Part 29

But the wolf said, “Which way then did you come, seeing that my tail spreads all over the four parts of the world, together with the ocean and the hill-villages?”

The sheep rejoined: “As I had heard beforehand from my kinsmen that your tail, O best one, spreads everywhere, I came through the air.”

The wolf replied, “O mother, if you came through the air, you must have scared away the herd of gazelles which I meant to feed upon.”

Having thus spoken, the malefactor made a spring, tore off the sheep’s head, and having killed the sheep, devoured its flesh.

XXX.

OXEN AS WITNESSES. [171]

In a certain hill district there lived a householder, to whom, after his marriage, a daughter was born. He was a tiller of the soil, and ploughed his corn-field himself.

The orphan son of a householder, who was bringing a load of wood from the forest, happened to draw near to that corn-field one day. And he threw down the wood he was carrying, rested awhile, and then said, “O uncle, why do you plough yourself? You must certainly have village affairs to look after. Why, then, do you work like a forester in the forest?”

“O nephew, I have neither sons nor brothers.”

“O uncle, give me the plough. Do you take rest, and I will plough for you.”

With these words he began to plough.

After a time the householder came bringing rice-soup, and invited him to eat. When the meal was finished the householder’s son said, “O uncle, I do not know your house. Go away now, and I will continue ploughing; but come to meet me in the evening.”

The householder went away, and the youth went on ploughing for a time. Then he turned out the two oxen to graze by the side of the corn-field. In the evening he took a load of grass, and set off to go to the village. The householder came to meet him, and brought him to his house. The youth took the oxen to their stall, shook down straw, and placed grass before them. The householder thought that the youth would be useful to him, and that he would give him his daughter to wife. So he said to him, “O nephew, do everything satisfactorily, and I will give you my daughter to wife.”

He began to build a house there. One of his oxen ran into a rice-field, and he could not drive it out, so he reviled it, and then flung a log at it, whereby one of its horns was broken off. In consequence of this, the ox received the name of Hornbreak.

Another time, the ox ran again into the field, and he could not drive it back, so he reviled it, and then flung a sickle at it, whereby its tail was cut off; on account of which it received the name of Stumptail. These two names were afterwards contracted into that of Breakstump.

After some time the youth said to the householder, “Uncle, fulfil what you have promised.” The householder said to his wife, “Good wife, make all the preparations for a wedding. I am going to give my daughter in marriage.” The wife said, “O lord, as our daughter has not been promised to any one, how can she be given in marriage?”

He replied, “I shall give her in marriage.”

“To whom?”

“To this householder’s son.”

The wife said, “Shall I give my daughter in marriage to this fortuneless one, forsooth, who has grown up like white pepper? I shall marry her there where I find food and clothing.”

The husband rejoined, “Good wife, the youth has done me excellent service. If he goes away, I shall be obliged to plough my land myself.”

The wife replied, “I cannot give my daughter to this paltry fellow.”

Then the householder said to himself, “If I tell the youth that I am not going to give him my daughter, he will go away this very day, and I shall be reduced to great straits.” So he tried putting him off from time to time. When the youth again called upon him to fulfil his promise he replied, “O nephew, first of all make an end of the rice-harvest, for I shall have to prepare rice-soup for a very large circle of relatives.”

When that was done, the youth called upon him to celebrate the wedding. The householder replied, “O nephew, as sugar-cane will be wanted, first of all make an end of the sugar-cane harvest.”

The youth did so, and then renewed his demand. The householder said, “O nephew, as bread will be needed, first of all make an end of the wheat-harvest.”

The youth did so, and anew demanded the fulfilment of the promise. The householder said, “As the early rice has come to an end, make preparations for one more harvest.”

The youth thought, “As these things cannot be done at that time, and he is playing with me, I will go into one of the great assemblies of the people, and compel him to give me an answer. If he will not give me his daughter, I will bring it about so that I shall receive her in a friendly way out of the king’s palace.”

So he went into a large assembly of the people, and said, “O uncle, celebrate the wedding.” The householder reviled him, and said, “O friends, I certainly will not give my daughter to this man, who works for me as a day-labourer.” The young man thought, “As I have received from him neither money nor his daughter, I will do him some small injury and then go away.”

After ploughing with the oxen all day he beat them with the goad, fastened them to a dry tree in the sun, and then went away.

Now it was part of the nature of things, not long after the creation of the world, that even brute beasts could speak. And so the two oxen said to him, “O man, you have constantly been for us, as it were, a father and a mother, and have always treated us with kindness. Why have you now beaten us with the goad, after ploughing with us through the day, and why are you going away, after fastening us to a dry tree in the sun? O man, have we wronged you in any way?”

“Ye have not wronged me in the least, but your master has wronged me.”

“In what way?”

“He promised me his daughter, but he has not given her to me.”

“Why do not you go to the palace of the king?”

“I have no witnesses.”

“You just go; we will be witnesses.”

“Will ye speak with the language of men?”

“No. But this is how you must make your asseveration. You must tie us up in our stalls for seven days, and give us neither grass nor water; and on the seventh day you must let us go free to a spot where grass and water are plentiful. And you must appear before the king, and say to him, ‘If I am speaking the truth, may these oxen neither eat grass nor drink water.’”

The householder’s son went to the palace of the king, and said, “O king, that proprietor has promised me his daughter, but he has not yet given her to me to wife.”

The king said, “Have you any witnesses?”

“Yes, O king.”

“Are they human beings or not?”

“No, they are not human beings, but oxen.”

“Can they speak the language of men?”

“No, but my words will in this way be proved to be true. I will tie up these oxen in their stalls during seven days, and leave them without grass or water. But on the seventh day I will let them go free to a place where grass and water are plentiful. Then the oxen, in order to prove the truth of my words, will neither eat grass nor drink water so long as the king refuses to believe me.”

The king said to his ministers, “O honoured ones, let the matter be so arranged.”

The ministers ordered the oxen to be tied up in their stalls. Breakstump asked, “Does the sun rise in the West? why are not we set free?”

The others said, “We have promised the householder’s son, that if he keeps us tied up in our stall, for seven days without giving us grass and water, and lets us go free on the seventh day in a spot which is rich in grass and water, and if he makes asseveration before the king that if he speaks the truth these oxen will neither eat grass nor drink water, then we will neither eat grass nor drink water so long as the king refuses to believe him.”

Breakstump said, “If I were set free I should eat even stones, not to speak of grass.”

The oxen said, “The householder’s son has always acted towards us like a father and a mother. So do not behave in that manner.”

Breakstump said, “It is indeed true that he has behaved towards us like a father and a mother; still, as he has given me the name of Breakstump, I will not consent, but would much rather that his belly should burst.”

The householder’s son visited the oxen from time to time, and asked, “O oxen, how do ye fare?” They replied, “We fare well, but you do not.”

“Why not?”

“Breakstump here has declared that if he be let loose he will devour the very stones, not to speak of grass.”

“Then ought I to give in?”

“Do not do that, but bore Breakstump’s nose. Then, when he wants to eat grass or drink water, we will seize his nose with our horns and hold it up in the air. At the same time you must say, ‘They are pointing to the sun, because they wish to show that the sun, as the fifth guardian of the world, is a witness.’”

So the youth set to work to bore the nose of the ox. Breakstump said, “Honoured ones, see how scandalously he is treating me!” They replied, “Hold your peace, he wishes to embellish you.”

On the seventh day the king, after calling his ministers together, had these oxen driven to a spot rich in grass and water. Breakstump was about to pluck a mouthful of grass, when the other oxen seized his nose with their horns and looked up towards the sun. The king asked his ministers, “O honoured ones, wherefore look these oxen towards the sun?” Then one of the ministers said, “That is done because they wish to show that not they alone are witnesses, but the sun, the fifth guardian of the world, is also a witness.” The king wondered and said to the ministers, “O honoured ones, as the beasts have thus borne witness, do ye take care that the householder gives his daughter to this young man.”

Overcome by the householder-son, the householder bestowed upon him his daughter.

XXXI.

THE STUBBORN AND THE WILLING OXEN. [172]

Long ago two merchants, with five hundred waggons apiece, were journeying along a forest road, where at one time there was too little grass, at another too little water, and sometimes there was nothing at all to be had. So when the merchants, who, as well as their oxen, were in a state of great exhaustion, saw from the forest road a region in which meadows and water were plentiful, they unharnessed their oxen, and they bathed and drank much water. Now when the oxen, which had been greatly exhausted by the want of grass and water, had drunk water and eaten their fill of grass and recovered their strength, the leading one among the first set said to its comrades, “O honoured ones, as we have been completely exhausted by the want of grass and water, and this place is full of water and pasture, if ye are so inclined, we will remain here.”

But the leading ox of the other troop spoke to them in this wise, “O honoured ones, as men are strong and have the mastery over even the difficult to be subdued, and we should only suffer damage at their hands, let us endure the burden which shall be laid upon us.”

When it had thus spoken, the first chief ox said angrily to its troop, “O honoured ones, who has seen the further side of the moon? Let those oxen submit to their burden. We will not endure ours.”

So when the merchants began to load their oxen, and the first set of animals held stubbornly back, the merchants beat them and lacerated them with thorny rods, and yoked them dripping with blood to the waggons. But the others submitted to the yoke without resisting, so no harm came to them. Thereupon a deity uttered this śloka:

“See how the steers which the ox misguided, bleeding and wounded, suffer hunger and thirst. See how those which the ox rightly advised, after leaving the forest, quaff cooling water.”

XXXII.

THE ASS AS A SINGER. [173]

When in long-past times the Bodisat, in consequence of his aggregation of merits remaining incomplete, had been born in a herd of horned cattle as a bull, he used to go out of the city in the evenings to a bean-field belonging to the king, and there take his food. But by day he lived in the city. There an ass joined him. It said one day, “O uncle, your flesh and your blood and your hide thrive, and yet I have never seen you change your abode.”

The bull answered, “O nephew, I feed at eventide in the king’s bean-field.”

The ass said, “Uncle, I will go with you too.”

The bull objected, “O nephew, as you are wont to let your voice resound, we might run a risk.”

The ass replied, “O uncle, let us go, I will not raise my voice.”

After they two had broken through the enclosure of the bean-field and reached the interior, the ass uttered no sound until it had eaten its fill. Then it said, “Uncle, shall not I sing a little?”

The bull replied, “Wait an instant, until I have gone away. Then do just as you please.”

The bull ran off, and the ass lifted up its voice. As soon as the king’s people heard that, they seized the ass, and in order to punish it, as in their opinion it had devoured the whole produce of the king’s bean-field, they cut off its ears, fastened a pestle to its neck, and then set it free. As it wandered to and fro, the bull saw it, and pronounced this verse—

“Excellently hast thou sung forsooth, and therefore obtained thy recompense. In consequence of thy song I also well-nigh lost my ears.

“He who knows not how to keep his word, to him may easily happen some such thing as this; to wander to and fro, adorned with a club and destitute of ears.”

The ass also gave utterance to a verse, “Keep silence thou with broken teeth, be silent then, O old bull; for three men are searching for thee with clubs in their hands.”

XXXIII.

THE JACKAL AS CALUMNIATOR. [174]

A.

In long-past times there lived in a certain forest a pregnant lioness. Now it is the custom of lionesses to lay up stores of flesh for the time when they shall bring forth their young. The lioness, having followed after a herd of cattle, struck down a cow which had calved, and which, while taking care of her calf, lagged behind the rest of the herd. The lioness killed the cow, and dragged it off to her lair; the calf, which wanted to suck her mother’s teats, following after her. The lioness was at first inclined to kill the calf too, but reflected that it would serve as a playfellow for her cub so soon as she brought it into the world. She gave birth to a male cub, which she suckled along with the calf.

After they had both grown up, the lioness fell ill, and before her death spoke thus, “O children, as ye have both sucked the same dugs, behave as brothers. The world is full of evil calumniators. Take heed, when I am dead, that ye do not listen to such persons.”

The lion, which ate the good flesh of the gazelles he killed, and drank his fill of their blood, grew big; and so did the bull, which fed on the good grass guarded by the lion, and enjoyed clear water. The lion, as the king of beasts, was followed about by an old, very greedy, remainder-devouring jackal. When the lion had killed gazelles, and having devoured their good flesh and drunk their good blood, tranquilly rested, none of the rest of the smaller beasts dared to draw nigh. Only the old jackal used to approach, in order to enjoy what remained over of the good flesh and blood, thanks to which his hide, his flesh, and his blood all thrived.

One day, when the lion had eaten the good flesh of gazelles and drunk their good blood, he hastened to his lair, where he played with the bull. In the meantime the smaller beasts devoured the remains. The jackal thought, “First, I will go to see whither the lion has gone.” Having followed after the lion, the jackal saw him playing together with the bull, and came to the conclusion that the bull was the adversary of his maw, and that therefore he must set those two comrades at variance. So with drooping ears he appeared before the bull. The bull said, “O uncle, has any hot wind arisen?”

The jackal replied, “O nephew, a very glowing wind has arisen.”

“What is it then that has happened?”

“The lion has asked, ‘Whither has gone the bull which belongs to my stores of flesh? If I find no other flesh, I shall devour that bull.’”

The bull replied, “O uncle, our dying mother said to us twain, ‘O children, as ye have both sucked the same dugs, be brothers. The world is full of evil calumniators. Take heed that ye listen to none of them after my death.’ As she has left behind her such a legacy as this, do not talk in that way.”

The jackal said, “O nephew, as you will not listen to my well-meant words, you will go to perdition.”

The bull asked, “O uncle, what then will be the course of events?”

The jackal replied, “O nephew, the lion will come forth from his lair, and will stretch himself, and after he has stretched himself he will yawn, and after he has yawned he will look round on all four sides, and after he has looked round on all four sides, he will roar three times, and when he has come to where you are, he will think, ‘This creature will kill me;’ be sure of that.”

Afterwards the jackal betook himself with drooping ears to the lion. The lion asked, “Uncle, has a hot wind arisen?”

The jackal replied, “O nephew, a very glowing wind has arisen.”

“What has happened then?”

“The bull has said, ‘Whither has my lion-grass gone? As his mother killed my mother, I will slit up his belly.’”

The lion said, “O uncle, our mother, before she died, thus spoke to us twain, ‘As ye two have sucked the same dugs, be brothers. The world is full of evil calumniators. Take heed that ye do not listen to any of them.’ As she has left such a legacy behind, do not speak in such a manner.”

The jackal replied, “O nephew, if you do not now listen to my well-meant words, you will go to perdition.”

The lion said, “O uncle, what will take place?”

The jackal replied, “O nephew, the bull will come forth from the meadow, and will stretch himself, and when he has stretched himself he will bellow, and when he has bellowed he will tear up the ground, and when he has torn up the ground he will come snorting into your presence and will think, ‘This one will kill me;’ know all this.”

Although those two animals were constantly in the habit of acting in this way according to their natures, they had never taken any notice of the fact. So when one day after this the lion, the king of beasts, came forth from his lair, after stretching and yawning and looking around on all four sides, and roaring three times, he appeared in presence of the bull. Likewise the bull had come out from the pen, and had stretched himself, and bellowed, and torn up the ground and snorted, and then it appeared in presence of the lion. Although they had both been accustomed to act in this way according to their natures, they had never taken any notice of the fact. But they noticed it now that the seed of discord was sown. The bull thought, “He will kill me,” and the lion thought just the same. The lion seized the bull’s breast with his claws, the bull slit up the lion’s belly with his horns. And so they both perished.

A deity uttered the following verse: “Men who pay regard to what is good, ought not to hold converse with bad men. See how the jackal set at variance the lion and the bull who had been friends.”

B.

In long-past times there lived in a forest a lioness with her cub and a tigress with her cub. While the lioness was absent one day, her cub, while wandering about, came into the neighbourhood of the tigress. When the tigress saw it, she was going to kill it, but she changed her mind, seeing that the young lion might be a playfellow for her own cub, and so she began to give it suck. The lioness, on her return from her outing, not finding her young one, set to work to look for it, and at length saw the tigress suckling it. When the tigress perceived the lioness, she was frightened and began to run away. But the lioness cried out to the tigress, “O sister, run not away. Let us dwell together, so that, when I go out, you can take care of my young one, and when you go out, I will take care of yours.” So they took to dwelling together, and they called the lion cub Sudaṇshṭhra, and the tiger cub Subāhu. And the two cubs grew up.

After a time the lioness and the tigress fell ill, and when the time for their departure came, they said to the two young beasts, “O children, as ye have both sucked the same dugs, be ye brothers. The world is full of evil calumniators, take heed after our death not to listen to any of them.”

Now the young lion was wont to kill gazelles, and to devour their good flesh and lap their good blood, and then, having done this, to betake himself at once to his lair. But the young tiger, when he went out, underwent great fatigue in killing gazelles, and having devoured their flesh and lapped their blood, returned home after a long absence. One day the tiger devoured the remains of a meal which he had hidden away, and then returned quickly home. The lion asked, “How is it that you, who never came back before till after a long time, have returned to-day so soon?” The tiger replied, “I have eaten the stores which I had set aside.” The lion asked, “Do you lay up stores, then?” The tiger said that it did. The lion said, “When I have slain gazelles and eaten their good flesh and lapped their good blood, I am wont to go away without troubling myself further.” The tiger replied, “You are strong. I cannot do like that.” The lion said, “Let us go together.” So they took to going out together.

Now an old, very malicious, remainder-devouring jackal, was in the habit of following after this lion, the king of the beasts. The jackal considered that the tiger was the antagonist of his maw, and that he must set those two animals at variance. So he came into the presence of the lion with drooping ears. The lion said, “O uncle, has any hot wind arisen?”

The jackal replied, “O nephew, a very scorching wind has arisen.”

“What has happened then?”

“This tiger has said, ‘Where has my lion-grass gone? As he leaves me to feed on remnants, I will assuredly kill him.’”

The lion replied, “O uncle, our two mothers said to us just before they died, ‘O children, as ye two have sucked the same dugs, be brothers. The world is full of evil calumniators. Take heed that after we are both dead, ye do not listen to any one among them.’ As they have left such a legacy behind them, do not you speak in that way.”

The jackal said, “As you will not listen to my well-meant words, you will come to ruin.”

The lion said, “O uncle, what will be the course of events?”

The jackal replied, “O nephew, the tiger will come forth from his lair, and will stretch himself, and after stretching he will yawn, and after yawning he will look round on all four sides, and after looking round on all four sides he will roar three times, and then come into your presence and think, ‘He will kill me.’ Be sure of this.”

Afterwards the jackal went with drooping ears to the tiger. The tiger asked, “O uncle, has some hot wind arisen?”

The jackal replied, “O nephew, a very scorching wind has arisen.”

“What has happened then?”

“This lion has said, ‘Where has my tiger-grass gone? I will assuredly kill him.’”

The tiger said, “O uncle, our two mothers said to us, just before they died, ‘O children, as ye have sucked the same breast, be brothers. The world is full of evil calumniators. Take heed that ye do not listen to any of them. As they have left us this legacy, do not you speak in that way.’”

The jackal replied, “O nephew, as you will not listen to my well-meant words, you will go to ruin.”

“O uncle, what then will be the course of events?”

“O nephew, this lion will come forth from his lair and will stretch himself, and after stretching he will yawn, and after yawning he will look round on all four sides, and after looking round on all four sides, he will roar three times, and then come into your presence, and think, ‘He will kill me.’ Be sure of all this.”