The Talking Thrush Part 28

The belief that each species of bird and beast has a king of its own is common. Thus, we have a king of the serpents, of mice, of flies, locusts, ants, foxes, cats, and so on (Frazer, "Pausanias," iii. 559).

Also see No. 27 of this collection.

10.--The Jackal and the Camel

Told by HAR PRASaD, Brahman, of Saraya Aghat, District Etah, N.W.P.

Camel grazing, entangles nose-string in a tree--Confused in mind, appeals to Jackal--"Brother, I will free you for one _seer_ of flesh"--He agrees--Jackal asks the tongue--"Have you a witness?"--Jackal tries all the beasts, offering half of all he gets--Wolf refuses--Jackal explains that the Camel will die, and they will get all his body--He then agrees, and swears it--Camel opens his mouth, curls back tongue--Jackal cannot catch the tongue--Wolf tries--When the head is well in, Camel closes his jaws--"O _Dada_ (father), what is this?"--Says Jackal, "The result of lying," and runs away--Wolf dies.

In Oriental folk-lore the jackal takes the place which the fox occupies in the Western world, and numerous tales are told of his cunning. This fact has formed the base of an argument to prove that the European Beast tales originated from the East (Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sagara," ii. 28).

11.--The Wise Old Shepherd

Told by MUNSHI FAZL KARiM of Mirzapur.

A Naga (Snake) goes out of his hole to take an airing--Enters the Raja's court--All flee in terror--Raja orders the Snake to be killed--The Prince kills it--Snake's wife goes in search--Enters the court and learns his fate--Vows to make his wife also a widow--Coils round the Prince's neck in the night--He dares not stir--Queen-mother goes to see what is the matter--Sees the Snake--Raja sends archers--They prepare to shoot--Snake pleads fair reprisals, and asks that the matter be decided by Panch--They find five Shepherds holding a Panchayat--They all go thither--The men all agree that the Snake is right except one--He asks how many sons has the Snake--"Seven"--"Then you must wait till the Princess has three more, and then you may kill him."

There is a universal taboo in India against killing a snake. When a cobra is slain it is supposed that its mate always avenges its death (Crooke, "Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India," i. 226).

12.--Beware of Bad Company

Told by JAGAT KISHOR, master at the Government School, Gonda, Oudh.

A Swan made friends with a Crow--They fly away from Mansarowar to find some sport--Perch on a pipal tree under which a pious Raja is worshipping his Thakurji (idol of Ram or Krishna)--Crow drops filth on his head and flies away--He sees the Swan and shoots it--Swan says:--

"Kak nahin, ham hans hain, Man karat ham bas; Dhrisht kag ke mel son, Bhayo hamaro nas."

("I am no Crow but a Swan, dwelling in Man Sarowar; being friend of an ign.o.ble Crow I am destroyed.")

The Crow, as in several tales in this collection, is in Oriental folk-lore the representative of all that is thievish and mischievous.

13.--The Foolish Wolf

Told by MAHaDEVA PRASaD, pupil of branch school, Nau Shaharah, District Gonda, Oudh.

Wolf and a.s.s were friends--Played as described in text--Boy sees Wolf running away from a.s.s, and says, "What a timid Wolf"--Says the Wolf, "You shall rue it, I'll carry you off to-day"--Boy tells his mother--"Never mind, he won't hurt you"--Hides stone in loin-cloth--Wolf comes for him--Leaves him in his den for the morrow--Goes to play with the a.s.s--Boy climbs a tree--Wolf finds no Boy--Stands gaping with perplexity--Boy throws stone into his mouth and kills him.

14.--Reflected Glory

Told by MaTa DiN, a.s.sistant teacher, Pili-Bhit district, N.W.P.

A Shepherd had a lame Goat which he beat--It ran away--Fearing the wild beasts, it sat down beside a cave where were footsteps of a Lion--A Jackal comes up--"Ram, Ram, grandfather! I have found food after many days." "Ram, Ram, grandson, I was told to sit here by the owner of these footprints."--"A Lion! if I eat you, he will eat my cubs"--He goes--A Wolf comes, and the same thing happens--The Lion comes--Says the Goat, "By the influence of your footprints I have been safe; beasts came to devour me, and I became your man: they fled." "If you have called yourself my man I will not eat you"--Lion finds an Elephant: "I have a lame Goat; let him go on your back and eat the young leaves as you graze"--He agrees, and the Goat says, "Khoj pakar liyo baran ko hasti mili hai ai gaj mastak achchhi charhi ajaya kopal khaya" ("By betaking myself to the footprints of the great, I have got an Elephant")--Mounting on the Elephant's head, the Goat feeds well on new leaves.

15.--The Cat and the Sparrows

Told by TULSI RaM, Brahman, of Sadabad, Mathura district. For the _motif_, compare _Jataka_, No.

333 (translation, vol. iii. p. 71).

16.--The Foolish Fish

Told by HARI CHAND or HEM CHANDI, teacher of a village school, Mirzapur district. A variant of the same, told by SHEO-DaN, Chamar, Chankiya, Mirzapur district.

Banya sees Tiger sunk in the mud--Tiger tries him to release him--Swears he will not hurt him or his family--Banya saves him--Says Tiger, "Shall I eat you or your ox?"--Banya protests--Tiger: "It is the way of my family"--Banya says, "Let the Jackal arbitrate"--Jackal asks to see the place the Tiger was in--Then to be shown exactly how he was--The Tiger goes in again, and the Jackal advises the man to go home and leave him.

17.--The Clever Goat

Recorded by MaTa DiN, a.s.sistant teacher, Pili-Bhit district.

18.--A Crow is a Crow for Ever

Told and recorded by SaHIB RaM, Brahman, of Nardauli, Etah district.

The verse is:--

Kag parhae pinjra: parhi gaye charon Ved: Jab sudhi ai kutum ki rahe dhed ke dhed.

"I kept my crow in a cage, and taught him all four Vedas; When he thought of his family, he became filthy as ever."

19.--The Grateful Goat

Told by BIKKu MISRA, Brahman, Achhnera village, Agra district.

Butcher buys a Goat--"Spare my life, and I will repay you"--He spares him--The Goat goes into the forest and meets a Jackal--"I am going to eat you." "Wait till I get fat in the forest." "Good: look out for me when you come back"--Meets a Wolf--Same thing happens--Finds a temple of Mahadeva--In it are gold coins--Swallows them--Goes to a flower-seller--"Cover me with flowers"--He does so, and the Goat voids two mohurs--Sets out to return--Meets the Wolf--"Have you seen a Goat?"

"No"--Meets the Jackal--"Have you seen a Goat?" "Yes, some distance back"--Proceeds to the Butcher, and voids the rest of the coins--The Butcher is grateful, and never kills him as long as he lives.

Agra district. Tales of animals spitting gold are common, as in Grimm's "Three Little Men in the Wood" ("Household Tales," i. 56) and in Oriental Folk-lore (Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sagara," ii. 8, 453, 637; Knowles, "Folk-tales of Kashmir," p. 443).

20.--The Cunning Jackal

Told by BAL BiR PRASaD, teacher of the school at Sultanpur, Oudh.

A Jackal sees melons on the other side of a river--Sees a Tortoise--"How are you and your family?" "I am well, but I have no wife." "Why did you not tell me? some people on the other side have asked me to find a match for their daughter." "If you mean it I will take you across"--Takes him across on his back--When the melons are over the Jackal dresses up a jhau-tree as a bride--"There is your bride, but she is too modest to speak till I am gone"--Tortoise carries him back--Calls to the stump--No answer--Goes up and touches it--Finds it is a tree--Vows revenge--As Jackal drinks, catches his leg--"You fool, you have got hold of a stump by mistake; see, here is my leg," pointing to a stump--Tortoise leaves hold--Jackal escapes--Tortoise goes to Jackal's den--Jackal returns and sees the footprints leading into the den--Piles dry leaves at the mouth, and fires them--Tortoise expires.

This is an unpublished variant of the "Jackal and the Crocodile"

(Temple, "Wide-awake Stories," 243).

21.--The Farmer's a.s.s