Part 5

Presently the Mouse found herself a third time with child, and this time she prayed to the gods that her child might become wise, wealthy and powerful; and when the child appeared she saw that it was a young man child. As the Boy grew up the mother was afraid that he, too, like his brothers, would want to leave his nest and go out into the world to live with his fellow-men. So she told him the story of his two elder brothers, and explained to him that he was a man child, and could not wander away into the jungle like they did, but must stay in the nest. The Boy promised to do so, and every day he used to sit and play about at the mouth of the nest.

Now it happened that in that country there lived a Mussulman, who made his living as a barber and by paring people’s nails. This man, who was very clever at his work, was often employed in the King’s palace, and one day, as he was going to his work in the palace, he passed near to the Mouse’s nest. There he saw the Boy seated on the ground, and, going up to him, he asked him whether he would like his hair cut and his nails pared.

The Boy said, “Yes,” and the Barber proceeded to cut his hair. To the Barber’s astonishment, each hair, as it fell to the ground, immediately turned into diamonds, pearls, and other jewels; and when he proceeded to pare the Boy’s nails, each paring, as it touched the ground, became a beautiful turquoise.

The Barber then went on to the palace, and as he was cutting the King’s hair, he told him about the miraculous child, whose hair and nails turned into jewels. The King, who was a greedy and unscrupulous man, determined to gain possession of so valuable a Boy, so he sent out some of his servants to bring the Boy up to the palace. When the Boy arrived, he was brought before the King, and the King told him that as he had been found trespassing in the royal forests, he intended to kill the mother, and to keep the Boy as a slave, unless the Boy could furnish him at once with four full-grown Tigers to guard the four gates of the palace, in which case he would marry the Boy to his daughter and would give him half his kingdom.

The poor Boy went in great grief to Mother Mouse, and related to her the whole of his interview with the King. The Mouse told him not to vex himself, and she gave him a handful of Tiger’s hair and sent him out into the jungle with full directions as to what he should do.

The Boy went off into the heart of a dense thicket in the jungle, and throwing the Tiger’s hair into the air, he called out at the same time:

“Brother Tiger! Brother Tiger! Brother Tiger!”

Scarcely had the words left his lips when he heard a low, deep growl just beside him, and a great Tiger stalked out of the thicket, licking his chops.

“Here I am, Brother,” said the Tiger. “What do you want?”

“Oh! Brother Tiger,” said the Boy, “the King has said that if I do not immediately provide him with four full-grown Tigers to guard the four gates of his palace he will kill our mother and make me a slave.”

On hearing this the Tiger laughed aloud.

“Is that all?” said he. “That is easily arranged. I can get you a hundred Tigers.”

So saying, he opened his mouth, and gave forth a series of fearful roars; and in a few minutes the whole jungle seemed to be full of Tigers, hastening up from all directions. When they were all ready, the first Tiger told his brother to mount upon his back, and so, with the Boy leading the way, and the other Tigers following in procession, they all went off in a body to the King’s palace.

As they approached the palace great consternation arose; servants ran hither and thither, and the guards were called to arms. And when the King was told what was happening he was greatly alarmed himself, but he seated himself on his throne, and gave orders for the Boy and the Tigers to be admitted.

The Boy rode in on the Tiger’s back to the royal presence, followed by all the other Tigers; and halting a few steps from the throne he said:

“Here, oh King! are a number of the best Tigers I could find in the forest. You can take your pick of any four you like.”

The King was very much astonished at this, and having selected four of the finest Tigers, he allowed the others to go away. But he still hankered after the jewels, and in a few days’ time he again summoned the Boy before him, and told him that unless he at once furnished four Peacocks to sit one on each of the four golden pinnacles of his palace roof, he should kill his mother and keep the Boy as a slave.

The poor Boy was very down-hearted on hearing this, and went sadly back to his mother with the news; but the little Mouse told him that it was all right, and giving him a handful of Peacock’s feathers, she instructed him how to proceed. So the Boy went off to the top of a high hill, and, throwing the feathers into the air, he called aloud:

“Brother Peacock! Brother Peacock! Brother Peacock!”

Immediately a fluttering sound was heard, and a magnificent Peacock dropped to the ground in front of him from the branch of a neighbouring tree.

“Here I am, Brother,” said the Peacock. “What do you want with me?”

“Oh! Brother Peacock,” said the Boy, “the King says that if I cannot at once provide him with four Peacocks to sit on the four golden pinnacles of his palace, he will kill our mother and make me a slave.”

“Never mind,” said the Peacock, “we can easily arrange that.”

So he fluttered back to the top of a high tree, and called the loud, shrill call of the Peacocks.

In a few moments the air was bright with numbers of fine Peacocks flying in from all directions.

“Now,” said the first Peacock, “come along to the palace.”

So saying, four of the strongest Peacocks seized the Boy in their claws, and they all flew together over the tops of the trees to the King’s palace.

When the courtiers saw the Peacocks coming, they ran to tell the King, and the King seated himself upon his throne in the courtyard all ready to receive them.

The Peacocks placed the Boy upon the ground in front of the King’s throne, and arranged themselves in rows behind him, with their tails spread.

“Here, oh King!” said the Boy, “are all the finest Peacocks I could find in the forest. You can have your pick of any four of them.”

The King was greatly astonished at what had happened, but he selected the four best Peacocks, and sent away the rest.

But the King still hankered in his heart after the jewels. So, a few days later, he sent for the Boy again, and he told him that unless his Mother Mouse could fight single-handed with the King’s state Elephant and destroy it, he would kill the mother and make the Boy a slave.

The Boy was greatly distressed on hearing this, for he did not think it possible that the little Mouse could compete successfully with the King’s great Elephant; so he went home very sadly and told his mother the whole story. But the Mouse told him he was not to be alarmed, and she directed him to smear her body all over with poison, and to tie a long string to her tail. As soon as she was ready the Boy placed her in the sleeve of his coat, and carried her along to the palace.

In the courtyard of the palace everything had been made ready for the fight. Seats had been prepared behind a barrier for the King and his nobles, whilst the roofs and the windows were crowded with hundreds of people who had come to see the show. At one end of the enclosure the King’s great tusker stood ready, still chained by the leg; and the Boy, with the Mouse in his sleeve, took up his stand at the other end of the arena, face to face with the angry Elephant.

At a given signal the Elephant’s chain was loosed, and with a bellow of rage he rushed towards where the Boy was standing. As he came on, holding his trunk high in the air, the little Mouse jumped to the ground and ran to meet him. The Elephant caught sight of this small object, and stopped for a moment to see what it was, and the Mouse hopped on to his foot. The Elephant at once put down his trunk to feel what was there, and in a twinkling the Mouse jumped into the open end of the trunk, and scuttled up it as fast as she could till she reached the head. She soon found herself inside the Elephant’s brain, and there she ran round and round, smearing poison all over the brain of the great beast.

The Elephant, not knowing what had happened, rushed round the arena, bellowing with rage and pain, and smashing everything within reach of his trunk. But presently, the poison taking effect, he fell to the ground stone dead, and the Boy, pulling the string which was attached to the Mouse’s tail, guided her out of the Elephant’s trunk till she reached the open air.

The King could no longer hesitate to fulfil his promise to the Boy, so he gave him his daughter in marriage, and presented him with half his kingdom. And on the King’s death the Boy succeeded to the kingdom, and he and his mother lived happily ever afterwards.

STORY No. XIII.

THE JACKALS AND THE TIGER.

Once upon a time there was a family of Jackals, consisting of a Father, Mother, and five young ones. After living for some time very comfortably near a large village, they found that the dogs of the village were becoming so numerous and so troublesome that they considered it necessary to change their place of abode. So one fine evening they started off and travelled away across the country, keeping a sharp look-out for some desirable spot in which they might settle down.

After a while they came to the edge of a forest, and having travelled for some little distance into the thickest part of the wood, they arrived all of a sudden at a Tiger’s den. The young Jackals were a good deal frightened at the smell of the Tiger’s den, but Father Jackal reassured them, and said that he thoroughly understood Tigers, and knew how to deal with them. So he went forward alone, and, peeping in, he found that the Tiger was out, but that he had left a large quantity of deer’s flesh lying in one corner, which apparently he had not had time to consume. So he called Mrs. Jackal and the children, and told them to go inside and to have a good feed, and to make themselves quite comfortable. After making a good meal himself off the deer’s flesh, he said to Mrs. Jackal:

“You and the children can now go to sleep; I shall go on to the roof of the den and keep a look-out for the Tiger. When I see him coming I shall rap on the roof, and you must at once wake up the children and make them begin to cry, and when I ask you what they are crying about, you must say that they are getting impatient for their supper.”

Accordingly Mr. Jackal went up on the roof, while his family settled down to sleep in the snuggest corner of the Tiger’s den. Shortly after Father Jackal heard a slight crackling amongst the dry leaves of the forest; and in the dim morning light he discerned the form of a great Tiger approaching his den through the tree-stems.

According to the arrangement he had made, he rapped with a loose stone upon the roof of the den, and Mrs. Jackal immediately woke up the young Jackals and made them cry.

“What are those children crying about?” called out Father Jackal.

“They are very hungry, and getting impatient for their supper,” was the reply.

“Tell them they won’t have long to wait now,” said Father Jackal; “the Tiger will probably be home very soon, and we shall all be eating hot Tiger’s meat before long.”

On hearing this the Tiger was very much alarmed, and thought to himself:

“What kind of strange animal can this be which has entered my den, and is waiting to cook and eat me on my return; it must certainly be a very fierce and terrible creature.”

So without waiting to investigate the matter any further, he turned tail and ran off as fast as he could through the forest. After running some way, he came across an old Baboon, with a great fringe of white hair all round his face.

“Where are you running to, Uncle Tiger?” asked the Baboon.

“Well,” said the Tiger, “the fact is, that a family of strange animals, who call themselves Jackals, are at this moment in occupation of my den. As I was approaching my den, after a long night’s hunting, one of the creatures was actually sitting on the roof, looking out for me, and as I got close up I heard him tell his young ones that they were to have hot Tiger’s meat for supper. Fortunately for me, he hadn’t seen me, so I thought the best thing I could do was to make off as fast as I could, in order to avoid being eaten.”

On hearing this the Baboon was very much amused, and set to work to laugh very heartily.

“Why,” said he, “what a foolish Tiger you are! Have you never heard of a Jackal before? Don’t you know that it is you should eat the Jackals, and not the Jackals you? You come along with me, and I will soon show you how to deal with people like that.”

The Tiger was somewhat reassured on hearing what the Baboon had to say, but, even so, he was at first very reluctant to return again and to incur the danger of being eaten; but the Monkey encouraged him, and finally they set off together, the Monkey twisting his tail round the Tiger’s, in order to give him a feeling of support and confidence.

As they came nearer to the den, the Tiger grew more and more timorous, and would only advance very slowly, ready to take flight at any moment. However, they went on together, tail-in-tail, until presently Father Jackal on the roof of the den caught sight of the pair, and called out:

“That is right, Brother Monkey, bring him along quickly; we are all half starved. But what do you mean by only bringing one of them? I had expected you would bring us at least two or three.”

On hearing this, the Tiger at once suspected that the Baboon was in the Jackal’s employ, and that he was being led into a trap. Without a moment’s hesitation he turned about and fled precipitately into the depths of the forest. The unfortunate Baboon, whose tail was tightly twisted round the Tiger’s, was unable to free himself, and was dragged and bumped hither and thither in the Tiger’s rush through the thickest and thorniest parts of the jungle. When at length the Tiger paused, many miles away, to take breath, he looked back at his flanks, and all he saw of the Monkey was a bit of its tail which had broken off and was still twisted round his own.

He never again returned to his den, which was occupied henceforth by the Jackals, who lived there for many years in peace and comfort.

STORY No. XIV.

THE STORY OF THE THREE THIEVES.

Once upon a time there lived within the dominions of the Emperor of China three very clever Thieves. These men, owing to their skill and cunning, were quite at the head of their profession, and by sleight of hand and dexterity were able to accomplish feats of trickery which the ordinary thieves could not emulate. The first was so clever that he was able to withdraw eggs from under a sitting hen without in any way disturbing her, and without her being aware that the theft had been accomplished. The second was able to cut the soles off a man’s boots as he walked along the road without the victim knowing that he had been robbed. And the third was able to eat his fill off a man’s plate during dinner without the man who was robbed, or his friend opposite, being able to detect where the victuals had gone to.

Now it happened one day that these three Thieves met together in a country inn, and entering into conversation with one another, began to exchange confidences.

“May I ask what you do for a living?” asked the first Thief of the second.

“Oh, I am a Thief,” answered the man who was addressed.

“Very good,” replied the other men, “we also are Thieves. Can you tell us, please, if there is any particular line in which you excel?”

“Yes,” said the second Thief; “I am able to cut the soles off a man’s boots as he walks across the road without his being aware of what has happened. What can you two do, pray?”

“I,” replied the first Thief, “can withdraw the eggs from under a sitting hen without disturbing her.”

“And I,” said the third, “can steal another man’s dinner from off his plate, and eat my fill as he sits at table, without the victim, or the man sitting opposite, being able to detect me.”

So the three Thieves, having struck up a friendship on the ground of their unusual skill, set off together to the court of the Emperor of China, in order to see whether they could not succeed in making their fortunes there.

On arriving at the court they consulted together and came to the conclusion that in order to make any headway in China it was necessary to attract the attention of the Emperor. So they agreed to separate for twenty-four hours, and to meet next day in the courtyard of the palace, each bringing some gift to the Emperor which would please him, and prove to him that they were men of no usual calibre. Accordingly, they parted in different directions, and the following day at noon, they met together in the courtyard of the palace, and each one proceeded to relate his adventures during the preceding twenty-four hours.

“As soon as I left you yesterday,” began the first Thief, “I went into the royal farm adjoining the palace, and there I found one of the Emperor’s pea-hens sitting upon her nest, and hatching a clutch of eggs, which was calculated to produce a breed of the very finest peacocks. By the Emperor’s orders this nest was watched by an attendant night and day, in order that no one should interfere with the eggs, and the pea-hen herself was so cross that she would not allow anyone to approach her except the man who fed her. But such obstacles as these were nothing to me, and I had no difficulty in evading the watchers and abstracting the eggs from under the hen, without even disturbing her, or her being aware of the loss. Now here they are in my wallet, and when the loss is discovered presently, as it is sure to be, and a reward offered for their discovery, I propose to present them to the Emperor.”

The other two Thieves applauded their comrade for his skill and ingenuity, and the second Thief then proceeded to relate his story as follows:

“When we separated yesterday, I at once entered the Emperor’s antechamber, and mingled with the nobles and officials who were awaiting an audience with His Majesty, and amongst the others I soon noticed the Prime Minister. He was a very stout man, dressed in his finest robes, and with a new pair of boots on his feet. As he passed to and fro in the crowd, I succeeded in cutting the soles off his new boots without his having any idea of what had happened. Shortly afterwards he was summoned to the Emperor’s presence, and when he knelt down to kow-tow before His Majesty, it was observed that he had no soles to his boots. The Emperor, thinking that the Minister had committed this serious breach of etiquette on purpose, fell into a violent passion, and ordered him to be imprisoned at once. It was no use for the wretched man to protest his innocence or to plead for mercy. The Emperor’s orders are that, unless a satisfactory explanation is given to him before six o’clock this evening and the missing soles produced, the Minister is to be beheaded. Here are the soles of the Prime Minister’s boots in my wallet, and I propose to present them to His Majesty this afternoon during his public audience. I shall thus earn the gratitude of the Prime Minister and appease the wrath of the Emperor.”

The other two Thieves, on hearing this story, congratulated their comrade on his successful manœuvre, and the third Thief proceeded to relate his adventures as follows:

“When we parted yesterday,” said he, “I entered the palace, and after wandering about for some time I found myself in the chamber where the Emperor’s dinner was being prepared, and where all the chief officials of the palace were assembled to superintend the arrangements for the royal meal. There were the Head Chamberlain and the Under Chamberlains, the Head Usher and the Under Ushers, the Head Waiter and the Under Waiters, and many other officials of minor degree. I mingled with the servants, who were standing about, without attracting any attention, and remained in the room until the Emperor himself entered and seated himself with great ceremony to partake of his mid-day meal. The Chief Cook and the Chief Chamberlain placed themselves in front of the Emperor, in order to see that the service of his food was properly conducted, whilst the other high officials took their stand on either side of his chair and assisted in bringing in the dishes. In spite of all these precautions, however, I was able by my skill to take the food from each dish as it was placed upon the table, before the Emperor had time to partake of more than a very few mouthfuls. As the meal proceeded the Emperor grew more and more annoyed, and complained of the insufficiency of the food which had been prepared for him. Such a thing as this had never occurred before in the palace. The Head Cook and all the Under Cooks, the Head Chamberlain and all the Under Chamberlains, the Head Usher and all the Under Ushers, and all the officials of lower degree, were thrown into a dreadful state of confusion and alarm at the event. They rushed hither and thither, between the kitchens and dining-halls, upbraiding the scullions and other domestics for their carelessness, and preparing the most elaborate and copious dishes for the Emperor’s table. But after some time the Emperor, wearied by the confusion, and unable, in spite of everything, to make a satisfactory meal, gave orders that the whole of the Cooks and other attendants responsible for his table-service should be imprisoned, and that unless a satisfactory explanation of their negligence could be given before this evening they should be beheaded. I have here, in my wallet, the whole of the viands which yesterday were placed before the Emperor for his consumption, and I propose at the audience to present them to him, and inform him what really happened. He will undoubtedly pardon me when he hears the story, and I shall earn the undying gratitude of all the disgraced officials by procuring their release.”

The other two Thieves, on hearing this story, congratulated their comrade warmly upon his daring and success, and the three entered the Emperor’s antechamber together, and awaited the time for public audience.

A few minutes later the great doors leading to the audience chamber were thrown open, and a herald appearing upon the threshold proclaimed “Silence.” He then gave notice that, on the previous day, the eggs had all been stolen from under the Emperor’s favourite pea-hen, and that any person who could find the eggs or give any information concerning their loss should receive a reward; secondly, that for a breach of etiquette the Prime Minister had been imprisoned, and that unless he could explain his offence before six o’clock that evening he was to be beheaded, and that any person who could offer assistance in the matter would be well paid and otherwise rewarded by the Emperor; thirdly, that owing to bad attendance during the Emperor’s repast the previous day, all the domestic officials of the palace had been imprisoned, and would be beheaded at six o’clock that evening unless they could give a satisfactory explanation; and that any person who could assist in the matter would be well rewarded for his pains.

So saying the Herald retired, and the public audience began. When the three Thieves were admitted to the Emperor’s presence, they went in together and made a simultaneous obeisance before the Emperor’s throne.

“Who are you three men?” asked the Emperor, “and what do you want from me?”

“May it please Your Majesty,” replied the first Thief, “I have ventured to bring a small gift for you.”

And so saying he took from his wallet the pea-hen’s eggs, and laid them on the throne.