern with
a book in his hand, froin which he was reading aloud. As
she gazed at his face, she thought to herself: 'Surely never
was anyone so handsome!' and as she listened to his voice
she thought: 'Was ever voice more beautiful than his?
'
That night she watched and heard him weeping again, and
soon she discovered that thus he spent most of his time,
reading aloud while the daylight lasted and crying over his
troubles in the dark hours of the night.
Resolved to become acquainted with this mysterious
visitor to her father's kingdon, she told her slave-girl
to go down and find out who he was. So the slave-girl
went as she was ordered, and, entering the ship, she ap-
proached the spot where at that time Bussunt was lying
asleep in the moonlight. Looking closely at him, she came
away again, and returned quickly to her young mistress, to
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
289
whom she said: 'I have just seen a youth more beautiful
than the moon.'
Then said the princess : 'Come along with me.
I must go
and see him too. And, disguising herself, she descended to
the wharf, ran across it, and went on to the deck, where she
felt as she gazed that her whole soul was ravished with love.
And so she returned weeping and sighing to her chamber.
While she was sitting sadly at her window the prince
awoke and said: "Have I been dreaming, or did some
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beautiful lady really visit me in my sleep?' He then looked
up, and in the full moonlight he saw the lady of his dreams
gazing at him from the lattice, and as his eyes met hers his
soul escaped from his body, and he fell hopelessly in love
with her. Then the princess called the slave-girl and bade
her go down quickly to the ship and tell Bussunt how much
she loved him, and that if so he pleased she was ready to
marry him, since her father's affection for his daughter was
such that he had given her liberty to choose her own mate
and to marry the man of her heart.
19
290
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
A happy time they had together, these two young people,
day after day and night after night exchanging signs and
tokens of mutual love. For the sake of the princess the
king accepted Bussunt as a son-in-law, and believing him to
be the son of the principal merchant of the ship, he loaded
him with favours and bestowed on him ample wealth. Nor
were the merchants themselves less kind and friendly on
account of his fortune, though in secret they were always
plotting how they might ruin him and enrich themselves at
his expense.
In due time the wedding was celebrated and the prince
lodged in the palace, but the next day the merchants came
and said: “The ship is laden, the breeze is fair, and we
must set sail. Come, boy, it is time to be off.' The prince
at once went and informed the king. Our vessel,' said he,
* sails to-day. What am I to do ?'
'Take ample gold,' answered the king, "and take your
wife on board with you, and when you have both travelled
all the world over come back and see me again.'
So they went on board the vessel, the prince, the princess,
and the company of merchants, and to pass away the idle
time the prince began from that very day to tell his wife the
story of his life.
When she had heard the whole of his adventures she was
grieved, and cried : 'Oh, why did you not tell me of this
before ? Both my father and I believed you to be the son
of the merchant. But you are a prince, and none of his,
and his past treatment of you augurs ill for the future. We
are now in this man's hands, and Heaven knows what he
may do to us!
From that day she watched and guarded her husband
with the most assiduous care, expecting she knew not what,
but fearing the worst. Nor was her dread destitute of
foundation, for the merchants had conspired together, say-
ing: 'Let us wait our opportunity, and throw the lad over-
board, and then we can divide his money amongst us, while,
as for the princess, we can take her to the king's palace and
sell her at a fabulous price as a slave.'
With all their malice, however, they found no opportunity
+
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
291
of carrying their schemes into practice, until they had fairly
entered the river and had arrived within a few miles of the
city which was governed by Prince Roop. Then, as the
weary princess rested apart, they approached Bussunt,
who was sleeping on a carpet on the deck, and, tying the
four corners of the carpet hastily together, they lifted him
up and threw him overboard into the river, which was run-
ning fast astern.
But the ship continued her course, and when they arrived
at the city the merchants took the weeping girl to the palace
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​and sold her for an immense sum in gold. Prince Roop as
soon as he saw her thought she surpassed in beauty every
other lady whom he had ever beheld. And he had a mind
to marry her at once; but the princess said to him : 'I am
married already.
'That can hardly be,' answered he. Are you not a slave ?'
'I am married,' repeated she. Grant me, therefore,
just three years to mourn and to inquire for my husband.
Iſ in that time he does not come for me, you are free to
marry me; but if you attempt to wed me by violence, know
that I am a princess, and that I will kill both you and
myself.'
19-2
292
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT. .
The king heard these words without anger, assigned to
her a separate palače, and gave her a bevy of maidens to
attend upon her.
Meanwhile Fortune had not altogether abandoned the
younger prince. Finding himself in the rushing water, he
struggled with all his might, and, having freed himself from
the carpet, he struck out manfully for the neighbouring
banks. But the current was set in strong towards the sea,
and it was with the utmost difficulty that he made the shore
before it was too late.
[In that ardent region of the earth's surface, where the rays
of the sun are very powerful, in order to secure the fruits of
their fields farmers have to depend on artificial irrigation.
On the alluvial lands which stretch along the borders of the
rivers they are accustomed to sink down shafts in the per-
pendicular banks to the flowing water. These shafts are
open all the way down on the river-side, being semi-cylin-
drical, and the water is drawn up by means of Persian
wheels turned by bullocks.]
Into one of these singular wells Prince Bussunt was driven
by the force of the current, and, seizing the suspended ropes
to which the numerous pitchers were attached, he held
firmly on.
It happened that the gardener who owned the land above
was just then watering his fields, and perceiving that some
accident had stopped the wheels from working, he went to
the well and looked down, when to his surprise he saw
Bussunt, half drowned, clinging to the ropes. Calling for
help, he succeeded in rescuing the lad from his woeful
plight, and in restoring him once more to solid ground.
Prince Bussunt was so exhausted that he fainted away,
and the gardener and his wife had to carry him home. There
he was seized with a violent fever, which lasted for weeks,
and which left him so feeble that he was unable to walk for
several weeks more. All hope of ever recovering his lost
princess had now vanished from his mind, for he knew well
that if she had not been shut up in the house of the rner-
chant she had been sold into slavery. When therefore he
was well enough, he offered his services to his benefactors,
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT:
293
who gladly accepted them, and the king's son became a
gardener.
Now, this old man and his wife were accustomed to make
a little money by selling their vegetables; and so one day
they said to Bussunt: 'You are now strong and well enough
to earn something for yourself. Fill up a basket with
cucumbers, and carry them into the market for sale.'
' If,' answered Bussunt, you would have me go in and
out of the town without fear of violence, give me the clothing
of a girl, because in that place lives a certain man who has
twice attempted my life.'
So the prince was dressed up as a girl, and in that disguise
he accompanied the gardener's wife day by day, whenever
she went to the town to sell her vegetables and to buy food.
One day, as they were passing through the bazaar, they
met the town-crier beating a drum and crying aloud : 'Ho
people, by order of the king, if anyone was ever shipwrecked
or lost at sea let him come with me to the court and tell the
story, and his reward shall be great !'
'Mother,' said Bussunt,'my chance has come to reward
you as you have befriended me. Let me go to the palace
and tell the story of my adventures.'
'But who will believe you?' said the gardener's wife.
You are no longer a boy, but a girl.'
Still, give me leave, pleaded he, "and let us trust to
chance."
So the woman went to the crier and said : 'Here is this
daughter of mine who knows a story of the sea.'
And the crier took Bussunt disguised as he was, and he was
brought to the palace, and seated before the princess, who
bade him tell his adventures at sea. Bussunt, therefore,
sat down and began the story of his life from the very
beginning, about his father and his stepmother and his exile
from home; but when he came to tell of himself and his
brother sleeping at night under the tâlli-tree, he there
stopped short, and said : Of that story I can remember no
more to-day.'
Then the princess turned to a slave-girl and said : 'This
is the very person I want. She will remember perhaps to-
294
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
morrow. Give her money, therefore, and tell her to come
again.' And to the watchman or crier she sent word that
he should watch for the girl's return, and that when she
came again to the town with her basket of vegetables he
should bring her before her.
The next day the old woman and Bussunt, laden with
vegetables, again came to the town, and again they heard
the crier beating his drum and proclaiming the will of the
princess, and again the prince said: 'Mother, if you will
allow me, I will go and tell the rest of the story to-day.'
And the old woman answered as before: Go, son, go.'
So to the princess he went, and he continued the story of
his life from the point at which he left off the day before.
But when he came to the account of the manner in which
he had been tied up in his sleeping carpet on the deck of
the ship, he again stopped and said: “The rest I do not
know, I cannot tell, but I will come again some other time
and finish the story.' So the princess ordered him splendid
presents and dismissed him. All this money he faithfully
took to the gardener and his wife, who were both overjoyed.
The next day came the old woman and Bussunt to the
town as usual, and again the town-crier was seen beating
his drum and delivering his message. The woman went up
to him and said: 'Take my daughter to the palace only.
once more, and she will finish her story of the sea.'
So Prince Bussunt again sat before the princess and took
up his story, but when he got to the tale of the well, and
how he had escaped, and how the gardener and his wife had
nursed him back to life, the princess rose from her seat and
ran to him and embraced him, crying, 'My husband, my
husband !
'Nay,' said he, 'I am only a poor gardener's daughter.'
Then she wept over him and kissed him, and he revealed
himself to her, and when he had bathed and dressed in
princely robes he returned to the chamber again. So the
princess sat down and wrote to the king, saying: 'My lost
husband is found again, but if you do not believe, come
yourself and see him.'
As soon
as they met, the younger brother at once
recognised the elder, but the elder did not recognise the
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
295
younger, and he said to him: 'What is your history, that
you come here to claim the princess ?' Then Bussunt
began to tell his direful story again. The king sat down
and listened with interest growing deeper and deeper, and
when the story was ended he hailed his younger brother
with joy, there was full recognition, and the palace
resounded with the welcome news.
The next day the king took his brother and his wife and
gave them quarters in his own palace. And the younger
said: 'Is that wicked watchman here still ?'
'He is,' answered Roop, the elder. The order of the late
king was that whoever killed the man-eating tiger should be
advanced to honour, and the watchman is now the governor
of a province. But I have sent to have him seized and
produced before me.'
* Alas !' answered Bussunt, it was my fate, and one's fate
who can avoid ? Therefore spare the man's life and let him
live for my sake.'
Nor did he forget the old gardener and his wife, who
received promotion and lived in comfort all their days.
So Bussunt became his elder brother's chief counsellor,
and at his brother's court he lived for many months. But
the time came when he longed to return to his father's
house to see if the old man was yet alive. So, taking his
wife, he set out and journeyed towards his own country, and
when he arrived within the borders of the kingdom he sent
forward a message to report his approach. But his father
was now old and blind, and everyone had long given him up
for dead, and his story was not believed. So he called for a
cunning artist to paint his picture, and this picture he sent
to the court by the hand of a friend. And when the vizier
saw the picture he at once knew it to be the likeness of the
lost Prince Bussunt, and he sent out a guard of honour to
conduct him to the capital, where he was received with joy.
The old king was so glad to meet his son once more that
he placed his crown upon his head, and said: “Now you
shall be king in my stead;' and having done this he turned
fakeer, and soon after died happy and content.
Meanwhile the prince had taken his wife to see his step-
mother. But she hated the prince more
more than ever
296
THE ADVENTURES OF ROOP AND BUSSUNT.
especially now that he was king; but she dissembled her
hatred, and said to him: 'I am now your friend, and I wish
also to be considered your brother's friend as well. Give
me, therefore, an escort, and let me go and visit him.'
The prince gladly agreed, and she started for the kingdom
of Prince Roop; but evil thoughts were burning in her heart
as in an oven, and she had determined to set the brothers
one against the other.
Arriving at the elder brother's court, she began her wicked
schemes. Your younger brother,' said she, “is a tyrant.
He deposed his blind father and cast him into a dungeon,
where he perished miserably. Me also he would have
served in like manner, but I escaped, and he has seized your
inheritance and rules the land.'
Unfortunately, the elder brother believed this cruel woman,
and he gathered his armies and prepared to make war.
vain Bussunt sent messenger after messenger to explain the
true story. He was compelled to arm and advance too, and
when the two armies met there was a great battle, in which
the elder brother, Prince Roop, was defeated and slain. Then
for her life Aed the wicked queen, and never halted until she
had put herself far beyond the reach of pursuit. As for
Prince Bussunt, he mourned for his brother all his days;
sorrow like a shadow dogged his steps, and never was he
seen to make merry again.
In
14
THE BANEYR WAL AND HIS MOTHER.
297
LXXII.
THE BANÉYRWAL AND HIS MOTHER.
Sruth
A BANÉYRWAL went out coursing on the hills, and he took
his mother with him to assist him in the sport. The woman
had charge of the hound, but instead of simply holding the
leash in her hand, she tied it in a fast knot round her wrist.
When the game was put up, the dog made a sudden bound,
by reason of which the unfortunate woman was jerked for-
ward, and, as she came into violent contact with a sharp
rock some distance in advance of the hound, she was
unluckily killed. The dutiful son, with mingled feelings
of admiration and sorrow, carried his mother home and
buried her, and never afterwards did he cease to honour
her, saying to his friends: 'My poor mother was such an
excellent courser that she outstripped the very dogs and left
them far behind her.'
298
FUZZLE NOOR AND THE DEMON.
LXXIII.
FUZZLE NOOR AND THE DEMON.
İNCE upon a time there were two
men, Waîs by caste, named
Mahomed Bux and Amir Khan,
who by chance became friends.
Mahomed Bux used to visit Amir
Khan pretty regularly, and Amir
Khan and his wife always re-
ceived him with respect. One
day Amir Khan thought that he
also would go to his friend's
house, and so he did. But Mahomed Bux's wife was a
decided termagant; and the poor man, when he saw his
guest approaching, got into a terrible way. So he went to
his wife and spoke softly to her. 'Dear wife,' said he,
Amir Khan is coming. You are the daughter of a noble
family, and I hope you will treat him kindly. Whenever I
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went to his house, his wife came and washed my feet with
warm water, and has always treated me very civilly ; so I
wish you to do the same.'
'
* All right,' said she; 'don't worry yourself. I shall not
FUZZLE NOOR AND THE DEMON.
299
put you to disgrace before your company. But if you are
wise, you will also be careful not to vex me, but to remain
quiet at table and keep a civil tongue in your head. '
The meal was prepared accordingly, and the table spread
in a room adorned with all kinds of nice furniture. The
lady of the house, Fuzzle Noor by name, served up delicious
food, but, as there were four at table, the host and his friend
and his two grown sons, there was by no means enough for
all. When therefore they began to eat, the food fell short;
seeing which, Mahomed Bux became anxious, but at the
same time he was in mortal fear of his wife. At last he
ordered his servant to go and ask her for something more.
So the servant went and brought in a fresh mess, but neither
was that enough for four hungry men, and Mahomed Bux,
trembling with fright, sent her out again. But this time,
no sooner had the servant gone into the room and given her
message, than Fuzzle Noor flew into a rage, seized the
earthen pot, and, coming into the guest-room herself, she
smashed the pot on her husband's head, and while the pieces
were scattered on the floor, the rim of the pot remained round
his neck intact like a horse-collar. On seeing this, Amir Khan
was transfixed with astonishment, but he tried to satisfy his
host by saying: 'Dear friend, every woman suffers from
temper, and these things often happen in my house also.
Let us go out for a little walk.'
So the two friends went out, and Mahomed Bux appealed
to his companion and begged him to get rid of his wife for
him. “As to myself,' answered Amir Khan, 'I do not like
to do such things, but I will see my son and we'll do our
best for you.'
Amir Khan then left for his own home, and, arriving there,
he called his son, Akbar Khan, and said to him : 'Son, go
to Mahomed Bux's, and entice his wife to come here with
you under pretence of coming to a marriage-feast; but on
the way, when you get to a lonely place, do away with her,
that my friend may be rid of her.'
So the son went to the house of Mahomed Bux, and stayed
the night there. In the morning he said to Fuzzle Noor:
'Dear aunt, will you accompany me to my father's ? We
have a marriage-feast going on, and your attendance is most
300
FUZZLE NOOR AND THE DEMON.
urgently required. At first she refused, because she had a
lively recollection of the reception she had given the young
man's father the day before. But afterwards, when her
husband also urged her, she got ready, and, having dressed
in her best and put on all her ornaments, she set out with
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PONT
Camel
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BA
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her husband and Akbar Khan. For many miles they took
her through a wild forest, when, towards noon, they came to
a well. There they halted, and in their usual manner told
her to go to the well and fetch water. No sooner had she
got to the edge of the well than Akbar Khan with the
greatest violence pushed her in. Fortunately for her the
well was dry, but she fell on to the back of a demon who
had his abode in that place, and there, not a bit the worse,
she sat. The demon trembled excessively, not knowing
what gruesome thing it was that had come and sat on his
back. "Who are you,' cried he, that so fearlessly have
come on to my back ?'
' As for you,' answered she, you are merely a wretched
demon, while I am own sister to the devil. Still, I saw you
once and fell in love with you, and I have been looking for
you everywhere-oh, ever so long! To-day some people
told me you lived here; so I came, and in this well sure
enough I have found you.'
FUZZLE NOOR AND THE DEMON.
301
:
· Will you then be my wife ?' asked the demon, fairly
taken in.
• With all my heart,' answered she, “but only on one
condition.'
• What is the condition ?' inquired he. Quick, let me
know it soon !'
. It is not a hard one,' replied she. It is merely that I
administer every morning a hundred strokes on your head
with a slipper.'
At first the demon was surprised to hear this. But after-
wards, when he considered her beauty, he gave in. So he
married her, and for a long time he continued to live with
her, but by-and-by he began to get tired of his perpetual
beatings, because there was a great wound in his head;
and one day, when he went outside, some flies settled on it
and laid their eggs there, and he was tormented with pain.
Moreover, whenever he went to see his relations, they
despised him as a poor demon, a miserable demon, on
account of his sores. So he began to droop. He got very
mournful, and he longed to get rid of his bargain. With
this object in view, he made off, transformed himself into a
man, and hid himself from her in a mosque, where women
never come and mustn't come.
Now, it so happened that Mahomed Bux, the woman's
former husband, had turned dervish, and was then living
with some other dervishes in the same mosque. The
demon, never suspecting who he really was, met him, and
taking him aside, said : “My brother, all the work whi
you do shall be done in future by me. I will fetch the
water for ablutions, and I will sweep the mosque and keep
it in good order, but in return you and your friends shall go
to the villages, collect bread, and give me also a share.'
So Mahomed Bux and the other dervishes took out their
begging bowls day by day, and in the evening returned with
bread. But, at supper-time, the moment they squatted
down, the demon invariably clutched all the food with one
hand, swallowed it up, and left nothing for them. At last
one morning Mahomed Bux went to the demon privately,
and said : ‘Brother, I think you are not a man at all. You
302
FUZZLE NOOR AND THE DEMON.
look very stout, and you eat like some evil spirit. Tell me
the truth—what are you?'
'Tut, tut!' answered the demon, 'I am a man, of course!'
'You are not,' said Mahomed Bux; ‘I don't believe you.
I can guess from your mode of eating that you are not a
man.'
: My friend,''then said the demon, 'you are right. I am
really a demon, but be kind enough not to betray me. I
have escaped to this place, fleeing from my wife.' And then
the demon went on to tell him the whole story: how he
was living in a well, and how a certain woman, own sister
to the devil, calling herself Fuzzle Noor, had come there and
married him, and what a terrible life he had led with her.
All this reminded Mahomed Bux of his own wife, and he
concluded that she was the same person. My friend,' said
he to the devil, 'I also have been ruined by Fuzzle Noor;
but now that you have betrayed yourself, perhaps she will
be coming round here to look for you.
O friend,' cried the demon, 'for God's sake keep my secret.
Do not betray me for the world. Let her not cross my path
again. Promise this, and in return I will marry you to the
daughter of the king.'
So at once the demon disappeared, made his way to the
palace, and entered into the body of the princess. Upon
this, the most beautiful damsel in the world became mad,
and the king sent for all the wisest men in his kingdom to
cure her, but none of them could. The demon caused her
to put every doctor and physician who came near her to
the greatest disgrace. She tore off their turbans and threw
them down ; she tweaked their noses, and pulled their
beards; and sometimes she threw dust in their faces : so
that all the most learned pundits, astrologers, doctors, and
magicians became wearied out and indeed quite sick of her.
All this soon came to the ears of Mahomed Bux, who then,
as previously agreed upon with the demon, went to the king,
and said: 'I will drive out the evil spirit from your daughter;
but first promise that, if I do, you will give her to me in
marriage.' The king gladly consented, and the pretended
dervish went into the sick-chamber. As soon as he appeared
the raving princess rose up from the floor, and fell at his
FUZZLE NOOR AND THE DEMON.
303
feet, to the great astonishment of all her attendants. The
king also was much moved, seeing the respect which she
paid to so common a man, but he thought to himself,
: Perhaps he is some saint.' Then Mahomed Bux raised
tirtsults
FILM
VG
the princess, and said: 'Demon, within, I know you well;
even your relations I know. Set this innocent princess free
and go away, otherwise I shall clap you into prison.' But
the demon, having acquired such comfortable quarters, was
no longer minded to stand to his bargain. Therefore
Mahomed Bux bent nearer, and whispered in the lady's ear:
* Brother, that old virago, Fuzzle Noor, your wife, has come!'
Scarcely had he spoken the words, when the princess began
to tremble and the demon left her. The king kept his word,
gave Mahomed Bux his daughter in marriage, and conferred
upon him one half of his kingdom.
But the demon still hovered near the city, and one day
he came to Mahomed Bux, saying: 'Friend, I have given
you a kingdom, but now be careful and attend. I am in
love with the daughter of the king's vizier, and I am going
to her. I shall enter into her, and stay there ; but if this
time you come and interfere with me, I will tear you limb
from limb and crush you into pieces.' So the demon went
to the house of the vizier, and entered into the body of his
304
FUZZLE NOOR AND THE DEMON.
favourite daughter, and there he lodged and the girl went
frantic. To see his daughter thus afflicted, the vizier was
overwhelmed with sorrow, and he sent for all the physicians
and learned men to cure her, but they tried in vain. Then
he besought the king to send him his son-in-law; 'I shall
go mad myself,' said he, “if you do not send him. And
the king ordered him to go. But the young man refused,
saying, "My lord, I am quite powerless in this matter. It
was by the favour of God that I cured your daughter.' But
the king insisted, and afterwards said : ‘Look here, sir, if
you obey my order, you will gain respect and honour more
and more every day; but if you do not, you will come to grief.'
So Mahomed Bux consented and went to the house of the
vizier. As soon as the demon saw him, he raged with fury
and began to cry out.
But his friend said: 'Demon, I
have not come here to interfere or to drive you out-I shall
keep my promise to the last-but I have come to inform
you of something which concerns you deeply. Let me,
therefore, have just one word in your ear.'
The demon consented, and Mahomed Bux came near and
spoke in the girl's ear thus: 'My dear friend, that day at
the palace I was merely joking when I told you Fuzzle Noor
had come. But to-day I tell you seriously that she is now
at the door of this house waiting for you, and no doubt she
will find you out. Hark! I hear her coming up the stairs !
The demon fell into such a state of fright that he cried :
'For God's sake, friend, get the vizier to send her away, and
I promise never to come back any more.'
So Mahomed Bux spoke a few words to the king and the
vizier, and the demon, when he thought the coast was clear
and the woman driven off, said: 'I am now going.
Then the girl fell a-trembling and was straightway cured,
while the demon fled away into the wilds, and was never
heard of again.
دی
S-
1
THE SEVEN WISE MEN OF BUNEYR.
305
LXXIV.
THE SEVEN WISE MEN OF BUNEYR.
HE
6
EVEN men of Buneyr once left
their native wilds for the purpose
of seeking their fortunes. When
evening came they all sat down
under a tree to rest, when one of
them said: 'Let us count to see
if we are all here.' So he counted,
One, two, three, four, five, six,'
but, quite omitting to reckon
himself, he exclaimed: "There's one of us missing—we are
only six!'
Nonsense !' cried the others, and the whole company of
seven began counting with uplifted forefingers, but they all
forgot to count themselves.
Fearing some evil, they now rose up, and at once set out
in search after their missing comrade. Presently they met
a shepherd, who greeted them civilly and said : 'Friends,
why are you in such low spirits ?'
We have lost one of our party,' answered they ; 'we
started this morning seven in number, and now we are only
six. Have you seen any one of us hereabouts ?'
* But,' said the shepherd,' seven you are, for I have found
your lost companion; behold-one, two, three, four, five, six,
seven !
'Ah,' answered the wise men of Buneyr, you have
indeed found our missing brother. We owe you a debt of
gratitude. Because you have done us this service, we insist
on doing a month's free labour for you.'
So the shepherd, overjoyed with his good fortune, took
the men home with him.
Now, the shepherd's mother was a very old woman, in
her dotage, utterly feeble and unable to help herself. When
the morning came he placed her 'under the care of one of the
20
306
THE SEVEN WISE MEN OF BUNEYR.
Buneyris, saying to him : 'You will stay here and take care
of my old mother.'
To another Buneyri he said: 'You take out my goats,
graze them on the hills by day, and watch over them by
night.'
To the other five he said: 'As for you, I shall have work
set you to-morrow.'
The man who was left in charge of the old crippled
mother found that his time was fully occupied in the
constant endeavour to drive off the innumerable flies which
in that hot season kept her in a state of continual ex-
citement and irritation. When, however, he saw that all
his efforts were fruitless, and that he flapped the wretches
away in vain, he became desperate, and, lifting up a large
stone, he aimed it deliberately at a certain fly which had
settled on the woman's face. Hurling it with all his might,
he of course missed the fly, but, alas! he knocked the
woman prone on her back. When the shepherd saw this he
wrung his hands in despair. 'Ah,' cried he, 'what has your
stupidity done for me? The fly has escaped, but as for my
poor old mother, you have killed her dead.'
Meanwhile, the second Buneyri led his flock of goats up
and down among the hills, and when mid-day came he
rested to eat his bread, while many of the assembled goats
lay down beside him. As he was eating he began to
observe how the goats were chewing the cud and occa-
sionally looking at him So he foolishly imagined that they
were mocking him, and waxed wroth. “So,' cried he,
'because I am taking my food, you must needs crowd round
and make game of me, must you?' And, seizing his hatchet,
he made a sudden rush at the poor animals, and he had
already struck off the heads of several of them, when the
shepherd came running to the spot, bemoaning his bad luck
and crying to the fellow to desist from slaughter.
That night was a sorrowful one for the trustful shepherd,
and bitterly he repented his rashness. In the morning the
remaining five wise men of Buneyr came to him, and said :
" It is now our turn. Give us some work to do, too !'
'No, no, my friends,' answered he; you have amply
THE FOOLISH QUACK.
307
repaid me for the trifling favour I did for you in finding
your missing companion; and now, for God's sake, go your
way and let me see you no more.
Hearing these words, the wise men of Buneyr resumed
their journey.
LXXV.
THE FOOLISH QUACK.
MODA
NE evening, as the sun was setting,
some travellers stayed to rest
under a clump of trees, and, loos-
ing their camels, set them to
graze. It happened that one of
the animals entered a melon-field,
and that a melon stuck in its
throat. The owner, seeing this
and fearing to lose the beast, tied
a blanket round its throat, and
then struck the place with the greatest violence. Instantly
the melon broke in the throat of the camel, and it was then
easily swallowed.
A certain man who had just come up, looking on and
observing this proceeding, shouldered his bundle, and,
going to the next village, pretended that he was a doctor.
But what can you cure?' asked the villagers.
'I can cure the goître,' answered the quack.
An old woman, whose throat was swollen to a frightful
size, exclaimed: 'O my son, if you would only cure my
goître, I would bless you for evermore !'
'Certainly,' answered the man; "here, bring me a blanket
and a good-sized mallet.'
As soon as they were brought, he tied up the woman's
throat, and struck the swollen part with so much force that
the poor old creature instantly expired.
'Ah,' cried the people, 'this fellow is a villain !'
20-2
308
THE FOOLISH QUACK.
So they seized him, being minded to carry him before
the king. One of them, however, said: 'She was a very
old woman, who must have died shortly in any case. Let
us therefore compel the wretch to dig her grave, and then
we can beat him and let him go.' So they took him and
set him to work, but the ground was so stiff and hard that
he made but slow progress.
'If you do not dig it,' said they, 'before the king you
shall go, and then you will be hanged.'
Thus exhorted, the unfortunate man, in the greatest fear,
laboured away with all his might; and at last, when the
villagers saw that he had finished his task and buried the
victim of his mistaken treatment, they beat him well and
let him go.
Uninfluenced by the severity of his punishment, the man
mounted his camel and went on to the next village, and
again gave himself out as a great doctor.
* And what can you cure ?' said some.
'I can cure goître,' answered he.
This time it was an old man who offered himself for
treatment. But the pretended doctor said: 'Look here,
good people. I shall do my best to cure this case ; but
THE FOOLISH QUACK.
309
remember, if I am so unfortunate as to kill him, I am not
to be compelled to dig the man's grave.'
'A pretty sort of doctor you must be!' cried they. 'Before
you begin your treatment, you are talking of digging the
patient's grave! Away with you; we shall have nothing to
do with you.
Hearing this, the pretended doctor began to say to him-
self: "What an extraordinary thing this is! My best plan
surely is to return to the camel-men, and tell them they
have not shown me the right way to cure this disease.
Perhaps they will advise me.
When he had overtaken them, he cried: 'What foolish
men you must be! I met an old woman who suffered from
goître just like your camel; and I tied a blanket round her
neck and struck her with a mallet, but, instead of recovering
like your camel, she died, and instead of getting a fee I was
compelled to dig her grave!
' It is not we who are stupid,' answered the camel-men,
'but you. We are not stupid at all. These animals are
camels of prodigious size and strength. How was a feeble
old woman to stand the blow of a mallet ? No; it is you,
and you only, who are stupid.'
One of the men now stepped forward, saying to his
friends : 'You remain quiet, and leave this fellow to me.
Then, addressing himself to the newcomer, he cried : 'Hear
you, sir, these men do not understand the matter at all. I
can set it all right for you in a minute.' Saying this, he
lifted a heavy stick, bound with iron rings, and struck a
camel which was feeding off the leaves of a wild plum-tree.
The stolid creature, scarcely feeling the blow, merely moved
a step or two forward. * You observe,' said the man, 'the
effect of this treatment on the camel. Now observe its
effect on a human being!' He then struck the man himself
a similar blow, which felled him to the earth like a log.
When consciousness returned, his bewildered victim in-
quired : 'Why, sir, this cruel usage ?'
• Do you not perceive ?' answered the camel-man. 'I
wished to show you that what is good for camels is not
therefore good for poor old men and women.'
310
THE CAMEL AND THE RAT.
error.
"Ah,' said the wretched man, I now begin to see my
Never, never again shall I set myself up for a
doctor!
LXXVI.
THE CAMEL AND THE RAT.
A CERTAIN camel, having strayed from his owner, was
walking in unfrequented ways with his nose-string trailing
upon the ground. As he went slowly along, a rat picked up
the end of the string in his mouth, and trotted on in front
of the huge animal, thinking all the time to himself: What
strength I must have to be leading a camel !' After a little
time they came to a bank of a river which crossed the
path, and there the rat stopped short.
Said the camel : Pray, sir, go on.'
'Nay,' answered his companion, 'the water is too deep
for me.
· Not at all,' said the camel; “let me try the depth for
you.
THE CAMEL AND THE RAT.
311
Halting in the middle of the stream, the camel looked
round and cried : 'You see, I was right~the water is only
knee-deep, so come along !'
*Ah !' said the rat, but there is a trifling difference
between your knees and mine, don't you see! Pray carry
me over.'
Confess your fault,' replied the camel; consent to
acknowledge your pride, and promise to be humble-minded
for the future, and I will carry you over in safety.'
To this request the rat gladly agreed, and so the two
passed over.
LXXVII.
THE CROW AND ITS YOUNG.
An old mother-crow was once engaged in giving sound
advice to her newly fledged young ones.
* Remember,' said she, 'your principal enemy will be man.
Whenever you detect a man in the act of even stooping
towards the ground as if for a stone, at once take wing and
fly.'
* Very good,' answered one of her precocious youngsters,
'but what if the man happens to have a stone already in his
hand? Can you advise us as to how we shall proceed then ?'
312
THE BANEYR MAN AND THE BOAT.
LXXVIII.
THE TWO SIMPLE BANERWÂLS.
6
ONE Banerwâl asked another: 'If the Indus were set on
fire where would the fishes go ?'
They would get on the trees,' said the other.
Then said the first : 'Are fishes like buffaloes, then, to
climb up trees ?'
LXXIX.
THE BANÉYR MAN AND THE BOAT.
cv
A COUNTRYMAN who had spent the whole of his life in the
fastnesses of Banéyr, and had never seen the Indus,
determined to perform a journey. Descending to the
Yusafzai plains, he made his way to Attock, and, when he saw
one of the large six-oared ferry-boats crossing with the flood
to the opposite bank of the river, he cried : 'What long legs
that great creature has !
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
313
:
LXXX.
GHOLÂM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
HERE was once a king by name
Gholâm who had an only son
named Ghool. From his early
years this young prince was
passionately devoted to the
pleasures of the field, and though
now grown to manhood, his whole
time was spent in hunting. The
king, his father, could not behold
such a condition of things as this
without concern, and one day he called his ministers
together and said to them : 'It is time for my son to marry.
Choose out a wife for him and let him settle.'
The ministers, however, chose in vain. The prince con-
tinued to hunt, and though the king remonstrated with him
every evening on his return from the chase, his remonstrances
were all disregarded. “If you do not marry,' said the king,
everyone will say it is because no one will have you, and
you will suffer in reputation accordingly.'
'But I do not want to marry,' the prince would answer,
and so the matter would remain until the next day.
One evening in the hot weather the young prince, weary
with hunting, was returning home, when he stopped to rest
by a well. "Let me drink from your vessel,' said he to one
of the damsels who were drawing water.
Oh,' answered saucily the young girl, you are the prince
whom no one will marry!'
Prince Ghool was so angry when he heard this speech that
he refused to accept the water which was offered to him,
and, rising, he walked away. When I get home,' said he to
himself, 'I shall announce my intention to marry, but my
wife shall be the girl who taunted me.'
Meeting an old woman, he asked of her : 'Whose daughter
is that?'
6
314
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
'She is the daughter of Alim the blacksmith,' answered
the woman.
· Whether a blacksmith's daughter or a king's,' thought
he, it is she whom I shall marry.
That evening his father again addressed him on the
subject of marriage, and joyfully learnt that his son was
willing to abide by his counsel and to marry. So he
summoned his ministers once more, and bade them arrange
for the marriage and to choose out some suitable lady.
The ministers answered: Name the king with whose house
you desire an alliance, and we will set out for his court forth-
with, and the prince shall bring the bride home.
But the prince answered : Nay, there is no need for you
to look abroad. I have made my choice. I will marry
Alim the blacksmith's daughter.'
Then was the old king filled with anger. What,' cried
he, 'is my nobility to be mated with people of low degree ?'
But the ministers craftily answered him : 'What harm
will it do? This is merely a young man's fancy. Let him
have the girl, and meanwhile we will look out for another
lady worthy of his rank.'
The king now consented to the match, and ordered his
ministers to procure the blacksmith's daughter in marriage
for Prince Ghool. When they went to the house the poor
man held up his hands in dismay and said: 'Why does the
king ask where he can command? But, indeed, as he asks
for her, I am by no means willing to part with her.'
This answer was reported to the king, who would brook
no denial in the matter, and ordered that the blacksmith
should surrender his daughter within two months. But the
daughter herself, who felt that she was not fitted for such a
destiny, implored her father to petition the king to grant her
relief for the space of one year. The petition was granted,
and the king finally agreed that the girl should enjoy her
freedom for one year more.
* Alas,' said she, “I am only a poor blacksmith's daughter !
What shall I do in order that people may feel respect for
me when I am the wife of the prince ? Let me see if I
cannot test the wisdom of the king's counsellors themselves.'
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
315
Addressing her father, she said: 'The water-melons in our
little garden are as yet small. I shall make some large
unburnt jars, and these I shall paint and enamel, and I will
lay a water-melon in each, and when the fruit is full-grown
I will challenge the king's ministers to take out the fruit
without breaking the jars. And then we shall see whether
kings and their ministers are better or wiser than poor folk.'
So the girl did as she proposed, and having made the
earthen jars of unburnt clay, she painted them, and in
each she laid a growing melon. When the melons were full-
grown so as to fill the empty space, she sent two of the jars
containing the melons to the king, and wrote a letter
requesting that the ministers should be ordered to free
the melons without breaking the vessels. This letter the
king read to his ministers, and commanded that they should
display their wisdom accordingly. But the ministers tried
in vain. For two or three days they felt the melons through
the narrow necks of the vessels, and examined them
carefully, but they had not the sense to perceive that the
jars were formed of unbaked clay, which they could easily
have discovered by sounding them. At last the king sent
back the jars to the daughter of the blacksmith saying:
* There are no such wise people in the whole of my
kingdom.'
The girl was delighted beyond measure when she received
this news, and when she had taken the jars into her
hands she said: 'I now begin to understand what kings'
courtiers are, and what kings are also.' Sending to the
palace, she requested permission to attend, and when she
entered the presence of the king, she took a wet cloth and
wrapped it round the jars until the clay was quite soft. She
then stretched the necks and drew forth the melons, after
which she restored the jars to their former shape. Handing
them to the abashed ministers, she said: 'A man is known
by his words, and a vessel is known by its sound. As by
sounding a vessel of clay you find out its true nature, so I
have sounded you, and I find you wanting in sense, and
now, when the year is over, the king's commands shall be
obeyed.'
316
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
When the term of probation was nearly over, the black-
smith wrote to the king a petition praying that, as his
means were small, the guests to be entertained in his house
should be few. The king answered : ‘Four hundred will
attend from the court, and for these only I will myself be
chargeable,' and he sent him a sum of money.
At last the day arrived and the guests assembled, but the
blacksmith, finding the sum insufficient, said: 'There is a
great number of people here;' and he went to a certain
nobleman and stated his difficulty. The nobleman advised
him to keep the money as dower for his daughter, and to
send it back with her to the king, and ineanwhile he spoke
to the court party, who all promised their assistance in
entertaining the rest of the guests, and the feast passed off
very well.
When all was over, and the prince and the girl were
united in wedlock, the king's party returned to the palace,
and the bride and her dower were taken home and she was
lodged in the apartments reserved for her.
CAS
Florin
3
za
When two or three days had passed by, Prince Ghool rose
up early one morning, and, taking a whip, he lashed his
new wife unmercifully. · This is what I owe you,' said
he, 'for your taunt to me at the well.' The girl bore the
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
317
beating in surprised silence. Every two or three days the
same scene was enacted, the prince with his own hands
baring the shoulders of his unhappy wife and ill-using her.
One morning, when he got up as usual to beat her, she
said to him: 'What glory do you gain by beating a poor
working man's child ? If you are a man, you will go and
marry a king's daughter. Win her if you can, and beat her
if you dare: but I am only the daughter of a blacksmith.'
On hearing this taunt, the prince was so incensed that he
dropped the whip and vowed never to enter the house again
until he had married the daughter of a king.
Now, there was a certain princess, the daughter of a
neighbouring king, whose beauty was justly celebrated,
though she was said to be dumb, and she it was whom the
prince determined to marry.
So he chose out a trusty
slave and his best horse, and, having loaded several mules
with jewels and presents of inestimable value, he set out
one morning for the court of the king her father. March
by march he travelled along, until at last he reached the
kingdom, but in answer to his inquiries all he could learn
from the inhabitants was that the princess could not speak,
and that every prince who came before her as a suitor had
to consent to play chess with her, and that the penalties
which she inflicted on his presumption when he lost the
game were of the severest description. Nevertheless, Prince
Ghool had so much vain confidence in his own powers that,
nothing daunted, he sent forward his slave to announce his
arrival to the princess, and to request the honour of her
hand in marriage.
'It is necessary,' answered the princess, 'that your master
should understand the conditions. He must try his skill
with me in three games of chess. If he lose the first, he
forfeits his horse; if the second, his head is to be at my
mercy; and if he loses the third, it shall be my right, if I
choose, to make him a groom in my stables.'
The prince at once accepted these proposals, and the
event was made known in the city by the sounding of a
great drum. 'Ah,' said the people, when they heard the
familiar sound, another prince endowed with “blind
318
GHOLANI BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
EINE
O DITT 11
wool sector
6
take your
un
> and
bulu
wisdom” has come to play with the princess, and he will
lose, as all others have lost before him!'
When the prince arrived at the palace, he was admitted,
and there he found the princess seated on a rich carpet,
while the chess-board lay on the carpet in front of her.
The first game he
lost, and the
second, and the
third. Begone,
presumptuous pre-
tender,' cried she,
' and
place with your
Els
alle!
predecessors; you
LOUIS
are only fitted to
groom my horses !
"
So the unfortunate
claimant for her
hand was led away
and set to mind
one of her horses.
Some time had
elapsed, when the
blacksmith's
daughter began
dou
to wonder at the
continued absence
of her lord, and she determined to follow him in order to
learn his fate. So she disguised herself as a young noble-
man, and very handsome she looked in her new attire when
riding her beautiful steed. After a journey of many miles,
she came to a river broad and deep, and, as she stood on
the bank waiting for the ferry-boat, she observed a rat being
carried down by the stream. 'For God's sake,' cried the
drowning rat, “save me! Help me, and I will help you !'
The blacksmith's daughter said to herself: 'No rat can
possibly help me, yet I will certainly save you ;' and she
lowered the point of her lance to the water, and the rat,
seizing it, climbed up to her and was saved. Taking the
Wh
Ilirem
SUMOT
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
319
dripping creature in her hand, she placed it in safety on her
saddle-bow.
'Where are you going ?' asked the rat.
'I am going to the kingdom of the dumb princess,
answered she.
'What is the use of your going there ?' said the rat.
'What will you gain ? The princess possesses a magic cat,
and on the head of the magic cat there stands a magic
light which renders her invisible, and enables her to mix
up all the chessmen unperceived, so that the princess's
suitors invariably lose the game and are ruined.'
Hearing this, the blacksmith's daughter began to fondle
and pet the rat, and to say to it: 'Assist me, for I also
would try my fortune with the princess,' while at the same
time she felt that her husband had tried his fortune and
had lost.
Then the rat looked at her, and said: "Your hands and
your feet are those of a woman, though your dress is that
of a man. First, tell me truly, are you really a man, or am
I lacking in wisdom ?'
Then she began to tell the creature all her history from
beginning to end, and how she had set out in search of her
husband, Prince Ghool. 'And now,' said she, 'I want
your assistance to recover my husband's liberty and to
restore him to his rank and position.'
This was a rat which never forgot a kindness, but, on the
contrary, always endeavoured to repay a benefactor tenfold.
* You must take me with you,' said he,'hidden in your
clothing, and if you will follow my advice you will beat the
princess and you will attain your utmost desires. The rat
then instructed her in the means of achieving a victory, and
so at last in conversation of a pleasing description they
approached the capital and there rested.
The next day, when the blacksmith's daughter was admitted
to the princess's reception-room, she began by requesting
that she might change places with her at the chess-board;
and, as her request was granted, she secured the side on
which the magic cat invariably entered the room. Then
the game began; but soon she perceived that the board
320
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
was becoming confused, and that she was gradually losing
ground. Seeing this, she produced the rat, holding it the
while firmly in her hand. Immediately she felt a sudden
rush as of some animal, which, in fact, was the cat herself,
which had that moment entered, and which in her eager-
ness to pounce on the rat had forgotten all about the game
and her mistress's interests. The blacksmith's daughter,
though she could not see the cat, still struck at her with
her hand, and the magic light fell to the floor. Poor pussy
was now rendered perfectly visible, and, having been scared
by the unexpected blow, she ran with hair erect out of the
room.
When the princess perceived these untoward occurrences,
she trembled and lost heart, so that she was easily beaten,
not only in the first game, but in the succeeding ones as well.
hui.
It
bila
At that moment the sound of the great drum was heard
reverberating through the city, and the inhabitants knew
by that signal the result of the game.
Now, there was one more condition attached to the woo-
ing of this princess, which she had the privilege of insisting
upon before she could be compelled to surrender her hand.
It was that her suitor should prevail upon her to speak
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
321
three times before sunrise; and it was ordained by a decree
that each time she spoke the great drum should be sounded
by an attendant slave, for the information of all the king's
subjects.
• You see,' said the rat to the blacksmith's daughter, the
assistance I have rendered you has not been in vain. And
now let us see if we cannot make this obstinate princess
speak. Your sleeping places will not be divided even by
a curtain. Keep me with you, and when you are both in
bed, set me loose, and I will get on the princess's bed, while
you must coax her to speak.'
When they had retired and had lain down each on her
own side of the apartment, the blacksmith's daughter in her
feigned voice began: 'Charming princess, light and glory of
my eyes, will you not speak to me?'
The princess vouchsafed not a word. But the rat, which
was sitting by one of the legs of her bed, imitating the
princess's voice, exclaimed with the utmost tenderness :
· Dear prince, sweet prince, at your request I could speak
on for ever!'
When the princess heard this extraordinary statement,
she thought to herself: 'This prince is such a master of
magic that he makes the very leg of my bed imitate my
voice and answer for me. Then, shaking with rage, she
cried to the inanimate wood: To-morrow morning you
shall be hacked off and burnt in the fire for disgracing your
mistress.'
The instant these words were uttered by her, the atten-
dant slave ran to the tower and sounded the drum, and all
the people heard and wondered. At the same time the
blacksmith's daughter cried joyfully, ‘Salaam Alaikim, to
the leg of my charmer's bed !' to which the concealed rat
replied : 'To you also, my king, Alaikim salaam!'
After a minute or two the blacksmith's daughter, again
addressing the angry princess, said in coaxing tones: “As
I have to lodge under your roof to-night, O sweet princess,
pray tell me a story to send me to sleep!' The rat, having
moved away to another leg of the bed, immediately
answered : 'Shall I tell you what I have witnessed with
21
322
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
6
my own eyes, or merely something which has happened
to me?'
'The best story,' replied the blacksmith's daughter,
would comprise both what you have seen and what has
happened to you.'
* Very well,' said the rat, ‘I will tell you what I have
seen, heard, and encountered myself: In a certain city
1
.
w
ded
there lived a robber who used to rob on a large scale.
Once upon a time, in order to carry on his tricks, he left
his own country and went into another country, leaving his
wife behind him. During his absence the woman was.
visited by a thief: now listen to me well, and do not fall
asleep. This thief came and practised such deceit on her
that she took him for her husband and admitted him to
her house, her true husband having been a very long time
away. At last the robber returned, and, finding the thief
established in his home, he was astonished, saying to him-
self, “ Has any kinsman of my wife's come to see her?"
However, he salaamed and entered the door, when the
thief exclaimed to him roughly, “Sir, who are you ?”
«« This house is mine," answered the robber; “my wife
lives here."
*“Nay,” said the thief, “the woman is not your wife, but .
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
323
- this is my
mine. You must be some bad character, and I shall send
at once for the police and have you well thrashed.”
• The robber was astounded. “ Wife," said he," do you
not know me? I am your husband !”
*“Nonsense, man," replied the woman,
husband-I never saw you before."
"“ This is a pretty thing !" cried the robber, and he was
fain to sleep elsewhere.
'In the morning all the neighbours assembled and
welcomed the robber as an old friend; and to the wife they
said, “You have made a slight mistake; this is your real
husband, the other fellow is not.” A regular fight ensued
between the rival claimants, and they were carried off to
the judge, when the woman settled the difficulty by saying,
“I am the wife of him who brings me home the most
money."
· Then said the thief to the robber, “Who and what are
you ?"
("I am a robber," answered he; who are you ?"
6"I am a thief,” said the other.
"The thief, who would by no means relinquish the woman,
now said:
Listen to me. Let us make trial of our skill.
First, show me what you can do, or, if you please, I will
begin. I am a thief and a cheat. If you can do more in
robbery than I can perform in deceit, the woman is yours;
but if otherwise, she is mine."
•The thief then hired some fine clothing, got into a
palanquin, and, going to a city, gave himself out to be a rich
merchant. As he passed through the streets, he stopped at
the door of a jeweller, who considered himself so honoured
by a visit from one whose great fame had preceded him,
that he rose up and made him a humble obeisance.
* The pretended merchant, with a lordly air, now asked,
"Have you any pearls for sale ?"
" "Yes," answered the jeweller.
"" Let me see the best you have," said the thief.
'The jeweller immediately produced a beautiful casket,
which the thief opened, and found therein several strings of
pearls, which he proceeded to examine. After a pause he
214-2
324
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
gave back the casket, saying, “ These are not what I re-
quire. I want pearls of a better quality than these. Have
you no more ?"
'The jeweller then brought out three or four other
caskets, one of which the thief opened, and, while pretend.
ing to examine the worth of the contents, he adroitly cut
off two strings of pearls, and, unseen by the owner, hid them
in his sleeve. He then said: “How many boxes of pearls
do you possess of this description ?”
Altogether I have seven," answered the jeweller.
-- You shall hear from me again,” replied the thief, and,
getting up, he went at once to the king, who was sitting in
court, and paid his respects.
«“Well, merchant," said the king, “how has it fared
with you since coming to my capital ?”
""O king," answered the thief, “I have been robbed of
seven boxes of pearls of the greatest value, and, according
to information which I have received, they are in the hands
of a certain jeweller.”
'Immediately the king gave the thief a guard, and ordered
that the jeweller's shop should be at once closed and the
unfortunate man arrested.
'On their arrival at the shop, the thief pointed out the
box out of which he himself had stolen the pearls, and said
to the guard, “All my caskets were like that one." The
soldiers hereupon took the box and the jeweller back to the
king, to whom the thief said: “O king, this casket is mine."
But the jeweller protested: “ Nay, your highness, this casket
is not his property, but mine."
"“If it is yours," replied the thief, “ tell the king how
many strings of pearls it contains.”
6“ It contains one hundred," at once said the jeweller.
““No, no," said the thief, “not one hundred, but ninety-
eight.”
"“Let the strings be counted," commanded the king.
"This order was accordingly obeyed, when it was found, to
the satisfaction of the court, that the thief had spoken truly.
“ The whole of my pearl-caskets," said the thief, “have
been stolen from me, and are now unlawfully held by this
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
325
jeweller. If this casket had not been mine, how could I
have known the number of strings contained in it?"
"" True," said the king, "the casket is evidently yours."
And he ordered the other caskets also to be delivered to
him, but the jeweller was beaten with rods and cast into a
prison.
'The robber, who had witnessed the whole of this knavery
on the part of the thief, was amazed, and how to overreach
such matchless impudence he was puzzled to say. How-
ever, he now joined him, and both the rogues went together
to the woman's house and related the story.
'Now,' cried the rat, you must understand that the
father of wisdom, who handed over these pearls to a
common swindler and cheat, is also the father of this
adorable princess. That is what I saw and what I heard,
and so I have told you.
The princess was so enraged at hearing these concluding
words that, being quite unable to restrain herself, she cried
out to the leg of the bed : 'When the morning comes you
shall be cut off too, and thrown into the fire with your
lying brother!
Hardly had she spoken when the great drum was heard
to resound for the second time, and all the people remarked
it. Salaam Alaikim ! cried the blacksmith's daughter,
laughing. "Alaikim salaam !' answered the rat.
Some little time now passed by, when the blacksmith's
daughter again broke silence.
' Delightful creature and most charming princess,' said she,
'you have regaled me with an excellent story. But the
night is long and tedious. Pray tell me another.'
The rat, who had moved his position to the third leg of
the bed, answered, 'Good, I will tell you what I saw with
my eyes and heard with my ears. My former story was all
about the thief. You shall now hear the adventure of the
robber.
'It was the next day that the robber said to the thief:
" It is now my turn. It is necessary, however, that you
promise not to open your mouth to say a single word, since
I kept strict silence with you. Otherwise you lose the prize."
6
1
326
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
'To this condition the thief agreed, and both started once
more and travelled to the same town. For some time the
robber cudgelled his brains to no purpose for some device
by which to surpass the thief. “I must contrive some
scheme,” thought he,“ to have the thief imprisoned and his
gains transferred to myself.” On inquiry he learnt that
the king was in the habit of sleeping on the roof of his
palace, which was built in a pleasant place by the river-side.
Said he to the thief: “You must of course attend me as I
attended you, and be a silent witness of my work."
'Taking some iron pegs with him, the robber went to the
palace, and, by fixing the pegs in the joints of the masonry
one by one, he managed to climb to the roof. When he got
to the top he perceived that the king was asleep, and that
he was attended by a single guard who was pacing up and
down. Watching his opportunity, he cut down the guard
and threw his body into the river. Then taking up the
musket, he assumed the sentry's functions, and begun pacing
backwards and forwards, while the thief sat down at a
distance and looked on.
' After a short time the king stirred, and cried : “Sentry!”
"" Here I am, sir," answered the robber.
"" Come near to me," said the king, "and sit down, and
tell me a story, that my soul may rejoice."
'So the robber approached the monarch, and, sitting down
as he was directed, he told him the story of the jeweller, the
thief, and the pearls. As the story progressed the thief
began to tremble with fright, and made repeated signs to
the robber to change the subject, or at least not to divulge
his name or to betray him; but the robber pretended not to
notice him, and went on with his tale. Then suddenly
breaking off, he began to tell the king his own story, and
how by means of iron pegs he had scaled the palace roof
and killed his sentry.
"" Good heavens !" cried the king, looking round in
consternation. “ Who are you? Tell me this instant !"
«« Sire," answered the robber, “be not alarmed-I am
the robber."
"“And where is my sentry ?” asked the perplexed monarch.
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
327
6
"“I have just thrown his lifeless body into the river,
said the robber.
'The king was greatly alarmed. And yet," thought he,
“this scoundrel might also have cut me down and disposed
of me in the same way, and he didn't ! He must be a
good sort of fellow.” This consideration relieved the king's
mind. " Come near to me," then said he aloud.
But,” replied the robber, “I was telling your majesty
the story of a thief. This person, you must know, now
standing behind you, is the very thief in question, and the
jeweller is innocent of any crime.” Saying these words, he
led the thief forward by the ear.
Morning now dawning, some attendants appeared, the
thief was seized, and in due time the jeweller was released
out of prison. Then the king, sitting on his judgment seat,
gave orders that the pearls should be divided equally between
the robber and the jeweller, and that the thief should be
blown away from a gun. After this the robber joyfully
returned home to his wife and took possession of his house.
'And now,' continued the rat, 'all I have to add is that
the father of wisdom who rewards robbers with the property
of other people is also the father of this charming lady.'
Hearing these words, the princess became more angry
than ever, and cried : 'O lying spirit, when morning comes
I will burn you too !'
Then sounded the drum for the third and last time, and the
people of the city heard it, and, turning in their beds, said to
their children: 'To-morrow the princess will be married.'
"Salaam Alaikim !' said the blacksmith's daughter.
'Alaikim salaam !' answered the rat, after which the
two friends parted, the rat going his own way, while his
benefactress closed her eyes and slept.
The next morning the whole city was astir, eager for news
of the princess's wedding, and by common consent there
was universal holiday. The blacksmith's daughter rose
betimes, and, dressing herself with the utmost care, she went
out to the stables, and there she saw her husband, Prince
Ghool, in the costume of a groom, rubbing down a horse with
curry-comb and brush. She gazed at him very tenderly for
328
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
a moment, while a tear came into her eye, but she hastily
recovered herself, and returned to the palace. The whole
day was devoted to feastings, games, and rejoicings; and
by-and-by the priest came, and in the midst of the
assembled dignitaries of the court the blacksmith's daughter
and the princess were united in marriage according to
the forms in vogue among Mahommedans. When the
ceremony was over the sham bridegroom addressed her bride
and said: 'I have fairly won you in spite of every difficulty,
and now it is my will that for six months you are not to enter
my chamber. '
The wisdom of the pretended prince was so great that
her father-in-law paid her the greatest possible respect and
consulted her in all affairs of state, and her manners and
speech were so charming that she won all hearts. One of
her earliest acts of grace was to petition the king to release
all the unfortunate princes who were engaged in menial
attendance on her wife's horses, and to permit them to
return to their homes. Her request was granted; but as
she herself bore the order, she was careful while dismissing
all the rest to except her own husband, and on him she laid
her commands to bring to her his horse every morning
saddled and bridled, and to attend her on her expeditions.
Prince Ghool, noticing all his companions restored to their
liberty, could scarcely on these occasions forbear crying with
vexation and disappointment as he said to himself: 'I
alone am left in slavery!'
After many days the blacksmith's daughter went to the
king, and said: 'O king, a favour! Give me leave to visit
my own country and my own kindred.' Her prayer was
granted, and she was provided with an escort of horsemen,
and with every comfort for the journey both for herself and
for the princess. Then she ordered Prince Ghool never to
leave her horse's side, and over him she set guards lest he
should attempt to escape.
After several marches had been accomplished the prince
said to himself: I perceive that we are going to my own
country. Alas! what would the blacksmith's daughter say
if she saw me in such a plight as this ?'
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
329
When the cavalcade came within two or three marches of
the capital, and had halted for the night, the blacksmith's
daughter sent for her husband, and said to him: 'I have
now urgent business on hand, the nature of which I cannot
communicate. It is enough that I require a disguise. Do
you give me your groom's clothing, and, accepting some of
mine in its place, represent me in my absence. Halt here
for a month. In a short time I shall see you again.'
The prince, wondering at her request, obeyed, and assumed
the dress of his supposed master. But she, having
received his groom's clothing from a trusty attendant,
together with his curry-comb and brush, locked them all
up in a box, and, taking them with her, stole off in the
darkness to her father's house.
A day or
two having elapsed, and the blacksmith's
daughter not returning, Prince Ghool said: “This prince
bade me to remain here for a month with the princess and
her retinue. My father is a powerful king, and his capital is
near. Why should I not carry off the princess to my own
home and swear that I won her ?' So that night he gave
order accordingly, and on the third day he arrived at his
father's palace. He entered in triumph, and proclamation
was made everywhere that Prince Ghool had returned, and
that he had won the famous dumb princess; and when the
people saw him riding through the street by the side of his
father, who had gone forth with troops to escort him in,
every house resounded with acclamations.
The next day Prince Ghool sent a message to the house of
the blacksmith, and ordered him to send his daughter to the
palace. As soon as she appeared, he said to her : 'Oh, you
taunted me about this princess, did you? Now what have
you to say? Have I not won her ?
'
' Did you win her,' quietly answered she, or did I ?'
' I did,' protested he.
' Nay, I did,' replied the girl.
She then stamped her little foot, and a servant brought in
a box. When the company had been ordered to retire she
unlocked the box, and took from it the old curry-comb, the
brush, and the old suit of groom's clothes. Holding them
330
GHOLAM BADSHAH AND HIS SON GHOOL.
up before the prince, she asked: 'Whose are these-yours
or mine ?
The prince was confounded, and for a moment he could
not speak. He then stammered : 'They are mine!'
* Did you, then, win the princess,' demanded she, 'or
did I?'
• You did,' answered he.
*Ah,' said the blacksmith's daughter, if you with your
father's ministers were not able even to tell the secret of the
earthen jars, how could you possibly have won the dumb
princess ? But now take her, and marry her, and let us
all be happy at last.'
LXXXI.
LÂL BÂDSHÂH, THE RED KING; OR, THE TWO
LITTLE PRINCESSES.
HERE was once a king, not Lâl
Badshah, but another, whose wife
died, leaving him with two beau-
tiful little daughters.
After a time, as he had no son
to be his heir, his vizier said to
him: 'Oking, it is right that you
should marry again, so that your
people may not be left without a
prince to rule over them hereafter.'
With this advice the king complied, and he brought to his
palace a second wife. But she was of a morose and cruel
disposition. She hated the two little princesses, and starved
them, and, in short, she acted the stepmother to the life.
These little girls, in their unhappiness, used to go out
hand-in-hand, and sit and pray by their dead mother's
grave; and to their simple minds it did not seem at all
LAL BADSHAH, THE RED KING.
331
strange that, when they had said their prayers, they should
find by the grave a dish of food, which they always partook
of. Day by day at their mother's grave they found a meal,
and they said that God had sent it to them.
But the stepmother had a cat, and this cat took it into
her head to follow the princesses whenever they went to the
grave, and the princesses took notice of her and fed her
with scraps.
One day the queen was eyeing the children, and thinking
to herself: 'I give them only bran bread, and very little of
that; how is it they are so fat?' Then the cat, who divined
her thoughts, said: “The princesses visit their mother's
grave every day, and their mother feeds them. That is the
reason they look so plump.'
When the queen heard this, she turned so sick with spite
and vexation that in a day or two she had to take to her
bed. But she pretended to be worse than she was, and at
SOCCVB
ET
last she persuaded the king that she was at the point of
death.
The king was greatly concerned, and said to her: 'Can
nothing be done for you?' This was just what the wicked
woman wanted ; so she answered: 'I shall never recover
332
LAL BADSHAH, THE RED KING.
until you have dug up the bones of your former wife and
scattered them over the earth.'
The king was very sorry, but to save her life he consented
to do it, and his first wife's bones were taken up and scat-
tered, and the stepmother then became quite well again all
at once.
The two little girls now conferred together as to what
they should do next. * What now?' asked the little one of
the elder. Her sister answered : : We must trust in God.
What is to be is to be, and our destiny must be fulfilled.'
Now, though their mother's bones had been taken away,
103)
dels
Ton 10th
INICIPALIVA
Bilinen y
these two children continued their visits to the grave as
before. Soon they observed a beautiful tree growing out of
it, which bore delicious fruit; and, as they constantly ate of
it, they were never hungry. One day, however, the cat
followed them again, and when they saw her coming, the
elder said : Hide your fruit!' '
'Nay,' said the younger; ‘let me give her one plum.'
'If you do,' said the other, .she will know, and will tell
the queen.'
So they hid their fruit, but one plum fell to the ground by
accident; and when the cat saw it, she pounced upon it,
LAL BADSHAH, THE RED KING.
333
and, putting it in her ear, took it away to show it to the
queen.
Then this wretched queen fell sick again, and, going
through the same pretence as before, she said to the foolish
king: 'I shall never be well until you cut down the tree
which grows out of your first wife's grave and throw it into
the fire.'
The king therefore gave his orders, and the tree was re-
moved root and branch, and they made a fire and burnt it up.
The queen, however, was not satisfied even then. Her
hatred of the princesses increased, and she could no longer
bear the sight of them : so, with first one reason and then
another, she persuaded her husband to take them far away
into the desert or into the forest, and to abandon them to
their fate.
Early in the morning the king set out with his two little
girls, and when he came to a lonely spot, he said to them:
* Children, gather the pretty flowers and play and amuse
yourselves, while I go down to that brook and wash my
turban.' Even kings were not above doing for themselves
in those days, but this time the king only spoke to deceive.
Going to the brook, he set up an empty jar on the top of
a long stick, and put a cloth over it, and the blowing of the
334
LAL BADSHAH, THE RED KING.
wind made the side of the jar knock and knock against the
stick, so that the children, when at intervals they heard the
sound of the jar, believed it was their father who was
washing his turban on the stones, after the manner of the
country. At last, however, the day wore away, and it began
to get late.
Then they sought the brook to rejoin their
father, but he, alas, was nowhere to be seen, and they called
and called his name in vain.
The little girls were so distressed to find themselves for-
saken and alone in the middle of the wilderness that they
sat down and cried for a good hour. 'Oh, what now shall
Il
W?
nullum
we do?' cried the younger one. Looking up, they saw a
lofty rock towering over the trees, and they climbed to the
top of it, and gazed all round. Then they saw some smoke
rising up far in the distance, and, descending, they set out
in the twilight to seek for it.
Before very long they arrived in front of a gloomy castle,
where they found an old woman of great stature sitting
before the door and blinking at the stars. She was an
ogress, but she had the heart of a human being; and when
she saw the children, she, being a woman, felt pity for them,
and said: 'Poor things ! my son is a man-eater, and when
he comes home he will eat you both up !'
LAL BADSHAH, THE RED KING.
335
JALLINER MAANA
6
Oh, hide us somewhere !' cried they.
Then the ogress took them up and turned them both into
flies, and, when she had stuck pins into them, she fastened
them to the wall.
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Hardly had she done so, when, with a great roar, the
ogre returned from the jungle. 'Oh, oh,' cried he:
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336
LAL BADSHAH, THE RED KING.
• My son,' said his mother, 'there is no man here. There
is no one but you and me only.'
Then he sat down to his hog's flesh and his wine, and fell
fast asleep.
In the morning early, after the ogre had gone out as
usual, the old ogress pulled out the pins, and turned the
children into their proper shapes. 'Get away,' said she, 'as
fast as you can; you will be getting me into trouble, too.'
Right glad were the children to escape from that dreadful
place, and they hastened away as fast as they could run.
At last they came, towards evening, to a most pleasant
spot, where there was an immense tree full of shade. In
this tree they both passed the night, feeling thankful that
they were safe from wild beasts and ogres.
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The next day the elder sister remained in the tree sewing
with silk, but the younger got down and went into the forest
and collected some deer, which willingly followed her every-
where. So the two sisters lived on deer's milk and berries,
and, as each had her own occupation, they passed a pleasant
time.
One day the elder gave the younger sister a flower, and
said to her: 'Sister, you go out every day, and while you are
away something might happen. When this flower fades
LAL BADSHAH, THE RED KING.
337
you will know that I am in trouble, and when I drop my
needle I shall know that you are in trouble.'
Some time after this it happened that a king, named Lâl
Bâdshầh, with all his retinue, came out hunting in that very
forest, but after a long day's chase he succeeded in shooting
only a single partridge. As he was hungry, he said to his
minister, Vizier, go—see, there is smoke!-cook this par-
tridge for me, and bring it back.'
So the vizier took the partridge and began to cook it over
the fire, to which he was easily guided by the smoke. But
it was the fire of the two princesses, the younger of whom
was still in the forest. As the vizier was cooking the par-
tridge he happened to look up, and he saw the elder sister in
the tree. The sight of her so astonished him that, instead of
attending to his duty, he kept staring at her, wondering who
and what she could be, and so the partridge got burnt.
When the vizier perceived that the bird was spoilt, he
began to mutter in great distress, being quite in despair,
fearing the king's anger. Then the princess said to him :
'Why are you crying ?'
Because,' answered he, 'I have burnt the king's par-
tridge.'
6
22
338
LAL BADSHAH, THE RED KING.
6
' If you will make a solemn promise of secrecy,' said she,
' I will help you.
The vizier faithfully promised, and the princess, descend-
ing, made up a delicious dish of partridge and deer's milk,
and sent it to the king.
The king was quite delighted, and he said to his minister :
Vizier, who cooked this partridge ?'
I cooked it,' answered he.
Who cooked this partridge ?' repeated the king.
'I cooked it,' repeated the vizier.
• Who cooked this partridge ?' once more cried the king.
'I cooked it,' once more replied the vizier.
Bury him alive !' screamed the king.
1
Some of the guard came forward, and, digging a great
hole, they thrust in the unlucky vizier, and began to throw
the earth over him. When he was buried as high as the
neck, the king asked him once more: Who cooked this
partridge?' and still the vizier answered: 'I cooked it.'
* This is a very obstinate fellow,' said the king. 'In with
the earth!'
When he was buried to the mouth, the king for the last
time asked him: 'Who cooked this partridge ?'
LAL BADSHAH, THE RED KING.
339
• Take me out, take me out,' cried the vizier, and I will
confess.'
So he was released from his grave, and then he told the
king the whole story.
Lâl Bâdshâh was astonished beyond measure when he
heard that a beautiful young princess was living in a tree.
Nor was it long before he visited her, when he was so struck
with her great beauty and refined manners that he married
her there and then, and carried her off on his horse.
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The poor girl would have been better pleased if she had
been allowed to remain in the tree, and, as she thought of
her absent sister, she became very sorrowful. Fortunately,
she had a bag of mustard-seed, which she took with her, and
as she rode along she dropped the seed on the ground to
mark the way.
The younger sister was some distance off, when she sud-
denly observed that her flower began to fade. So she
hastened back as fast as she could ; but she was too late :
her sister had gone. ‘Alas!' cried she, 'what new misfor-
tune is this? Where can my sister be ?' She then noticed
the mustard-seed, and perceived that it was a track leading
into the forest. Instantly she decided to follow it, and, with
her deer gambolling about her, she at once set out.
22-2
340
LAL BADSHAH, THE RED KING.
The track led her to a fine city, where she heard that her
sister was now the most favoured queen in the king's palace.
Resolving to remain in that place, in the hope that she
might some day be able to communicate with her, the
younger sister made herself a little wicker cabin on an
ancient mound, past which flowed a brook, just outside of
the city gates. Here she dwelt, by day taking out her deer
to graze, and by night sleeping with them in the cabin.
The elder sister, however, though she was so beloved by
the king, was hated by all her rivals. They were jealous of
her power and of her superior beauty. And when, in the
course of time, the poor queen had a baby, they stole it and
threw it out of the city, close to the old mound, and instead
of it they placed by her bed a basket of charcoal. Having
done this, they went to the king, and said: 'This new queen
of yours has been brought to bed. But, instead of a baby,
she has given birth to a basket of charcoal.' Naturally, the
king was very angry, and he ordered his young wife to be
cast into a dungeon.
It so happened that the poor little outcast infant was
rescued by its aunt, the younger sister, and as the story of
the queen's disgrace was soon bruited abroad, she easily
recognised the child as the king's. So she took to it,
showering on it the greatest affection, and nursing it with
deer's milk.
Some time elapsed, and the child had grown into a hand-
some little lad of four or five years, when the aunt observed
that the king frequently rode out past the mound, and that
he sometimes stopped to water his horse at the brook. So
she made for the little prince a wooden horse as a plaything,
and she told him to look out for the king. “Whenever,
said she, 'the king stops to water his horse, do you water
your horse, too, and say: “ Drink, O horse!" :
The child was quite charmed with his new toy, and
already imagined himself a gallant knight charging his
enemies. When the king came to the brook, as usual he
stopped to give his horse some water, and the prince, seeing
him, pranced down to the brook, too, and cried : 'Drink, o
horse!'
LAL BADSHAH, THE RED KING.
341
'Silly boy,' said the king to him, 'can a wooden horse
drink?'
In the evening the child reported all this to his aunt-how
the king had come, and what he had said. "To-morrow,'
said she, you must do exactly the same thing, and to the
king's question you are to answer, “But, o king, did a
woman ever give birth to a basket of charcoal ?”!
The next day Lal Badshah was again watering his horse
at the brook, and hy his side the little prince was watering
his, saying: 'Drink, O horse !
'Foolish boy,' said the king, 'how can a wooden horse
drink water?'
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'And, o king,' answered the child, ' how can a woman
bring forth a basket of charcoal ?'
This answer quite startled the king. “Now, what can be
the meaning of this ?' he said; and, noticing that the little
boy entered the wicker cabin, he approached it, and, dis-
mounting, went behind it to listen. He then heard the
aunt saying : ' Did you repeat to the king what I told you ?'
And the boy answered, 'Yes,' and related all that had hap-
pened. Then said the aunt : ' Lâl Bâdshâh can by no means
be a wise king, or else from your answer he would have
guessed the truth.'
342
LAL BADSHAH, THE RED KING.
On hearing these words, the king approached the door,
and the aunt at once rose up to pay him respect. “This boy
of yours,' said he, 'has just given me a most mysterious
answer. What does it mean?'
So the aunt told him the whole history of her life and of
her sister's life, and revealed to him the secret of the boy's
birth. Never was the king so pleased in the whole course of
his life. He acknowledged his son as heir to his empire,
he restored his injured queen to her position and rank, and
he amply provided for her younger sister. And so, after
many misfortunes, the two sisters, who loved each other
so truly, were united once more, and lived happily ever
after.
LXXXII.
PRINCE BAIRÂM AND THE FAIRY BRIDE.
2 Mei inilo
NCE upon a time the king of the
giants from the mountains of
Kôh Kâf came to visit the king-
doms of men. His name was
Safeyd. As he was wandering
over the earth he entered a forest,
and there he saw a merry com-
pany of huntsmen chasing the
deer. Their leader was a young
prince named Bairâm, and the
beauty of this youth was so striking and so unusual that the
giant Safeyd felt that he loved him, and that he would never
again know happiness or contentment unless he became
possessed of him. So he turned himself into a fine horse,
with a skin like snow and a neigh like thunder, and in that
form repeatedly crossed the path of the prince to attract his
attention. The prince was enchanted when he saw so
noble a steed, and gave orders that he should be caught.
Safeyd was only too glad to permit himself to be saddled
and bridled, and to suffer the prince of whom he was
PRINCE BAIRAM AND THE FAIRY BRIDE.
3:13
.
enamoured to vault on to his back. No sooner did he feel
him safely seated, however, than he galloped away, and
never stopped until he had arrived at his own palace in the
mountains which girdle the earth. There he heaped on him
every favour, loaded him with gold and precious stones,
gave him splendid steeds and hundreds of attendants,
clothed him in the richest apparel, and lodged him in a
magnificent palace.
After eight days the giant Safeyd came to Bairâm and
G
said, 'I shall now leave you for eight days. I must go to
my brother's wedding. You, however, will remain here;
but take this key, which will admit you into an inner garden,
which hitherto no one has entered but myself. When you
go, go alone, and remember to lock the door again when
you return. So the giant gave the prince the key, and at
once set off for the kingdom of his brother.
That very evening Bairâm went to the garden, which sur-
passed all he had ever imagined. There stood within it a
wonderful pavilion of jasper, set with precious stones;
fountains played on all sides, and the trees, instead of fruit,
were laden with rubies, emeralds and sapphires. Sitting
down, he watched the fountains throwing up golden spray,
and the reflections mirrored in the beautiful pools. Just
then four milk-white doves flew on to a tree, and then settled
344
PRINCE BAIRAM AND THE FAIRY BRIDE.
in the shape of four fairies by the edge of a tank of clear
crystal water. Their beauty seemed to dazzle his eyes.
Having unrobed, they entered the water and began to bathe ;
and as they were bathing one of them said to the others: 'I
have had a dream, and by my dream I can tell that one of
us shall be parted from the rest.' They then stepped one
by one out of the water and began to dress; but the most
beautiful fairy of all could not find her clothes. Meanwhile,
the others, having finished dressing, turned once more into
milk-white doves and flew away, the fourth fairy, whose
name was Ghulab Bâno, exclaiming as she bade them fare-
well : 'It is my kismet. Some different destiny awaits me
here, and we shall never meet again.' She then looked
towards the steps and saw the prince. At once her heart
escaped from her body, and she fell in love with him. Now,
it was the prince himself who had stolen the fairy's clothes
and hidden them, and, as he knew that if she recovered them
she would change into a milk-white dove again, he now
brought out another suit, and she clothed herself, and the
two lovers remained in the garden.
When eight days had passed the giant Safeyd returned
once more to his house. And when Bairâm saw the huge
chains which encircled his waist he began to tremble with
fear; but the giant reassured him, saying: 'Fear not; are
you not master of all I possess ?' and he ordered music to
play and dancing girls to assemble in numbers to beguile
and cheer his spirits, but they were all invisible.
Do you see them ?' asked the giant.
No,' answered the prince; “I see nothing, but I hear the
music and the tinkling of anklets.
'I will give you some of King Solomon's antimony,' said
the giant. 'Touch your eyes with it.'
And when Prince Bairâm had touched his eyes with
King Solomon's antimony he saw the whole place filled
with troops of exquisite damsels, dancing to the music of
viol and drum.
Now, the beautiful fairy whom the prince had captured
in the garden was one of the wives of the giant, and the
giant knew all that had passed. But his love for Bairâm
PRINCE BAIRAM AND THE FAIRY BRIDE.
345
was so great that he said to him : 'Take not only Ghulâb
Bâno, but all I possess you can take as well.'
One day the fairy grew sad and said, 'Give me leave to
visit my father and mother and to return.' So the prince
brought out her fairy clothes, and she changed into a milk-
white dove and away she flew. But her parents, when they
heard the news, were angry that she had married a mortal,
and they imprisoned her in a gloomy subterranean city.
Therefore she did not return; and as time went on and
still she came not, Prince Bairâm began to pine and droop
from sorrow, and for his sake, too, the giant grew sad and
melancholy. At last the prince
cried: 'I must follow her, and
never come back till I find
her.'
'Are you quite resolved to
go ?' asked the giant.
'I can no longer live,' said
he, 'without her.'
Then the giant gave him
three things : his invisible cap,
some of King Solomon's anti-
mony, and one of his own hairs.
So the prince set out, and after
many days he came to the sub-
terranean city. But because it
was all in darkness, and he
could not see his way, he rubbed his eyes with the antimony,
which made everything plain and clear before him. Then
he inquired, and found that the fairy Ghulab Bâno was
imprisoned in a lofty tower of one hundred iron doors.
And when he found himself before the tower he put on his
magic cap, which rendered him invisible, and which also
compelled all the doors to fly wide open. He then entered,
and when he saw the fairy princess he took off his cap and
rushed into her arms, and with her he remained for many
days.
A woman can never keep a secret.* It was not long
* This sentence is literally translated, and reflects the views of the
Panjâbis.
346
PRINCE BAIRAM AND THE FAIRY BRIDE.
before Ghulab Bâno began to whisper to some of her favour-
ite maids, and to tell her intimate friends the good fortune
which had smiled on her in the midst of her banishment.
Then the news spread until it reached the ears of her father.
He collected his giants together, and, going to the tower,
they found the prince with the princess. They were horrified,
and cried : 'Come, let us kill him!'. Immediately the
prince awoke, and, seeing his peril, he put on his magic cap,
which made him invisible. Then he took the giant Safeyd's
hair, and held it in the flame of the lamp ; and as the smoke
rose a thousand squadrons of giants at once assembled.
There was a great battle; the enemy were routed, and the
enraged father compelled to surrender his daughter to Prince
Bairâm. After this Safeyd and the prince and the fairy
returned in triumph to their beautiful home.
By-and-by, when some years had now elapsed, the prince
began to long for his own kingdom ; and his longing grew
so great that at last he determined to go. The giant
became very sad, but on account of his love for him he
allowed him leave. Then Ghulab Bâno changed herself
into an enormous bird, and the prince mounted between her
wings, and in a moment they alighted close to the capital.
There the prince disguised himself as a poor fakeer, while his
wife became a milk-white dove. Then he entered the city and
called on his old nurse, who at once recognised him, and
told him that his vizier had seized the kingdom and was
reigning in his stead.
* And where are my wives?' asked Bairâm.
* Three of your wives,' answered she, ‘he took to be his
wives; but the fourth defied him, and because of her fidelity
he imprisoned her in a pit. There a son was born, and there
the mother and the babe still remain, and he feeds them
with the leavings of his hounds.'
For a time the prince lodged with his nurse, the fairy
having resumed her own shape, but one day when he was
out news was taken to the false king that a woman surpass-
ing in beauty all the women of the earth had been seen at
the house of the old woman. So the false king rushed to the
spot, seized Ghulâb Bâno by the arm, and cried : 'Come
along with me!'
PRINCE BAIRAM AND THE FAIRY BRIDE.
347
'O king,' answered she, 'let me first go in and change my
clothes.'
So she left him waiting at the door, but having entered
her chamber, she put on her fairy suit, and, at once changing
into a milk-white dove, flew out of the window, and sped far
away, but the false king went back to the palace vexed and
defeated.
When Bairâm returned, the first thing he said was :
'Where is my wife?'
She has gone to the vizier's,' said the woman. 'He
came and carried her off.'
So the prince took out the giant's hair and held it again
in the flame, when instantly there rushed to his help
thousands of giants with clubs and swords, and the city was
taken, the vizier and the three false wives were slaughtered,
while the faithful wife was delivered from the pit and
restored to the palace as queen once more.
With her
Prince Bairâm lived for some time, being always kind and
good to her ; but he sighed for the fairy princess, who had
flown back to her father's house and had never returned.
By degrees his melancholy increased more and more, until,
becoming mad, he wandered about the city and the palace
and the forest, seeking in vain for his lost love.
Meanwhile the giant Safeyd grew melancholy also, and
at last he could bear his grief no longer. So he set out for
the kingdom of his friend Bairâm, and, having found him, he
carried him away and restored him again to his fairy queen.
With her he recovered his health, and his whole after-life
was spent in happiness and delight, sometimes with Ghulâb
Bâno among the mountains of Kôh Kâf, and sometimes
with his faithful wife in the capital of his own kingdom. But
at last he left his wife for good and never returned again.
348
THE SILLY WEAVER-GIRL.
LXXXIII.
THE SILLY WEAVER-GIRL.
A CERTAIN quarter of a village was inhabited only by weavers.
One day a fine young weaver-girl was sweeping out the
house, and as she swept she said to herself: 'My father
and mother, and all my relations, belong to this village. It
would be a good thing if I married in this village, and
settled here too, so that we should always be together.
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But,' continued she, “if I did marry here, and had a son,
and if my son were to sicken and die, oh, how my aunts,
my sisters, and my friends would come, and how they would
all bewail him !' Thinking of this, she laid her broom
against the wall, and began to cry. In came her aunts and
her friends, and, seeing her in such distress, they all began
to cry too. Then came her father and her uncles and her
brothers, and they also began to cry most bitterly; but not
one of them had the wit to say, 'What is the matter ?—for
THE SILLY WEAVER-GIRL.
3:19
6
whom is this wailing? At last, when the noise and the
weeping had continued for some time, a neighbour said :
What bad news have you had ? Who is dead here ?'
'I don't know,' answered one of the howling uncles.
These women know; ask one of them.'
At this point the head-man arrived at the spot, and cried :
'Stop, stop this hubbub, good people, and let us find out
what is the matter.' Addressing himself to an old woman,
he said:
What is all this disturbance in the village for ?'
'How can I tell ?' answered she. When I came here, I
found this weaver-girl crying about something.'
Then the weaver-girl, on being questioned, said: 'I was
weeping because I could not help thinking how, if I married
in this village, and had a son, and if my son were to sicken
and die, all my aunts, my sisters, and my friends would
come round me, and how we should all bewail him. The
thought of this made me cry.'
On hearing her answer, the head-man and his followers
began to laugh, and the crowd dispersed.
.
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:
350
THE TIGER AND THE CAT.
LXXXIV.
THE TIGER AND THE CAT.
W
TIGERS at first were ignorant, until the king of the tigers
once came to the.cat and begged him for lessons. The cat,
consenting, taught
the tiger to watch,
to crouch, to spring,
and all the other
accomplishments so
familiar to the race.
At last, when he
thought he had
learnt everything
the cat had to im-
part, the tiger made
a spring at
his
teacher, intending
to tear him and eat
him. Instantly the
cat ran nimbly up
a tree, whither the
tiger was unable to
follow.
Come down !'
cried the
tiger,
come down in-
stantly!'
'No, no !' replied the cat. How fortunate for me that I
did not teach you more! Otherwise you would have been
able to pursue me even here.'
6
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
351
LXXXV.
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
Hisha
17
SCE upon a time a certain king
went out hunting in the forest.
After chasing his game the whole
day, he found a wild, fierce woman
sitting alone, who, as soon as he
came near, sprang to her feet and
caught hold of his reins.
'Who are you?' cried the
startled king. “Are you a woman
or a demon ? Let my horse go!'
• My name is What-will-be-will-be,' replied the woman,
‘and one day I shall make you feel my power.'
The king asked her: 'But when will this thing be ?'
Choose, o king,' answered she, “whether I shall bring
it upon you now or at some distant period !
ار
ART
* Let me not answer you now,' said the king ; let me
first go and consult my queen, and I will return and tell
you.'
Go,' said the fierce old hag; 'I shall await you here.'
352
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
So the king rode home, and as he entered his palace his
looks were distressed. Said the queen to him : 'Your looks
betoken trouble; what is the matter?'
Ë' Oh, do not ask me what is the matter !' answered he. “I
met in the forest an old witch named What-will-be-will-be,
and she has bidden me choose whether adversity shall fall
upon us now or hereafter. What shall I tell her ?'
• You and I,' replied the queen, "are both of us young and
strong. Choose, then, that the trouble may visit us soon,
while we are well able to meet and to bear it.'
Then the king returned to the forest, and to the old
woman, whom he found in the same spot, he said: 'What-
ever is to befall us, let it come now, and not hereafter.'
Moto
VA
CE
JE
'Be it so,' answered the woman.
• You have your
wish.'
Scarcely had the king arrived at his capital when a
mounted messenger met him and informed him that the
king of another country was at hand with a vast army to
make war upon him. In the battle which ensued this
unfortunate monarch was totally routed, and his kingdon
fell into the hands of his enemy. But he himself, with his
queen and the two princes his sons, and his sons' two
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
353
ul:
wives, having all armed themselves, and having mounted
upon swift horses, fled away from the city and escaped.
On and on they went, as strangers in strange lands, until
at last the whole of their money was expended, and poverty
and want began to stare them in the face. Then the king
said to himself: 'If we could only leave my sons' wives
somewhere, and steal away from them unperceived, our
troubles would diminish, for we should have fewer mouths
to provide for.
Having formed this cruel design, he soon carried it into
practice, and one night, when the two young princesses were
wrapt in slumber, the rest of the party, leaving the unfortu-
nate girls a couple of horses and some arms, abandoned
them in the wilderness.
When the two princesses awoke, they looked about them,
and found themselves alone; and having cried for their
friends in vain, they began to say to each other, 'What
shall we do now?'
EE
'If we both travel in these wild places as women,' said
the elder and wiser sister, 'we shall be robbed and cruelly
treated.'
So she set to work, and in a short time she had altered
her feminine robes into a man's attire, and having assumed
23
354
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
her arms, she mounted her horse, and she then looked a
noble young prince, both valiant and strong, while her
beautiful sister, in her own raiment, rode beside her.
The two princesses now set out again to search for their
friends, but they rode and searched in vain. No signs of
them were to be discovered or seen, neither could they hear
any tidings of them.
One day they came to a certain city where there was a
king, and in this city the elder sister determined to tarry.
So she took a small house for herself and her sister, and
every day in her masculine disguise, mounted, and armed
with sword and lance, she attended the court of the king,
until at last the king observed her, and said to his vizier :
'Who is that stranger who comes every day to court ?'
Then the minister approached the princess, and asked
her : Who are you? Are you a king's son or a merchant's
son? What are you, and whence came you ?'
* I am in need of nothing,' answered the princess. 'I am
merely looking for a lost brother.'
Then the king called for her, and said to her: 'If honour-
able service were offered to you, would you accept it ?'
· Yes,' answered the girl, “but only to become one of your
own body-guard.'
The king, who had taken a fancy to this handsome youth,
as he supposed the princess to be, immediately made out an
order for her, and she was enrolled as a member of his
body-guard.
Her duties were light and her payment liberal. She was
most assiduous to please, watching the king with careful
fidelity whenever she was on guard; ever active and alert,
but never forgetting that her chief concern was to scan the
faces of all new-comers, if by any chance her own friends
should be among them.
Now, it was a custom in that country that if a criminal were
sentenced to death he should be conducted by the execu-
tioners to a wild place and hanged on a tree or a gallows,
and there at once abandoned, either to escape if he could, or
to be the prey of the vultures. One evening, when the
princess was on sentry over the king, a notorious robber was
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
355
thus taken out and hanged. In the middle of the night the
princess heard a dismal howling and wailing, and fearing that
some danger was approaching, she boldly entered the forest
to find out the cause of the disturbance. : In a few minutes
she came to the gallows-tree, on which the dead robber was
swaying in the wind, and under the tree she noticed what
appeared to be a miserable gaunt woman, who from time to
time set up the dismal howling which had so greatly alarmed
her. In reality, however, the creature was not a woman,
but a female ghoul--that is, a demon in human form, who,
like the vampire, wanders about at night and feeds upon
corpses.
'Who are you?' demanded the princess.
* This man who has been hanged is my son,' answered the
monster. 'He hangs too high for me to reach him, for I
am old and feeble. If you would lift me up, O strong young
sir, I might perhaps kiss him once more, as I shall never see
his face again.
The princess, who did not suspect her true character,
raised her up to the body; but the ghoul, instead of kissing
it, seized it by the neck with her teeth, and began to suck
the blood. Perceiving this horror, the princess instantly
dropped her, and, drawing her sword, she struck at her; but
23--2
356
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
the ghoul evaded the stroke and fled. Nevertheless, the
princess had severed a piece of her clothing, which she
picked up, and, examining it, she found it was composed of
the very richest material, worked in strange and fantastic
figures, with threads of gold.
th
Returning at once to the palace, the princess found the
king sitting up awake. "You are posted here,' said he, 'to
guard me from intrusion. Where have you been ?'
Then the princess related to the king the whole story,
telling him of the dismal wailings and of the female ghoul
who had sucked the blood of the robber. The king was
incredulous, and said to her: 'Have you any proof of the
truth of this extraordinary adventure ??
Then she showed him the piece of cloth, which the king
inspected with astonishment and admiration. “This cloth,'
said he, 'is of the rarest quality and most precious.
He was so pleased that he gave the princess a bag of
gold, and sent the cloth as a present to the queen his wife,
who, as soon as she had seen and examined it, longed for
more of it, and so she sent word to the king : Such beauti-
ful cloth has never before been seen in the kingdom. I
would have a whole suit of it.'
"
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
357
The king now said to the princess : Wherever it was
you obtained this wonderful cloth, you must depart instantly
and fetch me more of the same pattern.'
The princess was amazed at such an order, and answered:
'Who knows whence the ghoul came or whither she has
gone? Where am I to look for her ?'
This objection the king merely waved aside. 'If you
bring the cloth it will be well with you,' said he, but if not,
your head shall answer for it!'
'Be it so,' said the princess, with confidence. But, O
king, grant me time.
To this request the king assented, and, giving her both
time and abundance of money, ordered her to set out
forthwith.
The next morning she bade her sister farewell, and started
on her quest of the ghoul's coat. Many a day she journeyed,
until at last she found herself in the territories of another
king. In the midst of this kingdom she arrived at a half-
abandoned city, where grass was growing in the streets,
and where the few inhabitants wore a melancholy and
woe-begone aspect. Here she perceived an old woman sur-
rounded by one or two others, all of whom were kneading
huge quantities of dough. As she gazed in wonder, she
noticed that the old woman was crying and lamenting.
'O mother,' said the princess, you are both baking
bread and crying! What is the matter?'
'Every eighth day a ghoul comes here,' answered she--
'a monster from the mountains; and the tribute he receives
by the king's order is a human being, a buck goat, and two
hundred pounds of bread. The reason I am crying is that
to-day it is my turn, and that I have to give the ghoul my
only son.'
Then said the princess to the old woman, 'Mother, do
not cry. When you have the bread ready, let it be taken
with the goat to the usual place, and thither I also will go
instead of your son.'
‘But who in the world,' said the woman, 'would give his
life for another?'
Now, the king of that country had made an order that
358
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
whosoever should kill or drive away the ghoul should be
rewarded with riches and honoured with the hand of one of
his daughters. And the princess, having heard of this order,
turned to the old woman, and said : But is no one able to
kill the ghoul ???
'No one whatever,' answered she.
'Well,' said the princess, at least come and show me
the place where he is accustomed to feed.'
When the bread was all ready, the old woman and her
son, and the buck goat, proceeded with the princess to the
spot. In that dismal place, which lay without the city-
walls, there stood an old hut, and there the whole tribute
used to be put for the ghoul, who always came at night and
devoured it all before the morning. Going into the hut, the
princess first dug a great hole. Then she placed the goat
SA
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and the heap of bread on one side, and on the other she set
up a log of wood dressed up to look in the darkness like a
boy. Having completed these arrangements, she dismissed
the old woman and her friends, and descended herself into
the pit, where, with her sword ready drawn in her hand, she
crouched down and hid herself. In the middle of the night
she heard a roar, and the ghoul, in the form of a gigantic
man, rushed into the hut and began to devour. When he
ȚHE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
359
had eaten the bread and the buck goat, he went to the log
and seized it ravenously. At that moment the princess
rose from her pit, and smote and cut off one of his legs,
which so startled the brute that he instantly fled from the
hut on his other leg, and made his escape to the hills with
the utmost despatch.
TRAVELS
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EX
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In the morning the princess returned to the city, and said
to the old woman: 'I had an encounter with the ghoul last
night, and he has been punished so handsomely that he will
never trouble you or your neighbours again.'
Everyone was astonished, and some cried Nonsense!' but
the most hopeless were convinced when the princess dis-
played to them the monster's horrid leg. Then the old
woman gave away both money and food in charity for the
sake of their glorious deliverer, and because of herself and
her son, whom he had delivered from destruction.
When the king, who dwelt in the citadel, heard the news of
this exploit he also was surprised beyond measure, and he
sent for the princess and treated her with the utmost honour.
How did you manage to accomplish this great achieve-
ment?' asked he.
Then the princess told him the history of her adventure
without adding to or diminishing aught from the simple truth.
360
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
DISCOTTOBRA Mali?
The king listened with gratified interest, and rewarded the
heroine by saying to her: 'It is a decree of mine that whoso
shall kill the ghoul or drive him out of my dominions shall
receive the hand of my daughter in marriage. The lady is
ready, and, therefore, if you are willing to marry her, pray
do so.'
The princess was more than grateful for this proof of the
king's generosity and goodwill, yet she answered him : 0
king, I have still another enterprise on hand, but when that
is safely accomplished I shall again return to your court.'
The king then suffered her to depart, and so, mounting
her horse, she travelled on and on again for weeks and
months. At last, in the midst of craggy mountains and
gloomy defiles belonging to a third kingdom, she came to a
lonely fortress with frowning walls and forbidding appear-
ance. Entering the open gateway, she found herself in a
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courtyard, and there she saw a gentle maiden sitting spin-
ning, but no one else was visible anywhere. When the girl
saw the princess, she first laughed, and then she cried. The
princess was amazed, and, going up to her, she said : “Why
do you both laugh and cry?'
• Never since the day of my birth' answered the girl,
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
361
' have I seen a man; and when I saw you, therefore, I
laughed. But I cried because the ghouls who live in this
castle will certainly eat you up.'
'How many ghouls are there ?' asked the princess.
'There are two of them,' answered the girl,' and one of
them is the husband of the other.'
'But is there no way of escape for me?' inquired the
princess.
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' For this one night,' said the girl, 'I may be able to save
you from them, but not for more.'
She then rose, and with looks of love conducted the
princess to a lonely chamber, and having left some food and
some water with her, she fastened the door and came away.
As the shadows began to fall, the two ghouls returned to
their gloomy castle, bringing with them some buck goats
and the remains of a human being. Having made their
horrid evening meal, they poured out quantities of wine into
golden goblets and began to quaff and to make merry.
Then, looking at the girl, one of them said to the other :
' About this girl of ours, whom we stole as a baby: it is time
that we should find a husband for her. If now we could
capture a brave man, we might marry them together.'
I could recognise the man who cut off the skirt of my
362
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
coat,' answered the female ghoul. "If we could find him, we
might marry her to him, for a braver man never lived.'
' Ah,' replied the male ghoul, “but he was a braver inan
a great deal who cut off my leg.'
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The two ghouls now began to dispute and to fall out as to
which of the two men was the braver, the male ghoul
asserting that the girl should be married to the man who
cut off his leg, and the female protesting that she should be
the wife of the man who cut off the end of her embroidered
coat. And so they fell asleep.
In the morning the two ghouls went away as usual to
hunt for man's flesh, and the girl, going to the secret
chamber, released the princess from her lonely tower, and
brought her forth, telling her as she did so all that had
passed between the two ghouls the night before.
'But,' continued she, “I would rather marry you, dear
prince, if the ghouls would allow me.'
Then the princess inquired further into their history, and
the girl told her the story of the ghouls' misfortunes : how
one lost part of her garment, and the other his leg.
* But,' said the princess, 'it was I who deprived them of
both; I cut off the leg of the one, and I cut off some of the
cloak of the other. Would they, then, give you to me?'
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
363
'They would be most willing to do so,' replied the girl,
astonished and pleased.
That day passed in visiting the rooms of the castle and in
wondering at its vast treasures and stores of all manner of
rarities, and in the evening the princess was again hidden
in the secret chamber.
When the ghouls returned, they feasted and caroused as
before, and when warmed with wine they again began to
dispute as to who should marry the girl, each, without
knowing it, extolling the bravery of the same hero. Then
said the girl : ‘But perhaps it was the one man who
achieved both those wonderful exploits. If so, would you
allow him to marry me?'
'Marry you ?' cried they. 'Of course he should marry
you, and take you wherever he pleased.'
‘Then,' said the girl, 'give me your most solemn assurance
that, if he can be found, you will not kill him.
'We make the promise, of course,' said they.
Then, going to the secret chamber, the girl brought forth
the princess, and took her in before them, and both the
savages, at once recognising her, gazed at her with wonder,
admiration, and astonishment.
" How did you contrive so well to cut off my leg ?' asked
the male ghoul.
'I dug a hole in the floor of the hut,' answered the
undaunted princess, and in that I hid myself, and the goat
and the bread I put on one side, and a dressed-up log on
the other; and when you passed by me to seize the log,
I raised my sword and at a blow off came your leg.'
· Wonderful !' cried the male ghoul, in tones of awe.
' And how did you cut off the skirt of my coat ?' asked
the female ghoul.
When I saw what a monster you were,' answered the
princess, “and when I heard you sucking the blood of the
dead robber, I dropped you on the ground, and, drawing
my sword, I made a stroke at you, and thus it was that I
cut off the skirt of your coat.'
'O most wonderful prince ! cried the female ghoul,
equally amazed.
364
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
Then said they: “Now take away this girl with you.
You have won her; she is yours. Take her to your own
country, and marry her.'
When the princess and her bride were all ready for the
journey, the ghouls loaded them with heaps of money and
presents.
‘One thing only I care for,' said the princess, and that
is the coat of embroidered gold of which I have already a
piece.'
sy
Her wish was no sooner expressed than it was gratified ;
and!for the sake of the girl the ghouls presented her with
much more of the same material as well. After this they
accompanied the pair to the borders of their own territory,
and there they left them.
Journeying on, the princess and her young bride arrived
at the city which had formerly suffered so greatly from the
exactions of the male ghoul. The king was enchanted to
welcome her back, and gave her his daughter in marriage
in accordance with his promise, together with riches in
abundance; after which she continued her journey to the
country of her own king; and having arrived at the capital,
she committed her two wives to the custody of her younger
sister, and at once rode on to the palace. There she pre-
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
365
sented the whole of the wonderful cloth which she had
brought from the castle of the ghouls; and the king was so
delighted that he instantly said to her: 'Now you shall be my
prime minister; and you shall live in a palace of your own.'
* Very well,' answered the princess, and at once the order
was made out, the decree published, and she was promoted
to the head of affairs.
The princess was now both powerful and wealthy, but
she never for a moment forgot the one object of her life,
which was to find her lost friends. With this thought ever
present in her mind, she one day said to the king: 'If you
will allow me, I would make a large garden to contain trees
and plants of every kind.'
The king approved of her plan, and gave her an immense
tract of land for the purpose. Her design was that her
garden should be the wonder of the whole world, and so there
was not a country to which she did not send her messengers
to make known that whosoever would bring her a plant for
her garden should receive two gold mohurs. But all the
time she was thinking of her dear friends, and hoping that
in their poverty and obscurity, wherever they were, they
might hear tidings of her wonderful garden, and be induced
to bring her some plants for the sake of the reward.
For months this good princess was doomed to disappoint-
ment, for, though thousands came with plants of the rarest
varieties, her own relations came not. At last the king, her
first father-in-law, in his distant exile, heard the proclama-
tion, and, as he was very poor, he and the queen his wife,
and their two sons, searched for the rarest plants, and
carried them to the famous garden. There, notwithstand-
ing their altered condition, their ragged clothing, and their
attenuated frames, they were immediately recognised by the
princess. But she refrained herself, and ordered them to be
confined in a certain house, over which she placed a guard,
while at the same time she herself occupied a room in which
she could overhear all they spoke about.
The first thing the king said was: 'Strange! all others
receive rewards and are allowed to depart, but we only are
placed here under restraint.
366
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
' I suppose,' said the queen, 'we are being punished by
God for having so cruelly abandoned those two poor girls in
the desert.
No longer able to restrain herself, the princess left the
house and at once ordered her friends to be conducted into
sumptuous chambers, and to be supplied with baths and rich
clothing, and with food and wine of the best. Then she
had them all brought into her own palace, and, in her
character and disguise of prime minister of the kingdom,
she received them as if for the purpose of a mere audience,
nor had any of them any suspicion of her real identity.
Having seated them on chairs, she gazed on them, and said:
- What is your history ?'
We were once a royal family,' answered the aged king,
'but misfortune befell us, and we were driven from our king-
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dom. Then, in our need and distress, we abandoned the
young wives of my two sons in a lonely place, and ever since
we have lived poor, unblest and unknown.'
· Yes,' said the princess, ' I suppose you left the princesses
because of your necessity. Notwithstanding, every child of
man has to eat his own kismet.'
Then she left the room, and for the first time for years
she assumed her own proper habit; and taking her sister by
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
367
the hand, she led her into the apartment, and looking at the
young princes, their husbands, she said: 'You left behind
in the desert your two wives, but now God has restored
them to you once more.'
Then she turned to the king and queen, and there followed
many a fond embrace, with tears and words of surprise and of
love, and they were all reunited in a lasting reconciliation.
IZMANTOFI
MUS
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The next morning the princess went to the king, and said
to him: 'The time has come when I must reveal to you the
secret of my life. No longer a man, I now assume my
proper character, for I am really the wife of a prince of
ancient lineage, and my husband is here.'
Then she related the story of her life, and said : “And now
assist us with a suitable army, that we may take the field
and recover our own lost inheritance. But if not, then
permit me to remain here, and give my friends positions
near your own person.'
Choose,' said the king, 'which you will have.'
'Let us, then, have the troops,' answered she, “and the
treasure to wage a campaign.
To this proposal the king joyfully agreed, and the princess,
with all her friends, set out at the head of an invincible army,
and having routed the usurper in a signal battle, they re-
368
THE PRINCESS AND THE OGRES.
covered their lost dominion, and the old king ascended his
throne and reigned once more. Then, having provided
splendid matches for the two beautiful girls whom the
princess had married in her expedition against the ghouls,
the whole united family settled down in peace and prosperity,
and lived happily ever afterwards.
My story is about earthly Kings, but the true King is God.*
.............
13003
* Panjâbis generally begin and sometimes end their stories of kings
with this confession of faith.
i
VIZ
wa
Ar
INDEX WITH NOTES.
A.
ABLUTIONS, ceremonial, strictness of
Mohammedans of the N.W. frontier of
India in regard to, 132
ADVANCES, custom of making, usual in
all bargains, 171
AFFECTION, filial, despised, variant of
Cordelia,' 79
Air of the world,' common expression
for the pure air on the top of any high
place, as a hill, or a tree, or a tower,
ATTOCE, a town on the Upper Indus,
xii.
AUNT, a term of friendliness and polite-
ness when addressed to a woman, 246
AZOKA, a great Buddhist king, who ruled
over the whole of North India, in-
cluding Kashmir. He is said to have,
established hospitals throughout his
dominions for both human beings and
animals (B.C. 260), xiii.
AZOKA, edicts of, referred to, xjii.
II
ALEXANDER THE GREAT (crossed the
Indus a few miles above Attock, B.C.
325), xii.
ALLIGATORS (common in certain rivers in
India and Ceylon), 223
ALLOY, largely used by the goldsmiths
and silversmiths of India, 213
ALMs, generally given in the form of food
and entertainment, not money, 152
AMLÔK, a fruit indigenous in the Upper
Panjậb. Grows in small clusters on a
large tree. Colour, when ripe, dark
purple. Dried and scld in the bazaars ;
very sweet, 202
ANCESTORS, reverence for, 330
ANTHROPOMORPHISM, God regarded in
the light of an ordinary man, only with
larger powers, 80, 89, 207
ANTIALKIDES, a Greek king, one of
Alexander's successors, who ruled over
the Upper Panjâb, xiii.
ANTIMONY, King Solomon's, 344, 345
APPEALS to God, or for the sake of God,
common in ordinary conversation, 227
APPLE, the, as a pledge of love, 39
ARBITRATION, a common custom of
settling disputes to avoid litigation,
218
AsSAFQTIDA, in common use as a stimu-
lant and flavouring in food, 124
B.
BANÊR, district so called, xii.
BANÊRWALS, inhabitants of Banêr, a
valley beyond the British frontier, north
of the Peshawur Valley. Said to be
the stupidest and the bravest men
among the Afghans. Stories in ridicule
of them, 3, 13, 33, 90, 207, 296, 304,
305, 312
BANGLES and bangle-sellers referred to,
157, 203
Note. --Bangles are often of coloured
glass.
BANISHMENT of sons, a common motive
for a story, 277
BARBERS, tales of, 15, 66, 271
Note.-Barbers are very important
personages in village-life. They act
as surgeons. They are the go-be-
tweens(with Mirāsīs and Brahmins)
in affairs of delicacy. They are
great gossips and news-carriers,
and are reputed very wise. "A
barber, a crow, and a jackal are
the wisest of living creatures.' The
barber has to shave the men of
his village, and is the general mes-
senger. At harvest he receives an
odi of grain and a bundle from each
plough. At weddings he receives
24
370
INDEX
three rupees, and his wife gets a
dress. For circumcising his fee is
one rupee, and for the first shaving
of a son eight annas.
BARD (mirāsi), referred to, 59
Note. The village bard, though of
the lowest possible caste, is almost
as necessary to the village-com-
munity as the barber. He is
learned in old tales and ballads,
he plays fiddles, pipes, and drums,
and keeps mnenionically the family
genealogies. He also carries mes-
sages, and helps to arrange mar-
riages, while his women dance and
sing at all festivals or for private
amusement, and are in most cases
of easy virtue. He is paid in kind
at harvest time, and receives pre-
sents also at births and for bearing
good news. He is greatly feared,
as he can make impromptu songs
in praise or ridicule. He forces
himself on all weddings excepting
the weddings of potters. The latter
rush at him, braying like donkeys,
and bite him, so that he is careful
to avoid their company.
BARLOW (Thos. Lambert, Esq.), refer-
ence to, xii.
B'ASKET-WORK, a local industry, referred
to, xiii.
BASTARDY, a disgrace among Panjâbis, 61
BATHING out of doors, common practice
in India, 167
BEARS, common in the forests of the
lower Himalayas and in Kashmir, tales
of, 12, 118
BEAUTY, fascinating power of, 151, 301,
338, 342, 344
Note. - The following in the original
in verse) is a Panjabi's idea of a
beautiful woman ;
A woman should be of medium height,
Her waist slender like the wasp's,
Her eyes black and brilliant,
Her form delicate as a deer's,
Her eyelashes long, like lances,
Her nose and her eyebrows like bows,
Her hair black as a raven,
Her forehead high and wide,
Her neck like that of the kúlan (a bird
like a heron),
Her teeth white like jasmine-buds,
Her fingers tapering like the rowánh
(a bean),
Her feet small-thirteen fingers in length,
Her walk like the gait of a pea-fowl,
And her voice like the sound of a harp.
She should be as harmless as a hare,
And as shy as a turtle dove.'
BEDSTEADS, used also as couches or seats.
Very light and simple, 73, 271
BEGGING-BOWLs, carried by fakirs and
jogis, 70
BETROTHALS, reference to, 18, 103, 229
Note.- Betrothals take place at very
early ages,
and are generally
arranged by the village barber and
the bard. The kazi repeats a
formula, a certain ballad is sung,
the body of the bride is rubbed
with spiced unguents, and there are
feasting and dancing.
BHÂBRÂ, a caste of Hindoos, referred to,
58
BHÃNGH, the Panjâbi word for the kazi's
call to public prayer.
It denotes also
the crow of a cock, referred to, 131
BHUNG (Bhangh), Indian hemp, re.erred
to, 190, 193
Note. -A preparation of the seed of
the Indian hemp is used all over
India as an intoxicant and nar-
cotic. It induces the most fantastic
visions, and incites to the maddest
acts. It is often mixed with
tobacco and smoked in hookalis,
causing, in excess, deep slumber
and death.
BLACK ANGEL, angel of death, 54
Note.--If you wish to see a tiger
look at a cat,
If you wish to see the angel of death
look at your creditor' (old saying).
When a man is buried two angels
visit him in his grave, a white angel
and a black angel, who ask hini
365 questions, upon his answers to
which his future depends.
BLACK MOUNTAIN, district so named, xii.
BLACKSMITH, referred to, 83
Note. - He attends to all the iron
work required in the village, as the
making and repairing of plough-
shares, etc., and is paid in grain
by each family according to the
amount of work done by him.
BLOOD, shedding of human, to ensure
success or remove difficulty, 287
BLOOD-SUCKING, example of, in an ogre,
355
BORROWED PLUMES,' a variant of, 245
Bowl, or charger, to contain blood and
eyes of prisoner as evidences of his
death, 165, 166
BRAHMINS, stories of, 217, 228
Note. — The highest, or priest-caste,
among Hindoos. Many Brahmins
are sunk in poverty, and work as
labourers in the fields and on tea-
gardens, but everywhere they re-
tain jealously their exclusive rights.
BREAD, baking of, referred to, 51, 68
Note.-The food of the poor consists
of cakes of the meal of Indian corn,
baked on the griddle day by day as
required. Every man, woman, and
child is well practised in the art of
kneading and baking bread.
BRIDE, custom of a, to visit her parents
for a time within a decent interval after
her marriage, 65, 78, 148
BRIDEGROOM, custom of the, to follow
his wiſe, to pay his respects to her
parents, and to bring her home again,
65, 78, 147, 264
BROTHERS, wise and foolish, tale of, 92
INDEX
371
BRUNI, 'mention of, xiii.
BUDDHIST'influences, xiii.
BUFFALOES; tales of, 68, 81, 105
Noie. Buffaloes form a farmer's
principal stock, used for draught,
at the plough, and at the well, and
their milk and butter are greatly
esteemed. During epidemics the
whole village subscribes according
to means, and buys a male buffalo,
which is taken round the village by
the priests, or kazis, very early in
• the morning or at night, when all
the inhabitants are indoors. As
they march they pray that the
plague may cease. Then a priest
cuts the animal's throat and divides
his flesh among the poor, or he
sprinkles him with the blood of a
kid, and drives him away, when he
is either left to stray, or becomes
the perquisite of the sweepers
(outcast folk) of the community.
Again, if anyone suffers from a stitch
or a pain, he must rub the part
affected with a peg to which a
brown buffalo has been tied.
BUGLA (Bagla), 163
Vote.-
Here used as the name of a
schemer seeking for office. The
bagla is properly a large water-
bird, snow - white. Hence the
Panjabi saying for a hypocrite,
* Outwardly a bagla, inwardly a
crow.
BULLOCKS, properly, OXEN, referred to,
CAPTURING wives, or mistresses, custom
illustrated, 175, 192, 257, 339
CARPENTER, village, reference to, 94
Note. The village carpenter is re-
sponsible for all the carpentry re-
quired by the community, and, like
the blacksmith, receives payment
in grain at harvest according to the
work done; so much from each
family. He is reputed skilful in
charms, and is consulted when a
spell or the effects of the Evil Eye
are to be cured.
CASHMERE, a native's idea of an earthly
paradise, 91
Nole. --Cashmere, according to popu-
lar idea, was to have been the
chosen Paradise, and Mahomed
had begun sending there the genie
bearing through the air immense
monoliths for building mansions
for the faithful, when he changed
his mind, and the genie dropped
the monoliths, which are now seen
standing in various places in the
Upper Punjab - said monoliths
being, of course, prehistoric.
CASTE, referred to, 152
Note. —The sub-divisions of the four
great castes among the Hindoos
are endless, and the rules of each
are observed so strictly that a man
would often prefer death to the dis-
honour of 'breaking his caste.' In
the text the food is given 'un-
cooked' to Hindoos, because no
Hindoo would touch food not
cooked by himself or a caste-
fellow, unless he were superior in
caste. To Mahomedans it is given
cooked,' because they are generally
indifferent, Mahomedanism con-
stituting one great brotherhood,
theoretically superior to such dis-
tinctions.
• CASTLE-BUILDING,'
consequent
disaster, 23
CASTLE, enchanted, story of a, 360
CATS, stories of, 319, 331, 350
Note.—The cat among Mahomedans
is cherished since the day when a
snake got into Mahomed's sleeve,
and the Prophet said, 'Get out!'
and he refused. For then the
Prophet said, 'Let us refer the
matter to the cat,' and the snake
consented. And the cat said to
the snake, 'Put out your head, and
let us talk the matter over.' And
when the snake put out his head,
the cat pounced on him, and
carried him off. Therefore, say
the people, a cat should never be
struck except with a cotton-ball !
CHANGE of beard from black to gray as
a warning to change the conduct, 7
CHARITY, giving bread in, to
threatened disaster, to procure fortune,
or to acquire merit, 23, 160, 237
95, 262
and
Note.—They are used constantly in
ploughing and in drawing Occa-
sionally a bullock is yoked with a
buffalo. Breed is very small, but
hardy and strong. 'You bullock !'
a term of contempt for a man void
of sense.
BUNIAH (Bania), grain-seller and general
dealer, also money-lender. Most of
the landowners are in the grip of the
buniahs, who are a mean, cowardly
race, grasping and penurious. Gene-
rally Hindoo, 29
BURIAL of the dead, referred to, 52, 232
Note-A Mahomedan as opposed to
the Hindoo custom. Ceremonies
the same as among Mussulmans
generally. No coffin is used, only
a winding-sheet.
BURNING of the dead, referred to, 47, 52
Note. A Hindoo practice. The
body is laid on logs, and then
covered with other logs, over which
oil and unguents are poured. The
charred remains are collected and,
when possible, sent to the Ganges.
C.
avert
CAMELS, tales of, 15,34, 80, 130, 269, 307,
310
CAP, invisible, 345
24—2
372
INDEX.
COTTON, bales of, referred to, 172
Note, Every village community
grows its own cotton, which the
village-weavers weave into cloth.
COUNTING of persons or objects, mistakes
in, 305
CHARMS, for love, revenge, etc., 137, 138,
282
Note. Belief in the power of charms
is universal. Space forbids the
mention of more than one or two.
To induce love a charm is procured
from a priest, a fakir, a blacksmith,
or a carpenter, who writes certain
cabalistic words on a piece of
paper, which must be put in the
lady's chamber, or under her bed.
Again, if a man suspects his wife's
fidelity, and would put it to the
test, he writes on paper his father-
in-law's and his mother-in-law's
names. This charm he lays among
the spent ashes of the bread-fire,
and as the paper smoulders away
day by day, the wife, if guilty,
sickens and dies. The lucky day
for putting a charm is the first
Sunday of the new moon. For
charms affecting the weather see
Rain.
CHARPOY, a bed, see Bedstead.
CHATTY, an earthen jar, or pot, I
Note. - It is of all sizes and used for
all sorts of domestic purposes.
CHESS, rather chaupat, referred to, 317
Note.-A game of high antiquity in
India. The chequered board is in
the form of a cross, the men are
all pawns, and dice are thrown
as in backgammon. See illustra-
tion.
CHILDREN, left deserted in a wood or
elsewhere, stories of, 333, 334, 353
exposed to perish, 334, 340
CLAY, custom of eating, referred to, xii.
CLOTH, of supernatural manufacture, 356
CLOTHES, theft of a fairy's, in order to
secure her person, 344
CLOVES, as a condiment, referred to, 116
COCK, story of a, 131
Note.-Fowls abound in every village,
but the breed is small. "The cack-
ling here, the eggs there,' a pro-
verb, as when one speaks excus-
ingly, or with double rneaning.
COMMON lands, referred to, 148
Notc.—Common lands still exist in
North India, to which every
member of the community has a
right, free of rent or tax. Here
the cattle of the poor graze in
charge of the village herdsman or
their own friends. As a rule, how-
ever, the common land is poor.
If any of it happens to be good,
it may be cultivated by someone
with common consent, and by the
service of part of the produce going
to the village generally, or to any.
one who can show any customary
right in it.
CONCEIT, ridicule of, 91
CORNBIN, a receptacle in every house for
grain, 76
CORPSES, defilement to touch, 225
Note. In this connection it should
be observed that on the left bank
of the river Kabul in the Peshawur
Valley there stand a cluster of
about sixteen pre-historic mega-
liths. The local superstition is that
no two persons can agree as to
their precise number; they refuse
to be counted correctly. A similar
superstition prevails in Wiltshire
about Stonehenge.
COW-DUNG, ordinary fuel in India, 103
Note. It is made into thick cakes
and dried on the gable-ends of the
houses. In many parts of India,
where wood no longer exists and
every yard of ground is under cul-
tivation, no other fuel is available.
COWRIES, a medium of exchange in India,
27
Crows, tales of, 15, 311
Note. —- ' Brothers stand by brothers,
'tis ravens favour crows. Proverb
deprecating family disunion.
(Ravens and crows are often found
in company.)
CURIOSITY, à prevailing infirmity, 214,
215
Curry, as food (seldom in the Panjab
eaten by the poor), 116
D.
DÂL, a vetch, referred to, 235
Note.-The grain of Dâl, made into
a porridge with a little clarified
butter, makes an excellent dish.
The once famous “ Arabica Reva-
lenta' is said to have been merely
the flour of dâl.
DANCING-GIRLS, referred to, 59, 177
Note.-These girls have to undergo
a very severe training from early
childhood ir singing and dancing.
They are often very accomplished,
many of them being able to read
and write and to compose verses,
while those famous for their beauty
are said to be very wealthy. Of
shame, however, they are destitute.
DARK sayings, examples of, 86, 87, 261
DECEIT, allowable in love' all's fair,'
etc., I6I
Decoy, for partridges, sketch of, 175
Note.-
This decoy, which I sketched
on the spot, was used much more
formerly than at present.
It is
made of deer-skin, and figured as
in drawing. It enlists the curiosity
of the game, which draw near to
inspect it.
DEER, attracted by beauty and innocence,
336
INDEX.
373
DURÂNI, a noble family or tribe of
Afghầnistân, 84
E.
no
EATING, undignified for men to eat in
presence of women, 73
ELECTION of king, original custom of, 28
ELEPHANT, sagacity of an, 63
· Evil for good,' 134
EXECUTIONERS, once a caste, probably
of scavengers, reference to, 165, 169
Exorcism, referred to, 77, 265
Note.--As Sir Topas in 'Twelfth
Night,' so the kadi, or priest, in
India is always summoned to drive
out the evil spirit. See Possession.
EXPENDITURE at weddings, always pro-
fuse, 182, 183, 316, 328
Eye, taking out of, as a punishment, 106
Note.--I have abundance of lore, but
no stories, of the evil eye.' The
natives, indeed, are shy on the
subject, as they are in dread of the
malign influence, and never know
when they may be afflicted by it.
DEER, varieties of, common in India,
referred to, 98
DEHŞAR, the ten-headed god, 25
DEMONS, belief in, and stories of, 55. 76,
150, 200, 256, 298
Note.--In India the belief is general.
Demons generally live in ceme-
teries or burning-ghats. Some-
times they frequent houses, and
then influence will induce
people to occupy then. Iron is
believed to be efficacious against
them. When a woman is in labour,
or a child is sleeping, a piece of
iron laid near will keep off demons.
Fits are believed to be caused by
an evil spirit in the form of a rat
getting into the head. Many
demons are believed to have bodies
with horns, and to live, like vam-
pires, on human flesh.
DIALECT, changes in, and varieties of,
referred to, 265
DISGUISES, recourse to, in affairs of love,
etc., 157, 253, 254, 318, 353
DIVINERS and soothsayers, reference to,
43
DOG, fidelity of the, 131
Dogs, used in coursing, 297
-, village, referred to, 17, 297
Note. -The 'village' dogs live in the
village anywhere. They are excel-
lent scavengers and watch-dogs.
Half-starved, however, they have a
wretched existence.
DOLES, it praiseworthy practice to give,
161
DOOLIE, a covered litter, used for carry-
ing women or children, or the sick, 75,
163, 193
DOOR-TAX, reference to the, 45
Vote.-Each householder pays the
khân of the village a door-tax
(who also receives dues on be-
trothals, weddings, etc.).
DRAWING water, the duty of the women
and girls, 313
DREAMS, love originating in, 247
warnings and prognostications in,
251
DRINKING water, peculiar fashion of, 58
DRUMS, beating of, 263
Nole. -- Drums, or tom-toms, are
always beaten at weddings, all
night long, and at funerals, and
also form part of the accompani-
ment to the dancing of dancing-
girls. The fingers alone are used
to beat them with.
DRUNKENNESS, rare, but not unknown,
59
Note.—The native spirit — arrack-
made from barley or rice, is very
coarse and strong.
DUMB signs and tokens, a means of com-
municating in matters of intrigue and
love, 164, 167, 252
DUMBNESS, feigned, of a princess,
317
F.
FAIRIES, reference to, and stories of, 39,
342
Note. — The villagers of the Upper
Punjab thoroughly believe in
fairies, which are of two kinds-
those living in the fabulous moun-
tains encircling the earth, who are
fair and of surpassing beauty, and
a little folk living among lonely
hills, and able to appear and dis-
appear. The latter are said to be
one foot in stature and to use little
blankets as clothing. Villagers
have told me some singular anec-
dotes respecting their appearances,
which lack of space forbids me to
insert here.
Faith in God exemplified, 138
FAKEERS (fakirs), religious mendicants,
70, 174, 179, 216, 233, 248, 254, 282
conventional cry of, 71
Note.-Fakîrs among Mahomedans,
and jogis among Hindoos, are
men who have renounced the world
for religion. They wander about
living on alms, and often assume
the duties of spiritual directors.
They are believed to be endowed
with miraculous powers, to be
potent in driving out evil spirits,
and to be impervious to bullet or
sword-thrust. When people part
they say, 'May God and the fakir
forgive you your sins!'
FALCONRY, still practised in the Punjab
among men of rank, 274
FALLING from a height, common belief
that life becomes extinct in mid-air, 230
FARMERS, stories of, 86
FARRIER: shoeing horses, sketch of
method, 63
374
INDEX.
FATALISM, referred to (all Panjâbis believe
in kismet), 147, 351, 366
• FATHER OF RIVERS, Abba-Sin' (the
Indus), xii.
FEASTS, betrothal, 133
funeral, 263
marriage, 161, 316
Nole. - The rich man's death, the
poor man's feast' (old saying).
· FE, FA, FUM,' variant rhyme of, 335
FELT, pretty patterns in, xiii.
FERRY-BOATS, referred to, 312
FEVER, often caused by sun, 83
FISH, magic, of brass ard iron, 9
FLOUR, customary to sift, 97
FLOWERS, the flourishing or fading of,
accepted as an indication of good or
evil fortune, in absence, 177, 188, 336
FORMULA, traditional, for beginning or
ending stories of kings, 368
FOSTER-BROTHERS, reference to, 249
Fox and fleas, the, a variant of, 267
FREE-CHOICE in marriage, exceptional,
289
FRIENDSHIP, examples of, 9, 15, 37, 45,
131, 149, 246, 313, 342
FROGS, tales of, 63, 91, 116
GOLD-WASHING, mentioned by ancients,
still practised in the sands of the Indus,
xii.
GONGS, sounding of, to announce tidings,
318
Good for evil, right to return, 258, 295
GOSSIPS (being generally midwives), 188
GRASS-CUTTING for fodder, a means of
living, 185
GRATITUDE, a virtue to be commended,
258
GRAVES, referred to, 127
Note.-Mahomedans dig very shallow
graves. They are so constructed,
however, that the body lies in a
chamber with the face turned to.
wards Mecca. Hence the dark
narrow house' of the tale (127).
Good men sometimes make their
graves, in their lifetime, of masonry,
filling them up with wheat each
year, and distributing it to the poor
the next.
GREEK domination, reference to, xiii.
H.
G.
GAMBLING, prevailing vice, story of,
founded, apparently, on a story in the
Mahabharata, 317
GAME, supply of, for food, 106
Note.Game are spared with nets as
well as shot. In nearly every vil-
lage there is a shikâri, or hunts-
man, well skilled in sport.
GANDGHAR, a mountain famous in story,
xii.
GARDENS, as pleasure resorts, 169, 251
GARDEN OF FAIRIES, 39
GARLANDS, practice of wearing, 170, 251
GHÂZI, a village on the Indus, referred
HÂNS, translated 'flamingo,' a water-bird,
279
Note. —Perhaps a swan ; but in the
text it is a fabulous bird, which is
supposed to visit the seashore and
to live on pearls.
HARE, story of a, a variant of the 'Dog
and the Meat,' 4, IIO
HAWKING still kept up by the nobility of
India, 206
HEART, the tid-bit of the animal, 269
the seat of reason, 269
HERDSMEN, the village, relerred to, 148
Note.—The village herdsman receives
from each plough, whether the
owner has one or ten bullocks, a
fixed measure of grain (five or six
odis). From men who are not hus-
bandmen he receives a fee every
month. In some villages the herds-
man is allowed the milk of every
eighth day.
HOLDING the lobe of the ear when making
a vow, or an asseveration, custom of,
to, xi.
201
GHEE, clarified butter, universally used in
cooking, 23, 68, 190, 208
Note. -'He has lands to live on, but
no ghee for his guests,' a proverb
against the mean.
GHEERAEDTS MARCUS, his Æsop's
Fables,' xvi.
GHOUL, see Ogre, 355
GIANT, burning the hair of a, for working
wonders, 345
GIANTS, belief in, story of, xii., 342
Note. For the ideas prevailing
among the Panjâbî villagers regard-
ing giants, and for their favourite
legend concerning them, I would
refer the reader to my Adventures
of Raja Rasûlû.
GIFTS, the three inagic, 345
GO-BETWEENS, in affairs of love and in-
trigue, 188
God a spirit, 62
GOÎTRE, reference to (said to be caused
by water in limestone regions), 307
GOLDSMITH, story of a, 258
HOOKAH, the offer of a, inseparable from
usual hospitality, 97, 271
HORSE, story of a flying, 9
HOSPITALITY usual in East, marks of,
297
HOUSE-DOGS, reference to, 115
HOUSETOP, flat, a favourite sleeping-place
in hot weather, 75, 264
HUBBLE-BUBBLE, the hookah, fakeers
great smokers of, 218
HUJRA (or hûzra), the village guest house,
xi., 94, 103, 106
Note. --The hûjra is not merely a
public rest-house where every way.
farer finds shelter, but also the usual
meeting-place for the young men.
It consists of one or two rooms.
INDEX.
375
K.
KABBAL, a Pathân village, reference to,
xii.
KÂBUL, capital of Afghanistan, referred
to, 85
KÂDRA, a name for God, 141
KHÂN, see Lumbardân.
KINGS AND PRINCES, their state on
journeys, 172
Kings, sitting and administering justice
in person, 25, 141
the generally supposed simplicity of,
143, 340
their custom of wandering about in
disguise at night, 56, 57
KNOCKING, caused by the wind, used to
mislead children, 333
Travellers are admitted free of
charge, the villagers in turn enter-
tajning them with food, and pro-
viding them with a mattress and a
quilt. So also each villager in turn
collects wood for travellers' fires
and grass for their horses or mules.
The hûjra is generally built close to
the mosque, where there is always
a supply of water.
HUMBLENESS of mind inculcated, 311
HUNTING, a pastime of princes, 149, 167,
313
HYENA, the, stories of, 15
Note. -As the barber, the jackal, and
the crow are the wisest, so, say the
people, the weaver, the hyena, and
the partridge are the silliest of living
things. A hair of the hyena is said
to be a charm in sickness, and, if
put into milk, will bring the butter.
As a cure for barrenness, a woman
must entice a hyena, and mounting
it at night naked, with her face io
the tail, must ride it in a circle seven
times round, aſter which she dis-
mounts, makes seven salaams to it,
and feeds it with bread and ghee
from a chatty which is placed on
her chuddah, or covering, spread
out on the ground. Women are
also said to adorn hyenas with their
earrings. The hyena is so great a
coward that he will suffer anyone
armed with a light to drag him out
of his lair with impunity.
L.
a
I.
ILLUSTRATIONS of volume, reference to,
xvi.
IMAGINATION, effect of the, 90, 268
IMPRESSING men as bearers of burdens, a
native custom, 96
IMPIJDENCE, often successful, 208
INDIFFERENCE to human life not un-
common, 299
INDIGENCE, examples of, 129
INDUS, the river, referred to, xii., 12, 13,
go
INGRATITUDE, effects of, 137
INNOCENCE, triumph of, 330, 342
INSTINCT of animals, on the, 39
INTERPOSITION, supernatural, in favour
of oppressed children, 331, 332
INTRIGUING in love, 171
IRRIGATION-WELLS, description of one
variety of, 292
LAMPBLACK used to disfigure (it is
commonly used by both sexes as
collyrium), 191
LANCET, used by barbers in India, 74
LANKA, the island of Ceylon, referred to,
25
LAUGHING and crying at the same time,
44. 360
LEGS of a bed made to speak by magic,
322
Liber Facetiarum, reference to, xiii.
Lice, singular use of, to avert rain, 80
Life in the branches of a tree, 336
LOGs, custom of marking them before
floating them down the rivers, 12
LORENZO DE MEDICI, referred to, xiii.
Lor, choosing by, 5
LOVE at first sight, 158, 169, 288
constancy in, 365
falling in, at sight of a portrait, 151
filial, 367
madness, 247, 347
sickness, 152
LULL, an idiot, story of, 18
Vote.-Idiots and half-witted people.
are regarded as under special divine
protection.
LUMBARDAR, the official or Government
head of a village, 1, 82, 145, 214
Note.—The lumbardâr, or principal
malik, of a village is generally ihe:
resident khân, or hereditary lord,
but he is not necessarily the richest
man or the one possessed of most
land. His business is to collect the
revenue, to settle disputes, and to
show an example of order. He is
assisted by the jirga, or village
council, consisting of the principal
landowners, to whom little disputes
about land, betrothals, weddings,
etc., are referred. The British
Government, however, exercises so
close a supervision that the people,
as a rule, have really no need to
settle anything. In a village there
may be several maliks, though only
one lumbardâr, while a khân may
J.
JACKALS, wisdom of, referred to, 4, 15,
34, 131, 143, 145, 245, 246, 267, 268
JACKASS, story of a, 268
JÄTAKAS, reference to, xi.
JEWELLER, tale of a, 323
JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN, variant of,
306, 367
376
t
INDEX.
be the hereditary lord of several
villages. Religious disputes are
setiled by the kâzi, or priest (which
see). Any small fine (named nâjâh)
imposed by the khân or lumbardâr
is divided between himself and the
maliks who coinpose the jirga,
which jîrga is, or was, in fact, very
like the Customary Manor-courts
of old England.
LYING reprobatec, 60
M.
MADAR-PLANT, 202
Note. - In this story for 'grass-
hopper' read locust.' The madâr
is a grayish plant, growing in sandy
places, the sap of which, in ap-
pearance like milk, is used exter-
nally as an irritant. It yields an
excellent fibre, which is twisted into
pretty gay-coloured ropes, used for
ihe head-stalls of cattle. Called in
Panjâbi — 'Akh.' • Use not the
Akh' as a tooth-brush. Proverb:
• Do not kick against the pricks.'
MAGIC, prevailing belief in, 9, 40, 109,
113, 137, 138, 183, 219, 221, 233, 319,
321, 344, 345
Note. All women, consciously or
unconsciously, are said to possess
powers of magic. Examples are
numberless. As one instance : Two
women in different houses have;
the one a cow, the other two milch
buffaloes. By a spell the woman
owning the cow' will have abun-
dance of butter, but will prevent
her neighbour from having any,
etc.
MAHABHARATA, reference to, xi.
MAHMOUD or GHAZNI, reierence to,
xiji., 242
MANGOE-TREES, reference to, 183
MARES, used for riding by native gentle-
men, horses hardly ever, 107
MARRIAGE, accompanied with profuse
expenditure, 182
Note.-Among Panjâb Mahomedans
the marriage-ceremony is the ordi-
nary ceremony of the faith. Among
Hindûs the ceremony is a survival
of ancient rites, the most imporiant
obligation being that the bridegroom
should take the bride by the hand,
and, after oblations to the fire,
should conduct her round it, in
solemn fashion, three times,
for love, not unknown in India,
160
free choice in, exceptional, 289
of two women to each other, tales
of 328, 364
MATCHLOCKS, reference 10, 98
MEAT, abstention from, 58
MECCA, pilgrims from, 189
MELONS (musk, water), largely grown in
the Punjab, 15, 147, 307, 315
MEMORY, instance of complete lapse of,
281
MENANDER, a Greek king, a successor of
Alexander, reigned over North India
and Cashmere, xiii.
MENDICANCY, religious, 70, 174
MERCHANTS, considered the equals of
princes, 152, 166, 290
stories of, 45, 182, 216
METAMORPHOSIS, examples of, 342-347
Note. --The belief is general. Women
especially are said to possess the
power, developed or undeveloped,
of changing men into aninials,
Circe-like, and there are certain
notorious villages where the power
is believed to be actually exercised,
women turning their husbands, on
occasion, into sheep and goals.
Compare the superstition in ihe
west of Ireland, where the simple
peasantry ascribe to their priesis a
similar power of turning people into
dogs and cats.
MILLS, reference to, 14
Note.-Mills are generally worked by
the persons who build them, wlio
pa.y a tax for the right of water to
ihe heads of the village as being
over the community. The villagers'
claims to nulture stand before
those of outsiders. For grinding
barley and Indian corn they give
the millers one half the quantity
ground, of wheat they give one
sixteenth, and of bâjrâ one six-
teenth. The owner of the grain
also provides oil if the work goes
on at night.
MIRRORS used by ladies, 159
Note. -Ladies often wear a thumb-
ring with a mirror two inches in
dianieter set in it, in which to view
theniselves.
Misers, tales of, 15, 33, 241
MOGHUL, a warlike tribe of Mahomedans,
xiii., 106, 203
Note. - You meet a Moghul and
forget your Persian,' a proverb
against mūnshis, or native writers,
who are generally Hindoos and
great cowards, though learned in
Persian, etc. Used of any boaster.
MONKEY, story of a, 7
Note. — Monkeys, say the natives,
understand language well, and can
speak it if they choose, but are far
too cunning to utter a word, lest
men should compel them to work.
MOON, the, an emblem of beauty and an
adjunct in love, 289
Note. - In the Punjab there is a
species of red-legged partridge
called the chikôr, a handsome bird,
but tiinid and easily tamed, which
is common also in Asia Minor and
Cyprus. It is said to be in love with
the moon, which it will continue
to gaze at for hours together.
INDEX
377
OIL-PRESS, reference to an, 142
ONE-EYED people, the belief that they are
more cunning that others, 107
Note.-One-eyed people are dreaded,
as often possessed of the power of
the evil eye.' At all times a one-
eyed man shares, with blue-eyed or.
gray-eyed men, the reputation of
excessive cunning.
OPEN door, the, variant of 'Mr. John
Blunt,' 14
Owl, the, an emblem of stupidity, 201
Hence, a verse-proverb which may
oe rendered thus :
. Such the chikôr's fidelity,
The moon cares not, in pride de-
scending
So scorner, scorn! but, as for me,
My love, like his, shall know no
ending.'
On seeing a new moou people look
at the right hand and wish. Or
they look at some gold, or silver,
or glass, and breathe a prayer for
good fortune. Or, looking at the
moon, with their hands uplifted in
the attitude of prayer, they say,
O Moon, may you be lucky!
Or again, they pray for peace and
rest to the angels that bear the
moon. When the moon is eclipsed,
women in certain conditions must
sleep on their backs, because, if
they lie on their sides, their chil-
dren's ears would be found attached
to their shoulders.
• MOON-BLINDNESS,' a common infirmity,
P.
PARKOT, the, a general.pet-bird, 37
PARTRIDGES, snaring of, etc., referred to,
166, 337
66, 272
Note.-There are numbers of natives
in India and Ceylon afflicted with
Moon - blindness.' It is an in-
veterate dimness of vision, which
comes on at sunset, and which is
said to be caused by the moon
operating on those who sleep out
of doors, the usual habit of the
people in summer.
MOSQUES, generally intended for men
only, 301
serving as asylums for the home-
less, 301
MOTHERS-IN-LAW, referred to, 69
JOUSTACHES seldom grow longer than
the beard,' old saying, meaning that
the pupil seldom surpasses the master,
239
VULES, rcference to, 49, 62
MUNGOOSE, determined enemy to snakes,
133
MUSTARD-SEED, scattered, to give tidings
of the direction taken, 339
6
Note.—For sketch of the decoy-mark,
see p. 175.
PARVENUS, ridicule of, 62, 245
PATHÂNS (Afghâns), tales in ridicule of
their weaknesses, 202, 270
PEARLS, strings of, 323
PERFUME of sandal wood, supposed to
be secreted in ancient sisam, or tâlli
trees, 136
PERJURY in courts, referred to, 34
PERSIAN, the court language of North-
west India, 84
wheels, reference to, 292
PETITIONS, custom of preferring, in
native courts of law, 100
PLATES, domestic, made of brass, 46
PLAYING upon words, an instance of, 35
PLOUGH, the, referred to, 93
Note.--The apparently rude plough
(hal), in use in the Panjãb and
everywhere in the East (including
Cyprus) from times immemorial,
consists of no fewer than eleven
distinct parts, all simply, but in-
geniously fitted together, the prin-
cipal parts being the hal, or plough
proper ; the phål, or share ; and
the janghi, or leg. Then there is
the panjali, or yoke, for the bul-
locks, consisting of five parts.
is its similarity to the plough of
India which gives the constellation
of the Bear its name of The
Plough.'
PORTRAIT-PAINTING, a native calling, 156
POSSESSION, a common belief in India,
302, 303
PRESENTS, costly, usual between persons
of rank, 317
PRIEST, Mahomedan,
Mahomedan, properly
properly kadi,
kazi, or imâm, who has charge of the
mosque and leads the prayers. He is
also the village schoolmaster, 7
PRIESTS, permitted to marry, 58
Note. On the death of a priest
(so-called for convenience), his
widow performs his duties, as the
washing of the dead, etc.
PRINCES, like kings, attended by their
own wazîrs, 149
PRINCESSES, captive, tales of, 345, 360
It
N.
Nawab, a gentleman of rank, 33
NEEDLE, a, falling to the ground, a sign
of mishap, 336
NET and sickle, the stock-in-trade of
grasskuts (a corrupted Anglicism used
in Urdû for 'grass-cutters ').
O.
OFFSPRING,
the superstition that a
woman, under a spell, may bear any-
thing but a child, 340
OGRES, stories of, their stupidity, etc.,
335, 351, 363
Oil, accidentally spilt, a sign of good
luck, 27
pouring, into the hinge-socket in
the doorstep at weddings for luck, 75
378
INDEX.
PROMISE, respect for a, 338
Pundits, Hindoo teachers, 302
Note.---' Why are a pundit and a
mullah (Mahomedan priest) like a
torch - hearer? Because, while
giving light to others, they them-
selves travel in darkness' (since
they do not practise what they
preach). Popular riddle.
Q.
QUEST of some object difficult of attain-
ment, or even non-existent, examples
of, 195, 317, 351, 357
R.
RAIN, to avert, a charm, 80
Note.—The charm described in the
text is well known in our villages of
the north-west border. Charms for
averting rain, however, are by no
means so common as those used
for procuring rain in times of
drought. Want of space forbids
me to mention more than one, but
that one is the most interesting of
all. In seasons of great and con-
tinued drought all the little maidens,
'the young and the innocent,' meet
together and make up dolls out of
rags. They then walk sadly, in
the full heat of the day, to the top
of some neighbouring eminence,
bearing their dolis with them. .
There, having taken off their
chuddahs and shoes, they stand
round in a circle, and sing together
a quaint old traditional song, the
first verse of which nay be trans-
lated thus :
Mourning our mannikins, we call
To God above for cooling rain ;
O fair white raindrops softly fall,
Come from the gleaming sky again!
Fall, for our heads above are turning,
Come, for our feet beneath are burning.
O fall, white rain,
O come, fair rain !'
If any sign of a cloud can be dis..
cerned in the brazen sky, they add
a special refrain :
· Pour, pour, O rain !
Ah, ihou black tiger (the cloud];
Ploughmen are hungry,
Bullocks are thirsty,
Send us the rain again !
Having finished their invocations,
the little girls, if Mahomedans,
dig graves and bury their dolls,
and, if Hindoos, they make a pile
of them and burn them.
RAMS, fighting, reference to, 106
Note, - Fighting rams, thoroughly
trained, are kept at most native
courts, and afford great amusement
on spectacle days. Retiring from
each other to a distance of about
twenty yards, they turn soleninly
round and then rush together, the
shock of their skulls resounding on
all sides.
RANSOM, or fine, in exchange for life,
referred to, II
RATS, stories of, 269, 310, 318
RAWAL Pindi, a town of the Panjâb,
referred to, 205
REFLECTION, or shadow, in water, inis-
taken for the substance, 3, 6
RENEWAL of youth, 41
RESURRECTION of the dead, a, by means
of magic, 236
RETRIBUTION and reward, a law of Pro-
vidence, 138, 258
REVERENCE for the dead, 330
REVERIE, state of, in which time and
space are annihilated, 280
Rice, an article of food on festival days,
73, 75
RIDDLES, favourite amusement among
villagers, 253
RIVERS, custom of throwing bodies into,
214
ROBBERS, stories of, 211
ROD, or stick, endued with magical
powers, III
ROOFS, holes in, for the purpose of
shovelling down the dried grain into
the corn-bin beneath, or for the escape
of smo se, 76
RUPEES produced by a mule, a story of,
a variant of the 'Goose and the Golden
· Eggs,' 109
S.
SACRIFICE, vicarious, instance of, 166
Saint, a living, often the object of pil-
grimages, 32, 43
SALAAM ALAIKIM, usual salutation on
the N. W. frontier of India, 321
SALIVA of snakes, deadly, 43
SALT, as an emblem of goodness of char-
acter, 78
SANCTITY, personal, potent to subdue
the wild beasts of the field, 32
SANDAL-WOOD, a favourite perfume, said
to be developed in hollow tâlli trees,
136
SANGAL, a forked stick cut from the
forest, 246
Note.–Used for collecting prickly
scrub for fencing in.
SCANDAL, sensitiveness of native women
to, 160, 253
SCOLDING wives, sarcasm against, 33
SCYTHIAN (Indo) Dynasty, referred to,
3
xiii.
'SEVEN at a blow,' an Indian variant of,
208
SHAH CHUMCHIRRÂG, a famous saint of
Rawal Pindi in the time of the Moghul
emperors, 205
SHOES laid at a person's door in a re-
versed position an indication of sen-
tence of banishment (old custom), 277
often richly embroidered, in common
use, 49
INDEX.
379
SUTTHOO (satthû), roasted grain prepared
as a porridge, 116
SWEEPING of chambers backwards, 277
SWINGING, a favourite pastime in India,
205
T.
SHREws, irreclaimable, 32
SHRINES of local saints frequently visited
by the faithful, 23, 92, II
Vote.-Every village can boast a little
grove of choice trees, which shelter
the grave of its tutelary saint-a
spot which is held in such high re-
verence that articles, even of value,
left within its bounds in the safe
keeping of the departed ‘Baba
(the term of affection with which
people speak of him) would never
be stolen by anyone, however
great his need. Nothing is more
touching than this fact in the life of
the community.
SICKLE, the, the ordinary implement for
mowing and reaping, 83
SILK-SEWING, pastime of the heroine of
iz tale, 336
SILVERSMITHS, their
their notorious dis.
honesty, 212
Sirin, a tributary stream of the Indus,
xii.
SLAVE-GIRLS inseparable from ladies of
rank, 159, 170, 191, 192, 193, 204, 253,
259, 288
TÂHSÎL, Tâhsildâr, explained, 96
TALE, a, from Poggio Fiorentino, xiv.
TÂLLI-TREES, represented as speaking,
tales of, Io, 135
Note.-Called also sisam, a variety of
acacia, indigenous in the Panjab,
yielding an excellent timber.
TARRING and feathering,' singular case
of, liquid glue being used instead of
tar, 200
Tests of wisdom, 315
THIEF, in the sense of a seducer, ro
THIEVES, stories of, 129, 139, 242, 322-
327
THIL (oil-seeds), used as food, 84
THREE, a lucky number, 48, 321
THURSDAY, mention of, 85
Note. Thursday and Friday are
lucky days, because if men die on
those days they are reprieved from
judgment till the last day. Sunday
is also a lucky day, because on
that day the foundations of the
earth were laid.
TIGERS, stories of, 4, 211, 240, 268, 284,
350
Note.—Every fakeer, if he is not
accompanied by a tame tiger,
carries at least a tiger's skin.
TORBELA, a village on the Indus,
mention of, xii.
TORMENTS of hell, belief in the, 8
TORTOISE, story of a, 157
TOWN-CRIER, or herald, 293
TRANCE, instance of, 283
TRANSFORMATION of human beings into
animals, instances of, 221-223, 335
TRAVELLING, method of, among native
gentlemen, 120
TREASURE, custom of burying (by old
kings and others). 50, 215
TREE of life, tree of death, 40-43
TREMBLING, in possession, sign of evil
spirit retiring, 304
TRIAL of skill in roguery between two
thieves, 323
TRIDENT, symbolic, carried by fakeers
(sacred to Siva), 256
TRIUMPH of innocence or virtue exempli-
fied, 128, 138, 201, 257, 295, 342, 347,
367
TRUTH, native respect for, 171, 173
TuLWÂR, a native sword, or scimitar,
270
U.
Note.-Slave-girls, unlike their mis-
tresses, are often both educated
and accomplished.
SLAVES, commerce in, instance of, 291,
298
SLEEPING out of doors, general custon
in hot weather, 68
SNAKE-CHARMING, example of, 282
SNAKES, tales of, 103, 133
their supposed power of drawing
a way the breath, and leaving their
victims in a state of trance (nirwana),
274, 282, 283
SOAP, an article in domestic use, 124
Sons, duty of, to support their aged
parents, 87, 88
SORCERER, reference to a, 286
SOVEREIGNTY of the forest, 4
SPEECH in animals, 4, 15, 34, 37, 62, 63,
91, 131, 133, 145, 245, 246, 268, 269,
310, 311, 350
SPIRITS, some white, some black, 77
Note.---There are also the spirits of
the dead, which sometimes 'walk.
To lay a restless spirit, a piece of
green wood is placed in the grave
of the departed.
Spire, or vexation, a cause of illness,
165, 168
STEPMOTHERS, no tales so bitter as tales
against, 273, 330, 332
STURY-TELLING as a pastime, 290, 293,
322
STJUTNESS and unnatural appetite,
marks of a demon, 301
SUICIDE, not uncominon among woinen,
230
SUMMARY arrest, instances of, 121, 141
SUPERSTITION among thieves, 53
SURGEONS, duties of, performed by
barbers, 74, 272
SUTTEE, reference to the practice of, 232
9
UNCLE, nephew, used as terms of civility
between strangers, 34, 35
UNREST, condition of, characteristic of
life, 207
UPPER INDUS, the, reference to,
xi.
380
INDEX.
V.
VEILS, always worn by women in public,
163
Note.–Village women are not so par-
ticular in this respect as those of
towns, nor old women as young
women. The object of the veil is
protection against the 'evil eye.'
VERMICELLI, an article of food in India,
264
VERSES often introduced into stories for
the principal speeches, 205
Visits between two betrothed persons
not permitted, 19
VIZIERS, reputed wisdom of, 87, 149, 172,
253, 262, 313, 337
Vows, lovers', 179, 180
W.
3
WASHERMEN, custom of washing clothes
in streanis, 285
Vote.--The village dhobis (washer-
men) and dyers are generally men,
and are paid in grain, according to
the amount performed by them for
each household.
WATCHMAN, the village (chaukidâr), 96
Note. --The village watchman (chau-
kidâr or kotwâl) has charge of the
mosque, the hûzra, and of visitors.
He also perambulates the village
at night armed with a tulwâr and a
matchlock. He receives an odî of
grain and one bundle from the
harvest every six months as his
payment from each plough, and at
weddings eight annas or four annas
in money.
WATER for domestic uses, brcught by
stic
women, 19
Water cure, singular attempt at a, 83
WEAVERS, stories of, 44, 45, 65. 81, 83,
84, 89, 139, 146, 202, 208, 213, 264,
3448
Vote.-Weavers, with hyenas and
partridges, are considered the
stupidest of living creatures. А
weaver's work is to weave into
cloth the cotton grown on the
village lands. He receives for his
labour so much grain at harvest
from every household according to
the amount of work done for theni.
Each household supplies the raw
material. The loud blows of the
carding-bow, used for cleaning raw
cotton, which are heard resounding
iu every village in a certain rhyth-
inical measure, are a constant re-
minder to the people of the brevity
of life, for the sounds are supposed
to represent the words, 'Raft, raſt,
raft jehån' ('Passing, passing,
passing away is the world i').
WELLS, referred to, 6, 19, 50, 149, 292,
300
Note.—The village well is conimon
property, as is also the mosque,
and is free to all. For irrigation
every farmer, however, will have
wells of his own, worked by
bullocks, which are constantly kept
going day and night. Hence a
proverb, "No peace for the soul of
a man who works a well.'
WHEAT and grain, generally stored in
pits, 70
WIFE-BEATING (an honoured custom fast
disappearing under British rule), 100,
141
WINE, drugged, used to stupify, 253
forbidden, the drink of giants or
ogres, 58, 336, 361
pledging in, 254
Wisdom, a supposed characteristic of
poor people, 314
WITCII, example of a, 351
WITCHCRAFT, see Magic.
Wives, domestic happiness dependent on
the character of, 153-155
Note. -A proverb says that old
wheat, new ghee, a willing wiſe,
and a good horse are the four signs
of heaven upon earth.' (Old wheat
-wheat in store-enough to last
from crop 10 crop.)
of ogres and giants, represented as
pitiful, 336
plurality of, 346
subjection of, 153, 161, 182, 376
WOLF, tale of a, 35
"Wolves in sheeps' clothing,' a falsc
fakeer, 72
WOMEN, credulity of, IOI
excitability of, 104
indelicate for then to visit men, even
when accompanied, 57
jealousy of men with regard to, 156
simplicity of, 189
their characteristic habit of contra-
diction, 90, 92
their cunning, 196, 262
unable to keep a secret, 213, 315
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'L,
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for seclusion of women, 261
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