Part 3

A diligent search failed to discover the image of gold, and, true to his word, the chow gave of his goods and his province to the princess. Rejoicing, and hoping thus to discover her husband, the princess gave a large feast, and bade all the people. While all were feasting, lo, a man, in soiled garments and carrying a heavy tusk of an elephant, came towards them, and immediately did the princess recognize her husband, and the husband, realizing after what manner his wife loved him, grew to love her, and together they lived in her province for many, many years.

An Unexpected Issue

Far away from other men, on the side of a lonely mountain, a man and his wife were preparing their ground that they might plant the hill rice. Their work was hard, and they saw no one from day to day, and, upon a time, when tired of their labor, the husband said,

"Let us play that we are young and unmarried, and that I am coming to visit you to try to gain you for a wife."

The wife dressed herself as a young maiden, with flowers in her hair, and sat at the spinning-wheel.

The husband came as though from a distance, and in his hand he carried the stem of a banana leaf, which he pretended was a musical instrument. Playfully, he drew his fingers over it, singing, "It is pleasant to be here. Where you are, I am happy. Where you are not, I am but of little heart and sad." He drew near, and, as he was not forbidden, he walked up into the house and sat down by the maiden. Bowing himself to the ground, he spoke, saying, "O fair princess, I come but as your servant! May I sit here near you?"

Smilingly she answered, "To sit there is but a waste of time."

"I am not sitting where another has sat. Tell me, do I talk to one who has another lover?"

"I fear that the one who loves you, and whom you loved ere you came to me, will be angry with me and curse me," she coyly answered.

Then he feigned anger, and moved away quickly. In his haste he did not see where he was going, and he fell down the steps of the house, upon a stone. Though he lay there groaning, and called, "O, help me!" his wife thought him still in sport and sat quietly at her wheel. Having waited some time, she arose and went to him, and, lo, he lay there dead!

"Had we worked and not played as children, my husband would be yet alive," lamented the wife.

V Temples and Priests

The Giants' Mountain and the Temple

In the time long since gone by, when the world was young, the men of a large province desired to build a temple, a temple which might be seen by men from afar. Their ground, however, was low, and there was no lofty mountain on which they might rear it, and it was deemed wise by all to entreat the giants, who lived in the far East, to help them bring the earth together in one place for a mound.

Willingly did the giants consent to aid them, but asked, "Why labor to dig the earth and pile it into a mound? Behold the high hills are ours, with our strong arms we can remove the top from one of them and bring it to you and you may rear your beautiful temple thereon, and all men can see it. Go, therefore, and make ready your bricks and mortar, bringing to one place all the materials which you will require, whilst we carry one of our mountains to you for your use."

The giants went their way to bring a mountain-top from the far East to the plains near the city. Day after day they labored and moved the mountain top a great distance, but the people neither helped them nor did they even commence to prepare the materials for the temple. As the giants toiled, word was brought them that the people were sitting in idleness on the ground.

"Come help us, or gather the materials together," the giants sent word.

"You, yourselves, offered to carry the mountain-top to us. Your words are stronger than your deeds. You say you will aid us, then ask us to help you," the people replied. This they said, thinking to goad the giants on to the labor of bringing the mountain-top to the desired place.

"We offered to aid you," retorted the giants, "but you sit and watch while we do all. Had you done your part, we would have done ours. Now, you shall labor, and we, from our high mountain, will laugh at you."

Thereupon they left the work and sought their homes, and wearily did the men of the plains dig the earth, carrying it in small loads into one place to build the mound, and sadly did they look toward the East, where they could see the mountain-top the giants had carried such a distance to them, and most bitterly did they repent not having done their share.

The temple is builded now, and from afar the people can see the gleam of the spire when the eye of day first opens in the East, or closes in the West, and, to this day the mountain-top lies there far distant from the mountain range and equally far distant from the city of the plains, and the people point it out to strangers, saying, "If you ask aid from others, it is well to put your own heart into the work."

Cheating the Priest

Upon a time a man and his wife went a day's journey from their village to the bazaar to sell their wares, and it fell upon the day of their return that it rained heavily, and as they hurried along the highway, they sought shelter from the head priest of a temple. He, however, would not even let them enter. They begged to be permitted to sleep in the sheltered place at the head of the stairs, but this also the priest refused. Angered, they went under the temple and there rested.

When the priest had lain down on his mat in the room just over the place where the man and his wife were hidden, he heard the man say to his wife, "It will be good to be again with our young and beautiful daughter. I trust all is well with her."

Having heard these words, the priest arose hastily and called, "Come up, good people, and sleep in the temple. Here, too, are mats to rest upon." And, as they talked of their beautiful daughter, the priest asked, "When I am out of the temple, released from my vows, will you give me your daughter to wife?"

Looking at his wife, the husband replied, "It is good in our sight."

When the morning came and they wished to steam some rice for their breakfast, they had no pot, but the priest freely offered the use of his pot and insisted upon their using of the sacred wood for their fire, the wood which was used in propping the branches of the Po tree.[13]

Being ready to go on their way, the priest presented them with gifts of food, silver and gold, saying, "I will soon leave the priesthood and come to marry your beautiful daughter."

But three days had passed, when the man and his wife came again to the temple and told the priest that their daughter was dead, and a long time they all mourned together.

"I will ever remain true to my love for your daughter. Never will I leave the priesthood," vowed the priest, while the man and his wife returned to their home, spent the silver and gold the priest had given them, and cheerfully laughed at him, for never had they had a daughter!

13: The sacred tree of Buddhists.

The Disappointed Priest

In a temple of the north lived a priest who had great greed for the betel nut.[14] One day, compelled by his appetite, he inquired of a boy-priest if no one had died that day, but the boy replied he had heard of no death.

A man, while worshipping in the temple, overheard the priest's words, and on his return to his home, said, "The priest wants some one to die so he can have betel to eat. Let us punish him, because he loves the betel nut better than the life of a man. Make me ready for the grave, then wail with a loud voice and the priest will come."

When all was ready, they wailed with a loud voice and the priest, filled with cheerful thoughts of satisfying his appetite, came quickly.

The people all said, "We must hasten to the grave with our dead brother. As it is already evening, we will not have the feast until we return."

All hastened to the place of burning, and, upon reaching it, they took one end of the cloth covering the body and placed it in the hands of the priest, while the other end they left on the body of the supposed dead man.

"While you ask blessings on our dead brother, we will go prepare wood for the burning," said the people, and, leaving the priest praying, they returned as they had come, cut thorns and briars and placed them on and about the path, so the priest could not escape unhurt. Then they hid themselves.

As the darkness closed about him, the priest prayed fast and loud. Lo! the man stirred and groaned, and the priest cried, "O, my father, I am asking blessings on thee! Why movest thou?"

Again the man rose up and groaned even louder, and the priest, terrified, ran away towards the temple. Caught by the briars, he fell headlong, cut and bleeding. With great effort, he at last reached the temple, and with much pain had his wounds dressed by the boy-priest. Not until he had rested, did he inquire of the boy if the people of the dead man had brought any betel to the temple in his absence.

"No," said the boy-priest. "Go to the house of the dead man and eat with them."

But the priest most vehemently said, "If ten or twenty men die, I will not go again. Die like that man! I shall never go again."

14: Areca nut. Chewing this nut is a habit common among all the peoples of Farther India and Malaysia.

The Greedy Priest

In the compound of a temple in the south there was a large fruit tree, the fruit of which was coveted by all, as they passed, but the head priest would permit no one to eat of it, because he was greedy and selfish and wished but to satisfy his own appetite.

Two men, talking together, said they would obtain fruit from the priest, and they would have it without price.

One came and asked for the fruit. The priest refused him gruffly, saying, "I need it for my own use." The man replied, "I desired it to eat with my venison curry, of which I have so much that I want you to come and eat with me." On hearing this the priest said, "Take what you want." Filling his scarf with the coveted fruit, the man left the priest, saying, "I will call for you as the eye of day closes."

Shortly after, the second man came and begged for fruit and likewise was refused, until he said he wished it to eat with his pork curry, and, that as the eye of day closed, he would come for the priest to eat with him, when the priest said, "All you desire, take." And the man filled a large basket with the coveted fruit.

As the eye of day closed, the two men called together for the priest.

When they reached a fork in the road, one laid hold on the arm of the priest, and said, "Come with me first, my house is down this way."

"Come with me first," said the other, "my family will already be eating."

Thus they disputed, drawing the greedy old priest this way and that until he was bruised and tired, when he said, "It is enough. I will neither eat of the venison, nor of the pork."

And the men went home and laughed, for neither had the one venison nor the other pork.

The Ambitious Priest

There is a tale of an old priest who prayed each day that the gods would give him a jewel of great price--one that had the power to make him fly as a bird.

A young priest in the temple hearing his prayer, secured the eye of a fish and hid it in his room, and when again the old priest prayed for the jewel, the young priest brought the eye of the fish and gave it to him. Then was the old priest glad, "Now can I rise up as though on wings and fly from this earth," said he.

Selecting two large palm leaves, thinking "I must have wings first," he tried to fly, but could not.

The young priest said, "From here you cannot fly; it is not high enough. Go up to the roof of the temple and fly from there."

Acting on this suggestion, the old priest went up to the roof, but fell from his high place, and, lo, when they came to him, he was dead!

VI Moderation and Greed

The Wizard and the Beggar

Once upon 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," said 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 intent of 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 the flying-jewel, flew away, leaving both the man and his neighbors without either.

A Covetous Neighbor

There was 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, came 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.

A Lazy Man's Plot[15]

Upon a 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.

The Ungrateful Fisherman

It happened 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.

The Legend of the Rice

In the days when the earth was young and all things were better than they now are, when men and 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.

VII Parables and Proverbs

"One Woman in Deceit and Craft is More Than a Match for Eight Men"

Chum Paw was 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.