 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Folklore of the Santal Paragonis, translated by Cecil Henry Bompis. Part 1, Number 17. Kuwar and the Rajah's Daughter, recorded by Kirk Thomas, Atlanta, Georgia. There was once a rich merchant who lived in a Rajah's city, and the Rajah founded a school in order that his own children might have some education, and the boys and girls of the town used to go to the school as well as the Rajah's sons and daughters, and among them the rich merchant's son, whose name was Kuwar. In the course of time the children all learned to read and write. In the evenings all the boys used to mount their horses and go for a ride. Now it happened that Kuwar and the Rajah's daughter fell in love with each other, and she wrote him a letter saying that if he did not marry her, she would forcibly install herself in his house. He wrote back and begged her not to come to his house, as this would be the ruin of his family. But he said that he would willingly run away with her to a distant country and spend his whole life with her, if she would overlook the fact that they were of different casts, and if she agreed to this they must settle to what country to go. Somehow news of their intention got about, and the Rajah was told that his daughter was in love with the merchant's son. Then the Rajah gave orders that his daughter was not to be allowed to go outside the palace, and the merchant spoke severely to Kuwar, and neither of them was allowed to go to the school anymore. But one day the princess went to the place where the Rajah's horses were tied up, and among them was a mare named Piari, and she went up to the mare and said, You have eaten our salt for a long time. Will you now requite me? And Piari said, Certainly I will. Then the princess asked, If I mount you, will you jump over all these horses and this wall and escape? And the mare said, Yes, but you will have to hold on very tight. The princess said, That is my lookout. It is settled that on the day I want you, you will jump over the wall and escape. Then she wrote a letter to Kuwar and gave it to her maid servant to deliver into Kuwar's own hands without letting anyone know, and in the letter she fixed a day for their allotment and told Kuwar to wait for her by a certain tree. So on the day fixed, after everyone was asleep, Kuwar went to the tree and almost at once the princess came to him riding on Piari. He asked her how she had escaped and whether she had been seen, and she told him how the mare had jumped over the wall without anyone knowing. Then they both mounted Piari and drove her like the wind, and in one night they passed through the territory of two or three rajas, and in the morning were in a far country. Then they dismounted to cook their rice and went to the house of an old woman to ask for a light with which to light their fire. Now this old woman had seven sons and they were all robbers and murderers, and six of them had killed travelers and carried off their wives and married them. When Kuwar and the princess came asking for a light, the seven sons were away hunting, and when the old woman saw the princess, she resolved to marry her to her youngest son and made a plan to delay them. So she asked them to cook their rice at her house and offered them cooking pots and water pots and firewood and everything necessary. They did not know that she meant to kill Kuwar and unsuspiciously accepted her offer. When they had finished cooking, Kuwar asked the old woman whether she lived alone, and she told him that she was a widow but had seven sons and they were all away on a trading expedition. The old woman kept on looking out to see if her sons were returning. And she had made an arrangement with them that if she ever wanted them she would set fire to a small hut and they would come home at once when they saw the smoke rising. But before her sons came back, Kuwar and the princess finished their meal and paid the old woman and mounted Piari and galloped off. Then the old woman set fire to the hut and her sons, seeing the smoke, hurried home. She told them that a beautiful girl had just left who would make a suitable wife for the youngest of the brothers. Then the brothers tied on their swords and mounted their horses and went in pursuit. Kuwar and the princess knew nothing of their danger and rode on happily, but presently they heard horses neighing behind them and, looking round, saw men riding after them with drawn swords. Then the princess said to Kuwar, Our enemies are upon us. Do you sit in front and let me sit behind you, then they will kill us both together. If I am in front they may kill you alone and carry me off alive. But while they were thinking of this, the seven brothers caught them up and began to abuse them and charge them with having set fire to the house in which they had eaten their rice and told them to come back with them at once. Kuwar and the princess were too frightened to answer and they had no sword with which to defend themselves. Then the robbers surrounded them and killed Kuwar. And they said to the princess you cannot stay here all alone. We will take you back and you shall marry one of us. The princess answered kill me here at once never will I go with you. They said we shall take away your horse will not that make you go? But the princess threw herself on the dead body of Kuwar and for all they could do they could not drag her off it. Then the murderer said to the youngest brother she is to be your wife you must pull her away. But he refused saying no if I take her away she will not stay with me she will probably hang herself or drown herself. I do not want a wife like that if any of you want her you can have her. But they said it would not be right for one of them to take a second wife while their youngest brother was unmarried and that their mother intended him to marry this girl if he would not they would kill her there and then. But the youngest brother had pity on her and asked them to spare her life so they took away her horse and her food and everything that she had and went away and left her there. For a day and a night the princess lay there weeping and lamenting her dead Kuwar and never ceased for a moment. Then Chando said who is this who is weeping and what has happened to her and he sent Bidhi and Bidha to see what was the matter they came and told him that a princess was weeping over the body of her dead husband and would not leave him though she had been robbed then Chando told them to go and frighten her and if they could frighten her away from her husband's dead body he would do nothing but if she would not leave him then they were to restore him to life so they went and found her holding the dead body of her husband in her lap and weeping and they first assumed the form of tigers and began to circle round her roaring but she only went on weeping and sang you have come roaring, Tigris first eat me, Tigris then only will I let you eat the body of my lord she would not quit the body nor run away from fear of the tigers so they slunk away and came back in the form of two leopards and prowled around her growling but she only sang you have come roaring, leopardous first eat me, leopardous then only will I let you eat the body of my lord and as she would not fly from them they slunk away and came back in the form of two bears but the princess only sang the same song then they appeared as two elephants and then as two huge snakes which hissed terribly but still she only wept and in many forms they tried to frighten her away but she would not move nor leave the corpse of Kuwar so in the end they saw that all the heart of the princess was with Kuwar and that even in death they could not be separated so at last they drew near to her in the form of human beings and asked why she was crying as they had heard her weeping from a long way off and had been filled with pity for her lamentations then the princess said alas this youth and I and as we loved and our lives were bound up in each other we ran away together hither and here on the road he has been killed and the murderers have left me without my horse or food and this is why I weep then Bidhi and Bidha said daughter rise up and we will take you to your home or we will find you another husband this one is dead and cannot be restored to you you will find another come arise you have but one life but the princess answered no I will not go and leave him here I will not leave him while my life lasts but I pray you if you know of any medicine that might restore him to life to try it then they answered we know something of medicine and if you wish we will try to cure him so saying they ground up some symbols and told the princess to spread out a cloth and lay the dead body on it and to put the head which had been cut off into position and then to cover it with the cloth and hold the head in position so she did as they bade and they rubbed the medicine on the body and then they suddenly disappeared from her sight then in a few moments she saw Kuar's chest heave as if he were breathing thereupon she shook him violently and he rose up and said oh what a long time I have slept but the princess said do not talk of sleep you were killed and two men appeared from somewhere and applied medicine and brought you to life again then Kuar asked where they were and she told him how they had disappeared without her knowledge then they rose up and went in search of food to a village where there was a bazaar and they tried to get employment as servants but the people advised them to go to the capital city where the Raja lived and there if no one would take them as servants they could get employment as Kooleys on a big tank which the Raja was excavating so they went there and as they could not get employment as servants they went to work at the tank with the common Kooleys and were paid their wages at the end of the week and so managed to live Kuar's desire was to somehow save five or six rupees and then build a little house for themselves now although the tank had been dug very deep there were no signs of any water then the Raja ordered the center post to be planted in hopes that this would make the water rise and he told the Kooleys not to run away as he would make a feast to celebrate the making of the tank and would distribute presents among them and that this the laborers were very pleased now Kuar's wife was very fair to see and the Raja saw her and fell in love with her and made a plot to get possession of her so when the center post had been planted and still no water came he said I have animals of all kinds one by one they shall be offered and you shall sing and dedicate them so first an elephant was led down into the bed of the tank and the people sang tank we will sacrifice to you an elephant let clear water bubble up o tank but no water came then they led down a horse and sang a similar song but no water came and then in succession a camel a donkey a cow a buffalo a goat and a sheep were offered but no water came and so they stopped then the Raja asked why they stopped and they said that they had no more animals then the Raja made them sing a song dedicating a man to see if that would bring the water so they sang and as they sang water bubbled up everywhere from the bottom of the tank and then the Kulis were stricken with fear for they did not know which of them would be sacrificed but the Raja sent his soldiers and they seized Kular and bound him to the post in the middle of the tank and then a song was sung dedicating him to the tank and as the water rose around him he stopped bitterly but the Raja said do not cry I will arrange for your support and will give you part of my kingdom and you shall live in my palace the princess said yes hereafter I may stay with you but let me now watch Kular till he is drowned so Kular fixed his eyes on the princess and tears streamed down his face until the waters rose to him and the princess also gazed at him till he was drowned then the Raja's soldiers told her to come with him and she said yes I am coming but let me first offer a libation of water to my dead husband and on this pretext she went into the water and then she darted to the place where Kular had been bound and sank beneath the surface but all were afraid to enter the water and she was seen no more then the Raja gave all the Kulis a feast and scattered money among the crowd and dismissed them and this is the end of the story end of Kular and the Raja's daughter this recording is in the public domain this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Folklore of the Santel Parganis translated by Cecil Henry Bompus Part 1 18. The Laughing Fish recorded by David Baker 18. The Laughing Fish there was once a merchant who prospered in his business the course of time became very rich he had five sons but none of them was married in the village where he lived was an old tank which was half silted up and he resolved to clean it out and deepen it if the Raja would give it to him so he went to the Raja and the Raja said that he could have the tank if he paid forty rupees the merchant paid the money and then went home and called his family together and said that they would first improve the tank and then the Raja and his wife for all his sons the sons agreed and they collected Koolies and drained off the water and began to dig out the silt when they drained off the water they found in the bed of the tank a number of big fish of unknown age which they caught and two of them they sent to the Raja as a present when the fish were carried into the presence of the Raja are they laughing? And he told the men who brought the fish to explain what was the matter or else to take them away again. But they could give no explanation. Then the Raja called all his officers and astrologers and asked them what they thought it meant, but no one could give him an answer. Then the Raja told the men to take the fish away again, and to tell the merchant that, if he could not explain why the fish laughed, he would kill him, and all his descendants. And he wrote a letter to the same effect, and fixed a day by which the merchant was to explain the matter. When the merchant read the letter, he fell into the greatest distress, and for two or three days he could not make up his mind whether to go on with the work on the tank or no. But in the end he resolved to finish it so that his name might be held in remembrance. So they finished the work, and then the merchant said to his sons, My sons, I cannot arrange for you marriages, for the Raja has threatened to kill us all, if I cannot explain why the fish laughed. You must all escape from here so that our family may not die out. But the younger sons all answered, We are not able to take care of ourselves, either you come with us to protect us or we will stay here. Then the merchant told his eldest son to escape alone so that their family might not become extinct. So the eldest son took a supply of money and went away into a far country. After traveling a long time he came to a town where a Raja lived and decided to stay there. So he first went to a tank and bathed, and sat down on the bank to eat some refreshment. And as he sat the daughter of the Raja came down to the tank to bathe, and she saw the merchant's son and their eyes met. Then the princess sent her maid servants to ask him where he came from, and he told them from where he came from and that he meant to make a stay in that town, and he promised them a rupee if they could persuade the princess to uncover her face. They went and told their mistress all this, and she answered, Go and get your rupee from him. I will uncover my face, and ask him what he wants. And when they went she drew aside the cloth from her face. Then he gave them the rupee, and they asked him whether he had seen her and what his intention was. Then he said his wish was to marry the princess and live with her in her father's house. When the princess heard this she said yes my heart has gone out to him also. So then she bathed, and went home, and laid down in her room and would not get up, and when her father asked her what was the matter she made no answer. Then they asked her maidens what was the matter, and they said that she had seen a stranger by the tank and wished to marry him. The Rani asked whether the stranger was still there, and they said that they had left him by the tank. So two men were sent to fetch the stranger or to find out where he had gone. The two servants went and found the merchant's son just ready to continue his journey, and they asked him who he was and what he wanted. He said that he was looking for employment what would like best to marry and live in the town of his father-in-law. Then they told him not to go away, and they would arrange such a marriage for him. So they took him to a house in town, and left him there, and went back to the Raja. They told the Raja that the stranger had gone away, but that they could follow him and bring him back if he gave them some money for their journey. So the Raja gave them two rupees. Then they went off, but only ate their dinner at home, and then they brought the merchant's son to the Raja, pretending that they had overtaken him a long way off. He was questioned about himself, and he told his whole history, except that the Raja had threatened to cut off his family, and his account being satisfactory it was arranged that he should marry the princess. Musicians were sent for, and the marriage took place at once. After his marriage the merchant's son was much depressed at the thought of his brother's fate, and in the middle of the night he used to rise up and weep till the bed was soaked with his tears. The princess noticed this, and one night she pretended to go to sleep, but really lay awake and watched her husband, and in the middle of the night she saw him rise quietly and begin to sob. She was filled with sympathy, and went to him, and begged him to tell her what was the matter, and whether he was sorry that he had married her. And he answered, I cry because I am in despair. In the daytime I restrain my tears before others with difficulty, but in the night they cannot be kept back. But I am ashamed for you to see me, and I wait until you are asleep before I give away to my feelings. Then she asked what was the cause of his sorrow, and he answered, My father and mother and brothers and sisters are all doomed to die, for our Raja has sworn to kill them by a certain day if he is not told why to fish, which my father sent to him as a present, laughed when they were brought before him. In consequence of this threat, my father sent me from home that one of the family might survive, and although I may be safe here, the thought of them and their fate makes me weep. The princess asked him what was the day fixed for the mystery to be explained, and he told her that it was the full moon of a certain month. Then the princess said, Come take me to your father's house. I shall be able to explain why the fishes laughed. The merchant's son joyfully agreed to start off the next day, so in the morning they told the Raja why they wished to go, and he said to his daughter, Go and do not be afraid, go in confidence. I promise you that you will be able to explain why the fishes laughed. So they made ready and journeyed to the merchant's house, and when they arrived they told the merchant to go to the Raja and ask him to collect all the citizens on a certain day to hear the reason why the fishes laughed. The merchant went to the Raja, and the Raja gave him a letter fixing the day, and all the citizens were assembled in an open plain, and the princess dressed herself as a man, and went to the assembly, and stood before the Raja. Then the Raja bade her explain why the fishes laughed, and the princess answered, If you wish to know the reason, order all your rainies to be brought here, so the rainies were summoned. Then the princess said, The reason why the fishes laughed was because among all your wives it is only the eldest rainy who is a woman, and all the others are men. What will you give me if this is not proved to be true? Then the Raja wrote a bond promising to give the merchant half his kingdom if this were proved to be true. When inquiry was made it was found that the wives had really become men, and that the Raja was put to shame before all his people. Then the assembly broke up, and the merchant received half the Raja's kingdom. How the Cowherd Found a Bride This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Fulcler of the Santal Paganas, translated by Cecil Henry Bompas, part one, 19. How the Cowherd Found a Bride, recorded by Anna Simon. There was once a Goala who was in charge of a herd of cattle, and every day he used to bring the herd for their midday rest to the foot of a people tree. One day the people tree spoke, and said to him, If you pour milk every day at my roots, I will grant you a boon. So thenceforward the Goala every day poured milk at the roots of the tree, and after some days he saw a crack in the ground. He thought that the roots of the tree were cracking the earth, but the fact was that a snake was buried there, and as it increased in size from drinking the milk, it cracked the ground, and one day it issued forth. At the sight of it the Goala was filled with fear and made sure that the snake would devour him, but the snake said, Do not fear. I was shut up in the netherworld, and you by your kindness have rescued me. I wish to show gratitude to you, and will confer on you any boon for which you ask. The Goala answered that the snake should choose what he would give him. Then the snake called him Neil, and breathed on his hair which was very long, and it became glistening as gold, and the snake said that his hair would obtain for him a wife, and that it would be very powerful, and that whatever he said would come to pass. The Goala asked what sort of things would come to pass. The snake answered, If you say a man shall die, he will die, and if you say he shall come to life, he will come to life. But you must not tell this to anyone, not even to your wife, when you marry. If you do, the power will vanish. Some time afterwards it happened that the Goala was bathing in the river, and as he bathed, one of his hairs came out, and the fancy took him to wrap it in a leaf and set it to float down the stream. Lower down the river a princess was bathing with her attendants, and they saw the packet come floating down, and tried to stop it, but it floated straight to the princess, and she caught it, and opened it, and found the hair inside. It shone like gold, and when they measured it, it was twelve fathoms long. So the princess tied it up in her cloth, and went home, and shut herself up in a room, and would neither eat nor drink nor speak. Her mother sent two of her companions to question her, and at last she told them that she would not rise and eat until they found the person to whom the golden hair belonged. If it were the hair of a man, he should be her husband, and if it came from a girl, she would have that girl come and live with her. When the Raja and Rani heard this, and that the hair had come floating down the river, they went to their daughter, and told her that they would at once send messengers up the stream to find the owner of the hair. Then she was comforted, and rose up and ate her rice. That very day the Raja ordered messengers to follow up the banks of the stream, and inquire in all the villages, and question everyone they met to find trays of the owner of the golden hair. So the messengers set out on both banks of the stream, and followed it to its source, but their search was vain, and they returned without news. Then holy mendicants were sent out to search, and they also returned unsuccessful. Then the princess said, If you cannot find the owner of the golden hair, I will hang myself. At this a tame crow and a parrot which were chained to a perch said, You will never be able to find the man with the golden hair. He is in the depths of the forest. If he had lived in a village, you would have found him. But as it is, we alone can fetch him. Unfasten our chains, and we will go and search of him. So the Raja ordered them to be unfastened, and gave them a good meal before starting, for they could not carry a bag of provisions with them like a man. Then the crow and the parrot mounted into the air, and flew away up the river, and after a long search they spied the goala in the jungle, resting his cattle under the pebble tree. So they flew down, and purged on the pebble tree, and consulted how they could lure him away. The parrot said that he was afraid to go near the kettle, and proposed that the crow should fly down and carry off the goala's flute, from where it was lying with his stick and wrapper at the foot of the tree. So the crow went flitting from one cow to another, till it suddenly pounced on the flute, and carried it off in its beak. When the goala saw this, he ran after the crow to recover his flute, and the crow tempted him on by just fluttering from tree to tree, and the goala kept following. And when the crow was tired, the parrot took the flute from him, and so between them they drew the goala on right to the rajas city, and they flew into the palace, and the goala followed them in, and they flew to the room in which the princess was, and dropped the flute into the hand of the princess, and the goala followed, and the door was shut upon him. The goala asked the princess to give him the flute, and she said that she would give it to him if he promised to marry her, and not otherwise. He asked how he could marry her all of a sudden when they had never been betrothed, but the princess said, We've been betrothed for a long time. Do you remember one day tying a hair up in a leaf and setting it to float downstream? Well, that hair has been the go between which arranged our betrothal. Then the goala remembered how the snake had told him that his hair would find him a wife, and he asked to see the hair which the princess had found, so she brought it out, and they found that it was like his, as long and as bright. Then he said, We belong to each other, and the princess called for the door to be opened, and brought the goala to her father and mother, and told them that her heart's desire was fulfilled, and that if they did not allow the wedding to take place in the palace she would run away with the goala. So a day was fixed for the wedding, and invitations were issued, and it duly took place. The goala soon became so much in love with his bride that he forgot all about his herd of cattle which he had left behind without anyone to look after them. But after some time he betrothed himself of them, and he told his bride that he must return to his cattle, whether she came with him or no. She said that she would take leave of her parents and go with him. Then the Raja gave them a farewell feast, and he made over to the goala half his kingdom, and gave him a son's share of his elephants and horses and flocks and herds, and said to him, you are free to do as you like. You can stay here or go to your own home, but if you elect to stay here I shall never turn you out. The goala considered, and said that he would live with his father-in-law, but that he must anyhow go and see the cattle which he had abandoned without anyone to look after them. So the next day he and his wife set off, and when they got to the jungle they found that all the cattle were lying dead. At this the goala was filled with grief and began to weep. Then he remembered the promise of the snake that he should be able to restore the dead to life, and he resolved to put it to the test. So he told his wife that he would give the dead cows medicine, and he got some jungle roots as a blind and held them to the noses of the dead animals, and as he did so he said, come to life, and behold, one by one the cows all got up and began lowing to their calves. Having thus proved the promises of the snake, the goala was loud in his gratitude, and he filled a large vessel with milk and poured it all out at the foot of the pebble tree, and the snake came and breathed on the hair of the princes, and it too became bright as gold. The next day they collected all the cows and drove them back to the princess's home, and there the goala and his wife lived happily, ruling half the kingdom, and some years after the goala reflected that the snake was to him as his father and mother, and yet he had come away in a hurry without taking a proper farewell, so he went to see whether it was still there, but he could not find it, and he asked the pebble tree, and no answer came, so he had to return home disappointed. End of How the Cowherd Found the Bride This is a Libravax recording. All Libravax recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravax.org. Folklore of the Central Paganas, translated by Cecil Henry Bamba, part one. 20. Kara Anguja, recorded by Nicholas Illich. Once upon a time there were two brothers named Kara Anguja, who were first-class shots with the bow and arrow. In the country where they lived, a pair of kites were doing great damage. They had young ones and a nest in a tree, and used to carry off children to feed their nestlings until the whole country was desolated. So the whole population went in a body to the Raja and told him that they would have to leave the country if he could not have the kites killed. Then the Raja made proclamation that anyone who could kill the two kites should receive a large tract of land as a reward, and thereupon many men tried to kill them. But the kites had made their nest of plows and clawed crushers so that the arrows could not hit them, and the shooters had to give up the attempts. At last Kara Anguja thought they would try, so they made an ambush and waited till the birds came to the nest to feed the yard, and then shot them both through the hole in a clawed crusher into which the pole fits, and the two kites fell down dead at the source of the Ganges and Juna. And where they fell they made a great depression on the ground. Then Kara Anguja carried the bodies to the Raja, and he gave them a grant of land, and the grateful neighbors made a large rice field of the depression which the kites had made in the earth, and this was given to Kara Anguja as service land to their great delight. Kara Anguja used to spend their time in the forest living on what they could find there. They slept in a cave and at evening would cook their rice there or roast jungle roots. One day a tiger spied them out as they were roasting tubers and came up to them suddenly and said, What are you cooking? Give me somewhere I will eat you. So while they went on eating their roasted tubers, they threw the coals from the fire to the tiger at the mouth of the cave, and he crunched them up and every now and then they threw him a bit of something good to eat. The tiger would not go away but lay there expecting to be fed, and Kara Anguja debated how to get rid of him. Then Guja suddenly jumped up and dashed at the tiger and caught him by the tail and began to twist the tail, and he went on twisting until it twisted right off and the tiger ran roaring away. Kara Anguja roasted the tail and ate it and they found it so nice that they decided to hunt the tiger and eat the rest of them. So the two brothers searched for him everywhere and when they found them they chased him until they ran him down and killed him. Then they lit a fire and sing the hair off and roasted the flesh and made a grand meal, but they did not eat the punch. Kara wanted to eat it but Guja would not let him. So Kara carried it away on his shoulder. Presently they sat down in the shade of a banyan tree by the side of a road and along the road came Raj's wedding procession. When Kara and Guja saw this they climbed into the tree and took the tiger's punch up with them. The wedding party came to a halt at the foot of the tree and some of them lay down to eat, and the Rajah got out of his pocket and lay down to sleep in the shade. After a time Kara got tired of holding the tiger's punch in his arms and whispered to Guja that he could hold it no longer. Guja told him on no account to let it go, but at last Kara got so tired that he let it fall right on top of the Rajah. Then all of the Rajah's attendants raised a shout and the Rajah's stomach had burst and all ran away in a panic leaving everything they had under the tree. But after they had gone a little distance they thought of the goods they had left behind and how they could not continue the journey without them. So they made their way back to the banyan tree, but meanwhile Kara and Guja had climbed down and gathered all the fine clothes and everything valuable and taken them up into the tree. And Kara took a large drum which he found and in one end of the drum he made a number of little holes and he caught a number of wild bees which had a nest in the tree and put them one by one into the drum. When the Rajah's attendants came back and saw that there were two men in the tree they called out, why have you dishonored our Rajah? We will kill you. Kara and Guja answered, come and see who will do the killing. So they began to fight and the Rajah's men fired their guns at Kara and Guja till they were tired of shooting and had used up all their powder and shot but they never hit them. Then Kara and Guja called out, now it is our turn. And when the Rajah's men saw that Kara and Guja had nothing but a drum they said, yes it is your turn. So Kara and Guja beat the drum and called, at them my dears, at them my dears, and the wild bees flew out of the drum and stung all of the Rajah's men and drove them right away. Then Kara and Guja took all their belongings and went home and ever after were esteemed as great Rajah's because of the wealth which they had acquired. End of Kara and Guja. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information and to find out how you can volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read and recorded by Betsy Bush. Marquette, Michigan, August 2006. Folklore of the Santal Parganas. Translated by Cecil Henry Bompas. 21. The Magic Cow. There was once a Rajah who had an only son named Kara. And in the course of time the Rajah fell into poverty and was little better than a beggar. One day when Kara was old enough to work as a cowherd his father called him and said, My son, I am now poor, but once I was rich I had a fine estate and herds of cattle and fine clothes. Now that is all gone and you have scarcely enough to eat. I am old and like to die and before I leave you I wish to give you this advice. There are many Rajahs in the world. Rajah above Rajah. When I am dead do you seek the protection of some powerful Rajah. As there was not enough to eat at home Kara had to take services goat herd under a neighboring Rajah by which he earned his food and clothes and two rupees a year. Sometime afterwards his father died and Kara went to his master and asked for a loan of money with which to perform his father's funeral ceremonies and promised to continue in his service until he had worked off the loan. So the Rajah advanced him five rupees and five rupees worth of rice and with the money Kara gave the funeral feast. Five or six days later his mother died and he again went to the Rajah and asked for ten rupees more. At first the Rajah refused but Kara besought him and promised to serve him for his whole life if he could not repay the loan. So at last the Rajah lent him ten rupees more and he gave the funeral feast. But the Rajah's seven sons were very angry with his father because he had lent twenty rupees to a man who had no chance of paying and they used to threaten and worry Kara because he had taken the money. Then Kara remembered how his father had said that there were many Rajahs in the world. Rajah above Rajah. And he resolved to run away and seek service with the greatest Rajah in the world. So he ran away and after traveling some distance he met a Rajah being carried in a Palki and going with a large party to fetch a bride for his son and when he heard who it was he decided to follow the Rajah. So he went along behind the Palki and at one place a she-jackal ran across the road. Then the Rajah got out of his Palki and made a salam to the jackal. When Kara saw this he thought, this cannot be the greatest Rajah in the world or why should he be salam to the jackal. The jackal must be more powerful than the Rajah. I will follow the jackal. So he left the wedding party and went after the jackal. Now the jackal was hunting for food for her young ones and as Kara followed her wherever she went she could find no opportunity of killing goat or sheep. So at last she went back to the cave in which she lived. Then her cubs came whining to meet her and she told her husband that she had been able to catch nothing that day because a man had followed her wherever she went and had come right up to their cave and was waiting outside. Then the he-jackal told her to ask what the man wanted. So she went out to Kara and asked him and Kara said, I have come to place myself under your protection. Then she called the he-jackal and they said to him, We are jackals and you are a man. How can you stay with us? What could we give you to eat and what work could we find for you to do? Kara said that he would not leave them as all his hopes lay in them. And at last the jackals took pity on him and consulted together and agreed to give him a gift as he had come to them so full of hope. So they gave him a cow which was in the cave and said to him, As you have believed in us, we have made up our minds to benefit you. Take this cow. She will supply you with everything you want. If you address her as mother, she will give you whatever you ask. But do not ask her before people for they would take her from you. And do not give her away whatever inducements are offered you. Then Kara thanked them and called down blessings on their heads and took the cow and let it away homewards. When he came to a tank, he thought he would bathe and eat. While he bathed, he saw a woman washing clothes at the other side of the tank. But he thought that she would not notice him. So he went up to the cow and said, Mother, give me a change of clothes. Thereupon the cow vomited up some nice new clothes and he put them on and looked very fine. Then he asked the cow for some plates and dishes and she gave them. Then he asked for some bread and some dried rice. And he ate all he wanted. And then asked the cow to keep the plates and dishes for him. And the cow swallowed them up again. Now the woman by the tank had seen all that had happened and ran home and told her husband what she had seen and begged him to get hold of the wonderful cow by some means or other. Her husband could not believe her, but agreed to put it to the test. So they both went to Kara and asked where he was going and offered to give him supper and put him up for the night. And give grass for his cow. He accepted this invitation and went with them to their house and they gave him the guest room to sleep in and asked what he would have to eat. But he said that he did not want any supper for he intended to get a meal from the cow after everyone was asleep. Then the man and his wife made a plot and pretended to have a violent quarrel. And after abusing each other for some time the man flung out of the house in a passion and pretended to run away. But after going a short distance he crept back quietly to the guest room. Hanging from the roof was the body of a cart and he climbed up into that and hid himself without Kara knowing anything about it. When Kara thought everyone was asleep he asked his cow for some food and having made a good meal went to sleep. The man watching up above saw everything and found that his wife had spoken the truth. So in the middle of the night he climbed down and led away Kara's magic cow and put in its place one of his own cows of the same color. Early the next morning Kara got up and unfastened the cow and began to lead it away. But the cow would not follow him. Then he saw that it had been changed and he called his host and charged him with the theft. The man denied it and told him to call any villagers who had seen him bring his cow the day before. Now no one had seen him come but Kara insisted that the cow had been changed and went to summon the village headman and the villagers to decide the matter. But the thief managed to give a bribe of one hundred rupees to the headman and one hundred rupees to the villagers and made them promise to decide in his favor. So when they met together they told Kara that he must take the cow which he had found tied up in the morning. Kara protested and said that he would fetch the person from whom he had got the cow and take whichever cow he pointed out. Telling them that they were responsible for his cow while he was away. He hastened off to the cave where the jackals lived. The jackals somehow knew that he had been swindled out of the cow and they met him saying, Well, man, have you lost your cow? And he answered that he had come to fetch them to judge between himself and the villagers. So the jackals went with him and he went straight to the headman and told them to collect all the villagers. Meanwhile the jackals spread a mat under a people tree and sat on it chewing pan. And when the villagers had assembled the jackal began to speak and said, If a judge takes a bribe his descendants for several generations shall eat filth in this world and the next. But if he make public confession then he shall escape this punishment. This is what our forefathers have said. And the man who defrauds another shall be thrust down into hell. This also they have said. Now all of you make honest inquiry into this matter. We will swear before God to do justice in the complainant and the accused shall also take oath and we will decide fairly. Then the village headman was conscious stricken and admitted that he had taken a bribe of one hundred rupees and the villagers also confessed that they had been bribed. Then the jackal asked the accused what he had to say to this. But he persisted that he had not changed the cow. The jackal asked him what penalty he would pay if he were proved guilty and he said that he would pay double. Then the jackal called the villagers to witness that the man had fixed his punishment. And he proposed that he and his wife should go to the herd of cattle and if they could pick out the cow that Kara claimed it would be sure proof that it was his. So the jackals went and at once picked out the cow and the villagers were astonished and cried, This is a just judgment. They have come from a distance and have recognized the cow at once. The man who had stolen it had no answer to give. Then the jackal said, You yourself promised to pay double. You gave a bribe of one hundred rupees to the headman and one hundred rupees to the villagers. And the cow you stole is worth two hundred rupees. That is four hundred rupees. Therefore you must pay a fine of eight hundred rupees. And the man was made to produce eight hundred rupees and the jackal gave all the money to the villagers except ten rupees which he gave to Kara and he kept nothing for himself. Then Kara and the jackals went away with the cow and after getting outside the village the jackals again warned Kara not to ask the cow for anything when anyone was by and took their leave of him and went home. Kara continued his journey and at evening arrived at a large mango orchard in which a number of carters were camping for the night. So Kara stopped under a tree at a little distance from the carters and tied his cow to the root. Soon a storm came up and the carters all took shelter underneath their carts and Kara asked his cow for a tent and he and the cow took shelter in it. It rained hard all night and in the morning the carters saw the tent and wondered where it came from and came to the conclusion that the cow must have produced it so they resolved to steal the cow. Kara did not dare to make the cow swallow the tent in the daytime while the carters were about so he stayed there all the next day and at night the cow put away the tent. Then when Kara was asleep some carters came and took away the cow and put in its place a cow with a calf and they hid the magic cow within a wall of packs from their pack-bullocks. In the morning Kara at once saw what had happened and went to the carters and charged them with the theft. They denied all knowledge of the matter and told him he might look for his cow if he liked so he searched the encampment but could not see it. Then he called the village headman and Chaukedar and they searched and could not find the cow and they advised Kara to keep the cow and calf as it must be better than his own barren cow. But he refused and said that he would complain to the magistrate and he made the headman promise not to let the carters go until he came back. So he went to a Mohammedan magistrate and it's chance that he was an honest man who gave just judgments and took no bribes and made no distinction between the rich and the poor. He always listened to both sides carefully not like some rascally magistrates who always believe the story that has first told them and pay no attention to what the other sides say. So when Kara made his complaint this magistrate at once sent for the carters and the carters swore that they had not stolen the cow and offered to forfeit all the property they had with them if the cow was found in their possession. When the magistrate sent police to search the encampment and the police pulled down the pile of packs that had been around the cow and found the cow inside and took it to the magistrate. Then the magistrate ordered the carters to fulfill their promise and put them all in prison and gave all their property to Kara. So Kara loaded all the merchandise on the carts and packed bullocks and went home rejoicing. At first the villagers did not recognize who it was who had come with so much wealth but Kara made himself known to them and they were very astonished and helped him to build a grand house. Then Kara went to the Raja from whom he had borrowed the money for his parents' funeral and paid back what he owed. The Raja was so pleased with him that he gave him his daughter in marriage and afterwards Kara claimed his father-in-law's kingdom and got possession of it and lived prosperously ever after. And the seven sons of his first master who used to scold him were excited by his success and thought that if they went to foreign parts they also would gain great wealth. So they took some money from their father and went off. But all they did was to squander their capital and in the end they had to come back penniless to their father. End of The Magic Cow. Once upon a time there was a man who had four sons. Two of them were married and two were unmarried. The youngest was named Lita. One day Lita went to his father and asked for fifty or sixty rupees that he might go on a trading expedition and he promised that if he lost the money he would not ask for any share in the paternal property. As he was very urgent his father at last gave him sixty rupees and he set out on his travels. After going some way he came to a village in which all the inhabitants were chasing a cat. He asked them what was the matter and they told him that the cat was always stealing their Raja's milk and the Raja had offered a reward of twenty rupees to anyone who would kill it. Then Lita said to them, Do not kill the cat, catch it alive and give it to me and I will pay you twenty rupees for it. Then you can go to the Raja and say that you have killed it and ask for the reward. And if the Raja asks to see the body tell him that a stranger came and asked for the body for he thought that a cat which had fed on milk should be good eating and so you gave it to him. The villagers thought that this would be an excellent plan and promised to bring him the cat alive. They soon managed to catch it hiding under a heap of firewood and brought it to Lita and he paid them twenty rupees and then they went to the Raja and got twenty rupees from him. Then Lita went on and by and by came to a village where the villagers were hunting an otter in a tank. They had made a cut in the tank and had let out all the water. Lita went to them and asked what they were doing. They said that they were hunting for an otter which had been destroying the Raja's fish and the Raja had promised them a reward if they killed it. And they had driven it into the tank and were draining off the water in order to catch it. Then Lita offered to buy it of them if they brought it to him alive. So when they caught it they brought it to him and he gave them money for it and continued his journey with the cat and the otter. Presently he saw a crowd of men and he went up to them and asked what they were doing. And they told him that they were hunting a rat which was always gnawing the Raja's pins and papers and the Raja had offered a reward for it and they had driven it out of the palace but it had taken refuge in a hole and they were going to dig it out. Then Lita offered to buy it from them as he had bought the other two animals and they dug it out and sold it to him. He went on and in the same way found a crowd of men hunting a snake which had bitten many people and he offered to buy it for 20 rupees and when they had chased it till it was exhausted they caught it alive and sold it to Lita. As his money was all spent he then set off homewards and on the way the snake began to speak and said Lita you have saved my life had you not come by those men would certainly have had my life come with me to my home where my father and mother are and I will give you anything you ask for we have great possessions but Lita was afraid and said when you get there you will eat me or if you don't your father and mother will but the snake protested that they could not be guilty of such ingratitude and at last Lita agreed to accompany it when it had left the other animals at his home this he did and set off alone with the snake and after some days they reached the snake's home the snake told Lita to wait outside while he went and apprised his parents and he told Lita that when he was asked to choose his reward he should name nothing but the ring which was on the father snake's finger for the ring had this property that if it was placed in a sear of milk and then asked to produce anything whatever that thing would immediately appear then the snake went on to his home and when the father and mother saw him they fell on his neck and kissed him and wept over him saying that they had never expected to see him again the snake told them how he had gone to the country of men and how a reward had been set on his head and that he had been hunted and how Lita had bought him from the men who would have killed him the father snake asked why he had not brought Lita to be rewarded and the snake said that he was afraid that when they saw him they would eat him but the father and mother swore that they could never be guilty of such ingratitude and when he heard this the snake went and brought in Lita and they entertained him handsomely for two days and on the third day the father snake asked Lita what he would take as his reward Lita looked round at the shining palace in which they lived and at first was afraid to speak but at last he said I do not want money or anything but the ring on your finger if you will not give me that I will take nothing I saved your son from peril and that you will remember all your lives and if you give me the ring I will honor you for it as long as I live then the father and mother snake consulted together and the mother said give it to him as he asks for it so the father snake drew it from his finger and gave it to Lita and they gave him also some money for his journey back and he went home and found the other three animals safe and sound waiting for him after a time his father said that Lita must marry so marriage go-betweens were sent out to look for a bride and they found a very rich and beautiful girl whose parents were agreeable to the match but the girl herself said that she would only marry a man who would build the covered passage from her house to his so that she could walk to her new home in the shade the go-betweens reported this and Lita's fathers and brothers consulted and agreed that they could never make such a passage but Lita said to his father arrange the match it shall be my charge to arrange for making the covered passage I will not let you be put to shame over it for Lita had already put the ring to the test he had dropped it into a sear of milk and said let five barriers of parched rice and two barriers of curds appear and immediately the parched rice and curds were before him and thereupon he had called out the snake has worthily rewarded me for saving his life and the cat and the otter and the rat overheard what he said so the go-betweens was told to arrange for the wedding to take place that very month as Lita's birthday fell in the next month which therefore was not suitable for his wedding then the bride's family sent him back to say that they were prepared to send a string of nine knots and the next day the go-between told this to Lita's family and they said that they were willing to accept it so the go-between brought a string of nine knots to signify that the wedding would take place in nine days the days passed and Lita's father and brothers became very anxious because they saw no sign of the covered passage but on the very night before the wedding Lita took his ring and ordered a covered passage to be made from one house to the other with a good path down the middle and the next morning they found it made and the bridegroom's party passed along it to the bride's house and the bride was escorted home along it now the bride had been deeply in love with another young man who lived in her village and had much wish to marry him but her wishes of course were not consulted in the matter some time after the marriage she one day in the course of conversation asked her husband Lita how much he had spent on making the covered passage to her house and how he had built it so quickly he told her that he knew nothing about it that his father and mother had arranged for it and no doubt had spent a large sum of money so the next day she took an opportunity of asking her mother-in-law about it but Lita's mother said that nothing had been spent at all somehow the passage had been made in one night she knew not how then Lita's wife saw that Lita was keeping a secret from her and she began to reproach him for having any secrets from his wife and at last when she had faithfully promised never to reveal the matter to anyone he told her the secret of the ring now her former lover used still to visit her and one day she sent for him and said that she would no longer live with Lita but wish to run away with him the lover at first objected that they would be pursued and killed while if they escaped to a distance he would have nothing to support her with but the faithless woman said that there need be no anxiety about that and she told him about the magic ring and how by means of it they could provide themselves with a house and everything they wanted so they fixed a night for the elopement and on that night when Lita was asleep his wife quietly drew the ring off his finger and went out to her lover who was waiting outside and told him to get a goat from the pen then they beheaded the goat and went inside and poured all its blood on the ground under the bed on which Lita was sleeping and then having hit the body and headed the goat they ran away towards morning Lita woke up and missed his wife so he lit a lamp to look for her and then saw the pool of blood under the bed at this site he was terror-stricken some enemy had killed and carried off his wife and he would be charged with the murder so he lay there wondering what would happen to him at last his mother came into the room to see why he and his wife had not got up as usual and when she saw the blood she raised a cry the village headman and chokadar were sent for and they questioned Lita but he could only say that he knew nothing of what had happened he did not know what the blood was he did not know where his wife was thereupon they sent two men to the house of the wife's parents to see if by any chance she had run away there and in any case to bring her relations to be present at the inquiry into her disappearance when her father and brothers heard what had happened they at once went to Lita's house and wrath and abused him as a murderer they asked why if his wife had not done her duty to him he had not sent her back to them to be chastised and taught better instead of murdering her and they went straight to the magistrate and complained the magistrate sent police who arrested Lita and took him before the magistrate meanwhile it had become known that not only was Lita's wife missing but also her lover and Lita's father presented a petition to the magistrate bringing this to notice and asserting that the two must have run away together then the magistrate ordered every search to be made for the missing couple but said that Lita must remain in custody till they were found so he was shut up in prison from prison he made an application to the magistrate that his three tame animals the cat and the otter and the rat might be brought to the place where he was the magistrate kindly consented but the animals were not allowed into the prison however at night the rat being small made its way inside and found Lita and asked what was to be done Lita said that he wanted the three animals to save him from his great danger as he had saved them he wanted them to trace his wife and her lover and recover the ring they would doubtless find them living in some gorgeous palace the gift of the ring the rat went out and gave the other two Lita's message and they readily undertook to do their best so the next morning the three animals set off in vain they hunted all over the country till one day they came to the bank of the Ganges and there on the other side they saw a palace shining like gold at this their hopes revived for this might be a palace made by the magic ring but the cat and the rat objected that they could not cross the river the otter said that he would easily manage that and he took the cat on his back and the rat climbed on the back of the cat and so the otter ferried them both across the river then they consulted and decided that it would be safest to wait till the evening before they went to the palace to see who lived in it when they looked in in the evening they had once recognized Lita's wife and her lover but these two were in constant terror of being pursued and when they had their evening meal they fastened and bolted every entrance so securely that no one could gain admittance then the cat and the otter told the rat that he must collect all the rats of the neighborhood and they must burrow through the wall and find some way of abstracting the magic ring so the rat collected a crowd of his friends and in no time they bored a hole through the wall then they all began to look for the ring they hunted high and low but could not find it however the cat sat at the entrance of the hole which they had made and vowed that they should not come out unless they got the ring then the first rat climbed onto the bed in which the couple were sleeping and searched their clothes and examined their fingers and toes but in vain then he thought that the woman might have it in her mouth so he climbed onto her chest and tickled her nose with the tip of his tail this made her sneeze and behold she sneezed out the ring which she had hidden in her mouth the rat seized it and ran off with it and when the cat was satisfied that he had really got it she let him out and the three friends set off rejoicing on their homework journey they crossed the river in the same way as when they came with the cat riding on the otter and the rat on the cat and the rat held the ring in its own mouth unfortunately when they were halfway across a kite swooped down to try and carry off the rat twice it swooped and missed its grasp but the second time it struck the rat with its wing and the rat in terror let the ring fall into the river when they reached the bank the three friends consulted what they were to do in this fresh misfortune as the otter was the only one who could swim it volunteered to look for the ring so it plunged into the water and searched the bottom of the river in vain then it guessed that a fish must have swallowed the ring and it set to work to catch every fish it saw and tore them open at last in the stomach of a big fish it found the ring and so it brought the fish to the bank and while they were all rejoicing and eating a little of the fish a kite swooped down and carried off the fish ring and all the three animals watched the kite flying away with the fish but some women who were gathering firewood ran after the kite and took the fish from it and putting it in their basket went home then the otter and the rat set to the cat now it is your turn we have both recovered the ring once but we cannot go into the house of these humans they will let you go near them easily enough the ring is in the fish's stomach you must watch whether they throw away the stomach or clean it and find an opportunity for carrying off the ring so the cat ran after the women and when they began to cut up the fish it kept meowing round them they threw one or two scraps to it but it only sniffed at them and would not eat them then they began to wonder what on earth the cat wanted and at last they threw the stomach to it this it seized ungladly and carried it off and tore it open and found the ring and ran off with it to where the otter and the rat were waiting then the three friends traveled hard for a day and a night and reached the prison in which Lita was confined when Lita got the ring he begged the jailer to get him a seer of milk and when it was brought he dropped the ring in it and said I wish the bed on which my faithless wife and her lover are sleeping to be brought here with them in it this very night and before morning the bed was brought to the prison then the magistrate was called and when he saw that the wife was alive he released Lita and the lover who had ran away with her had to pay Lita double the expenditure which had been incurred on his marriage and was fined beside but Lita married another wife and lived happily with her and some time afterwards he called the otter and the cat and the rat to him and said that he purposed to let them go and before they parted he would give them anything they wished for they said that he owed them nothing and they made Lita promise to let them know if he ever lost the ring or fell into trouble and he promised to help them if ever their lives were in danger and one morning he took them to a bazaar near which was a tank full of fish and he turned the otter into the tank and left the cat and the rat to support themselves in a bazaar the next day he went to see them and the otter came out of the tank and gave him a fish which it had caught and the cat brought him some milk it had stolen and that was the last he saw of them End of Lita and His Animals Cecil Henry Bompas Part 1 X X I I I The Boy Who Found His Father Recorded by Frank Farash There was once a boy who used always to cheat when playing cutty pitch and toss and for this the village boys with whom he played used to quarrel with him saying Father this orphan why do you cheat So one day he asked his mother why they called him that name and whether his father was really dead He is alive said she but a long time ago a rhinoceros carried him off on its horn then the boy vowed that he would go in search of his father and made his mother put him up provisions for the journey and he started off taking with him an iron bow and a big bundle of arrows he journeyed on all day and at nightfall he came to a village there he went up to the house of an old woman to ask for a bed he stood at the threshold and called out to her Granny, Granny, open the door I have no son and no grandchildren to call me Granny grumbled the old woman and went to open the door to see who was there and when she opened the door and saw him she said Oh you are my grandson Yes answered he I am your grandchild so she called him inside and gave him a bed to sleep on the old woman was called Houti Budi and she and the boy sat up late talking together and then they lay down to sleep but in the middle of the night he heard the old woman crunching away trying to bite his bow to pieces he asked her what she was eating some pulse I got from the village headman give me a little to try he begged I am sorry my child I have finished it all but really she had none to give however she only hurt her jaws biting so that she began to groan with pain what are you groaning for Granny said the boy because I have a toothache she answered and in truth her cheeks were badly swollen then he told her that a good cure for toothache was to bite on a white stone and she believed him and the next morning got a piece of white quartz and began to bite on it but this only broke her teeth and made her mouth bleed so that the pain was worse than before then the boy jeered at her and said did you think Granny that you could bite my iron bow and arrows so saying he left her and continued the search for his father and his road led him to a dense jungle which seemed to have no end and in the middle of the jungle he came to a lake and he sat down by it to eat what was left of the provisions he had brought as he sat he suddenly saw some cow bison coming down to the lake at this he caught up his bow and arrows in a hurry and climbed up a tall salad tree from the tree he watched the bison go down to the water to drink and then go back into the jungle and after them tigers and bears came down to the water the sight of them frightened him and he sang drink your fill tiger I shall not shoot you I shall shoot the giant rhinoceros and they drank and went away then various kinds of birds came and after them a great herd of rhinoceroses and among them was one which had the dried up body of the boy's father stuck on its horn the boy was rather frightened and sang drink your fill rhinoceroses I shall not shoot you I shall shoot the giant rhinoceros and when the giant rhinoceros with the body of his father stooped its head to drink from the lake he put an arrow through it and it turned a somersault and fell over dead while all the other rhinoceroses turned tail and ran away then the boy climbed down from the tree and pulled the dead body of his father off the horn of the dead animal and laid it down at the foot of a tree and began to weep over it as he wept a man suddenly stood before him and asked what was the matter and when he heard said cry no more take a cloth and wet it in the lake and cover your father's body with it and then whip the body with a mirral twig and he will come to life so saying the stranger suddenly disappeared and the boy obeyed his instructions and behold his father sat up alive and rubbing his eyes said I must have been asleep a very long time then his son explained to him all that had happened and gave him some food and took him home end of xxiii the boy who found his father the boy who found his father this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Leon Meyer folklore of the Suntal Praganas translated by Cecil Henry Bompas part one 24 the oil man's bullock there was once a poor but industrious oil man he got a log of wood and carved out an oil mill and borrowing some money as capital he bought mustard and sesame seed and set to work to press it as he had no bullock he had to turn the mill himself he was so industrious that he soon began to prosper and was able to buy a bullock for his mill by and by he got so rich that he was able to buy some land and a cart and pair of bullocks and was quite a considerable man in the village one day one of his cart bullocks died and this loss was a sad blow to the oil man however he tied up the surviving bullock in the stable along with the old oil mill bullock and fed them well one night it chanced that one of the villagers passed by the stable and heard the two animals talking and this is what he heard the young bullock said you came to this house first friend what sort of treatment does one get here why do you ask me said the other oh i see your shoulder is galled and your neck shows mark of the yoke the old bullock answered whether my master treats me well or ill i owe him money and have to stay here until i have paid him off when i have paid him 500 rupees i shall go how will you ever pay back such a sum if my master would only match me to fight the rajah's elephant for 500 rupees i should win the fight and my debt would be cleared and if he does not do that i shall probably have to work for him all my life how long do you intend to stay my debt will be cleared if i work for him for two years answered the newcomer the man who overheard this conversation was much astonished and went off to the oil man and told him all about it next day the whole village had heard of it and they were all anxious for the oil man to match his bullock against the rajah's elephant but the oil man was very frightened for he feared that if he sent such a challenge the rajah would be angry with him and drive him out of the country but the leading villagers urged him and undertook to find the money if he lost and to persuade the rajah that the oil man was mad if he became angry with him at last the oil man consented provided that some of the villagers went to the rajah and proposed the match he was too frightened to go himself so two of the village elders went to the rajah and asked him to match his elephant against the oil man's bullock for 500 rupees the rajah was very much amused and at once fixed a day for the fight so they returned and told the oil man to be ready and raised a subscription of 500 rupees the evening before the contest the oil man gave the bullock a big feed of meal and oil cake and on the eventful morning the villagers all collected and watched him oiling its horns and tying a bell round its neck then the oil man gave the bullock a slap on its back and said take care you're going to fight an elephant if you owe me so much money you will win and if not then you will be defeated when he said this the bullock pawed the ground and snorted and put down its head then they all set out with the 500 rupees to a level field near the rajah's palace a great crowd collected to see the fun and the rajah went there expecting easily to win 500 rupees the elephant was brought forward with vermillion on its cheeks and a pad on its back and a big bell round its neck and a mahout riding it the crowd called out put down the stakes so each side produced the money and publicly announced that the owner of the animal which should be victorious should take all the stakes but the oil man objected to the mahout's riding the elephant no one was going to ride his bullock this was seen to be fair and the mahout had to get off then the fight began the bullock snorted and blew through its nose and ran at the elephant with its head lowered then the elephant also rushed forward but the bullock stood its ground and stamped at this the elephant turned tail and ran away the bullock ran after it and gored it from behind until it trumpeted with pain the crowd shouted the rajah's elephant is beaten and the oil man took the 500 rupees and they all went home from that day the oil man no longer put the bullock to work the oil mill but fed it well and left it free to go where it liked but the bullock only stayed on with him for one month and then died and of the oil man's bullock and of liper vox volume one of folklore of the suntel preganes