Deccan Nursery Tales
or
Fairy Tales from the South


by

C.A. Kincaid, C.V.O.



1914.




To my little son

Dennis

Whose interest in these stories
first induced me to offer them to the public
this little volume is affectionately inscribed



PREFACE

These stories first appeared in the Times of India newspaper, and my
acknowledgments are due to the editor for his courtesy in permitting
their publication.

I have translated all of them as literally as possible from the
original Marathi. But, owing to the difference between Marathi and
English canons of taste, I have had in a very few places slightly
to change the sense. In some places, owing to the obscurity of the
original text, I have had to amplify the translation. In other places
I have had to cut short the descriptions of Hindu rites and ceremonies
so as to avoid wearying the English reader.

It may not be out of place to say just a word about the Indian gods
mentioned in the stories. It must be remembered that the main Hindu
gods are three in number. They are all sprung from a common origin,
Brahma, but they are quite separate beings. They do not form a trinity,
i.e. three in one or one in three. And each of them has a wife and a
family. The following genealogical tree will, I hope, help the reader.


Brahma
Shiva = Parwati
Ganpati
= the daughters of Agni
Kartakswami [1]
Vishnu = Mahalaxmi
Brahmadev = Saraswati


Of the above gods, Shiva, his son Kartakswami, and his wife Parwati,
Vishnu and his wife Mahalaxmi only are mentioned in the following
stories. Besides these, however, the Sun and Moon and the five
principal planets obtain a certain amount of worship. The Sun is
worshipped every morning by every orthodox Hindu. And Shani or Saturn
inspires a wholesome fear, for his glance is supposed to bring ill
fortune. Then again, besides the main gods, the world according
to Hindu belief, which in this respect closely resembles that of
the ancient Greeks, is peopled with Asuras (demons), Devkanya
(wood-nymphs), Nag-kanya (the serpent-maidens of Patala), and
Gandharwas (a kind of cherubim). The first three of these find a
place in the ensuing fairy tales.

The scientific doctrine is that Shiva is the destroyer and Vishnu
the preserver of life, and that Brahmadev is the creative spirit. In
practice, however, Brahmadev is almost entirely disregarded, while the
Hindus worship Shiva, Vishnu, Parwati, or Mahalaxmi just as   they feel
inclined, or as the particular sect to which they belong requires them.

Lastly, it must be borne in mind that the Hindu year consists of
twelve lunar months. In the Deccan the year begins with Chaitra,
corresponding roughly with April. The months then succeed each other
in the following order: Vaishak, Jesht, Ashad, Shravan, Bhadrapad,
Ashwin, Kartih, Margshish, Paush, Mag, Phalgun, Each month begins on
the first day of the new moon and is divided into two parts. The first
half comprises the period from the new moon to the full moon. This is
the bright half of the month. The second half comprises the period
from the full moon to the new moon. This is the dark half of the
month. The lunar months are made to correspond with the solar year by
the interposition of an "adhik" or intercalary month every third year.

C.A.K.



CONTENTS


I.      The Sunday Story
II.     The Monday Story
III.    The Tuesday Story
IV.     The Wednesday and Thursday Story
V.      The Friday Story
VI.     The Saturday Story
VII.    Mahalaxmi and the Two Queens
VIII.   The Island Palace
IX.     Nagoba, the Snake-King
X.      Parwati and the Beggar-Man
XL      Parwati and the Brahman
XII.    Soma, the Washerwoman
XIII.   Vasishta and the Four Queens
XIV.    The Lamps and the King's Daughter-in-Law
XV.     Parwati and the Priest
XVI.    The Rishi and the Brahman
XVII.   The King and the Water-Goddesses
XVIII.  The Lid of the Sacred Casket
XIX.    The Brahman Wife and Her Seven Sons
XX.     The Golden Temple



ILLUSTRATIONS


"Gave memorial honours to his dead father"
"It curled itself up inside the earthen jar"
"And fill her lap with wheat cakes and bits of cocoa-nut"
"And stuck them into a corner of the eaves"
"They no longer wished to kill or bite the little daughter-in-law"
"They asked her what the reason was, and she told them"
"She has lived here just as if she had been in her father's house"
"The god revealed himself to the king and his companions in all his
glory and splendour"






CHAPTER I

The Sunday Story

When Englishmen and Englishwomen are little boys and girls, they
listen with open ears to the tales of Golden-hair and the three Bears,
of Cinderella and the Prince, and of the Wolf and Little Red Riding
Hood. As the boys and girls grow up, the stories fade gradually from
their minds. But a time comes when they have children of their own. And
then, to amuse the children, they can find no tales more thrilling
than those which fascinated them in their own childhood. Thus the
old nursery tales are handed down for centuries from generation to
generation. Exactly the same process goes on in India, There, too, when
little Indian boys and girls grow up and have little boys and girls of
their own, they too tell to wide-eyed audiences the tales which they
themselves found so thrilling in their own childhood. Indian nursery
tales, it is true, have a more religious tinge than those of Europe,
but they are none the less appreciated on that account. The first six
stories in this little book purport to explain the connexion between
the heavenly bodies and the days of the week. So each day of the week
has its separate tale. And all through Shravan or August, probably
because it is the wettest month in the year, Deccan mothers tell afresh
every week-day that day's story. And little Deccan children listen
to the tales as they fall due with the same unvarying attention. For
in nurseries, Indian as well as English, tales are loved the better
when no longer new, and where the end is well known to, and therefore
the better understood by, the tiny round-eyed listeners.

Now this is the tale which is told every Sunday [2] in Shravan: Once
upon a time there was a town called Atpat, and in it there lived a
poor Brahman. Every day he used to go into the woods to fetch sticks
and to cut grass. One day he met there some nymphs and wood-fairies,
who said that they were performing holy rites in honour of the sun. He
asked, "What are these rites?" They replied, "If we tell you, you will
become proud and vain and you will not perform them properly." But the
Brahman promised, "No, I shall not become proud or vain and I shall
observe the rites you tell me." They then told him that the month of
Shravan was coming, and that on the first Sunday of Shravan he was
to draw a picture of the sun with red sandal paste, that he was to
offer to the drawing flowers and fruit, and that he should continue
doing this for six months. Thereafter he should in various ways,
which they told him, entertain guests and give alms to the poor.

The Brahman went home and performed the rites to the letter, so that
the sun-god was very pleased. Wealth came to the Brahman and he grew
richer and richer, and at last the queen of the land sent for him. The
poor Brahman began to tremble and shake all over, but the queen said,
"Do not shake or tremble, but give your daughters in marriage to our
house." The Brahman said, "My daughters are poor; you will make them
slaves or maid-servants." "No," said the queen, "I shall not make
them slaves or maid-servants; I shall marry one to a king, and one to
a minister." The Brahman agreed, and when the month of Margashish,
or December, came he gave his two daughters in marriage, one to the
king and one to the minister. Immediately after the marriage the
Brahman said good-bye to his daughters, and did not see them again
for twelve years. Then he visited the elder one, who had married the
king. She gave him a wooden stand on which to sit while eating, and
water in which to wash his feet, and then said, "Papa, papa, there
is pudding to eat, there is water to drink." But the Brahman said,
"Before I eat or drink, I must tell you my story." But his daughter
said, "Papa, I have no time to listen to your story; the king is
going a-hunting, and I must not keep him waiting for his dinner." The
Brahman thought this very disrespectful and went off in a great rage
to the house of his other daughter, who had married a minister. She
welcomed her father and gave him a wooden stand on which to eat,
and water to wash his feet, and said, "Papa, papa, here is pudding to
eat and here is water to drink." But the Brahman said, "Before I eat
or drink I must tell you my story." His daughter said, "Of course,
papa, tell it to me, and I shall listen as long as you like." Then
she went into an inner room and she fetched six pearls. She took three
herself and three she put in her father's hand. And he told her how he
had met the nymphs and wood-fairies, who had told him to worship the
sun-god, and she listened to it all without missing a syllable. Then
the Brahman ate and drank and went back to his own house. His wife
asked him about their two daughters. He told her everything and said,
"The elder one who would not listen to my story will come to grief."

And so she did. For the king, her husband, took an army into a
far country and never came back. But the daughter who had listened
to the story lived well and happy. As time went on the undutiful
daughter became poorer and poorer, until one day she said to her
eldest son, "Go to your aunt's house and beg of her to give you a
present, and bring back whatever she gives you." Next Sunday the
boy started and went to the village where his aunt lived. Standing
by the village tank he called out, "O maids, O slave-girls, whose
maids and slave-girls are ye?" They answered, "We are the maids and
the slave-girls of the minister." The boy said, "Go and tell the
minister's wife that her sister's son is here. Tell her that he is
standing by the village tank, that his coat is tattered and that
his garments are torn, and ask her to let him come into her house
through the back door." The slave-girls took him in through the
back door. His aunt had him bathed, and gave him clothes to wear,
and food to eat, and drink, and a pumpkin hollowed out and filled
with gold coins. As he left, she called to him, "Do not drop it, do
not forget it, but take it carefully home." But as the boy went home,
the sun-god came disguised as a gardener and stole the pumpkin filled
with gold. When the boy reached his mother's house she asked, "Well,
my son, what did your aunt give you?" He said, "Fortune gave, but Karma
[3] took away; I lost everything my aunt bestowed on me." Next Sunday
the second son went and stood by the village tank and called out,
"O slave-girls and maid-servants, who is your master?" They said,
"Our master is the minister." "Then tell the minister's wife that
her nephew is here." He was taken in by the back door. He was bathed
and clothed and given food and drink. As he was going, his aunt gave
him a hollow stick full of gold coins and said, "Do not drop it,
do not forget it, mind it carefully and take it home." On the way
the sun-god came in the guise of a cowherd and stole the stick. When
the boy got home his mother asked him what he had brought. He said,
"Fortune gave, but Karma took away." On the third Sunday a third son
went and stood by the village tank. His aunt received him like the
others and had him bathed, clothed, and fed. As he was going away,
she gave him a hollow cocoa-nut stuffed with gold coins and said,
"Do not drop it, do not forget it, but mind it carefully and take it
home." On the way back he put down the cocoa-nut on the edge of a well,
and it toppled over and fell into the water with a great splash. When
he reached his mother's house she asked him what his aunt's present
was. He said, "I have lost everything which fortune brought me." On
the fourth Sunday the fourth son went. His aunt welcomed him like
the others, and had him bathed and fed. When he left she gave him an
earthen pot full of gold coins. But the sun-god came in the guise
of a kite and snatched the pot away. When the boy reached home his
mother asked him whether his aunt had given him anything. He said,
"I have lost everything which my aunt gave me." On the fifth Sunday
the mother herself got up and went to her sister's village and stood
by the tank. The minister's wife took her in through her back door
and had her clothed and fed. Then the minister's wife told her that
all her trouble had come through not listening to her father's story,
and the minister's wife repeated it to her. The king's wife listened
to it, and stayed with her sister until the following month of Shravan,
or August, when she did fitting worship to the sun.

Instantly good fortune came to her. After years of weary fighting, her
husband, the king, at last overcame his enemies, and after taking great
wealth from them turned homewards with his army. As he went towards his
capital, he passed the village where the minister's wife lived. There he
learnt that his queen was with her sister, so he sent for her with a
befitting escort. "O auntie, auntie," cried all the queen's little
nephews and nieces, "umbrellas have come for you, and horse-tails and
guards and foot-soldiers." Every one rushed out to see, and the king and
queen greeted each other after years of separation. The sisters gave
each other gifts of clothes, and the king and his queen went away
together. At the first halting-place the servants cooked the food. The
queen filled the king's plate and then her own, and then she thought of
the story which her sister had told her. She ordered her servants to go
through the neighbouring village and bring in any one who was hungry and
too poor to buy food. They found none such in the village, but on the
way back they met a starving wood-cutter, and, bringing him to the
queen, told him to listen to the tale which she would tell him. The
queen brought six pearls. Three she gave to the wood-cutter, and three
she kept herself. Then she told him the story of her father and the
wood-fairies. The wood-cutter listened with all attention, and as he
listened his faggot of wood became all of gold. He went away delighted,
promising to worship the sun in the way the wood-fairies had shown to
the Brahman.

Next day the cavalcade reached the second halting-place. Food was
cooked; the queen filled the king's plate and then her own plate, and
again she told her, servants to bring from the neighbouring village any
one who was hungry and too poor to buy food. They came upon a petty
farmer, whose well had dried up and whose crops had withered. He was
sitting sadly by his field when they called him to go with them and
listen to the queen's tale. He went with them to the camp. There the
queen brought six pearls and gave three of them to the farmer and
kept three of them herself. Then she told the story of her father
and the wood-fairies. And as the farmer listened, all attention,
the water began to pour into the well, and the crop began to look
fresh and green. He went away delighted, and promised to worship the
sun in the way the wood-fairies had told the Brahman. Next day the
cavalcade reached the third halting-place. Food was cooked, and the
queen filled the king's plate and then her own plate. Then she told
the servants to search in the neighbouring village for any one who
was hungry and too poor to buy food. They met an old woman. Her eldest
son had been lost in the forest. Her second son had been drowned in a
pond. Her third son had died of snake-bite. They told her to come and
listen to the queen's story. She went with them, and as she listened,
all attention, first the son who had been lost in the forest walked
into the camp, next the son who had been drowned in the pond, and
last of all the son who had died of a snake-bite. The old woman went
away crying with joy, and promising to worship the sun in the way
the wood-fairies had instructed the Brahman. Next day the cavalcade
reached the fourth halting-place. Food was cooked, and the queen first
filled the king's plate and then her own. After dinner she sent her
servants as before to bring in some poor and hungry man from the
neighbouring village. They found a man whose eyes were so crooked
that he could hardly see, who had no arms or legs, and who had not
even a name. For he was only known as "Lump of flesh." He was lying
on his face, but when they brought him into camp, the queen had him
placed on his back and had a jug of water poured over him. Then she
took six pearls. Three she kept herself, and three she placed on the
stomach of "Lump of flesh." Then she told him the tale of her father
and the wood-fairies. He listened, all attention, and as he listened
his arms and legs grew out of his body, and hands and feet appeared
at the ends of them. He too went away delighted, and he promised to
worship the sun in the way the wood-fairies had told the Brahman.

At the end of the next day's march the king and queen reached their
home. Food was cooked, and as they sat down to dinner the sun-god
himself appeared and joined them at their meal. The king had all
the doors flung wide open, and ordered a fresh and far more splendid
dinner to be prepared, with any number of dishes, each dish having
six separate flavours. When it was served the sun-god and the king
began to eat, but in the first mouthful the sun-god found a hair. He
got very very angry, and called out, "To what sinful woman does this
hair belong?" Then the poor queen remembered that during her twelve
years of poverty she had always sat under the eaves combing her hair,
and knew that it must have been one of her hairs which had got into
the sun-god's food. She begged for mercy, but the sun-god would
not forgive her until she had clothed herself in a black blanket,
plucked a stick out of the eaves, and had gone outside the town and
there thrown the stick and the hair over her left shoulder. Then the
sun-god recovered his good-humour, and finished his dinner. And the
Brahman, the king and queen, and the wood-cutter and the farmer whose
well had dried up, and the old woman who had lost her children, and
"Lump of flesh" with the cross eyes, they all remained in the favour
of the sun-god and lived happily ever afterwards.



CHAPTER II

The Monday Story

Once upon a time there was a town called Atpat. In it there lived a
very saintly king. One day he formed the wish to fill the shrine of
Shiva, the moon-god, with milk up to the ceiling. He consulted his
chief minister, and the latter sent a crier through Atpat ordering,
under terrible penalties, all the townspeople to bring every Monday all
the milk in their houses and offer it to the god Shiva. The townspeople
were frightened at the threatened punishments, and the next Monday
they brought all the milk in Atpat to Shiva's shrine, not keeping a
drop for their calves or even for their children. But although all the
milk in Atpat was every Monday poured into Shiva's shrine, it yet did
not become full to the ceiling. But one day an old woman came to the
shrine. She had done all her housework. She had fed all the children
and had bathed all her little daughters-in-law. Then she took a few
drops of milk, a little sandal-wood paste, and a few flowers, and
half-a-dozen grains of rice and went to worship at Shiva's shrine. She
prayed to Shiva, "The little milk that I can offer is not likely to
fill your shrine, seeing that all the milk offered by the king could
not. Nevertheless I offer the milk with all my heart." She then got
up and went back to her house. Then a strange thing happened. Directly
the old woman turned her back, the shrine filled with milk right up to
the ceiling. The priests ran and told the king, but none of them could
say how it happened. The following Monday the king placed a soldier
by the door; and again the old woman came and worshipped, and again
the shrine filled with milk to the ceiling. The soldier ran and told
the king, but could not explain the cause. The third Monday the king
himself went and watched by the shrine. From his hiding-place he saw
the old woman come up and noticed that the shrine filled with milk
immediately after she had worshipped. He ran after her and caught
her. The old woman begged the king to spare her life, and this he
promised to do if she told the truth. She said, "O King! you ordered
all the milk in Atpat to be brought to Shiva's shrine. But what was
the result? All the calves began lowing and all the children began
crying, because they could get no milk. And all the grown-up people
were so worried by the noise that they did not know what to do. Shiva
was displeased at this, so He would not let the shrine fill. This,
therefore, is what you should do. Let the children and the calves
have their milk. Then take whatever is over to the shrine, and it
will at once fill up to the ceiling." The king let the old woman go,
and had it proclaimed by beat of drum that the townspeople were to
bring to the shrine on the following Monday only the milk remaining
after the children and the calves had been fed. The townspeople were
delighted. The children stopped crying and the calves stopped lowing,
and all the milk left by them was brought to Shiva's shrine. The
king prayed long and earnestly, and when he looked up he saw that
the shrine was full right up to the ceiling. He gave the old woman
a handsome present. And she went back to her home, and she did her
housework, and then she bathed all her little daughters and all her
little daughters-in-law.



CHAPTER III

The Tuesday Story

Once upon a time there was a town called Atpat. [4] In it there lived
a bania who had no son. Every day a religious mendicant used to come
to his house and call out, "Alms! Alms! In the name of God, give me
alms." But when the bania's wife offered him alms he refused them,
because she had no children. She told her husband, who advised her
to play a trick on the mendicant. She hid behind her door, and as he
called out "Alms! alms!" she slipped a gold piece into his wallet. But
the mendicant caught her and became very angry. He cursed her and
told her that she would always remain without any children. She
was terrified and fell at his feet and begged for forgiveness. Then
he pitied her and said, "Tell your husband to put on blue clothes,
mount a blue horse, and ride into the jungle. He should ride on until
he meets a horse. He should then dismount and dig in the ground. He
will in the end come to a temple to Parwati. He must pray to her and
she will bestow a child on him." When her husband came back she told
him what had happened. So he at once put on blue clothes, mounted a
blue horse, and rode into the forest. He met the horse, dismounted,
and began digging. At last he discovered a temple to Parwati, all of
gold, with diamond pillars and a spire made of rubies. Inside was a
statue of the goddess, and to it he prayed, saying, "I have houses and
cottages, cattle and horses, money and goods of all kinds, but I am
very sad because I have no son." The goddess pitied him and asked,
"Which will you have, a son who will be good but will die young,
or a son who will live long but will be born blind?" The poor bania
became greatly perplexed, but at last said, "I choose a son who will be
good but will die young,"  The goddess said, "Very well. Step behind
me. There you will find an image of Ganpati. Behind it is a mango
tree. Climb upon Ganpati's stomach and pick one mango. Go home and give
it to your wife to eat, and your wish will be gratified." Parwati then
disappeared. The bania climbed upon Ganpati's stomach and ate as many
mangoes as he could. He next filled a large bundle full of mangoes
and stepped down. But when he reached the ground he found that there
was only one mango in the bundle. He climbed up again and refilled his
bundle, but when he stepped down he again found only one mango. This
happened three or four times. At last Ganpati got very sore and angry
with having his stomach trampled on. So he shouted out, "One mango is
all you'll get. So be off home!" The bania was frightened out of his
wits and galloped home with his one mango. His wife ate it, and in nine
months she presented her husband with a son. When the little boy was
eight years old his sacred thread was put on, and his mother said,
"It is time to think of his marriage." But the bania said, "I dare
not marry him unless he first makes a pilgrimage to Benares." His
maternal uncle agreed to take the little boy to Benares.

So off they started together, and some days later the uncle and nephew
halted at a village where some little girls were playing. One of
the little girls said to the other, "You are nothing but a wretched
little widow." But the other little girl said, "Oh no! there are
never any widows in our family. Mother worships Parwati and so I
can never be a widow." The uncle heard this, and thought that if his
nephew could only marry a little girl who could not become a widow,
he would not die young. So he began to think how he could bring
about the marriage. Now it so happened that the little girl was
to be married that day. But in the morning the boy to whom she was
betrothed fell ill. Her parents were in great trouble, but at last
they thought that, rather than postpone the wedding and disappoint
all the guests, it would be better to marry their little daughter to
the first traveller who passed through the village. So they went to
the rest-house to inquire if any one was there. There they found the
uncle and nephew, and they married their little girl to the latter
that very evening when the cows were homing. They drew on the wall
a picture of Shiva and Parwati, and they put the children to bed
beneath it. Parwati appeared to the little girl in her sleep. The
goddess said, "My child, a snake will come to bite your husband: give
it milk to drink. Then put near it a new earthen jar. When the snake
has finished drinking, it will enter the earthen jar. Then at once
pull off your bodice and stuff it into the jar's mouth. Next morning
give the jar to your mother." Next evening everything happened as
Parwati had said. The snake came to bite her husband as he slept. But
the little girl offered it milk, which it drank. After drinking,
it curled itself up inside the earthen jar, and, the moment it did
so, the little girl slipped off her bodice and stuffed it into the
mouth of the jar. Next morning her husband gave her a ring, and she
in exchange gave him a sweet-dish, and he and his uncle continued
their journey to Benares. When they had gone, the little girl gave the
earthen jar with the snake inside it to her mother. The mother took
out the bodice, but instead of a snake a garland lay inside, and the
mother put it round her little daughter's neck. Some weeks passed,
but neither uncle nor nephew returned. So the little girl's parents
grew anxious. The sick boy who was to have been her husband recovered,
but she could no longer marry him, and the boy whom she had married
had gone away and might never return. In despair the parents built
a house, in which they entertained every traveller who passed by,
hoping that sooner or later one of the travellers would prove to be
their daughter's husband. To all of them the mother gave water; the
daughter washed their feet; her brother gave them sandal-wood paste;
and her father gave them betel-nut. But it was all in vain; none of
the travellers' fingers fitted the ring given to the little girl by
her husband, nor could any of them produce the sweet-dish which she
had given him in exchange.

In the meantime the uncle and nephew had reached Benares and had
given large sums in charity, and had visited all the holy places
and had received the blessings of all the Brahmans. One day the
little boy, fainted. And in a dream he saw the messenger of Yama,
the god of death, come close to him as if to carry him off. Next he
saw the goddess Parwati come to his rescue and, after a struggle,
drive away Yama's messenger. When the boy woke up he told the dream to
his uncle. The latter was overjoyed because he felt certain that now
the boy would no longer die young. He told his nephew to get ready,
and next day they left Benares. On their way home they passed by
the village where the nephew had been married. As they were having
breakfast near the village tank, a maid-servant invited them to come
to the house which the girl's parents had built for the reception of
travellers. At first the uncle declined, but when a palki was sent
for them, he and his nephew entered it. When the little girl began to
wash her husband's feet, she recognised him. She tried on the ring,
which fitted his finger, and he in turn showed her the sweet-dish
which she had given him. The parents were as pleased as possible, and
they sent a messenger to invite the boy's parents. They came, and the
boy's mother threw herself at her daughter-in-law's feet and thanked
her for saving her son. Then there was a great feast and everybody
was very happy indeed, and at the end they all worshipped Parwati,
[5] so she became as pleased as everybody else.



CHAPTER IV

The Wednesday and Thursday Story

There was once upon a time a town called Atpat. In it there lived
a prince who had seven sons and seven daughters-in-law. Every day
there used to come to the prince's house two Brahmans, an uncle and a
nephew. But when they asked for alms the daughters-in-law sent word
that they were too busy to give them any. Some time afterwards the
prince lost all his riches and became very poor. The two Brahmans
again came to beg, but the elder daughter-in-law said to them,
"We are no longer busy, but we have nothing to give you. If we had,
we should give it to you." The youngest daughter-in-law, however,
was a clever little girl, and she thought to herself, "The Brahmans
will get very angry with us. When we had money, we gave them nothing;
and now we give them nothing because we have nothing to give." So she
fell at the elder Brahman's feet and said, "We have been very wicked
and have deserved to become poor. But please forgive us and tell me
how we may become rich as we were before." The elder Brahman said,
"Every Wednesday and every Thursday you must invite a Brahman to
dinner. And if you have no money to pay for the dinner, draw a pair
of cow's feet on your money-box. If you want grain for the dinner,
draw a pair of cow's feet on your corn-bin. Then worship the feet and
welcome the Brahmans. For you will find that you will have money in
your box and grain in your corn-bin. And in time you will all get as
rich as you were before." The little girl did what the Brahman told
her. And whenever she invited Brahmans to dinner, she drew the cow's
feet on the cash-box and on the corn-bin, and there was always money
and grain sufficient for the meal.

But some days later she fell asleep and dreamt that Budh [6] and
Brahaspati came to her bedside and said, "Little girl, little girl,
your husband has been made king over a great country. Go to him, and,
when you have found him, do not forget to worship us and to give feast
to the Brahmans." Then the little girl woke up and she told the other
six daughters-in-law. But they were jealous of her, and they became
very angry; and they kicked her so often and boxed her ears so hard
that she forgot all about drawing the cow's feet on her money-box and
on the corn-bin. So she never found any money in the box or any corn
in the bin. And every day they became poorer and poorer. First all the
men servants ran away, then the male members of the family left, and
at last the seven daughters-in-law were left alone in the house. They
were starving, but they did not know how to get any food. One day
they heard that a king in a neighbouring country wished to construct
a tank and was calling for labourers. So they decided to go to the
tank and work there just like common coolie women. Now who do you
think the king was? He was the youngest son of the prince of Atpat
and the husband of the youngest daughter-in-law. When the prince had
lost all his money, his youngest son left the house and set off on
a journey. As he travelled he came to a city, the king of which had
just died without leaving any children or relatives. His subjects
did not know how to choose a successor. At last they gave a garland
of flowers to a she-elephant and turned it loose. The elephant walked
straight to the prince's son and put the garland round his neck. The
townspeople were very angry. They snatched away the garland and drove
away the prince's son. They again gave the garland to the elephant,
but the elephant again put the garland round the neck of the prince's
son. The townspeople again snatched away the garland. But when the
elephant put it round the young man's neck for the third time, they
lifted him high in the air and declared him to be their king. At first
he was so pleased at being king that he forgot all about his poor
little wife. But one night Budh and Brahaspati appeared to him in a
dream and reminded him of her and told him how poor she was. But he
could not leave his kingdom to go and look for her. So he thought that
he would dig a tank and call together labourers from every quarter. And
every day he used to go to the tank and search among the labourers to
see if his wife was there. One day he recognised his wife and called
her to him. Then they told each other how Budh and Brahaspati had
appeared to each of them in a dream. And the king was so delighted at
finding his wife that he at once proclaimed her queen of the country.

So the little daughter-in-law was crowned queen, but she did not let
the other daughters-in-law who were also working at the tank know of
her good fortune. As queen, she gave a great feast to all the workers
on the tank. But in her own palace she took some wheat flour, and
she kneaded it into shapes resembling human feet and human fists. And
when the other daughters-in-law were with the crowd of workers eating
at the feast, she went up to them, and to each daughter-in-law who
had kicked her she gave a flour foot, and to each daughter-in-law
who had struck her with her hands she gave a flour fist. Then the
daughters-in-law recognised who the little queen was, and they fell at
her feet and begged for her forgiveness. So the little queen forgave
them and took them back with her into her husband's palace. And they
all lived together happily ever afterwards.



CHAPTER V

The Friday Story

Once upon a time there was a town called Atpat. In it there lived a
miserably poor Brahman. He had a wife who was as poor as he was. One
day she felt her poverty so much that she went to a gossip of hers
who lived close by and told her all about her troubles. The neighbour
could suggest nothing better than that the poor woman should worship
the goddess Shukra or Venus. So she told the Brahman woman to fast
every Friday through the month of Shravan. Every Friday evening she
should invite a married lady friend to her house. She should bathe her
friend's feet. She should give her sweetened milk to drink and fill
her lap with wheat cakes and bits of cocoa-nut. She should continue
to worship Shukra in this way every Friday for a whole year, and in
the end the goddess would certainly do something for her. The Brahman
woman thought the advice good, and every Friday she worshipped Shukra
and had a married friend to dine with her just as her neighbour had
advised her.

Now the Brahman woman had a rich brother living in the same town,
who one day invited one thousand Brahmans to dine. At the same
time he invited all the townspeople with the single exception of
his sister. The poor lady thought that she must have been left out
by accident, and that there would be no harm in going, even although
uninvited. She put on her silk dining-clothes, and, taking her children
with her, went off to the dinner. She seated herself close to her
children, and was eating away when her brother came round serving
ghee. When he saw his sister he shouted at her, "You have neither nice
clothes nor nice jewelry. You have made me a laughing-stock by coming
as you have come. I shall not turn you out, but do not come to-morrow."

Next day she did not want to go, but her children, who had enjoyed
the previous day's feast, persuaded their mother to take them again
to her brother's house. Once more she went and sat down with her
children among the rows of feasters. Her brother saw her as before
when he came round serving the ghee. He shouted at her, "A beggar
woman must, I suppose, act like a village sow, and will not go away
although told to. But do not come to-morrow. If you do, I'll have you
turned out." Next day, however, she again went with her children to
her brother's house. But near the entrance his servants caught her
and turned her out before she could eat anything. She went home sad
and hungry and prayed to Shukra. Now the goddess had been pleased
with her devotion and so took pity on her. She helped the poor
woman's husband so that he rapidly acquired great wealth. When her
husband had become very rich she asked her brother to dinner. But
the brother remembered how he had treated her and was ashamed to
accept. He pressed her to dine with him first, and begged so hard
that she at last consented. Next day she put on all her jewels and
her finest clothes. Her brother gave her a wooden platform to sit on
and plates made out of leaves from which to eat her dinner. Before
she sat down she took off her gold-embroidered shawl and put it
close to her plate. Her brother saw her, but thought she did it
because she felt the room hot. She then placed her jewelry on the
wooden platform. Her brother thought that she did it because she
felt the jewelry heavy. She took a portion of rice and placed it on
her necklace. She put a portion of vegetables on her pendant, and a
sweet ball she placed on her jewelled star.

Her brother at last asked her, "What are you doing?" She said,
"I am giving to the guests whom you really invited." But he did
not understand, and asked, "Why do you not begin to eat?" She said,
"I have not been invited to this dinner. It was given in honour of
my finery and not of me. I had my dinner the day when you gave the
feast to the one thousand Brahmans."

The brother felt thoroughly ashamed of himself. He threw himself at
his sister's feet and begged for her forgiveness. So she forgave him
and sat down to dinner. And the brother in turn went to her house and
dined with her. And Shukra was pleased with both sister and brother,
and they all lived happily ever afterwards. May I and my readers do
the same.



CHAPTER VI

The Saturday Story

Once upon a time there was a town-called Atpat. In it there lived a
poor Brahman who had three daughters-in-law. He rose early even during
the rainy season, and every day immediately after his morning meal he
used to go to his field with his children and his daughters-in-law. One
first Saturday in Shravan he got up as usual and said to the youngest
of his daughters-in-law, "To-day is Saturday; you had better stay
at home, and although there is very little in the house, you must
try to get some sort of a dinner ready. Go upstairs and scrape
together all the grain there is in the grain-jars and make bread
with it. For vegetables you had better gather grass and make some
chutney out of clover leaves." When the Brahman had left, his little
daughter-in-law followed his orders as best she could. There was in the
jar upstairs only grain for half an ordinary loaf. So she made tiny,
tiny loaves and prepared some vegetables out of grass and made some
clover chutney. Then she sat down to wait for the family's return
from the field. As she did so, Saturn came disguised as a beggar all
covered with sores, and cried, "O Lady! I am aching all over: give
me hot water to bathe in and oil to rub myself with, and then give me
something to eat." The little daughter-in-law felt very sorry for the
poor beggar. She went inside and got him a few drops of oil and warmed
some water for his bath, and then gave him one of the tiny loaves to