STORY No. XVII.

[Contents]STORY No. XVII.THE STORY OF THE STONE LION.Once upon a time there were two brothers whose father was dead, and who lived alone with their mother in a big house in a well-cultivated valley.Now the elder of these brothers was a smart, clever man, but was of a very selfish, cold-hearted disposition; and the younger brother was simple and kind, but rather dull. The consequence was that after the death of their father the elder brother conducted most of the business of the family himself, and entirely supported his brother and his mother; whilst the younger brother, although quite willing to do his best, was not clever enough to be of any assistance in the household.After a time the elder brother decided in his mind that he could no longer endure this state of affairs, so he one day called his young brother aside, and told him plainly that he would no longer continue to support such a lout, and that it would be better for him to go out into the world and seek his own fortune alone. The poor boy was much grieved on hearing this decision from his brother; but he was quite unable to protest or dispute, so, having packed up his few belongings, he[117]went to say good-bye to his mother, and told her what had occurred. The good woman was very angry when she heard the news, and she said to her son:“Very well, if your hard-hearted brother insists on turning you out of the house, I will accompany you. I cannot consent to remain any longer with such an unnatural and cruel son.”So next day the mother and her younger son left the house and set off together to seek some means of livelihood on their own account. After travelling for some little distance they reached an empty hut situated at the foot of a large hill, not far from a populous town; and finding that the place was apparently deserted and that the owner, whoever he was, had left nothing to show that he proposed to return, they took possession of the hut, and slept there during the night.Next morning early the boy, taking an axe with him, went out on to the hillside and began chopping wood. By evening he had chopped a fine big bundle of wood, and taking it down into the town he sold it in the market for a good sum of money. Greatly elated at the success of his labours he returned to his mother in the hut, and showing her the money he had earned, he told her that she need no longer have any anxiety regarding the future, for he would now be able to support her without any difficulty. Next morning, shouldering his axe, he started off again, and as before, began to chop wood. He had done a good morning’s work, and was walking a little further up the hill in order to search for some better timber, when, in a sheltered part of the hillside[118]he suddenly found himself face to face with a large life-sized Lion carved out of the stone.“Now,” thought he to himself, on seeing the Lion, “this, no doubt, is the guardian deity of this mountain, and to him must be due my good fortune in so easily obtaining a means of livelihood. I will certainly make him some offering to-morrow.”So that evening, after selling his wood, he purchased two candles in the town, and on the following day he went straight to where the stone Lion stood, and lighting the candles, he placed one upon each side of the image, and prostrating himself humbly upon the ground before it, he prayed for renewed good fortune. Suddenly, to his surprise and alarm, the Lion opened its mouth, and asked him what he was doing there.The young man replied that having been driven from his home by his proud and hard-hearted brother, he was now engaged in earning his livelihood by chopping wood upon that hill; and that, thinking that the Lion must be the guardian deity of the mountain, he had considered it right to make him some sort of an offering, and to request his continued patronage and assistance.“Very good,” replied the Lion in a guttural tone of voice, “come again at this time to-morrow, and bring with you a large bucket, and I will furnish you at once with what wealth you require.”The boy thanked the Lion for his kindness, and carrying his load of firewood down to the village he sold it for a good price, and with the proceeds he purchased himself a large wooden bucket.[119]Next morning he went up onto the hill again, carrying his bucket, and arriving near the stone Lion, he again prostrated himself upon the ground and announced his presence.“Very good,” replied the Lion, “you must now act as follows: hold the bucket under my mouth, and I will vomit gold into it. But as soon as the bucket is nearly full you must tell me, as on no account must a single morsel of gold fall to the ground.”The young man proceeded to do as the Lion had instructed him. He held the bucket below the Lion’s mouth, and the Lion forthwith began to vomit into it a stream of gold pieces. When the bucket was nearly full the young man informed the Lion of the fact, and forthwith the stream of gold came to an end; and the youth, having thanked the Lion most heartily for his munificent gift, carried off his bucket of gold in triumph to his mother. The poor woman was at first quite frightened at seeing so much wealth, but her son, having explained to her how he had come by it, she became greatly excited, and pleased.Next day the widow and her son set about placing themselves in more comfortable circumstances. They purchased a large farm-house in the neighbourhood, and a large stock of cattle and sheep, and settled down in their new abode, and henceforward they began to live in a very comfortable and prosperous manner.The news of the changed condition of life of his mother and younger brother soon reached the ears of the eldest son, and overcome with curiosity as to how this result[120]had been brought about, he decided to call upon them, and to ascertain the cause of their prosperity. So, accompanied by his wife, and carrying with him a very small piece of cloth as a present, he set out to pay them a visit. When he reached the house his younger brother was away engaged upon his farm business, but the mother received her elder son and his wife very kindly and made them as comfortable as she could. In the evening, when the younger brother returned, he greeted his brother heartily, and being of a most kind-hearted and forgiving disposition, he related to him fully the manner in which he had come by his wealth, and strongly recommended his brother to act in a similar way.The elder brother and his wife, as they returned home together that evening, talked the matter over between them, and decided that so good an opportunity of making money so easily was not to be lost. So next day the husband proceeded to the town, and after a prolonged search purchased the largest bucket which was to be had in the whole place. Carrying this with him, and bringing also a couple of candles, he proceeded to the hillside, and following the directions he had received from his brother, he soon found himself face to face with the stone Lion. He at once lighted his candles and placed them one on each side of the Lion, while he prostrated himself upon the ground, and prayed to the Lion for good fortune.“Who are you?” said the Lion in a gruff voice; “and what do you want?”“I,” replied the elder brother, “am the brother of[121]the young man who was here the other day, and to whom you gave so much gold; and, following his advice, I have now come to ask you for a similar benefit for myself.”“Very well,” said the Lion, “place your bucket under my mouth and I will vomit gold into it; but as soon as the bucket is nearly full you must inform me of the fact, as on no account must a single piece of gold fall to the ground. If this should happen, you will meet with misfortune.”THE STONE LION VOMITING GOLD.THE STONE LION VOMITING GOLD.Page 121.So the elder brother, trembling with eagerness, held his bucket as directed, and forthwith a stream of gold pieces began to pour from the Lion’s mouth into the bucket. The covetous fellow shook the bucket slightly from time to time in order to make the gold lie well together and so to obtain a larger quantity; and, overcome by greed, he could not bring himself to inform the Lion that the bucket was nearly full until it brimmed over and a piece of gold, slipping off the heap, fell to the ground. As it touched the ground the stream of gold suddenly ceased, and the Lion, in a hoarse voice, said:“The largest piece of gold of all has stuck in my throat. Put your hand into my mouth and pull it out.”The elder brother, on hearing this, immediately thrust his hand into the Lion’s mouth, hoping to secure a large lump of gold; and no sooner had he done so than the Lion, closing his jaws, held him fast. It was in vain that he struggled and wrenched his arm to and fro,[122]endeavouring to release it; the stone jaws of the Lion gripped him so tight that he was totally unable to effect his escape, and the Lion, deaf to all prayers and entreaties, had relapsed apparently into an insensible figure of stone. And worst of all, when he glanced at his bucket of gold he saw, to his horror, that instead of gold it held nothing but stones and earth.Towards evening the elder brother’s wife grew anxious concerning her husband’s absence, and knowing the direction in which he had gone, she set forth to the hillside to seek him. After hunting for some time she suddenly came across him, and asked him what he was doing and why he did not come home.“Oh, wife,” said he, “a terrible thing has happened to me. I put my hand into the Lion’s mouth in order to extract a lump of gold which was stuck in his throat, when all of a sudden he closed his jaws, and gripped my arm, and now I am unable to effect my escape.”The poor woman, on hearing this, wept and wailed, but all her entreaties to the Lion proved of no avail, and she went off to her home, and soon returned carrying her husband some food. Every day, for many days after, she returned to her husband, bringing him such provisions as he required to keep him alive; but as she had now no one to work for her, and was obliged to support her husband and her child entirely by her own exertions, she became gradually poorer and poorer, and was soon obliged to sell her household goods to procure the necessary food.Some months passed away and the poor woman,[123]falling ill, was at length reduced to such complete destitution that she had not even a morsel of bread to bring to her husband, and one morning she came weeping up the hill, and addressed him as follows:“I have sold everything in the house, and have now no money to buy any food. There is not a scrap left to eat anywhere, and now nothing remains but for us to starve to death.”On hearing this the Lion was so tickled that he could not refrain from laughing.“Ha, ha!” said he, and opened his great jaws.As quickly as he could, and before the Lion had time to close his mouth again, the man withdrew his arm, and, finding himself free, he at once hastened down the hill with his wife. Then, taking their child with them, they proceeded straight to the house of the younger brother, and having related to him the whole of their story, begged some relief from their misery. The young man reproached his brother for his greedy conduct in trying to obtain an extra supply of gold from the Lion in spite of his warning; but being of a very forgiving nature, he consented at last to supply his brother with a sum of money sufficient for him to take a small farm in the neighbourhood. Here the proud brother and his wife settled down in very humble circumstances, whilst the younger son lived for many years very happily with his mother and prospered exceedingly in all he undertook.[124][Contents]STORY No. XVIII.THE STORY OF THE LAMA’S SERVANT.There was once an old Lama who lived in a small house at the very top of a hill in a lonely part of Tibet. He was a very holy man and spent his time entirely in religious contemplation, and the only person whom he allowed about his house was a certain young man of low birth, who acted as his Servant and used to cook his meals and perform other household duties. This man was a great character in his way. He was an amusing fellow and very fond of his joke, but was quite unreliable and incapable of performing any regular work.Now the old Lama’s diet, in accordance with the tenets of his religion, was a very small one, and he refrained entirely from taking the life of any living creature. So his food consisted chiefly of barley-flour, butter, and so on, and he abstained from meat of any kind. This mode of life, however, was not at all pleasing to the Servant, Rin-dzin, who had a healthy appetite and greatly missed his daily dish of meat, and he was constantly trying to persuade the Lama to allow him to kill a sheep or a goat in order that he[125]might have a satisfactory meal. This, however, the Lama always sternly refused to do, and forbade his Servant on any account to destroy the life of a living being.One day the Servant noticed a fine fat sheep, which, having become separated from the rest of the flock, was wandering about near the Lama’s house. So he pursued it and caught it, and carrying it into the ground floor of the house, he went up into the room above, and letting down a rope through a hole in the floor he hitched a slip-knot at the other end of the rope round the sheep’s neck. Having made these arrangements he went into the next room, where the Lama, as usual, was sitting alone wrapt in religious contemplation, deaf to all mundane affairs.“Oh! Lama,” said the Servant, addressing the old man, “I have come to tell you that I have just found a sheep belonging to our neighbours, who live in the valley below, wandering about near the house; so, for fear he should be eaten by wolves, I have caught him and tied him up in a room below. But he is a very violent sheep and is struggling desperately to escape. Will you be so kind as to hold the rope for a short time while I go and inform the owner where his sheep is?”The old Lama, who never refused a reasonable request, at once proceeded to do as he was asked, and, rising from his seat, he followed the Servant into the next room.“Pray hold this rope,” said the Servant, handing the Lama the loose end of the rope to which the sheep[126]was secured, “and if the sheep begins to struggle, pull it as hard as you can to prevent him from escaping.”The Lama accordingly took hold of the rope, and the Servant went down into the lower storey as if he intended to leave the house. Instead of doing so, however, he went into the room where the sheep was tied and began to poke the animal with a sharp stick, and the sheep began to struggle violently, trying to escape from its tormentor. The more the sheep struggled below the more the Lama pulled above, and at last, when the tug-of-war had lasted for some minutes, the sheep was strangled by the slip-knot round its neck.After the lapse of an hour or two the Servant returned to the Lama in the upper room and informed him that the sheep had died a natural death while he had been away seeking for its owner, and, in the circumstances, he supposed that they might as well cut it up and cook it for food. The unsuspecting old Lama agreed to this, and for several days the Servant was able to eat his fill of excellent mutton.It chanced, however, that the shepherd boy who was in charge of the sheep had come to the Lama’s house looking for the one which was lost, and peeping in through the window had seen all that had happened. He told the story to his parents, who were very angry, and came to complain to the Lama of the conduct of his Servant. The old Lama was very much incensed at the treachery and wickedness of his attendant, and dismissed him on the spot, telling him to go away and never come back again. So Master Rin-dzin, with his few belongings[127]on his back, marched off into the world to try and make his fortune.He was a good deal cast down at first, but being naturally a volatile, light-hearted fellow he soon recovered his spirits and marched along the road singing blithely, and keeping a sharp look-out for anything that might turn up. He had not proceeded very far when he fell in with another young man going in the same direction as himself, and the two, joining company, fell into conversation. Rin-dzin soon related to his young friend all his recent adventures, and informed him that he was anxious to make a little money.“Very good, brother,” replied the Stranger, “I am the very man to help you, for you must know I am a thief by profession, and I am always on the look-out for what fortune may bring me. So we will join company, and it will indeed be bad luck if we cannot succeed in hitting upon something profitable before many days have passed.”So they went along together and towards evening they came upon a large house standing in a fertile valley. The Thief went forward alone to make enquiries, and he soon returned to Rin-dzin with the information he had gathered. The servants of the house had told him that the owner had died the day before, and was now awaiting burial in his own room. His only relation was his daughter, who was heiress to the whole of the property, and she was now mourning for her father all alone in the big house. Further, the Thief had learned that the old man had once had a son,[128]who had run away from home many years before and had never been heard of again.“Now,” said he to Rin-dzin, “I have a plan to propose to you. Do you climb in through the window into the room where the old man’s body lies awaiting burial, and conceal yourself somewhere. As soon as you are ready I will go to the young lady of the house and inform her that I am her brother, who has returned home after many years’ wandering. She will probably disbelieve my story, and I will propose that we should consult the corpse of her father on the matter. When we come into the room where the corpse lies I will address it, and ask whether I am not the long-lost son, whereupon you must reply that I am. On this evidence I shall secure at least one-half of the property, which, of course, I shall share with you. But be careful on no account to leave the room before morning, otherwise you are sure to be detected by the dogs which roam about the house by night.”Rin-dzin agreed to this proposition, and climbed in by the window into the dead man’s room, and, concealing himself near the corpse, he awaited the arrival of his friend. Meanwhile the Thief went boldly up to the front door and gave a loud knock; and being admitted by the servants, he went straight to the chamber of the young lady of the house.“Who are you?” said she; “and what do you want?”“Oh! sister,” he replied, “I am your long-lost brother; do you not recognise me?”[129]“No,” said she, “it would be impossible for me to recognise you, as I was only a little child when you ran away. No one but my father could know you and he, alas! died yesterday.”“That is very sad,” replied the Thief, “for indeed it will be difficult for me to prove the truth of my story. Let us, however, go into the room where my father’s corpse is lying, and ask it whether or no I am his long-lost son.”The girl agreed to this, and the two went together into the chamber where the old man’s corpse was sitting trussed-up for burial, in accordance with the Tibetan custom.“Are you there, father,” said the Thief, as he entered the darkened room; and Rin-dzin, in a sepulchral voice replied, “Ah.”“I have come to ask you,” went on the Thief, “whether or no I am your long-lost son.”“You are,” replied Rin-dzin.And on hearing this the Thief at once retired, followed by the young girl, who was now completely convinced of his identity.“Now, sister,” said the Thief, addressing her when they were alone together, “you see that my story is true, but, unfortunately, I am unable to stay here as I am called away this very night on urgent business. I will therefore make over to you the house and the whole of the landed property, and all I ask from you as my share of the estate is a bag of gold, as big as I can carry with me.”[130]The girl accepted these conditions, and handed over to the Thief a heavy bag of gold. He then bade her farewell and started off with his booty as fast as he could, leaving Rin-dzin behind him in the same room as the corpse.Early next morning Rin-dzin climbed down from the window, and coming round to the front of the house he asked the lady where her brother was.“Oh!” said she, “I gave him a big bag of gold last night, and he at once started off with it as fast as he could.”When Rin-dzin heard this he was very angry indeed at the Thief’s treachery, and was determined to follow and punish him. So, borrowing a horse from the lady of the house, he galloped off down the road as fast as he could. About mid-day, as he was galloping along, he saw the Thief some distance ahead, sitting under the shade of a tree resting; for not knowing that Rin-dzin had a horse, he did not consider it necessary to go very fast.When Rin-dzin caught sight of the Thief, he first thought that he would at once go up to him and demand his share of the gold, but on second thoughts he remembered that while he himself was unarmed, the thief possessed both a sword and a musket, so that if it came to a quarrel between them he would probably get the worst of it. So, leaning down over his horse’s neck, he pretended not to see the Thief, and galloped past him down the road, as if in mad pursuit. As soon as he was out of sight of the place where the Thief was[131]sitting he pulled his horse up to a wall, and taking a new boot out of the bundle on his back, he dropped it in the middle of the road, and then pursued his way for some little distance further, when he took the fellow boot out of his bundle and dropped it also in the middle of the road. Having done this he turned aside from the roadway and concealed himself and his horse in a thicket near by.As soon as Rin-dzin had galloped out of sight, the Thief congratulated himself at not having been seen, took up his bag of gold and continued his journey. After walking some little way, he came upon a new boot lying in the centre of the road.“Ah!” thought he, “that foolish fellow has dropped one of his boots in his haste. But one boot isn’t worth picking up; it is of no use at all. What a pity it is he did not drop them both.”So leaving the boot where it lay, he resumed his journey. The sun was now very hot, and the Thief, carrying his heavy bag of gold, was getting pretty tired, and by the time he reached the place where the other boot was lying he was nearly worn out.“Hallo,” said he to himself, when he caught sight of the second boot, “here is the other boot. This is really too good a chance to be lost; I must certainly go back at once and pick up the first boot, and then I shall have a pair of new boots for nothing. But I can’t carry this heavy bag of gold all the way back with me.”So thinking, he concealed the bag of gold under a[132]tuft of grass by the roadside, and started off to retrace his steps to pick up the first boot. No sooner was he out of sight than Rin-dzin emerged from his hiding-place, and picking up the bag of gold, strapped it to his saddle and rode on his way.[133][Contents]STORY No. XIX.THE COUNTRY OF THE MICE.Once upon a time there was a King who ruled over a large tract of country in which there lived a great number of Mice. Generally the Mice were very prosperous and had plenty to eat, but it happened one year that the crops of the country were very poor, and the Mice, who subsisted chiefly on the spare grains left after the harvest, found that their stores were running short before the end of the winter. So the King of the Mice decided that he would make a petition to the King of the country, to lend the Mice what grain they required on condition that they repaid the whole amount the following year.So he dressed himself up in his best clothes and set off one morning to the King’s palace. When he got to the door of the palace the door-keeper asked him where he was going.“Oh!” replied the Mouse, “I wish to see the King of the country, as I have a petition to make to him.”When the King heard that a Mouse wanted to see him he was very much amused, and he ordered that the little animal should be admitted.When the Mouse entered the King’s presence he[134]walked slowly up the Hall of Audience, carrying in his hand a little silk thread, which he presented to the King, instead of the usual ceremonial scarf.1“Good-morning, Brother Mouse,” said the King, “what can I do for you?”“Oh! King,” replied the Mouse, “you must know that this year our crops have fallen short, and we are threatened with a famine unless we can borrow sufficient grain to carry us through the winter; so I, who am King of the Mice, have come here to ask you if you can help us in this matter. If you can lend us the grain we require, we will repay you faithfully with interest at the next harvest.”“Well,” said the King, “how much grain do you want?”“I think that we shall require,” said the Mouse, “one of your big barns full.”“But,” said the King, “if I were to give you a barn full of grain how would you carry it away?”“Leave it to me,” said the Mouse; “if you will give us the grain we will undertake to carry it off.”So the King agreed to present the Mice with one of his great granaries full of barley, and he ordered his officers to throw open the doors, and to let the Mice carry away as much as they wanted.That night the King of the Mice summoned all his subjects together, and to the number of many hundreds of thousands they invaded the barn, and each one picked[135]up as much grain as he could carry in his mouth, on his back, and curled up in his tail, and when they had all finished the barn was empty, and not a single grain of barley was left.Next morning, when the King went out to look at his barn, he was very much astonished to find that the Mice had been able to empty it so effectually, and he conceived a very high opinion of their powers; and when, in the following spring, the King of the Mice redeemed his promise by repaying with interest the loan he had taken from the King of the country, the latter saw that they were trustworthy as well as clever.Now it happened shortly after this that the King of the country went to war with a neighbouring kingdom, which lay on the opposite side of the river forming the frontier between the two countries. This other country was far more wealthy and powerful than the country where the Mice lived, and its King soon assembled a huge army on the opposite bank of the river and began making preparations for invasion.When the Mice heard what was happening, they were much distressed, for they feared that if the enemy entered their country and destroyed their friend the King, they themselves would suffer considerable hardships under a strange ruler; so the King of the Mice set out again to visit the King of the country, and when he reached the palace he demanded an interview with His Majesty. This was at once accorded to him, and finding the King looking very depressed, he addressed him as follows:[136]“I have come to you a second time, Oh King, in order to see whether I can be of any use to you. The last time I was here you did me and my people a great favour, for which we shall ever be grateful, and if it is now in our power to assist you in any way, we shall be very glad to do our best.”The King, in spite of his grief, was much amused on hearing these words from the Mouse.“Why,” said he, “what could the Mice do to help me in my present predicament? We are threatened with invasion by a foreign army, outnumbering mine by many thousands, and all the men I can muster will not be sufficient to enable me to repel the enemy. I don’t see how the Mice can help me.”“Do you remember, Oh King!” replied the Mouse, “that on the last occasion I was here you doubted our ability to carry away the grain you had given us, or to repay you the loan? And yet we proved ourselves able to do both. All we ask you now is to trust us again, and if you will undertake to do one or two things which we ask of you, we on our part will undertake to rid you of the invading army.”The King was a good deal struck by this remark of the Mouse, and he replied:“Very well, what you say is quite true; and if you will inform me what you wish me to do, I will undertake to carry out my share of the bargain.”“Well, then,” answered the Mouse, “all we wish you to do is to provide us by to-morrow evening with one[137]hundred thousand sticks, each about a foot long,2and to have them laid in rows on the bank of the river. If you will undertake to do this, we on our side will undertake to stave off the threatened invasion and to put the opposing army into a state of confusion and panic. And if we succeed in carrying out all we promise, we will ask you for the future to safeguard us against the two principal dangers which threaten the existence of the Mice who live in your country.”“I will gladly do what I can,” replied the King, “to safeguard you against these dangers if you will tell me how to proceed.”“The two dangers to which I refer,” continued the Mouse, “are flood and Cats. You see the majority of our burrows are in the low-lying land near the river, and whenever the river rises a little it overflows this level country and floods our nests. What we would suggest to you is that you should build a strong dam all down the river bank so as to ensure that the water cannot overflow into our nests. And as to the Cats they are always the persecutors of Mice, and we ask you to banish them altogether from your kingdom.”“Very well,” replied the King, “if you can succeed in averting the danger which now threatens us, I will undertake to do all that you ask of me in this respect.”On hearing this, the King of the Mice salaamed profoundly to the King, and returned as fast as he could to his own subjects.THE MICE CROSSING THE STREAM.THE MICE CROSSING THE STREAM.Page 137.[138]On the following evening he marshalled all the full-grown Mice of his kingdom, and about dusk, he led down a large army numbering several hundreds of thousands to the edge of the river, where he found the sticks all laid out as had been arranged with the King. In accordance with instructions they had received, the Mice at once proceeded to launch these sticks on the river, and they themselves embarked upon them two or three at a time; and so, pushing off from the bank, they sailed across the river and soon landed on the opposite side.It was now quite dark, and the enemy’s soldiers were all asleep in their camp, some lying in tents and some in the open air, with their arms beside them ready for any alarm. The Mice on a word of command from their King, scattered themselves without delay through the sleeping camp, and each one began to do as much destruction as he possibly could in the shortest possible space of time. Some nibbled at the bowstrings and the slings of the soldiers’ muskets; others gnawed the slow-match and fuses; whilst others bit off the clothes and pigtails of the sleeping men. In fact, they attacked fiercely anything upon which their teeth could make an impression, and tents, stores, grain, and provisions of all kinds were soon reduced to shreds or scattered in confusion in every direction; and after a couple of hours’ work they all collected upon the river bank, and, embarking again on their sticks, they sailed quietly over to their own shore without having been detected by the enemy, or even having caused any alarm.[139]Next morning at daybreak, a great outcry arose from the enemy’s camp. Each man as he rose from his sleep found himself in a woeful plight—his clothes in rags, his pigtail cut off, his bow without a string, his rifle without a sling, and with no fuse or slow-match to fire it, and no provisions for breakfast. Each one began to accuse the other of theft and treachery, and before many minutes had passed the whole camp was in a state of wild confusion, comrade quarrelling with comrade, or accusing their officers of dishonesty and ill-faith.In the midst of this uproar the sound of bugles was heard on the opposite bank, and a few shots were fired; and terrified at the thought of being taken unawares, the whole army took to flight, and in a few minutes not a man was to be seen.When the King of the country of the Mice saw what had happened he was greatly elated, and, sending for the King of the Mice, he thanked him very sincerely for his good offices. And, in accordance with the bargain they had made, he at once had a strong embankment constructed all down his own side of the river to guard against floods, and he issued an edict forbidding all persons, on pain of death, to keep a cat of any kind henceforth within the frontiers of his country, and so the Mice lived securely and happily ever afterwards.And in order to insure against any more attempts at invasion from the side of the neighbouring kingdom, the King sent a herald across the river to the ruler of that country, to say that, on this occasion, he had only considered it worth while to employ his Mice to defeat his[140]enemies; but that if he was again threatened, he was ready to employ first all the domestic animals of the country; and if they did not succeed, he would have to have recourse to the wild beasts; and in the event of their failing, he was prepared to come himself with his warriors in order to produce the desired results.When the ruler of the other country heard this message he considered it wiser at once to make a treaty of peace, as he could not hope to defeat the warriors and wild beasts of a country whose Mice had shown such skill and courage. So the two countries remained on friendly terms for many years after; and the Mice, secured against flood and Cats, lived happily and safely, and received every year from the King of the country a barnful of grain as a free gift in thankful recognition of the services which they had rendered in time of need.[141]1This is in accordance with Tibetan custom, whereby a scarf is invariably presented upon all occasions of ceremony.↑2Another version of the story says cakes of dried yaks’ dung instead of sticks—see accompanying illustration.↑[Contents]STORY No. XX.THE STORY OF THE TORTOISE AND THE MONKEY.There was once an old Tortoise who lived with his wife and family in a large lake, on the borders of which grew an extensive jungle; and in the forest there were many wild beasts, more especially Monkeys, who swarmed in great numbers all along the shores of the lake.It happened one day that the Tortoise came out of the lake and went for a stroll amongst the trees which grew near the water. After walking for some distance he became hungry, and looking up into a cocoanut-tree, near which he found himself, he thought how much he should like to get one of the cocoanuts which were growing near the top. He made several awkward attempts to climb the tree, but the stem was so straight and so smooth that he was quite unable to succeed; and he was just about to give up the attempt in despair when he espied a large Monkey sitting among the branches. The Monkey, who had been watching the Tortoise’s attempts to climb the tree with some curiosity, felt rather sorry at his failure, and noticing that the Tortoise was a fine, well-grown fellow with a very handsome shell, he[142]thought he would do him a kindness, so breaking off one or two of the cocoanuts, he threw them down to the Tortoise, who gratefully ate the fruit.The two animals now entered into conversation with one another, and soon striking up quite a friendship, the Monkey led away the Tortoise into the jungle, and showed him a comfortable cave where he could spend the night. The Tortoise was so interested with all he saw and so pleased with his friend the Monkey, that he remained for several days in the forest, moving about during the day and sleeping with the Monkey in the cave every night.Meanwhile Mrs. Tortoise was becoming rather anxious concerning her husband’s prolonged absence. He had never been away from home for so long before, so finally she despatched one of the young Tortoises to find out where his father was and how he was getting on. The young Tortoise accordingly swam to land, and after hunting about for some time in the forest he came across his father near the cave.“Good-morning, Father,” said he, “Mother has sent me to find out where you are and how you are getting on.”“Oh, I am all right, my boy,” replied Father Tortoise; “tell Mother she need not trouble about me. My friend, Brother Monkey, and I are just having a good time in the forest, and I will be home in a few days. Now run off to your Mother.”So the young Tortoise went back to his mother and told her what had happened. Mrs. Tortoise was not at all pleased at her husband’s conduct.[143]“It is quite time,” thought she, “that he should return to his wife and family, instead of amusing himself with a vulgar Monkey in the forest.”So she sent the boy back again to his father, with a message to say that Mrs. Tortoise was very ill, and that her physician had told her that the only thing to cure her was a Monkey’s heart. So he must return at once to his home and bring a Monkey along with him.The young Tortoise accordingly proceeded to hunt out his father again, and as soon as he met him he gave him Mrs. Tortoise’s message. On hearing the news of his wife’s illness, Mr. Tortoise became much alarmed, and reproached himself for having stayed away for so long; and in order to secure the necessary medicine for his wife he informed his friend the Monkey that he was obliged to return home at once on urgent business, and he invited the Monkey to come and spend a few days at his house. The Monkey accepted his friend’s invitation, and the two set off together to the shores of the lake.When the Monkey understood that it would be necessary for him to enter the lake, he became rather alarmed, and remarked to the Tortoise that never having been in the water, he was afraid it would be difficult for him to reach the Tortoise’s home.“Never fear about that, Brother Monkey,” said the Tortoise; “I can arrange that quite simply. If you will mount upon my back, I will swim with you wherever we want to go.”So the Monkey mounted upon the Tortoise’s back, and the Tortoise set out to swim to his house.[144]As they went across the lake the Tortoise began telling the Monkey about his wife’s illness, and in doing so he foolishly let out that the only medicine to cure her was a Monkey’s heart. On hearing this the Monkey became very much alarmed, and saw that he was being led into a trap.“Dear me, Brother Tortoise,” said he, “I am very much grieved to hear of your wife’s illness, but if she is as bad as all that I do not think that one Monkey’s heart will be enough. I should think that three or four at least would be required in order to effect a cure. If you like, I can easily get several other Monkeys from amongst my friends to accompany us to your home.”The Tortoise thought that this was a good idea, and agreed to carry the Monkey back to the shore and await him there while he went off to fetch some other Monkeys. So he turned round and swam back through the lake till he reached the edge, where he waddled out on to the beach.As soon as he found himself on dry land the Monkey skipped off the Tortoise’s back as fast as he could, and climbed to the top of the tallest tree he could find in a twinkling. On reaching the top of the tree he began reviling the Tortoise, and calling out every bad name he could think of.“You are a nice sort of friend,” said he, “to ask me to pay a visit to your home in order to kill me and use my heart as medicine for your ugly wife. Do you call that a proper return for all my attention to you, and for showing you all over the jungle? However, I have[145]been too clever for you this time, and you will have to do without my heart for many a long day to come. And as to the hearts of those other Monkeys that I promised to you—well, you can just wait till you find them for yourself.”1THE MONKEY CALLING INTO THE TORTOISE’S CAVE.THE MONKEY CALLING INTO THE TORTOISE’S CAVE.Page 145.The Tortoise, on hearing these words, fell into a violent passion, and made several efforts to climb the tree in order to punish the Monkey, but being quite unable to climb at all, he soon gave up his attempt and determined to get even with the Monkey in some other way. So he hid himself in the water until evening, and as soon as it was dusk he came out on the land and proceeded very quietly to the cave where he and the Monkey had lived together, and concealed himself in the darkest corner of it waiting till the Monkey should come in.The Monkey, however, was a good deal too clever to be caught in a simple trap like this. When his usual bedtime arrived, he came to the mouth of the cave and, looking in, he called out in a loud voice:“Oh, great cave! great cave!”The Tortoise lay low in his dark corner and gave no sign of life.After a few moments’ silence the Monkey again called out:“Oh, great cave! great cave!”Still the Tortoise lay low and gave no sign.“Curious thing,” said the Monkey to himself in an audible tone of voice, “very curious! There used always to be an echo in this cave, but I can’t hear the slightest[146]echo to-night. There must be something wrong,” and saying this he again called out:“Oh, great cave! great cave!”The foolish Tortoise, thinking that if he simulated an echo the Monkey would enter the cave as usual, hereupon gave answer from his dark corner:“Oh, great cave! great cave!”On hearing this the Monkey chuckled to himself at the simplicity of the Tortoise, and went off to sleep in some other part of the forest.[147]1The Monkey’s actual words, I regret to say, cannot be reported verbatim.↑

[Contents]STORY No. XVII.THE STORY OF THE STONE LION.Once upon a time there were two brothers whose father was dead, and who lived alone with their mother in a big house in a well-cultivated valley.Now the elder of these brothers was a smart, clever man, but was of a very selfish, cold-hearted disposition; and the younger brother was simple and kind, but rather dull. The consequence was that after the death of their father the elder brother conducted most of the business of the family himself, and entirely supported his brother and his mother; whilst the younger brother, although quite willing to do his best, was not clever enough to be of any assistance in the household.After a time the elder brother decided in his mind that he could no longer endure this state of affairs, so he one day called his young brother aside, and told him plainly that he would no longer continue to support such a lout, and that it would be better for him to go out into the world and seek his own fortune alone. The poor boy was much grieved on hearing this decision from his brother; but he was quite unable to protest or dispute, so, having packed up his few belongings, he[117]went to say good-bye to his mother, and told her what had occurred. The good woman was very angry when she heard the news, and she said to her son:“Very well, if your hard-hearted brother insists on turning you out of the house, I will accompany you. I cannot consent to remain any longer with such an unnatural and cruel son.”So next day the mother and her younger son left the house and set off together to seek some means of livelihood on their own account. After travelling for some little distance they reached an empty hut situated at the foot of a large hill, not far from a populous town; and finding that the place was apparently deserted and that the owner, whoever he was, had left nothing to show that he proposed to return, they took possession of the hut, and slept there during the night.Next morning early the boy, taking an axe with him, went out on to the hillside and began chopping wood. By evening he had chopped a fine big bundle of wood, and taking it down into the town he sold it in the market for a good sum of money. Greatly elated at the success of his labours he returned to his mother in the hut, and showing her the money he had earned, he told her that she need no longer have any anxiety regarding the future, for he would now be able to support her without any difficulty. Next morning, shouldering his axe, he started off again, and as before, began to chop wood. He had done a good morning’s work, and was walking a little further up the hill in order to search for some better timber, when, in a sheltered part of the hillside[118]he suddenly found himself face to face with a large life-sized Lion carved out of the stone.“Now,” thought he to himself, on seeing the Lion, “this, no doubt, is the guardian deity of this mountain, and to him must be due my good fortune in so easily obtaining a means of livelihood. I will certainly make him some offering to-morrow.”So that evening, after selling his wood, he purchased two candles in the town, and on the following day he went straight to where the stone Lion stood, and lighting the candles, he placed one upon each side of the image, and prostrating himself humbly upon the ground before it, he prayed for renewed good fortune. Suddenly, to his surprise and alarm, the Lion opened its mouth, and asked him what he was doing there.The young man replied that having been driven from his home by his proud and hard-hearted brother, he was now engaged in earning his livelihood by chopping wood upon that hill; and that, thinking that the Lion must be the guardian deity of the mountain, he had considered it right to make him some sort of an offering, and to request his continued patronage and assistance.“Very good,” replied the Lion in a guttural tone of voice, “come again at this time to-morrow, and bring with you a large bucket, and I will furnish you at once with what wealth you require.”The boy thanked the Lion for his kindness, and carrying his load of firewood down to the village he sold it for a good price, and with the proceeds he purchased himself a large wooden bucket.[119]Next morning he went up onto the hill again, carrying his bucket, and arriving near the stone Lion, he again prostrated himself upon the ground and announced his presence.“Very good,” replied the Lion, “you must now act as follows: hold the bucket under my mouth, and I will vomit gold into it. But as soon as the bucket is nearly full you must tell me, as on no account must a single morsel of gold fall to the ground.”The young man proceeded to do as the Lion had instructed him. He held the bucket below the Lion’s mouth, and the Lion forthwith began to vomit into it a stream of gold pieces. When the bucket was nearly full the young man informed the Lion of the fact, and forthwith the stream of gold came to an end; and the youth, having thanked the Lion most heartily for his munificent gift, carried off his bucket of gold in triumph to his mother. The poor woman was at first quite frightened at seeing so much wealth, but her son, having explained to her how he had come by it, she became greatly excited, and pleased.Next day the widow and her son set about placing themselves in more comfortable circumstances. They purchased a large farm-house in the neighbourhood, and a large stock of cattle and sheep, and settled down in their new abode, and henceforward they began to live in a very comfortable and prosperous manner.The news of the changed condition of life of his mother and younger brother soon reached the ears of the eldest son, and overcome with curiosity as to how this result[120]had been brought about, he decided to call upon them, and to ascertain the cause of their prosperity. So, accompanied by his wife, and carrying with him a very small piece of cloth as a present, he set out to pay them a visit. When he reached the house his younger brother was away engaged upon his farm business, but the mother received her elder son and his wife very kindly and made them as comfortable as she could. In the evening, when the younger brother returned, he greeted his brother heartily, and being of a most kind-hearted and forgiving disposition, he related to him fully the manner in which he had come by his wealth, and strongly recommended his brother to act in a similar way.The elder brother and his wife, as they returned home together that evening, talked the matter over between them, and decided that so good an opportunity of making money so easily was not to be lost. So next day the husband proceeded to the town, and after a prolonged search purchased the largest bucket which was to be had in the whole place. Carrying this with him, and bringing also a couple of candles, he proceeded to the hillside, and following the directions he had received from his brother, he soon found himself face to face with the stone Lion. He at once lighted his candles and placed them one on each side of the Lion, while he prostrated himself upon the ground, and prayed to the Lion for good fortune.“Who are you?” said the Lion in a gruff voice; “and what do you want?”“I,” replied the elder brother, “am the brother of[121]the young man who was here the other day, and to whom you gave so much gold; and, following his advice, I have now come to ask you for a similar benefit for myself.”“Very well,” said the Lion, “place your bucket under my mouth and I will vomit gold into it; but as soon as the bucket is nearly full you must inform me of the fact, as on no account must a single piece of gold fall to the ground. If this should happen, you will meet with misfortune.”THE STONE LION VOMITING GOLD.THE STONE LION VOMITING GOLD.Page 121.So the elder brother, trembling with eagerness, held his bucket as directed, and forthwith a stream of gold pieces began to pour from the Lion’s mouth into the bucket. The covetous fellow shook the bucket slightly from time to time in order to make the gold lie well together and so to obtain a larger quantity; and, overcome by greed, he could not bring himself to inform the Lion that the bucket was nearly full until it brimmed over and a piece of gold, slipping off the heap, fell to the ground. As it touched the ground the stream of gold suddenly ceased, and the Lion, in a hoarse voice, said:“The largest piece of gold of all has stuck in my throat. Put your hand into my mouth and pull it out.”The elder brother, on hearing this, immediately thrust his hand into the Lion’s mouth, hoping to secure a large lump of gold; and no sooner had he done so than the Lion, closing his jaws, held him fast. It was in vain that he struggled and wrenched his arm to and fro,[122]endeavouring to release it; the stone jaws of the Lion gripped him so tight that he was totally unable to effect his escape, and the Lion, deaf to all prayers and entreaties, had relapsed apparently into an insensible figure of stone. And worst of all, when he glanced at his bucket of gold he saw, to his horror, that instead of gold it held nothing but stones and earth.Towards evening the elder brother’s wife grew anxious concerning her husband’s absence, and knowing the direction in which he had gone, she set forth to the hillside to seek him. After hunting for some time she suddenly came across him, and asked him what he was doing and why he did not come home.“Oh, wife,” said he, “a terrible thing has happened to me. I put my hand into the Lion’s mouth in order to extract a lump of gold which was stuck in his throat, when all of a sudden he closed his jaws, and gripped my arm, and now I am unable to effect my escape.”The poor woman, on hearing this, wept and wailed, but all her entreaties to the Lion proved of no avail, and she went off to her home, and soon returned carrying her husband some food. Every day, for many days after, she returned to her husband, bringing him such provisions as he required to keep him alive; but as she had now no one to work for her, and was obliged to support her husband and her child entirely by her own exertions, she became gradually poorer and poorer, and was soon obliged to sell her household goods to procure the necessary food.Some months passed away and the poor woman,[123]falling ill, was at length reduced to such complete destitution that she had not even a morsel of bread to bring to her husband, and one morning she came weeping up the hill, and addressed him as follows:“I have sold everything in the house, and have now no money to buy any food. There is not a scrap left to eat anywhere, and now nothing remains but for us to starve to death.”On hearing this the Lion was so tickled that he could not refrain from laughing.“Ha, ha!” said he, and opened his great jaws.As quickly as he could, and before the Lion had time to close his mouth again, the man withdrew his arm, and, finding himself free, he at once hastened down the hill with his wife. Then, taking their child with them, they proceeded straight to the house of the younger brother, and having related to him the whole of their story, begged some relief from their misery. The young man reproached his brother for his greedy conduct in trying to obtain an extra supply of gold from the Lion in spite of his warning; but being of a very forgiving nature, he consented at last to supply his brother with a sum of money sufficient for him to take a small farm in the neighbourhood. Here the proud brother and his wife settled down in very humble circumstances, whilst the younger son lived for many years very happily with his mother and prospered exceedingly in all he undertook.[124]

STORY No. XVII.THE STORY OF THE STONE LION.

Once upon a time there were two brothers whose father was dead, and who lived alone with their mother in a big house in a well-cultivated valley.Now the elder of these brothers was a smart, clever man, but was of a very selfish, cold-hearted disposition; and the younger brother was simple and kind, but rather dull. The consequence was that after the death of their father the elder brother conducted most of the business of the family himself, and entirely supported his brother and his mother; whilst the younger brother, although quite willing to do his best, was not clever enough to be of any assistance in the household.After a time the elder brother decided in his mind that he could no longer endure this state of affairs, so he one day called his young brother aside, and told him plainly that he would no longer continue to support such a lout, and that it would be better for him to go out into the world and seek his own fortune alone. The poor boy was much grieved on hearing this decision from his brother; but he was quite unable to protest or dispute, so, having packed up his few belongings, he[117]went to say good-bye to his mother, and told her what had occurred. The good woman was very angry when she heard the news, and she said to her son:“Very well, if your hard-hearted brother insists on turning you out of the house, I will accompany you. I cannot consent to remain any longer with such an unnatural and cruel son.”So next day the mother and her younger son left the house and set off together to seek some means of livelihood on their own account. After travelling for some little distance they reached an empty hut situated at the foot of a large hill, not far from a populous town; and finding that the place was apparently deserted and that the owner, whoever he was, had left nothing to show that he proposed to return, they took possession of the hut, and slept there during the night.Next morning early the boy, taking an axe with him, went out on to the hillside and began chopping wood. By evening he had chopped a fine big bundle of wood, and taking it down into the town he sold it in the market for a good sum of money. Greatly elated at the success of his labours he returned to his mother in the hut, and showing her the money he had earned, he told her that she need no longer have any anxiety regarding the future, for he would now be able to support her without any difficulty. Next morning, shouldering his axe, he started off again, and as before, began to chop wood. He had done a good morning’s work, and was walking a little further up the hill in order to search for some better timber, when, in a sheltered part of the hillside[118]he suddenly found himself face to face with a large life-sized Lion carved out of the stone.“Now,” thought he to himself, on seeing the Lion, “this, no doubt, is the guardian deity of this mountain, and to him must be due my good fortune in so easily obtaining a means of livelihood. I will certainly make him some offering to-morrow.”So that evening, after selling his wood, he purchased two candles in the town, and on the following day he went straight to where the stone Lion stood, and lighting the candles, he placed one upon each side of the image, and prostrating himself humbly upon the ground before it, he prayed for renewed good fortune. Suddenly, to his surprise and alarm, the Lion opened its mouth, and asked him what he was doing there.The young man replied that having been driven from his home by his proud and hard-hearted brother, he was now engaged in earning his livelihood by chopping wood upon that hill; and that, thinking that the Lion must be the guardian deity of the mountain, he had considered it right to make him some sort of an offering, and to request his continued patronage and assistance.“Very good,” replied the Lion in a guttural tone of voice, “come again at this time to-morrow, and bring with you a large bucket, and I will furnish you at once with what wealth you require.”The boy thanked the Lion for his kindness, and carrying his load of firewood down to the village he sold it for a good price, and with the proceeds he purchased himself a large wooden bucket.[119]Next morning he went up onto the hill again, carrying his bucket, and arriving near the stone Lion, he again prostrated himself upon the ground and announced his presence.“Very good,” replied the Lion, “you must now act as follows: hold the bucket under my mouth, and I will vomit gold into it. But as soon as the bucket is nearly full you must tell me, as on no account must a single morsel of gold fall to the ground.”The young man proceeded to do as the Lion had instructed him. He held the bucket below the Lion’s mouth, and the Lion forthwith began to vomit into it a stream of gold pieces. When the bucket was nearly full the young man informed the Lion of the fact, and forthwith the stream of gold came to an end; and the youth, having thanked the Lion most heartily for his munificent gift, carried off his bucket of gold in triumph to his mother. The poor woman was at first quite frightened at seeing so much wealth, but her son, having explained to her how he had come by it, she became greatly excited, and pleased.Next day the widow and her son set about placing themselves in more comfortable circumstances. They purchased a large farm-house in the neighbourhood, and a large stock of cattle and sheep, and settled down in their new abode, and henceforward they began to live in a very comfortable and prosperous manner.The news of the changed condition of life of his mother and younger brother soon reached the ears of the eldest son, and overcome with curiosity as to how this result[120]had been brought about, he decided to call upon them, and to ascertain the cause of their prosperity. So, accompanied by his wife, and carrying with him a very small piece of cloth as a present, he set out to pay them a visit. When he reached the house his younger brother was away engaged upon his farm business, but the mother received her elder son and his wife very kindly and made them as comfortable as she could. In the evening, when the younger brother returned, he greeted his brother heartily, and being of a most kind-hearted and forgiving disposition, he related to him fully the manner in which he had come by his wealth, and strongly recommended his brother to act in a similar way.The elder brother and his wife, as they returned home together that evening, talked the matter over between them, and decided that so good an opportunity of making money so easily was not to be lost. So next day the husband proceeded to the town, and after a prolonged search purchased the largest bucket which was to be had in the whole place. Carrying this with him, and bringing also a couple of candles, he proceeded to the hillside, and following the directions he had received from his brother, he soon found himself face to face with the stone Lion. He at once lighted his candles and placed them one on each side of the Lion, while he prostrated himself upon the ground, and prayed to the Lion for good fortune.“Who are you?” said the Lion in a gruff voice; “and what do you want?”“I,” replied the elder brother, “am the brother of[121]the young man who was here the other day, and to whom you gave so much gold; and, following his advice, I have now come to ask you for a similar benefit for myself.”“Very well,” said the Lion, “place your bucket under my mouth and I will vomit gold into it; but as soon as the bucket is nearly full you must inform me of the fact, as on no account must a single piece of gold fall to the ground. If this should happen, you will meet with misfortune.”THE STONE LION VOMITING GOLD.THE STONE LION VOMITING GOLD.Page 121.So the elder brother, trembling with eagerness, held his bucket as directed, and forthwith a stream of gold pieces began to pour from the Lion’s mouth into the bucket. The covetous fellow shook the bucket slightly from time to time in order to make the gold lie well together and so to obtain a larger quantity; and, overcome by greed, he could not bring himself to inform the Lion that the bucket was nearly full until it brimmed over and a piece of gold, slipping off the heap, fell to the ground. As it touched the ground the stream of gold suddenly ceased, and the Lion, in a hoarse voice, said:“The largest piece of gold of all has stuck in my throat. Put your hand into my mouth and pull it out.”The elder brother, on hearing this, immediately thrust his hand into the Lion’s mouth, hoping to secure a large lump of gold; and no sooner had he done so than the Lion, closing his jaws, held him fast. It was in vain that he struggled and wrenched his arm to and fro,[122]endeavouring to release it; the stone jaws of the Lion gripped him so tight that he was totally unable to effect his escape, and the Lion, deaf to all prayers and entreaties, had relapsed apparently into an insensible figure of stone. And worst of all, when he glanced at his bucket of gold he saw, to his horror, that instead of gold it held nothing but stones and earth.Towards evening the elder brother’s wife grew anxious concerning her husband’s absence, and knowing the direction in which he had gone, she set forth to the hillside to seek him. After hunting for some time she suddenly came across him, and asked him what he was doing and why he did not come home.“Oh, wife,” said he, “a terrible thing has happened to me. I put my hand into the Lion’s mouth in order to extract a lump of gold which was stuck in his throat, when all of a sudden he closed his jaws, and gripped my arm, and now I am unable to effect my escape.”The poor woman, on hearing this, wept and wailed, but all her entreaties to the Lion proved of no avail, and she went off to her home, and soon returned carrying her husband some food. Every day, for many days after, she returned to her husband, bringing him such provisions as he required to keep him alive; but as she had now no one to work for her, and was obliged to support her husband and her child entirely by her own exertions, she became gradually poorer and poorer, and was soon obliged to sell her household goods to procure the necessary food.Some months passed away and the poor woman,[123]falling ill, was at length reduced to such complete destitution that she had not even a morsel of bread to bring to her husband, and one morning she came weeping up the hill, and addressed him as follows:“I have sold everything in the house, and have now no money to buy any food. There is not a scrap left to eat anywhere, and now nothing remains but for us to starve to death.”On hearing this the Lion was so tickled that he could not refrain from laughing.“Ha, ha!” said he, and opened his great jaws.As quickly as he could, and before the Lion had time to close his mouth again, the man withdrew his arm, and, finding himself free, he at once hastened down the hill with his wife. Then, taking their child with them, they proceeded straight to the house of the younger brother, and having related to him the whole of their story, begged some relief from their misery. The young man reproached his brother for his greedy conduct in trying to obtain an extra supply of gold from the Lion in spite of his warning; but being of a very forgiving nature, he consented at last to supply his brother with a sum of money sufficient for him to take a small farm in the neighbourhood. Here the proud brother and his wife settled down in very humble circumstances, whilst the younger son lived for many years very happily with his mother and prospered exceedingly in all he undertook.[124]

Once upon a time there were two brothers whose father was dead, and who lived alone with their mother in a big house in a well-cultivated valley.

Now the elder of these brothers was a smart, clever man, but was of a very selfish, cold-hearted disposition; and the younger brother was simple and kind, but rather dull. The consequence was that after the death of their father the elder brother conducted most of the business of the family himself, and entirely supported his brother and his mother; whilst the younger brother, although quite willing to do his best, was not clever enough to be of any assistance in the household.

After a time the elder brother decided in his mind that he could no longer endure this state of affairs, so he one day called his young brother aside, and told him plainly that he would no longer continue to support such a lout, and that it would be better for him to go out into the world and seek his own fortune alone. The poor boy was much grieved on hearing this decision from his brother; but he was quite unable to protest or dispute, so, having packed up his few belongings, he[117]went to say good-bye to his mother, and told her what had occurred. The good woman was very angry when she heard the news, and she said to her son:

“Very well, if your hard-hearted brother insists on turning you out of the house, I will accompany you. I cannot consent to remain any longer with such an unnatural and cruel son.”

So next day the mother and her younger son left the house and set off together to seek some means of livelihood on their own account. After travelling for some little distance they reached an empty hut situated at the foot of a large hill, not far from a populous town; and finding that the place was apparently deserted and that the owner, whoever he was, had left nothing to show that he proposed to return, they took possession of the hut, and slept there during the night.

Next morning early the boy, taking an axe with him, went out on to the hillside and began chopping wood. By evening he had chopped a fine big bundle of wood, and taking it down into the town he sold it in the market for a good sum of money. Greatly elated at the success of his labours he returned to his mother in the hut, and showing her the money he had earned, he told her that she need no longer have any anxiety regarding the future, for he would now be able to support her without any difficulty. Next morning, shouldering his axe, he started off again, and as before, began to chop wood. He had done a good morning’s work, and was walking a little further up the hill in order to search for some better timber, when, in a sheltered part of the hillside[118]he suddenly found himself face to face with a large life-sized Lion carved out of the stone.

“Now,” thought he to himself, on seeing the Lion, “this, no doubt, is the guardian deity of this mountain, and to him must be due my good fortune in so easily obtaining a means of livelihood. I will certainly make him some offering to-morrow.”

So that evening, after selling his wood, he purchased two candles in the town, and on the following day he went straight to where the stone Lion stood, and lighting the candles, he placed one upon each side of the image, and prostrating himself humbly upon the ground before it, he prayed for renewed good fortune. Suddenly, to his surprise and alarm, the Lion opened its mouth, and asked him what he was doing there.

The young man replied that having been driven from his home by his proud and hard-hearted brother, he was now engaged in earning his livelihood by chopping wood upon that hill; and that, thinking that the Lion must be the guardian deity of the mountain, he had considered it right to make him some sort of an offering, and to request his continued patronage and assistance.

“Very good,” replied the Lion in a guttural tone of voice, “come again at this time to-morrow, and bring with you a large bucket, and I will furnish you at once with what wealth you require.”

The boy thanked the Lion for his kindness, and carrying his load of firewood down to the village he sold it for a good price, and with the proceeds he purchased himself a large wooden bucket.[119]

Next morning he went up onto the hill again, carrying his bucket, and arriving near the stone Lion, he again prostrated himself upon the ground and announced his presence.

“Very good,” replied the Lion, “you must now act as follows: hold the bucket under my mouth, and I will vomit gold into it. But as soon as the bucket is nearly full you must tell me, as on no account must a single morsel of gold fall to the ground.”

The young man proceeded to do as the Lion had instructed him. He held the bucket below the Lion’s mouth, and the Lion forthwith began to vomit into it a stream of gold pieces. When the bucket was nearly full the young man informed the Lion of the fact, and forthwith the stream of gold came to an end; and the youth, having thanked the Lion most heartily for his munificent gift, carried off his bucket of gold in triumph to his mother. The poor woman was at first quite frightened at seeing so much wealth, but her son, having explained to her how he had come by it, she became greatly excited, and pleased.

Next day the widow and her son set about placing themselves in more comfortable circumstances. They purchased a large farm-house in the neighbourhood, and a large stock of cattle and sheep, and settled down in their new abode, and henceforward they began to live in a very comfortable and prosperous manner.

The news of the changed condition of life of his mother and younger brother soon reached the ears of the eldest son, and overcome with curiosity as to how this result[120]had been brought about, he decided to call upon them, and to ascertain the cause of their prosperity. So, accompanied by his wife, and carrying with him a very small piece of cloth as a present, he set out to pay them a visit. When he reached the house his younger brother was away engaged upon his farm business, but the mother received her elder son and his wife very kindly and made them as comfortable as she could. In the evening, when the younger brother returned, he greeted his brother heartily, and being of a most kind-hearted and forgiving disposition, he related to him fully the manner in which he had come by his wealth, and strongly recommended his brother to act in a similar way.

The elder brother and his wife, as they returned home together that evening, talked the matter over between them, and decided that so good an opportunity of making money so easily was not to be lost. So next day the husband proceeded to the town, and after a prolonged search purchased the largest bucket which was to be had in the whole place. Carrying this with him, and bringing also a couple of candles, he proceeded to the hillside, and following the directions he had received from his brother, he soon found himself face to face with the stone Lion. He at once lighted his candles and placed them one on each side of the Lion, while he prostrated himself upon the ground, and prayed to the Lion for good fortune.

“Who are you?” said the Lion in a gruff voice; “and what do you want?”

“I,” replied the elder brother, “am the brother of[121]the young man who was here the other day, and to whom you gave so much gold; and, following his advice, I have now come to ask you for a similar benefit for myself.”

“Very well,” said the Lion, “place your bucket under my mouth and I will vomit gold into it; but as soon as the bucket is nearly full you must inform me of the fact, as on no account must a single piece of gold fall to the ground. If this should happen, you will meet with misfortune.”

THE STONE LION VOMITING GOLD.THE STONE LION VOMITING GOLD.Page 121.

THE STONE LION VOMITING GOLD.

Page 121.

So the elder brother, trembling with eagerness, held his bucket as directed, and forthwith a stream of gold pieces began to pour from the Lion’s mouth into the bucket. The covetous fellow shook the bucket slightly from time to time in order to make the gold lie well together and so to obtain a larger quantity; and, overcome by greed, he could not bring himself to inform the Lion that the bucket was nearly full until it brimmed over and a piece of gold, slipping off the heap, fell to the ground. As it touched the ground the stream of gold suddenly ceased, and the Lion, in a hoarse voice, said:

“The largest piece of gold of all has stuck in my throat. Put your hand into my mouth and pull it out.”

The elder brother, on hearing this, immediately thrust his hand into the Lion’s mouth, hoping to secure a large lump of gold; and no sooner had he done so than the Lion, closing his jaws, held him fast. It was in vain that he struggled and wrenched his arm to and fro,[122]endeavouring to release it; the stone jaws of the Lion gripped him so tight that he was totally unable to effect his escape, and the Lion, deaf to all prayers and entreaties, had relapsed apparently into an insensible figure of stone. And worst of all, when he glanced at his bucket of gold he saw, to his horror, that instead of gold it held nothing but stones and earth.

Towards evening the elder brother’s wife grew anxious concerning her husband’s absence, and knowing the direction in which he had gone, she set forth to the hillside to seek him. After hunting for some time she suddenly came across him, and asked him what he was doing and why he did not come home.

“Oh, wife,” said he, “a terrible thing has happened to me. I put my hand into the Lion’s mouth in order to extract a lump of gold which was stuck in his throat, when all of a sudden he closed his jaws, and gripped my arm, and now I am unable to effect my escape.”

The poor woman, on hearing this, wept and wailed, but all her entreaties to the Lion proved of no avail, and she went off to her home, and soon returned carrying her husband some food. Every day, for many days after, she returned to her husband, bringing him such provisions as he required to keep him alive; but as she had now no one to work for her, and was obliged to support her husband and her child entirely by her own exertions, she became gradually poorer and poorer, and was soon obliged to sell her household goods to procure the necessary food.

Some months passed away and the poor woman,[123]falling ill, was at length reduced to such complete destitution that she had not even a morsel of bread to bring to her husband, and one morning she came weeping up the hill, and addressed him as follows:

“I have sold everything in the house, and have now no money to buy any food. There is not a scrap left to eat anywhere, and now nothing remains but for us to starve to death.”

On hearing this the Lion was so tickled that he could not refrain from laughing.

“Ha, ha!” said he, and opened his great jaws.

As quickly as he could, and before the Lion had time to close his mouth again, the man withdrew his arm, and, finding himself free, he at once hastened down the hill with his wife. Then, taking their child with them, they proceeded straight to the house of the younger brother, and having related to him the whole of their story, begged some relief from their misery. The young man reproached his brother for his greedy conduct in trying to obtain an extra supply of gold from the Lion in spite of his warning; but being of a very forgiving nature, he consented at last to supply his brother with a sum of money sufficient for him to take a small farm in the neighbourhood. Here the proud brother and his wife settled down in very humble circumstances, whilst the younger son lived for many years very happily with his mother and prospered exceedingly in all he undertook.[124]

[Contents]STORY No. XVIII.THE STORY OF THE LAMA’S SERVANT.There was once an old Lama who lived in a small house at the very top of a hill in a lonely part of Tibet. He was a very holy man and spent his time entirely in religious contemplation, and the only person whom he allowed about his house was a certain young man of low birth, who acted as his Servant and used to cook his meals and perform other household duties. This man was a great character in his way. He was an amusing fellow and very fond of his joke, but was quite unreliable and incapable of performing any regular work.Now the old Lama’s diet, in accordance with the tenets of his religion, was a very small one, and he refrained entirely from taking the life of any living creature. So his food consisted chiefly of barley-flour, butter, and so on, and he abstained from meat of any kind. This mode of life, however, was not at all pleasing to the Servant, Rin-dzin, who had a healthy appetite and greatly missed his daily dish of meat, and he was constantly trying to persuade the Lama to allow him to kill a sheep or a goat in order that he[125]might have a satisfactory meal. This, however, the Lama always sternly refused to do, and forbade his Servant on any account to destroy the life of a living being.One day the Servant noticed a fine fat sheep, which, having become separated from the rest of the flock, was wandering about near the Lama’s house. So he pursued it and caught it, and carrying it into the ground floor of the house, he went up into the room above, and letting down a rope through a hole in the floor he hitched a slip-knot at the other end of the rope round the sheep’s neck. Having made these arrangements he went into the next room, where the Lama, as usual, was sitting alone wrapt in religious contemplation, deaf to all mundane affairs.“Oh! Lama,” said the Servant, addressing the old man, “I have come to tell you that I have just found a sheep belonging to our neighbours, who live in the valley below, wandering about near the house; so, for fear he should be eaten by wolves, I have caught him and tied him up in a room below. But he is a very violent sheep and is struggling desperately to escape. Will you be so kind as to hold the rope for a short time while I go and inform the owner where his sheep is?”The old Lama, who never refused a reasonable request, at once proceeded to do as he was asked, and, rising from his seat, he followed the Servant into the next room.“Pray hold this rope,” said the Servant, handing the Lama the loose end of the rope to which the sheep[126]was secured, “and if the sheep begins to struggle, pull it as hard as you can to prevent him from escaping.”The Lama accordingly took hold of the rope, and the Servant went down into the lower storey as if he intended to leave the house. Instead of doing so, however, he went into the room where the sheep was tied and began to poke the animal with a sharp stick, and the sheep began to struggle violently, trying to escape from its tormentor. The more the sheep struggled below the more the Lama pulled above, and at last, when the tug-of-war had lasted for some minutes, the sheep was strangled by the slip-knot round its neck.After the lapse of an hour or two the Servant returned to the Lama in the upper room and informed him that the sheep had died a natural death while he had been away seeking for its owner, and, in the circumstances, he supposed that they might as well cut it up and cook it for food. The unsuspecting old Lama agreed to this, and for several days the Servant was able to eat his fill of excellent mutton.It chanced, however, that the shepherd boy who was in charge of the sheep had come to the Lama’s house looking for the one which was lost, and peeping in through the window had seen all that had happened. He told the story to his parents, who were very angry, and came to complain to the Lama of the conduct of his Servant. The old Lama was very much incensed at the treachery and wickedness of his attendant, and dismissed him on the spot, telling him to go away and never come back again. So Master Rin-dzin, with his few belongings[127]on his back, marched off into the world to try and make his fortune.He was a good deal cast down at first, but being naturally a volatile, light-hearted fellow he soon recovered his spirits and marched along the road singing blithely, and keeping a sharp look-out for anything that might turn up. He had not proceeded very far when he fell in with another young man going in the same direction as himself, and the two, joining company, fell into conversation. Rin-dzin soon related to his young friend all his recent adventures, and informed him that he was anxious to make a little money.“Very good, brother,” replied the Stranger, “I am the very man to help you, for you must know I am a thief by profession, and I am always on the look-out for what fortune may bring me. So we will join company, and it will indeed be bad luck if we cannot succeed in hitting upon something profitable before many days have passed.”So they went along together and towards evening they came upon a large house standing in a fertile valley. The Thief went forward alone to make enquiries, and he soon returned to Rin-dzin with the information he had gathered. The servants of the house had told him that the owner had died the day before, and was now awaiting burial in his own room. His only relation was his daughter, who was heiress to the whole of the property, and she was now mourning for her father all alone in the big house. Further, the Thief had learned that the old man had once had a son,[128]who had run away from home many years before and had never been heard of again.“Now,” said he to Rin-dzin, “I have a plan to propose to you. Do you climb in through the window into the room where the old man’s body lies awaiting burial, and conceal yourself somewhere. As soon as you are ready I will go to the young lady of the house and inform her that I am her brother, who has returned home after many years’ wandering. She will probably disbelieve my story, and I will propose that we should consult the corpse of her father on the matter. When we come into the room where the corpse lies I will address it, and ask whether I am not the long-lost son, whereupon you must reply that I am. On this evidence I shall secure at least one-half of the property, which, of course, I shall share with you. But be careful on no account to leave the room before morning, otherwise you are sure to be detected by the dogs which roam about the house by night.”Rin-dzin agreed to this proposition, and climbed in by the window into the dead man’s room, and, concealing himself near the corpse, he awaited the arrival of his friend. Meanwhile the Thief went boldly up to the front door and gave a loud knock; and being admitted by the servants, he went straight to the chamber of the young lady of the house.“Who are you?” said she; “and what do you want?”“Oh! sister,” he replied, “I am your long-lost brother; do you not recognise me?”[129]“No,” said she, “it would be impossible for me to recognise you, as I was only a little child when you ran away. No one but my father could know you and he, alas! died yesterday.”“That is very sad,” replied the Thief, “for indeed it will be difficult for me to prove the truth of my story. Let us, however, go into the room where my father’s corpse is lying, and ask it whether or no I am his long-lost son.”The girl agreed to this, and the two went together into the chamber where the old man’s corpse was sitting trussed-up for burial, in accordance with the Tibetan custom.“Are you there, father,” said the Thief, as he entered the darkened room; and Rin-dzin, in a sepulchral voice replied, “Ah.”“I have come to ask you,” went on the Thief, “whether or no I am your long-lost son.”“You are,” replied Rin-dzin.And on hearing this the Thief at once retired, followed by the young girl, who was now completely convinced of his identity.“Now, sister,” said the Thief, addressing her when they were alone together, “you see that my story is true, but, unfortunately, I am unable to stay here as I am called away this very night on urgent business. I will therefore make over to you the house and the whole of the landed property, and all I ask from you as my share of the estate is a bag of gold, as big as I can carry with me.”[130]The girl accepted these conditions, and handed over to the Thief a heavy bag of gold. He then bade her farewell and started off with his booty as fast as he could, leaving Rin-dzin behind him in the same room as the corpse.Early next morning Rin-dzin climbed down from the window, and coming round to the front of the house he asked the lady where her brother was.“Oh!” said she, “I gave him a big bag of gold last night, and he at once started off with it as fast as he could.”When Rin-dzin heard this he was very angry indeed at the Thief’s treachery, and was determined to follow and punish him. So, borrowing a horse from the lady of the house, he galloped off down the road as fast as he could. About mid-day, as he was galloping along, he saw the Thief some distance ahead, sitting under the shade of a tree resting; for not knowing that Rin-dzin had a horse, he did not consider it necessary to go very fast.When Rin-dzin caught sight of the Thief, he first thought that he would at once go up to him and demand his share of the gold, but on second thoughts he remembered that while he himself was unarmed, the thief possessed both a sword and a musket, so that if it came to a quarrel between them he would probably get the worst of it. So, leaning down over his horse’s neck, he pretended not to see the Thief, and galloped past him down the road, as if in mad pursuit. As soon as he was out of sight of the place where the Thief was[131]sitting he pulled his horse up to a wall, and taking a new boot out of the bundle on his back, he dropped it in the middle of the road, and then pursued his way for some little distance further, when he took the fellow boot out of his bundle and dropped it also in the middle of the road. Having done this he turned aside from the roadway and concealed himself and his horse in a thicket near by.As soon as Rin-dzin had galloped out of sight, the Thief congratulated himself at not having been seen, took up his bag of gold and continued his journey. After walking some little way, he came upon a new boot lying in the centre of the road.“Ah!” thought he, “that foolish fellow has dropped one of his boots in his haste. But one boot isn’t worth picking up; it is of no use at all. What a pity it is he did not drop them both.”So leaving the boot where it lay, he resumed his journey. The sun was now very hot, and the Thief, carrying his heavy bag of gold, was getting pretty tired, and by the time he reached the place where the other boot was lying he was nearly worn out.“Hallo,” said he to himself, when he caught sight of the second boot, “here is the other boot. This is really too good a chance to be lost; I must certainly go back at once and pick up the first boot, and then I shall have a pair of new boots for nothing. But I can’t carry this heavy bag of gold all the way back with me.”So thinking, he concealed the bag of gold under a[132]tuft of grass by the roadside, and started off to retrace his steps to pick up the first boot. No sooner was he out of sight than Rin-dzin emerged from his hiding-place, and picking up the bag of gold, strapped it to his saddle and rode on his way.[133]

STORY No. XVIII.THE STORY OF THE LAMA’S SERVANT.

There was once an old Lama who lived in a small house at the very top of a hill in a lonely part of Tibet. He was a very holy man and spent his time entirely in religious contemplation, and the only person whom he allowed about his house was a certain young man of low birth, who acted as his Servant and used to cook his meals and perform other household duties. This man was a great character in his way. He was an amusing fellow and very fond of his joke, but was quite unreliable and incapable of performing any regular work.Now the old Lama’s diet, in accordance with the tenets of his religion, was a very small one, and he refrained entirely from taking the life of any living creature. So his food consisted chiefly of barley-flour, butter, and so on, and he abstained from meat of any kind. This mode of life, however, was not at all pleasing to the Servant, Rin-dzin, who had a healthy appetite and greatly missed his daily dish of meat, and he was constantly trying to persuade the Lama to allow him to kill a sheep or a goat in order that he[125]might have a satisfactory meal. This, however, the Lama always sternly refused to do, and forbade his Servant on any account to destroy the life of a living being.One day the Servant noticed a fine fat sheep, which, having become separated from the rest of the flock, was wandering about near the Lama’s house. So he pursued it and caught it, and carrying it into the ground floor of the house, he went up into the room above, and letting down a rope through a hole in the floor he hitched a slip-knot at the other end of the rope round the sheep’s neck. Having made these arrangements he went into the next room, where the Lama, as usual, was sitting alone wrapt in religious contemplation, deaf to all mundane affairs.“Oh! Lama,” said the Servant, addressing the old man, “I have come to tell you that I have just found a sheep belonging to our neighbours, who live in the valley below, wandering about near the house; so, for fear he should be eaten by wolves, I have caught him and tied him up in a room below. But he is a very violent sheep and is struggling desperately to escape. Will you be so kind as to hold the rope for a short time while I go and inform the owner where his sheep is?”The old Lama, who never refused a reasonable request, at once proceeded to do as he was asked, and, rising from his seat, he followed the Servant into the next room.“Pray hold this rope,” said the Servant, handing the Lama the loose end of the rope to which the sheep[126]was secured, “and if the sheep begins to struggle, pull it as hard as you can to prevent him from escaping.”The Lama accordingly took hold of the rope, and the Servant went down into the lower storey as if he intended to leave the house. Instead of doing so, however, he went into the room where the sheep was tied and began to poke the animal with a sharp stick, and the sheep began to struggle violently, trying to escape from its tormentor. The more the sheep struggled below the more the Lama pulled above, and at last, when the tug-of-war had lasted for some minutes, the sheep was strangled by the slip-knot round its neck.After the lapse of an hour or two the Servant returned to the Lama in the upper room and informed him that the sheep had died a natural death while he had been away seeking for its owner, and, in the circumstances, he supposed that they might as well cut it up and cook it for food. The unsuspecting old Lama agreed to this, and for several days the Servant was able to eat his fill of excellent mutton.It chanced, however, that the shepherd boy who was in charge of the sheep had come to the Lama’s house looking for the one which was lost, and peeping in through the window had seen all that had happened. He told the story to his parents, who were very angry, and came to complain to the Lama of the conduct of his Servant. The old Lama was very much incensed at the treachery and wickedness of his attendant, and dismissed him on the spot, telling him to go away and never come back again. So Master Rin-dzin, with his few belongings[127]on his back, marched off into the world to try and make his fortune.He was a good deal cast down at first, but being naturally a volatile, light-hearted fellow he soon recovered his spirits and marched along the road singing blithely, and keeping a sharp look-out for anything that might turn up. He had not proceeded very far when he fell in with another young man going in the same direction as himself, and the two, joining company, fell into conversation. Rin-dzin soon related to his young friend all his recent adventures, and informed him that he was anxious to make a little money.“Very good, brother,” replied the Stranger, “I am the very man to help you, for you must know I am a thief by profession, and I am always on the look-out for what fortune may bring me. So we will join company, and it will indeed be bad luck if we cannot succeed in hitting upon something profitable before many days have passed.”So they went along together and towards evening they came upon a large house standing in a fertile valley. The Thief went forward alone to make enquiries, and he soon returned to Rin-dzin with the information he had gathered. The servants of the house had told him that the owner had died the day before, and was now awaiting burial in his own room. His only relation was his daughter, who was heiress to the whole of the property, and she was now mourning for her father all alone in the big house. Further, the Thief had learned that the old man had once had a son,[128]who had run away from home many years before and had never been heard of again.“Now,” said he to Rin-dzin, “I have a plan to propose to you. Do you climb in through the window into the room where the old man’s body lies awaiting burial, and conceal yourself somewhere. As soon as you are ready I will go to the young lady of the house and inform her that I am her brother, who has returned home after many years’ wandering. She will probably disbelieve my story, and I will propose that we should consult the corpse of her father on the matter. When we come into the room where the corpse lies I will address it, and ask whether I am not the long-lost son, whereupon you must reply that I am. On this evidence I shall secure at least one-half of the property, which, of course, I shall share with you. But be careful on no account to leave the room before morning, otherwise you are sure to be detected by the dogs which roam about the house by night.”Rin-dzin agreed to this proposition, and climbed in by the window into the dead man’s room, and, concealing himself near the corpse, he awaited the arrival of his friend. Meanwhile the Thief went boldly up to the front door and gave a loud knock; and being admitted by the servants, he went straight to the chamber of the young lady of the house.“Who are you?” said she; “and what do you want?”“Oh! sister,” he replied, “I am your long-lost brother; do you not recognise me?”[129]“No,” said she, “it would be impossible for me to recognise you, as I was only a little child when you ran away. No one but my father could know you and he, alas! died yesterday.”“That is very sad,” replied the Thief, “for indeed it will be difficult for me to prove the truth of my story. Let us, however, go into the room where my father’s corpse is lying, and ask it whether or no I am his long-lost son.”The girl agreed to this, and the two went together into the chamber where the old man’s corpse was sitting trussed-up for burial, in accordance with the Tibetan custom.“Are you there, father,” said the Thief, as he entered the darkened room; and Rin-dzin, in a sepulchral voice replied, “Ah.”“I have come to ask you,” went on the Thief, “whether or no I am your long-lost son.”“You are,” replied Rin-dzin.And on hearing this the Thief at once retired, followed by the young girl, who was now completely convinced of his identity.“Now, sister,” said the Thief, addressing her when they were alone together, “you see that my story is true, but, unfortunately, I am unable to stay here as I am called away this very night on urgent business. I will therefore make over to you the house and the whole of the landed property, and all I ask from you as my share of the estate is a bag of gold, as big as I can carry with me.”[130]The girl accepted these conditions, and handed over to the Thief a heavy bag of gold. He then bade her farewell and started off with his booty as fast as he could, leaving Rin-dzin behind him in the same room as the corpse.Early next morning Rin-dzin climbed down from the window, and coming round to the front of the house he asked the lady where her brother was.“Oh!” said she, “I gave him a big bag of gold last night, and he at once started off with it as fast as he could.”When Rin-dzin heard this he was very angry indeed at the Thief’s treachery, and was determined to follow and punish him. So, borrowing a horse from the lady of the house, he galloped off down the road as fast as he could. About mid-day, as he was galloping along, he saw the Thief some distance ahead, sitting under the shade of a tree resting; for not knowing that Rin-dzin had a horse, he did not consider it necessary to go very fast.When Rin-dzin caught sight of the Thief, he first thought that he would at once go up to him and demand his share of the gold, but on second thoughts he remembered that while he himself was unarmed, the thief possessed both a sword and a musket, so that if it came to a quarrel between them he would probably get the worst of it. So, leaning down over his horse’s neck, he pretended not to see the Thief, and galloped past him down the road, as if in mad pursuit. As soon as he was out of sight of the place where the Thief was[131]sitting he pulled his horse up to a wall, and taking a new boot out of the bundle on his back, he dropped it in the middle of the road, and then pursued his way for some little distance further, when he took the fellow boot out of his bundle and dropped it also in the middle of the road. Having done this he turned aside from the roadway and concealed himself and his horse in a thicket near by.As soon as Rin-dzin had galloped out of sight, the Thief congratulated himself at not having been seen, took up his bag of gold and continued his journey. After walking some little way, he came upon a new boot lying in the centre of the road.“Ah!” thought he, “that foolish fellow has dropped one of his boots in his haste. But one boot isn’t worth picking up; it is of no use at all. What a pity it is he did not drop them both.”So leaving the boot where it lay, he resumed his journey. The sun was now very hot, and the Thief, carrying his heavy bag of gold, was getting pretty tired, and by the time he reached the place where the other boot was lying he was nearly worn out.“Hallo,” said he to himself, when he caught sight of the second boot, “here is the other boot. This is really too good a chance to be lost; I must certainly go back at once and pick up the first boot, and then I shall have a pair of new boots for nothing. But I can’t carry this heavy bag of gold all the way back with me.”So thinking, he concealed the bag of gold under a[132]tuft of grass by the roadside, and started off to retrace his steps to pick up the first boot. No sooner was he out of sight than Rin-dzin emerged from his hiding-place, and picking up the bag of gold, strapped it to his saddle and rode on his way.[133]

There was once an old Lama who lived in a small house at the very top of a hill in a lonely part of Tibet. He was a very holy man and spent his time entirely in religious contemplation, and the only person whom he allowed about his house was a certain young man of low birth, who acted as his Servant and used to cook his meals and perform other household duties. This man was a great character in his way. He was an amusing fellow and very fond of his joke, but was quite unreliable and incapable of performing any regular work.

Now the old Lama’s diet, in accordance with the tenets of his religion, was a very small one, and he refrained entirely from taking the life of any living creature. So his food consisted chiefly of barley-flour, butter, and so on, and he abstained from meat of any kind. This mode of life, however, was not at all pleasing to the Servant, Rin-dzin, who had a healthy appetite and greatly missed his daily dish of meat, and he was constantly trying to persuade the Lama to allow him to kill a sheep or a goat in order that he[125]might have a satisfactory meal. This, however, the Lama always sternly refused to do, and forbade his Servant on any account to destroy the life of a living being.

One day the Servant noticed a fine fat sheep, which, having become separated from the rest of the flock, was wandering about near the Lama’s house. So he pursued it and caught it, and carrying it into the ground floor of the house, he went up into the room above, and letting down a rope through a hole in the floor he hitched a slip-knot at the other end of the rope round the sheep’s neck. Having made these arrangements he went into the next room, where the Lama, as usual, was sitting alone wrapt in religious contemplation, deaf to all mundane affairs.

“Oh! Lama,” said the Servant, addressing the old man, “I have come to tell you that I have just found a sheep belonging to our neighbours, who live in the valley below, wandering about near the house; so, for fear he should be eaten by wolves, I have caught him and tied him up in a room below. But he is a very violent sheep and is struggling desperately to escape. Will you be so kind as to hold the rope for a short time while I go and inform the owner where his sheep is?”

The old Lama, who never refused a reasonable request, at once proceeded to do as he was asked, and, rising from his seat, he followed the Servant into the next room.

“Pray hold this rope,” said the Servant, handing the Lama the loose end of the rope to which the sheep[126]was secured, “and if the sheep begins to struggle, pull it as hard as you can to prevent him from escaping.”

The Lama accordingly took hold of the rope, and the Servant went down into the lower storey as if he intended to leave the house. Instead of doing so, however, he went into the room where the sheep was tied and began to poke the animal with a sharp stick, and the sheep began to struggle violently, trying to escape from its tormentor. The more the sheep struggled below the more the Lama pulled above, and at last, when the tug-of-war had lasted for some minutes, the sheep was strangled by the slip-knot round its neck.

After the lapse of an hour or two the Servant returned to the Lama in the upper room and informed him that the sheep had died a natural death while he had been away seeking for its owner, and, in the circumstances, he supposed that they might as well cut it up and cook it for food. The unsuspecting old Lama agreed to this, and for several days the Servant was able to eat his fill of excellent mutton.

It chanced, however, that the shepherd boy who was in charge of the sheep had come to the Lama’s house looking for the one which was lost, and peeping in through the window had seen all that had happened. He told the story to his parents, who were very angry, and came to complain to the Lama of the conduct of his Servant. The old Lama was very much incensed at the treachery and wickedness of his attendant, and dismissed him on the spot, telling him to go away and never come back again. So Master Rin-dzin, with his few belongings[127]on his back, marched off into the world to try and make his fortune.

He was a good deal cast down at first, but being naturally a volatile, light-hearted fellow he soon recovered his spirits and marched along the road singing blithely, and keeping a sharp look-out for anything that might turn up. He had not proceeded very far when he fell in with another young man going in the same direction as himself, and the two, joining company, fell into conversation. Rin-dzin soon related to his young friend all his recent adventures, and informed him that he was anxious to make a little money.

“Very good, brother,” replied the Stranger, “I am the very man to help you, for you must know I am a thief by profession, and I am always on the look-out for what fortune may bring me. So we will join company, and it will indeed be bad luck if we cannot succeed in hitting upon something profitable before many days have passed.”

So they went along together and towards evening they came upon a large house standing in a fertile valley. The Thief went forward alone to make enquiries, and he soon returned to Rin-dzin with the information he had gathered. The servants of the house had told him that the owner had died the day before, and was now awaiting burial in his own room. His only relation was his daughter, who was heiress to the whole of the property, and she was now mourning for her father all alone in the big house. Further, the Thief had learned that the old man had once had a son,[128]who had run away from home many years before and had never been heard of again.

“Now,” said he to Rin-dzin, “I have a plan to propose to you. Do you climb in through the window into the room where the old man’s body lies awaiting burial, and conceal yourself somewhere. As soon as you are ready I will go to the young lady of the house and inform her that I am her brother, who has returned home after many years’ wandering. She will probably disbelieve my story, and I will propose that we should consult the corpse of her father on the matter. When we come into the room where the corpse lies I will address it, and ask whether I am not the long-lost son, whereupon you must reply that I am. On this evidence I shall secure at least one-half of the property, which, of course, I shall share with you. But be careful on no account to leave the room before morning, otherwise you are sure to be detected by the dogs which roam about the house by night.”

Rin-dzin agreed to this proposition, and climbed in by the window into the dead man’s room, and, concealing himself near the corpse, he awaited the arrival of his friend. Meanwhile the Thief went boldly up to the front door and gave a loud knock; and being admitted by the servants, he went straight to the chamber of the young lady of the house.

“Who are you?” said she; “and what do you want?”

“Oh! sister,” he replied, “I am your long-lost brother; do you not recognise me?”[129]

“No,” said she, “it would be impossible for me to recognise you, as I was only a little child when you ran away. No one but my father could know you and he, alas! died yesterday.”

“That is very sad,” replied the Thief, “for indeed it will be difficult for me to prove the truth of my story. Let us, however, go into the room where my father’s corpse is lying, and ask it whether or no I am his long-lost son.”

The girl agreed to this, and the two went together into the chamber where the old man’s corpse was sitting trussed-up for burial, in accordance with the Tibetan custom.

“Are you there, father,” said the Thief, as he entered the darkened room; and Rin-dzin, in a sepulchral voice replied, “Ah.”

“I have come to ask you,” went on the Thief, “whether or no I am your long-lost son.”

“You are,” replied Rin-dzin.

And on hearing this the Thief at once retired, followed by the young girl, who was now completely convinced of his identity.

“Now, sister,” said the Thief, addressing her when they were alone together, “you see that my story is true, but, unfortunately, I am unable to stay here as I am called away this very night on urgent business. I will therefore make over to you the house and the whole of the landed property, and all I ask from you as my share of the estate is a bag of gold, as big as I can carry with me.”[130]

The girl accepted these conditions, and handed over to the Thief a heavy bag of gold. He then bade her farewell and started off with his booty as fast as he could, leaving Rin-dzin behind him in the same room as the corpse.

Early next morning Rin-dzin climbed down from the window, and coming round to the front of the house he asked the lady where her brother was.

“Oh!” said she, “I gave him a big bag of gold last night, and he at once started off with it as fast as he could.”

When Rin-dzin heard this he was very angry indeed at the Thief’s treachery, and was determined to follow and punish him. So, borrowing a horse from the lady of the house, he galloped off down the road as fast as he could. About mid-day, as he was galloping along, he saw the Thief some distance ahead, sitting under the shade of a tree resting; for not knowing that Rin-dzin had a horse, he did not consider it necessary to go very fast.

When Rin-dzin caught sight of the Thief, he first thought that he would at once go up to him and demand his share of the gold, but on second thoughts he remembered that while he himself was unarmed, the thief possessed both a sword and a musket, so that if it came to a quarrel between them he would probably get the worst of it. So, leaning down over his horse’s neck, he pretended not to see the Thief, and galloped past him down the road, as if in mad pursuit. As soon as he was out of sight of the place where the Thief was[131]sitting he pulled his horse up to a wall, and taking a new boot out of the bundle on his back, he dropped it in the middle of the road, and then pursued his way for some little distance further, when he took the fellow boot out of his bundle and dropped it also in the middle of the road. Having done this he turned aside from the roadway and concealed himself and his horse in a thicket near by.

As soon as Rin-dzin had galloped out of sight, the Thief congratulated himself at not having been seen, took up his bag of gold and continued his journey. After walking some little way, he came upon a new boot lying in the centre of the road.

“Ah!” thought he, “that foolish fellow has dropped one of his boots in his haste. But one boot isn’t worth picking up; it is of no use at all. What a pity it is he did not drop them both.”

So leaving the boot where it lay, he resumed his journey. The sun was now very hot, and the Thief, carrying his heavy bag of gold, was getting pretty tired, and by the time he reached the place where the other boot was lying he was nearly worn out.

“Hallo,” said he to himself, when he caught sight of the second boot, “here is the other boot. This is really too good a chance to be lost; I must certainly go back at once and pick up the first boot, and then I shall have a pair of new boots for nothing. But I can’t carry this heavy bag of gold all the way back with me.”

So thinking, he concealed the bag of gold under a[132]tuft of grass by the roadside, and started off to retrace his steps to pick up the first boot. No sooner was he out of sight than Rin-dzin emerged from his hiding-place, and picking up the bag of gold, strapped it to his saddle and rode on his way.[133]

[Contents]STORY No. XIX.THE COUNTRY OF THE MICE.Once upon a time there was a King who ruled over a large tract of country in which there lived a great number of Mice. Generally the Mice were very prosperous and had plenty to eat, but it happened one year that the crops of the country were very poor, and the Mice, who subsisted chiefly on the spare grains left after the harvest, found that their stores were running short before the end of the winter. So the King of the Mice decided that he would make a petition to the King of the country, to lend the Mice what grain they required on condition that they repaid the whole amount the following year.So he dressed himself up in his best clothes and set off one morning to the King’s palace. When he got to the door of the palace the door-keeper asked him where he was going.“Oh!” replied the Mouse, “I wish to see the King of the country, as I have a petition to make to him.”When the King heard that a Mouse wanted to see him he was very much amused, and he ordered that the little animal should be admitted.When the Mouse entered the King’s presence he[134]walked slowly up the Hall of Audience, carrying in his hand a little silk thread, which he presented to the King, instead of the usual ceremonial scarf.1“Good-morning, Brother Mouse,” said the King, “what can I do for you?”“Oh! King,” replied the Mouse, “you must know that this year our crops have fallen short, and we are threatened with a famine unless we can borrow sufficient grain to carry us through the winter; so I, who am King of the Mice, have come here to ask you if you can help us in this matter. If you can lend us the grain we require, we will repay you faithfully with interest at the next harvest.”“Well,” said the King, “how much grain do you want?”“I think that we shall require,” said the Mouse, “one of your big barns full.”“But,” said the King, “if I were to give you a barn full of grain how would you carry it away?”“Leave it to me,” said the Mouse; “if you will give us the grain we will undertake to carry it off.”So the King agreed to present the Mice with one of his great granaries full of barley, and he ordered his officers to throw open the doors, and to let the Mice carry away as much as they wanted.That night the King of the Mice summoned all his subjects together, and to the number of many hundreds of thousands they invaded the barn, and each one picked[135]up as much grain as he could carry in his mouth, on his back, and curled up in his tail, and when they had all finished the barn was empty, and not a single grain of barley was left.Next morning, when the King went out to look at his barn, he was very much astonished to find that the Mice had been able to empty it so effectually, and he conceived a very high opinion of their powers; and when, in the following spring, the King of the Mice redeemed his promise by repaying with interest the loan he had taken from the King of the country, the latter saw that they were trustworthy as well as clever.Now it happened shortly after this that the King of the country went to war with a neighbouring kingdom, which lay on the opposite side of the river forming the frontier between the two countries. This other country was far more wealthy and powerful than the country where the Mice lived, and its King soon assembled a huge army on the opposite bank of the river and began making preparations for invasion.When the Mice heard what was happening, they were much distressed, for they feared that if the enemy entered their country and destroyed their friend the King, they themselves would suffer considerable hardships under a strange ruler; so the King of the Mice set out again to visit the King of the country, and when he reached the palace he demanded an interview with His Majesty. This was at once accorded to him, and finding the King looking very depressed, he addressed him as follows:[136]“I have come to you a second time, Oh King, in order to see whether I can be of any use to you. The last time I was here you did me and my people a great favour, for which we shall ever be grateful, and if it is now in our power to assist you in any way, we shall be very glad to do our best.”The King, in spite of his grief, was much amused on hearing these words from the Mouse.“Why,” said he, “what could the Mice do to help me in my present predicament? We are threatened with invasion by a foreign army, outnumbering mine by many thousands, and all the men I can muster will not be sufficient to enable me to repel the enemy. I don’t see how the Mice can help me.”“Do you remember, Oh King!” replied the Mouse, “that on the last occasion I was here you doubted our ability to carry away the grain you had given us, or to repay you the loan? And yet we proved ourselves able to do both. All we ask you now is to trust us again, and if you will undertake to do one or two things which we ask of you, we on our part will undertake to rid you of the invading army.”The King was a good deal struck by this remark of the Mouse, and he replied:“Very well, what you say is quite true; and if you will inform me what you wish me to do, I will undertake to carry out my share of the bargain.”“Well, then,” answered the Mouse, “all we wish you to do is to provide us by to-morrow evening with one[137]hundred thousand sticks, each about a foot long,2and to have them laid in rows on the bank of the river. If you will undertake to do this, we on our side will undertake to stave off the threatened invasion and to put the opposing army into a state of confusion and panic. And if we succeed in carrying out all we promise, we will ask you for the future to safeguard us against the two principal dangers which threaten the existence of the Mice who live in your country.”“I will gladly do what I can,” replied the King, “to safeguard you against these dangers if you will tell me how to proceed.”“The two dangers to which I refer,” continued the Mouse, “are flood and Cats. You see the majority of our burrows are in the low-lying land near the river, and whenever the river rises a little it overflows this level country and floods our nests. What we would suggest to you is that you should build a strong dam all down the river bank so as to ensure that the water cannot overflow into our nests. And as to the Cats they are always the persecutors of Mice, and we ask you to banish them altogether from your kingdom.”“Very well,” replied the King, “if you can succeed in averting the danger which now threatens us, I will undertake to do all that you ask of me in this respect.”On hearing this, the King of the Mice salaamed profoundly to the King, and returned as fast as he could to his own subjects.THE MICE CROSSING THE STREAM.THE MICE CROSSING THE STREAM.Page 137.[138]On the following evening he marshalled all the full-grown Mice of his kingdom, and about dusk, he led down a large army numbering several hundreds of thousands to the edge of the river, where he found the sticks all laid out as had been arranged with the King. In accordance with instructions they had received, the Mice at once proceeded to launch these sticks on the river, and they themselves embarked upon them two or three at a time; and so, pushing off from the bank, they sailed across the river and soon landed on the opposite side.It was now quite dark, and the enemy’s soldiers were all asleep in their camp, some lying in tents and some in the open air, with their arms beside them ready for any alarm. The Mice on a word of command from their King, scattered themselves without delay through the sleeping camp, and each one began to do as much destruction as he possibly could in the shortest possible space of time. Some nibbled at the bowstrings and the slings of the soldiers’ muskets; others gnawed the slow-match and fuses; whilst others bit off the clothes and pigtails of the sleeping men. In fact, they attacked fiercely anything upon which their teeth could make an impression, and tents, stores, grain, and provisions of all kinds were soon reduced to shreds or scattered in confusion in every direction; and after a couple of hours’ work they all collected upon the river bank, and, embarking again on their sticks, they sailed quietly over to their own shore without having been detected by the enemy, or even having caused any alarm.[139]Next morning at daybreak, a great outcry arose from the enemy’s camp. Each man as he rose from his sleep found himself in a woeful plight—his clothes in rags, his pigtail cut off, his bow without a string, his rifle without a sling, and with no fuse or slow-match to fire it, and no provisions for breakfast. Each one began to accuse the other of theft and treachery, and before many minutes had passed the whole camp was in a state of wild confusion, comrade quarrelling with comrade, or accusing their officers of dishonesty and ill-faith.In the midst of this uproar the sound of bugles was heard on the opposite bank, and a few shots were fired; and terrified at the thought of being taken unawares, the whole army took to flight, and in a few minutes not a man was to be seen.When the King of the country of the Mice saw what had happened he was greatly elated, and, sending for the King of the Mice, he thanked him very sincerely for his good offices. And, in accordance with the bargain they had made, he at once had a strong embankment constructed all down his own side of the river to guard against floods, and he issued an edict forbidding all persons, on pain of death, to keep a cat of any kind henceforth within the frontiers of his country, and so the Mice lived securely and happily ever afterwards.And in order to insure against any more attempts at invasion from the side of the neighbouring kingdom, the King sent a herald across the river to the ruler of that country, to say that, on this occasion, he had only considered it worth while to employ his Mice to defeat his[140]enemies; but that if he was again threatened, he was ready to employ first all the domestic animals of the country; and if they did not succeed, he would have to have recourse to the wild beasts; and in the event of their failing, he was prepared to come himself with his warriors in order to produce the desired results.When the ruler of the other country heard this message he considered it wiser at once to make a treaty of peace, as he could not hope to defeat the warriors and wild beasts of a country whose Mice had shown such skill and courage. So the two countries remained on friendly terms for many years after; and the Mice, secured against flood and Cats, lived happily and safely, and received every year from the King of the country a barnful of grain as a free gift in thankful recognition of the services which they had rendered in time of need.[141]1This is in accordance with Tibetan custom, whereby a scarf is invariably presented upon all occasions of ceremony.↑2Another version of the story says cakes of dried yaks’ dung instead of sticks—see accompanying illustration.↑

STORY No. XIX.THE COUNTRY OF THE MICE.

Once upon a time there was a King who ruled over a large tract of country in which there lived a great number of Mice. Generally the Mice were very prosperous and had plenty to eat, but it happened one year that the crops of the country were very poor, and the Mice, who subsisted chiefly on the spare grains left after the harvest, found that their stores were running short before the end of the winter. So the King of the Mice decided that he would make a petition to the King of the country, to lend the Mice what grain they required on condition that they repaid the whole amount the following year.So he dressed himself up in his best clothes and set off one morning to the King’s palace. When he got to the door of the palace the door-keeper asked him where he was going.“Oh!” replied the Mouse, “I wish to see the King of the country, as I have a petition to make to him.”When the King heard that a Mouse wanted to see him he was very much amused, and he ordered that the little animal should be admitted.When the Mouse entered the King’s presence he[134]walked slowly up the Hall of Audience, carrying in his hand a little silk thread, which he presented to the King, instead of the usual ceremonial scarf.1“Good-morning, Brother Mouse,” said the King, “what can I do for you?”“Oh! King,” replied the Mouse, “you must know that this year our crops have fallen short, and we are threatened with a famine unless we can borrow sufficient grain to carry us through the winter; so I, who am King of the Mice, have come here to ask you if you can help us in this matter. If you can lend us the grain we require, we will repay you faithfully with interest at the next harvest.”“Well,” said the King, “how much grain do you want?”“I think that we shall require,” said the Mouse, “one of your big barns full.”“But,” said the King, “if I were to give you a barn full of grain how would you carry it away?”“Leave it to me,” said the Mouse; “if you will give us the grain we will undertake to carry it off.”So the King agreed to present the Mice with one of his great granaries full of barley, and he ordered his officers to throw open the doors, and to let the Mice carry away as much as they wanted.That night the King of the Mice summoned all his subjects together, and to the number of many hundreds of thousands they invaded the barn, and each one picked[135]up as much grain as he could carry in his mouth, on his back, and curled up in his tail, and when they had all finished the barn was empty, and not a single grain of barley was left.Next morning, when the King went out to look at his barn, he was very much astonished to find that the Mice had been able to empty it so effectually, and he conceived a very high opinion of their powers; and when, in the following spring, the King of the Mice redeemed his promise by repaying with interest the loan he had taken from the King of the country, the latter saw that they were trustworthy as well as clever.Now it happened shortly after this that the King of the country went to war with a neighbouring kingdom, which lay on the opposite side of the river forming the frontier between the two countries. This other country was far more wealthy and powerful than the country where the Mice lived, and its King soon assembled a huge army on the opposite bank of the river and began making preparations for invasion.When the Mice heard what was happening, they were much distressed, for they feared that if the enemy entered their country and destroyed their friend the King, they themselves would suffer considerable hardships under a strange ruler; so the King of the Mice set out again to visit the King of the country, and when he reached the palace he demanded an interview with His Majesty. This was at once accorded to him, and finding the King looking very depressed, he addressed him as follows:[136]“I have come to you a second time, Oh King, in order to see whether I can be of any use to you. The last time I was here you did me and my people a great favour, for which we shall ever be grateful, and if it is now in our power to assist you in any way, we shall be very glad to do our best.”The King, in spite of his grief, was much amused on hearing these words from the Mouse.“Why,” said he, “what could the Mice do to help me in my present predicament? We are threatened with invasion by a foreign army, outnumbering mine by many thousands, and all the men I can muster will not be sufficient to enable me to repel the enemy. I don’t see how the Mice can help me.”“Do you remember, Oh King!” replied the Mouse, “that on the last occasion I was here you doubted our ability to carry away the grain you had given us, or to repay you the loan? And yet we proved ourselves able to do both. All we ask you now is to trust us again, and if you will undertake to do one or two things which we ask of you, we on our part will undertake to rid you of the invading army.”The King was a good deal struck by this remark of the Mouse, and he replied:“Very well, what you say is quite true; and if you will inform me what you wish me to do, I will undertake to carry out my share of the bargain.”“Well, then,” answered the Mouse, “all we wish you to do is to provide us by to-morrow evening with one[137]hundred thousand sticks, each about a foot long,2and to have them laid in rows on the bank of the river. If you will undertake to do this, we on our side will undertake to stave off the threatened invasion and to put the opposing army into a state of confusion and panic. And if we succeed in carrying out all we promise, we will ask you for the future to safeguard us against the two principal dangers which threaten the existence of the Mice who live in your country.”“I will gladly do what I can,” replied the King, “to safeguard you against these dangers if you will tell me how to proceed.”“The two dangers to which I refer,” continued the Mouse, “are flood and Cats. You see the majority of our burrows are in the low-lying land near the river, and whenever the river rises a little it overflows this level country and floods our nests. What we would suggest to you is that you should build a strong dam all down the river bank so as to ensure that the water cannot overflow into our nests. And as to the Cats they are always the persecutors of Mice, and we ask you to banish them altogether from your kingdom.”“Very well,” replied the King, “if you can succeed in averting the danger which now threatens us, I will undertake to do all that you ask of me in this respect.”On hearing this, the King of the Mice salaamed profoundly to the King, and returned as fast as he could to his own subjects.THE MICE CROSSING THE STREAM.THE MICE CROSSING THE STREAM.Page 137.[138]On the following evening he marshalled all the full-grown Mice of his kingdom, and about dusk, he led down a large army numbering several hundreds of thousands to the edge of the river, where he found the sticks all laid out as had been arranged with the King. In accordance with instructions they had received, the Mice at once proceeded to launch these sticks on the river, and they themselves embarked upon them two or three at a time; and so, pushing off from the bank, they sailed across the river and soon landed on the opposite side.It was now quite dark, and the enemy’s soldiers were all asleep in their camp, some lying in tents and some in the open air, with their arms beside them ready for any alarm. The Mice on a word of command from their King, scattered themselves without delay through the sleeping camp, and each one began to do as much destruction as he possibly could in the shortest possible space of time. Some nibbled at the bowstrings and the slings of the soldiers’ muskets; others gnawed the slow-match and fuses; whilst others bit off the clothes and pigtails of the sleeping men. In fact, they attacked fiercely anything upon which their teeth could make an impression, and tents, stores, grain, and provisions of all kinds were soon reduced to shreds or scattered in confusion in every direction; and after a couple of hours’ work they all collected upon the river bank, and, embarking again on their sticks, they sailed quietly over to their own shore without having been detected by the enemy, or even having caused any alarm.[139]Next morning at daybreak, a great outcry arose from the enemy’s camp. Each man as he rose from his sleep found himself in a woeful plight—his clothes in rags, his pigtail cut off, his bow without a string, his rifle without a sling, and with no fuse or slow-match to fire it, and no provisions for breakfast. Each one began to accuse the other of theft and treachery, and before many minutes had passed the whole camp was in a state of wild confusion, comrade quarrelling with comrade, or accusing their officers of dishonesty and ill-faith.In the midst of this uproar the sound of bugles was heard on the opposite bank, and a few shots were fired; and terrified at the thought of being taken unawares, the whole army took to flight, and in a few minutes not a man was to be seen.When the King of the country of the Mice saw what had happened he was greatly elated, and, sending for the King of the Mice, he thanked him very sincerely for his good offices. And, in accordance with the bargain they had made, he at once had a strong embankment constructed all down his own side of the river to guard against floods, and he issued an edict forbidding all persons, on pain of death, to keep a cat of any kind henceforth within the frontiers of his country, and so the Mice lived securely and happily ever afterwards.And in order to insure against any more attempts at invasion from the side of the neighbouring kingdom, the King sent a herald across the river to the ruler of that country, to say that, on this occasion, he had only considered it worth while to employ his Mice to defeat his[140]enemies; but that if he was again threatened, he was ready to employ first all the domestic animals of the country; and if they did not succeed, he would have to have recourse to the wild beasts; and in the event of their failing, he was prepared to come himself with his warriors in order to produce the desired results.When the ruler of the other country heard this message he considered it wiser at once to make a treaty of peace, as he could not hope to defeat the warriors and wild beasts of a country whose Mice had shown such skill and courage. So the two countries remained on friendly terms for many years after; and the Mice, secured against flood and Cats, lived happily and safely, and received every year from the King of the country a barnful of grain as a free gift in thankful recognition of the services which they had rendered in time of need.[141]

Once upon a time there was a King who ruled over a large tract of country in which there lived a great number of Mice. Generally the Mice were very prosperous and had plenty to eat, but it happened one year that the crops of the country were very poor, and the Mice, who subsisted chiefly on the spare grains left after the harvest, found that their stores were running short before the end of the winter. So the King of the Mice decided that he would make a petition to the King of the country, to lend the Mice what grain they required on condition that they repaid the whole amount the following year.

So he dressed himself up in his best clothes and set off one morning to the King’s palace. When he got to the door of the palace the door-keeper asked him where he was going.

“Oh!” replied the Mouse, “I wish to see the King of the country, as I have a petition to make to him.”

When the King heard that a Mouse wanted to see him he was very much amused, and he ordered that the little animal should be admitted.

When the Mouse entered the King’s presence he[134]walked slowly up the Hall of Audience, carrying in his hand a little silk thread, which he presented to the King, instead of the usual ceremonial scarf.1

“Good-morning, Brother Mouse,” said the King, “what can I do for you?”

“Oh! King,” replied the Mouse, “you must know that this year our crops have fallen short, and we are threatened with a famine unless we can borrow sufficient grain to carry us through the winter; so I, who am King of the Mice, have come here to ask you if you can help us in this matter. If you can lend us the grain we require, we will repay you faithfully with interest at the next harvest.”

“Well,” said the King, “how much grain do you want?”

“I think that we shall require,” said the Mouse, “one of your big barns full.”

“But,” said the King, “if I were to give you a barn full of grain how would you carry it away?”

“Leave it to me,” said the Mouse; “if you will give us the grain we will undertake to carry it off.”

So the King agreed to present the Mice with one of his great granaries full of barley, and he ordered his officers to throw open the doors, and to let the Mice carry away as much as they wanted.

That night the King of the Mice summoned all his subjects together, and to the number of many hundreds of thousands they invaded the barn, and each one picked[135]up as much grain as he could carry in his mouth, on his back, and curled up in his tail, and when they had all finished the barn was empty, and not a single grain of barley was left.

Next morning, when the King went out to look at his barn, he was very much astonished to find that the Mice had been able to empty it so effectually, and he conceived a very high opinion of their powers; and when, in the following spring, the King of the Mice redeemed his promise by repaying with interest the loan he had taken from the King of the country, the latter saw that they were trustworthy as well as clever.

Now it happened shortly after this that the King of the country went to war with a neighbouring kingdom, which lay on the opposite side of the river forming the frontier between the two countries. This other country was far more wealthy and powerful than the country where the Mice lived, and its King soon assembled a huge army on the opposite bank of the river and began making preparations for invasion.

When the Mice heard what was happening, they were much distressed, for they feared that if the enemy entered their country and destroyed their friend the King, they themselves would suffer considerable hardships under a strange ruler; so the King of the Mice set out again to visit the King of the country, and when he reached the palace he demanded an interview with His Majesty. This was at once accorded to him, and finding the King looking very depressed, he addressed him as follows:[136]

“I have come to you a second time, Oh King, in order to see whether I can be of any use to you. The last time I was here you did me and my people a great favour, for which we shall ever be grateful, and if it is now in our power to assist you in any way, we shall be very glad to do our best.”

The King, in spite of his grief, was much amused on hearing these words from the Mouse.

“Why,” said he, “what could the Mice do to help me in my present predicament? We are threatened with invasion by a foreign army, outnumbering mine by many thousands, and all the men I can muster will not be sufficient to enable me to repel the enemy. I don’t see how the Mice can help me.”

“Do you remember, Oh King!” replied the Mouse, “that on the last occasion I was here you doubted our ability to carry away the grain you had given us, or to repay you the loan? And yet we proved ourselves able to do both. All we ask you now is to trust us again, and if you will undertake to do one or two things which we ask of you, we on our part will undertake to rid you of the invading army.”

The King was a good deal struck by this remark of the Mouse, and he replied:

“Very well, what you say is quite true; and if you will inform me what you wish me to do, I will undertake to carry out my share of the bargain.”

“Well, then,” answered the Mouse, “all we wish you to do is to provide us by to-morrow evening with one[137]hundred thousand sticks, each about a foot long,2and to have them laid in rows on the bank of the river. If you will undertake to do this, we on our side will undertake to stave off the threatened invasion and to put the opposing army into a state of confusion and panic. And if we succeed in carrying out all we promise, we will ask you for the future to safeguard us against the two principal dangers which threaten the existence of the Mice who live in your country.”

“I will gladly do what I can,” replied the King, “to safeguard you against these dangers if you will tell me how to proceed.”

“The two dangers to which I refer,” continued the Mouse, “are flood and Cats. You see the majority of our burrows are in the low-lying land near the river, and whenever the river rises a little it overflows this level country and floods our nests. What we would suggest to you is that you should build a strong dam all down the river bank so as to ensure that the water cannot overflow into our nests. And as to the Cats they are always the persecutors of Mice, and we ask you to banish them altogether from your kingdom.”

“Very well,” replied the King, “if you can succeed in averting the danger which now threatens us, I will undertake to do all that you ask of me in this respect.”

On hearing this, the King of the Mice salaamed profoundly to the King, and returned as fast as he could to his own subjects.

THE MICE CROSSING THE STREAM.THE MICE CROSSING THE STREAM.Page 137.

THE MICE CROSSING THE STREAM.

Page 137.

[138]

On the following evening he marshalled all the full-grown Mice of his kingdom, and about dusk, he led down a large army numbering several hundreds of thousands to the edge of the river, where he found the sticks all laid out as had been arranged with the King. In accordance with instructions they had received, the Mice at once proceeded to launch these sticks on the river, and they themselves embarked upon them two or three at a time; and so, pushing off from the bank, they sailed across the river and soon landed on the opposite side.

It was now quite dark, and the enemy’s soldiers were all asleep in their camp, some lying in tents and some in the open air, with their arms beside them ready for any alarm. The Mice on a word of command from their King, scattered themselves without delay through the sleeping camp, and each one began to do as much destruction as he possibly could in the shortest possible space of time. Some nibbled at the bowstrings and the slings of the soldiers’ muskets; others gnawed the slow-match and fuses; whilst others bit off the clothes and pigtails of the sleeping men. In fact, they attacked fiercely anything upon which their teeth could make an impression, and tents, stores, grain, and provisions of all kinds were soon reduced to shreds or scattered in confusion in every direction; and after a couple of hours’ work they all collected upon the river bank, and, embarking again on their sticks, they sailed quietly over to their own shore without having been detected by the enemy, or even having caused any alarm.[139]

Next morning at daybreak, a great outcry arose from the enemy’s camp. Each man as he rose from his sleep found himself in a woeful plight—his clothes in rags, his pigtail cut off, his bow without a string, his rifle without a sling, and with no fuse or slow-match to fire it, and no provisions for breakfast. Each one began to accuse the other of theft and treachery, and before many minutes had passed the whole camp was in a state of wild confusion, comrade quarrelling with comrade, or accusing their officers of dishonesty and ill-faith.

In the midst of this uproar the sound of bugles was heard on the opposite bank, and a few shots were fired; and terrified at the thought of being taken unawares, the whole army took to flight, and in a few minutes not a man was to be seen.

When the King of the country of the Mice saw what had happened he was greatly elated, and, sending for the King of the Mice, he thanked him very sincerely for his good offices. And, in accordance with the bargain they had made, he at once had a strong embankment constructed all down his own side of the river to guard against floods, and he issued an edict forbidding all persons, on pain of death, to keep a cat of any kind henceforth within the frontiers of his country, and so the Mice lived securely and happily ever afterwards.

And in order to insure against any more attempts at invasion from the side of the neighbouring kingdom, the King sent a herald across the river to the ruler of that country, to say that, on this occasion, he had only considered it worth while to employ his Mice to defeat his[140]enemies; but that if he was again threatened, he was ready to employ first all the domestic animals of the country; and if they did not succeed, he would have to have recourse to the wild beasts; and in the event of their failing, he was prepared to come himself with his warriors in order to produce the desired results.

When the ruler of the other country heard this message he considered it wiser at once to make a treaty of peace, as he could not hope to defeat the warriors and wild beasts of a country whose Mice had shown such skill and courage. So the two countries remained on friendly terms for many years after; and the Mice, secured against flood and Cats, lived happily and safely, and received every year from the King of the country a barnful of grain as a free gift in thankful recognition of the services which they had rendered in time of need.[141]

1This is in accordance with Tibetan custom, whereby a scarf is invariably presented upon all occasions of ceremony.↑2Another version of the story says cakes of dried yaks’ dung instead of sticks—see accompanying illustration.↑

1This is in accordance with Tibetan custom, whereby a scarf is invariably presented upon all occasions of ceremony.↑2Another version of the story says cakes of dried yaks’ dung instead of sticks—see accompanying illustration.↑

1This is in accordance with Tibetan custom, whereby a scarf is invariably presented upon all occasions of ceremony.↑

1This is in accordance with Tibetan custom, whereby a scarf is invariably presented upon all occasions of ceremony.↑

2Another version of the story says cakes of dried yaks’ dung instead of sticks—see accompanying illustration.↑

2Another version of the story says cakes of dried yaks’ dung instead of sticks—see accompanying illustration.↑

[Contents]STORY No. XX.THE STORY OF THE TORTOISE AND THE MONKEY.There was once an old Tortoise who lived with his wife and family in a large lake, on the borders of which grew an extensive jungle; and in the forest there were many wild beasts, more especially Monkeys, who swarmed in great numbers all along the shores of the lake.It happened one day that the Tortoise came out of the lake and went for a stroll amongst the trees which grew near the water. After walking for some distance he became hungry, and looking up into a cocoanut-tree, near which he found himself, he thought how much he should like to get one of the cocoanuts which were growing near the top. He made several awkward attempts to climb the tree, but the stem was so straight and so smooth that he was quite unable to succeed; and he was just about to give up the attempt in despair when he espied a large Monkey sitting among the branches. The Monkey, who had been watching the Tortoise’s attempts to climb the tree with some curiosity, felt rather sorry at his failure, and noticing that the Tortoise was a fine, well-grown fellow with a very handsome shell, he[142]thought he would do him a kindness, so breaking off one or two of the cocoanuts, he threw them down to the Tortoise, who gratefully ate the fruit.The two animals now entered into conversation with one another, and soon striking up quite a friendship, the Monkey led away the Tortoise into the jungle, and showed him a comfortable cave where he could spend the night. The Tortoise was so interested with all he saw and so pleased with his friend the Monkey, that he remained for several days in the forest, moving about during the day and sleeping with the Monkey in the cave every night.Meanwhile Mrs. Tortoise was becoming rather anxious concerning her husband’s prolonged absence. He had never been away from home for so long before, so finally she despatched one of the young Tortoises to find out where his father was and how he was getting on. The young Tortoise accordingly swam to land, and after hunting about for some time in the forest he came across his father near the cave.“Good-morning, Father,” said he, “Mother has sent me to find out where you are and how you are getting on.”“Oh, I am all right, my boy,” replied Father Tortoise; “tell Mother she need not trouble about me. My friend, Brother Monkey, and I are just having a good time in the forest, and I will be home in a few days. Now run off to your Mother.”So the young Tortoise went back to his mother and told her what had happened. Mrs. Tortoise was not at all pleased at her husband’s conduct.[143]“It is quite time,” thought she, “that he should return to his wife and family, instead of amusing himself with a vulgar Monkey in the forest.”So she sent the boy back again to his father, with a message to say that Mrs. Tortoise was very ill, and that her physician had told her that the only thing to cure her was a Monkey’s heart. So he must return at once to his home and bring a Monkey along with him.The young Tortoise accordingly proceeded to hunt out his father again, and as soon as he met him he gave him Mrs. Tortoise’s message. On hearing the news of his wife’s illness, Mr. Tortoise became much alarmed, and reproached himself for having stayed away for so long; and in order to secure the necessary medicine for his wife he informed his friend the Monkey that he was obliged to return home at once on urgent business, and he invited the Monkey to come and spend a few days at his house. The Monkey accepted his friend’s invitation, and the two set off together to the shores of the lake.When the Monkey understood that it would be necessary for him to enter the lake, he became rather alarmed, and remarked to the Tortoise that never having been in the water, he was afraid it would be difficult for him to reach the Tortoise’s home.“Never fear about that, Brother Monkey,” said the Tortoise; “I can arrange that quite simply. If you will mount upon my back, I will swim with you wherever we want to go.”So the Monkey mounted upon the Tortoise’s back, and the Tortoise set out to swim to his house.[144]As they went across the lake the Tortoise began telling the Monkey about his wife’s illness, and in doing so he foolishly let out that the only medicine to cure her was a Monkey’s heart. On hearing this the Monkey became very much alarmed, and saw that he was being led into a trap.“Dear me, Brother Tortoise,” said he, “I am very much grieved to hear of your wife’s illness, but if she is as bad as all that I do not think that one Monkey’s heart will be enough. I should think that three or four at least would be required in order to effect a cure. If you like, I can easily get several other Monkeys from amongst my friends to accompany us to your home.”The Tortoise thought that this was a good idea, and agreed to carry the Monkey back to the shore and await him there while he went off to fetch some other Monkeys. So he turned round and swam back through the lake till he reached the edge, where he waddled out on to the beach.As soon as he found himself on dry land the Monkey skipped off the Tortoise’s back as fast as he could, and climbed to the top of the tallest tree he could find in a twinkling. On reaching the top of the tree he began reviling the Tortoise, and calling out every bad name he could think of.“You are a nice sort of friend,” said he, “to ask me to pay a visit to your home in order to kill me and use my heart as medicine for your ugly wife. Do you call that a proper return for all my attention to you, and for showing you all over the jungle? However, I have[145]been too clever for you this time, and you will have to do without my heart for many a long day to come. And as to the hearts of those other Monkeys that I promised to you—well, you can just wait till you find them for yourself.”1THE MONKEY CALLING INTO THE TORTOISE’S CAVE.THE MONKEY CALLING INTO THE TORTOISE’S CAVE.Page 145.The Tortoise, on hearing these words, fell into a violent passion, and made several efforts to climb the tree in order to punish the Monkey, but being quite unable to climb at all, he soon gave up his attempt and determined to get even with the Monkey in some other way. So he hid himself in the water until evening, and as soon as it was dusk he came out on the land and proceeded very quietly to the cave where he and the Monkey had lived together, and concealed himself in the darkest corner of it waiting till the Monkey should come in.The Monkey, however, was a good deal too clever to be caught in a simple trap like this. When his usual bedtime arrived, he came to the mouth of the cave and, looking in, he called out in a loud voice:“Oh, great cave! great cave!”The Tortoise lay low in his dark corner and gave no sign of life.After a few moments’ silence the Monkey again called out:“Oh, great cave! great cave!”Still the Tortoise lay low and gave no sign.“Curious thing,” said the Monkey to himself in an audible tone of voice, “very curious! There used always to be an echo in this cave, but I can’t hear the slightest[146]echo to-night. There must be something wrong,” and saying this he again called out:“Oh, great cave! great cave!”The foolish Tortoise, thinking that if he simulated an echo the Monkey would enter the cave as usual, hereupon gave answer from his dark corner:“Oh, great cave! great cave!”On hearing this the Monkey chuckled to himself at the simplicity of the Tortoise, and went off to sleep in some other part of the forest.[147]1The Monkey’s actual words, I regret to say, cannot be reported verbatim.↑

STORY No. XX.THE STORY OF THE TORTOISE AND THE MONKEY.

There was once an old Tortoise who lived with his wife and family in a large lake, on the borders of which grew an extensive jungle; and in the forest there were many wild beasts, more especially Monkeys, who swarmed in great numbers all along the shores of the lake.It happened one day that the Tortoise came out of the lake and went for a stroll amongst the trees which grew near the water. After walking for some distance he became hungry, and looking up into a cocoanut-tree, near which he found himself, he thought how much he should like to get one of the cocoanuts which were growing near the top. He made several awkward attempts to climb the tree, but the stem was so straight and so smooth that he was quite unable to succeed; and he was just about to give up the attempt in despair when he espied a large Monkey sitting among the branches. The Monkey, who had been watching the Tortoise’s attempts to climb the tree with some curiosity, felt rather sorry at his failure, and noticing that the Tortoise was a fine, well-grown fellow with a very handsome shell, he[142]thought he would do him a kindness, so breaking off one or two of the cocoanuts, he threw them down to the Tortoise, who gratefully ate the fruit.The two animals now entered into conversation with one another, and soon striking up quite a friendship, the Monkey led away the Tortoise into the jungle, and showed him a comfortable cave where he could spend the night. The Tortoise was so interested with all he saw and so pleased with his friend the Monkey, that he remained for several days in the forest, moving about during the day and sleeping with the Monkey in the cave every night.Meanwhile Mrs. Tortoise was becoming rather anxious concerning her husband’s prolonged absence. He had never been away from home for so long before, so finally she despatched one of the young Tortoises to find out where his father was and how he was getting on. The young Tortoise accordingly swam to land, and after hunting about for some time in the forest he came across his father near the cave.“Good-morning, Father,” said he, “Mother has sent me to find out where you are and how you are getting on.”“Oh, I am all right, my boy,” replied Father Tortoise; “tell Mother she need not trouble about me. My friend, Brother Monkey, and I are just having a good time in the forest, and I will be home in a few days. Now run off to your Mother.”So the young Tortoise went back to his mother and told her what had happened. Mrs. Tortoise was not at all pleased at her husband’s conduct.[143]“It is quite time,” thought she, “that he should return to his wife and family, instead of amusing himself with a vulgar Monkey in the forest.”So she sent the boy back again to his father, with a message to say that Mrs. Tortoise was very ill, and that her physician had told her that the only thing to cure her was a Monkey’s heart. So he must return at once to his home and bring a Monkey along with him.The young Tortoise accordingly proceeded to hunt out his father again, and as soon as he met him he gave him Mrs. Tortoise’s message. On hearing the news of his wife’s illness, Mr. Tortoise became much alarmed, and reproached himself for having stayed away for so long; and in order to secure the necessary medicine for his wife he informed his friend the Monkey that he was obliged to return home at once on urgent business, and he invited the Monkey to come and spend a few days at his house. The Monkey accepted his friend’s invitation, and the two set off together to the shores of the lake.When the Monkey understood that it would be necessary for him to enter the lake, he became rather alarmed, and remarked to the Tortoise that never having been in the water, he was afraid it would be difficult for him to reach the Tortoise’s home.“Never fear about that, Brother Monkey,” said the Tortoise; “I can arrange that quite simply. If you will mount upon my back, I will swim with you wherever we want to go.”So the Monkey mounted upon the Tortoise’s back, and the Tortoise set out to swim to his house.[144]As they went across the lake the Tortoise began telling the Monkey about his wife’s illness, and in doing so he foolishly let out that the only medicine to cure her was a Monkey’s heart. On hearing this the Monkey became very much alarmed, and saw that he was being led into a trap.“Dear me, Brother Tortoise,” said he, “I am very much grieved to hear of your wife’s illness, but if she is as bad as all that I do not think that one Monkey’s heart will be enough. I should think that three or four at least would be required in order to effect a cure. If you like, I can easily get several other Monkeys from amongst my friends to accompany us to your home.”The Tortoise thought that this was a good idea, and agreed to carry the Monkey back to the shore and await him there while he went off to fetch some other Monkeys. So he turned round and swam back through the lake till he reached the edge, where he waddled out on to the beach.As soon as he found himself on dry land the Monkey skipped off the Tortoise’s back as fast as he could, and climbed to the top of the tallest tree he could find in a twinkling. On reaching the top of the tree he began reviling the Tortoise, and calling out every bad name he could think of.“You are a nice sort of friend,” said he, “to ask me to pay a visit to your home in order to kill me and use my heart as medicine for your ugly wife. Do you call that a proper return for all my attention to you, and for showing you all over the jungle? However, I have[145]been too clever for you this time, and you will have to do without my heart for many a long day to come. And as to the hearts of those other Monkeys that I promised to you—well, you can just wait till you find them for yourself.”1THE MONKEY CALLING INTO THE TORTOISE’S CAVE.THE MONKEY CALLING INTO THE TORTOISE’S CAVE.Page 145.The Tortoise, on hearing these words, fell into a violent passion, and made several efforts to climb the tree in order to punish the Monkey, but being quite unable to climb at all, he soon gave up his attempt and determined to get even with the Monkey in some other way. So he hid himself in the water until evening, and as soon as it was dusk he came out on the land and proceeded very quietly to the cave where he and the Monkey had lived together, and concealed himself in the darkest corner of it waiting till the Monkey should come in.The Monkey, however, was a good deal too clever to be caught in a simple trap like this. When his usual bedtime arrived, he came to the mouth of the cave and, looking in, he called out in a loud voice:“Oh, great cave! great cave!”The Tortoise lay low in his dark corner and gave no sign of life.After a few moments’ silence the Monkey again called out:“Oh, great cave! great cave!”Still the Tortoise lay low and gave no sign.“Curious thing,” said the Monkey to himself in an audible tone of voice, “very curious! There used always to be an echo in this cave, but I can’t hear the slightest[146]echo to-night. There must be something wrong,” and saying this he again called out:“Oh, great cave! great cave!”The foolish Tortoise, thinking that if he simulated an echo the Monkey would enter the cave as usual, hereupon gave answer from his dark corner:“Oh, great cave! great cave!”On hearing this the Monkey chuckled to himself at the simplicity of the Tortoise, and went off to sleep in some other part of the forest.[147]

There was once an old Tortoise who lived with his wife and family in a large lake, on the borders of which grew an extensive jungle; and in the forest there were many wild beasts, more especially Monkeys, who swarmed in great numbers all along the shores of the lake.

It happened one day that the Tortoise came out of the lake and went for a stroll amongst the trees which grew near the water. After walking for some distance he became hungry, and looking up into a cocoanut-tree, near which he found himself, he thought how much he should like to get one of the cocoanuts which were growing near the top. He made several awkward attempts to climb the tree, but the stem was so straight and so smooth that he was quite unable to succeed; and he was just about to give up the attempt in despair when he espied a large Monkey sitting among the branches. The Monkey, who had been watching the Tortoise’s attempts to climb the tree with some curiosity, felt rather sorry at his failure, and noticing that the Tortoise was a fine, well-grown fellow with a very handsome shell, he[142]thought he would do him a kindness, so breaking off one or two of the cocoanuts, he threw them down to the Tortoise, who gratefully ate the fruit.

The two animals now entered into conversation with one another, and soon striking up quite a friendship, the Monkey led away the Tortoise into the jungle, and showed him a comfortable cave where he could spend the night. The Tortoise was so interested with all he saw and so pleased with his friend the Monkey, that he remained for several days in the forest, moving about during the day and sleeping with the Monkey in the cave every night.

Meanwhile Mrs. Tortoise was becoming rather anxious concerning her husband’s prolonged absence. He had never been away from home for so long before, so finally she despatched one of the young Tortoises to find out where his father was and how he was getting on. The young Tortoise accordingly swam to land, and after hunting about for some time in the forest he came across his father near the cave.

“Good-morning, Father,” said he, “Mother has sent me to find out where you are and how you are getting on.”

“Oh, I am all right, my boy,” replied Father Tortoise; “tell Mother she need not trouble about me. My friend, Brother Monkey, and I are just having a good time in the forest, and I will be home in a few days. Now run off to your Mother.”

So the young Tortoise went back to his mother and told her what had happened. Mrs. Tortoise was not at all pleased at her husband’s conduct.[143]

“It is quite time,” thought she, “that he should return to his wife and family, instead of amusing himself with a vulgar Monkey in the forest.”

So she sent the boy back again to his father, with a message to say that Mrs. Tortoise was very ill, and that her physician had told her that the only thing to cure her was a Monkey’s heart. So he must return at once to his home and bring a Monkey along with him.

The young Tortoise accordingly proceeded to hunt out his father again, and as soon as he met him he gave him Mrs. Tortoise’s message. On hearing the news of his wife’s illness, Mr. Tortoise became much alarmed, and reproached himself for having stayed away for so long; and in order to secure the necessary medicine for his wife he informed his friend the Monkey that he was obliged to return home at once on urgent business, and he invited the Monkey to come and spend a few days at his house. The Monkey accepted his friend’s invitation, and the two set off together to the shores of the lake.

When the Monkey understood that it would be necessary for him to enter the lake, he became rather alarmed, and remarked to the Tortoise that never having been in the water, he was afraid it would be difficult for him to reach the Tortoise’s home.

“Never fear about that, Brother Monkey,” said the Tortoise; “I can arrange that quite simply. If you will mount upon my back, I will swim with you wherever we want to go.”

So the Monkey mounted upon the Tortoise’s back, and the Tortoise set out to swim to his house.[144]

As they went across the lake the Tortoise began telling the Monkey about his wife’s illness, and in doing so he foolishly let out that the only medicine to cure her was a Monkey’s heart. On hearing this the Monkey became very much alarmed, and saw that he was being led into a trap.

“Dear me, Brother Tortoise,” said he, “I am very much grieved to hear of your wife’s illness, but if she is as bad as all that I do not think that one Monkey’s heart will be enough. I should think that three or four at least would be required in order to effect a cure. If you like, I can easily get several other Monkeys from amongst my friends to accompany us to your home.”

The Tortoise thought that this was a good idea, and agreed to carry the Monkey back to the shore and await him there while he went off to fetch some other Monkeys. So he turned round and swam back through the lake till he reached the edge, where he waddled out on to the beach.

As soon as he found himself on dry land the Monkey skipped off the Tortoise’s back as fast as he could, and climbed to the top of the tallest tree he could find in a twinkling. On reaching the top of the tree he began reviling the Tortoise, and calling out every bad name he could think of.

“You are a nice sort of friend,” said he, “to ask me to pay a visit to your home in order to kill me and use my heart as medicine for your ugly wife. Do you call that a proper return for all my attention to you, and for showing you all over the jungle? However, I have[145]been too clever for you this time, and you will have to do without my heart for many a long day to come. And as to the hearts of those other Monkeys that I promised to you—well, you can just wait till you find them for yourself.”1

THE MONKEY CALLING INTO THE TORTOISE’S CAVE.THE MONKEY CALLING INTO THE TORTOISE’S CAVE.Page 145.

THE MONKEY CALLING INTO THE TORTOISE’S CAVE.

Page 145.

The Tortoise, on hearing these words, fell into a violent passion, and made several efforts to climb the tree in order to punish the Monkey, but being quite unable to climb at all, he soon gave up his attempt and determined to get even with the Monkey in some other way. So he hid himself in the water until evening, and as soon as it was dusk he came out on the land and proceeded very quietly to the cave where he and the Monkey had lived together, and concealed himself in the darkest corner of it waiting till the Monkey should come in.

The Monkey, however, was a good deal too clever to be caught in a simple trap like this. When his usual bedtime arrived, he came to the mouth of the cave and, looking in, he called out in a loud voice:

“Oh, great cave! great cave!”

The Tortoise lay low in his dark corner and gave no sign of life.

After a few moments’ silence the Monkey again called out:

“Oh, great cave! great cave!”

Still the Tortoise lay low and gave no sign.

“Curious thing,” said the Monkey to himself in an audible tone of voice, “very curious! There used always to be an echo in this cave, but I can’t hear the slightest[146]echo to-night. There must be something wrong,” and saying this he again called out:

“Oh, great cave! great cave!”

The foolish Tortoise, thinking that if he simulated an echo the Monkey would enter the cave as usual, hereupon gave answer from his dark corner:

“Oh, great cave! great cave!”

On hearing this the Monkey chuckled to himself at the simplicity of the Tortoise, and went off to sleep in some other part of the forest.[147]

1The Monkey’s actual words, I regret to say, cannot be reported verbatim.↑

1The Monkey’s actual words, I regret to say, cannot be reported verbatim.↑

1The Monkey’s actual words, I regret to say, cannot be reported verbatim.↑

1The Monkey’s actual words, I regret to say, cannot be reported verbatim.↑

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