Read Ebook: Indian Fairy Tales by Ralston William Ralston Shedden Commentator Stokes Mary Commentator Stokes Maive Editor

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Ebook has 1098 lines and 108870 words, and 22 pages

The crier said, "Can you go down into the well and bring her up?"

"If you will tie a rope round my waist and let me down the well, I shall be able to bring her up."

So they set off towards the well, which was near Hungn?'s house; and when she saw them coming, she guessed what they came for, and she ran out and killed a sheep, threw it into the well, and took out the dead woman and hid her.

The crier got some men to come with him, and they let Sach?l? down the well. "Has she got eyes?" said Sach?l?. "Of course, every one has eyes," answered the men. "Has she a nose?" asked Sach?l?. "Yes, she has a nose," said the men. "Has she got a mouth?" asked Sach?l?. "Yes," said the men. "Has she a long face?"

"What does he mean?" said the men, who were getting cross. "No one has a long face; perhaps she has, though. Yes, she has a long face," cried the men.

"Has she a tail?"

"A tail! Why no one has a tail. Perhaps, though, she has long hair. No doubt that is what he calls a tail. Yes, she has a tail."

"Has she ears?"

"Of course, every one has ears."

"Has she four feet?"

"Four feet!" said the men. "Why, no one has four feet. Perhaps you call her hands feet. Yes, she has four feet. Bring her up quickly."

Then Sach?l? brought up the sheep.

The men were very angry when they saw the sheep, and they beat Sach?l?, and called him a very stupid fellow and a great liar, and they went away feeling very cross.

Sach?l? went home to his mother, who, as soon as she saw him coming, ran out and put the woman's body back in the well, and when he got home she beat him. "Mother," said he, "give me some bread, and I will go away and die." His mother cooked him some bread, and he went away.

He walked on, and on, and on, a long way.

Now, some R?j?'s ten camels had been travelling along the road on which Sach?l? went, each carrying sacks of gold mohurs and rupees, and one of these camels broke loose from the string and strayed away, and the camel-drivers could not find it again. But Sach?l? met it, and caught it and took it home.

"See, mother! see what a quantity of money I have brought you!" cried Sach?l?. Hungn? rushed out, and was delighted to see so much money. She took off the sacks at once and sent the camel away. Then she hid the rupees and the gold with the jewels she had taken from the dead woman. And, as she was a cunning woman, she went and bought a great many comfits and scattered them all about her house, when Sach?l? was out of the way. "Oh, look! look!" cried Sach?l?, "at all these comfits." "God has rained them from heaven," said his mother. Sach?l? began to pick them up and eat them, and he told all the people in the village how God had rained down comfits from heaven on his mother's house. "What nonsense!" cried they. "Yes, he has," said Sach?l?, "and I have been eating them." "No comfits have fallen on our houses," said they. "Yes, yes," cried he, "the day my mother got all those rupees, God rained comfits on our house." "What lies!" cried the people; "as if it ever rained comfits. Why did not the comfits rain down on our houses? Why did they fall only on your house? And what's all this about rupees?" And then they came to see if there were any rupees or comfits in Hungn?'s house, and they found none at all, for Hungn? had hidden the rupees and thrown away the comfits. "There," said they to Sach?l?, "where are your rupees? where are your comfits? What a liar you are! as if it ever rained comfits. How can you tell such stories?" And they beat him. "But it did rain comfits," said Sach?l?, "for I ate them. It rained comfits the day my mother got the rupees."

Now the R?j? who had lost his camel sent round the crier with his drum to find his camel and his money-bags. "Whoever has found a camel carrying money-bags and brings it and the money back to the R?j?, will get a great many rupees," cried the crier. "Oh!" says Sach?l?, "I know where the money is. One day I went out and I found a stray camel, and he had sacks of rupees on his back, and I took him home to my mother, and she took the sacks off his back and sent the camel away." So the crier went to find the rupees, and the people in the bazar went with him. But Hungn? had hidden the rupees so carefully that, though they hunted all over her house, they could find none, and they beat Sach?l?, and told him he was a liar. "I am not telling lies," said Sach?l?. "My mother took the rupees the day it rained comfits on our house." So they beat him again, and they went away. Then Hungn? beat Sach?l?, and said, "What a bad boy you are! trying to get me beaten and put into prison, telling every one about the rupees. Go away; I don't want you any more, such a bad boy as you are! go away and die." He said, "Very well, mother; give me some bread, and I'll go."

Sach?l? set off and took an axe with him. "How shall I kill myself?" said he. So he climbed up a tree and sat out on a long branch, and began cutting off the branch between himself and the tree on which he was sitting. "What are you doing up there?" said a man who came by. "You'll die if you cut that branch off." "What do you say?" cries Sach?l?, jumping down on the man, and seizing his hand. "When shall I die?" "How can I tell? Let me go." "I won't let you go till you tell me when I shall die." And at last the man said, "When you find a scarlet thread on your jacket, then you will die."

Sach?l? went off to the bazar, and sat down by some tailors, and one of the tailors, in throwing away their shreds of cloth, threw a scarlet thread on Sach?l?'s coat. "Oh," said Sach?l?, when he saw the thread, "now I shall die!" "How do you know that?" said the tailors. "A man told me that when I found a scarlet thread on my jacket, I should die," said Sach?l?; and the tailors all laughed at him and made fun of him, but he went off into the jungle and dug his grave with his axe, and lay down in it. In the night a sepoy came by with a large jar of ghee on his head. "How heavy this jar is," said the sepoy. "Is there no cooly that will come and carry my ghee home for me? I would give him four pice for his trouble." Up jumped Sach?l? out of his grave. "I'll carry it for you," said he. "Who are you?" said the sepoy, much frightened. "Oh, I am a man who is dead," said Sach?l?, "and I am tired of lying here. I can't lie here any more." "Well," said the sepoy, very much frightened, "you may carry my ghee." So Sach?l? put the jar on his head, and he went on, with the sepoy following. "Now," said Sach?l?, "with these four pice I will buy a hen, and I will sell the hen and her eggs, and with the money I get for them I will buy a goat; and then I will sell the goat and her milk and her hide and buy a cow, and I will sell her milk; and then I will marry a wife, and then I shall have some children, and they will say to me, 'Father, will you have some rice?' and I will say, 'No, I won't have any rice.'" And as he said, "No, I won't have any rice," he shook his head, and down came the jar of ghee, and the jar was smashed, and the ghee spilled. "Oh, dear! what have you done?" cried the sepoy. "Why did you shake your head?" "Because my children asked me to have some rice, and I did not want any, so I shook my head," said Sach?l?. "Oh," said the sepoy, "he is an utter idiot." And the sepoy went home, and Sach?l? went back to his mother. "Why have you come back?" said she. "I have been dead twelve years," said Sach?l?. "What lies you tell!" said she. "You have only been away a few days. Be off! I don't want any liars here."

Sach?l? asked her to give him two flour-cakes, which she did, and he went off to the jungle, and it was night. Five fairies lived in this jungle, and as Sach?l? went along, he broke his flour-cakes into five pieces, and said, "Now I'll eat one, then the second, then the third, then the fourth, and then the fifth." And the fairies heard him and were afraid, and said to each other, "What shall we do? Here is this man, and he is going to eat us all up. What shall we do to save ourselves? We will give him something." So they went out all five, and said to Sach?l?, "If only you won't eat us, we will give you a present." Now Sach?l? did not know there were fairies in this jungle. "What will you give me?" said Sach?l?. "We will give you a cooking-pot. When you want anything to eat, all you have to do is to ask the pot for it, and you will get it." Sach?l? took the pot and went off to the bazar. He stopped at a cook-shop, and asked for some pilau. "Pilau? There's no pilau here," said the shopman. "Well," said Sach?l?, "I have a cooking-pot here, and I have only to ask it for any dish I want, and I get it at once." "What nonsense!" said the man. "Just see," said Sach?l?; and he said to the cooking-pot, "I want some pilau," and immediately the pot was full of pilau, and all the people in the shop set to work to help him to eat it up, it was so good. "Oh," thought the cook, "I must have that pot," so he gave Sach?l? a sleepy drink. Then Sach?l? went to sleep, and while he slept the cook stole the fairy cooking-pot, and put a common cooking-pot in its place. Sach?l? went home with the cook's pot, and said, "Mother, I have brought home a cooking-pot. If you ask it for any food you want, you will get it." "Nonsense," said Hungn?; "what lies you are telling!" "It is quite true, mother; only see," and he asked the pot for different dishes, but none came. Hungn? was furious. "Go away," she said. "Why do you come back to me? I want no liars here." "Give me five flour-cakes and I will go," said her son. So she baked the bread for him, and he set off for the jungle where he had met the five fairies, and as he went along he said, "I will eat one, and I will eat two, and I will eat three, and I will eat four, and I will eat five." The five fairies heard him, and were terrified. "Here is this bad man again," said they, "and he will eat us all five. Oh, what shall we do? Let us give him a present." So they went to Sach?l?, and said, "Here is a box for you. Whenever you want any clothes you have only to tell this box, and it will give them to you; take it, and don't eat us." So he took the box and went to the bazar, and he stopped at the cook-shop again, and asked the cook for a red silk dress, and a pair of long black silk trousers, and a blue silk turban, and a pair of red shoes, and the cook laughed and asked how he should have such beautiful things. "Well," said Sach?l?, "here is a box; when I ask it for the dress and trousers, and turban and shoes, I shall get them." So the cook laughed at him. "Just see," said Sach?l?, and he said, "Box, give me a red silk dress and a pair of long black silk trousers, and a blue silk turban, and red shoes," and there they were at once. And the cook was delighted, and said to himself, "I will have that box," and he gave Sach?l? a good dinner and a sleepy drink, and Sach?l? fell fast asleep. While he slept the cook came and stole the fairy box, and put a common box in its place. In the morning Sach?l? went home to his mother and said, "Mother, I've brought you a box. You have only to ask it for any clothes you may want, and you will get them." "Nonsense," said his mother, "don't tell me such lies." "Only see, mother; I am telling you truth," said he. He asked the box for coats and all sorts of things--no; he got nothing. His mother was very angry, and said, "You liar! you naughty boy! Go away and don't come back any more." And she broke the box to pieces, and threw the bits away. "Well, mother, bake me some flour-cakes." So she baked him the cakes and gave them to him, and sent him away. He went off to the fairies' jungle, and as he went he said, "Now I'll eat one, then two, then three, then four, then five." The five fairies were very frightened. "Here is this man come back to eat us all five. Let us give him a present." So they went to him and gave him a rope and stick, and said, "Only say to this rope, 'Bind that man,' and he will be tied up at once; and to this stick, 'Beat that man,' and the stick will beat him." Sach?l? was very glad to get these things, for he guessed what had happened to his cooking-pot and box. So he went to the bazar, and at the cook-shop he said, "Rope, bind all these men that are here!" and the cook and every one in the shop were tied up instantly. Then Sach?l? said, "Stick, beat these men!" and the stick began to beat them. "Oh, stop, stop beating us, and untie, and I'll give you your pot and your box!" cried the cook. "No, I won't stop beating you, and I won't untie you till I have my pot and my box." And the cook gave them both to him, and he untied the rope. Then Sach?l? went home, and when his mother saw him, she was very angry, but he showed her the box and the cooking-pot, and she saw he had told her the truth. So she sent for the doctor, and he declared Sach?l? was wise and not silly, and he and Hungn? found a wife for Sach?l?, and made a grand wedding for him, and they lived happily ever after.

Told by Dunkn?.

BARBER H?M AND THE TIGERS.

Once there lived a barber called H?m, who was very poor indeed. He had a wife and twelve children, five boys and seven girls: now and then he got a few pice. One day he went away from his home feeling very cross, and left his wife and children to get on as best they could. "What can I do?" said he. "I have not enough money to buy food for my family, and they are crying for it." And so he walked on till he came to a jungle. It was night when he got there. This jungle was called the "tigers' jungle," because only tigers lived in it; no birds, no insects, no other animals, and there were four hundred tigers in it altogether. As soon as Barber H?m reached the jungle he saw a great tiger walking about. "What shall I do?" cried he. "This tiger is sure to eat me." And he took his razor and his razor-strap, and began to sharpen his razor. Then he went close up to the tiger, still sharpening his razor. The tiger was much frightened. "What shall I do?" said the tiger; "this man will certainly gash me." "I have come," said the barber, "to catch twenty tigers by order of Mah?r?j? K?ns. You are one, and I want nineteen more." The tiger, greatly alarmed, answered, "If you won't catch us, I will give you as much gold and as many jewels as you can carry." For these tigers used to go out and carry off the men and women from the villages, and some of these people had rupees, and some had jewels, all of which the tigers used to collect together. "Good," said H?m, "then I won't catch you." The tiger led him to the spot where all the tigers used to eat their dinners, and the barber took as much gold and as many jewels as he could carry, and set off home with them.

Then he built a house, and bought his children pretty clothes and good food, and necklaces, and they all lived very happily for some time. But at last he wanted more rupees, so he set off to the tigers' jungle. There he met the tiger as he did before, and he told him the Mah?r?j? K?ns had sent him to catch twenty tigers. The tiger was terrified and said, "If you will only not catch us, I will give you more gold and jewels." To this the barber agreed, and the tiger led him to the old spot, and the barber took as many jewels and rupees as he could carry. Then he returned home.

One day a very poor man, a fak?r, said to him, "How did you manage to become so rich? In old days you were so poor you could hardly support your family."

"I will tell you," said H?m. And he told him all about his visits to the tigers' jungle. "But don't you go there for gold to-night," continued the barber. "Let me go and listen to the tigers talking. If you like, you can come with me. Only you must not be frightened if the tigers roar."

"I'll not be frightened," said the fak?r.

So that evening at eight o'clock they went to the tigers' jungle. There the barber and the fak?r climbed into a tall thick tree, and its leaves came all about them and sheltered them as if they were in a house. The tigers used to hold their councils under this tree. Very soon all the tigers in the jungle assembled together under it, and their R?j?--a great, huge beast, with only one eye--came too. "Brothers," said the tiger who had given the barber the rupees and jewels, "a man has come here twice to catch twenty of us for the Mah?r?j? K?ns; now we are only four hundred in number, and if twenty of us were taken away we should be only a small number, so I gave him each time as many rupees and jewels as he could carry and he went away again. What shall we do if he returns?" The tigers said they would meet again on the morrow, and then they would settle the matter. Then the tigers went off, and the barber and the fak?r came down from the tree. They took a quantity of rupees and jewels and returned to their homes.

"To-morrow," said they, "we will come again and hear what the tigers say."

The next day the barber went alone to the tigers' jungle, and there he met his tiger again. "This time," said he, "I am come to cut off the ears of all the four hundred tigers who live in this jungle; for Mah?r?j? K?ns wants them to make into medicine."

The tiger was greatly frightened, much more so than at the other times. "Don't cut off our ears; pray don't," said he, "for then we could not hear, and it would hurt so horribly. Go and cut off all the dogs' ears instead, and I will give you rupees and jewels as much as two men can carry." "Good," said the barber, and he made two journeys with the rupees and jewels from the jungle to the borders of his village, and there he got a cooly to help him to carry them to his house.

At night he and the fak?r went again to the great tree under which the tigers held their councils. Now the tiger who had given the barber so many rupees and jewels had made ready a great quantity of meat, fowls, chickens, geese, men the tigers had killed--everything he had been able to get hold of--and he made them into a heap under the tree, for he said that after the tigers had settled the matter they would dine. Soon the tigers arrived with their R?j?, and the barber's tiger said, "Brothers, what are we to do? This man came again to-day to cut off all our ears to make medicine for Mah?r?j? K?ns. I told him this would be a bad business for us, and that he must go and cut off all the dogs' ears instead; and I gave him as much money and jewels as two men could carry. So he went home. Now what shall we do? We must leave this jungle, and where shall we go?" The other tigers said, "We will not leave the jungle. If this man comes again we will eat him up." So they dined and went away, saying they would meet again to-morrow.

After the tigers had gone, the barber and fak?r came down from the tree and went off to their homes, without taking any rupees or jewels with them. They agreed to return the next evening.

Next evening back they came and climbed into the great tree. The tigers came too, and the barber's tiger told his story all over again. The tiger R?j? sat up and said, fiercely, "We will not leave this jungle. Should the man come again, I will eat him myself." When the fak?r heard this he was so frightened that he tumbled down out of the tree into the midst of the tigers. The barber instantly cried out with a loud voice, "Now cut off their ears! cut off their ears!" and the tigers, terrified, ran away as fast as they could. Then the barber took the fak?r home, but the poor man was so much hurt by his fall that he died.

The barber lived happily ever after, but he took good care never to go to the tigers' jungle again.

Told by Dunkn?.

THE BULBUL AND THE COTTON-TREE.

There was once a bulbul, and one day as he was flying about, he saw a tree on which was a little fruit. The bulbul was much pleased and said, "I will sit here till this fruit is ripe, and then I will eat it." So he deserted his nest and his wife, and sat there for twelve years without eating anything, and every day he said, "To-morrow I will eat this fruit." During these twelve years a great many birds tried to sit on the tree, and wished to build their nests in it, but whenever they came the bulbul sent them away, saying, "This fruit is not good. Don't come here." One day a cuckoo came and said, "Why do you send us away? Why should we not come and sit here too? All the trees here are not yours." "Never mind," said the bulbul, "I am going to sit here, and when this fruit is ripe, I shall eat it." Now the cuckoo knew that this tree was the cotton-tree, but the bulbul did not. First comes the bud, which the bulbul thought a fruit, then the flower, and the flower becomes a big pod, and the pod bursts and all the cotton flies away. The bulbul was delighted when he saw the beautiful red flower, which he still thought a fruit, and said, "When it is ripe, it will be a delicious fruit." The flower became a pod, and the pod burst. "What is all this that is flying about?" said the bulbul. "The fruit must be ripe now." So he looked into the pod, and it was empty; all the cotton had fallen out. Then the cuckoo came and said to the angry bulbul, "You see if you had allowed us to come and sit on the tree, you would have had something good to eat; but as you were selfish, and would not let any one share with you, God is angry and has punished you by giving you a hollow fruit." Then the cuckoo called all the other birds, and they came and mocked the bulbul. "Ah! you see God has punished you for your selfishness," they said. The bulbul got very angry and all the birds went away. After they had gone, the bulbul said to the tree, "You are a bad tree. You are of use to no one. You give food to no one." The tree said, "You are mistaken. God made me what I am. My flower is given to sheep to eat. My cotton makes pillows and mattresses for man."

Since that day no bulbul goes near a cotton-tree.

Told by Dunkn?.

THE MONKEY PRINCE.

Once upon a time there was a R?j? called Jabh? R?j?, and he had a great many wives; at least he had seven wives, but he had no children. Although he had married seven wives, not one of them had given him a child. At this he was greatly vexed and said, "I have married seven wives, and not one of them has given me a child." And he got very angry with God: he said, "Why does not God give me any children? I will go into the jungle and die by myself." The R?n?s coaxed him to stay, but he wouldn't; he would go out into the jungle.

Now, in a kingdom a three months' journey off by land from Jabh? R?j?'s country, there lived a king called King Jam?rs?. He had a very beautiful daughter whose name was Princess Jah?ran, and as her father wanted a very strong son-in-law, he had a large heavy iron ball made, and he sent letters to all the R?j?s and R?j?s' sons far and near to say that whoever wished to marry his daughter, the Princess Jah?ran, must be able to throw this heavy ball at her and hit her. So many R?j?s went to try, but none of them could even lift the ball. Now, one of these letters had come to Jabh? R?j?, and his six elder sons determined they would go to King Jam?rs?'s country, for each of them was sure he could throw the ball, and win the princess.

Prince Monkey laughed softly and said to himself, "I will go and try too. I know I shall succeed."

Off, therefore, the six brothers set on their long journey, and the monkey followed them; but before he did so, he went into the jungle and took off his monkey-skin, and God sent him a beautiful horse and beautiful clothes. Then he followed his brothers and overtook them, and gave them betel-leaf and lovely flowers. "What a beautiful boy!" they said. "Who is it owns such a beautiful boy? He must be some R?j?'s son." Then he galloped quickly away, took off his grand clothes and put them on his horse, and the horse rose into the air. He put on his monkey-skin and followed his brothers.

When they reached King Jam?rs?'s palace they pitched their tents in his compound, which was very big. Every evening the princess used to stand in her verandah and let down her long golden hair so that it fell all round her, and then the R?j?s who wished to marry her had to try to hit her with the great heavy ball that lay on the ground just in front of where she stood.

King Jam?rs?'s house had more than one storey, and you had to go upstairs to get to the Princess Jah?ran's rooms which led into the verandah in which she used to stand.

Well, Prince Monkey's six elder brothers all got ready to go up to the palace and throw the ball. They were quite sure they would throw it without any trouble. Before they went they told their monkey brother to take care of their tents, and to have a good dinner ready for them when they returned. "If the dinner is not ready, we will beat you."

As soon as they were gone, Prince Monkey took some gold mohurs he had, and he went to a traveller's resting-house, which was a little way outside King Jam?rs?'s compound, and gave them to the man who owned it, and bade him give him a grand dinner for his six brothers. Then he took the dinner to the tents, went into the jungle, and took off his monkey-skin. And God sent him a grand horse from heaven, and splendid clothes. These he put on, mounted his horse, and rode to King Jam?rs?'s compound. There he took no notice of either the king, or his daughter, or of the ball, or of the R?j?s who were there to try and lift it. He spoke only to his brothers, and gave them lovely flowers and betel-leaf. Meanwhile, everybody was looking at him and talking about him. "Who can he be? Did you ever see any one so lovely? Where does he come from? Just look at his clothes! In our countries we cannot get any like them!" As for the Princess Jah?ran she thought to herself, "That R?j? shall be my husband, whether he lifts the ball or not." When he had given his brothers the flowers and betel-leaf, Prince Monkey rode straight to the jungle, took off his clothes, laid them on his horse , put on his monkey-skin, went back to the tents, and lay down to sleep.

When his brothers came home they were talking eagerly about the unknown beautiful R?j?. All the time they were eating their dinner they could speak of nothing else.

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