7475VIModeration and Greed7677The Wizard and the BeggarOnceupon a time there was a poor man who ever begged for food, and, as he walked along the road he thought, “If any one will give me to eat until I am satisfied, never will I forget the grace or merit of that person.” Chanting these words as he walked slowly along, he met a wizard.“What do you say as you walk along, my son?” asked the wizard.“If any one will give me to eat all I crave, I will never forget the grace or merit of that person,” said the poor man.“My son, the people of this day are ever careless and ungrateful. They forget benefits,” replied the wizard.“I will not forget,” vowed the poor man.“Go on, my son,” said the wizard.Chanting as before, the poor man went on his way, and as he walked he met a dog.“What do you say as you go along, my son?” asked the dog.“Whosoever will give me to eat to my satisfaction, the grace or merit of that person will I never forget,” replied the poor man.78“Men are prone to forget. None remember favors. When I was young and strong, I guarded my master’s house and grounds; now, when I am old, he will not permit me to enter his gate, but curses and beats me and gives me no food. By him are all my services forgotten,” said the dog.Ever chanting, the poor man walked on, and as he walked he met a buffalo.“What do you say as you walk along, my son?” asked the buffalo. And the poor man repeated what he had told the wizard and the dog.“Man is ever ungrateful. When I was young and strong, I plowed the fields so my master could have rice and my master was grateful to me. Now that I cannot work, I am driven out to die,” said the buffalo. And the poor man, discouraged, sought the wizard again.“My son, will you ever remember benefits?” asked the wizard.“Never would I forget a benefit,” vowed the poor man, vehemently.“Then here are two jewels; one, if held in your mouth, will enable you to fly as a bird; the other, if held in the mouth, will give you your desires, and this second one I now give to you,”79said the wizard, and he handed the second jewel to the poor man.“Your grace and merit will ever be remembered by me. More than tongue can utter, do I thank you. Ever will I wish you health and happiness and pray for blessings on your head,” declared the poor man. Having thus spoken, the once poor man sought his home and, through the virtue of the wishing jewel he had every wish for wealth gratified.“How do you secure your desires?” asked the neighbors of the once poor, begging man.“A wizard gave me a wishing-jewel and, by simply placing it in my mouth, all I wish to possess is mine,” answered he. “Listen to me,” he continued, “the wizard has yet another jewel, which, if placed in the mouth, will enable one to fly as a bird. Come, let us go and kill him that we may all possess it together.”With one accord they agreed, and, as they approached the home of the wizard, the wizard, espying the man he had so benefited, called to him,“Why have you not visited me, my son?”“There was no time, much work have I had to do,” replied the ungrateful man.Now the wizard of course knew the intent80of the wicked fellow, that he, with his neighbors, had come to secure the second jewel, and he asked,“Why do you desire to kill me?”“Give to me the jewel you have, else I shall kill you, you old wizard,” cried the ungrateful fellow.“Have you the wishing-jewel with you? If so, show it to me first,” said the wizard.Eagerly did the greedy fellow thrust it toward the old wizard, but he, having already placed the flying-jewel in his mouth, seized the wishing-jewel and instead of giving the rascal theflying-jewel, flew away, leaving both the man and his neighbors without either.A Covetous NeighborTherewas a poor and lonely man who had but a few melon seeds and grains of corn which he planted; tenderly did he care for them, as the garden would furnish his only means of a living. And it came to pass that the melons and corn grew luxuriantly, and the apes and the monkeys from the neighboring wilderness, seeing them,81came daily to eat of them, and, as they talked of the owner of the garden, wondered just what manner of man he might be that he permitted them unmolested to eat of his melons. But the poor man, through his sufferings, had much merit, and charitably and willingly shared his abundant fruit with them.And upon a day, the man lay down in the garden and feigned death. As the monkeys and apes drew near, seeing him so still, his scarf lying about his head, with one accord they cried, “He is already dead! Lo, these many days have we eaten of his fruit, therefore it is but just that we should bury him in as choice a place as we can find.”Lifting the man, they carried him until they came to a place where two ways met, when one of the monkeys said, “Let us take him to the cave of silver.” Another said, “No, the cave of gold would be better.”“Go to the cave of gold,” commanded the head monkey. There they carried him and laid him to rest.Finding himself thus alone, the man arose, gathered all the gold he could carry and returned to his old home, and, with the gold thus easily gained, he built a beautiful house.82“How did you, who are but a gardener, gain all this gold?” asked a neighbor, and freely the man told all that had befallen him.“If you did it, I, too, can do it,” said the neighbor, and forthwith, he hastened home, made a garden, and waited for the monkeys to feast in it. All came to pass as the neighbor hoped; when the melons were ripe great numbers of monkeys and apes came to the garden and feasted. And upon a day, they found the owner lying as one dead in the garden. Prompted by gratitude, the monkeys made ready to bury him, and while carrying him to the place of burial, they came to the place in the way where the two roads met. Here they disputed as to whether they should place the man in the cave of silver, or the cave of gold. Meanwhile, the man was thinking thus, “I’ll gather gold all day. When I have more than I can carry in my arms, I’ll draw some behind me in a basket I can readily make from bamboo,” and, when the head monkey said, “Put him in the cave of silver,” he unguardedly cried out, “No, put me in the cave of gold.”Frightened, the monkeys dropped the man and fled, whilst he, scratched and bleeding, crept painfully home.83A Lazy Man’s Plot15Upona day a beggar, who was too lazy to work, but ever lived on the bounty of the people, received a great quantity of rice. He put it in a large jar and placed the jar at the foot of his bed, then he lay down on the bed and thus reasoned:“If there come a famine, I will sell the rice, and with the money, buy me a pair of cows, and when the cows have a calf, I’ll buy a pair of buffaloes. Then, when they have a calf, I’ll sell them, and with that money, I’ll make a wedding and take me a wife. And, when we have a child large enough to sit alone, I’ll take care of it, while my wife works the rice fields. Should she say, ‘I will not work,’ I’ll kick her after this manner,” and he struck out his foot, knocking the jar over, and broke it. The rice ran through the slats of the floor, and the neighbors’ pigs ate it, leaving the lazy plotter but the broken jar.15: The motive corresponds to that of the venerable story of the Milkmaid.84The Ungrateful FishermanIthappened on a time that a poor fisherman had caught nothing for many days, and while he was sitting thinking sadly of his miserable fortune, Punya In, the god of wisdom, came from his high home in heaven in the form of a crow, and asked him, “Do you desire to escape from this life of a fisherman, and live in ease?” And the fisherman replied, “Greatly do I desire to escape from this miserable life.”Beckoning him to come to him and listen, the crow told him of a far distant province, whose chow lay dead.“Both the province and all the chow’s former possessions will I give thee, if thou wilt promise ever to remember the benefits I bestow,” said the crow.Readily did the fisherman promise, “Never, never will I forget.”Immediately the crow took the fisherman on his back and flew to the far distant province. Leaving the fisherman just outside the city gate, the crow entered the city, went to the chow’s home, and took the body of the chow away, and, in the place put the fisherman.85When the fisherman moved, the watchers heard, and rejoicing, they all cried, “Our chow is again alive.”Great was the joy of the people, and, for many years, the fisherman ruled in the province and enjoyed the possessions of the former chow.But, as time went by, the fisherman forgot the crow had been the author of all his good fortune, that all were the gifts of a crow, and he drove all crows from the rice fields. Even did he attempt to banish them from the province. Perceiving this, the god of wisdom again assumed the form of a crow and came down and sat near the one-time fisherman.“O, chow, wouldst thou desire to go where all is pleasure and delight?” asked the crow.“Let me go,” replied the chow. And the crow took him on his back and flew with him to the house where, as a fisherman he had lived in poverty and squalor, and ever had he to remain there.The Legend of the RiceInthe days when the earth was young and all things were better than they now are, when men86and women were stronger and of greater beauty, and the fruit of the trees was larger and sweeter than that which we now eat, rice, the food of the people, was of larger grain. One grain was all a man could eat, and in those early days, such, too, was the merit of the people, they never had to toil gathering the rice, for, when ripe, it fell from the stalks and rolled into the villages, even unto the granaries.And upon a year, when the rice was larger and more plentiful than ever before, a widow said to her daughter, “Our granaries are too small. We will pull them down and build larger.”When the old granaries were pulled down and the new one not yet ready for use, the rice was ripe in the fields. Great haste was made, but the rice came rolling in where the work was going on, and the widow, angered, struck a grain and cried, “Could you not wait in the fields until we were ready? You should not bother us now when you are not wanted.”The rice broke into thousands of pieces and said, “From this time forth, we will wait in the fields until we are wanted,” and, from that time the rice has been of small grain, and the people of the earth must gather it into the granary from the fields.At Work in the Rice Fields.87VIIParables and Proverbs8889“One Woman in Deceit and Craft is More Than a Match for Eight Men”Chum Pawwas a maiden of the south country. Many suitors had she, but, by her craft and devices, each suitor thought himself the only one. Constantly did each seek her in marriage, and, upon a day as one pressed her to name the time of their nuptials, she said, “Build me a house, and I’ll marry you when all is in readiness.” To the others, did she speak the same words.Each man sought the jungle for bamboo for a house, and, it happened, while they were in the jungle that they all met.“What seekest thou?” they asked one another. “What seekest thou?” The one answer was, “I have come to fell wood for my house.”And, as they ate their midday meal together, each had a bamboo stick, filled with chicken and rice. Now, it happened that Chum Paw had given the bamboo sticks to the men, and, lo, on investigation, they found the pieces in their various sticks were the parts of one chicken, and with one accord, they cried, “Chum Paw has deceived us. Come, let us kill her. Each has she promised to marry; each has she deceived.”90All were exceedingly angry and vowed they would kill the deceitful woman.Chum Paw, seeing the men return together, knew her duplicity was known and realized they sought to kill her.“I entreat that you spare my life, but take and sell me as a slave to the captain of the ship lying at the mouth of the river.”Relenting, the suitors took her to the captain. She, however, running on before, privately told the captain she had seven young men, her slaves, whom she would sell him for seven hundred pieces of silver. Seeing the young men were desirable, the captain gave Chum Paw the silver, and she fled while the seven lovers were placed in irons.Chum Paw fled to the jungle, but, frightened by the wild beasts, she sought refuge in a tree. And it came to pass that the suitors escaped from the ship and they, too, sought refuge in the jungle. Unable to sleep and also frightened, one of them climbed a tree that he might be safe from the wild beasts, and, lo, it was the same tree in which Chum Paw had taken refuge.“Be silent, make no noise, lest the others hear us,” whispered Chum Paw. “I love you and knew you were wise and would escape from the91ship. I only desired the silver for us to spend together.”The unfortunate man believed, and sought to embrace her, but, as he threw up his arms, Chum Paw threw him down, hoping thus to kill him. The others, hearing the commotion, feared a large bear was in the tree and hastily fled. Uninjured the suitor, whom Chum Paw had thrown from the tree, fled with them.Chum Paw seeing that they all fled ran behind, as she knew no beast would attack her while there was so great a commotion. As the suitors looked back, they saw her, but mistook her for a bear and ran but the faster, and finally, they all, the seven suitors and Chum Paw reached their homes.Knowing the suitors would again seek her life, Chum Paw made a feast of all things they most liked and bade the young men to come. (All the food was prepared by Chum Paw and poisoned.) “I want but to make meboonbefore I die, so I beg you eat of my food and forgive me, for I merit death,” said the maiden, as they sat in her house. All ate; and all died.Chum Paw carried six bodies into the inner part of the house, and one she prepared for the grave. Weeping and wailing, she ran to the92nearest neighbor, crying, “I want a man to come bury my husband. He died last night. As he had smallpox, fifty pieces of silver will I give to the one who buries him.”A man who loved money said, “I will bury him.” When he came to the house, Chum Paw said, “Many times has he died and come back to life. If he comes back again, no money shall you have.”The man took the body, made a deep grave, buried the man and returned for his silver. Lo, on the mat lay the body! He made a deeper grave and again buried it. Six times he buried, as he supposed, the body, and, on returning and finding it a seventh time, he angrily cried, “You shall never return again.” Taking the body with him, he built a fire, placed the body on it, and, while it burned, went to the stream for water. When he returned, lo, a charcoal man was standing there, black from his work.Filled with wrath, the man ran up to him crying, “You will come back again, will you? will cause me this trouble again, will you?”The charcoal burner replied, “I do not understand.” Not a word would the man hear, but fought the burner, and as they struggled, they both fell into the fire and were burned to death.93Chum Paw built a beautiful home and spent the silver as she willed.“The Wisest Man of a Small Village is Not Equal in Wisdom to a Boy of the City Streets”Oncea boy of the city, watching a buffalo outside the gate of the largest city in the province, saw three men approaching. Each was the wisest man of the village from whence he came. The boy called to them, “Where go ye, old men?”The men angrily replied, “Wherefore dost thou, who art but a child, speak thus to us who are old and the judges of the villages from whence we come?”The boy replied, “There is no cause for anger. How was I to know ye were wise men? To me, ye seem but as other men from a country place,—the wisest of whom are but fools.”The three men were very angry, caught the boy and said, “We will not enter into the city, but will go to another province and sell this insolent boy, because he neither reverences age nor wisdom.”94The boy refused to walk, so they carried him. All day they walked along the road, carrying the boy, and at night they slept by the roadside. In the morning, when they craved water and bade the boy go to a brook, he refused, saying, “If I go, ye will run and leave me. I will not go.”Thirst drove one of the wise men for the water, and the boy drank of it freely.Several days’ journey brought them to a wall of a large city, and night was spent at asalanear the wall. Seeking to rid themselves of the boy, they bade him go to the city for fire to cook food. Realizing their motive, he answered, “Should I go, ye will leave me. I will not go, though, if ye let me tie ye to the posts of thesala, then will I go.”With one accord they agreed, saying, “Do thou even so. We are weary carrying thee and cannot go for the fire.”Tying them all, the boy ran to the city, where he met a man whom he asked, “Dost thou wish to purchase three slaves? Come with me.”The man returned with the boy, saw the men, and gave him full value for each.Having thus disposed of his captors, the cunning little fellow joined some men going to his native city, and as he walked along, he thought, “I was95ever wanting to see other places, and now I have been carried a long journey, and have silver to last me many days ... surely, I have muchboon.”1616: Merit.“To Aid Beast is Merit; To Aid Man is but Vanity”17A hunter, walking through a jungle, saw a man in a pit unable to escape. The man called to him, “If thou wilt aid me to escape from this snare, always will I remember thy grace and merit.” The hunter drew him out of the pit, and the man said, “I am goldsmith to the head chow, and dwell by the city’s gate. Shouldst thou ever want any benefit, come to me, and gladly will I aid thee.”As the hunter travelled, he met a tiger caught in a snare set for an elephant, and the tiger cried, “If thy heart prompts thee to set me free, thy aid will ever be remembered by me.” He helped the tiger from the snare, and it said, “If ever thou needest aid, call and I will come to thee.”96Then again the hunter went on his way, and came to a place where a snake had fallen into a well and could not get out, and the snake cried, “If thou wilt aid me, I can aid thee also in the time soon to come,” and he assisted the snake. “When the time comes that thou needest me, think of me, and I will come to thee with haste,” said the snake.Now, it had happened that on the day that the hunter had rescued the tiger it had killed the chow’s child, but of this the hunter knew nothing. And it came to pass that three days after, the hunter desiring to test the words of the tiger, went to the forest. Upon calling it, the tiger came to him immediately and brought with him a long golden chain, which he gave to the hunter. The hunter took the chain home, and, wishing to sell it, sought the goldsmith whom he had befriended. But the goldsmith, seeing it, said, “You are the man who has killed the chow’s child.” And he had his men bind the hunter with strong cords and took him to the chow in the hope of gaining the reward offered to any who might find him who had killed the child.The chow put the hunter in chains and commanded he die on the morrow. The hunter begged for seven days’ respite, and it was granted97him. In the night he thought of the snake he had helped, and immediately the snake came, bringing with him a medicine to cure blindness. While the household of the chow slept, the snake entered and cast of its venom in the eyes of the chow’s wife, and she was blind.Throughout all the province the chow sought for some one to restore the eyes of his afflicted wife, but no one was found.It happened on a day, that word came to the chow’s ears that the hunter he had in chains for the death of his child, was a man of wisdom and knew the merit of all the herbs of the field, therefore he sent for him.When the hunter came into the presence of the chow unto where the wife sat, he put the medicine which the snake had brought him into the eyes of the princess, and sight, even like unto that of a young maiden, was restored unto her.Then the chow desired to reward the hunter, and the hunter told him how he had come into possession of the golden chain, of the medicine which the serpent had given him because he had aided it in its time of trouble, and of the goldsmith, who had not only forgotten benefits received, but had accused him so he might gain a98reward. And when the chow learned the truth, he had the ungrateful goldsmith put to death, but to the hunter did he give half of his province, for had he not restored the sight of the princess?17: This only of the Folk Tales has been written before. It is taken from an ancient temple book and is well-known in all the Laos country.The “Chow” and his Palace.99VIIIThe Gods Know and the Gods Reward100101Love’s SecretsTherewas once a poor woodsman, who went to the jungle to cut wood, so he might sell it and buy food for his wife and child. And upon a day, when the cool evening had come, wearied, the man lay down to rest and fell into a deep sleep.From his home in the sky, the god who looks after the destiny of man was hot-hearted18when he saw the man did not move, and he came down to see if he were dead. When he spake in the wood-cutter’s ear, he awoke and arose, and the fostering god led him home. As they came near the gate, the god said, “Stand here, whilst I go and see to the welfare of thy wife.” Listening without, the god heard the fond wife say to the little child, “I fear some evil hath befallen thy kind father. Ever doth he return as it darkens about us.”The god knew from her words that the wife was good, and taught the child love and reverence for its father, therefore was he pleased, and returning to the woodsman, sent him in haste to his home, and said, “I, myself, will lay the wood in its place.”102The next morning, when the eye of day opened, the fond wife went for wood to build a fire that her husband might eat of hot food ere he went to his daily labor, and, lo, when she saw the wood which her husband had brought home, all was turned into gold! Thus had the cherishing god rewarded a husband faithful in his work, and a wife loving and thoughtful.Leaving the house of the worthy woodsman, the god met a man tardily wending his way home with a small, poorly-made bundle of sticks. Approaching him, the god said, “Wait at the steps. I will go first and see how it is with thy wife.” And the god went up unseen, and heard the wife say to her son, “Ever is it thus. Thy father thinks naught of us; he stays away so he need be with us but little.”Sadly the god returned to the laggard, took the bundle from him, and bade him go to his wife and child, saying he would put the wood in its place.Late the following day, long after the husband had gone to his work, the wife went for some wood, and, lo, found all the wood had turned to venomous snakes! Then was she afraid, and she grew kinder of heart and strove to make her husband better and happy.18: Anxious.103Poison-MouthTherewas once a poor father and mother who had a little daughter, called “Poison-Mouth.”And it happened on a day that a great number of cows came into the garden, and when the mother saw them she cried angrily, “You but destroy our garden. I would you were all dead.”“Poison-Mouth” hearing her mother’s angry words, called out, “Die, all of you, for you are destroying our garden.” And immediately all the cattle dropped dead.Upon another day, the bees were swarming and great companies flew over the house, and the mother said complainingly, “Why do you never come to us that we may have honey?”Little “Poison-Mouth” called: “Come to us that we may have honey.” And, lo, before the eye of day had closed, the house was filled with bees and the poor people had more honey than they could use.Word of “Poison-Mouth” reached a great chow, and, prompted by the god of love to sweeten the poisoned mouth, he sent ten men with this message to the child’s parents: “Take104good care of your child; let her hear no evil, and when she is old enough, I will take her to wife.”When the men approached the home of “Poison-Mouth” they said, “O, poor people,” but the mother would not permit them to finish, as their words angered her, and she exclaimed, “You are bad dogs!” And the men were no longer men, but dogs, snapping and snarling, for little “Poison-Mouth” had also cried, “Bad dogs are you.”Though greatly distressed, the chow sent yet again twenty men with his message. And again, when the mother beheld these men, she exclaimed, “See, the dogs coming yonder!” “Poison-Mouth” echoed, “Yes, twenty dogs are coming now,” and they also changed into dogs, fighting on the streets.“Who can help me?” cried the chow, distressed though not despairing.An old man answered, “I will help you. I will go to the child.” And, while the mother was absent, he sought the little one, and thus softly said, “My child, thy tongue is given thee to bless with, and not to curse. Come with me, and learn only that which is good.” The little one answered, “I will come,” and the old man took her to the chow, who, from that time forth,105spoke no evil, and, little “Poison-Mouth,” hearing none but beautiful and good words, grew beautiful and good, and her words brought blessings ever.Strife and PeaceTherewas once a husband and wife who ever quarrelled. Never were they pleasant with each other.A wealthy man sought to see if they could spend but a day in peace, so he sent two men with one hundred pieces of silver to them, saying, “If this day be spent without strife, this silver shall be yours.” Then the two men hid themselves near the house to watch after what fashion they spent the day.“If we are to earn the reward, it were better thou shouldst hold thy tongue with thy hand, else thou canst not endure throughout the day,” said the husband.“Ever am I quiet. It is well known of all the neighbors that thou, and thou alone, art ever quarrelsome,” retorted the wife.And thus they disputed until both grew angry, and the quarrel was so loud that all the people106living near heard it. Thereupon the two men came forth from their hiding-place, and said, “The silver does not belong to you, of a certainty.”Determined to find virtue, the rich man sent the two men with the silver to a husband and wife who never quarrelled, and bade them say, “If this day, you will strive one with the other, these one hundred pieces of silver shall be yours.”The husband greatly desired the money and sought to anger his wife. He wrought a basket which she wanted to use in sunning the cotton, with the strands of bamboo so wide apart that the least wind would blow all the cotton out of the basket. Yet, when he handed it to his wife, she pleasantly said, “This is just the right kind of a basket. The sun can come in all about the cotton, as though it were not in a basket at all.”Again, the husband made a basket so narrow at the top that it was difficult to put anything into it, and also the mouth was of rough material so that the hand would be scratched in putting in or taking out the cotton. “Surely, this will anger her,” thought the husband.Turning it from side to side, the wife said,107“Now, this, too, is just right, for when the wind blows, the cotton will be caught on the rough wood at the mouth and cannot blow away.”The two men in hiding all day heard nothing but gentle words, so, in the evening, they returned to the rich man, saying, for they knew not the efforts of the husband to provoke his wife, “Those two know not how to quarrel.”Gladdened, the seeker for virtue commanded them to be given the silver, for they loved peace.The Widow’s PunishmentOncethere lived a woman who had a son and a nephew living with her. And upon a day they came to her desiring money that they might go and trade in the bazaar. She gave each a piece of silver of equal value, and bade them so to trade and cheat that they might bring home much money.At the bazaar, one bought a large fish, the other, the head and horns of a buffalo, and, as they rested by the roadside on their way home, they tied the large, living fish and the buffalo head together, and threw them in a muddy108stream. When they threw the stones at the fish, it jumped, thus causing the buffalo head to move as though it were alive.A man saw the head in the water and desired to buy the buffalo. The boys named the price of a live animal, and, having received it, they fled.As they went along, not long after, they found a deer which a wild dog had killed, but had not eaten of it. It they took with them, and, a drover, seeing it, asked where they had found it.“Our dog,” said the boys, “is so trained, it goes to the jungle and catches the wild animals for our food.”The drover desired to buy the dog.“No,” said the boys, “we will not sell it.”Their words but made the drover more eager to possess the dog, and he offered ten of his best cattle in exchange. The exchange pleased the boys, and, having received the cattle for their useless dog, they hastened to a large city, where they sold them for much money and returned home. On reaching it, they divided the money equally, but the mother was dissatisfied and desired that her son have the larger portion, therefore she insisted that they make an offering to the spirit in the hollow tree near by, before the money could be rightly divided.109While the boys were preparing the offering, the mother ran and hid in the hollow tree, and when they had made their offering and asked the spirit, “What division must we make of the money?” a voice replied, “Unto the son of the widow, give two portions—unto the nephew of the widow, give one portion.”Greatly angered, the nephew put wood all about the tree and set fire to it. Though he heard the voice of his aunt, saying, “I beg that thou have mercy on me and set me free,” he would not recognize it, and the widow and the tree perished. Thus, she who had taught him to cheat, by her own pupil was destroyed.Honesty RewardedInthe far north country there lived a father, mother, and son. So poor and desolate were they that their only possession was an old ax. Each morning, as the eye of day opened on the earth, they went to the woods and there remained until the evening, cutting the wood, which, when sold, furnished their only source of a living.Upon a day, when the cutting was done, they110placed the ax near the wood and went deeper into the jungle for vines to bind the wood. It happened the chow of the province came that way with twelve of his men; one of whom bore an ax of gold, another bore an ax of silver and both belonged to the chow. Yet, when the chow saw the old, wooden-handled ax lying near the wood, he commanded that it be taken home with them.The family returning found their ax gone. Deeply distressed, they sat down and wept, and thus in trouble, did the chow and his men find them as they came that way again.“Why are your hearts thus troubled?” inquired the chow.They answered: “O chow, we had but one ax and it is gone and no other means of earning food have we!”The chow replied: “I found your ax. Here it is.” And he commanded they be given the ax of silver, whose handle even was silver.“That is not ours,” they cried, “not ours.”The chow commanded the ax of gold be given them. Yet they wept but the more, saying, “The golden ax is not ours. Ours was old, ’twas but of steel and the handle of wood, but ’twas all we had.”111Their honesty gladdened the heart of the chow and he commanded that not only their own ax be returned, but the ax of gold, the ax of silver, and even a pun19of gold be given them. Thus was merit rewarded.19: About 3 lbs. avoir.The Justice of In Ta PomeMenof three countries wanted a chemical to change stones and metals into gold, and they all came together to worship In Ta Pome, one of the gods. One man was from China, one from India, and one from Siam. They all worshipped at the feet of In Ta Pome, saying, “We beg thee, O In Ta Pome, give unto us the chemical which will change all stones and metals into gold.”In Ta Pome replied, “Each of you kill one of your children, cut him into pieces and put him into a jar. Cover this with a new, clean cloth, and bring it unto me.”The Chinaman feared to kill his child, so killed a pig, cut it up and placed it in a jar, over which he tied a close cover.112The Siamese did the same with a dog, but the Indiaman believed in In Ta Pome, and killed his only son, put him into a jar, and covered it.All returned to the god with their several jars.In Ta Pome sprinkled the jar of the Chinaman first, saying, “Whatsoever is silver, let it be silver; whatsoever is gold, let it be gold,” but the pig grunted, as pigs do, and In Ta Pome said, “From this time forth, you shall take care of pigs and kill them to gain gold.” Sprinkling the jar of the Siamese, the god again said, “Whatsoever is silver, let it be silver; whatsoever is gold, let it be gold,” but the dog barked, as dogs do, and In Ta Pome said, “You must plow the earth, and only by the sweat of your brow shall you have enough to keep you in food.”Taking the jar of the Indiaman, and having sprinkled it, In Ta Pome cried, “Whatsoever is silver, let it be silver, and whatsoever is gold, let it be gold,” and lo, the child came to life! And to the Indiaman did In Ta Pome give the chemical that changes all stones and metals into gold, because he had believed, and had not tried to mock and deceive the gods.113IXWonders of Wisdom114115The Words of Untold ValueInthe days long since gone by, a young man, a son of a poor widow, desired to go with two of his friends to Tuck Kasula,20the country where one could learn the wisdom of all the world, but he had no gold with which to buy the wisdom, for does not every one know that wisdom is difficult to obtain, and is therefore of great price.Now, the two young friends had each two puns21of gold, but the widow’s son had but two hairs of his mother’s, which, when he wept because he had no money, the widow had given him, saying, “I have naught but these two fine hairs to give thee, my son, but go with thy friends, each hair will be to thee as a pun of gold.”Then the son placed the two hairs in a package with his clothing, and sealed the package with wax, and set out with his friends to visit Tuck Kasula.After they had travelled some time, they grew hungry, and on arriving in a village, they entered116a house for food. The widow’s son left his package and his other goods on the veranda. While he was within the house a hen ran away with the package and lost it. The owners of the hen offered the son anything they had either of food or clothing to replace his loss, but he would be content with nothing but the hen, and they gave it to him.And again when they entered another house for food, the widow’s son tied the hen to a small bush in the compound, and, lo, an elephant stepped upon it and killed it!The people offered the young man many things to make good his loss, but he would be content with nothing but the elephant, and they gave him the elephant.At last they reached Tuck Kasula, and while his two friends, with their gold, sought the house of the teachers, the widow’s son stayed under a tree where he could hear the teachers instructing their disciples.“If you wish to know others, sleep. If you wish to see, go and look,” said a wise man. “These words are of untold value, but, for only two puns of gold will I give them unto you,” he added.The widow’s son knew he had heard without117price the wisdom for which his two friends would each have to pay two puns of gold, so he quietly turned the elephant and returned home.“I will buy your words of wisdom, if you will sell them,” said the judge to the widow’s son.“For two puns of gold I will sell them,” answered the widow’s son.“Two puns of gold will I give thee,” said the judge.“‘If you wish to know others, sleep. If you wish to see, go and look,’” said the widow’s son, when he had in his possession the two puns of gold.The judge, desiring to test the truth of the words, as he understood them, called unto him his four wives, and said, “I am not well. Give me water to drink, and fan me.” Soon he seemed to be asleep, and his wives talked thus together in low voices:“It is not pleasant to be the wife of this foolish man,” said the first.“I like another man better,” said the second.“I wish I could steal his goods and flee while he sleeps,” said the third.“I would like to make him a savory dish with poison in it to kill him,” said the fourth.118Then the judge sprang up and cruelly punished his wives and put them in chains.And upon another day, the judge arose early and went out to see how his slaves worked. Under the house, hunting for something, he saw a man.“What do you seek?” asked the judge.“I have just stolen from the judge all of his silver, and, in trying to get it through a small opening, I broke my finger-nail. If I do not find it, the judge will die and all his possessions will be destroyed, for, as thou knowest, ever is it thus, if a finger-nail falls near a house.”When the man had found the broken nail, the judge said, “I, who stand here, am the judge. I will but take from you the silver which you have stolen and no punishment shall be yours, because of the truth which you have told.” Then the judge said to himself, “The two puns of gold was a small price to pay for the wisdom which I have obtained.”
Onceupon a time there was a poor man who ever begged for food, and, as he walked along the road he thought, “If any one will give me to eat until I am satisfied, never will I forget the grace or merit of that person.” Chanting these words as he walked slowly along, he met a wizard.
“What do you say as you walk along, my son?” asked the wizard.
“If any one will give me to eat all I crave, I will never forget the grace or merit of that person,” said the poor man.
“My son, the people of this day are ever careless and ungrateful. They forget benefits,” replied the wizard.
“I will not forget,” vowed the poor man.
“Go on, my son,” said the wizard.
Chanting as before, the poor man went on his way, and as he walked he met a dog.
“What do you say as you go along, my son?” asked the dog.
“Whosoever will give me to eat to my satisfaction, the grace or merit of that person will I never forget,” replied the poor man.
“Men are prone to forget. None remember favors. When I was young and strong, I guarded my master’s house and grounds; now, when I am old, he will not permit me to enter his gate, but curses and beats me and gives me no food. By him are all my services forgotten,” said the dog.
Ever chanting, the poor man walked on, and as he walked he met a buffalo.
“What do you say as you walk along, my son?” asked the buffalo. And the poor man repeated what he had told the wizard and the dog.
“Man is ever ungrateful. When I was young and strong, I plowed the fields so my master could have rice and my master was grateful to me. Now that I cannot work, I am driven out to die,” said the buffalo. And the poor man, discouraged, sought the wizard again.
“My son, will you ever remember benefits?” asked the wizard.
“Never would I forget a benefit,” vowed the poor man, vehemently.
“Then here are two jewels; one, if held in your mouth, will enable you to fly as a bird; the other, if held in the mouth, will give you your desires, and this second one I now give to you,”79said the wizard, and he handed the second jewel to the poor man.
“Your grace and merit will ever be remembered by me. More than tongue can utter, do I thank you. Ever will I wish you health and happiness and pray for blessings on your head,” declared the poor man. Having thus spoken, the once poor man sought his home and, through the virtue of the wishing jewel he had every wish for wealth gratified.
“How do you secure your desires?” asked the neighbors of the once poor, begging man.
“A wizard gave me a wishing-jewel and, by simply placing it in my mouth, all I wish to possess is mine,” answered he. “Listen to me,” he continued, “the wizard has yet another jewel, which, if placed in the mouth, will enable one to fly as a bird. Come, let us go and kill him that we may all possess it together.”
With one accord they agreed, and, as they approached the home of the wizard, the wizard, espying the man he had so benefited, called to him,
“Why have you not visited me, my son?”
“There was no time, much work have I had to do,” replied the ungrateful man.
Now the wizard of course knew the intent80of the wicked fellow, that he, with his neighbors, had come to secure the second jewel, and he asked,
“Why do you desire to kill me?”
“Give to me the jewel you have, else I shall kill you, you old wizard,” cried the ungrateful fellow.
“Have you the wishing-jewel with you? If so, show it to me first,” said the wizard.
Eagerly did the greedy fellow thrust it toward the old wizard, but he, having already placed the flying-jewel in his mouth, seized the wishing-jewel and instead of giving the rascal theflying-jewel, flew away, leaving both the man and his neighbors without either.
Therewas a poor and lonely man who had but a few melon seeds and grains of corn which he planted; tenderly did he care for them, as the garden would furnish his only means of a living. And it came to pass that the melons and corn grew luxuriantly, and the apes and the monkeys from the neighboring wilderness, seeing them,81came daily to eat of them, and, as they talked of the owner of the garden, wondered just what manner of man he might be that he permitted them unmolested to eat of his melons. But the poor man, through his sufferings, had much merit, and charitably and willingly shared his abundant fruit with them.
And upon a day, the man lay down in the garden and feigned death. As the monkeys and apes drew near, seeing him so still, his scarf lying about his head, with one accord they cried, “He is already dead! Lo, these many days have we eaten of his fruit, therefore it is but just that we should bury him in as choice a place as we can find.”
Lifting the man, they carried him until they came to a place where two ways met, when one of the monkeys said, “Let us take him to the cave of silver.” Another said, “No, the cave of gold would be better.”
“Go to the cave of gold,” commanded the head monkey. There they carried him and laid him to rest.
Finding himself thus alone, the man arose, gathered all the gold he could carry and returned to his old home, and, with the gold thus easily gained, he built a beautiful house.
“How did you, who are but a gardener, gain all this gold?” asked a neighbor, and freely the man told all that had befallen him.
“If you did it, I, too, can do it,” said the neighbor, and forthwith, he hastened home, made a garden, and waited for the monkeys to feast in it. All came to pass as the neighbor hoped; when the melons were ripe great numbers of monkeys and apes came to the garden and feasted. And upon a day, they found the owner lying as one dead in the garden. Prompted by gratitude, the monkeys made ready to bury him, and while carrying him to the place of burial, they came to the place in the way where the two roads met. Here they disputed as to whether they should place the man in the cave of silver, or the cave of gold. Meanwhile, the man was thinking thus, “I’ll gather gold all day. When I have more than I can carry in my arms, I’ll draw some behind me in a basket I can readily make from bamboo,” and, when the head monkey said, “Put him in the cave of silver,” he unguardedly cried out, “No, put me in the cave of gold.”
Frightened, the monkeys dropped the man and fled, whilst he, scratched and bleeding, crept painfully home.
Upona day a beggar, who was too lazy to work, but ever lived on the bounty of the people, received a great quantity of rice. He put it in a large jar and placed the jar at the foot of his bed, then he lay down on the bed and thus reasoned:
“If there come a famine, I will sell the rice, and with the money, buy me a pair of cows, and when the cows have a calf, I’ll buy a pair of buffaloes. Then, when they have a calf, I’ll sell them, and with that money, I’ll make a wedding and take me a wife. And, when we have a child large enough to sit alone, I’ll take care of it, while my wife works the rice fields. Should she say, ‘I will not work,’ I’ll kick her after this manner,” and he struck out his foot, knocking the jar over, and broke it. The rice ran through the slats of the floor, and the neighbors’ pigs ate it, leaving the lazy plotter but the broken jar.
15: The motive corresponds to that of the venerable story of the Milkmaid.
Ithappened on a time that a poor fisherman had caught nothing for many days, and while he was sitting thinking sadly of his miserable fortune, Punya In, the god of wisdom, came from his high home in heaven in the form of a crow, and asked him, “Do you desire to escape from this life of a fisherman, and live in ease?” And the fisherman replied, “Greatly do I desire to escape from this miserable life.”
Beckoning him to come to him and listen, the crow told him of a far distant province, whose chow lay dead.
“Both the province and all the chow’s former possessions will I give thee, if thou wilt promise ever to remember the benefits I bestow,” said the crow.
Readily did the fisherman promise, “Never, never will I forget.”
Immediately the crow took the fisherman on his back and flew to the far distant province. Leaving the fisherman just outside the city gate, the crow entered the city, went to the chow’s home, and took the body of the chow away, and, in the place put the fisherman.
When the fisherman moved, the watchers heard, and rejoicing, they all cried, “Our chow is again alive.”
Great was the joy of the people, and, for many years, the fisherman ruled in the province and enjoyed the possessions of the former chow.
But, as time went by, the fisherman forgot the crow had been the author of all his good fortune, that all were the gifts of a crow, and he drove all crows from the rice fields. Even did he attempt to banish them from the province. Perceiving this, the god of wisdom again assumed the form of a crow and came down and sat near the one-time fisherman.
“O, chow, wouldst thou desire to go where all is pleasure and delight?” asked the crow.
“Let me go,” replied the chow. And the crow took him on his back and flew with him to the house where, as a fisherman he had lived in poverty and squalor, and ever had he to remain there.
Inthe days when the earth was young and all things were better than they now are, when men86and women were stronger and of greater beauty, and the fruit of the trees was larger and sweeter than that which we now eat, rice, the food of the people, was of larger grain. One grain was all a man could eat, and in those early days, such, too, was the merit of the people, they never had to toil gathering the rice, for, when ripe, it fell from the stalks and rolled into the villages, even unto the granaries.
And upon a year, when the rice was larger and more plentiful than ever before, a widow said to her daughter, “Our granaries are too small. We will pull them down and build larger.”
When the old granaries were pulled down and the new one not yet ready for use, the rice was ripe in the fields. Great haste was made, but the rice came rolling in where the work was going on, and the widow, angered, struck a grain and cried, “Could you not wait in the fields until we were ready? You should not bother us now when you are not wanted.”
The rice broke into thousands of pieces and said, “From this time forth, we will wait in the fields until we are wanted,” and, from that time the rice has been of small grain, and the people of the earth must gather it into the granary from the fields.
At Work in the Rice Fields.
Chum Pawwas a maiden of the south country. Many suitors had she, but, by her craft and devices, each suitor thought himself the only one. Constantly did each seek her in marriage, and, upon a day as one pressed her to name the time of their nuptials, she said, “Build me a house, and I’ll marry you when all is in readiness.” To the others, did she speak the same words.
Each man sought the jungle for bamboo for a house, and, it happened, while they were in the jungle that they all met.
“What seekest thou?” they asked one another. “What seekest thou?” The one answer was, “I have come to fell wood for my house.”
And, as they ate their midday meal together, each had a bamboo stick, filled with chicken and rice. Now, it happened that Chum Paw had given the bamboo sticks to the men, and, lo, on investigation, they found the pieces in their various sticks were the parts of one chicken, and with one accord, they cried, “Chum Paw has deceived us. Come, let us kill her. Each has she promised to marry; each has she deceived.”
All were exceedingly angry and vowed they would kill the deceitful woman.
Chum Paw, seeing the men return together, knew her duplicity was known and realized they sought to kill her.
“I entreat that you spare my life, but take and sell me as a slave to the captain of the ship lying at the mouth of the river.”
Relenting, the suitors took her to the captain. She, however, running on before, privately told the captain she had seven young men, her slaves, whom she would sell him for seven hundred pieces of silver. Seeing the young men were desirable, the captain gave Chum Paw the silver, and she fled while the seven lovers were placed in irons.
Chum Paw fled to the jungle, but, frightened by the wild beasts, she sought refuge in a tree. And it came to pass that the suitors escaped from the ship and they, too, sought refuge in the jungle. Unable to sleep and also frightened, one of them climbed a tree that he might be safe from the wild beasts, and, lo, it was the same tree in which Chum Paw had taken refuge.
“Be silent, make no noise, lest the others hear us,” whispered Chum Paw. “I love you and knew you were wise and would escape from the91ship. I only desired the silver for us to spend together.”
The unfortunate man believed, and sought to embrace her, but, as he threw up his arms, Chum Paw threw him down, hoping thus to kill him. The others, hearing the commotion, feared a large bear was in the tree and hastily fled. Uninjured the suitor, whom Chum Paw had thrown from the tree, fled with them.
Chum Paw seeing that they all fled ran behind, as she knew no beast would attack her while there was so great a commotion. As the suitors looked back, they saw her, but mistook her for a bear and ran but the faster, and finally, they all, the seven suitors and Chum Paw reached their homes.
Knowing the suitors would again seek her life, Chum Paw made a feast of all things they most liked and bade the young men to come. (All the food was prepared by Chum Paw and poisoned.) “I want but to make meboonbefore I die, so I beg you eat of my food and forgive me, for I merit death,” said the maiden, as they sat in her house. All ate; and all died.
Chum Paw carried six bodies into the inner part of the house, and one she prepared for the grave. Weeping and wailing, she ran to the92nearest neighbor, crying, “I want a man to come bury my husband. He died last night. As he had smallpox, fifty pieces of silver will I give to the one who buries him.”
A man who loved money said, “I will bury him.” When he came to the house, Chum Paw said, “Many times has he died and come back to life. If he comes back again, no money shall you have.”
The man took the body, made a deep grave, buried the man and returned for his silver. Lo, on the mat lay the body! He made a deeper grave and again buried it. Six times he buried, as he supposed, the body, and, on returning and finding it a seventh time, he angrily cried, “You shall never return again.” Taking the body with him, he built a fire, placed the body on it, and, while it burned, went to the stream for water. When he returned, lo, a charcoal man was standing there, black from his work.
Filled with wrath, the man ran up to him crying, “You will come back again, will you? will cause me this trouble again, will you?”
The charcoal burner replied, “I do not understand.” Not a word would the man hear, but fought the burner, and as they struggled, they both fell into the fire and were burned to death.
Chum Paw built a beautiful home and spent the silver as she willed.
Oncea boy of the city, watching a buffalo outside the gate of the largest city in the province, saw three men approaching. Each was the wisest man of the village from whence he came. The boy called to them, “Where go ye, old men?”
The men angrily replied, “Wherefore dost thou, who art but a child, speak thus to us who are old and the judges of the villages from whence we come?”
The boy replied, “There is no cause for anger. How was I to know ye were wise men? To me, ye seem but as other men from a country place,—the wisest of whom are but fools.”
The three men were very angry, caught the boy and said, “We will not enter into the city, but will go to another province and sell this insolent boy, because he neither reverences age nor wisdom.”
The boy refused to walk, so they carried him. All day they walked along the road, carrying the boy, and at night they slept by the roadside. In the morning, when they craved water and bade the boy go to a brook, he refused, saying, “If I go, ye will run and leave me. I will not go.”
Thirst drove one of the wise men for the water, and the boy drank of it freely.
Several days’ journey brought them to a wall of a large city, and night was spent at asalanear the wall. Seeking to rid themselves of the boy, they bade him go to the city for fire to cook food. Realizing their motive, he answered, “Should I go, ye will leave me. I will not go, though, if ye let me tie ye to the posts of thesala, then will I go.”
With one accord they agreed, saying, “Do thou even so. We are weary carrying thee and cannot go for the fire.”
Tying them all, the boy ran to the city, where he met a man whom he asked, “Dost thou wish to purchase three slaves? Come with me.”
The man returned with the boy, saw the men, and gave him full value for each.
Having thus disposed of his captors, the cunning little fellow joined some men going to his native city, and as he walked along, he thought, “I was95ever wanting to see other places, and now I have been carried a long journey, and have silver to last me many days ... surely, I have muchboon.”16
16: Merit.
A hunter, walking through a jungle, saw a man in a pit unable to escape. The man called to him, “If thou wilt aid me to escape from this snare, always will I remember thy grace and merit.” The hunter drew him out of the pit, and the man said, “I am goldsmith to the head chow, and dwell by the city’s gate. Shouldst thou ever want any benefit, come to me, and gladly will I aid thee.”
As the hunter travelled, he met a tiger caught in a snare set for an elephant, and the tiger cried, “If thy heart prompts thee to set me free, thy aid will ever be remembered by me.” He helped the tiger from the snare, and it said, “If ever thou needest aid, call and I will come to thee.”
Then again the hunter went on his way, and came to a place where a snake had fallen into a well and could not get out, and the snake cried, “If thou wilt aid me, I can aid thee also in the time soon to come,” and he assisted the snake. “When the time comes that thou needest me, think of me, and I will come to thee with haste,” said the snake.
Now, it had happened that on the day that the hunter had rescued the tiger it had killed the chow’s child, but of this the hunter knew nothing. And it came to pass that three days after, the hunter desiring to test the words of the tiger, went to the forest. Upon calling it, the tiger came to him immediately and brought with him a long golden chain, which he gave to the hunter. The hunter took the chain home, and, wishing to sell it, sought the goldsmith whom he had befriended. But the goldsmith, seeing it, said, “You are the man who has killed the chow’s child.” And he had his men bind the hunter with strong cords and took him to the chow in the hope of gaining the reward offered to any who might find him who had killed the child.
The chow put the hunter in chains and commanded he die on the morrow. The hunter begged for seven days’ respite, and it was granted97him. In the night he thought of the snake he had helped, and immediately the snake came, bringing with him a medicine to cure blindness. While the household of the chow slept, the snake entered and cast of its venom in the eyes of the chow’s wife, and she was blind.
Throughout all the province the chow sought for some one to restore the eyes of his afflicted wife, but no one was found.
It happened on a day, that word came to the chow’s ears that the hunter he had in chains for the death of his child, was a man of wisdom and knew the merit of all the herbs of the field, therefore he sent for him.
When the hunter came into the presence of the chow unto where the wife sat, he put the medicine which the snake had brought him into the eyes of the princess, and sight, even like unto that of a young maiden, was restored unto her.
Then the chow desired to reward the hunter, and the hunter told him how he had come into possession of the golden chain, of the medicine which the serpent had given him because he had aided it in its time of trouble, and of the goldsmith, who had not only forgotten benefits received, but had accused him so he might gain a98reward. And when the chow learned the truth, he had the ungrateful goldsmith put to death, but to the hunter did he give half of his province, for had he not restored the sight of the princess?
17: This only of the Folk Tales has been written before. It is taken from an ancient temple book and is well-known in all the Laos country.
The “Chow” and his Palace.
Therewas once a poor woodsman, who went to the jungle to cut wood, so he might sell it and buy food for his wife and child. And upon a day, when the cool evening had come, wearied, the man lay down to rest and fell into a deep sleep.
From his home in the sky, the god who looks after the destiny of man was hot-hearted18when he saw the man did not move, and he came down to see if he were dead. When he spake in the wood-cutter’s ear, he awoke and arose, and the fostering god led him home. As they came near the gate, the god said, “Stand here, whilst I go and see to the welfare of thy wife.” Listening without, the god heard the fond wife say to the little child, “I fear some evil hath befallen thy kind father. Ever doth he return as it darkens about us.”
The god knew from her words that the wife was good, and taught the child love and reverence for its father, therefore was he pleased, and returning to the woodsman, sent him in haste to his home, and said, “I, myself, will lay the wood in its place.”
The next morning, when the eye of day opened, the fond wife went for wood to build a fire that her husband might eat of hot food ere he went to his daily labor, and, lo, when she saw the wood which her husband had brought home, all was turned into gold! Thus had the cherishing god rewarded a husband faithful in his work, and a wife loving and thoughtful.
Leaving the house of the worthy woodsman, the god met a man tardily wending his way home with a small, poorly-made bundle of sticks. Approaching him, the god said, “Wait at the steps. I will go first and see how it is with thy wife.” And the god went up unseen, and heard the wife say to her son, “Ever is it thus. Thy father thinks naught of us; he stays away so he need be with us but little.”
Sadly the god returned to the laggard, took the bundle from him, and bade him go to his wife and child, saying he would put the wood in its place.
Late the following day, long after the husband had gone to his work, the wife went for some wood, and, lo, found all the wood had turned to venomous snakes! Then was she afraid, and she grew kinder of heart and strove to make her husband better and happy.
18: Anxious.
Therewas once a poor father and mother who had a little daughter, called “Poison-Mouth.”
And it happened on a day that a great number of cows came into the garden, and when the mother saw them she cried angrily, “You but destroy our garden. I would you were all dead.”
“Poison-Mouth” hearing her mother’s angry words, called out, “Die, all of you, for you are destroying our garden.” And immediately all the cattle dropped dead.
Upon another day, the bees were swarming and great companies flew over the house, and the mother said complainingly, “Why do you never come to us that we may have honey?”
Little “Poison-Mouth” called: “Come to us that we may have honey.” And, lo, before the eye of day had closed, the house was filled with bees and the poor people had more honey than they could use.
Word of “Poison-Mouth” reached a great chow, and, prompted by the god of love to sweeten the poisoned mouth, he sent ten men with this message to the child’s parents: “Take104good care of your child; let her hear no evil, and when she is old enough, I will take her to wife.”
When the men approached the home of “Poison-Mouth” they said, “O, poor people,” but the mother would not permit them to finish, as their words angered her, and she exclaimed, “You are bad dogs!” And the men were no longer men, but dogs, snapping and snarling, for little “Poison-Mouth” had also cried, “Bad dogs are you.”
Though greatly distressed, the chow sent yet again twenty men with his message. And again, when the mother beheld these men, she exclaimed, “See, the dogs coming yonder!” “Poison-Mouth” echoed, “Yes, twenty dogs are coming now,” and they also changed into dogs, fighting on the streets.
“Who can help me?” cried the chow, distressed though not despairing.
An old man answered, “I will help you. I will go to the child.” And, while the mother was absent, he sought the little one, and thus softly said, “My child, thy tongue is given thee to bless with, and not to curse. Come with me, and learn only that which is good.” The little one answered, “I will come,” and the old man took her to the chow, who, from that time forth,105spoke no evil, and, little “Poison-Mouth,” hearing none but beautiful and good words, grew beautiful and good, and her words brought blessings ever.
Therewas once a husband and wife who ever quarrelled. Never were they pleasant with each other.
A wealthy man sought to see if they could spend but a day in peace, so he sent two men with one hundred pieces of silver to them, saying, “If this day be spent without strife, this silver shall be yours.” Then the two men hid themselves near the house to watch after what fashion they spent the day.
“If we are to earn the reward, it were better thou shouldst hold thy tongue with thy hand, else thou canst not endure throughout the day,” said the husband.
“Ever am I quiet. It is well known of all the neighbors that thou, and thou alone, art ever quarrelsome,” retorted the wife.
And thus they disputed until both grew angry, and the quarrel was so loud that all the people106living near heard it. Thereupon the two men came forth from their hiding-place, and said, “The silver does not belong to you, of a certainty.”
Determined to find virtue, the rich man sent the two men with the silver to a husband and wife who never quarrelled, and bade them say, “If this day, you will strive one with the other, these one hundred pieces of silver shall be yours.”
The husband greatly desired the money and sought to anger his wife. He wrought a basket which she wanted to use in sunning the cotton, with the strands of bamboo so wide apart that the least wind would blow all the cotton out of the basket. Yet, when he handed it to his wife, she pleasantly said, “This is just the right kind of a basket. The sun can come in all about the cotton, as though it were not in a basket at all.”
Again, the husband made a basket so narrow at the top that it was difficult to put anything into it, and also the mouth was of rough material so that the hand would be scratched in putting in or taking out the cotton. “Surely, this will anger her,” thought the husband.
Turning it from side to side, the wife said,107“Now, this, too, is just right, for when the wind blows, the cotton will be caught on the rough wood at the mouth and cannot blow away.”
The two men in hiding all day heard nothing but gentle words, so, in the evening, they returned to the rich man, saying, for they knew not the efforts of the husband to provoke his wife, “Those two know not how to quarrel.”
Gladdened, the seeker for virtue commanded them to be given the silver, for they loved peace.
Oncethere lived a woman who had a son and a nephew living with her. And upon a day they came to her desiring money that they might go and trade in the bazaar. She gave each a piece of silver of equal value, and bade them so to trade and cheat that they might bring home much money.
At the bazaar, one bought a large fish, the other, the head and horns of a buffalo, and, as they rested by the roadside on their way home, they tied the large, living fish and the buffalo head together, and threw them in a muddy108stream. When they threw the stones at the fish, it jumped, thus causing the buffalo head to move as though it were alive.
A man saw the head in the water and desired to buy the buffalo. The boys named the price of a live animal, and, having received it, they fled.
As they went along, not long after, they found a deer which a wild dog had killed, but had not eaten of it. It they took with them, and, a drover, seeing it, asked where they had found it.
“Our dog,” said the boys, “is so trained, it goes to the jungle and catches the wild animals for our food.”
The drover desired to buy the dog.
“No,” said the boys, “we will not sell it.”
Their words but made the drover more eager to possess the dog, and he offered ten of his best cattle in exchange. The exchange pleased the boys, and, having received the cattle for their useless dog, they hastened to a large city, where they sold them for much money and returned home. On reaching it, they divided the money equally, but the mother was dissatisfied and desired that her son have the larger portion, therefore she insisted that they make an offering to the spirit in the hollow tree near by, before the money could be rightly divided.
While the boys were preparing the offering, the mother ran and hid in the hollow tree, and when they had made their offering and asked the spirit, “What division must we make of the money?” a voice replied, “Unto the son of the widow, give two portions—unto the nephew of the widow, give one portion.”
Greatly angered, the nephew put wood all about the tree and set fire to it. Though he heard the voice of his aunt, saying, “I beg that thou have mercy on me and set me free,” he would not recognize it, and the widow and the tree perished. Thus, she who had taught him to cheat, by her own pupil was destroyed.
Inthe far north country there lived a father, mother, and son. So poor and desolate were they that their only possession was an old ax. Each morning, as the eye of day opened on the earth, they went to the woods and there remained until the evening, cutting the wood, which, when sold, furnished their only source of a living.
Upon a day, when the cutting was done, they110placed the ax near the wood and went deeper into the jungle for vines to bind the wood. It happened the chow of the province came that way with twelve of his men; one of whom bore an ax of gold, another bore an ax of silver and both belonged to the chow. Yet, when the chow saw the old, wooden-handled ax lying near the wood, he commanded that it be taken home with them.
The family returning found their ax gone. Deeply distressed, they sat down and wept, and thus in trouble, did the chow and his men find them as they came that way again.
“Why are your hearts thus troubled?” inquired the chow.
They answered: “O chow, we had but one ax and it is gone and no other means of earning food have we!”
The chow replied: “I found your ax. Here it is.” And he commanded they be given the ax of silver, whose handle even was silver.
“That is not ours,” they cried, “not ours.”
The chow commanded the ax of gold be given them. Yet they wept but the more, saying, “The golden ax is not ours. Ours was old, ’twas but of steel and the handle of wood, but ’twas all we had.”
Their honesty gladdened the heart of the chow and he commanded that not only their own ax be returned, but the ax of gold, the ax of silver, and even a pun19of gold be given them. Thus was merit rewarded.
19: About 3 lbs. avoir.
Menof three countries wanted a chemical to change stones and metals into gold, and they all came together to worship In Ta Pome, one of the gods. One man was from China, one from India, and one from Siam. They all worshipped at the feet of In Ta Pome, saying, “We beg thee, O In Ta Pome, give unto us the chemical which will change all stones and metals into gold.”
In Ta Pome replied, “Each of you kill one of your children, cut him into pieces and put him into a jar. Cover this with a new, clean cloth, and bring it unto me.”
The Chinaman feared to kill his child, so killed a pig, cut it up and placed it in a jar, over which he tied a close cover.
The Siamese did the same with a dog, but the Indiaman believed in In Ta Pome, and killed his only son, put him into a jar, and covered it.
All returned to the god with their several jars.
In Ta Pome sprinkled the jar of the Chinaman first, saying, “Whatsoever is silver, let it be silver; whatsoever is gold, let it be gold,” but the pig grunted, as pigs do, and In Ta Pome said, “From this time forth, you shall take care of pigs and kill them to gain gold.” Sprinkling the jar of the Siamese, the god again said, “Whatsoever is silver, let it be silver; whatsoever is gold, let it be gold,” but the dog barked, as dogs do, and In Ta Pome said, “You must plow the earth, and only by the sweat of your brow shall you have enough to keep you in food.”
Taking the jar of the Indiaman, and having sprinkled it, In Ta Pome cried, “Whatsoever is silver, let it be silver, and whatsoever is gold, let it be gold,” and lo, the child came to life! And to the Indiaman did In Ta Pome give the chemical that changes all stones and metals into gold, because he had believed, and had not tried to mock and deceive the gods.
Inthe days long since gone by, a young man, a son of a poor widow, desired to go with two of his friends to Tuck Kasula,20the country where one could learn the wisdom of all the world, but he had no gold with which to buy the wisdom, for does not every one know that wisdom is difficult to obtain, and is therefore of great price.
Now, the two young friends had each two puns21of gold, but the widow’s son had but two hairs of his mother’s, which, when he wept because he had no money, the widow had given him, saying, “I have naught but these two fine hairs to give thee, my son, but go with thy friends, each hair will be to thee as a pun of gold.”
Then the son placed the two hairs in a package with his clothing, and sealed the package with wax, and set out with his friends to visit Tuck Kasula.
After they had travelled some time, they grew hungry, and on arriving in a village, they entered116a house for food. The widow’s son left his package and his other goods on the veranda. While he was within the house a hen ran away with the package and lost it. The owners of the hen offered the son anything they had either of food or clothing to replace his loss, but he would be content with nothing but the hen, and they gave it to him.
And again when they entered another house for food, the widow’s son tied the hen to a small bush in the compound, and, lo, an elephant stepped upon it and killed it!
The people offered the young man many things to make good his loss, but he would be content with nothing but the elephant, and they gave him the elephant.
At last they reached Tuck Kasula, and while his two friends, with their gold, sought the house of the teachers, the widow’s son stayed under a tree where he could hear the teachers instructing their disciples.
“If you wish to know others, sleep. If you wish to see, go and look,” said a wise man. “These words are of untold value, but, for only two puns of gold will I give them unto you,” he added.
The widow’s son knew he had heard without117price the wisdom for which his two friends would each have to pay two puns of gold, so he quietly turned the elephant and returned home.
“I will buy your words of wisdom, if you will sell them,” said the judge to the widow’s son.
“For two puns of gold I will sell them,” answered the widow’s son.
“Two puns of gold will I give thee,” said the judge.
“‘If you wish to know others, sleep. If you wish to see, go and look,’” said the widow’s son, when he had in his possession the two puns of gold.
The judge, desiring to test the truth of the words, as he understood them, called unto him his four wives, and said, “I am not well. Give me water to drink, and fan me.” Soon he seemed to be asleep, and his wives talked thus together in low voices:
“It is not pleasant to be the wife of this foolish man,” said the first.
“I like another man better,” said the second.
“I wish I could steal his goods and flee while he sleeps,” said the third.
“I would like to make him a savory dish with poison in it to kill him,” said the fourth.
Then the judge sprang up and cruelly punished his wives and put them in chains.
And upon another day, the judge arose early and went out to see how his slaves worked. Under the house, hunting for something, he saw a man.
“What do you seek?” asked the judge.
“I have just stolen from the judge all of his silver, and, in trying to get it through a small opening, I broke my finger-nail. If I do not find it, the judge will die and all his possessions will be destroyed, for, as thou knowest, ever is it thus, if a finger-nail falls near a house.”
When the man had found the broken nail, the judge said, “I, who stand here, am the judge. I will but take from you the silver which you have stolen and no punishment shall be yours, because of the truth which you have told.” Then the judge said to himself, “The two puns of gold was a small price to pay for the wisdom which I have obtained.”