: Tunturikertomuksia by J Rventaus Arvi - Short stories Finnish; Finnish fiction 20th century

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PAGE 1. Life's Secret 1 2. Phakir Chand 16 3. The Indigent Brahman 51 4. The Story of the Rakshasas 61 5. The Story of Swet-Basanta 89 6. The Evil Eye of Sani 104 7. The Boy whom Seven Mothers suckled 113 8. The Story of Prince Sobur 119 9. The Origin of Opium 132 10. Strike but Hear 140 11. The Adventures of Two Thieves and of their Sons 152 12. The Ghost-Brahman 173 13. The Man who wished to be Perfect 178 14. A Ghostly Wife 188 15. The Story of a Brahmadaitya 192 16. The Story of a Hiraman 200 17. The Origin of Rubies 211 18. The Match-making Jackal 217 19. The Boy with the Moon on his Forehead 227 20. The Ghost who was Afraid of being Bagged 247 21. The Field of Bones 251 22. The Bald Wife 269

Facing page

"She rushed out of the palace ... and came to the upper world" Frontispiece "The Suo queen went to the door with a handful of rice" 1 "The prince revived, and, walking about, saw a human figure near the gate" 9 "She took up the jewel in her hand, left the palace, and successfully reached the upper world" 22 "He rushed out of his hiding-place and killed the serpent" 43 "Instead of sweetmeats about a score of demons" 56 "At the door of which stood a lady of exquisite beauty" 62 "In a trice she woke up, sat up in her bed, and eyeing the stranger, inquired who he was" 77 The Girl of the Wall-Almirah 90 "On a sudden an elephant gorgeously caparisoned shot across his path" 95 "They then set out on their journey" 106 "A monstrous bird comes out apparently from the palace" 117 "Hundreds of peacocks of gorgeous plumes came to the embankments to eat the khai" 123 "'You would adorn the palace of the mightiest sovereign'" 138 "He saw a beautiful woman coming out of the palace" 141 "'Husband, take up all this large quantity of gold and these precious stones'" 145 "They ran away in great fear, leaving behind them the money and jewels" 162 "The camel-driver alighted, tied the camel to a tree on the spot, and began smoking" 170 "'How is it that you have returned so soon?'" 174 "At dawn he used to cull flowers in the forest" 181 "The Brahman's wife had occasion to go to the tank, and as she went she brushed by a Sankchinni" 188 "The moment the first stroke was given, a great many ghosts rushed towards the Brahman" 194 "The lady, king, and hiraman all reached the king's capital safe and sound" 210 "'What princess ever puts only one ruby in her hair?'" 214 "Coming up to the surface they climbed into the boat" 216 "The jackal ... opened his bundle of betel-leaves, put some into his mouth, and began chewing them" 218 "A bright light, like that of the moon, was seen shining on his forehead" 237 "The six queens tried to comfort him" 238 "'Now, barber, I am going to destroy you. Who will protect you?'" 248 "They approached a magnificent pile of buildings" 259 "Thus the princess was deserted" 266 "When she got out of the water, what a change was seen in her!" 271

LIFE'S SECRET

There was a king who had two queens, Duo and Suo. Both of them were childless. One day a Faquir came to the palace-gate to ask for alms. The Suo queen went to the door with a handful of rice. The mendicant asked whether she had any children. On being answered in the negative, the holy mendicant refused to take alms, as the hands of a woman unblessed with child are regarded as ceremonially unclean. He offered her a drug for removing her barrenness, and she expressing her willingness to receive it, he gave it to her with the following directions:--"Take this nostrum, swallow it with the juice of the pomegranate flower; if you do this, you will have a son in due time. The son will be exceedingly handsome, and his complexion will be of the colour of the pomegranate flower; and you shall call him Dalim Kumar. As enemies will try to take away the life of your son, I may as well tell you that the life of the boy will be bound up in the life of a big boal fish which is in your tank, in front of the palace. In the heart of the fish is a small box of wood, in the box is a necklace of gold, that necklace is the life of your son. Farewell."

In the course of a month or so it was whispered in the palace that the Suo queen had hopes of an heir. Great was the joy of the king. Visions of an heir to the throne, and of a never-ending succession of powerful monarchs perpetuating his dynasty to the latest generations, floated before his mind, and made him glad as he had never been in his life. The usual ceremonies performed on such occasions were celebrated with great pomp; and the subjects made loud demonstrations of their joy at the anticipation of so auspicious an event as the birth of a prince. In the fulness of time the Suo queen gave birth to a son of uncommon beauty. When the king the first time saw the face of the infant, his heart leaped with joy. The ceremony of the child's first rice was celebrated with extraordinary pomp, and the whole kingdom was filled with gladness.

In course of time Dalim Kumar grew up a fine boy. Of all sports he was most addicted to playing with pigeons. This brought him into frequent contact with his stepmother, the Duo queen, into whose apartments Dalim's pigeons had a trick of always flying. The first time the pigeons flew into her rooms, she readily gave them up to the owner; but the second time she gave them up with some reluctance. The fact is that the Duo queen, perceiving that Dalim's pigeons had this happy knack of flying into her apartments, wished to take advantage of it for the furtherance of her own selfish views. She naturally hated the child, as the king, since his birth, neglected her more than ever, and idolised the fortunate mother of Dalim. She had heard, it is not known how, that the holy mendicant that had given the famous pill to the Suo queen had also told her of a secret connected with the child's life. She had heard that the child's life was bound up with something--she did not know with what. She determined to extort that secret from the boy. Accordingly, the next time the pigeons flew into her rooms, she refused to give them up, addressing the child thus:--"I won't give the pigeons up unless you tell me one thing."

Dalim. What thing, mamma?

Duo. Nothing particular, my darling; I only want to know in what your life is.

Dalim. What is that, mamma? Where can my life be except in me?

Duo. No, child; that is not what I mean. A holy mendicant told your mother that your life is bound up with something. I wish to know what that thing is.

Dalim. I never heard of any such thing, mamma.

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