Folklore of the Santal Parganas - Cecil Henry Bompas (paper ebook reader .TXT) 📗

seven waist strings, seven

dhoties, seven coats, seven hats, seven pairs of shoes, seven swords,

seven horses and two hogs. Then the monkey rigged the children out in

this apparel and mounted them on the horses; and the monkey and the

Rakhas mounted on the two hogs,--the Rakhas having faithfully promised

not to eat the children or their parents,--and they all set out for

the children's home. When the mothers saw the cavalcade come jingling

along, they were frightened at first; but when they recognised their

children they were delighted, and they gave the monkey and Rakhas a

good dinner. Then the monkey made over the children to their parents

and gave up his post as nurse, and left amid the good wishes of all.

LXXVII. (The Wife Who Could Not Keep a Secret.)

 

Once there was a man of the Goala caste, who looked after the cattle

of a rich farmer. One day a cow dropped a calf in the jungle without

the Goala knowing, and at evening the cow came running to join the

others, without the calf. When they got home the cow kept on lowing

and the master asked whether she had had a calf; the Goala had to

confess that the calf had been left in the jungle; the master scolded

him well, so he took a rope and stick and went out into the night.

 

But when he got to the jungle he could not hear the calf, so he

decided to wait where he was till the morning; he was too frightened

of wild animals to stay on the ground, so he climbed a tree leaving

the stick and rope at the foot of it. Soon a tiger smelt him out and

came to the place. Then the stick and the rope took council together

as to how they could save their master; the stick saw that it could

not see in the dark and so was powerless; so the rope agreed to fight

first, and it whirled itself round in the air with a whistling noise,

and the tiger hearing the noise and seeing no one, got frightened,

and thought that there was an evil spirit there; so it did not dare

to come very near and in the morning it took itself off.

 

Then the Goala saw the cow come to look for her calf, so he took up the

stick and rope and followed her. The cow soon found her calf and asked

it whether it had not been very cold and uncomfortable all night; but

the calf said "No mother, I put my foot in these four pots of rupees

and they kept me warm," The Goala heard this and resolved to see if

it were true; so he dug up the earth where the calf had been lying and

soon uncovered the rims of four pots full of money. But the Goala did

not care to take the money home for fear his wife should talk about

it; he resolved to see first whether his wife could keep a secret.

 

So he went home and told her to cook him some food quickly; she asked

why, and he said "The Raja has a tortoise inside him and I am going

to look at him." Then his wife said that she must fetch some water,

and she went off with the water pot. On the way she met several women

of the village, who asked her why she was fetching water so early, and

she said, "Because the Raja has a tortoise inside him and my husband is

going off to see it." In less than an hour the village was full of the

news, and the rumour spread until it reached the ears of the Raja. The

Raja was very angry and said that he would kill the man who started

the report, unless he could prove it to be true. So he sent messengers

throughout the country to trace back the rumour to its source.

 

One messenger found out that it was the Goala who had started the story

and told him that the Raja wanted to give him a present; so he gladly

put on his best clothes and went off to the Raja's palace. But the

Raja had him bound with ropes, and then questioned him as to why he

had told a false story. The Goala admitted that his story was false,

but explained that he had only told it to his wife, in order to see

whether she could keep a secret, because he had found four pots of

money. The Raja asked where the money was and the Goala said that he

would show it, but he wanted to know first how much of it he was to

have, for himself. The Raja promised him half; so the Goala led men

to the place and they dug up the money, and the Goala kept half and

became a rich man.

 

_Moral_. However friendly you are with a man do not tell him what is

in your heart, and never tell your wife the real truth, for one day

she will lose her temper and let the matter out.

LXXVIII. (Sit and Lakhan.)

 

Once upon a time there was a Raja who had two wives and a concubine,

but after giving birth to her second son, the first Rani died, and the

name of her elder boy was Sit and that of the younger was Lakhan. The

two children used to cry for their mother but the second Rani never

comforted them, for she hated them; it was the concubine who used to

bathe them and care for them, and their father loved them much. They

used to go to the place where their father sat administering justice

and Sit would sit behind his father and Lakhan in front. The second

Rani hated to see them with their father and would tell the concubine

to drive them away; but she refused and said that it was natural for

a father to love his motherless children; so the Rani kept silent,

but anger remained in her heart.

 

At last the Rani feigned to be ill and kept her bed; the Raja sent

for doctors and _ojhas_, and they came and saw that she could not

rise and they wanted to feel her pulse, but she would not let them

touch her; all she would do was to make the concubine tie a string

to her wrist and let the doctors hold the other end of the string;

so the doctors diagnosed the disease as best they could in this way

and gave her medicines, but she got no better.

 

After some days the Rani sent for the Raja and said "I am dying and

you don't care; these doctors' medicines do me no good; there is one

medicine only which will cure me." The Raja asked "What is it? I will

get it for you." Then the Rani made him swear by Kali that he would

give her the medicine she wanted, and he swore blindly. Then the

Rani said "If I eat the livers of Sit and Lakhan I shall get well,

and if not I shall die." At this request the Raja was struck dumb.

 

Now the concubine and a sipahi had overheard the conversation, and

when they heard what the Rani said, they withdrew and the concubine

went and told Sit and Lakhan of what was in store for them, and Sit

began to cry:--but Lakhan said "Do not cry brother, our father gave

us life, and it is for him to take it away if he will." So the Raja

came out from the Rani's room and when he saw the boys he wept and

he went to them and told them to eat their rice quickly, but they

would not eat; then he had their best clothes brought for them and

told them to put them on, but they refused. Then the Raja called for

_sipahis_ and the _sipahi_ who had been with the concubine, and two

others, came and the Raja told them with tears in his voice to take

the two boys away and let him never see them again, and he added so

that the boys should not hear "Bring me their livers." So the sipahis

took away the boys, and as they passed through the bazar they bought

them some sweetmeats. After walking for a time they came to a jungle;

then Sit said to the sipahis "How far are we to go? Do here what is

in your minds."

 

But the sipahis went on further; then Sit again told them to do what

they had to do. But the sipahis said "Do not be frightened, we shall

not kill you; we shall not obey your father; you must go away and

never come back here."

 

Now two dogs had followed them, attracted by the smell of the

sweetmeats, and the _sipahis_ caught and killed them and cut out their

livers, and they put them on a plate and took them to the Raja. The

Rani was delighted and had the livers cooked, and ate them and the

next day she rose from her bed.

 

Meanwhile Sit and Lakhan travelled on, and in a few days they had

eaten all their food and were very tired, and one evening they sat

down at the foot of a tree in the jungle intending to spend the night

there. In that tree a pair of birds had their nest. Every year they

hatched their eggs and reared the young: but every year when the young

were half grown, a snake came and devoured them. That year also there

were two young in the nest, and on the day that the boys rested at the

foot of the tree the snake had resolved to eat them. But when it came,

the boys heard it moving in the leaves and killed it.

 

At evening the old birds returned and the nestlings said that the boys

had saved their lives, and asked the old birds to give them some of

the food that they had brought. So they threw down two bits of food,

and it was ordained that whoever ate the first piece, should marry

the daughter of a Raja, and whoever ate the second piece, should

spit gold; and it chanced that Sit ate the first piece, and Lakhan

the second. The next morning the boys went on their way, and the Raja

of the country was looking for a husband for his daughter and he had

sent an elephant out with a flower in its trunk and it was arranged

that the princess should marry the man to whom the elephant gave the

flower. The elephant came upon Sit sitting by the side of the road,

while Lakhan was at a distance; and when the elephant saw Sit, it

went up and gave him the flower and the attendants mounted him on

the elephant and took him to the Raja and he married the princess.

 

A few days after the wedding Sit sat outside the palace with his wife,

and did not come in though it was evening, and the Raja asked him why

he was sitting outside in the dew. Then Sit began to cry and lament

his brother, singing--